#structure dependence

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 3: Enveloping Feelings.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 4 (soon))

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #lan wangji #Yungmeng Jiang training arc AU #I wanted to try out a different paneling style for this one - sorry I'm a day late! (there will still be a post tomorrow to keep on track) #The original 3 panel comic idea was fine but the point of this new schedule was to take time to push myself a bit more. #I was taking a look back through some comic artists I felt inspired by #and I really loved how Lynda Barry fills her gutters with patterns and doodles! #Obviously I'm not going as absolutely wild with it as she does but it was a great exercise! #I truly think the gutters are the most important and most overlooked part of any comic. There's lots going on in that space. #It's the same with timeskips. The implied movement between moments that we don't see changes depending on how wide that gap is #You're here for the funny tags so here's some that ties this time talk together: #I think LWJ was thinking about that second note from day 2 but it took him 7 days of hazing to commit it to paper. #I think he sends it a day later and immediately regrets it. Chasing down the messenger and everything. #You know if something actually happened to his brother he would never ever forgive himself for putting the bad vibes out there. #Third time skip was the hardest because there was so many possible flavours of jokes here. Day 8/9 was a personal favourite. #day 14 was also funny (week by week). I think the debate on 'how long does lwj take to catch feelings' is more or less: #'how long does it take for him to arrive at a particular stage of grief and yearning (and awareness of it all) #This is a symphony. There is an act by act structure. Every day he is fighting to keep his old sensibilities. He is losing so badly. #(I'll be returning to the main comic soon but there is more of this AU to come!)

[aronarchy]

Why we don’t like it when children hit us back

To all the children who have ever been told to “respect” someone that hated them.

March 21, 2023

Even those of us that are disturbed by the thought of how widespread corporal punishment still is in all ranks of society are uncomfortable at the idea of a child defending themself using violence against their oppressors and abusers. A child who hits back proves that the adults “were right all along,” that their violence was justified. Even as they would cheer an adult victim for defending themself fiercely.

Even those “child rights advocates” imagine the right child victim as one who takes it without ever stopping to love “its” owners. Tear-stained and afraid, the child is too innocent to be hit in a guilt-free manner. No one likes to imagine the Brat as Victim—the child who does, according to adultist logic, deserve being hit, because they follow their desires, because they walk the world with their head high, because they talk back, because they are loud, because they are unapologetically here, and resistant to being cast in the role of guest of a world that is just not made for them.

If we are against corporal punishment, the brat is our gotcha, the proof that it is actually not that much of an injustice. The brat unsettles us, so much that the “bad seed” is a stock character in horror, a genre that is much permeated by the adult gaze (defined as “the way children are viewed, represented and portrayed by adults; and finally society’s conception of children and the way this is perpetuated within institutions, and inherent in all interactions with children”), where the adult fear for the subversion of the structures that keep children under control is very much represented.

It might be very well true that the Brat has something unnatural and sinister about them in this world, as they are at constant war with everything that has ever been created, since everything that has been created has been built with the purpose of subjugating them. This is why it feels unnatural to watch a child hitting back instead of cowering. We feel like it’s not right. We feel like history is staring back at us, and all the horror we felt at any rebel and wayward child who has ever lived, we are feeling right now for that reject of the construct of “childhood innocence.” The child who hits back is at such clash with our construction of childhood because we defined violence in all of its forms as the province of the adult, especially the adult in authority.

The adult has an explicit sanction by the state to do violence to the child, while the child has both a social and legal prohibition to even think of defending themself with their fists. Legislation such as “parent-child tort immunity” makes this clear. The adult’s designed place is as the one who hits, and has a right and even an encouragement to do so, the one who acts, as the person. The child’s designed place is as the one who gets hit, and has an obligation to accept that, as the one who suffers acts, as the object. When a child forcibly breaks out of their place, they are reversing the supposed “natural order” in a radical way.

