#(that's something directly from the post I'm thinking of)

[merciawintersageposting]

so i've had a minute to think about this as well. tysm for this post, @himluv. i'm coming out of my office (dumpster) to sadly put on my professor internet hat (clown wig):

something we're already seeing a lot more now is users tagging things as AI generated to claim they're ethical users. i want to emphasize to you that "i didn't know this was illegal" is not a shield from you getting your ass sued for civil damages over copyright infringement.

i recently gave a talk about this at a university because this is one of my areas of expertise. people are now co-opting big tech marketing language like "ethical ai" to ignore the unethical (and... legally dubious) context in which they're producing "content" and to downplay their culpability in the harms big tech companies continue to do.

before every single usecase, users should be asking "who will be directly or indirectly harmed by my use of this tech?" and "what is my duty of care to the artists whose work may have been scraped against current U.S. copyright law to create this image/text/sound/video?"

as i told the audience at my talk- there is no ethical usecase for generative AI in creative works. and their legality is about to be a hot topic this year. if you are an individual user, assume every use case for creative works may involve copyright infringement for which you may or may not be liable. this will be playing out in key court cases this year. guess someone might find out🙃

let's TL;DR that for the people already asleep in class

DO NOT INFRINGE ON THE RIGHTS OF ARTISTS

DO NOT GET YOURSELF SUED

STOP USING GEN AI IN FAN ART

Hey gang,

So, some folks who wish there was *more* romance content for Lucanis are spreading AI generated scenes of Rook and Lucanis making out.

I am instantly blocking these accounts. Also, I can't say this strongly enough: don't fucking use AI to make fandom content.

Draw. Write. Edit videos. Make mods. Be a human being engaging with media you love.

DO NOT. FUCKING USE. FUCKING AI. TO MAKE FUCKING. FANDOM. WORKS.

[maddy-k-reads-all-day]

Thinking about Wooly in When You Feel Bad

Okay so like... everyone noticed that Wooly was acting kind of funny in the "When You Feel Bad" Tape right? Here's some things I noticed... just note there is a LOT of detail put into this tape so I'm definitely not going to be able to notice and cover everything... I don't even think a post that long would fit in the tumblr text limit...

Anyway first thing I noticed is that right after he says, "How about an Adventure?" he looks directly at the camera. Everything about how he says this feels very scripted. But the interesting thing is... his face immediately changes to one of nervousness or unease as soon as his finishes this sentence and his eyes slowly turn in her direction, BEFORE Amanda even says anything. Almost like he knows that this is not what Amanda wants or needs right now, so it's gonna piss her off. However, it's probably what the SHOW needs, in order for the episode to continue.

Before I continue, I'd like to share a little theory. I think the narrator's story might actually be the correct scripted one the episode was meant to read. Hameln does enjoy subtle but slightly harmful messaging, and telling a friend a sad story to cheer them up might be one of them. I think Wooly was supposed to start the story and the narrator was supposed to continue it (with our help). Because otherwise, why would the narrator be there at all if Wooly was supposed to tell the story? If that's the case, why isn't our script-loving Wooly following the script?

I have two theories:

1. First off, if you answer "tragedy" or "sad" for your favorite type of story, Wooly glances at Amanda (who doesn't appear to be paying attention) and says "We don't like those kinds of stories AT ALL." But... this is lie. We know Amanda likes these stories. So that means... the one who really doesn't like them is Wooly. His reaction to horror also implies that he has some of the trademark Hameln trauma too, though he doesn't seem to show it as much as Amanda. It's kind of a weird reaction to have honestly... like, why would the mention of the word "horror" give you flashbacks of... whatever THAT was. I've had this theory for a while now that part of the reason Wooly tries to change the subject when Amanda talks about sad stuff might simply be because HE doesn't like talking/thinking about this kind of stuff. When we answer "horror" he says he wishes he hadn't asked. In comparison, whenever Amanda remembers something about her past, like when we first mentioned Sam, she seemed confused and maybe a little suspicious of us, but she never flat out has said she regrets remembering these memories, despite how unpleasant they can be. It's a weird contrast. Almost like Amanda wants to remember and Wooly wants to forget. And he really doesn't seem to like listening to the narrator's story when it's told. It's almost like he was trying to avoid it getting told at all. In this case, it was never about cheering Amanda up and Wooly was being rather selfish here. So in order to prevent the narrator's story from getting told, he tells his own.

Which could explain why it's so bland and uncreative, considering Amanda (even in this episode alone) is shown to be the creative type of the two. She's an artist. We've never seen Wooly try and be creative before, so maybe it's just not his thing?

Another interesting thing is, Amanda goes off script quite often and the show seems to bend to her will, but for Wooly it doesn't. (in both this tape and the second In Your Neighborhood tape). It's almost like Amanda seems to get rewarded for going off script (aka in getting what she wants) and Wooly gets punished for it. But it always works for which might be why Wooly is surprised when the same doesn't work for him. But he continues to try nonetheless, trying to get HIS story back on track.

He continues to tell the story wrong ON purpose. Probably hoping he can get the show to play along, the way it always does for Amanda. But it FAILS again. Wooly starts to get frustrated and eventually realizes we're the ones messing with his story. When he asks us to at least TRY and go along with his story, he sounds annoyed which we don't get often from Wooly. So anyway that's theory 1.

Theory 2 goes a bit deeper.

To preface this, I don't 100% believe in this theory I could be wrong but I just want to put the idea on the table. It started with this detail I noticed and found REALLY interesting.

When the narrator says "the knight slew the dragon, not knowing they were killing their true love" Wooly looks at his hands with this weird, wide-eyed expression, while Amanda says the knight is going to regret that.

I've always thought his reaction here was a little strange. Like it didn't make sense. But what if this line is implying something about Wooly? I do think that this story is a metaphor for something, but it isn't a word-for-word representation of what happened. It is simply a SAD STORY to cheer Amanda up. But bits and pieces of it may remind Amanda and Wooly both of events that happened in their life. Amanda might relate to being separated from someone she cares about and to being turned into a monster (in her case, the demon) without her consent. But Wooly might relate to other things. For this scene in particular maybe he hurt someone he really cared about in a way he couldn't take back and really regrets that? (like the knight killing their true love, killing someone is something that cannot be undone). Once again, I don't think it's supposed to be a one-to-one thing. This line could even be hinting at Amanda and Wooly's falling out. Amanda tells us in the final tape that Wooly did something to betray her trust. Wooly and Amanda used to be best friends. So maybe Wooly did something that really hurt Amanda, something that could not be taken back. Something that ultimately made him lose his best friend and he regrets that. In multiple scenes in this series, Wooly seems to look sad or guilty when Amanda shows anger towards him or says they aren't friends anymore. So it's very possible that this is the case. That said, another common theme with Wooly is that he doesn't seem to enjoy looking at or talking about subjects that make him uncomfortable. (When Amanda talks about death, he seems extremely uncomfortable, when they watch the cat eat the bird he says he feels like he's going to be sick and his constant changing the subject routine that happens throughout the series). So this story, that might in some way remind him of a mistake he made might be something he doesn't want to hear. He doesn't want to be reminded that he screwed up in a way he can't take back, he doesn't want to hear it.

Side note, when Wooly suggests that finishing the story might cheer her up, she doesn't object, she sits back down and looks at him (albeit still pretty upset) and waits for him to continue.

As the narrator's story continues Wooly starts to seem really angry about it. And then he starts getting really like emotionally bent out of shape. Then there's the whole, "There was a big battle, the brave knight prevailed and then-" and Wooly stops, once again having this weird look on his face. Like this got too personal.

Wooly goes on to talk about how the Knight saves the princess and they live happily ever after.

I think this could imply that at one point or another, Wooly had some sort of chance to do something to help Amanda or save her from her fate. A chance he didn't take. Maybe this didn't even happen while they were trapped, but beforehand and Amanda found out later and got reasonably upset. In any case, it does feel like Wooly may be projecting to an extent. Maybe even trying to subtly tell Amanda that he's sorry, and he doesn't like how their story went. Something that Amanda clearly didn't pick up on. This would be interesting since it's not the first time the game or it's characters have tried to tell us something subtly through a story. Amanda did it through the lonely kitten and the farm animals. I'm not 100% sure that's what is going on here, but I am acknowledging the possibility. Regardless of what Wooly was trying to do, the true ending to this is that he fails.

