#questions of the true morality of how they played out and what being a hero means and other stuff like that

[stromuprisahat]

Question: how do you justify what the darkling did to Genya, Alina and Nikolai? I don’t even mean this to sound rude, but I’m just genuinely curious how you just brush past that when you say the Darkling never did anything he’d have to apologize for 🙃

I'd start with stating that I don't like the word "justify". Google says its meaning is "to show or prove to be right or reasonable", which to me sounds like something that's expected whenever you're about to do something that might offend or hurt anyone. Like pre-made apology you owe people even though you might not have anything to apologize for in the end.

It's really about lack of better words. Czech dictionary translates "justify" as "odůvodnit" or "ospravedlnit", out of which the first one is strictly without that moral baggage. Closer to "give reason".

Aleksander's actions are often perceived out of context, as malicious crimes he committed for his own enjoyment, or whatever suits the antis best, while there are plenty of factors we shouldn't fail to consider.

Ravka- The country he loves, even though it doesn't love him. Rarely peaceful- according to Shadow and Bone, current wars last for over a century. Drained by both its neighbours, split in two for long enough it's pretty unbelievable the West is only planning to secede, poor, with ruling class, who doesn't care and has no reason to.

Grisha- From outright hated to respected, but in constant danger anywhere else, Aleksander manged to carve out a place for them under conditions. The Crown allows Grisha to live right on its backyard (to better keep an eye on), safely train and serve as soldiers or servants of noble houses, as long as they're useful, but... also has no need or intention to take it further. Grisha are glorified, envied serfs in fancy clothes. They're used by monarchy, despised and distrusted by masses, as proved by several little things throughout the first book and instant pogroms once the Fold moves (And don't forget there were no survivors- no true witnesses-, aside from few of the Darkling's people.).

His own lives' experience- Let's be honest- centuries of watching his people- however close- die, drawbacks, betrayals, constantly repeating history... gives one quite a perspective. It's a miracle the Darkling is merely numb and tired, yet somehow hardly unfeeling. Unlike the young heroes he possesses enough self-control not to start begging, crying, screaming... He's lashing out, when he has a reason to believe it won't bite him in the ass, he's petty and hurts others, punishing them for hurting him.

setting- Forget 21st century morality. If we're talking about 19th century-esque world, it wouldn't only have fancy nobles, dashing princes to play pirates privateers and masses of uneducated peasants. The reason people think the way they do is they got there somehow. Ravka still has servitude, for gods' sake! Lives don't matter the way people want them to today! It won't be only about some being rich and some poor, there should be huge differences depending on one's circumstances of birth, bloodlines, wrongs or slights generations old... I'm aware we're suppose to pretend Alina get a pass, because she's "Living Saint", but for example slapping a member of royalty should cost her. Bastard or not, you let it slide once, and next thing you know people are getting ideas and building guillotines.

Now to your question:

Genya is the easiest. She got punished for disobeying direct order, betraying the Darkling for a girl she hardly knew and who was too self-involved to truly act like the friend Genya for some reason suddenly feels her to be.

Aleksander let Genya close enough to be considerably honest around her, at least regarding his intentions with Lantsovs. Dangerous thing to do for a man in his position (and although I have my theories, this reply is no place for them). That's why he made it personal. She didn't only abandon their cause, she hurt him, so he took what she valued most about herself, fitting his revenge into her expectable punishment.

He could've had her whipped. To death even. Instead he chose more personal approach.

Alina's the messiest, because way too many feelings got involved and Aleksander's shit in handling those. His only lasting relationship is his abusive mother, others tend to die on him. Alina's a personification of a dream. Someone to keep him company for the rest of eternity. A companion he longed for for so long, he's not able to handle the bitter truth. I don't think he ever considered his "One and Only Equal" might not be interested in his goals and while he might rationally understand Alina's so much younger, he quickly loses his patience and decides to speed up her development because her young self is interfering with his general plans.

Now, while younger Aleksander might have been more passionate, he was never allowed the luxury of recklessness or even childhood, as a consequence of which he has no idea how to handle hormonal teenagers. Alina's worldview is incredibly narrow and she has several mental mechanisms to prevent her from changing that, while Aleksander's living in constant paranoia, possibility of fight or flight 24/7. They're incompatible the way they are- Alina unwilling to change, Aleksander too rigid and lacking the luxury of choice- yet in each other's way too much to merely split up. The Darkling needs the Sun Summoner as a tool and a symbol, and as long as he breathes, Alina won't have a chance to regain her beloved anonymity.

What he did to her?

The Collar was his hand forced. Unreliable deserter possessing the power he needed to ensure ceasefire.

What else is there that couldn't be explain by simple "They're on opposite sides of a conflict."?

The only other moment that comes to my mind is him burning down the orphanage, one of my favourites. The situation is thus:

The Darkling occupies the Throne (Yay!), but he lacks wide support, numbers and resources, therefore he's forced to rule by fear, which is no way to go, when he wants to build future, where Grisha are accepted. Who does have the love of masses, is an undeserving "Saint" and rogue prince, starving his own people, while being cheered on for it, because he's thwarting the Darkling at the same time. I'll ignore Nikolai for now. So, how do you catch a single person, who could be hiding anywhere, with help from anyone, while you can count on no one? You make them come to you. You make them show themselves under circumstances you control.

Alina already fled slaughter of others three times, one she even directly caused. She might pretend to be a do-gooder, but she truly cares only about herself and her otkazat'sya past. Threatening Malyen already proved to be fruitful, but that one's out of Aleksander's reach, so he tries the next best thing. Destroying her "home". There's also poetry in it- he lost his mother for Alina, it's only fair she'd lose hers. As a symbol of the past Alina's so stubbornly clinging to, there's even some chance it WILL really hurt her, which is certainly plus for his vengeful self.

Eventually it proves to be ruthless, simple and utterly brilliant. Alina falls for his threat and meets him in the Fold.

It's a beautiful example of sacrificing a few (The Grisha teachers probably stayed with the children for their sake, and residents of the orphanage were also just doing their jobs as far as we know.) to end civil war and bring the other side to heel. Ravka wasn't able to handle two-front war, opening third one was insanity and I'm genuinely surprised the country didn't fall (or that West didn't use it to finally free itself from East). With Alina's power under control the Darkling could've attempted "Peace or the Fold" again, perhaps even succeed this time.

And then we have Nikolai.

Second-born Lantsov thwarting his plans, proposing "his" Sun Summoner, loved by masses and army alike because unlike Aleksander, he's otkazat'sya. Goals? Same. Positions? Incomparable. Willingness to give everything? Yes for both.

In better world, they could've been allies. One easily accepted, the other highly experienced. But the story doesn't want that, so Nikolai is serious contender and an obstacle in Aleksander's way to "Fine, I'll do it myself.". He needs to be gone. Killing him would be easiest and most permanent, but Kolya fucked up, when he made it personal.

Tricking the Darkling, shooting him, proposing to his "not"gf, evacuating royal family AND Baghra, starving his forces once Darkles sits on the throne... taking away Nikolai's most valuable quality, while keeping him conscious enough to comprehend it is the way to go!

There's also a POV that says showing your essence down your rival's throat to irrecoverably change him might be seen as a romantic gesture or outright foreplay, but I happen to be a Fannibal, so I'm aware the majority of Grishaverse fans might find my ideas of romance a bit harder to digest (pun absolutely intended).

To sum up: Most of the Darkling's actions corresponds with his position of 19th century-esque war general and revolutionary attempting Coup to save his bankrupt country, while hated by masses and lacking resources. Plus a drop of clever, petty vindictiveness.

(And whole bucket of bad writing, because there are things that just DON'T MAKE SENSE- both regarding worldbuilding and characterisation.)

#reply #Grishaverse #The Darkling #Genya Safin #Alina Starkov #Nikolai Lantsov #Darklina #Darkolai #grishanalyticritical #Ravka #Grisha #self centred and paranoid #degraded!Genya

[ro-botany]

The Risen King and his Tactician

In my previous post about Risen King Chrom, I talked largely about who and what he is. What I didn’t touch on was questions of why and how; the reasons for his existence and the means by which he’s controlled. So that’s what I’m tackling today.

Naturally, this means an examination of Grima’s thoughts on the matter. It's not a purely tactical decision on their part.

---

The first reason I could think of for why Grima would make a Risen out of Chrom was that it was an act of tactical cruelty aimed at their enemies. Nothing kills hope and morale in the enemy troops quite like making the shambling corpse of their exalt attack them! But while that’s almost certainly part of the point... It doesn’t explain why RK Chrom’s mind is intact. You can get that effect for a lot cheaper by bringing him back as a garden variety Risen with no sentience to speak of.

After reading the Forging Bonds supports, I initially thought part of the point was to be cruel to Chrom. They’re being sarcastic. They’re taunting him with his dead friends and torturing him by making him slaughter his people. That motivation would explain why he’s still mentally present—if the aim is to torture a foolish idealist son of Naga, it would hardly be satisfying if he weren’t actually there to be tortured.

But I think the main reason I read things that way is due to Heroes’ visual limitation of only having one portrait per character. They can’t adjust a character’s facial expression to better convey tone, which means that wherever tone is ambiguous in the text, the words are coloured by the expression of that one portrait. Since m!Grima’s portrait has that malevolent little smile, we interpret him as sarcastic or taunting and ignore the possibility that maybe, just maybe, the words are genuine.

Read those supports again, and this time ignore the portrait art.

Grima’s phrasing is never blunt. They couch all these hard truths about the situation in these long, indirect statements that soften them. They never bring up a point unless Chrom, in his panic and denial, brings it up first. They even play along with his delirium at first! None of the content of what they’re saying, absolutely none of it, is actually comforting; but the intent to comfort is there in the phrasing. It’s not “Robin is dead”; it’s “Robin is gone, lost, but I am here.” It’s not “Your friends are dead, and now they’re my pawns”; it’s “I know your friends are precious to you; don’t worry, I can bring them back, and you can lead them just like before.”

And they also lie about who killed Chrom. “Who stole your life, you might ask? It was I, with none other than the Fell Dragon Grima, within me.” It’s a bit convoluted, but it sounds like they’re trying to avoid implying it was Robin. But these supports aren’t a timeline where the details of Chrom’s death are unknown; we know he died at the Dragon’s Table fighting Validar, and his very obvious fatal wound is the same spot Robin stabs him at the Dragon’s Table in the premonition from Awakening. The spot that Robin stabs him, under Validar's control. If I were to speculate, I’d say it sounds like Grima is trying to preserve the memory of who Robin was. Spare Chrom the reality that it was his other half that killed him.