This is why, for the youth liberationist, there should be nothing more beautiful to witness that the child who snaps. We have an unique horror for parricide, and a terrible indifference at the 450 children murdered every year by their parents in just the USA, without even mentioning all the indirect suicides caused by parental abuse. As a Psychology Today article about so-called “parricide” puts it:

Unlike adults who kill their parents, teenagers become parricide offenders when conditions in the home are intolerable but their alternatives are limited. Unlike adults, kids cannot simply leave. The law has made it a crime for young people to run away. Juveniles who commit parricide usually do consider running away, but many do not know any place where they can seek refuge. Those who do run are generally picked up and returned home, or go back on their own: Surviving on the streets is hardly a realistic alternative for youths with meager financial resources, limited education, and few skills.

By far, the severely abused child is the most frequently encountered type of offender. According to Paul Mones, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in defending adolescent parricide offenders, more than 90 percent have been abused by their parents. In-depth portraits of such youths have frequently shown that they killed because they could no longer tolerate conditions at home. These children were psychologically abused by one or both parents and often suffered physical, sexual, and verbal abuse as well—and witnessed it given to others in the household. They did not typically have histories of severe mental illness or of serious and extensive delinquent behavior. They were not criminally sophisticated. For them, the killings represented an act of desperation—the only way out of a family situation they could no longer endure.

- Heide, Why Kids Kill Parents, 1992.

Despite these being the most frequent conditions of “parricide,” it still brings unique disgust to think about it for most people. The sympathy extended to murdering parents is never extended even to the most desperate child, who chose to kill to not be killed. They chose to stop enduring silently, and that was their greatest crime; that is the crime of the child who hits back. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to talk back. They are not supposed to be anything but grateful for the miserable pieces of space that adults carve out in a world hostile to children for them to live following adult rules. It isn’t rare for children to notice the adult monopoly on violence and force when they interact with figures like teachers, and the way they use words like “respect.” In fact, this social dynamic has been noticed quite often:

Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority” and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay.

(https://soycrates.tumblr.com/post/115633137923/stimmyabby-sometimes-people-use-respect-to-mean)

But it has received almost no condemnation in the public eye. No voices have raised to contrast the adult monopoly on violence towards child bodies and child minds. No voices have raised to praise the child who hits back. Because they do deserve praise. Because the child who sets their foot down and says this belongs to me, even when it’s something like their own body that they are claiming, is committing one of the most serious crimes against adult society, who wants them dispossessed.

Sources:

“The Adult Gaze: a tool of control and oppression,” https://livingwithoutschool.com/2021/07/29/the-adult-gaze-a-tool-of-control-and-oppression

“Filicide,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filicide

#repost of someone else’s content #medium repost #Alba M. #purity culture #ageism #adultism #youth oppression #childism #child abuse #parental abuse #youth rights #youthlib #youth liberation #parricide #nuclear family abolition #anarchism #note: I would consider reevaluating the demonization of adults who kill their parents too #many victims remain entrapped well into adulthood #there are still a lot of issues of economic dependency and control especially for young adults #and I don’t think such a totalizing power imbalance engendered in childhood is so easily levelled #even if an adult does become financially independent #likewise for adult victims of intimate partner abuse: also structurally made difficult for them to leave #even if not criminalized to the same degree #anti-abuser aktion

[sneverussape]

the rumors were the potions master was the toughest house master.

the rumors were all true, but slytherin house had also never fared better.

#snape is a tough but fair head of house #this is an hc i will never tire of #the snakes needed structure and he knew it #he also knew they needed a solid dependable and trustworthy adult around #slytherin had a curfew but it was not something the other houses knew about #along with other rules they had to live by if they didn’t want to earn the ire of their head of house #my art #snape #hp #hc

[qvincvnx]

those like white republican woman security theatre tiktoks also get me bc like you can see their houses and. lock that front door all you want but it is NOT going to keep out a determined someone with an axe or perhaps a man door hand hook.

#that article about how real thieves don't bother picking locks they just bring a handsaw and go in through the wall. #i've been thinking SO much about how much (upper class western) society relies on surveillance as policing. #e.g. my neighborhood mostly has reasonable wooden fences & none of the gates lock. but EVERYONE has video cameras covering all entrances. #and then dependence on structures like the police to enforce. vs. like... just having shit that is PHYSICALLY and materially. sturdy. #the enshittification of housing stock.

