#I think he should be allowed to kill people

[certifiablyinsanez]

I really hope that now, the people who have been under-appreciating the class and racial dynamics of the show and Blitz and Stolas’ relationship can now realize that Blitz had every right to have doubts and worries over Stolas’ character when it came to their gap.

Do you know what this episode reminds me of? Authoritarian, dictatorial rule. People have opinions of public execution in the real world. It’s something that actually happens. Even for peoples and societies that don’t currently commit to public executions more than likely have a past history of doing so. And the realities of this very real thing were made clear in this episode. Because Blitz, and even all of IMP, was going to die. And in the real world, you probably don’t have a royal lover to save you at the last second. It is a real tool used by cruel masters to keep people in line, to invoke terror and submission. We all saw their faces.

A family of imps, children watching. The little girl closing her eyes sadly.

His best friend and loved ones watching him get his head lopped off.

Even his scorned ex who he viciously hurt is horrified by this.

Just because we knew Blitz was going to be saved, should in no way erase the seriousness of this event. This is something used to enforce submission, to instill fear. Satan mentions how he created imps to be obedient. This was meant to be a reminder to all the lowly people in hell that their place is in the dirt. Because Blitz is only moderately successful for his race. By the standards of higher classes he would still be seen as a low-rate wannabe business man running a seedy operation. His is not rich by any means. His business only produces enough to moderately support his family and his workers.

And he was about to be killed for it.

He was about to be executed because he was a little too uppity. Because he dared to be anything other than what was designated for his race. Let that sink in. Imagine if you were executed on international television just because you wanted a better career and life. This is the reality in Hell. And the unfairness of it all is so blatantly seen when Stolas is harshly punished but still allowed to live. Not only that, but it was put on public record that he’s silly to think he would be killed because “his life actually has worth”. That’s insane.

And I need everyone to apologize and write Viv and her team love letters because these dynamics EXIST IN REAL LIFE. They are real and have real consequences, and this is real for the POC that lives down the street from you. This is not something that happens in a backwards place 10,000 miles away. It’s in everyone’s backyard. This episode was beautifully written and I look forward to every new episode to come.

[remusinfurs]

This is a real thing for sure, and a helpful way to think about it. I would also add that in cases like the service animal thing, where able people have bought vests on Amazon and taken advantage: this is part of why there has to be regulations—so that a situation doesn’t come along where evil people can prey on peoples’ frustrations, resulting in a cruel over correction. Requiring licensing and paperwork to put one of those vests on your dog keeps Karen from bringing her overbred yapping nightmare onto public transit to piss everywhere, and ensures the vest still means something, so that when a person with an actual service dog boards a plane, people aren’t thinking “oh God I hope that’s an actual trained service dog.” People with disabilities deserve to have what they need to be out and about, without selfish assholes taking advantage and ruining it for them (and everyone around them).

Controversial take: yes MAGA immigration policy is cruel and evil, and is going to ruin and end lives, and the MAIN reason we are in this situation is because Trump torpedoed the bipartisan immigration bill that was set to pass so that he could believably run on xenophobia. BUT the left (broadly, legislatively speaking) should also take some responsibility for allowing the extreme wing of the party to dictate the conversation to the point that any mention of a stronger border of that the border is connected to the fentanyl crisis gets shut down as ‘racist’ xenophobic’, not a legitimate concern. So people in the border states whose communities are suffering feel judged/ignored by one party and got swooped on by the other, and white nationalists are now in charge of the border; as the saying goes, “if liberals don’t secure the border, fascists” will”. But the Democrats did try. Just not soon enough, hard enough.

So yes, the Shirley Exception is real. I think the best cure is prevention. Recognize the real problems even if they add caveats to your stance. This is what good, effective regulation is for. Political extremism kills—directly on the right, indirectly on the left by empowering the right.

The Shirley Exception

[niechys]

I'm sorry. I'm so not sorry but also so so so sorry. But I can't stop thinking about it.

from @keferon tf mecha universe

(Also if you don't want me tagging you please do tell. I didn't want to bother, just want to credit cuz it's glorious)

it's because of this post.

Happened after This event

I'm sorry in advance for all the grammatical errors.

I also don't know wo else would be the science guy to take this position of explaining the thing. I feel like there has to be someone else that's not Shockwave too. Sorry to all of Brainstorm's fans out there. I think he's not a bad guy. Just too excited for the possibilities.

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

Something lingers inside that mech. Although there is no hard evidence of a human soul or spirit or ghost haunting it, most people who had anything to do with Vortex agreed that it was best to believe its first pilot never leave the cockpit of his mech. After all, nothing else would explain the freak accidents constantly killing all but the latest pilot.

Human are prone to be superstitious. It's normal to believe in something like ghost in the machine, really.

But one would not think a man of sciences such as Shockwave would take the rumors seriously. No one knows if the scientist really believe it or not. He

Regardless of the rumors' validity, it sure did inspired him.

"You're kidding me" Swindle stood, blinked, looked at the incomplete repair of Blurr's mech then back to the technician in front of him. Brainstorm was prattling on at speed faster than Blurr's F1 record.

"Not kidding. Why would I kid? This is a great breakthrough. Lives can be saved and there are much we could do with the tech, I don't know why it never occurs to me or Shockwave that the neural link tech could have been used in this way---"

Swindle turned his brain off during all the scientific mumbo jumbo all and only really heard him again at "It's nothing all that weird really. Some people disagree, but you can't go against Shockwave when he put his mind to it. If you think about it, it's just like Vortex"

"What?" Swindle blinked again.

"Vortex. That mech, I mean the mech's first pilot, crazy psycho, crazy good at slicing up kaijus"

"I know who Vortex was. I worked here when he started piloting. What did that asshole has to do with this?"

"Oh, everything. If, a big if. If that guy's consciousness was still in the mech like people been saying"

"Haunted" Crossing his arms, he narrowed his eyes at Brainstorm. The technician corrected him.

"Lingering consciousness. Either way, Blurr is in much better shape than Vortex. Brain still intact . So is most part of his body. We wired him to the neural link to allow him control of the mech. So when we are ready, he can still go about his task from within that mech"

"What . The . Fuck"

Swindle's eyebrow twitched. No, it's NOTHING like Vortex's case. The asshole died and probably refused to leave this world. Blurr, on the other hand, was still alive. Sure he wouldn't be the same. Maybe he would be scarred for life, paralyzed from the waist down or something. But hardwiring a person to a mech?

"So, you were working with Blurr before now, correct? That's why we would like to bring you in as his handler. Not like you have to do maintenances and stuff, just take care of him and, the publicity and all that. Like being his manager" With that, Brainstorm handed him a folder before excusing himself.

The guy wasn't bad most of the time, Swindle thought. But sometimes, just sometimes, his passion for science overshadowed the moral compass.

Like how he wished that his own greed would take precedented in his state of mind. They must have thought he would jump at the chance to milk more profit from Blurr. Hell, he wouldn't be feeling this bad if that was the case.