Going off that theory, something else that add to this is the annoyance Wooly expresses when Amanda dislikes his story. He knows this isn't the story she likes, but if he were trying to tell her something with it, it'd be pretty annoying if he felt like she was ignoring that message. As Amanda keeps criticizing Wooly's story, Wooly claims he's doing his best to cheer her up. Which is a lie. This whole "I'm going to tell my own story" is incredibly selfish and misguided on Wooly's part. Amanda clearly isn't getting the point or liking the story. Even if Wooly was trying to hide some apology in this story, it still doesn't make it okay for him to activitely ignore Amanda's feelings. Besides, even if he is trying to apologize, the apology itself probably comes off a bit mockingly? Like... "I wish our lives didn't completely suck, I wish I had done something about it when I had the chance. But I'll never actually say it to your face." Another thing- Wooly clearly seems to feel genuninely bad about whatever he did to Amanda- but he has never even TRIED to apologize to her!!!

Amanda asking "why doesn't the dragon just put her out of her misery?" I think this adds to my other theory that Amanda just wants to be out of here. She wants to bring an end to what feels like an endless nightmare.

Idk if this post makes ANY sense and like there are so many more details that I could uncover I just wanted to share these two little theories. I do actually really like the idea that Wooly might actually be trying to hint at an apology in changing the sad story to a happy one but I'm probably thinking too deeply about this. Anyway I just wanted to share my thoughts! Hope you enjoy!

Bonus:

But I thought Wooly says he doesn't like scary stuff? I mean it's just a dragon so it isn't really scary but this was kinda weird of him right?

Is this a spelling error or is it intentional and somehow important? Genuinely asking.

[dovesndecay]

2025 pinned post

Mireyah K. Wolfe (any pronouns) is an artist of many genders living in the swamps of Central Florida. They are a pierced, tattooed, disabled queer of Irish-Boricua heritage with a deep and abiding love of pigeons, much to the dismay of her dog and two cats. She is a member of the One Big Uwunion, and no, you cannot stop him from calling it that.

Hi there! Welcome to my tumblr! We're all adults here. Behave accordingly. 🔞

I post pigeons, peen, and politics.

I am also a disabled queer with very limited income and too many bills, so I can always use more support! I dabble in photography, and I'm in the process of teaching myself both traditional and digital art, as well as working on a fantasy Ragnarok novel (I think it'll be a novel anyway, we're still early days.)

Follow me on Instagram and Bluesky!

Please check out my Patreon or my art tag #mkw arts.

To send something from a wishlist of things I can't afford to provide for myself:

Chasing [multi]Gender Euphoria

Enriching My Enclosure

The Household Needs

And to donate to my continued survival directly:

PayPal | (link)

Venmo | (dovesndecay)

Cashapp | ($dovesndecay)

Here's to a new year, and improved circumstances for all! 🎆 Twenty-twenty-thrive baybee!!

[wuthering-tempest]

A little misty told me you have a sinner oc and I haven’t been able to find an oc tag or anything, so please tell me about em or gimme the tag or whatever you’re comfy with!

-Ink Anon

OHHH HI!! I don't really have a tag for her here because I haven't actually posted her much on this account and I'm always really shy about fan ocs but 👉👈 i'll put most info/extra drawings under the readmore, a lot of her outfit/design is still a wip so forgive the messiness

Meet Captain Nemo! She's based directly around Jules Verne's Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea/Journey Through The Impossible/The Mysterious Island! She is an extremely intelligent and knowledgeable woman, but alternates often between calculated aloofness and bouts of impassioned agitation and can occasionally be provoked into furious outbursts, especially now that she's been dredged up from hiding.

She's got a very complicated past with many fixer associations and syndicates alike, and her place of origin is a complete mystery, as is her real name and reason for why she's so averse to life in the City and disdainful of it's many rules. Whatever it is that caused her to be this way is what pushed her to craft the Nautilus, her beloved magnum opus made of various tech from all across the City. She originally intended to use the ship to completely escape the City and it's rules, but due to mysterious circumstances that she refuses to speak on, the ship and much of it's crew have disappeared without a trace.

Her distinct habits include introducing herself to strangers by a wide variety of pseudonyms, a knowledge of many languages and codes, her general quietness unless something directly involves her input or expertise, smoking very particular cigars, and a strong dislike and surprising inability to remain impartial when matters of the impoverished people (especially children) of the Backstreets are involved.

As for actual gameplay, Her base ID does slashing Gloom and Pride, with some applying bleed count and others applying rupture potency. Her weapon, Nautile, is composed of three chakrams inlaid like an astrolabe, with the largest having a handle in the middle. It seats into a glove on her right hand, but can also connect to either side of a tactical harness she wears and can be hidden by her LC coat in case she doesn't need it ready! Her base E.G.O., Infini Vivant, is Wrath affinity and themed upon the electric ampoule-based gun Captain Nemo used to hunt underwater, and does piercing bleed damage and adds rupture count.

Although I like to think of scenarios where she would interact with canon sinners (she would have a preference for those like Ishmael and Meursault and a dislike of those like Outis and Hong Lu), she's more treated as a Sinner who exists in a noncanon smaller mobile unit dedicated to working with the LCD and handling things like Monoliths and Distortions.

[zum1udontno]

The Chosen One, the Second Coming and the color gang have clearly seen Alan, but I'm honestly unsure if Victim has. We see that Victim clearly associates Alan with the cursor, rather than the entity on the other side of the screen.

There are a few explanations for this. Probably the most likely is just that Victim never had the opportunity to actually look through the screen to see Alan's true form. His entire existence was spent running from the cursor and whatever it was going to do to him. The only time we see him still, without running for his life, is on May 15th when he stops responding.

He probably wasn't in the right mindset to take in any details, or remember them. However, he does know that Alan is away from his computer- that's why he takes the opportunity to escape. Whether he saw the Alan behind the screen walk away, or just made a guess based on how the cursor locked him a box and stopped moving, is unclear.

A really interesting possibility, which probably isn't the case but is fun to think about, is that Victim recognizes Alan the human as something that exists, but doesn't draw a connection between it and the cursor. His life, as an animation, is (was) tied to the computer programs. When the Flash 8 program was closed without saving, Victim was destroyed. That doesn't mean Victim is a part of Flash 8, or vice versa; his existence is (was) just irrevocably tied to it.

With how little of the world Victim had experienced back then, he could have been under the impression that Alan and the cursor work the same way. The cursor's ability to take action is based on Alan the human's presence, but Alan himself isn't directly related to the cursor. This is incorrect, but it's a reasonable conclusion for Victim to come to.

A minor hole in this theory is that we know Victim's investigation into the cursor is thorough. We saw the wall of newspaper printouts. If he saw Alan's face, there's no way he wouldn't at least doodle it and stick it on the wall with a few question marks beside it.

-------

A theory I considered is that stick figures simply couldn't see into the real world on older computers. I had thought that PCs back in 2007 wouldn't have built-in webcams; and without those, there would be no way for the computer to parse the outside world. Webcams in general existed back then, but I thought they only existed as external devices that Alan wouldn't have purchased and set up in his laptop-on-the-floor setup. However, this is incorrect. Built-in webcams existed in laptops in 2007; there are forum posts dating to that year asking about them. Furthermore, Alan's laptop does have a webcam.

(Adjusted brightness and contrast for visibility. It was a bit hard to see otherwise.)

Also, even if webcams weren't relevant, the short you mentioned shows the stick figures interacting with where Alan's finger is touching the screen, implying they're seeing through the screen itself. Ah well, it was fun to consider.

I'm gonna THEORY CRAFT for a second about Animator vs Animation 11. Because there's something SUPER WEIRD I've noticed about the way camera shots are orchestrated in recent animations. Specifically about -

THE LAPTOP SCREEN.

And even more specifically what Alan (and the real world) may look like to the stickmen.

We've known for a while now that 3D space was possible outside of the Laptop since AvA 7 (March 11, 2019).

But the camera angle on the Laptop has always been in 2D space until very recently!

Our first introduction to a 3D environment in Alan's Desktop was Green's Influencer Arc (Uploaded Sept 7, 2024).**

(Look how insanely massive the inside of the laptop looks now.)

But throughout the entire Influencer Arc the camera was NEVER pointed towards the outside of the laptop, to the real world. It is always tilted so that we can't see it.