[mafuyuakgae]

hmm..thinking of doing holographic borders and holo mirror/frame unless people prefer plain vinyl

#pricing would depend on how many people would buy so i wanna know #its 5am no one is awake HAHA anyway #this is probably the only goro akechi / persona 5 merch ill drop #just cuz i tried many a black mask charm #but it didnt turn out good....... #my art #the designs r final but idk abt the sizing #i need to sleep. save me structured routine

[wishfulsketching]

Threw some of my old orphan OCs with the vampires and werewolves! Fleshibg out the world

#my art #sketchy sketch #my oc #original character #new ocs #i...dont know what the plot is going to be #im just making oc's #i have individual stories inmind but not the Big Plot #Wheelchairs are like bikes and cars. I will draw them well only if my life depends on it #they're too...structural

[toxarts]

Not a very exciting image itself, but posting it to say I'm almost entirely done with the 'structural' stuff that has to be programmed (menus, event stuff that needs coding to function, stuff like that) and show a sneak peek at what Yes Man's upgrade process looks like. You might have to wait a bit as he upgrades himself... But it'll be worth the wait I'm sure :)

#yes man #ukagaka #ghost dev stuff #after structural stuff: dialogue! which will take awhile I'm sure #can't give a solid idea of when I'll release him. depends entirely on work not killing me lol and my own creative steam #especially since I'm going to be writing a TON of dialogue #but hopefully within this month? or the next?

[linddzz]

I do think a lot of the exploration of "what it means to be a woman" in Barbie was very heteronormative focused. Which like...didn't bother me much but it did mean that America's big speech made me check out a bit because it didn't resonate. It mostly reminded me of all of the "being a woman is suffering" straight feminism I see that always makes me be like huh...can't relate so while she was going on I was just like...man in all honesty being a straight woman seems like it suuucckksss glad I don't have all That. Glad it resonated with other people.

#barbie #i guess being A Woman is so far down on the things i focus a lot of my self ID on that i have trouble relating to a LOT of -gestures- that #i have other criticisms mostly in that I THINK the main gender focus of the movie was on how like #any power structure based on gender and a society that dictates how genders relate is gonna hurt everyone #but tbh i think they tried grappling too much stuff so some of it got muddled #like uh #i took the barbies manipulation of the kens as a toxic femininity thing relating to women becoming manipulative and hurtful as 'empowerment' #but ngl i cant say for sure that the narrative actually condemns it?? it was rushed #i loved it but also i think its a movie where like...if youre into it youre into it #and that may depend on what flavor of Gender Shit you take away from it #and its hard to pick out what flavor the movie wants you to take

[shatterdome-underscore]

i hope in tristamp season 2 Milly asks Vash some vaguely intrusive questions about plant anatomy. Not even like "oh hwheh hwheh what are your genitals like?" I mean shit like "Hi. Do you have real bones or just cartilage???" or "What sort of circulatory system do you have and also do you have lungs??? Do plants have lungs??? Do you have kidneys??? How about an appendix???" like??????? I want to know and Milly is the only one who would ask?????

#trigun #trigun stampede #tristamp #vash #vash the stampede #milly thompson #trigun plants #like???? dependent plants are aquatic and have different structures from humans???? #what???? is your internal organ situation like sir??? #Between vash's bendyness and general plant bs i'd buy that he has cartilage instead of true bones??? #shoutout to milly thompson for being the only one with emotional intelligence but also a lack of filter in some situations #unrelated but OH SHIT YOU CAN DRAG TAGS TO DIFF SPOTS ON WEBBROWSER

[aspoonofsugar]

Gambol Shroud And Blake's 2 Beauties

Your hopes have become my burden. I will find my own liberation…

This quote is the crux of Blake's arc and it can be read in 2 complementary and intertwined ways:

Blake needs to find "freedom" for the Faunus (outside)

Blake needs to find her own freedom from Adam (inside)