He wanted to refuse. Profit be damn, even he didn't feel right. Blurr saved them. He should be allowed to preserved his humanity, his dignity. Not preserving his brain in a jar inside a mech. If the pilot died and the mech is reparable, you find a new pilot. If the pilot lived but can no longer pilot, you also find a new pilot. Not..this.

But refusing means they will bring someone else on board to manage Blurr. He's pretty sure he wouldn't like that.

Fuck

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

**note. Blurr is not reduced to brain in a jar. Most of his body is intact, just hard wired to the mech.

I tink they can add robot parts to him later all stuff. But since they probably value Blurr as a money cow pilot first. If they can't use his face, they can still use his mech.

Sorry again ehehehehehehehehehe

[jinxposting]

Jason Todd x Jinx! reader Chapter 1

Debut

Your official debut as the Joker's sidekick didn't come till you were 17

People knew of you prior to this, they knew Joker and Harley had been harboring a little maniac with a penchant for bombs

The uptake in explosives the Joker employed was less than subtle proof something had changed

Harley being a tad more mentally stable (tad being the key word) didn't want their surrogate child being caught in any crossfire

Joker didn't care

So they compromised with you being allowed to build your devices but not allowed to have any direct involvement in their escapades

Then you grew older and more confident

You demanded to be more involved

This of course came with risks

No more free roaming the streets of Gotham, now you'd have a target on your back

And most notably there was the Batman

Though he didn't know the exact nature of your relationship with Joker he was already well aware of your existence, just not your face or name

Until today

You were tasked with protecting the Joker's new cargo shipment. Weapons for the henchmen, canisters to house laughing gas, just your typical odds and ends. Easy work.

Or it should have been.

The Bat decided to make an appearance. He made quick work of your 'partners' (low level thugs really). You weren't worried though. You knew that the Dark Knight had strict rules not to kill. But you didn't.

You triggered the preemptively placed smoke bombs. Walking out to the front of the ship, still unloaded and parked in the harbor, you came face to face with the infamous Batman.

He stared you down, no surprise nor malice. Just a warning look.

"Hi."

You pulled the pins on two grenades and threw them at the man. With a flourish of his cape he shielded himself. Long enough for you to slip away.

That was until a blur of red and black caught your eye. And a fist. You weaved out of the way, barely missing the punch.

"Woah there, Boy Wonder. Don't you know the rules? You can't hit a girl!"

"You're not a girl, you're a villain."

"It's called duality."

The boy growled and threw another punch. Again, you weaved out of range. You reached behind your back for the gun you kept on hand. With a swift kick however, it went flying from your grasp. You were tackled to the floor, Robin pinning you down with a snarl.

"You aren't used to a fair fight, are you?"

"Fair my ass, there's two of you!"

"What are you even supposed to be?" The boy scrutinized your appearance. "Joker 2.0?"

"Jinx."

"What?"

"My name is Jinx."

The masked boy scoffed. "That doesn't match at all."

"Oh, and remind me what a robin has to do with bats?"

The boy opened his mouth only to immediately close it. He looked away in embarrassment. "I didn't pick it."

An opening.

You kneed him between the legs before rolling him over. The boy groaned out in pain. Before you could run a hand pulled you by the hair. You curse your long braids.

"That's enough."

You turned to eye the large man in black. There he stood, scowling, with a fist full of your green locks. You stared blankly.

"Can you let go now?"

"Depends. Are you going to run?"

You merely offered a smile

"Then no."

That was the first time you found yourself in the back of the batmobile.

Restrained to your seat of course, held against your will, Batman attempting to interrogate you. Still, you couldn't help but beam at the vehicle. Buttons and switches lined the dash with a voice activated screen in the middle. Hell, even the seats were equipped with built in tasers. You were in awe.

"This. Is. Amazing! What's the mileage on this baby? Do you really have an oil slick? What about tire jacks?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Uh, duh! That's why I asked."

The boy in the seat ahead of you mumbled something you couldn't hear. If your legs were free you'd have kicked the back of his seat.

"Hey, Boy Blunder. What's your damage? You caught me, didn't ya? Quit whining."

"You kicked me in the-!"

"Robin."

Batman didn't even take his eyes off the road. At least you don't think he did. Hard to tell with the mask. The boy crossed his arms defensively. Though he didn't say anything.

Oh? This would be fun.

"So... why a robin? Small, dainty, useless..."

He turned in his seat to face you. "So help me-"

"Robin."

"But she-!" The Bat glared this time. "I'm just supposed to let her trash talk me?!"

"You're supposed to ignore her."

"Yeah, Robin. Ignore me." You grinned.

Before he could retort a sudden crash reverberated through the car. Green smoke flooded the windshield. You'd recognize your handiwork anywhere.

"Hey, Batsy!" You heard Harley sing out. "I think you took somethin' o' mine."

It didn't take too long for Harley to rescue you. Batman may have strength but your family has speed. And bombs. Lots of bombs.

When you returned to the hideout Joker was less than pleased. You fumbled the shipment and had to be rescued. How pathetic.

Now he thinks I'm weak.

I am not weak!

And I'll prove it.

[luciferanalyzestar]

After Sinsmas I’m fuckin done with Helluva Boss. What could’ve have been a fun premise with compelling themes of socialism and classism sprinkled in between has become a melodramatic sobfest for the creator’s pet who everyone in the narrative must bend over to no matter what

I just made a post feeling the same way.

Helluva's premise could have been simple here is just rewrite of it:

Blitz, an imp who is at bottom of the social hierarchy wants to make a name for himself. He gets the idea of becoming an assassin who kills humans for sinners. He meets Moxxie and Millie and they joined him, Moxxie wants to get away from his toxic past and Millie wants to prove herself to her family. Blitz does not have the ability to go to Earth and fails at getting a crystal from Ozzie (Unknown to Blitz. he is ex-crush/friend Fizz is Ozzie's boyfriend), he learns an Ars Goetia named Stolas has a book that allows demons to travel to Earth. To make his dream a reality, he makes a deal with the sex repressed prince. Blitz has to be Stolas' escort and have sex with him once a month. Blitz does not tell his co-workers about this deal. After spending time with Stolas, he learns how much of a self-absorbed classist he really is. He gets creeped out when Stolas says fetishizing stuff about him being an imp. Blitz hates being around Stolas but does not want to disappoint his co-workers or his adopted daughter. Stolas develops a twisted crush on Blitz, viewing him as a form of escapism from his doomed from the started marriage. He does not care for Blitz as a person but as a sex object to fill his sexual desires. (If I wanted to rewrite Helluva, I would make Loona younger so we can see them bound more as a single father with a young child) Imps around him have tried to start businesses, but they never go far. Failure is not an option for him. Stella finds out about the deal Stolas made with Blitz and uses it as blackmail against him. She knows he will loss his title if it is found out that he has playing around with the lower class. She never loved Stolas but stays in the marriage to protect Octvia meeting the same fate as her (being a baby making machine) and if she divorces Stolas, she will be left with nothing.