And the thing is, Grima has no reason to attempt to speak kindly to Chrom or to absolve Robin of blame... unless Grima remembers enough about being Robin to still care about Chrom. Regardless of how you interpret the nature of the connection between Robin and Grima, it’s not unreasonable to assume that Robin’s memories and emotions are part of Grima in some way, and influence their actions.

Why does Grima bring Chrom back from the dead? Because Grima never chose to kill the man they loved, and now that they’re a god again, they have the power to undo it.

But! We know that Grima is capable of true resurrection. They bring Validar completely back to life in the main timeline, living body and intact soul, when they aren’t even at full power. So if Grima cares that much, why not bring Chrom back as a living person?

The answer to that one is simple: because there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that Chrom would ever willingly participate in their apocalypse. What good would it do to bring him back only to have to kill him again? The fact that they don’t want to bear him being gone is what has them raising him in the first damned place. Grima needs him to be on their side... So they force him to be. They remake him as a Risen; a being bound to as dark a role as they are, and by definition, something they can control.

And here’s where we get to that how question. While Risen are naturally controllable through dark magic, there’s never been a Risen with a will before, and certainly not one with the blood of a different divine dragon. And given Validar’s actions, Grima is acutely aware of the fact that holy blood creates the possibility of control by another. Which means Naga might try something. They needed to counter that possibility.

Look at Risen King Chrom again and count the holy brands. It’s not just Naga’s anymore; he bears the brand of the defile too. At first I thought it might be attached to his sword, but I enlisted the help of a much healthier Chrom to check, and...

...no, the brand is absolutely attached to RK Chrom’s hand.

Grima covered all their bases. They minimized any chance that Chrom’s willpower or Naga’s meddling could interfere by making a blood pact with him as a second means of control.

Channelled dear old dad a little with that one.

---

So why does Risen King Chrom exist? Because Grima still loves Chrom. Or to be more precise... he exists because Grima loves what Chrom represents.

He’s the idea of companionship. A symbol of the brief moment that Grima was Robin, and was happy. And they love that idea so dearly that they can’t let it die. They bring Chrom back—but they don’t bring him back as he was, they remove his ability to choose and then force him into something that has the shape of their former relationship and none of the heart of it. Grima is still the tactician, and Chrom is still the exalt, and they’re marching to war with the Shepherds like they always do. They’re together like they always were. Right? Grima is acting out a hollow facsimile of a different life, and Chrom is trapped in a nightmare he can’t escape from.

What’s worse is I think Grima knows it’s cruel to keep him around like this. But they’re too rigid in their own beliefs to stop what they’re doing, and too selfish and lonely to let him go. And I think some part of them takes comfort in the fact that they’ve broken Chrom of his ability to hope, too. If even he can’t keep fighting the tide of fate, there really was nothing they could do to avoid this. (Nevermind the fact that they rigged the game so he couldn’t fight even if he wanted to.)

#fire emblem #grima #chrom #risen king chrom #meta #i am incapable of brevity and i refuse to apologize for it #*slaps the side of the grima/chrom ship* you can fit so much toxicity in this bad boy #i think i'm preaching to the choir a bit as far as the regular group of grima studies folks i've found are concerned #but nonetheless i find it fun to dissect this stuff in detail so here we are lol

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

You have a Deku gate spin off planned? What's the about?

there are three, technically four, different ideas actually

prequel where Inko and Toshinori first fall in love and learn to cope with the conspiracy

prequel of fluffy side stories about how Izuku grew up in this au

true sequel where Izuku is asked to be in a relationship and he has to tell his partner about the conspiracy. Both versions would be split pov where Izuku struggles with the guilt of inflicting bullshit onto someone he cares about and not being able to do much to stop it, and the partner would either be Uraraka or Aoyama. I have ideas for both but not enough to pick (and no i'm not going to solve this with poly)

The one with Uraraka would be about misogyny, both in general and from the conspiracy. Specifically I'd want to focus on the unique brand of misogyny that comes from other women and how it's often justified as moral in 'progressive' fandom spaces. Uraraka would struggle with the balance of legitimate criticism worth taking into account, and hateful nonsense that can be dismissed, ultimately questioning her own motivations. She's not a beard, but what if she is playing into stereotypes about girls who only go for the strongest quirks? She liked Izuku before knowing his family was wealthy, but she did want to become a hero for the money. Things like that. There's also the conflict of wanting to tough it out for love like Inko did, as well as not wanting to destroy the person she loves by breaking up over something neither of them can control that he already feels immensely guilty about, but is it really a relationship if she feels obligated to stay out of spite?

The Aoyama one would open with a kind of naive optimism that the conspiracy won't affect him as much since he's a gay boy and most of the fandom's hatred is focused on 'straight' women. But there are still people who think he's an industry plant meant to queerbait the original Dekugaters into giving up, people who think he's not the right gay boy to be with Izuku and try to drag him into shipping wars, and even the people who 'support' him only do so as long as he fits into the fetishistic fantasies they project on to him. Few people care about his own abilities or accomplishments as a hero, they only want fluffy wholesome anecdotes about him and his boyfriend. That sort of dismissal gets thrown at Izuku as well, and he takes it a lot harder, to the point that Aoyama worries that his involvement is making things actively worse for him, and that Izuku is only staying to make him happy. Not to mention how [redacted] might be affected and in turn affect everything.

#answers #dekugate

[katyspersonal]

I mean... Miyazaki doesn't make "good" gods. I doubt Miquella wouldn't be on the Griffith tier of evil that the insane folks speak of, but considering that Malenia is dead, he got violated, and there's a godslayer tarnished running around... unless he plays a similar role to Ranni we're gonna fight him, and those theorists are gonna be ANNOYING

I think the first statement is a bit irrelevant. There are some "good" gods..... when they are true Gods, not 'humans with privileges of Gods'! For example, Kos in Bloodborne was not doing anything bad, she was just vibing with her worshippers in the village! Or Rom, who is protecting humanity from Eldrich Horrors. Or Ebrietas, who is cooperating with humans to help them to ascend! On the other end, we have Gods who are kinda neutral, like the Old One in Demon Souls who doesn't really have mind and simply devours everything, or Greater Will in Elden Ring that relies on mortals to give it the purpose, the "order", whatever it is, and its morality depends on what the person it gave moderator rights will choose! Formless Mother or God of Rot also basically just exist, they are as "good" or "evil" as forces of nature can be!

What I am saying is, Miyazaki doesn't blame everything on "evil gods" and what IS more common is theme of humanity being the true evil 🤔 Usually the "gods" who are corrupt either were corrupted by human evil or are human in all but status!

(Lol Goldmask was something else) Which, yes, in this case, Miquella is not safe from the trend, I just wanted to point this out because Fromsoft games try to make a point that real evil is not the girls (gender neutral) from outer space, deep see or astral realm. The real evil is in our nature!

We do not know what to expect from Miquella, but considering Soulsborne's trademark depression, my bet would be that Miquella was a genuinely good, kind person, but got ruined. This world is an awful place for a good, compassionate soul! His body might be "unalloyed", but his soul is not necessarily so! It is hard to stay kind and strong no matter what, and it is risky to always try to help because sometimes it will be a mistake. For how long you can remain kind before you lose your patience and decide people are not worth it? 'Die hero or live long enough to be the villain'. In my opinion we can expect to find him in fallen, despair state, and either we help to encourage him to get back up or the story asks us a question whether we, or someone else, is willing to take the kind hero's 'mantle' from him, even despite someday surely ending in this sorry state too.

Okay I've gone too chatty, but my point is, Miquella might end up being "evil"; something that was not there from the start, but giving away self-destructively to the kind that doesn't deserve kindness done it. But if, IF he was "evil" from the start for lack of better term.. that'd be on his human side, not on his god side!

#elden ring #miquella the unalloyed #use later #ask replies

[likehandlingroses]

something about how Rumple’s first sacrifice in 3a is not accepted by the people he made it for. The sacrifice is a nice gesture and all—but they want him alive. And this is the double-edged sword of resurrecting the dead: it is at once a sort of profoundly loving and deeply selfish act.

Belle steps back at the last second—more because of the mode of resurrection than the principle of it—but Neal is so confident that his father can fix any consequences that he doesn’t hesitate. By this point, his father has paid dearly to save his life three separate times. So it stands to reason that he can again—Neal doesn’t question this for a second. Again: that love and trust mingle with a more insidious selfishness and flippancy.

And we can talk about the myriad of personal and interpersonal problems this resurrection causes for Rumple, but the most devastating is that he ends up outliving the two people he died to protect. And both times it leads to him being asked—in an almost saccharine way both times—to let them die.

And he lets them! Not just in the moment, but when faced with the choice decades earlier. Emma tells him that his quest to find his son ends in that son dying—and she insists he be okay with that. “He died a hero, and you can’t take that away from him!” And Rumple believes that—after all, it wasn’t just Bae’s life he sold his soul to protect, as we find out in 6x13. That his son be strong and morally true, that his son be all the things he couldn’t be, is equally important (and we see that play out with Gideon as well).

And when Rumple ends up sacrificing himself at the end of s7, of course the immediate focal point is, he gets to see the people who died before him (which…I am willfully ignoring that only Belle is giving focus there, because it’s easily one of the most absurd choices the show made). But what lies behind that is that Rumple did not die with with the belief that would happen.

He died for Wish! Hook and for Alice—so they could be happy. As he said the first time, “that happiness is possible…just not with me. And I accept that.” Rumple gives up happiness in both worlds—that of the living and the dead—for them.

“He gave you his heart” … “he did it for me—he did it to save me” … they allow that truth to resonate. Rumple’s spirit moves on, but tangibly, literally…his heart persists in the land of the living, with people who willingly accept what that means.

And of course, it is a really fun way to fulfill a classic element of the Rumpelstiltskin tale and turn it on its head—he is split into two. And rather than being destroyed by that as Wish! Rumple laments, he becomes more, somehow.

#ouat #once upon a time #Rumplestiltskin #rumpelstiltskin

[theimpalingpen]

𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐘 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐩𝐞𝐧

It has been an increasing trend for people to denote “morally grey” as synonymous with “whiny annoying man in fiction”, which is very amusing to me. I can honestly, get down with an occasional well written pathetic and annoying man, but it’s not morally grey. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares, eh?