These 2 different "freedoms" give birth to 2 different plot-lines that together make Blake's story. They are initially intertwined in Adam, who is Blake's partner both romantically and politically. This is highlighted also by Blake's fairy tale. As a matter of fact Adam is:

Blake's Rose > He is Blake's mentor whose ideals have corrupted and trapped her in an abusive relationship fed by hate

Blake's Beast romantically > He is Blake's boyfriend, who is a beast because of his abuse towards his Beauty

Blake's Beast politically > He is Blake's partner in crime, when it comes to Faunus Guerrilla. They are the Beasts society refuses to see, so they fight to be seen

In short, Adam plays all the characters of Blake's fairy tale. This is because he has poisoned her life so much, she is initially completely dominated by him. Luckily, things start to change at Beacon where she finds a young fresh rose:

Ruby becomes an inspiration for Blake and helps her find hope again. At the same time, she also leads our black beast to 2 beauties that can help her:

Weiss is the Cold Beauty who is wary of the Beast at first, but eventually warms up to her. She is going to help Blake overcome the hate between humans and faunus.

Yang is the Yellow Beauty our Beast is falling in love with. She is going to show Blake healthy and balanced romantic bonds are possible and wonderful.

This meta is going to briefly explore the set up for both Beauties to help Blake with her arc. In particular, it is gonna show how Gambol Shroud is used to comment Blake's relationship with both Weiss and Yang.

BLAKE'S ARC STRUCTURE SO FAR

Blake's arc seems to follow a specific pattern. In every arc where she gets major focus, she has 2 climatic moments tied to her 2 subplots (faunus/political + abuse/romantic).

In Vale we have:

volume 2 climax that ties with Blake facing the White Feng and her past affiliation with the group (political)

volume 3 climax where Adam comes back into Blake's life with a tragic result (romantic)

In Mistral we have:

volume 5 climax where Blake leads the Managerie Faunus and defeats the White Feng (political)

volume 6 climax where Blake fights Adam and shows she is strong enough to resists his manipulation (romantic)

Let's highlight that these 2 plotlines are initially thightly united, as Adam is both a political leader and Blake's abuser. That said, as the story goes on, they start to separate. Right now, I would say they do not overlap anymore, as Adam is gone forever.

Let's now analyze Weiss and Yang's role in Blake's 2 subplots and their climaxes.

Vale

Blake starts her arc in Vale by

facing the White Feng and her past affiliation with them

facing Adam and their past romantic relationship

Weiss is involved in the first subplot, while Yang in the second.

Weiss's bias and racism bring to the surface Blake's past, forcing our cat girl to open up about it. Later on, Weiss is the first to notice Blake's suspicious demanour in volume 2:

Weiss: Stop. Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody! Yang: Uh, have you met Blake? Weiss: Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong! So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?

They fight together against the giant paladin:

And in the train battle, Weiss and Blake help each other out. Weiss stays behind to give Blake the chance to move forward and confront Torchwick. Blake chooses to save Weiss's life even if it means she is letting Torchwick go:

This scene is particularly important because it parallels (and it foreshadows) this scene:

Blake ends volume 2 by running away with a wounded Weiss and it ends volume 3 by running away with a wounded Yang.

As a matter of fact Weiss kickstarts Blake's arc through their initial conflict, while Yang is the focus of Blake's romantic subplot. She is the one who symbolically "brings Blake" to the dance by convincing her to take a break:

She is the one directly compared to Adam:

Blake: I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right. This is all just… very familiar. But you're not him. And you've never done anything like this before. So… I want to trust you. I will trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that he attacked you. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did.

And obviously she becomes Adam's target and victim, which traumatizes Blake and pushes her story forward

Mistral

In Mistral Blake succeeds in 2 different ways:

She takes the White Feng back from Adam's clutches

She herself escapes Adam's clutches once and for all

Weiss doesn't play a big role in these developments. Still, she and Blake are tied up symbolically, as they go through parallel arcs. They both escape their abusers and deal with their opposite legacies. On the one hand Blake embraces Ghira's political legacy. On the other hand Weiss refuses Jacques's. Blake finalizes this part of her development in Mistral. Weiss finalizes hers in Atlas. Basically, both girls are given "narrative personal space" to deal with their opposite sides of the conflict. Blake takes care of the most extremist faction of the White Feng. Weiss saves her family and stops Jacques.