I feel like a decent writer should have made this show's premise work and still being entertaining without becoming melodramatic. Like I mention in the post I linked, Blitz and Stolas are the main reason I am losing interest. I know stans go "IT IS CALLED HELLUVA BOSS!! OF COURSE BLITZ GETS MOST OF THE FOCUS!!!" Other franchises that are named after a character still give the other characters chances to shine like Sonic, Bluey, SpongeBob, and etc.

I highlighted the episodes of season two where Blitz and Stolas' relationship is a part of the plot.

Out of eleven episodes, only four is not about those two. If their relationship was spaced out more, giving other relationships and dynamics the spotlight, I would not have a problem with it.

The narrative doing backflips to make their relationship work grinds my gears. There is nothing romantic about it, the relationship's foundation is built off of sex and at worst, sexual coercion. I keep asking this question but what does Stolas see in Blitz outside of "being good in bed"? Same goes for Blitz. Blitz is a damaged person; the last thing he needs is to get into a relationship. I fear that the show will go in the direction that all of Blitz will heal from his trauma once he marries Stolas or some shit. Getting into a relationship will not solve your problems. People are not Band-Aids.

It is pure melodrama. We all know that Blitz and Stolas are going to get together. Seeing them lukewarm trials and tribulations so they can be together is wasting our time.

They should have gotten together in at the end of season 1. and maybe season two should have been about the hardships of their relationship of a prince falling in love with someone who lower status. I think their relationship would have worked if Stolas was not an imp fetishizer and got called out more on his classism and if Blitz is less of an unpleasant jerk and was just someone who always have their guards up due to being hurt by others in the past.

Helluva seems like an easy show to write about, why are Viv, Brandon, and Adam fumbling the bag so hard???

Off topic under the cut:

I wonder if someone reworked the show into being about humans.

Brad, man of color becomes a hit man to support himself and his adopted daughter. He wants his young daughter to have a better life than he said growing up. He gets anonymously hire to kill a wealthy higher class White man named Seth. (The anonymous person was Seth's wife, Stella). Brad gets caught by Seth but instead of reporting him to the police, Seth makes a deal with Brad that he will be his personal hit man, killing all of his business rivals. The downside is that he must do sexual favors for/on Seth.

[aingeal98]

thinking of the differences in cass and bruce regarding their no-kill rules, and how cass’ rule is better in regards to the batman persona and what it stands for. death and bruce have an awful relationship, to say the least. he has gained nothing from death and murder, in fact it affects him so much that all he can do with death is just sit in its presence forever, without ever working through it (he literally refers to death as ‘a curse constantly hanging over him’ i mean that is not the most accepting mindset). with cass though? she can actively process death and even accept that it has happened. she isn’t like bruce, because she uses others dying to make her intense love and empathy stronger, while bruce just uses it to fuel anger and an onslaught of repressed negative emotions (which we all know can only last you so long before your whole body just gives out). i mean, the second bruces parents died, he separated the concept of murder from his life, (even though that is literally impossible, minhkhoa, ra’s, talia, selina, and basically anyone who has been in a meaningful relationship with bruce has pointed this out. i mean even a ghost martha wayne has told bruce there’s no avoiding death, only going through it). however, with cass? she literally was a murderer. one of the many reasons cass vows to never kill is because she actively sees herself in murderers, and thinks they all have the capacity to be redeemed, while bruce barely has an idea how to even process murder, let alone accept��it or the people who do it (thinking of how he straight up denied that cass killed anyone, or was even capable of doing it, even with video evidence shown right in front of him, and im not even gonna get into the whole jason todd thing). cassandra could be a better batman simply because she can look death (specifically murders and murderers) dead in the eye and accept it, something that bruce cant even do. basically what im getting at is that, ironically, cass’ backstory of her being a murderer allows her to use the batman persona to its full unfiltered potential, something that even bruce is aware of. anyways here’s my cass should take up the batman mantle propaganda!!

I'm chewing on this like it's a five course meal thank you so much for this analysis there's so much to go through.

You're so right about their different mentalities like Bruce was ultimately a victim and his drive comes from both never wanting anyone else to suffer like that but also never wanting to be a victim again himself. And if does mean that his various complexes around death and crime can sometimes be very harmful to people he should be trying to save! Batman is a symbol and an ideal and no one, not even Bruce can truly live up to it.

Meanwhile Cass views herself as the perpetrator, the responsible party instead of a fellow victim tricked into killing a man. And her projection while again not in anyway perfect is definitely better for those around her than Bruce's because it's full of empathy and a belief for change. The heartbreaking part is that she's no less fucked up over the concept of death imo, she just directs it all inwards. Every life lost is a tragedy that Bruce and Cass both carry on their shoulders. The difference is Bruce views anyone who takes a life as having sacrificed a part of themselves they can ever get back, of ruining their life regardless of circumstances. And we really do get to see frequently in comics how that standard ends up harming innocents even as he tries to do good. Meanwhile Cass... Does actually hold quite similar views but she also stubbornly refuses to believe it's true for anyone else just because she cannot escape it being her own personal truth. They killed but they can change. They killed but they can turn their life around. They felt bad for a second there, I saw them. I'm going to help them because of that.

Part of it definitely comes down to the thematic cohesiveness of Cass's Batgirl run compared to Bruce's... Everything. But ultimately yeah Cass best Batman for multiple reasons and you can fight me on this.

[threebea]

The Jedi should have done something about Tatooine and the Hutts. If only they sent Jedi to Tatooine and not just ignored it--

Oh hi Quinlan. How's Tatooine circa TPM?

Anyway the Jedi should have done something about slavery in the galaxy outside the Republic's borders and not focused just on the Republic--

Huh. The CIS were pretty cool with helping the Zygerrians reestablish their slave empire that the (checks notes) Jedi dismantled.

Anyway, the Jedi should never have joined the war at all. Sure the clone army existed and the clones would have to fight no matter what the Jedi decided to do, and yes, as far as the Jedi knew the clones were created by one of their order and so they had a responsibility to them in whatever capacity they could, and the clones being brainwashed into loyalty for the republic was established so convincing millions of them at once not to fight would be impossible that early on. And sure, Dooku, a Sith, led the galaxy's worst capitalists that wanted to make naboo look like child's play and kill countless civilians if the Republic didn't give in to all their demands, and yes the Jedi were linked psychically to the cosmos in a way where they could feel imbalance, death, and darkness, but they should have taken the moral high road and (checks notes) let both civilians and clones die from droids. Droids who are programmed and aren't going to hesitate about killing anyone. Droids who can't be negotiated with.

Of course they could have... Negotiated with the Sith Lord? Who wasn't actually the head sithlord in charge.

Then again the other Sith Lord who had been duly elected into office wouldn't have allowed that but...they should have tried!