So, what is true moral grey?

A character whose crimes and wrongdoings can be literarily justified and/or explained in some manner, but is not able to be categorized as a good person.

I should also point out, applying real world morality to all pieces of media removes a layer of character analysis that is essential here. Not all worlds or universes play by the same rules we do, and while certain actions may be unacceptable in our reality, they are on a different subjective scale for the context of a created reality. Keep this in mind!

Now, onto some basic ideas for writing a character who is morally grey.

- Character motivations and intent matter. Good intent with a bad outcome contributes to conflict both within the story and character.

- Affiliations. A character who is a part of a good/greater cause in their universe becomes grayer when their immoral actions are for something considered good. You can easily use this to further complicate the lines because sometimes, there’s no “good guy”, only worse guys.

- Backstory. I hear this one a lot, but I think a lot of people miss the complexity. The mark is missed when you say “oh, bad things happened to this character, which is why he’s a morally gray asshat.” No. Do better than that. How does their past tie directly tie into their current/future actions ?

Example. A character was mistreated by a certain type of authority repeatedly, and in result they have a strong tendency to punish that authority and all authorities that remind them.

Anti-heros and morally grey characters oftentimes are the exact thing they hate. The reasoning why/how they ended up as such and the key of hypocrisy is a great addition.

- Level of awareness. On what level is the character aware of their actions? Are they deluded or are they perfectly aware and comfortable? This is an important question to answer because it factors into sympathy and justifications.

- The arcs and the in-between. By nature, morally grey characters aren’t static. They’re multifaceted and the way they grow and change is incredibly important to the manner which they’re perceived. If you show only one side, then what is the point? They need breaking points and peaks like every other character.

- CONFLICT. MORAL. CONFLICT. Stop making “morally grey” characters who are incredibly easy to agree with at all moments. I personally think it’s really silly that some of these characters are only grey because we know and recognize their actions are bad, and not because they actually take effort and understanding to adore. Make them questionable and uncomfortable at times, because otherwise, what really is the point? It sometimes feels like morally grey is now “morally dark white” instead of “morally light black” LMFAO. Did that make sense? Not technically but I know someone out there gets me. Point being; the same concept with an execution that is not at all the same.

That’s all I’ve got for today, folks. I hope that was helpful to y’all. Let me know!

THANKS FOR READING!

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#writing #writeblr #writer #writer things #writerblr #writing tips #writerslife #writing advice #creative writing #morally grey characters #morally grey

[roydeezed]

Dungeon Meshi Thoughts 03

I originally wanted to write something on Dungeon Meshi after reaching chapter 50 or even 45 but so much has happened so fast since my last post that I’m writing this after chapter 36. The last time I wrote about it, I had just finished chapter 28 and was dreading the metaphorical sword of Damocles that was hanging over their heads. I shouldn’t have, because it came crashing down the very next chapter. I’m writing an update to my thoughts now because it’s becoming clear what kind of manga Dungeon Meshi is going to be and the next chapter beyond this also feels like it will be a defining moment. I’m purposefully being vague as I don’t want to spoil anything so more detailed thoughts are below the “Keep reading”.

Okay, the shit hits the fan right away. I had no idea that after so much speculation that things were going to get bad that fast. And I’m glad y'all Dungeon Meshi fans who dm’d about the non-spoilery questions I had in the last post kept it under wraps. I appreciate it and can’t wait to actually talk about this when I’m all caught up. Okay so immediately, the Sorcerer attacks our group and takes back Falin. So here’s my read on the Sorcerer. First of all, while they are currently evil, they also seem to be a tragic figure. I assume that because their life trajectory seems to be as follows: born as a lower class peasant, noticed by the king, becomes the court magician or some such high position, and then in an effort to help out the kingdom (extreme reach of a guess) messes with time magic and freezes the kingdom in time while also going mad.

The king, as a ghoul or specter of the dungeon, finally escapes it to perform the scene at the beginning of the manga and the sorcerer, who has gone mad and used to be extremely devoted to the king, refuses to believe the king is dead. Hence why they were searching for the king. Okay, that’s my reach of a guess but I’ll be happy if any of that is true. 

I really love how the dragon was tied back to the Sorcerer, in a way it cements them as the antagonist from the get. And I mainly think their struggle that led them to turn evil has to do with losing their own morality and sanity because that is exactly what is happening with our heroes. Slowly, one by one, they’re all becoming desensitized and accepting of things they never would. Senshi lets Laios heal him with magic without any complaints in regards to the magic, Chilchuck protests less and less against dark magic as time goes on, and Marcille becomes the first to dawn the frog skin. Marcille and Chichuck also barely protest against the dryad pumpkins before giving in. Laios… … … nope, nothing to say about him, this man happily leaps across boundaries. But to get back to the point of desensitization, in a way it’s a very jaded way of looking at coming of age stories and growing up. Our heroes journey mirrors media like Made In Abyss and Zombie stories where the journey itself takes from them, not just physically but emotionally and morally as well. They have to abandon their boundaries and morals at every step of the way. But the way that this doesn’t devolve into a 100% depress sesh is that they point to the other joys of the journey.

And that’s the discovery and the companionship. There’s something very primally enjoyable about the concept of sitting around a fire, cooking and eating and knowing that next time you do it will be far away. Am I very unsubtly trying to suggest adventure stories play to our primal instincts of being nomadic hunters like our ancestors? Yes. And in this context the sitting around the fire contrasts very heavily with the moments they’re not. And that’s something I’ve noticed. The contrasts. This manga is so beautiful and intelligent in so many ways but the thing that has me losing my mind this post is the way the authour creates a benchmark, a static, and then uses other characters and moments to contrast and contextualize not just the characters but also the world. 

As I said in the previous post, this world seems to be different from ours in the way that existing and living in it requires a sense of detachment. But it was quite unclear to me at that point what exactly that meant. But by the introduction of Kabru as a fully fleshed out and thinking character that has an even more detached view of the world, we understand it and our heroes, especially Laios, a lot more. Now that I have some in world context, especially an outsider’s view, it seems our heroes, while they didn’t seem like it, are very much an ideal adventuring party. To start off with, the most out of left field is Senshi, and even then he’s a pretty tried and true adventuring trope of guide well versed with the area that decides to join them. Then we have Chilchuck, who is an extremely skilled thief/rogue that has a high position in the local (thieve’s?) guild. And Marcille and Laios really seal the deal for our party as the chosen ones as Marcille is the most skilled graduate of the magic school who also knows forbidden tricks and Laiso is an extremely skilled and noble knight. They kind of are the chosen ones despite their bumbling natures. 

And seeing them as the paragons sheds a light on everything else. In this world charity is looked down upon as Kabru finds Laios suspicious because of that.

The simple aspect of charity being a suspicious act contextualizes this world so much.

And also makes me very interested in Kabru as a character. Maybe I’m wrong but Kabru feels very much like a formidable antagonist. He freezes up against monsters but is really good at killing humans, knowing to aim for carotid arteries and such. This not only brings forth the possibility of Kabru as a potential murderer/evil serial killer, but it also contextualizes Laios as noble as he’s only skilled against monsters. In another instance, Laios mentions how they’re friends with orcs and kabru’s first thought is about killing them, highlighting quite well Laios’s boundary as he sees them more as sentient beings than some of his peers do. The way that Laios thinks about monsters is the way Kabru thinks about humans, painting him as a clear foil to Laios. 

But beyond just being a mirror to Laios, Kabru is very interesting. At the heart of it, it does seem like he’s noble but the way he thinks makes me feel like he’s one good push from falling into either good or evil. The way he thought about Laios and Falin giving gold to their injured comrades still sticks with me. He believes that because they are careless with their power and don’t look after things beyond their goals, they are evil. He thinks only his way of thinking is good and any other methods are evil. Simply having different priorities is evil. That’s highlighted by the fact that his party is quick to agree with him and offers little resistance, unlike Laios’s where he was just asked by Chilchuck to head back. I wonder if he will become the final antagonist after the sorcerer, like the scouring of the Shire by Saruman after the defeat of Sauron  in the Lord of the Rings. With how reverent it is towards fantasy tropes, it certainly is possible. Kabru feels dangerous to me. 

And that also brings us to the other big personalities we’ve passed. Namari and Shuro. We learn about Namari’s backstory and it seems like her motivation has something to do with respect as not only was it very clearly brought up that she couldn’t join back up with Laios because of the hit her reputation would take but that she already has a negative reputation because of her father. Namari also feels very practical but I don’t think she is too concerned about getting her own way in a party. So if Falin and Namari were not the voices of reason in the party then who was? I think it might be Shuro. Again I want to bring up one of the themes of stories like this, and that’s that you either have to abandon your morals or die. And Shuro seems to not want to abandon his morals.And because of this whole honorbound love, it’s driven him to exhaustion. But he also seems strong willed enough that he might have been the voice of reason with their group, alongside Marcille. Without him Laios just overrides her easily. But Shuro’s objections probably always come from decorum and morality as opposed to common sense like with Marcille. 

Okay, those were most of the scattered thoughts that I wanted to deal with first, with a lot of thoughts on characterization. Now I want to go over roughly what has happened over the last few chapters and talk about a few things. Right from the get, things once again go wrong for Falin. And right after she’s rescued too. As Marcille later explains she basically recoded Falin so her body became a part of the dungeon. And because of that and fusing with the Red Dragon, it can explain why the Sorcerer was able to find and control her so easily. It also makes me wonder if the thing that’s been changing the shape of the dungeon isn’t so much the Sorcerer but Falin in a desperate bid to save her friends with what little is left of her soul.

Then the sorcerer turns her bottom half into something we later find out resembles a big type of bird thing. Anyways, our heroes fight the Sorcerer and we see a lot of desperation and what kind of toll the dark magic is taking on Marcille as she giggles maniacally while fighting back against the Sorcerer.

They eventually escape but almost all throughout the fight we see these spirits surrounding them and pulling at them. I think the Sorcerer loved the King so much that they massacred all of the subjects and thus that’s why all of them ghouls and spirits try to stop them. And freezing the place in time would also be consistent with this worshiping attitude, the way that the dungeon was underground for a 1000 years and the madness of the Sorcerer.