This thematic connection is still highlighted in Haven, when it is Weiss's Queen Lancer which breaks the wall and symbolically reunites Blake with her team:

On her hand Blake is quick to step in when the Queen Lancer is shattered:

She joins when Weiss needs her the most.

This kind of separated and yet intertwined development is shared by Blake and Yang, as well. Throughout volume 4 and 5, the bees face their insecurities and traumas, until they defeat the ones responsible for them:

After that, they share a climax, where they top off their developments by overcoming Adam together:

Nevermore Will I be afraid Nor will I run away It's behind me Freedom is finally here You may have taken the lead but I'll even the score You won the battle you won't win the war Not now and Nevermore

Adam tests their respective growths. He tries to manipulate Blake with guilt and Yang with anger. However, he fails because both girls are now stronger. Together.

SUN AS THE ULTIMATE HELPER

Obviously there is another key character to Blake's arc and that is our good boy Sun:

Sun plays the role of the helper in our cat girl's story. Specifically, both in Vale and Mistral he prepares the terrain for Blake's climaxes with respectively Weiss and Yang.

He follows Blake when she runs from her team because of Weiss

He follows Blake when she runs from her team because of Yang

He is key in supporting Blake throughout her personal journeys both in Vale and Mistral/Managerie and is a big reason why Blake finds her way home both times:

In short, he is the beast who leads the Beauty back to her 2 Beauties/Beasts, who wait for her to complete Blake's fairy tale on two different levels. Macrochosm/political (Weiss) and microchosm/romantic (Yang).

2 RELATIONSHIPS BLOOMING

So, structurally Blake seems destined to solve/top off her 2 major conflicts through her relationships with Weiss and Yang. Still, what are these 2 relationships like?

Obviously, throughout the volumes they have been slowly built up.

Weiss and Blake start as complete opposites, but throughout Beacon they grow closer and this process is still going on:

Weiss: She will. Yang… You, Ruby, and even Blake are more like family to me than my brother or even my own father. I would do anything for you three, and I'm willing to bet Blake feels the same way. So, when she's ready, I'll be there for her. And I know we're not as close, but… I'm here for you too.

Drunk Man: Stupid Faunus like you wouldn't unders-- He looks down to unscrew his flask and pauses when he sees a black glyph beneath his feet. His glasses hover off his face as his eyes widen in surprise. The glyph flings him into the air, and he falls into a dumpster in the nearby alley, his glasses and flask accompanying him soon after. Yang, Nora, Blake and Ruby stare at the dumpster, then turn to see Weiss pointing Myrtenaster where the man had been standing. Weiss: It was worth it.

Weiss: I wish I could take back the years of pain my family has caused the Faunus and all of my complacency in it.

Weiss: Blake… I’m really glad you’re okay. Blake: I’m really glad you are too.

Their story is full of little interactions that show how they are progressively becoming more intimate. From teammates, to friends, to family, to sisters.

Yang and Blake start as fighting partners and grow as romantic love interests. This journey is like... obvious:

They are currently together and closer than ever, as they have finally symbolically united.

GAMBOL SHROUD

Here we come to the motif I really wanted to explore! Blake's bond with her 2 Beauties is conveyed also through Gambol Shroud. This weapon comments Blake's arc as a whole, so it should not be surprising it tells us something on her relationships with others.

It is used early on to highlight her connection with Yang:

Blake and Yang's combination (Bumblebee) is the only one where a weapon is shared with another person. None of the other combos work this way. Moreover, Blake usually does not share her weapon with other people, despite how much she swings around with it. So, it clearly becomes indicative of Yang and Blake's chemistry.