Well they worked with hutts to use hyperlanes for the war they could have chosen not to fight in had actually tried harder! They were lazy and chose the easy path of being forced to dirty their hands because otherwise fascist billionaires and corporations would send programmed droids to kill civilians (like Naboo during TPM) until the Republic gave into their demands (unbridled capitalism which as we recall were totally cool with helping the Slave Empire they previously dismantled become a slave empire again).

The Jedi should have helped people and not tied themselves to the senate. They could have just negotiated with a galaxy worth of planets on a case by case basis.

Listen. Star Wars is a metaphor. It is not a one to one comparison of reality. The Jedi did all they could to help people and they did things that wore them down in body and soul because they had to make that sacrifice or let people suffer and die. There is no alternative in the galaxy they existed in. The Empire that Palpatine made is what they saw the CIS becoming.

Palpatine saw the Jedi as one of the biggest threats to his fascist empire so the plan was always to kill them. It's not illegal to be a Sith he might say, but he certainly made it illegal to be a Jedi.

I would love to know what people think, with the GFFA being what it is, and the size it is, and the Jedi numbering about ten thousand in the end what they were supposed to do as an alternative that would have had any of this end different.

If they hadn't joined the war people would have been enslaved and died and the Jedi would have still been hunted and killed.

If the Jedi removed themselves from the republic in protest of the war but still fought independently to help people they would have lost so much access, more clones for sure would have died, and the Jedi would still be hunted down and killed at the end.

If the Jedi left the republic before the war and were independents they would be slaughtered faster than they were on genonosis because they don't have the numbers. The droid army would get them or the republic run by Palpatine would get them. Keeping in mind Palpatine was elected and the Jedi had nothing to do with his election beyond saving a teenage girl and bringing her to beg her case to the senate on behalf of her people (the death toll was, as we remember, catastrophic).

If they retreated to the mountains and meditated then they just let people die without even trying to help and feel the cosmos become darker and more imbalanced by the suffering they could feel but we're ignoring. And years later Palpatine would show up to kill them because that aspect of his plan would never change.

They should have taken the moral high ground doesn't work in the scenario they were given in the universe they existed in. Not for them. Not when they are powered by empathy. It would have been a corruption of what they stand for if they didn't try to help people. And they tried. It wasn't their corruption that let the galaxy down. The Jedi were aware of their own flaws. They were aware they shouldn't be generals. They knew they shouldn't be commanding a clone army. They were under no illusions that the choices they were being forced to make were good, but even at their most morally questionable they didn't sell out the galaxy. It was the politicians that voted in a mass murdering fascist with thunderous applause to not just be supreme chancellor, to not just have emergency powers, but to be an emperor.

The Jedi even tried a coup. The last thing they would want, but they tried it anyway to hold back a Sith Emperor establishing his empire built on slavery and suffering who would later build a weapon that could destroy entire planets.

The Jedi did not lead to the downfall of the Republic. They were the last shield to be shattered.

[lillotte17]

Okay, I’ve done 2 play throughs and I’m well into my 3rd, so I feel like my review of the game can be (mostly) fair and not as emotionally driven as it was when I finished the first time. (this is very long >_>)

I want to start with the good things!

The game is beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. I was not crazy about the stylistic change of the graphics from DAI at first, but once I started playing, I really loved it. The maps are huge and unique. I find something new every time. I love all the little puzzles and sneaky little side quests you can find. I the little sneaky cameos of items and songs from other games.

I love the mechanics of being able to use companions’ special abilities when they are not in your party. I still wish we got 3 people in our party instead of just 2 for balance reasons, but otherwise I find the fighting really engaging and dynamic.

I love that they brought back specific banter spots, shortened the time between when the next banter triggers AND allowed for recovery of the conversation if it got interrupted by something. Thank you for my LIFE. Waiting for certain banters to trigger in DAI was awful lmao.

I really appreciated the effort they put into the CC, allowing for greater body type differences and the various gender options. Long hair, curly hair, please and thank! The CC took some getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it’s fun just to build characters, lol.

I really liked the easy upgrades and enchantments for your armors, and I LOVED being able to wear whatever the best armor was, but have a different armor visible. Great call, team! Do that for always and ever. The only qualm I had was that I would have liked to be able to change the colors on some of the outfits, but really, there was such a good variety, this is a very minor complaint.

In terms of storyline, my favorite quest was the Blood of Arlathan, and I also liked the final push at the end through Minrathous. Big surprise that the things I liked best was actually getting to fight with Solas on my team again, lol. But those where also the times where it really felt like everything was on the table, you know? Weisshaupt was a strong contender, too. That quest was so fasted paced, it made it a little hard to appreciate just how much was going on around you. But asking your local assassin to stab a god-cloud is never not funny, so that one gets good points, too.

Overall, the gameplay is really strong. The rollout was really smooth. I didn’t really encounter any bugs, except for one time I managed to change all the subtitles to French? But I think that might have been a user error. If I was just here for a generic fantasy game, this would get 10/10. It’s fun to play and it’s pretty. You can stab stuff, and throw magic around, and there are dragons.

However…

The storyline and the pacing was a mess. Which is honestly baffling from a BioWare game. I am not saying this with spite or hatred, because I know that EA tried to kill this game repeatedly, so it’s kind of amazing that we got anything at all, BUT it’s still frustrating, because…I can SEE IT. I can SEE all the pieces of a REALLY good story. An AMAZING story. The story I WANTED to play!!! And it’s like…it all got put together wrong.

The nearly nonexistent romances are honestly the worst offenders here. Even if they wanted to keep the rating down to make it more accessible to a wider audience, there is no reason why I should only have ONE opportunity to kiss my love interest over the course of an 80+ hour game. SOLAVELLAN had more unique romance scenes and kisses than you get with Lucanis and he DUMPS your character before coming back to steal your hand. Not to mention the fact that it is possible for your LI to die before you ever get to actually say you love them or anything. Davrin was my first romance. At the end of Tearstone Island like…I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t feeling my PCs grief that her boyfriend whom she had kissed exactly one time was dead. I was PISSED. I don’t think I have ever been so mad about a writing choice, and I am a certified Tragedy Enjoyer. It didn’t even feel like a good tragic blow, because they didn’t take the time to build up the romance before killing him. And Rook hardly gets a second to mourn afterwards, so it was just kind of a nothingburger that made me feel like I wasted all the time I had spent playing for it. (I went back and changed it so he lived but jfc)

Speaking of killing characters: Varric. It was a mistake. I know what they were going for. I see what they were trying to do. But it was a mistake. First of all, they relied way too much on the idea that the player has played the other games, in the sense that the story just opens with Rook already with Varric, who they have known for over a year, and then they turn around and nerf him in the first act. There’s no time to establish how Rook feels about Varric, or how they feel about this quest they’ve been on for so long, you just get thrown into it without preamble. And then, Varric is just kind of… there. He’s Rook’s cheerleader, but he almost never has any real advice, and you almost never get to have a discussion with him. Which means, when you find out what happened to him later, the emotional blow is relying almost entirely on your attachment to Varric from previous games instead of the game you are currently playing.