((And even more weird in this Green's video, is which the left most wall is covered a solid white, whereas, us - the audience - can see through this wall when looking through the screen. wth is happening))

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

Our most recent scene of a 3D Laptop space (as of writing this) is in AvA 11, where Victim is drawn and killed.

Again, the outside world, through the screen, is never shown. Although we do get extremely close with Mitsi's Creator. But it's coincidentally obscured by the internet explorer window.

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

And last of all- the thing that got me really questioning this camera choice - is something I noticed back in AvA 10 (Nov 4, 2023). When The Chosen One is having his memory scanned, he purposefully causes the screen to blur as he enters Alan's Laptop. (You have to put it in .5 speed to really notice.)

And guess what The Chose One does the second he gets to Alan's laptop. He stares daggers at Alan.

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

So what does this mean?

It means the camera is being specifically shot at angles to never address how the Stickfigures see Alan and the rest of the world.

And what does that mean???

I HAVE NO IDEA. But I kinda hope it's leading up to a scene where we DO see the stickfigures addressing it. BECAUSE HOLY HELL THAT WOULD BE SO SICK.

..........

Wait-**

Wait wait wait wait wait-

This ACTUAL SHORT from August 2023 shows the screen??? Are you fricking serious.

I am going to explode now <3. --------

Nah, in all seriousness, I would still LOVE to see the camera angle change for dramatic effect in the "main series". Because it just feels like the hints are leading up to it. ❤️❤️❤️ I'm really enjoying the series either way and was having fun theorizing here :)

_______________________________________________

And don't even get me started on why almost all animations/stickfigures are oblivious to Humans or strait up don't know about them. LIKE- wtf are all these posters

"Are We Being Watched?", "Tiles in the Sky", "What's Beyond Our World?", "Origins of the Stick Figure"

DUDE WHAT THE HELL. Are Alan's stick figures the only ones who've seen humans??? Do any other stickmen know humans created them? Ahhhhhhh

[backslashdelta]

I like to think that if you're in a fandom space posting AI art, it's because you just aren't aware of why that might be a problem.

So in case you aren't aware: the generative AI you might be using to create "fanart" is trained on a countless number of artworks created by artists whose permission was not asked. Or maybe it was, technically, intentionally buried in a terms of service document somewhere, or in an update which they could either accept or else delete an entire social media account with years of history. This "art" is only possible because of stolen art. When you post images created by generative AI, you are supporting that.

Also, fandom is about creation and community. Individuals and groups creating art of all sorts, and sharing it with each other. When you post AI art... you haven't really created anything. To me at least, that's kind of detracting from what fandom is about. I want to share and raise up works of art that my community has worked hard to create, not something generative AI spit out from a couple key word inputs.

I can't tell anybody here what to do. If you are posting AI art, I'm sure there are some people who will like it, who will share it, who will be happy to do so. But there will also be people who aren't happy about it. There will be people – and especially artists – who will be frustrated to see other people in their community who support this technology that has stolen directly from them. There will be people who will block you, who will refuse to interact with your posts, and it will make your community smaller.

I understand it's tempting, especially if you aren't an artist yourself. But if you want art that fits a specific prompt, there are other ways to get it that actually support the fandom community: submit your prompt to a fanartist who accepts prompts, or commission someone for a piece of art, or even give it a try yourself and start learning to actually make art!

I don't hate AI as a whole. I think there are a lot of really amazing things we can do with AI, if it's used correctly. But posting AI fanart is not one of them.

[vaguely-concerned]

I feel that during the first coffee date walk through the market, rye has a fraction of a millisecond's kneejerk trauma freakout of '...wait. wait. am I really catching feelings for a rich boy again. with how that went down last time. am I truly that stupid' (once derogatorily referred to quite openly at a party as 'young master anaxas' pet mortalitasi' to which the young master anaxas only grinned and shrugged and STILL you don't break up with his smug controlling ass for good for six more months because you have a desperate bottomless yearning pit where your self respect should go, twice shy lol). and then he actually looks at lucanis standing next to him getting harding spearmint to help with bad dreams and generally being so quietly thoughtful and sweet through the prosaic yet necessary medium of grocery shopping it makes me feel a little unwell to truly contemplate. and rye is like '*the softest fondest eyes anyone has ever turned on anything* ...you know what. I suspect we don't have to worry about that repeating, I think we're probably safe. I am comfortable being this level of stupid. (slowly dawning marital intent even at this stage)'.

(part of the reason rye buys NONE of illario's bullshit at all right from the beginning is that he's basically vaccinated against this exact type of dude after that relationship lol. charming suave guy who in the beginning pays you a lot of lavish attention and takes pains to make you feel special every time you're in a room with him -- but shallowly and mostly, it slowly dawns on you, when there's something he wants from you (and he's often doing it at the expense of someone else, raising you up to put someone else down and you won't believe this... it can turn into a seesaw at a whim. yay). and beneath that there's just a seething pit of resentment and inferiority complexes and bitterness left to fester until he can make it everyone else's problem and that IS going to start to bubble up between the cracks with you too if you stick around for long enough. no thank you been there done that wasted my youth and potential on it and all I got was this lousy shiny set of new emotional intimacy issues haunting me for life! trust me illario I HAVE, as it were, chosen the wrong dellamorte before, which is exactly how I know I didn't this time. go get him lucanis I've got your coffee

hilarious mental image: rye and illario sitting quietly together while everyone else is busy milling about during a cursed dellamorte family dinner (the vibes are so bad. you know the vibes are bad. sitting as still as you can and hoping for calm skies is your best bet without lucanis or teia favourite child privileges to work with) and rye out of the blue gazing thoughtfully into nothing over the edge of his glass with half-lidded eyes to go 'you know. you remind me a lot of my ex. not in a good way' and illario with absolutely no shame and hilariously also something that's the closest he ever gets to real sympathy going 'yeah, I get that a lot'. best talk those two ever had, unironically. their bond leveled up to its final form that day. *soulsborne boss defeated text* MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING REACHED)

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

It had been a long day in Chaldea. Walking excitedly through the halls, Ritsuka Fujimaru had thanked their lucky stars for not being apprehended by as many servants as usual. What with them plaintively crying for master's love and affection, though the antics were fun at first- even the likes of Ritsuka Fujimaru had a limit sometimes.

'Why can't Red Hare squish his tits against me too? Why is it only the hot ladies who do so??' Whilst pondering whether she could win the horse's affections with some extra carrots or so, fearsome red eyes marked themselves upon the ironed material of her back; metaphorically rendering her naked before the all-seeing eyes of the king.

It was none other than Caster Gilgamesh himself, staring hotly at the young mage. Prowling towards her with all the intensity of a lion, his face flushed with a rich red hue- was he drunk?

"....King Gilgamesh." Ritsuka started, throat thick with anticipation. "What is it? I knooow I've been behind on feeding you levelling materials, but-"

A golden-plated hand suddenly clattered against her shoulder, Gilgamesh's eyes twinkling with.... what seemed to be desire, his breaths exceedingly heavy.

"Er Gilgamesh, what's going on exactly-" He was breathing heavier than Raikou's breaths would be like within a bone-crushing hug. "Er... Gilgamesh-"

"RITSUKA FUJIMARU!" He declared at once, thrusting the mage within his skinny, yet powerful arms. "Come to Uruk. Embrace your new standing as my QUEEN!!!!" Gilgamesh all but declared, pressing his lips amorously against Ritsuka's bright orange hair. "Fill me with your essence at once, I beseech of you! This king starves without your wondrous touch- I... I desire you!!!!!!! FALL INTO MY ARMS!!"

Ritsuka could only blink in response, bewildered by Gilgamesh's sudden change in demeanour. 'Don't tell me that he actually drunk the LOVE POTION CE or something.' As a king whose curiosity couldn't even stop him from indulging within potions of youth, and explosive red buttons- it wouldn't be surprising if Gilgamesh had dosed up on something strange.

But then with how his red eyes were blazing with lust, chest pooling with warm sweat, as his lips had yet to part from Ritsuka's crown- alerted them of something otherwise.

'Wha- what... Though I do like a little skin contact... He's the last kind of character to be displaying his affections so openly...' What had happened to that ridiculous blush? Those fearsome words?

The Gilgamesh stood before her was nothing but an IMPOSTER.

"I think I'm good. Though I guess I'll never let you live this down... heheee... The mighty Gilgamesh, acting so frivolously... It's a novel sight!!" Chuckling to herself, Ritsuka's words aimed to pierce Gilgamesh directly in the heart, however; it caused the opposite effect instead, Caster Gilgamesh swooping her majestically within his arms.