This is true for Weiss and Blake, as well:

Weiss sharing her Dust with Blake emphasizes the girls slowly overcoming their differences. This is why it is also interesting that in volume 9 Blake shares Gambol Shroud with Weiss of all people:

Weiss takes Yang's place in their combination attack (and Yang takes Ruby's). This is a minor detail, but it is still interesting considering another strong parallel:

So far, Gambol Shroud has been damaged twice. Firstly by Adam, who shatters it. Then by Cinder, who burns its ribbon. Both times, a Beauty picks the weapon up and uses it. Yang uses its fragments to help Blake kill Adam. Weiss wields the weapon as a memento of her team and family. Yang and Weiss are also why Gambol Shroud goes back to Blake:

Yang helps Blake heal from Adam and Weiss leads Blake to where Gambol Shroud is in the Ever After. In short, both help Blake to rebuild and find herself again.

BLAKE'S FINAL PUSH

What does it all mean for Blake's story? I think it points to where she is going as we approach the end, tbh. She should have 2 major moments:

One with Weiss where they solve thematically the human/faunus conflict. It doesn't mean they will have racism disappear, of course. Just that they will fight side by side and inspire their respective people to do the same.

One with Yang where they finish their Beauty and Beast love story. As a matter of fact I think we still miss a final top off for them, despite all their focus so far.

When it comes to Blake and Yang's final moment, I think they should go through an inversion of what happened in Mistral. There, Blake leaves Yang and Yang forgives her and is there for her. In Vacuo, I think Yang might unwillingly trigger Blake (for example, her hiding the truth about Raven might have some minor conflict arise). Still, Blake will be able to overcome it and to stay by Yang's side. In this way, she would do for Yang what Yang did for her. Moreover, she will metaphorically overcome Adam once and for all, as she will conquer the traces he left in her by trusting Yang, no matter what.

#rwby #rwby theory #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #yang xiaolong #this isn't a #once upon and allusion #meta #it is more than anything a quick structural analysis #i will write a blake's beauty and beast meta eventually #and maybe i will soon write a blake's jungle book meta #it depends on which big meta i feel like going at first

[itspileofgoodthings]

I was teaching Ophelia’s death scene this week and one of my classes spontaneously giggled when she died (because they are 16 years old and emotionally immature) and I said, in a shocked voice, “it is NOT funny” and they all insisted that it was and so I let it go but then the next day I showed them some Ophelia art, made them think about how sinister it was that her death happens offstage but is still described in such detail for the viewer, which tells us she was WATCHED but not HELPED as she died, and then played a clip from Branagh’s Hamlet of Kate Winslet singing a mourning song for her father and when I tell you how satisfying it was to hear a total and complete hush fall over the room

#teaching tag #Obviously I cannot control their emotions and I don’t try to. but I love to lay all the right groundwork for them to be moved #even if they don’t understand or forget it a second later #I can do that!!! let them have their moment of silly little reaction and then clear it away and make them look at the moment again #giving them all the context and support they need and don’t have on their own #and I have no idea if it works on a personal or individual level because it depends on what they let into their little hearts #but as a class i KNOW that it works. because of that signature hush #the same thing happened when I read the proposal scene from David Copperfield out loud #it’s happened with the end of the inferno. P&P Pemberley scene. teaching twelfth night #it’s my favorite thing to do in the entire world #to just sweep everything away and then re-build how to look at a scene #and the thing I LOVE about teaching high schoolers is that there’s the immaturity and the boredom etc. etc. #But underneath that there is a great stupidity ready to be taught #that is so much better than pretentious college age kids or hardened adults who already ‘know’ what it’s about #they have that grain of stupidity (more than a grain lol) that o’Connor talks about #that is the secret to letting things in #and I’m so passionate about showing them and I’m just getting better at clearing the ground and knowing what tools to show them when #and also —-this is A new thing I’m learning —-how to hold back my own emotions or reactions so as not to cloud it #whenever I start talking very matter-of-factly and very quickly and almost dispassionately about the structure of a moment #that’s so much better than me having the emotion because it gives THEM room to have the emotion #and that’s simply how they’re hooked #ANYWAY. as I said lots of thoughts thanks for listening wldkdkejejjejejejehe

[tigergendermoved]

I don't like DDLC'S MC very much on a very petty level but I still wish there was more fic or meta speculation about him. I'm not interested in him as a character, though, because he's barely a character. Literally by the game's standards, he has no inherent "character file." He is the SCRIPT, if anything. All of his thoughts and actions occur within the little text bubble at the bottom of the screen, and so do the characters'. He barely appears in CGs, has no body sprite, and it is through his observations and his thoughts and his call to make choices that the game progresses.