Also, I figured out he was dead pretty early on, so the reveal had almost no impact, and felt a bit ham-fisted, if I’m being honest.

The second reason it was a mistake is that…it just felt like an excuse to make the player hate Solas. Like, it honestly feels like that is the only reason they did it. Which seems so unnecessary? The man is responsible for the fucking blight and the death of the titans and is currently trying to tear the Veil down, and you think that’s not ENOUGH motivation for the PC to want to give him the middle finger???

Which brings us to: Solas. I love this man. I love Solavellan. I love his story. I love THEIR story. But…if I had played this game first, I don’t think I would have cared about redeeming him. All of the companions tell stories about second chances and redemption and being able to change your nature, and I KNOW that was supposed to be in reference to Solas, I know it was but… It just felt like they did almost nothing to SHOW you how much he was trying to do the right thing every time he fucked up. How badly he wanted to be a hero and a protector, and someone giving wisdom instead of orders. When we saw his regrets and talked about them with the team, I really thought it was going to be relevant later. I thought it would come up in conversation with Solas, and depending on how you talked to him about the things you saw, you could slowly guide him towards choosing a better path at the end. I thought it would all be on Rook, and their choice to take a chance to try and redeem him or not. But in the end, it didn’t matter. It only unlocked Mythal. She was the only thing that made a difference. Not Rook. Not your Inquisitor. Not any of the other choices you made in the entire game or the one that preceded it. Don’t get me wrong, I am SO grateful they squeezed a Solavellan ending in there for us, really and truly. But the fact that he was so in love with her during DAI that he was about to give up everything without her even asking, and he’s so torn up about her during Trespasser that he can hardly let her close to him because just being in proximity to her makes him want to stop everything and stay with her, and then when she shows up at the end of Veilguard and asks him to stop…he pauses for even less time to consider the option than when ROOK asks. And then Mythal holds more sway with him by like 1000%. Just. Felt very much like a downgrade. (Also I wanted a hug. He needed a fucking hug and my Lavellan would have hugged the Bad Choices right out of him)

There are other things. Dwarves getting sidelined again. Slavery in Tevinter barely being touched on. The weird idea of the Crows being a good option for orphans with nowhere to go. The SUPER uncomfortable end of Bellara’s quest where a non-elf Rook can have an opinion on what she should do with the history of her people. But those are kind of like…small potatoes. Typical BioWare story flubs tbh.

I know, my complaints are much longer than my praises, but I really do like playing the game. Really and truly. It is a good game, and I am eternally grateful that they got it to us at all. I just…wish we could have gotten the story I think they wanted to tell us, instead of what we ended up with. But as they say: That’s what Fanfic is for. <3

[romana-after-dark]

Rooms on Fire: Everything We Lost In The Fire

Dark!Santiago Garcia x Fem!Reader

Dark!Francisco Morales x Fem!Reader

Dark!William Miller x Fem!Reader

Dark!Benjamin Miller x Fem!Reader

Also: FishBen, and an assortment of other M/M relationships (no Millercest). Everyone is Bisexual

Series Masterlist: Main Masterlist

Spotify playlist

Summery: Madonna has to make a stand.

Warnings and Content:

DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT

DUB CON MOSTLY but there WILL BE NON CON. Major character deaths, forced breeding, physical abuse, brainwashing, manipulation, violence, gore, alcoholism/addiction, BIG OLE BLASPHEMY WARNING like this cult appropriates a lot of religious themes and they call reader their Madonna, Santi is called the Pope, like all that stuff. However, this is a cult so I mean. It happens. None of it are my thoughts on religion or meant to make fun of religion or demonize religious people. Disgusting views on virginity. Attempted rape outside the boys. T*m warning. Age gap. Creepy terrible men. Non-reader rape, dub con, violence. Covert incest, massive mommy issues, sexual abuse all around, past grooming by parental figure. no CSA but the victim isn't much older. some Bates Motel type shit. I cannot properly warn you for everything, without just telling the story but consider this a major warning that there are dark dark themes. No one involved here is morally clean, and who you perceive as the good guy cannot be relied on. Don't come to my story and say im romanticizing these things until at least the story ends.

Extra warnings for chapter: Violence

2.2k words

A/N Please know tags have been spotty so check and make sure you're caught up! Also I am sick so sorry if the writing is mid lololol im trying.

"We don't have to wait for anyone to follow Burn all the yesterdays, give us our tomorrow Love is like a flame in our desire We'll have to sacrifice everything we lost in the fire." ~Everything We Lost in the Fire, Blue October

Wrapped up in Will’s arms, you try to focus on Francisco’s kisses, not the fact Will’s hands were on your breast, Ben’s mouth was on your cunt, or Santi’s body was incassing Francisco.

It had been nearly 3 weeks since Rey’s body was burned, and you were expected to pretend like nothing was happening. Pretend that after your baby is born, Santi won’t have you and Iris killed. Well, definitely Iris. Will had a way of convincing Santiago to follow his lead, and Will still seemed to love you… but Iris was certainly dead. It was probably Francisco and Will who convinced Santi not to kill her after the fire incident, that more stress would surely trigger something in your pregnancy… That was all Santiago cared about. Not you, definitely not Iris. Just the savior…

You wonder if he believes in the savior. You wonder if you even believe in the savior… You didn’t know what you believed, honestly.

Francisco’s tongue explored your mouth for the 100th time, and you tried to find solace in him but it was growing harder and harder as time went on. You felt alone, you felt like Iris was the only one who actually understood what you were going through. Sometimes, when your husbands were asleep, you’d sneak out to the servants quarters. You’d try not to think about Rey or Jonah’s rooms as you passed them, softly knocking on Iris’s door. She’d tell you to come in, and you’d find her in bed, usually crying.

 Carefully, you crawl into  bed with her, and just lay there. Sometimes you cry with her. Sometimes she holds you. Rarely, you talk. Iris would answer questions you had, truth of the attempted revolt as she knew it, Jonah’s affair with Delilah, Beatriz's murder, Jonah dancing at your fathers death. You knew you should hate Jonah, but something inside you continued that attachment. It wasn’t right, he’d tried to rape you, but it was so out of character for him… your brain struggled to make sense of these two versions of Jonah.

After a few hours, you get up and go back to bed with Will or Francisco. You weren’t allowed to be alone with Iris during the day anymore, so you spent most of your time with one of your husbands, and occasionally a guard. None of them were like Rey. They’d all seen him burned, his body beaten and slaughtered. No one wanted to be your friend.

You try to pretend it’s Francisco’s hands on you, you try to block out everything but him, but of course you aren’t that lucky.

Santiago grabs Francisco’s hair, yanking his mouth away from you and to his own lips, kissing him deeply and making Francisco melt in little moans. You can’t help the pang of jealousy that flares up around you. Benny notices too, pulling his lips away from between your legs and planting a sloppy kiss on Francisco’s asscheek, kissing his way to your lover's crack. Soon, you are all but forgotten as Santiago and Ben fight for Franisco’s pleasure.