"Such teasing words... I assume this is proof of our mutual attraction, my dearest mongrel."

"Ah? Huh???" The image of her beloved horse flashed within her mind, Ritsuka's hands flailing nervously at the misunderstanding. "N-No, I just found it funny that you were being so honest for once-?!!"

Now Gilgamesh's luxurious was perched right against her ears, breaths as desperate as a goat craving minerals. "Ohoho, Ritsuka.... I can be very sincere in my persuasions if need be. Let me show you the true depths of my love, let us consummate such burning desires post haste!!! TO MY ROOM!!"

'What the actual hell...' Now that was strange.

After suffering an eternity of Gilgamesh's romantic proclamations, Ritsuka finally managed to wrangle herself from Gilgamesh's iron-like grip (how did such a bowstring of a man pack such powerful strength and abs?).

Finally embarking upon the cool, relaxing doors of her private quarters, Ritsuka's back sagged with relief- only then for a dorito-shaped face and piercing gray eyes to regard her back.

"S-Saito?!" Now that was even weirder- usually the likes of Serenity and Kiyohime would be horrifying figures to encounter within her safe space- yet this time, the samurai had intruded instead; seated comfortably upon her bed. "What are you even doing-"

"Ritsuka, my beloved second wakizashi. I was a cop, see? I know my way around things such as locked doors."

"Erm... Okay." Was all that Ritsuka could say- until she noticed that her doujin pile has a solitary magazine that was out of place, face blanching in horror at the possibility of Saito reading her adult magazines. "Saito... You didn't snoop around here too, did you?"

"Just another benefit of being a member of the shinsengumi. I'm so skilled that you'll never know what I touched.'

'Okay... Very creepy... The actual fuck?!!!' Ritsuka did NOT anticipate having Saito Hajime's writing take such a creepy turn. "Well!! If you touch my things incorrectly, that can be rough on trust okay? So, at least ask before entering next time!!"

"Oh, Master. Master, master, master. I know that you want to escape Chaldea deep down." Saito shook his head, face marred with sorrow.

'Where the FUCK is this coming from???' Baffled, all Ritsuka could do was STARE as Saitou tucked her chin under his long fingers, staring right through her soul. "Saito- How did you even figure that out?"

"I'm always watching you. Always keeping an eye out for my little master. I wouldn't be a good servant otherwise, would I? Besides, you're my special little thing, after all."

'Bruh.' Ritsuka's eyes fluttered incomprehensibly for minutes, brain blank. "That's helpful, but-"

"What has Red Hare got that I haven't?" Saito's breaths were quiet, yet his gaze was boring holes into Ritsuka's chest, her heart yammering at an unbelievably fast rate.

"RED HARE?" Ritsuka spluttered, eyes wide. "What's he got to do with it?"

"Is it his horse c*ck?!" Saito's gaze was forlorn. "Sure, I can't match that, but I'm very talented with the sword, if you know what I mean." Leather arms wrapped Ritsuka into a steady hold, his gaze enquiring. "Tell me... Ritsuka."

"I can offer you all that he's got and more. Don't think that you can escape me, Master. I'll always be close by."

'UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKKKK' Ritsuka's back was now pooling with oodles of sweat, her face filled with an embarrassed red wildfire of a blush.

"N-No, Saito- I'm good- I promise you, everything's okay- Mmph!" Now Saito had lightly pressed a finger to Ritsuka's lips, the sheer OUT OF CHARACTER-NESS of his personality stunning her into a frozen stupor.

"Master.... Chaldea's been so unfair to ya. Putting so much pressure on such a young person's shoulders." His statements were true, but was that REALLY an excuse to be pressing so closely to her? "Let me handle everything. I'll do anything you ask. Just say my name, and I'll get you out-"

"HAHAHA! OOPS I'M SORRY!!! I THINK I NEED TO ER... Go use the SUMMONING STUFF... AHAH! FOR AN EVENT!!" Lies rapidly spilt from Ritsuka's mouth at such an intense approach, craning away from Saito's pooling desire. "I er... Gotta eat the bricks! As they say!!!"

Before Saito could even utter another word, Ritsuka Fujimaru had fled, her entire self burning red.

'IS SOMETHING IN THE WATER TODAY???' Usually the ladies would be the one propositioning and bombarding her with their extreme affections- but now things had changed?! After surviving two encounters within a day, Ritsuka was horrified at the prospect of experiencing anymore.

As Ritsuka hurried down the halls, heart pumping with adrenaline- she failed to take notice of all the male servants fawning around her, eager to approach her; yearning to hold her, to embrace and pelter her with their own unique brands of affection-

But that would be a tale for another time.

'It's okay, calm down, calm down- We've got this- OOF!' So distracted was she by thoughts of the day that Ritsuka failed to swerve away from an approaching servant, the two of them clashing headfirst. "W-WHA!! I'm so sorry, I just missed the way and I-"

Before Ritsuka could even stutter out an apology, two strong, gloved hands reassured her by grabbing her within a safe hold, the servant's grip both soothing and secure all at once.

"Master. Your safety has been assured with my hands. I am most relieved." It was none other than Sigurd, his glasses twinkling like the sunlight.

"Ah, Sigurd! Thank you." Ritsuka audibly breathed a sigh of relief at the visitor, grateful to be in his hold. 'Phew...' Sigurd was one of the taken servants. With a wife like Byrnhild, he seemed very unlikely to be unafflicted by the very same curse as Gilgamesh and Saito-

A cute splash of pink grazed Sigurd's features regardless, awkwardly shuffling his glasses with his hand. "For you, Master... I'd endure any pain, any collisions that you wish for."

'Oh.' Fuck. "Haha, there's no need, Sigurd! You do great enough as my servant already. Hahahaha!!" There was no way... No way that Sigurd had been afflicted with the waifu disorder as well, right?!

'No way. This is Sigurd we're talking about here.' The man was as steadfast as a iron wall. 'There's no way he'd fall, too.'

"Well, about that... My Master. I would like to become more than just your loyal servant."

"Ehehe... What???" Ritsuka's laughter whittled out from that, her golden eyes wide with surprise. "What do you mean? I also... See you as an ally and a friend, you know!"

"Yes, but... I am so overjoyed whenever you pour your all into me. I want to pour every fibre of my being back into you as well. To perform even more tasks in your honor, and protect you with this very demonic blade... Nothing would bring me greater joy than being by your side."

"HUH!!!" Ritsuka could only screech in reply, speechless at Sigurd's rampant blushing, gobsmacked by the way he was nervously scratching his chin- yet his gaze was unwavering from Ritsuka's own, practically laying down his life for her. "I.... I mean, thank you- But I- Well, but you have you know... A wife...? Maybe you shouldn't proposition-"

"I HAVE TWO HANDS!!!" Sigurd all but declared, gripping Ritsuka's hands within his own. "It would be my utmost privilege to sacrifice this body upon the whims of not one, but two of my most worthy allies."

"A-ah, Sigurd.... Erm..." Utterly swept away by his soothing grip, Ritsuka's face is awash with confused feelings. "Erm... That's nice, but..."

"I understand. Cue the sad Megane Kiran." A drooping laser beam slipped from his eyes, shaped much like tears. "I am a very patient man, Master. I can wait as long as you possibly need to formulate a response to my offer. But always know...."

Wrapping Ritsuka within his arms, Sigurd was like something out of a cheesy romance novel.

"That you will always be held dear within my heart."

Whatever was in the water may not have been so bad, after all...

'Okay, who am I kidding here. This is absolutely WILD!!!! I'm not sure whether I'm LIVING FOR IT or LOATHING IT!!' Being hotly desired by the men of Chaldea certainly made for a new experience.

[sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes]

I feel like when Virgil said he used to be scared of Remus he meant he was scared but would try to get a long with Remus. (While keeping distant lol)

Then Remus is madly in love and tries to get close to Vee no matter what lol

Yess

Whenever I think of them I think of that trope of a huge dark insane character that goes all dopey with heart eyes when that one character (who is usually much smaller than them) as much as lightly touches their hand (or, in other words, they are Morticia and Gomez)

I also like to think that in the past Virgil used to like listening to Remus' rambles every once in awhile because sometimes they involved things he likes (spiders, darkness, vampires, etc), and that was enough for Remus to decide that he was Good™

[hecatesbroom]

did I finally manage to write a brand new fic? I sure did!! with many, many thanks to the lovely @eeblouissant for inspiring me with these beautiful drawings of Blanche dipping Dorothy (and the incredibly sweet follow-up with Rose playing the piano, after our chat about this scene!!) I hope I managed to do it justice ;)

Summary

When Dorothy mentions she’s never been dipped before, Blanche and Rose decide to take matters in their own hands.