They narrowly escape and after comparing notes realize they came up against the final boss way too soon. So Chilchuck asks to go back to the surface so that they can get prepared. Once again, the authour demonstrates exceptional control over the characters and the story as this gives us such a deep insight into Chilchuck as well as progressing his character development. Chilchuck has always been somewhat cowardly, at times even comparable with Ussop from One Piece. But here we see a growth of that cowardice. It’s still a key character trait but it’s taken on a very noble light as that worry isn’t about himself but rather his group. It shows how he’s come to care for them and how just like Laios was burdened with their lives so was Chilchuk.

It’s a really sweet moment and shows how character traits are stretched to their limit while being given respectable undertones. Chilchuck’s concern for his friends disguised as outright cowardice mirrors Laios distracting himself with food and adventure to help him cope with his worry for Falin and his companions. 

Okay, one little side note before we move on, just a little fun world building tidbit I want to mention. So Chilchuk is 29 but Senshi treats him like a child, but the halfling in Kabru’s party calls him a geezer, so does that mean 29 is old or like midlife for halflings? If so, I love the world building, it would be incredibly realistic for different races to have different lifespans as even on earth there’s a drastic difference in the amount of time dogs and cats live compared to humans compared to tortoises and whales.

Senshi is also insanely relatable as he’s very much a do-er and a carer. He wants to support these new friends that he’s made but the only way he knows how is to cook so he hyperfixates on them.

Honestly each and every one of our main characters gets intensely relatable sometimes. What does it day about me that I relate to these dorks? Nothing flattering I’m sure. 

We soon move on to Kabru’s party after some shenanigans with some dryad’s with our party, with Chilchuck, a grown ass halfling man, getting “The Talk”(Plant Edition).

Here we get more insight into Kabru’s party who at this point seem a lot like yes-men. We get insight into Kobolds, who in this world are dog-like creatures with low intelligence. Also if Kabru has been around since Laios first got his start, does he really have a right to be so critical of him? Laios is leaps and bounds more capable than him, what’s Kabru been doing so far?

Through Kabru’s group we learn a lot about our heroes and then jump back to them.

Here in their discussions, as Marccille is teaching Laios and Laios is fondling Senshi, Chilchuk brings up a very good point.

And that’s the fact that Laios needs to become a better leader. Being brought up so frankly shows the trust Chilchuck has in Laios but the fact that it’s being brought up at all is a valid concern. We also learn of Halfling’s history with elves and hear talk of an alternate dimension where magic is drawn from. As so far almost nothing has been said unnecessarily, I think this could be a very important clue towards the secrets of the dungeon.

It’s here where we get the spirits talking to Laios again and it seems like the spirits of the citizens of the kingdom are in some sort of stasis, perhaps between here and the alternate dimension and are in extreme pain. 

I fell in love with Laios last time and this time it’s this dork. Just look at her.

She takes so many L’s.

I love her. She distracts a Cokatrice and ends up petrified and used as a pickling press before returning to normal. The groups led by Laios, Shuro, and Kabru all converge and the revelation about dark magic being used occurs. There was a promise of things coming to a head as Falin also looks out over the group so I stopped to write this. Some final thoughts before I finish up here. First of all, I think Kabru has the potential to be evil, but in the future.

From the way he thinks I think he’ll try to pacify Shuro as it seems like Kubru's always wanting to maximize the situations he’s in and he doesn’t want to get hurt in the crossfire. For Shuro I think if he doesn’t attack Laios, then it begins his descent into the same depths as this is the dungeon stripping away at his morals as it’s done with everyone else. The only thing I can feel for Falin is pity, the poor girl has been through enough, she doesn’t deserve to get Nina’d. Someone save her!

All in all though, these last few chapters, even though they were quite dark, further the theme of companionship as being the antidote to spiritual and emotional exhaustion. All through very literal ways of course but it only emphasizes the point. Our heroes have fallen time and time again these past few chapters and it’s only through picking each other up, listening to each other and eating around the same pot do they recover from their scars. See ya’ll again after a few more big story events!

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #manga discussion #manga

[fireliit]

LOGAN, THIRTY-ONE, CST; SHE/THEY. | if you’re hearing COMING HOME by BRIDGES playing, you have to know KAREEM SALAAM (HE/HIM; CIS MAN) is near by! the THIRTY-SEVEN year old MUSEUM CURATOR has been in denver for, like, SIX MONTHS. they’re known to be quite FICKLE, but being FREE-THINKING seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those PERFECTIONISM THAT IS ALWAYS BEING FINE-TUNED AND REWORKED LIKE A MOLD OF CLAY, A GLASS OF CURATED WINE WHILE READING CLIVE BELL FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME, FRENCH PRESS COFFEE WITH A SPLASH OF CONDENSED MILK vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the CHERRY CREEK long enough!

Full profile under the cut! APPLICABLE TRIGGER WARNINGS: brief mentions of death by helicopter accident and natural causes

STATS Full Name: Kareem Arash Salaam Nickname(s): None Occupation: Museum curator at Denver Art Museum Age: Thirty-seven Date of Birth: July 22nd, 1986 Ethnicity/Race: Black, West Indian, African-Caribbean Gender & Pronouns: Cis man | he/him Orientation: Bisexual Height: 193 cm / 6’3” Tattoo(s): None Piercing(s): None Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Current Residence: Denver, Colorado Languages: English (fluent), French (fluent) Social Class: Upper middle class Notable Family Members: Jahmal Salaam (father, deceased), Abigail Salaam (mother), Hamaad Salaam (paternal grandfather, deceased) Traits: Honorable, creative, free-thinking, philosophical, inventive, fickle, snooty and petty MBTI: ISTP - The Virtuoso Eanneatype: Type 3 - The Achiever Moral Alignment: True Neutral Temperament: Phlegmatic Intelligence Type: Spatial, existential Astrology: Cancer sun, Aquarius moon, Capricorn ascending Habits: Glancing at watch, tapping his foot, rubbing chin, tunes boring people out, over-organized, snores when sleeping, turns almost everything into a project, raising eyebrows, often stands with hands behind his back Hobbies: Metalcrafting, wood-working, resin molding, anything art-related, visiting wineries, art journaling, visiting restaurants and giving scorching reviews on social media, reading Likes: Charcuterie boards, cured meats, philosophical debate, questioning existence and other people's poor choices, candles, pastries Dislikes: The fog, cake that's too sweet, flying on airplanes, people trying to give him nicknames, being cold, clutter BIOGRAPHY His father was a hero. That’s what others would tell Kareem when they recounted how his father died in a helicopter accident as an EMSA pilot during a vicious hurricane.  

But Kareem wasn't ever interested in chasing after his father's legacy, in flying that close to the sun, keeping his feet planted firmly on the ground from a young age. 

As the result of his father passing and his mother being away from home a lot working, he was raised primarily by a no-nonsense paternal grandfather starting from the age of seven. His grandfather instilled in him high values and expectations and, as a result, Kareem always has held himself to high standards and views the world with a critical gaze. 

Through his observations from his youth, Kareem adopted his own code of conduct. He doesn’t just hold himself to this code, but also the people around him, and as a result, he has alienated more people than not. This suits Kareem just fine as he preferred to have a smaller, curated circle of friends. 

Incredibly cutthroat and unafraid to sever ties, Kareem spent most of his time exploring the world through nature, philosophy, and art. Often found with a book in hand, in a lot of ways, George Dickie, Walter Kaufmann, and Ted Cohen were his most steady companions growing up. 

While he finds plenty of faults in people and the world around him, Kareem also has a fascination with the beauty of the imperfections that exist in every corner, leading him to follow a passion for the arts. Graduating from high school in his hometown of New Orleans, Kareem went on to get his bachelor’s in Museum Studies from New York Univeristy.

It is during this time that he meets Kassandra Yung, his first love. After a period of pining, the two of them began to date, only calling it quits upon graduation. Kassandra was going back to her home, and Kareem needed to move onto graduate school, and the two of them split after deciding not to try and make the relationship work long distance. For awhile, they still exchanged letters until contact dwindled.

Career-focused, Kareem went to John Hopkins University for his graduate studies, and after he had completed the program, he served his internship at the Dallas Museum of Art.  

Kareem spent the better part of the next decade hopping around the southern United States and leaving his footprint in various museums with his hand-picked exhibits. During this time, it wasn’t only art pieces that he left behind, but also broken hearts. Never settling down for long. 

Kareem dabbles in creating art pieces of his own every now and then, preferring woodworking and metal crafting to any other art styles, but he mostly loves to pick art pieces to hang not just in his home, but in local museums as a museum curator. 

After the passing of his grandfather last year, Kareem decided to spread his wings and relocate to Denver, Colorado to help nurture the vibrantly growing art scene there.

Throughout all of his moves, Kareem never once has taken flight, traveling cross-country by car with a moving van following behind him. Accommodating to the cooler weather has been difficult for him and he dreads the upcoming summer, but it is a price he is willing to pay for the rich culture that he has found in Denver, specifically in the River North Art District where he works. 

#chq;intro #► — no artist tolerates reality / kareem salaam

[denimbex1986]

'When renowned screenwriter Steven Knight set about formulating what would become one of his best creations, the modern gangster classic television series Peaky Blinders, he had a very important choice to make. He already had his main character fully fleshed out: Thomas Shelby, an ambitious, emotionally shut off war veteran who conducts himself like he's already dead and living on borrowed time. Knight was deliberating between two very different actors when deciding who best had the skills to embody Shelby. One of these men was an icon of the Irish acting scene, able to be in almost any kind of film you can imagine. The other was an icon of the rough and tumble action film scene, equally capable of fighting off sharks and jump-kicking down doors. It was the matchup nobody could have foreseen, Cillian Murphy vs. Jason Statham.

A Text to Steven Knight Gave Cillian Murphy the Upper Hand Over Jason Statham

Knight has told the story that he was torn between going with either of these two masters of the brood and the grumbling voice. According to The Independent, he said that he "met them both in LA to talk about the role and opted for Jason...because physically in the room Jason is Jason." You have to imagine that what he means by this is that Statham is a very impressive physical specimen in person, and that his tough guy persona is not entirely an act. Knight followed up by mentioning how Murphy "isn't Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that." In his defense, Murphy is an incredibly soft-spoken and gentle soul, leagues away from the calculating killer Knight was looking for.

Seemingly sensing a disturbance in the Force, Murphy decided to pull a true giga-Chad move to ensure he'd get the role. Knight said that one day he received a text from Murphy, and what did that text say? "Remember, I'm an actor." At that moment, Knight realized that Murphy "can transform himself. If you meet him in the street, he is a totally different human being." Knight was finally able to see past Murphy's introverted exterior and realize he had what it took to live up to the Peaky Blinders standard.