Ben’s tongue is buried in Francisco’s ass, prodding deep inside the tight hole you’d fucked as well, making Francisco whine and buck as Santiago jerked him off, bringing him to orgasm. Francisco’s seed spilled out onto the sheets, white and sticky rope after rope as Francisco whimpered and moaned. 

Will’s body was firm against you, holding you close with one hand touching your body, the other fingering you and picking you up where Ben left you forgotten. 

You watch as Ben goes straight from ass to mouth, kissing Francisco hard and pulling him by his chubby cheeks away from Santiago. A battle for Francisco’s affection insured, the two men kissing Francisco every which way as Will brought you to orgasm with his fingers reaching around your large stomach.

“Look at our husbands, Madonna.” He murmurs softly in your ear, so soft you can’t help fall into him just a little. “Look how beautiful they are.”

And they were. Objectively, they were all beautiful, sculpted with perfect bodies and handsome features and so utterly obsessed with each other, the clawing at each others skin and biting of their lips didn’t matter. You watch as Santiago draws blood from Ben’s shoulder, a sharp reminder of his position without going too far to invoke Will’s wrath. Francisco clawing his nails down Santiago’s back. Ben edging Santiago’s cock but stopping him as the base, right before climax. You see the matching cuts on Francisco and Santiago’s arms.

They were beautiful. But you couldn’t see their beauty.

You saw Will, who killed Jonah. Jonah, who yes did something terrible to you but was still a father to you. Will, who controlled your every move, who made allowances for Santiago’s behavior again and again and again, who knew what Ben did to Iris but did nothing.

You saw Ben, a rapist who impregnated Iris, who killed Rey.

You saw Santiago, a psychopath who raped and burned you while pregnant, who was responsible for the distruction of so many lives here.

And Francisco, who let it all happen.

*

You fell asleep that night in Francisco's arms, the other retiring to their rooms. You slept with Frankie most nights, Santiago surely letting it go for now until he no longer needed you. What were these last 2 months when he could have an eternity with Francisco? You were deep in sleep, dreaming when something began to wake you. A hand on your mouth. You were certain it was the incubus again, you try to scream but the hand over your mouth is clamped on tight. You open your eyes to see Jonah’s face.

All attempts to scream, to move are fruitless as you wake up, writhing but you are held tightly around the waist, large hands holding down both of your own. Jonah -or the incubus taking his form- didn’t attempt to touch you, instead when you locked eyes with him they were wide with worry. Tired, dark bags under his eyes. You look down. It’s Francisco’s hands that are holding you.

Your body stills, tears forming in your eyes from fear and anger and confusion. Jonah isn’t dead.

Slowly, Francisco’s hand is removed from your mouth to let out a whimper as you turn around to see him. “What’s happening?” You cry to your husband, his soft face looking as scared as you are.

“We’re leaving.” He helps you sit up in the bed, then gets up, getting dressed in the light of the candle.

“No.” You shake your head, inching away from Jonah. “I’m not going anywhere with him.” Your voice is quiet, cracking with emotion as you try to wrap your head around it all. 

Iris’s voice speaks as she lights a candle now, revealing her face in the dark room. “It’s okay, trust me.” She uses your real name.

“But… but he… he tried too…” You couldn’t say the words.

Jonah was knelt at your bed, his eyes pleading for understanding. “I don’t expect you to forgive me for what i did honey. It was wrong. But please… I need you to know I would never, ever have violated you… it doesn’t make what happened any better but… I need you to know how it really happened.”

Shaking in bed, you look to Iris, the only face here you could trust for truth. “Just hear him out. I won’t tell you how to feel.”

Francisco gently tugged you out of bed, dressing you in warm clothing and putting socks and shoes on as Jonah told you what happened. He explained how Will made him a deal, a chance to get Iris out. How Will gave permission to rape you, but he swore up and down he’d kill himself before he took it that far, that he would never have touched you or hurt you, he just needed to scare you.

You couldn’t process this. Will was… Will. You didn’t trust him, but Will protected you! He’d never let someone hurt you to scare a lesson into you!

“No…” You say as Francisco ties your shoes. “No he wouldn’t let someone hurt me… he took a bullet for me!”

Iris shushed you harshly, but Jonah shook his head. “No, he didn’t. Melody was trying to kill Ben because he raped her. Honey…” He sighed. “Iris… she told me about the “incubus…” I thought you knew…”

You blink. “Knew what?”

“Will. He was coming into your room every night… I didn’t- Rey and I thought… we didn’t think he was doing it when you slept. I’m sorry.”

No. No, Will wouldn’t do that. Will wouldn’t take you while you were sleeping! Why would he do that when you were available to him all day every day? You remembered what Santiago said, that if the baby came out with blonde hair, there’d be a problem… When trying to conceive, Francisco was barely talking to you, and Santiago was angry at you the first time you didn’t end up pregnant… you were fill most days by the Miller brothers multiple times…

This baby was likely one of theirs.

“Madonna…” Francisco whispers wrapping his arm around your middle. “We have to go. We’re getting you and Iris out.”

*

Down the halls, you sneak, the four of you walking as quietly as possible and navigating where guards are posted, where the floors creak and moan the most, and how to avoid Ben or Santiago or Will. 

Your heart was beating a million times a minute, your skin on fire with fear, holding your belly. You needed to be brave. This was no life for your baby to grow up in, Santiago was not a parent to raise a child…

For the first time, you realize why your dad was willing to tear everything he knew apart to make a better life for you.

“This way.” Francisco motions, but Jonah stops, making you and Iris stop too.

Jonah whispers. “You said we were going this way? That way is past Ben’s room.”

“There was a change in the guards, Will has them all posted along that side now.”

“And you just now thought to tell me?”

“C’mon.”

Reluctantly, Jonah follows Francisco down the hall, right to Ben’s room where he stops.

“...Frank…”

But Francisco lingers on the door, hand brushing against the wood.

“Frankie, don’t.” Iris pleads, but you are frozen. Jonah grabs Iris, telling you to follow him but you’re frozen in place. He doesn’t see you not following, or he doesn’t care. His priority is Iris, and you can’t blame him for that. You watch in horror as Francisco knocks on the door, and Ben answers with a wide grin.

“Should’ve known you’d come knocking, baby…” He pulls him in for a kiss, pulling his pouty lower lips between his teeth but stopping when he saw you.

“Why is she here?” he says with disdain. It shouldn’t hurt, but it did. He was supposed to love you. He could be the father of your baby… He’s the father of Iris’s baby you remind yourself.

“Benny, Benny I need you to listen to me, okay?” Francisco pleads, his hands pawing at Benny’s baby face, begging for attention, for understanding and suddenly you know what he’s doing.

“Francisco…” You mutter, disappointment clawing at your throat, but both men ignored you.