[dawnlitbouquet]

! i was going to post this in the replies, but this got a bit long after i decided to compare the raw version and the hetarchive translated version,,, this is in regards to italy acknowledging germany trying to pursue a relationship ^_^'

ON THE BUON SAN VALENTINO STRIPS

i originally remembered the strips as veneziano not even realizing that germany was proposing to him, so i went back to read the strips again - and in the scanlation, that impression is maintained all the way up until two specific lines; 'but if you're giving me flowers, does this mean...' + 'i appreciate your feelings, really, but...'

so i thought for a second 'wait, i was wrong??? vene really did realize germany was proposing to him???'

but it gave off a different air from the previous lines which sounded more like italy still had 0 clue what germany was doing, so as a person sloooooowly learning japanese i took a look at the raw text. and

making it clear, i'm not GOOD at japanese and am struggling through my classes - but at least in the literal sense, the second line were looked a bit more like;

'I understand your feelings... Really...' - yoku wakaru is used here

while the first line... this is where my blatant inexperience hits me in the face, since i had to search up 'nante' and 'nanka' on the dictionary app even though i know that the nan (何) is likely to be a question

for people with better japanese than me, the exact line is [ でもドイツが俺に花くるなんてなんかこれってむ ] so do tell me if i've gotten the impression right; it reads more like 'but germany giving me flowers is / somehow, something like that / this is...'

it's still uncertainty, but it's incomplete in the sense that veneziano is trailing off

(the ios translate app directly translated it as [ but it's kind of that germany is giving me flowers ] which makes it sound like it skipped over a word.

google translate, meanwhile, translated the line as [but germany giving me flowers is a bit weird...] which doubles down on the impression, but. given google's increased reliance on generative AI which has a track record of making stuff up, do you want to rely on google translate. do you. it's definitely skipped over punctuation and words when i used it on jp tweets in the past, and there is no word for 'weird' in the original line, so. it's possible that it's a common phrase in japanese, but it's also possible that it made a word up??? i think it's possible either way given the semantics i've been taught regarding the word 'chotto...' in class, but i don't trust google translate that much... see the next paragraph for clarificiation on chotto though)

making it clear, what i've been taught so far in jp class is that manners-wise, it's not really straightforward in refusal and it gets reflected in the language a lot??? so for showing we can't do something, the first thing my sensei + the textbook tells us is 'ちょっと。。。' which, when literally translated, means 'that's a bit...' so it's entirely possible that there's cultural cues i'm missing to indicate that veneziano was trying to refuse, but.

from what i can tell, it sounds very possible that my initial impressions still hold, and that veneziano never figured out that germany was trying to propose to him??? the way the lines were originally translated gave off the impression that italy actually understood germany's intentions using words like 'does this mean...' + 'i appreciate your feelings, really, but...'

but if i read it right the original was A LOT MORE ambiguous and, combined with the scanlation of italy's internal monologue, sounded more like veneziano:

1. had 0 understanding of why germany was being so nice to him and saw the flowers as an extension of that strange behaviour and

2. thought germany was mad at him for something and was trying to acknowledge that fact (keep in mind germany got mad at italy at the start for sweet-talking women since they were supposed to be on a date while italy didn't know that + in the next panel italy literally goes 'i'm sorry for doodling on your face' before germany starts suddenly wiping italy's face due to phony instructions in the guidebook he was using)

so based off of this. i sincerely think that. veneziano still isn't aware that germany was even trying to propose to him by the end of buon san valentino and continued to think that he was being weirdly out of character with no discernable cause. in the first place, it's extraordinarily hasty to skip to proposal on the first date, so while he definitely wasn't picking up on certain social cues germany kind of fumbled in the communication department himself

and by that notion, italy had ever actually directly rejected germany in the raw version of buon san valentino. again, it's possible that i'm missing key social conventions in japanese but i'm also aware that there's been gags based on lingual misunderstanding before, so if it was written to sound like a refusal it was probably in a way that sounded like italy was refusing but wasn't?

i think the original scanlation largely maintained that ambiguity too, it's just that those specific word choices threw me off

the thing is though, i'm not. i'm not good at japanese. i'm struggling hard with my jp classes, to be honest

if possible, i'd appreciate if someone else who can read japanese would help me look it over? i don't have enough ability to go through every single buon san valentino line, those two parts just jumped out since they sounded different from what the rest of the lines had implied. the raw and scanlated version are both available on hetarchive if anyone is willing to help me

One more Hetalia new years post lol.

I wonder if it’s ever crossed Italy’s mind that Germany looks similar to HRE. He shows absolutely no indication of this unless Im missing it somewhere.

Germany x Italy has been my ship since day 1 over a decade ago in 2014. And yet here we are still no confirmation about Italy’s thoughts on Germany and even though it’s almost pieced together, no explicit explanation on HRE’s relation to Germany. It’s so frustrating. Hima is such a tease. I wonder if he ever will reveal it and if he does, how he would change the dynamic between Germany and Italy?

Also think it’s kinda crazy that Germany was all in for a romantic relationship with Italy and this was just never brought up again. And Italy is never shown acknowledging that Germany was ready to pursue a relationship with him lol. Like I wanna knoooooow the aftermath.

Also, I love that Hima has to point out Germany is a virgin every chance he gets lol, first being shamed by Grandpa Rome for not having girls in his bed, and then having to admit to Austria he has absolutely no experience in the BSV strip. It’s not a lot but it’s still funny it happened at least twice.

I do think it fits his character pretty well though. Assuming he is HRE reborn, he kept his old self’s promise to Italy, that no matter how many centuries pass by he will always love him the most ❤️

That makes me think though, maybe HRE knew he would be reborn so he never said goodbye to Italy because he knew he would meet him again and was confident he would love him in that life too?

I headcanon Italy is waiting for Germany to say smth first about HRE

[torgawl]

instead of just cross eyes and star eyes distinguishing dynasties in khaenri'ah, why do some khaenri'ahns cover one eye specifically? there’s many things that seem interconnected regarding the lore:

crimson moon turning around to look like an eye; irmin the one-eyed king; the unknown god’s cubes containing eyes in their design (same ones present in the cataclysm as well as the crimson moon), her glitching looking like arlecchino’s, and the four pointed star pattern that appeared when she showed up to the twins; forbidden knowledge and nibelung’s influence; fischl's auge der verurteilung aka eye of condemnation (crimson eye) and her skin's description "o holiest of sovereigns, high princess of immernachtreich (kingdom of evernight)!".

kaeya's note about the alberich saying "i saved this one memento from the fire 'father' made while he wasn’t paying attention. this was in violation of our principles. our clan's affairs should never be recorded" and "though we could not restore khaenri'ah to life, we of the alberich clan should lead lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers [small piece of burning or glowing coal or wood in a dying fire]", father being in quotation marks and references to fire and ashes; the orphanage in khaenri'ah that wanted to house children from destroyed worlds and non-threats that leaked into the kingdom, in hopes of finding beings from beyond the sky who could transcend the gods; perinheri's first memory being transversing something like a chimney, filled with ash and being asked if he wasn't dead just for him to see the eye (crimson moon) and being told he was reborn; dust and the blood of of dragons (or dragon-like beings like durin and elynas) being connected to rhinedottir and the art of khemia; fire as rebirth and life but also, the balemoon blood specifically being connected to loss of memories and loss of memory being equivalent to death (not physical);  despite the orphanage never being able to find that transcendal person, it had many unusual individuals who became knights of the kingdom.

irmin as the first divine halberd (that once pierced the axis mundi [cosmic/world axis, world pillar, center of the world, world tree, etc.] and connected the nine worlds), the prinzessin der verurteilungas (fischl) as the last one; fischl and kaeya comparing themselves to one another and their parallels to irmin and odin; der ring des nibelungen, in which the dwarf (or nibelung) alberich creates a ring capable of controlling the world, using gold he stole from the rhinemaidens (or rheintöchter "rhine-daughters"). the conflict that arises over the ownership of this ring eventually leads to the destruction of the gods and their home, valhalla.