Jason Statham Is Best as a Likable Action Star

This is no shade whatsoever to Statham — who has his own certain set of skills he brings to the table — but he could not bring to Thomas Shelby what Murphy did. While it's true that Thomas is a ruthless man who's killed before and has it in him to kill again, he is above all else a politician at heart. He is strategic in his methods, completely closed off in his emotionality even to his own most beloved family members, and ruthless in who or what he will use as collateral in order to get what he wants. If ever there was a modern anti-hero of deeply questionable morality to rival the likes of Tony Soprano or Walter White, it's Thomas Shelby.

While Jason has played his fair share of guys who aren't afraid to kill people or do continuously insane things just to stay alive, he is almost always portrayed in a totally positive manner. He is the modern day equivalent of a Charles Bronson or a Steve McQueen, the likable gruff hero who is always up against meaner, more overtly evil enemies. Don't get it twisted — he's great in these roles, as his combination of street knowledge and his comfort with quips make him the rare action star that feels equally at home in both types of flicks. He can be both the hardened badass in Parker or Wrath of Man, but also be a more humorous and slapstick version of his persona in films like Spy or The Expendables.

There are two downsides to the image he's maintained. For one, there's a noted pressure for action stars to continue to do roles that keep their core fanbase happy. People like Jason Statham because they want to see him do Jason Statham-type roles, and taking a chance on a more outside-the-box character like Thomas could be seen as a risk for his career. Second, there's always an underpinning of likability to his characters — almost to a fault. No matter what he does, we always feel like the movie is approving of his actions, with rare exceptions. Even his most prominent villain role, Deckard Shaw in the Fast and Furious saga, had to become a full-fledged good guy at some point because audiences loved seeing him on-screen and interacting with the main cast so much. Audiences feel compelled to be on his side, regardless of the consequences.

Cillian Murphy Can Better Embrace the Small Scale

As Murphy himself professed, he is "an actor," which is an understatement if ever there was one. Cillian Murphy has steadily built a reputation for himself as one of the consummate actors of our time, slipping from super villain, to Irish freedom fighter, to space captain with an impeccable ease. Plus, despite Knight's hesitations over picturing Murphy as such a tough threat like Thomas, Murphy has actually had a great history of playing men of imposing force. Think of his terrorist Jackson Rippner holding Rachel McAdams hostage and surviving getting stabbed in the throat with a pen in Red Eye, or the steadily increasing violence and chaotic behavior of one of his earliest roles in Disco Pigs, or even the coke snorting, gun toting, walking red flag that is Tom in The Party. These may not be muscular bruiser types that can knock heads together with ease like Statham can in his sleep, but they are men who are all full of murderous drive, and know how to keep themselves composed and proper in various social circles, while also projecting a sense of constant calculation and the ability to hide true emotions from everyone in the room except the audience.

To make a long story short, Murphy can carry a scene in a smaller scale register than Statham can. If we see Murphy sit like a stone for an entire scene watching everyone else, we read this as him gathering knowledge, playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. If Statham does the same, we expect him to find the right time to interrogate someone or get what he wants through sheer fisticuffs, or perhaps even find a way to witty banter his way out of the situation. While Statham can be a quite stern actor himself, his is more a barreling full force kind of focus, like a determined dog chasing a car. The ambiguous and slippery nature of Murphy's temperament is much more fitting for the kind of expert power player that Thomas Shelby winds up being.

Thomas Shelby’s Casting Came Down to a Matter of Fit Above All Else

None of this is to cast any aspersions on Statham's abilities as an actor, but instead to highlight that he simply wasn't as good of a fit as Murphy. Statham bringing a lot of charisma and physical threat to a starring role is great for a slice of pulpy fun like Safe, but not as fitting for a multi season character study of a broken man manipulating the world around him to do what he thinks is right, even if that means potentially turning against his own trusted allies. That kind of moral confusion and ping ponging of conflicting motivations and actions is much more suited to an actor like Murphy, as there's simultaneously no audience pressure on him to fulfill the role of a standard likable hero and more freedom for him and the writers to explore the darker potential of the character in a way that feels honest to the material. It's important to keep in mind that ultimately, it's not a matter of getting the biggest actor for the role, but the right actor. Cillian Murphy was the right man for the job, by order of the Peaky f***ing Blinders.'

#Cillian Murphy #Thomas Shelby #Peaky Blinders #Jason Statham #Disco Pigs #Steven Knight #Red Eye #Jackson Rippner #The Party #Rachel McAdams #Fast and Furious

[eighteenoheight]

The vague stories of Mia Winters

Thought I’d go for a punchy title for this here tirade. Because much like any conversations Ethan tried to have with her, Mia as a character is all half-answered questions.

I’ve seen a lot of fans of the Resident Evil series really dislike Mia. For being a bio-terrorist, what her lies and deceit did to Ethan, never giving a straight answer. There’s so much drama surrounding her but we still haven’t gotten much of an explanation. Shadows of Rose concluded the Winters’ story for now, yet as is now common for Mia, I have a lot of questions. I haven’t been given enough information or backstory to know exactly or even partially what Mia’s deal is. Where does she fall on the morality scale?

The Connections are a gross organisation that, despite being a huge player in the last two games, has been flying under the radar this entire time. As someone working for these bitches, Mia would have absolutely spilled the beans on every last detail to the BSAA, otherwise there’s no way she would have gone unpunished to live in “safety” with Ethan. She clearly knew way more than we do at this point in the series for whatever reasons. Maybe we will find this out at some point, but as it stands now where is the truth?

Another part of why it’s hard to get a read on Mia’s character is we still don’t know what her motivations were, or her level of involvement in The Connections and the creation of Eveline. Did she know Evie’s true purpose? It’s a slightly rhetorical question because she most likely did but Mia girl, you’ve had enough time to tell us what’s going on. Stop keeping secrets ffs. And as for the BSAA keeping quiet about her involvement, she must have given a LOT of details in order for them to not only give her a free pass for bio-terrorism, but also keep Ethan in the dark about how much she truly knew about what was going on. She was a risk to his life, and ultimately paid that price in the end. And because they never let him know, his blood is on their hands. And I want to know for sure, did the BSAA relocate the Winters’ because the connections were after them because they got infected and experienced all that, or because Mia worked for them and needed to be dealt with? Will we ever know the truth? And if my theory is correct that the BSAA were using them as bait for The Connections, would this be revealed in the next game and how would Mia react to this after it cost Ethan his life? Sure she has her responsibility in what happened but, again, the BSAA played a huge role.

Despite the Winters’ story allegedly being over, I can’t see how this era of the story is going to continue without Mia. She has to be around in some form, likely through files or recordings. She’s the only link to the illusive company that we know of so there has to be more to her story than what we’ve been given. Because fans are still stuck on whether she’s a villain, a hero, an anti-hero, whatever she is, answers need to be given, otherwise we’ll be stuck wondering forever.

Also big shoutout to Katie O’Hagan because her voice acting was phenomenal and I don’t think she gets enough credit because Mia’s character is so confuddling.

Did I repeat myself in numerous places because I put this dissertation away a few times and add bits when they popped into my head? Probably most likely. We’ll just say I’m trying to heavily emphasise what I’m talking about even though we both know it’s because I don’t read what I write out and forget. I like doing these kind of word vomming essays on an interest because while writing this out I had another big thought. Very excited.

#resident evil #Mia winters #should refresh my knowledge on the whole situation because I forget #get it together mia I need answers #please just tell us what’s going on

[lesbianwriter]

Siren Song Part 9

I have finally written this part. I intended for it to come a lot sooner but the writing always felt stiff and then school absolutely obliterated any sanity I had. All parts on my master list.

Hero met Captain’s eyes from across the room.

He didn’t look dissimilar to a creature in the dark. His eyes shone a dark steel blue in the darkness of his quarters; the shadows pulled over his features as if a mask. It made his familiar features suddenly foreign.

She had to brace herself before she spoke. “We can’t get rid of Villain.” The siren in question was awkwardly holding onto Hero’s shoulder, looking up into her enemy’s eyes with an incredulous disbelief.

“Ye aren’t thinking clearly, Hero. I don’t believe in hunting sirens, but I also don’t believe in fraternizing with ‘em.” Captain stood up, his hands on his desk. The small space was overly littered with papers and books and baubles from his many adventures. 

“It isn’t right to throw her out—she can’t swim and she can’t walk.” Knowing she was pushing the limits of Captain’s patience, Hero continued, relentless. 

Vividly, she remembered when she was adrift on the ocean, her only support in the entire world being a piece of driftwood. There was nothing for her to go back to. So for days she floated like she was driftwood, too, in the endless expanse of blue ocean. Hero thought that she’d be like that until she died, ceaselessly drifting towards where the water looked as if it were touching the sky. The heat of the sun had been brutal—it beamed down on her with a searing gaze. Captain had been the only thing that saved her. 

Hero was grateful for him; he had been a savior. Villain’s morals weren’t squeaky clean (despite all that time in water) for obvious reasons—the attempted murder for one—but was anybody’s morals perfection? Hero was a pirate. Everybody around her was a pirate. 

Nobody on the ship could look into the face of the gods and proclaim their innocence.

They all had something to hide, a past to escape, a story to seal as they glued the pages of what they once were together so that nobody could open into it without having to rip the words and paper apart. 

She met his eyes. 

“How do we know this isn’t a ploy?” Captain demanded.

“Villain isn’t that good of an actress.” Hero replied. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in her voice. That was because it was true; Hero had no qualms with speaking the truth of the matter. Consequently, she could feel the two holes now burning her from behind as well as in front. “She deserves a chance. You took a chance on me—you took a chance on everybody here. I’m asking you to give her a chance.”

She didn’t know where the conviction came from.

Villain tried killing her, and while Hero found the effort cute, she couldn’t tell herself why she was so determined to keep her safe. Enemies didn’t usually do that.

Maybe Hero just wanted to be the one to do it if Villain had to die. 

—

—

In the end, after a long, tiresome debate, Captain relented to Hero and let Villain stay.

But now as Villain sat with her knees hunched close to her chest, she wished she was anywhere else than on a rowdy pirate ship. Loud stomps shook the floor, people blurred past in a flurry of clothes of indistinguishable colors and patterns, fiddlers played boisterous songs as the pirates sang along with shanties. And, as expected of nasty pirates, they drank. They drank a lot. Grog and rum splashed around like tiny sprinkles of rainfall.   