“Frankie, what's going on?” Ben’s voice was soft and worried, that tender tone he only ever used on Francisco. He half chuckles, and it’s a nervous sound. “You’re scaring me here…”

A soft kiss to his lips. “We need to leave, okay? We gotta get Madonna out of here… she can’t be with Santi, he’s crazy, he’ll kill her.”

Ben shakes his head, laughing lightly in disbelief. “No way, man. We have a duty here. The savior, Santi-”

“FUCK Santi, Ben, I-” Francisco’s voice crack, holding Ben against the wall, his plush lips trailing the younger man’s skin. “Benny, please, I love you, I love you so fucking much. We don’t need him, we can just leave, we can start a new life… Jonah and Iris are leaving, we’ll be far away with Madonna long before anyone knows we’re gone… We don’t need anyone else, we only need each other… Please, please, please, just… come with me…”

Ben searched his face, blue eyes shining. He touched Francisco’s face with such tenderness you didn’t think possible from the hurricane of a man. Ben with Francisco was a totally different man.

But he was still loyal to Santiago above all else.

“Frankie, let’s just go talk to Santi-”

“No, Ben-”

“We’ll work this out, get Iris and Jonah back”

No, no they can’t have her. They can’t fucking touch Iris.

But Francisco just nods, closing his eyes. “Okay. Okay yeah, we’ll make this right.”

 “Francisco!” You are once again ignored.

Francisco closes in on Ben, caging him against the wall as he kisses him. “We’ll be together, right? After the savior is born, we can be together…”

“Yeah baby.” Ben kisses him back, arms wrapped around his thick middle. “Just you and me. We don’t need no one else.”

Francisco raises his hand to Ben’s neck and you think he’s going to caress his face… but then Ben’s movements halt to a stop. Then, a slow jerking of his body, and Francisco whispering, ‘I’m sorry baby, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry Benny’

Blood trickled down his arm, and as Francisco pulled away you see that Francisco slit his throat. He slowly lowers his lover’s heavy frame to the ground, the younger man’s body still jolting and a gagging, gurgling sound escaping his throat. Ben was dying silently, a complete opposite of the way he lived.

His body shook as the last blood spilled, and all Francisco could do was hold him and cry.

BEN IS DEAD!!!!!!

Also, JONAH IS ALIVE!

next chapter is our finale!!!

what do we think is gonna happen, girlie pops!!!

I have enjoyed so much writing this series, im getting emotional coming to the end!!!!

Love you all soooooo much!

If you like Logan Howlett, check out my new series Be Quiet

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[the--artist]

Sorry for the late reply :\. I've been sooooo busy...

Okay on to my thoughts:

"AAAAAA!!! Ok I have some thoughts on this too. I actually don’t want Korekiyo to be more likeable and I don’t really mind the whole inc3$t thing, it reminds me of Norman Bates. I take the whole feelings for his sister as another part of him being delusional and an unreliable narrator and they were never actually in a relationship. I don’t think anything nasty or gross should be “separated” from him, as that’s what makes Korekiyo, Korekiyo. He’s an absolutely insane guy that has extremely twisted views on humans and tried to explain why murder and other illegal things aren’t actually bad because people only made laws saying they were bad."

Ughhh, I just find Korekiyo's characterization very messy. It is incredibly misleading and contradictory—and I'm not just talking about his backstory.

I, also, personally don't mind incest in media - as long as it serves some kind of deeper purpose (I am a Habsburg apologist:|). However with Danganronpa, a dating simulation with psycho-pop "horror", a character like Korekiyo/Norman Bates doesn't fill well. Danganronpa thrives on a person getting emotionally attached to the cast - either being a viable candidate for FTEs or Love Hotel. However, getting emotionally attached to Norman Bates doesn't work. So, Danganronpa makes Korekiyo a nerdy, but creepy/off-putting anthropologist. This allows people to get attached to him. However, when his backstory is revealed, it completely breaks that "datable/likable" version of him. This can lead to a lot of disappointment for anyone who liked the "anthropologist" Korekiyo. If Korekiyo was a side character that wasn't it the main cast (maybe more similar to Mukuro), then it would have been INFINITLY more better. Korkeiyo works as a villain, not as a DR character. Going back to incest, I personally believe that it is much harder to look over incest because of how "personal" and "real" it can feel. If they stopped at serial killer that has killed almost 100 girls for his lover, I still believe the same evil energy would have been emitted from him.

However, your point is also really valid. It's completely fine to enjoy Kork as a villian with his incest backstory.

His backstory and "wooification of him"

Aughh! I've never told my thoughts on this. But for the most part, I agree with you. I also don't like people just forgiving his backstory because of childhood abuse.

On a side note, I hate "Kiyo" as a nickname for him. It completely takes away from his eerieness. I wish we used Korekiyo's full first name in the English dub all the time. "Kiyo" could have been reserved for the Love Hotel or something more personal maybe earned after completing all his FTEs.

Back on his backstory, I think a huge issue with it is how little we are given. His backstory can definitely be interpreted as being traumatic and his older sister being abusive - especially for abuse victims themselves. The ambiguity in what actually happened creates such divisions in his backstory. When a backstory, however, plays with concepts like potential r**e/SA, incest, and grooming, it automatically needs to be handled more carefully. Since Danganronpa isn't a horror game (at least IMO), the target audience could find such content triggering and not realize what they have stepped into.

Overall, I agree with you, but the messy characterization of not completely leaning toward a full-proof backstory creates messy ambiguity.

Not only that but the way queerness is portrayed in Korekiyo is another issue. But I'm too tired to get into the history of feminine masc serial killers in media.

Here is a great video essay on it tho! It's on YouTube!

Mass Historia, Jerk Korekiyo, and Miu/Kirumi/Maki thoughts...

I actually never really considered the double standards of Korekiyo. You are so totally right! He is definitely a jerk and your analysis of that is outstanding.

I would have never compared him to Maki. Kork (I guess I'm just going to abbreviate his name now...) is so much worse the Maki and it is no competition. Those were some really great points tho!

Going back to Korekiyo's messy characterization, I feel that being a misogynist doesn't make sense tho (even tho it's the truth). As an anthropologist, he is shown as being very open to different ways of living and becoming more interested in trying more forbidden methods of love. Being a fairly feminine person who praises his sister as well as being an observant anthropologist who observes before making decisions, it kind of doesn't make sense for him to be misogynistic? Also, on the Love Hotels, he feels so open to have a relationship with anyone - no matter gender/sexuality.

"And….the love suite event. “The love hotels aren’t canon!” “It didn’t actually happen, it’s a fantasy!” I’m aware of that but I’m going to be treating it as such until people stop trying to cover up for Korekiyo. Nobody ever says that Miu is supposed to represent her abandonment issues at the end of her Love Suite. No one covers up for her, I sure as hell don’t. It sickens me how nobody takes what happens to Shuichi seriously and how even in situations where Korekiyo is clearly in the wrong, none of the sympathy goes to the person who he wronged."

Yeah, I agree strongly. I wish people would hold him accountable....