irminsul (irmin + sul) meaning great pillar and being a reference to the yggdrasil, the tree that supports the universe; the description of the item silver twig – collected in the center of the world - talking about a sage that hanged himself upside down in the irminsul tree to gain knowledge of the runes and the cosmos, then going into a secret kingdom down its roots [also a reference to hanged man in tarot that symbolizes wisdom, divination, sacrifice, prophecy, etc.]; odin who hung himself upside down from the sacred world tree, yggdrasil, for nine days and nights sacrificing his eye and throwing himself on his spear (gungir) as a ritual sacrifice in order to obtain secret wisdom; memories, fire and crimson moon hand in hand with the irminsul, king irmin and the concept of fate; the fake sky, the stars and being able to see fate but also fate being a means of the heavenly principles to control the world (neuvillette calling it puppet strings); khaenri'ah, a supposed godless nation but the crimson moon dynasty revering the moon (and hilichurls worshiping istaroth); the crimson moon having an eye on humanity and always being present associated with punishment and destruction (fall of gurabad, remuria and the catclysm).

crimson moon's semblance (arlecchino’s weapon) implying the crimson moon sought vengeance (“few survived the utter destruction of their kind, hiding in the shadows where the sun did not shine, longing for the crimson moon to decree their desire for vengeance be repaid”); the design of the weapon and arlecchino’s boss attacks resembling the double helix present in deathly statuette material dropped by abyss heralds, abyss lectors and shadowy husks, which has a single red eye. it apparently whispers "see, my child. all that lies under the throne of heaven shall be destroyed by upheaval. the eternal peace of the pitch-dark void shall embrace us all.” as you gaze at it.

the abyss order being founded by chlothar alberich and pierro being the first harbinger; the "sinner" – the crystal in chains from the chasm, protected by an abyss herald - not being a god but still worshipped by the abyss order. the voice stating to chlothar and the traveler’s twin that he "[knows their] fate well" and urged them to become a "transcendent one" saying he would "shed a tear at the end of time... as i gaze back upon your life". he also imbued chlothar with the power of the abyss, which alleviated his worsening conditions. the “sinner” refered to chlothar as “dear creature”; dainsleif, pierro and kaeya being examples of khaenriahns who hide their right eye; dainsleif being called “bough keeper”, bough is a branch of a tree, but also his constellation being a snake ring like ouroboros – representing the eternal renewal cycle of life, death and rebirth; the loom of fate being an operation of the abyss order first encountered during "a herald without adherents" quest.

“the threads of your fate lie in my hands” a quote by fischl connecting to the weaves of fate; fischl stating that if she does not obtain the divine halberd “...this world and everything in it is going to burn in hellfire” (legend of the shattered halberd vol. ii). some other excerpts of the book also include: “but unbeknownst to him, this was the greatest cursed sword of all, that had once burned the entire world to cinders: laevatain [in norse mythology, a weapon crafted by loki and the only capable of defeating the cockerel viðofnir, inhabiting the top of yggdrasil], the sword had extinguished after the world was burned, but... it burned bright once more. ‘the whole world... destroyed again...’ weiyang [fischl] fell unconscious as she spoke” (vol. iv), and, "the world is beyond repair. it shall be born anew from the ashes of the last” (vol. vi); dainsleif saying “none will escape the flames. see for yourself” but also neuvillette’s character story including “the puppet strings glossed as "divine rules" would one day be burned away by the fires of judgment” when talking about constellations; burning away the old world, project stuzha by the fatui and the image of dottore burning the irminsul; nahida saying fontaine's prophecy was engraved in the irminsul, implying the tree also contains the history of the future; sibylla, a prophetess who guarded the irminsul in an ancient city located in what later became the high seas (referred to as abyssal depths). she sacrificed her life for the sake of creating phobos, remus' grand symphony, but her lack of a will ultimately caused the project to fail, as her vague desire to "grant happiness to all in the world who are called humans" caused phobos to attempt to satisfy everyone's desires — including destructive and selfish ones — and set remuria towards the course of its self-destruction (possibly tying concepts of will and fate together); thinking of dottore's plan, it would make sense to burn the tree that holds memories with a fire able to erase them (arlecchino's balemoon powers) so that the world can be born anew breaking away from the shackles of fate.

there’s also the improvisation kaeya does during the play in his hangouts. "do you believe in fate? if fate decreed your life was to end in tragedy, what would you do?". he then throws a prop and we interact, choosing if we would face our fate bravely or challenge it and rise above it. kaeya then goes on saying "then so must it be! yes, so must it be! i shall discard this intaglio and rid myself of the shackles of fate", "fate means to send the machinations of war to every corner of the land to fan the flames of conflict till they ungulf the entire world… fate would see my sword tainted with the blood of innocents, that the bright banner of my homeland might fly in every nation known to mankind. but i shall not bow to the will of fate i am no pawn in heaven’s plan. i, qubad, will spend the rest of my days in a foreign land, 'till i breathe my last in a place far from home" and finishes the play with "but i must walk this path, or freedom dies by my hand. goodbye, my tribe and kin. farewell, sweet land of my birth". the prop we get from kaeya, the intaglio, symbolizes the noble origins of prince qubad in the play and the blood-red jewel (blood, red... funny, uh?) is said to be a crystallization of the question kaeya asked us about destiny. furthermore, an intaglio can be a type of engraved gem or metal signet ring.

[uncanny-tranny]

On the "darker" side of being comforted by one's immortality (not in the physical, but metaphorical), I've always been comforted by bone needles.

The idea that even after death, you've still been remembered by how you are used. No, bone needles probably weren't used with human bones, but it's a reminder that you aren't just going to... disappear. I'm comforted in the knowledge that I don't end in a "me" but in a "we," in nature. Everything about me is reused material so much more ancient than I am, and knowing that, I feel so much closer to the world.

[moonofmercury]

I generally respect you comes up with as meta, and I hope you'll forgive me the rudeness of inserting myself, but it makes me itchy when people are sort of talking past one another perhaps because of tone differences, so perhaps my weighing in may diffuse things somewhat? But also you both bring up some really interesting points. (below the cut because this post is already long without me being nosey)

- Neither @theheirofthesharingan or @please-read-the-manga said the uchiha deserve their fate, and neither are blaming Itachi or saying he's responsible and the original post was not addressed to readers who think so I'm not certain why this comes up at all. It seems like everyone is pretty settled on the side that Itachi acted as best he could at a very young age with limited support, or support that was not ideal and somewhat realistically flawed. Fugaku struggles between acting as a father and a clan head.

Manga is an incredible medium because it's a place where every inch of space (when done well) matters, and the chosen panels in this thread physically show Fugaku's struggle (facial expression which also may be interpreted differently by different people), unable to protect his son, unable to protect his clan. The cruel fact is that there are simply some parents who cannot be good parents while also pursuing the other things they want - in Fugaku's case being a clan head. I will happily bring up Itachi Shinden directly since I bought it and read it and say, while it may be only faintly implied in the manga, the light novel brings up what seems a logical possibility (told from Itachi's point of view and he is not happy about the push-and-pull) that Fugaku was struggling to reign in more aggressive and (presumably) respected/connected members of the clan from attacking the village earlier (the ones who confront Itachi after Shisui's death and Itachi does with Fugaku would take a stronger stand against them).

There's a Watsonian explanation that Fugaku mega failed by just not meeting with the elders, or that Danzo/other elders/Hiruzen pushed that meeting off on purpose, or a combination of both, and there's a Doylist explanation that Kishimoto just needed the massacre to happen so he made sure the meeting never happened (although I personally think it would have been more interesting if communication just broke down, I am not the writer.

I also don't think it's a simple case of Fugaku "didn't bother" to consider his family's fate if the Uchiha coup failed, which is a phrase that tends to tell people his actions were selfish only. While our modern society says this isn't correct, in the past (and even now) it's very typical for families to acknowledge they have power of life and death over their children. In EAsian media, it's not uncommon to see those who commit treason punished with obliteration of 9 or something other level of their relatives, basically a whole clan, thus killing the bloodline. It may be that Kishimoto didn't think to bring this up because it's implied. The only thing we know is that at some point Fugaku also thought a coup was the only way to change things, but as I believe both parties have brought up, many characters question this reality.