I think that specific trait of MC is fascinating, especially given how deep reaching Monika's manipulation is. During Act 1 he is active, he is talkative, he has a definitive (and yet inconsistent, based on which girl(s) you're speaking to) personality. He has thoughts about just about everything going on. And yet in Act 2 he is reduced to dust. He stops having any kind of commentary and he almost never remarks upon the horrible occurrences around him unless prompted or unless it is something that could plausibly happen in the realm of reality, like Yuri abandoning him for 10 minutes and Natsuki collapsing on him. But even then he's still significantly muted. Yuri and Natsuki have a horrible fight and the only kind of response he tries to throw out is co-opted by Monika. He witness Yuri declare her love for him and talk about how she would love to pull his skin open and crawl inside of him and the only thing he has to say is "yes" or "no" when she asks if he likes her back. And then he physically cannot move or speak or react because the world is so far gone that Yuri's death has damaged him, the script, so much that all he hears is gibberish coming from her lifeless mouth.

And like... that's neat to me. I like that by the end of Act 2 the script is so off the rails and so far gone from reality that MC can no longer really function as a person, because the script is barely functioning. He stops reacting to anything happening around him and most of the conversations he has are just the girls talking at him. Monika has to literally rewrite the script and force Yuri and Natsuki to say things to further her agenda or keep the scene rolling. MC had a clear and very human response to Sayori's death because it was a plausible but horrible (and not forced) event that could happen naturally. Yuri's death was so jarring and away from the scope of the natural order of his world that MC (and Yuri, by extension) can only sit frozen and broken until Natsuki and Monika show up to force new progress.

Like Monika's effect on the girls has been talked to death and it is an interesting topic but I also think what she unintentionally did to the POV character of the game is also something neat. It really adds to the feeling of the world in DDLC being hollow. The MC is a half-character who can only react in incredibly predictable ways, and when the world stops being predictable, he stops being anything more than a walking camera for Monika to speak into.

#ddlc #this isnt even really a character analysis this is just my vague jumbled thoughts on this guy #ive always found mc interesting even if he irritates me #when i was bored and a middle schooler i used to imagine this self insert of mine in his place #what choices would she make if she knew the ddlc world was a farce? what choices would she make if she didnt? #would she be beholden to the game structure and choices written in the game's script? #could she change anything? how would she feel if she knew the girls in a context where they were her normal friends? #these scenarios were of course some random shit i thought about to make PE less awful #but it made me think of how horrible and strange it would be in mc's position #and subsequently how mc himself kind of never gets the chance to BE in his own position in a way #he is fully beholden to the whims of monika and whatever the girls around him are doing at all times in act 2 #even in act 1 his personality and motivations fluctuates constantly depending on which girl u are talking to #mc is the script and the script is mc. he never had a chance to change anything and neither did you #the only way you can do anything in that world is to be a character a .chr a person. and mc is not a person in any meaningful sense #on the topic of 'hey wouldnt it be fucked up to actually experience ddlc as a Thinking Person' #'to your eternity' (anonymous author) on ao3 specifically chapter 1 of it is a cool fic based on that thought #anyways. i know mc mostly just shuts up because it would be lame if every time yuri's eyes bug out he's like 'jeepers creepers!!!' #but i think his dwindling presence makes him an interesting non-character ❤️ #doki doki literature club

[silverfox66]

God, I wish Europe was completely military independent from the US, so we wouldn't have to worry so much about which demented man they pick as their president.

#This morning I read about PESCO #A Permanent Structured Cooperation between European countries to make us less military dependent on America #And how the US threw a fit because they saw PESCO as a threat to their military influence in Europe 🙃

[smartzelda]

Everyone can rip the theory/prediction for season 3 that Nine brought Chaos Sonic back and he's just chilling in Nine's crystal fortress during the robot battle in the teaser out of my cold. Dead. Hands.