“You look unhappy.” Hero commented, slinking besides Villain and resting her head on the siren’s shoulder. Grumpily, Villain murmured complaints and half hearted threats about holding Hero’s head underwater, but she was peculiarly entranced by dancing.

She observed the uneven movements with cautious eyes, as if the sight of the festivities could burn if she looked too hard, and looked at all the clumsy spins and twirls. Did humans have no grace at all? We’re they incapable of it?  Why did they laugh when they looked like such fools stomping around like that? 

Sirens did no such thing.

“Do humans have no shame?” She crinkled her nose.

“Not these ones.” Hero laughed. “C’mon, I’m going to force you to enjoy your first night with legs.” And like that, she was up on her feet and Villain’s world was being lifted off center. She flailed uselessly in Hero’s arms.

“I can’t even walk yet!” She protested.

Hero spun around, and Villain gasped. “We can do it like this. I’ll hold you up.”

“You’d…you’d do that?” She furiously shook her head the moment the words spilled from her lips—a waterfall of things she hadn’t meant to admit. No! She didn’t want to dance, and most certainly not with Hero, despite how perfect the pirate was. Being so obsessed with Hero has been what made Friend tease her. It led to all of this.

It didn’t matter how miserable she was as long as she didn’t ever enjoy being among humans. Humans were evil. They were cruel. They were vile beasts that sailed the ocean as if it were there’s.

Hero spun again, matching the outlandishly speedy tempo as she twirled. The candlelight’s blurred, the lanterns becoming a blob of floating light—a large star in a way. Villain’s legs swung over the floor, never quite touching it, but sailing over it instead and the side rushing around her legs with every spin and twirl. When she heard Hero laugh, an beautiful and genuine laugh, Villain finally realized why human’s didn’t bother with shame.

It was fun.

And when she finally felt the floor again, held up by Hero’s hands on her waist, she laughed, too.

@pickleking8 @watercolorfreckles

#hero x villain #villain x hero #sapphic #wlw #my writing #writing snippet #hero x villain community #pirate x mermaid #lesbian writing

[midnightstargazer]

Why I Like Regulus Black

Regulus Black is one of my favorite Harry Potter characters, and I want to talk about why. I feel like there's a frequent misconception that people only like him for superficial reasons or in ways that are contradictory to canon, so here's my take on what I find interesting about him and why I think he appeals to me as a character.

Just to be clear upfront, this is not:

An argument that Regulus was a totally good person and did nothing wrong.

A criticism of other morally gray characters or their fans. I am not interested in playing the "only my problematic fave is valid" game.

An attempt to speak for Regulus fans in general. This is my opinion only.

All that being said ...

I like morally gray characters.

Regulus is not the first character I've liked who's done things I would absolutely not condone in real life. I don't tend to like straightforward "pure evil" villains (e.g., Voldemort) except in a "love to hate them" sort of way, but I often end up liking anti-heroes and more nuanced villains.

I also tend to have a very positive view of redemption arcs. That doesn't mean I think every villain can or should get one, or that they're all to my liking. But the potential for one is usually going to make a character more appealing to me, not less. I like the idea that people are capable of growth and change. Of becoming better than they were. And I tend to be pretty flexible on what sort of characters I'll consider redeemable. There are limits, but "teenager who joined the wrong side, quickly changed his mind, and then died trying to back out" is very much on the "not too far gone" side of the line for me.

I'm a fan of the Black family in general.

I don't love all of them, but the family dynamics and backstory are really interesting. Regulus is not even the most obscure name on the family tree who I have headcanons for. Not even close. *gestures vaguely to not-yet-posted WIP about these ladies*:

Sirius and Andromeda are other favorites of mine. I love their narratives of breaking away and taking control of their own lives. Regulus's story is a bit different. He stays behind. He tries to be exactly what his family wants. I imagine both he and Narcissa would be strongly affected by having an older sibling disowned, and all the more careful in their own choices as a result. I almost certainly find Regulus (and quite a few others in the family) more interesting as part of these family dynamics than I would without them.

Getting a bit personal for a moment ...

I grew up in an ultra-conservative area of the United States* and bought into some crappy ideas as a teenager. Not in an intentionally hateful or ignorant way, just in a "most people I know agree on this, so I guess it's true" kind of way. When I grew up, moved away, and went to college, I ended up rethinking a lot of things and forming my own opinions. So the idea of realizing you've been wrong, breaking away, and having to figure everything out all over again as a young adult? I find that super relatable. That's probably a part of why I like Andromeda and Sirius so much.

Regulus, in canon, doesn't do that, or only does it on a very limited basis just before his death. But there's the potential to explore that angle in canon divergence stories. It was very cathartic for me, in my first "Regulus lives" fic, to stick him in a situation where he's separated from the negative influences and slowly starting to question stuff he's taken for granted all his life.

*although my family was actually way more chill than a lot of my friends, teachers, neighbors, etc. For instance, they were fine with letting me read Harry Potter.

How I see Regulus

Now we're getting more into headcanon territory. Regulus is only described second-hand; he never actually appears on the page. So, naturally, fans have interpreted him a million different ways. If I'm going to talk about why I like Regulus, I should probably also mention what my take on him actually is.

I see him as being driven by a strong sense of duty. He wasn't forced to join the Death Eaters, but he knew or believed his parents would be proud of him for doing so and that played a part in his decision. When he chose to turn against Voldemort, he kept it a secret from them in an attempt to protect them (that part is strongly implied in canon).

Despite those loyalist tendencies, I also imagine him being stubbornly independent, trying to take things on alone rather than ask for help. The horcrux is a perfect example of this. He didn't tell his family, any friends he might have had, or anybody on the opposite side of the war. He went after it himself, alone, with just a house-elf for help and without letting anyone know what he was doing. There's probably an element of pride in this, but I'd say also a level of distrust, a feeling that there's no one he can rely on and that he doesn't want to show weakness.

I think it's reasonable to assume he shared the Death Eaters' prejudices and committed crimes for them. But I do imagine him as a lesser evil, so to speak, compared to people like the Lestranges. The way Sirius describes him - an "idiot" who was "soft enough to believe" their parents - is not flattering, but very mild compared to what he says about other family members. There's nothing to imply Regulus was a really cruel, bloodthirsty sort of person, and I find it hard to believe Sirius would be so quick to shift the blame for his choices to their parents if he had been. And there are other signs as well. Kreacher said Regulus believed that Voldemort would "bring the wizards out of hiding to rule the Muggles and the Muggle-borns," which is awful but stops short of what actually happens when Voldemort takes power in Deathly Hallows. And, of course, there's his relationship with Kreacher.

House-elves are a whole other can of worms I don't want to get into right now, but I do think Regulus probably treated Kreacher better than their society would have expected. I'm not saying he was Hermione-level enlightened. He probably didn't see him as an equal or spend his free time campaigning for elf rights. But when the full story of Regulus's death is revealed, it's made clear that he was fond of Kreacher and upset by what Voldemort did to him. He literally drank a potion that caused him extreme agony rather than ordering Kreacher to do it in his place. That doesn't make him a totally good person, but it does hint at a softer side to him and a sort of nuance that isn't typical of the Death Eaters.

He clearly knew what a horcrux was and strongly objected to finding out about the locket, either on the basis of "that's crossing a line" or "actually, the Dark Lord probably shouldn't live forever." Or both. I've seen people question why a Death Eater would have a problem with horcruxes, and I suspect some of them wouldn't. Bellatrix, for instance, would probably be overjoyed to know she was entrusted with a piece of Voldemort's soul. But the idea of horcruxes being repulsive even to many Dark Wizards is actually foreshadowed a bit in Half-Blood Prince, where the author of Magick Moste Evile warns his readers against them. So I do think Regulus was probably not thrilled to find out he was working for someone who had one.

There can be multiple factors in why he did what he did: anger about Voldemort's treatment of Kreacher AND objection to horcruxes AND possibly doubts and second thoughts that had been building up already, since Sirius knew nothing about the specifics but was sure he died trying to back out.

Now, going after the locket on his own, without telling anybody who might have an interest in stopping Voldemort, was not the smartest decision. And I don't see his death as something that should be glorified. I've seen people claim that his redemption arc is more valid because he gave his life, and I disagree with that take and actually find it to be very troubling. Redemption Equals Death can work if it's a meaningful self-sacrifice, but Regulus's death didn't really accomplish much other than getting him killed, and if he had lived longer he might have been able to do more to atone. Like actually destroying a horcrux, for instance, or providing info to the Order.

But still, the fact that he did anything at all is a big deal. The fact that something - or multiple somethings - seemed wrong to him, and given the choice between "a lifetime of service or death," he decided he still couldn't keep serving Voldemort? That's huge. That says something important about who he was as a person. A weird combination of a damaged but not completely absent moral compass paired with an unexpected sense of integrity and courage.

Final thoughts

Most of what I described in the section above is personal interpretation, and there are other valid takes on what might have been going on. But I tried to keep it to just what I think can be reasonably extrapolated from canon, not random headcanons that I'm happy to admit I pulled out of thin air or adopted from fanon.

I see a lot of interesting contradictions in Regulus, and specifically, a lot of positive traits turned bad. Loyalty and dedication towards a family and a cause that don't deserve it. Capacity for kindness that remains so undeveloped it never actually leads him to question his prejudices. The willingness to admit he was on the wrong side and the courage do something about it, but it ends up being a pointless self-sacrifice.

I see him as someone who isn't inherently evil, who could have been a good person if he'd been brought up differently. Someone who might very well have changed for the better and made a positive impact if he'd survived. And yet whose life ultimately amounted to very little. I don't know about you, but that strikes me as a tragedy.

It also screams "opportunity" to the fanfic writer in me. I love "what if?" storylines. I love fleshing out characters who were not well-developed in canon. Regulus has hints of a personality and storyline that I find really interesting, but isn't a main character or developed enough that I feel like the story has already been told in a satisfying way in canon. That's exactly the sort of character I'm likely to end up reading and writing fic for, etc.

#Regulus Black #Harry Potter #morally gray characters #redemption arcs #meta #cw discussion of bigotry

[hopeymchope]

2022: The Rise of the Sneering, Manipulative Protagonist!

...and I mean that in the BEST possible way.

Based on my other writings on this Tumblr, you might read that headline and expect this to be a teardown of the characters I’m referring to. After all, you might think that a certain purple-haired lad with a checkerboard scarf could be described with the same words. But I say thee NAY! I come not to condemn the heroes of Tomadachi Game and Trapped in a Dating Sim, but instead to praise them!