- I don't know why it's presumed that Mikoto is lying about Fugaku also talking about Sasuke when they're alone? We are actually shown scenes of Fugaku being excited about his children when they're born in the anime - they're very cute. I don't think I've encountered evidence of Mikoto lying about Fugaku in the manga, but it's been a while since I read this part (and she suffers from the author's typical approach to writing women, as in he gives them minimal action unless he needs them to act as a mouthpiece). I think it's more implied that she's softening reality for Sasuke. It's far more believable to the readers that Fugaku is focused on Itachi (because he's trying to get Itachi to act on the clan's side and Sasuke is a child, who isn't currently involved in the village politics because he's not a child-genius who garners that kind of attention. Sasuke interprets this as his lack of skill compared to Itachi meaning he earns less love, and although Itachi certainly garners more of Fugaku's on-screen, attention, there are reasons for this. Is it fair to Sasuke? No, but it's pretty well established that Fugaku isn't the best parent. He likely views going to Sasuke's ceremony as taking up time he doesn't have, because Fugaku more fits the Japanese trope mold of a business-minded father who therefore pays not-enough-attention to his children. Again, not fair, but when playing in media spaces, acknowledging these character molds helps understand their actions in context of the society they're based from/born from). I would expect the scene with Mikoto to be left up to the reader to interpret. We don't see enough of Fugaku to immediately agree with Mikoto that he's awkward, but we also don't see enough to immediately disagree. We know he doesn't tend to do well when put on the spot, which seems to support awkward, but again I think deciding that is at this point up to the reader, although I'm not sure she's outright lying.

Parents say things to comfort their children all the time that might not be fair. At that moment, Sasuke needs to hear that sometimes he's the favorite too, and it's good for children to learn there is more going on behind the scenes than they see. It isn't meant to imply that Itachi is less loved in general and she doesn't say to Sasuke that Itachi is only considered more useful - she can't anyway because it implies Itachi's missions have something to do with their father, or are commanded by their father, which Sasuke does not and is not supposed to know. However, because this is one of Mikoto's very few speaking panels, it's up to readers to interpret how her words are to be interpreted. I don't think @please-read-the-manga is entirely off the mark, but others might see her behavior in a more sinister light.

I personally like and play with the characterizations of Mikoto and Fugaku as both somewhat ineffective parents. But this doesn't make them objectively bad people, and I don't think it takes away from saying that they're interesting characters for some people, even if not to all readers.

- I am approaching things from the angle of a literary analysis that can color my personal writing but acknowledge it can also affect others too. From a literary analysis point of view, taking into account human interactions, I don't think Fugaku just went combing through metaphorical bushes for something he could use against the village. Unfortunately, the situation is set up that Fugaku hopes to trust Itachi implicitly because he's his son (erroneous assumption that may be).

I'm not sure which "he" is seldom present in Itachi's life. There's an anime arc with young Itachi and Shisui running a mission in the forest of death? And then he returns as an adult, although that may be an animated version of the shinden backstory. While it may not be right, and you may not agree, I think though that even if Fugaku is sending someone to spy on Itachi, it doesn't disprove that he loves him. It may not be loving his son as only his son, but also evaluating him as part of the clan and part of the village, and seeking to see whether his loyalty is closer to the clan or village. For some, this may not qualify in their perception of love, but my interpretation is that my understanding of love may not be always correct or reflect whether Fugaku believes he loves Itachi.

I would also like to point out that... based on Mikoto's statements in the referenced panel above, either Fugaku does spend all his time on Sasuke or he doesn't? Sasuke struggles being the youngest child during a time when everyone else in the house is involved with something extremely dangerous and highly illegal.

"whereas Fugaku didn't even bother to acknowledge that his decisions would bring a doom upon everyone, including his sons." or "Fugaku had enough sense to not drag Sasuke into the political mess, but hey, let's use Itachi."

As potentially unintentionally acknowledged Fugaku considers his children in some cases and other times doesn't think directly about then in context of the coup. My personal feeling is that Sasuke was not skilled enough to be a threat. He was very skilled for his age, but not enough to put him in danger for being a gifted young shinobi like Itachi, so Fugaku never had to manage him as an asset, but also didn't necessarily have a ton of extra time when he wasn't thinking about the coup, translating to Sasuke having to beg to spend time together. Again, doesn't necessarily make Fugaku a terrible father, but does make him an unfortunately stereotypical early 2000s one.

I love @please-read-the-manga bringing up the village's structure's failings, because part of that is built into the dissonance between responsibilities given to genin/chunin despite their ages. It wasn't fair or right that Itachi was adultified by the actual adults around him, but I agree that at its best, Naruto sticks to the original issues brought up in the first arcs - that the shinobi system was nominally created to protect people like Hashirama and Madara's younger siblings who died as child soldiers in endless war, that shinobi are treated as tools, something that horrifies the main trio because they were relatively shielded from this and tires their teachers because they grew up with this mentality.

Part of Itachi's suffering comes from needing the protection given to children while being saddled with adult responsibilities. Fugaku seems to feel this is hard but perhaps having honor in it (as Itachi is serving his clan), as well as being necessary and a given, which again if we are believing that the original throughline of shinobi equaling tools (and the narrative telling us this kills people in unjust and depressing ways), makes sense. It doesn't mean Fugaku isn't part of the problem in the village, what it is, is interesting because the Uchiha are both part of the village and apart from it, part of its ideology and suffering from it, which sits very well within the framework again of Naruto originally interrogating the justice and hypocrisy of the shinobi world.

- I don't think either person is accusing Itachi for not being able to find a better solution to the coup in this post. People with reading comprehension absolutely know that Itachi struggled through difficult circumstances. He also struggles between an author who needs certain events to happen regardless of "what-if's" (accounting again for Doylist analysis) and the large and invisible world shaped around him (Watsonian interpretation) which some people admittedly jump too far (insert meme about connecting dots and jumping jumped already jumped) but is not happening here.

- I disagree with the blanket statement that Fugaku doesn't stand by Itachi at all. The manga does show us that primarily Fugaku is one of the push-pull forces affecting Itachi, and no Itachi does not feel supported by Fugaku, which may be most indicative of all, but in that last moment, Fugaku does say that despite everything, he feels proud of Itachi.

Again, I will bring up the shinden, but only because it attempts to show us Itachi's feelings about Fugaku's handling of the coup, by which he is frustrated that Fugaku isn't taking a stronger stand against more aggressive clan members. He doesn't understand why and is (very understandably) upset by it. Again "why" could be because the author needs the coup to happen, and/or it could be because Fugaku actually believes the coup is the most effective way of restoring presence in the village. Fugaku is shown in the anime as walking closely with Itachi when Itachi was young, seemingly implying they had a closer relationship before.

Once again from a literary analysis interpretation, Fugaku's moment kneeling before Itachi is the last moment he knows he'll ever be able to speak to his son. This moment builds on past characters' interpretations of Fugaku. If he really is awkward, it makes more sense to me that in his last moments, he is choosing to be as honest and blunt as possible - pleading somewhat for the life of his other child and making sure that Itachi knows that his parents don't blame him, that this is just the end of the silent battle that has colored all of their other interactions. Even if they are words spoken out of guilt, does that mean they are not genuine? Is acknowledging that you have done something to be guilty of not mean that you acknowledge you could have treated someone better?

Is it wrong for him not to want to force Itachi to fight him, that Fugaku does not want to wound Itachi in their final moments? Fugaku is a shinobi too, this is a bit of a leap, but it makes sense to me that Fugaku would know the village would attempt to silence Itachi after the massacre to drown the truth in shadows and that he didn't want to harm Itachi's chance of an escape, of living, even though this life would be filled with the knowledge of having killed his family. No parents wants to kill their child.

I also don't think Fugaku threw Itachi away. We don't know that he "didn't mind". It's not as though Fugaku is unaffected by Itachi being pulled this way and that by the village, but it also isn't implied he knows Itachi was given a kill order as far as I recall.

- I would like to gently point out that, while there are "wrong" comparisons in media, I don't think @please-read-the-manga lacks sense when comparing Fugaku and Itachi. They just point out that they were both raised in the same shinobi system, Fugaku is one of Itachi's teachers (a very important piece of lineage in the Naruto world and Japanese culture at large), and Itachi (even in Shisui) did not have a great framework for how to make the person he loved most stronger - because once again following Naruto's overarching theme, loss and othering are taught as the way to build strength in shinobi, but is also acknowledged as damaging.