#sonic prime #sonic the hedgehog #nine the fox #miles nine prower #nine sonic prime #chaos sonic #sonic prime s3 teaser #All I'm saying is that no one can expect me to believe that Nine was just fine chilling alone in the Grim after s2‚ especially if he's going #to be in there more than an episode (not saying he will be. depends on the structure of the season. but you get it) #Like post meeting Sonic‚ this is the two tailed fox who thought of him and his situation #who in Sonic's absense built up this idea of creating a new home for them both‚ for just the two of them. Who spent Sonic's time away after #finding his place to make home (a goal for him) thought a lot about how excited he was to finally bring Sonic here and show him what he was #working on #This is the fox who wanted Sonic to share in his dream and wanted him to stay in seclusion with him *so badly* that he gave Sonic another #chance to choose to stay with him after Sonic had left to go fight in New Yolk #After that argument at the end of s2 how long do you think Nine would be able to sit in the Grim‚ sitting on the knowledge that he'll be #alone after achieving his dream #‚ before feeling very...lonely #And if being around Sonic makes him feel like he's not completely alone for the first time in his life‚ makes him consider being alone but #with someone else #What does he do when he wants to be alone and yet is plagued by loneliness? Creating robot versions of Sonic’s friends? He's never been #jealous of Sonic's friend count. It's not far fetched to say that he most likely made them in preparation for facing off with Sonic (perhaps #even to make him hurt) #And really‚ if he feels lonely but refuses to be around organic living beings. What better attempt to make it go away than by summoning and #fixing the robot copy of him (You know a robot who is like him but will never betray you or want anything other than what you want) #That's all I'm saying #And tbh I personally refuse to believe Chaos Sonic is done. Especially since his run was short and his removal from the story was sudden. I #think he has use as a plot device yet #anyways I'm rambling on sorry I have terminal brainrot

[burning-academia-if]

so, I adore everything so far of ???, they hit a lot of little buttons I have for questionable ROs. that said, I was wondering if, to romance them, it'd have to be the Evil MC route? or to have a happy ending with them? am just trying to mentally prepare around that for when we can romance them.

Hello, not to hi-jack this question, but I'm going to use this to describe the morality system real quick LOL

So there are four paths to take:

Dawn

Day

Dusk

Night

And the story will actually completely splinter after a certain point, so the story in each path will ultimately be different, including how each romance will play out, and you'll always know which path you're on before your locked in.

Dawn and Day would be the more traditional "good" paths, the main difference being your personal outlook on how/why you're being good. Dusk is where you lean more towards questionable things for the greater good, think something akin to an anti-hero. Night is when you think things are beyond saving and need to be destroyed so things can start over. This is the "villain" path (in quotes because depending on interpretation, this might also work as a weird 'anti-hero' path).

Anyways, for your actual question the only path where you'll have a tragic/bittersweet end with ??? is in the Day path. It's possible to have a happy ending with them in the other three!

#em answers #BA: structure #ch: ??? #the reason why is obviously spoilers lol #fun fact ??? and rhea are the only ones where you can't have a happy ending with them depending on path #for rhea it's the night path #also I'll explain this better later I promise-

[thedragonagelesbian]

my only takeaway from the m9 animated series announcement is that having an essek line in the trailer was a Choice and im Happy About It

#critical role #essek thelyss #they didnt have to do that. if irc they didnt do something like that for tlovm #they couldve just had matt introducing the series at the end #but nooooooo they had to tempt me with more hot boy shit #ok but depending on how much they play with the story structure they could do SO MUCH to tease essek behind the scenes #we could see the beacons getting stolen. we could see the handoff with the cerberus assembly. #not as major scenes probably but as like prologue teaser stuff #behind the scenes war shit... #UGH the scope of the world of the m9 relative to the m9 themselves is so important to me #im so excited to see what they do to capture that feeling in the show #(ok i had more takeaways i guess)