So: Over the past couple of months, I’ve fallen in love with two boys who have truly embraced the notion of being the hero people need even if they’re not the one people want. Not only are they really compelling characters in their own right, it’s also interesting to see how their attempts to “playing the bad guy” contrast with somebody I’ve previously ragged on in this blog quite a bit. 

But we’ll get there. First, let’s talk about these two guys with their somewhat-similar solutions to problems as well as their obviously-similar hairdos.

We begin with Yuuchi Katagari, the protagonist of Tomadachi Game. (Which should really have been translated as “Friendship Game” for English audiences, but I guess someone in localization did precisely 1/2 their job and then rolled over for a nap or something.) Tomadachi Game is about Yuuchi and his friends getting trapped in a series game “rounds” where huge amounts of money are on the line — and unfortunately, huge amounts of debt are given to them from the outset. The kind of amounts that could destroy them and their families. I’ve given a VERY spoiler-free shout-out to it before. (And dont worry. I’m not gonna spoil either of these anime/manga/light novels beyond their setup details.)

The rest of the jist is that it soon becomes clear that the game is rigged towards making them all lose, and Yuuchi? He’s not going to let his friends destroy their lives. But he’s not going to let whoever’s behind the scheme get away with it, either. He wants justice.

A face you can trust. Clearly.

So, although Yuuchi starts off seeming pretty wholesome, once the titular game gets underway and shit begins to get real, he is soon looking a lot more... unhinged. He starts using his intelligence to manipulate everybody around him in such a manner that will lead to exposing more and more information about the game and its mastermind. Yuuchi is willing to act like an absolute maniac if that’s what he thinks the people in charge will want and need to see. He’ll embrace the role of villain externally, but at the same time, he’s working to keep his friends from suffering for their involvement — that is, provided their involvement is innocent. In the course of his actions, he appears to be manipulating all of his friends at times. And sometimes, it’s true. But even that manipulative appearance might be a maneuver in itself in certain cases — cases where, in reality, he’s being totally being upfront and honest with some of them while fronting for other people’s sake. 

It can sometimes be hard to figure out when he’s legitimately winning a game and when he’s legitimately losing one, because he just fronts so goddamn well. He’s easily one of the smartest characters I’ve seen in an anime — I’ve seen one YouTuber compare Yuuchi to the likes of Lelouch from Code Geass or Light from Death Note. And who doesn’t enjoy watching these sorts of master manipulators? .... Especially when they get to unload on people who’re much, much shittier. Having to act like a douchebag to other decent people? That may be necessary at times, but it kinda sucks. The complete jackasses though? Those are always the highlights.

Sure, he’s probably not gonna do it, but I mean... he’d be pretty justified if he did.

Even as things get tougher/darker for Yuuchi and he questions his own morality, starting to think that he really is a bad person at heart... the audience at home never has much reason to doubt his goodness. Even when he reveals some dark secret about his past, it inevitably seems to lead into a context that is actually NBD. And even when some of his friends seem to turn against him, he’s quick to forgive and bring them back under his protection — which they readily embrace. The result is surprisingly heartwarming.

Aw, see? He’s just an innocent lil’ fluffhead.

It just takes a little bit of honest communication to make his manipulative “villainy” into twisted teamwork. And sure, he stumbles a little bit — at one point he’s mean to one of his friends just because he wants to drive her away from him so she’ll be safe. But that same damn night, he rushes to be there for her and makes it all up to her. So even when he’s legit acting like an asshole, he can recover from those events pretty quick. Just because he’s playing 4D chess and acting like a psycho for external observers doesn’t mean he’s being a selfish dick about it for those who matter to him, and I love that.

I might love Leon Fou Bartfort even more, though — it’s hard for me to say. I just *might*.

Claims to hate “hot guys.” Is actually kinda hot though?

Leon’s the protagonist of Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs. YEAH, it’s one of those overlong titles that tells you “Oh, this is based on a series of light novels.” And it’s even a dreaded isekai story.

Historically, I don’t care for isekais much. Not only are they WAY overdone these days (and even when I write it in all caps and/or bold it, “WAY overdone” feels inadequate to explain just how fucking much isekai is out there currently), but I’ve found precious few of them do much with the conceit that feels unique. I do think Konosuba is pretty funny overall (though it has its obvious downfalls), and I adore the reverse-isekai The Devil is a Part-Timer! But in truth, I think I got more deeply invested in TiaDS than either one of those. This damn thing is something special.

The setup: Leon finds himself reborn in an otome game in which the matriarchical society allows noblewomen to attend an academy in their young adult years. Said academy is ostensibly about academics and etiquette, but it’s really about the men trying to impress the women that they’d make good husbands. Leon’s sister made him play this otome game to completion back in our world, and now, Leon hopes to use his knowledge of the game’s world and events to avoid any danger or drama. Initially, that seems like it’ll be easy because he’s just a background NPC of lower birth. But naturally, he soon finds that he’s going to face a horrible fate if he doesn’t achieve some level of nobility that will get him out of his predicament. And when he swiftly pulls THAT off, he’s forced to attend the same academy as all the game’s central characters. So once again, he tries to stay away from them and avoid their problems. And once again, he predictably cannot leave well enough alone. Both his moral code and his extreme irritation with the school’s highest nobility make him unable to stand aside and let things play out. That’s when he realizes that if he wants to both monitor what events are coming/what “route” the game is on AND also give some comeuppance to those who treat others as “lesser,” he needs to embrace acting like a douchebag. He must vilify himself to become the hero this world deserves. 

“Do you ever wonder why there are so many treasure chests throughout these dungeons? Like: Who put them there, and why?” “Nope. Sure haven’t.”

Leon is nowhere near as smart as Yuuchi, though. Even as he attempts to manipulate events through his behavior, his plans seem to backfire almost as often as they succeed. Sometimes he self-sabotages by acting impulsively. Leon is also probably a worse person than Yuuchi because he lacks Yuuchi’s self-doubt and self-awareness. It’s not too surprising when Leon starts to genuinely enjoy his cruelty on occasion, turning him into something of a “toxic gamer” type who verbally abuses others as he takes them out. (Yes, this supposed otome game has combat in it. Combat with mechs, even. Go figure.) But honestly, if gloating over people he beats in combat is his biggest sin? I think we can handle that. .... Though it is pretty rude, tbh.

Even with that character flaw, however? Leon waffles on his ability to fully play the villain role he’s assigned himself. Yuuchi is much more dedicated; Leon can’t help but make moves behind the scenes to help his enemies out so they don’t suffer overmuch for his actions. Even when he’s in the midst of a fight for his life, he refuses to kill anybody — something which his A.I. companion notes could definitely come back to bite him in the future.

That’s right, Leon has an A.I. companion: Luxion! Luxion was once housed within a robot that attempted to kill Leon. After a simple bit of reprogramming and a transition to a far less intimidating body, he now serves Leon with politeness that only barely masks his grumpiness and loathing. Their back-and-forth is really funny, and it’s cool to see how they gradually come to like each other at least a little more with time. 

Leon gives Luxion the privilege of naming his mech suit.

Even better, though, is Leon’s personal growth as he learns things about himself and how to treat others by comparing his behavior to that of the people around him. You see other characters in this world who first appear one-note come to show FAR more nuance, too. 

Plus, as I’ve said before, the English dub for this show is just insanely fucking good. Top-tier.

As much as I think Leon is great? I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how cool Angelica is, too. By the end of the season, she was my second-favorite character. Angelica is the otome game’s ostensible villain — the girl who has it out for the protagonist and tries to prevent her from getting with any of the various pretty-boy nobles. She is also, like many of the characters in this show, deeper than she appears on the surface. Viewing the scenario from a different angle gives Leon a new perspective on her whole deal. The same goes for us viewers, presumably.

“Evil” is in the eye of the beholder, my guy.

But let’s get down to business (to defeat the huns): You might be inclined to wonder why I love these guys but despise Kokichi Ouma. After all, isn’t Kokichi ALSO publicly playing the part of the villain in order to draw out a mastermind and end a game — which sounds just like Yuuchi, who I claim to love?

To some of you, I bet the difference is already obvious.

Yuuchi and Leon are both keeping people in the loop on what they’re doing, and they avoid unnecessary cruelty (plus they try to make up for it with quieter acts of kindness). Yuuchi does try to do the “convince his friends that he’s evil” thing a couple of times, but he swiftly backs down on it in less than 24 hours. Because as soon as they need someone, he can’t help but be there to stand up for them. And Leon? Leon never tries to push his friends away. His initial pals at the academy, Dan and Raymond? They are ALWAYS in the loop on his plans. HIs newest friends, Olivia and Angelica? Even though he just met them, he’s still constantly open with them about what’s going on and why he’s doing it. His performance is only for the people he doesn’t know at all or just doesn’t like. 

Part of the fun is in watching them maneuver other people by pretending to be evil and/or psychotic while simultaneously being good-hearted people who show obvious care for others. Yuuchi and Leon are never going to be relentlessly cruel to the people around them without swiftly making up for it, and they’re never going to withhold information that could save lives for personal amusement. That’s only Kokichi’s jam, see?

Be Warned, Though: Neither “Tomadachi Game” or “Trapped in a Dating Sim” are currently a complete story as an anime. Both animes end with the door wide open for future seasons. But if you wish to keep going, the option to explore the source material IS there. Tomadachi Game’s manga is widely available in English online, and the series of Trapped in a Dating Sim light novels even has an official English publication that will take you far beyond the limits of the show. I don’t believe either of those source materials has wrapped up, however. So at some point, you’ll have to hit that wall. 

Personally, I’m going to start digging into those light novels first.

#tomadachi game #anti-kokichi ouma #anti-kokichi oma #yuuchi katagiri #leon fou bartfort #trapped in a dating sim #trapped in a dating sim: the world of otome games is tough for mobs #anime #anime reviews #anime gifs #personal essays #essays #danganronpa

[justafairytailofinnocence]

Of Gods and Queens🐍👑

Loki x fem reader

Chapter 3

Previous chapters :

chapter 1

Chapter 2

Commission from @kitxel-draws

Synopsis: Loki, the god of mischief, has brought chaos to new york. What happens when he meets a particular interesting human? Love? Havoc? or rather--amusement.