I don't even think the narrative questions whether Fugaku exposing Itachi to violence at a young age was correct, we have multiple in-world examples that would say this is in fact a very unnecessary thing to do. Similarly, the narrative doesn't question whether Itachi's early torture of Sasuke was correct, we see very quickly that it isn't. I do love how @theheirofthesharingan brings up how relatively gentle Itachi's later fights with Sasuke are. They're one of my favorite parts of the manga and anime because they show how much Itachi loves Sasuke, the whole battle is choreographed so carefully to make sure Sasuke is as safe as possible once it's over.

We thankfully do not have to make a decision about sacrificing someone for the sake of a nation that is our responsibility, but it doesn't make it less startling to hear, out-loud, and in that font haha, that someone is willing to kill people who are important to them (even their own child, and we do know that children can be more dangerous than adults in this world) for a country, which I agree does not share personhood.

The implications of these panels with Hashirama vs Madara very much are that Hashirama starts to think of the village as its own entity, rather than a framework to protect its inhabitants. He doesn't say "the people of the village", he says "the village". I know those things are used interchangeably and we can't know if the author considered using the former, but I believe that this moment is to be interpreted as the moment Madara realizes how much Hashirama has changed, and later sets up how the villages do not actually protect all the young and vulnerable inside their walls, but only some of them and sometimes.

(We don't know how much collateral damage was involved in Madara and Hashirama's later battles. If there was none, it's still wrong for Madara to threaten the village to get Hashirama to come out and play, and if there is some, then this solidifies the issue of Uchiha continually considering themselves as somehow separate from the village.)

Once you're a leader of the people, they're your responsibility. And if your family/friends cause any trouble and put the lives of thousands others you're responsible for on risk, you must choose

I'd also like to point out that this takes place for Fugaku on a smaller scale too. He fails at it, but it's interesting to look at the ways how. I don't think the coup is every framed as an extremely intelligent move, it's framed as a sort of mob mentality, done out of desperation, and avoidable from multiple fronts, which helps to establish it as a tragedy and failing of the village.

Danzo doesn't particularly care about the people of the village so much as he cares about the structure of it, the way in which villagers are a resource, and power is prestige, and conformity (to ideology or the "village vision") is key. The coup is also framed as a convenient excuse for his personal agenda.

- Ultimately, I really liked @please-read-the-manga's original analysis. The Senju and Uchiha are well-established foils but I haven't before seen Hashirama's and Fugaku's expressions of love directly compared. The Uchiha are framed in-world as the clan affected by hatred, and the evolution of the narrative showing they're the clan most strongly and physically affected by love is, I feel, not leaned into enough. It's a different frame of morality that someone might prioritize the people they love most over a larger portion of the population. I'm very well aware that some people consider it straight up wrong (and again most people don't have to make this real-life decision, and even if you do, it's not wrong or abnormal to live with severe guilt over choosing your person rather than more people but also have no regret it), and it's typically framed in narrative that people with this morality do not actually make good state leaders because they can't make that sacrifice to protect the inhabitants of the state, but to me, part of what makes Fugaku's plan ineffective is he can't decide until he has not more choice. This makes him a really interesting character even though it makes him kind of a crummy father. But even when he kind of knows Itachi isn't down with the whole "spy on the village" thing anymore, he never turns on Itachi. Even if he "should", as someone who is responsible for the lives of the whole Uchiha clan, by Hashirama's argument, deal with Itachi to stop him "betraying" the Uchiha, he doesn't. And yeah, I know this is an extremely low bar, but I think the comparison was interesting and something I hadn't seen before.

I think it's important again that in the panel with Hashirama, at least from what I remember, Madara isn't like, mad that Hashirama would kill him for the village's sake. I think he already knows this, but he's sort of? like it's alarming again to see Hashirama frame the village itself as priority over who the village was for. One could even argue in the context of that one sentence, that we need to ask again, what is being defined as "the village". If it's the people, that is one thing, but that panel frames the viewer as seeing Hashirama write people out of the village, and also maybe in that moment give up on Madara as part of the village (I know he's been exiled at that point, but part of me wonders in the context of their relationship, whether Madara expected Hashirama to chase after him? These are just musing thoughts, not serious replies now.)

Hm, been contemplating these panels lately and thinking about which character is constantly demonized within the fandom/fan works involving them and which is frequently viewed as the ultimate loving and moral person...

And:

One is a man bearing the supposed 'Curse of Hatred' who loves his children so much that he is continuing to parent and offer unconditional love to his son even after said son has already participated in the brutal state-sanctioned genocide of their people/culture and is about to end his (and his wife's - who, btw, is on the same page as him) life.

The other is a man from the supposed 'Clan of Love' who boldly holds the conviction that he would cease his compassion towards even his own child if they stood against him and his dream (the village), regardless of the fact his dream (the village) is a corruptible entity that does not maintain personhood.

Interestingly, I think there is something to be said for the fact both Fugaku and Hashirama are also shown struggling to understand Itachi and Madara (respectively).

Fugaku is actually quite honest regarding his issues in relating to Itachi and while we're not always privy to all the conversations they've had about the state of the clan/sentiment of the Leaf village towards their people, it's clear that those discussions have been had. While the panels where we do see more explicit conversations taking place show Fugaku reiterating to Itachi that his role in ANBU is to serve as a pipeline between the clan/village (which could be argued as an unfair burden foisted onto a child, in my opinion) there are also moments that indicate Fugaku is willing to defer to Itachi (at least on some topics) when his son offers a contradictory viewpoint (like attendance at Sasuke's entrance ceremony, for example).

Side note... this also reminds me of the very short (unfortunately) interactions we see between Madara and his father, Tajima. Tajima clearly respects his son as well and defers to him when Madara insists that they not fight Hashirama and his family on the river - Tajima accepts this from his son without pause.

Alternatively, we also see Madara trying to explain his perspective to a skeptical Hashirama before he commits to taking more drastic actions. Madara is trying to articulate his frustrations with what is happening in the village/how it is progressing with regards to his clan and (even though we never really get Madara's own unfiltered perspective on this time period) we are shown instances of Madara's grievances holding water (ie. Tobirama advocating for Madara not to be made Hokage, but instead pushing randomly for a democratic system that never seems to actually be cemented or made precedent within the village afterwards but absolutely benefits Hashirama/the Senju in the short-run, Madara 'overhearing' Tobirama's continued bias against the Uchiha in private conversations between the brothers, Hashirama continuing to scold his brother -someone who had ample power within the system of governance since its inception- for his bias against the clan even when they're brought back via the edo tensei, etc). Hashirama tries to (weakly, in my opinion) defend the village status quo/way it is progressing and seems to want to better understand Madara, but isn't willing or is unable to go that extra mile for his friend - and, perhaps in some ways, Madara too was unwilling/unable to articulate himself in a more digestible way once their divergence of opinion on their shared village came to this new crux.

Ultimately, I just find it interesting that Fugaku, this character who is often portrayed by fans as a demon of hatred and cruelty, would (in reality) stand by his son even in his darkest hour, even as he is unjustly slaughtering their family, and continue to reaffirm that he is proud of Itachi/loves him - and this is directly counter to Hashirama who asserts he would absolutely kill anyone (including a child) that stood between him protecting that which he loves the most (the village).

And, of course, we also have this to chew on lol...

Sasuke explaining to edo Hashirama that Itachi inherited his 'Will of Fire' jingoism.

Mandatory disclaimer that Fugaku is not infallible and all the characters here (but Fugaku and Hashirama in particular) are their own people/the circumstances do vary (especially as one relationship is framed in the context of father-son and the other as two friends/peers)... I should also note that I still enjoy Hashirama as a character, I just think his flaws are often under-examined and that the hypocrisy inherent to the 'Will of Fire' philosophy/the Leaf Village (and by extension the shinobi world) is equally neglected especially when it comes to this fandom's love of tearing down the Uchiha to their worst traits/moments. But, man, something about these two panels and character portrayals in particular have just been eating at me the past few days, so I figured I'd try to work out some thoughts on them.

[lieutenant-amuel]

Elena of Avalor is genuinely such a good show.

[blujayonthewing]

my mom [not here but just, in general, very very frequently]: I didn't do christmas cards on time/ at all, I am SUCH a piece of SHIT, LMAO

her sister: you know I've often wondered if we're not all neurodivergent, which would explain everything 🤔 either way it's completely understandable and absolutely okay that you're doing the best with what you've got💕