Warnings: swearing

--------

The young woman was dragged away with the Chitauri firmly grasping each side of her arm. It was a living nightmare; the dirt mixed with the blood and grime stained the golden marble floors of the palace. She felt like a peasant in some medieval castle that wouldn’t give her pardon for her freedom. Each step she took echoed through the unknown chamber’s staircase. She didn't know where they were taking her, she didn’t know; all that mattered was to keep her guard up as she prepared for the worst. Will she die in a fire? Be tossed in a den filled with lions? Be forced to fight a god that will demolish her? Or, become a toy for the god of mischiefs amusement. The last thought seemed promising. The distance of each step seemed to drag out longer and longer, and she wondered what the damn snake was thinking about; was it glory? Vengeance? Power? Oh, it was so obvious; it was all three. Only one question plagued y/n’s mind— ‘Why keep her alive’—she held no power nor authority on Asgard. Loki could’ve quickly taken one of the “heroes” as his captive since they are far more reliable than a mortal. Why go through all the effort to keep y/n alive? What could she offer that others couldn’t?

Loki had a goal, a plan to keep the Midgardian heroes at bay; the young woman was mortal, a civilian they couldn’t kill. It was against their values and morals to endanger anyone innocent, and for the woman, she was innocent enough. She just needed to be alive, unharmed, and untouched. So, he’ll play by their rules until he wins the game of heroes and gods.

The Chitauri had stopped outside an entrance; the inside seemed too beautiful to be true. The waters were clear, and steam emitted from the surface. The ponds inside were large and round; the tubs were coated in gold. To the side of the large tubs were statues of women wearing light fabric drapes pouring water from vases into the pond. The walls, floors and steps leading to the ponds were also covered in gold. This place seemed too magnificent; even for someone as plain as y/n made her feel like a mystical being. “Is this how I die?” she thought “, drowned by the hands of some ancient bastard”.

The force she felt while gripped by the Chitauri wasn’t by their strength but by another. One that couldn’t be seen or felt.

“Undress, girl”, The voice commanded.

“What?” Y/n questioned.

Y/n was confused. Did he command her to undress, to get naked? Y/n lightly blushed; she wanted to punch the seeming pervert and tell him to watch his words. She felt prepared for everything but not in a pleasurable way. The weird thing is that he didn’t seem interested in that kind of thing.

Y/n felt a strong force holding her back release; her hair loosened, and the pressure holding at her throat released. Her body felt like a weight of bricks; she came crashing down onto the ground; it reminded her of the feeling of getting pins and needles after an hour and not being able to walk.

“Was that my doing? I don’t seem to remember omitting any force to my movements,” Loki thought.

He brushed off the thought and demanded once more firmly. “Undress; your wounds cannot be attended to with all that filth and grime. By the gods, I will not allow my human shield to be rendered useless. Now undress.”

“Fuck—You—” She was in pain; her body felt agonizing, and every movement she made, made it worse. However, her spirit wasn’t weakened; her fight was over. She refused to back down even at the oddest of requests. She’ll keep going until she wins.

His game.

Anyways that's all I have for now:

Ta Ta ✨

#marvel fic #loki fanfic #loki x reader #loki x y/n #loki #loki fanfiction #loki angst #loki fic

[antisocialxconstruct]

IM PUTTING IN MY TWO CENTS HERE because I think the entire conversation about why people choose certain potions and routes within non-linear choice based game,s, or any game that provides some level of illusion of choice. I remember talking about this extensively in my Psychology class for Game Design, and though of course theres a multitude of reasoning, I think what peoples idea of fantasy or even coping is largely at play. I know one of your thoughts on playing questionable or morally challenging characters is because you already conform to a societal expectation to "be nice" or an upstanding citizen, and Honestly thats super understandable! Im not here to analyze anyone, but a good chunk of other people I talk to have some sort of revenge fantasy and I dont mean that in a bad way! Rebellion to rules that plague reality and the ability to let lose, or just an interest in consequences for your playthrough that dont actually affect you is another reasoning, albeit the rarer of the two options. On the otherhand, as someone who loves to make The Most Morally Good Characters, and is also a big baby when it comes to being mean in most video games, My "revenge fantasy" IS being nice, because we are all forced to tiptoe around the same sociteal expectations but even those on the other side dont have much power in helping people on a larger scale that video games allow! To be The Hero that helps as many people as possible, that has to power to fundamentally change the world for the better, that is a unrealistic reward of its own. And I know you also mentioned briefly how you see it as limiting, and I think to some people this might ring true of them allowing themselves to cave and actually enjoy the "morally questionable" decision making, however I think for the other half its not limiting? Its Highly Rewarding. Theres also something to mention in how Linear people are themselves, its much more common to hear about people replaying one exact route despite there being 100000s choices vs those who do every route imaginable, so the more likely someone is to lean one side esp in their initial playthrough, the less likely they are to want to go the other way. I HOPE THIS DOESNT COME OFF AS LIKE...A REBUTTAL, Its not! I think this is a genuinely facinating phenomenon that ive had to think and write about in school, theres so many layers to it Id love to discuss and love to HEAR discusssed so youre so smart for actually starting that poll bc Ive been enjoying searching through the replies of it

hfdsgfsdg Javi your enthusiasm is a TREASURE it most definitely does not come off like a rebuttal. And I think your points are really cogent and in line with what I've kinda been angling at, which is that they're two sides of the same coin of "indulging in a fantasy." And it probably makes me a bit of a hypocrite that I'm like "I just don't get why other people can't see the appeal of Doing Bad Things as an escapist fantasy!" even though I would also say with my whole chest that being the big damn hero who saves everyone and changes the world for the better holds absolutely zero appeal to me LOL It is truly just a matter of taste.

It's probably beyond the scope of a tumblr poll but I feel like an interesting follow-up re: people not choosing to behave badly in games, would be to ask people why. Like there's the obvious "it's usually not written as well/doesn't let you have the full game experience" reason which is valid, but of the remainder I wonder how many people would honestly say it's just not fun to be mean, and how many would admit that it makes them uncomfortable because they still feel the need to conform to societal standards even in their fantasy world. (I feel like this reads as me passing a judgment on either stance and I'm not! Just thinking out loud. In text.)

also lmao

Oh man I forgot to touch upon this in my initial ask BUT tldr; yes I think games that present themselves as choice based and yet lean heavily towards one morality (usually the good Guys) and dont give second thoughts to the other side, defeats the purpose of allowing players to play how they want. I think this is actually why the only game I like being morally questionable in is fnv, bc both "choices" actually present interesting outcomes. Theres also something to say how in games the good side rewards more which I think is stupid.

You are SOOOO CORRECT I think whenever I'm like "I think I just need to spend like 60 hours or so being completely feral" FNV is the first place I go.

#long post #ask #entering--hyperspace #rpg morality #rom speaks

[bramble-scramble]

Hello Brambi, how are you and Victor? I hope all is well with you? I want to ask you something very dark and that is all about the Lumas and the Sparks:

We don't know if there are any Lumas left and if they are really extinct and became the Sparks, would you support the unmerging of the Rabbids and Luma? If so, then you would be a genocidal asshole and I would block you, the universe cannot suffer two Janeways here! I will never forget what she did to Tuvik and doing the same to the Sparks is just evil, and I would boycott the franchise if they would do this!!!

Ok that came of strong, but would it not be unethical to kill someone just because they were created through merging two people and now became one happy and in the case of the Sparks a cute one?

So if the Lumas aren't out there anymore, should we accept the Sparks as their successors? I think so, but what about you, would you accept that fate for the Lumas?

We are doing quite well, thank you! He's a huge Zelda fan (I am too, but not as much as him) and just beat Tears of the Kingdom; I was waiting for him to finish before I started playing so I will do that tonight :> He's really excited to talk about it with me!

Now, there's.... a LOT to think about here lol, so let's dig into it!

The Sparks are interesting and somewhat freaky to consider from a philosophical and existential standpoint no matter what. Most merged Rabbids were made from a Rabbid and at least one inanimate object. The only other one I can think of right now that was made from two living beings would be Pirabbid Plant, and piranha plants' level of sentience is kinda up for debate, plus they unmerged anyway.

But in the case of Sparks, we are talking about two living and sentient beings who got merged into one. You could say that both basic Rabbids and Lumas are kind of "blank slates" personality wise, although we have seen there are some capable of developing more individuality. Still, the thought of two beings becoming one is existentially heavy, to say the least! That said, the Sparks seem to become more than the sum of their parts, with each one gaining more of a personality, individuality and unique abilities, perhaps based on the unique potential of the Luma and Rabbid each one was made from. Like a chemical reaction.

We know that certain merged Rabbids have already unmerged, like the aforementioned Pirabbid Plant, Finn, and Side-Eye. This does come off a bit tragic, as the persona created is dying in a sense. I like to believe that the longer a Rabbid has been merged, the less and less likely it is that it could be undone, but I wonder if it's something that i.e. the Heroes worry about sometimes. Could something happen that would cause them to lose who they had become, and turn very simple-minded again? Would they retain any memories of who they had once been?

But unmerging the Sparks... I don't think it's necessarily morally straight-forward; on the one hand you would just be letting them be two creatures again, but on the other you'd be destroying the newly created entity. But does the new entity have more value than the two separate ones, just because it's more unique? I would simply say that what's done is done, and probably at this point can't be undone, and that it would be wrong to try and purposefully unmerge or destroy a Spark, but rather it would be best to let fate run its course. They are what they are now.

Like Random said, who knew Rabbids could be so complicated!

To answer the part of your question about if Sparks have completely replaced Lumas... it would be quite bold for Ubisoft to just proclaim that they had replaced the entirety of one of Nintendo's original species, so I think that could only possibly be true if we consider M+R to be an AU or alternate timeline... which I believe Davide has stated was the intention before, haha. So, it's surprisingly possible... but even so, I don't think Lumas would be wiped out entirely because 1) I doubt every single Luma in the galaxy/universe was at the observatory when that whole thing went down, and 2) I assume Lumas are born/created from natural processes in the universe just like stars, so they will continue to appear.

Transformation/rebirth is part of the Lumas' destiny, as we know they transform into new planets and the like, and can even be involved with recreating the universe. So I guess, when thinking about it this way, their transformation into Sparks isn't necessarily as existentially perplexing as I was considering before. They give themselves up to become something new. Lumas are potential energy given a bit of sentience. The whole thing is kinda poignant and bittersweet and maybe hard for us humans to reckon with.

#mario rpgs #mario + rabbids #alter answers #mario plus rabbids #sparks of hope #mario + rabbids sparks of hope #fan analysis