I also think that the r**ey nature of Korekiyo's Love Hotel is meant to be played off as "hot". People want to be in place as Shuichi - which is really really wrong.

Wow, that was looonggg. A lot of my thoughts were inspired by the following tumble analysis. I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend checking it out. It's genuinely soooo good.

am I the only one who’s sick and tired of people trying to make korekiyo redeemable, just curious

like tbh i prefer psychological horror antagonist eroguro bdsm Suehiro Maruo perverse artsy romanticist edglelord ninja sadomasochistic folklore cunt with a strict diet of human meat and psychedelics korekiyo over quirky nerdy guy that just happened to commit a few crimes but don’t worry he didn’t mean it and now he goes to therapy instead of the death penalty and hogs all the sympathy that should’ve been given to the near 100 young women that he brutally murdered and shows absolutely no remorse for korekiyo

and just a little thing to add I don’t think enough people acknowledge that korekiyo as actually kinda mean and manipulative as well

but yeah I love him as a character Im just pissed at everyone treating him like he’s innocent, and the writers didn’t do him dirty imo people are just mad that they didn’t make him sympathetic. also keep in mind this is a very abbreviated post about him. I’m currently in the process of writing an entire script for a video I’m making about him to truly get all of my thoughts about this out.

and dare I mention the fact that so many people still say “korekiyo is so overhated!!” or “he’s such an underrated character!!” as if 80% or more of the fandom is constantly glazing him. I also wanna mention AUs and fics where the serial killer part of korekiyo is just completely taken out and he reads more as misunderstood than creepy. from what I’ve seen people want a korekiyo that’s a good person, which doesn’t make any sense. he’s not 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 to be a good person. the entire point of his character is that he’s an icky disgusting genuinely creepy morally corrupt guy.

[zxmbe3]

Something about dean being alone for the first time in his life affects me so badly. Because for so long it had been him and the family he spent so long protecting.

He had no identity outside of Sam and John. What are you supposed to do when your identity is stripped from you like that and all youre left with is a longing for a family that you never really had ?

Like I’m just imagining dean, hardly in his 20s, floating through towns in a leather jacket far too big With responsibilities far too Heavy in his pockets. Dean hunting alone and not knowing what to do when he goes back to an empty hotel room and having to stitch up his own wounds. His eyes still so hopeful, hoping that things will go back the way they were.

Flirting with women he didn’t really want Because he’d do anything but Go back to his room with one bed and nothing but the ghosts of the life he could have had. Driving past Stanford and wondering how much happier Sam must be. Driving in the Impala and wondering if his dad is happy without him too.

Like i cant Even begin tk Wonder how isolating and lonely it is Because he’s lost Everything. He’d Esther have something that caused him pain than habe nothing at all.

And when he does get his family back and he realizes that it will never be like how he pictured it in his head, when he finally takes off those rose colored glasses ? He’s left with nothing. Again.

[tricoufamily]

just some ivy league kids trying to figure out necromancy

[vaguely-concerned]

there are a lot of daddy issues to go around on DS9 in general, but odo, bashir and garak are really in their own special little fucked up 'what am I but wrought in my father's image' club

[cosmicjoke]

Perfect addition! Thank you for your contribution to the post, because I really don't think people understand at all what the actual message of "Banana Fish" is, and they use their anger and disdain at Yoshida to dismiss the ending as being a product of her supposed belief that Ash "needed to pay" for what he'd done. It's such a simplistic and shallow way to look at it, I think.

Like I said, one only need look at the way Yoshida portrays Ash as a tragic hero from beginning to end to understand her intentions. She isn't trying to make the audience think that Ash deserved his fate, she's trying to impress upon them how completely and thoroughly the abuse he suffered destroyed his life, the ultimate culmination of that destruction being his horrifically unjust death. Of course it's unfair, but that's the point. A beautiful person died because he was allowed by the people who were meant to protect him to suffer years of ruinous abuse instead.

I love the way you put that, that Ash's death forces us to confront and internalize how each moment of violence and violation and cruelty that Ash suffered wasn't relegated or limited to those single moments, but how they all added up and stretched out to, as you said, touch every aspect of his life.

Ash dies because of his life as a gang leader, and he only became a gang leader because of the abuse he suffered. Therefore, his death is directly linked to his abuse. Ash's abuse forced him onto a path which inevitably led to his premature death. That's what all that foreshadowing is about, all the moments Ash thinks about death and dying, when Ash talks about being like that snow leopard, moving inexorably towards its own demise. Ash knows the life he's living is eventually going to kill him, and that's exactly what it ends up doing. And again, he's only living that life because of how he was abused. It's not about him deserving to die, or needing to pay for his crimes, it's about how he never even had a choice. As you said, his life was irreversibly shaped by his trauma. Because every adult in his life failed him so completely and forced him onto path he had no say in and which he couldn't escape. Ash dying in the end serves to drive home the true ugliness and horror of child abuse, by showing how it insinuated its way into and took control of every part of Ash's life, eventually also dictating the circumstances of his death. It shows how that abuse completely robbed Ash of any agency or control over his own life, and I think the fact of Ash's endless potential as a person, his incredible intellect and beauty, only emphasizes that point more. Ash could have been anything he wanted to be, if only the choice hadn't been taken from him. But it was. It was taken from him, and he was set on a course outside of his control, leading to his eventual demise. As you said, that sends a powerful message about the true consequences wrought from allowing children like Ash to endure the kind of violence he was subjected to. Abuse destroys lives, and "Banana Fish" doesn't allow its audience to pretend otherwise.

That's why I'll always say Ash dying was the only ending a story like this ever could or should have had. It's vital to conveying the overall message about the true evil inherent in the abuse of children and why it should never be seen as acceptable or allowed. Ash doesn't get his happily ever after, even though he deserved it, because any chance at it was taken from him the moment his baseball coach decided to rape him and his own father failed so completely to protect him. "Banana Fish" captures with so much pure reality the true, destructive power of child abuse, by demonstrating so clearly the ways in which it denies its victims hope. Ash never had a chance, and not because of anything he did, but because of what others did to him.

What people seem to constantly misunderstand about what Akimi Yoshida said regarding how Ash couldn't have just gotten away scot-free from his life of crime is that it ISN'T Yoshida saying Ash "deserved" to die. Yoshida frames Ash as a hero from beginning to end. He's shown to be a genuinely good and kind person, that goodness remarked upon again and again by multiple characters, and his death is seen as a tragedy. That should be enough to convince people that Yoshida didn't hate Ash or think he deserved to die. The fact she frames him in such a positive light shows she understands that Ash is a good person that was forced into doing terrible things for his own survival and the survival of others. So this insistence that she thought he deserved to die because she said in some fan-translated interview that he couldn't just walk away from his life of crime, or that there's a price to be paid for murder, is ridiculous. It relies on nothing but assumption about the character of the author.

It's also a problem in fandom, in general, where interviews with authors, in which they're often giving on the spot and half-baked answers to random questions without any prepreation, are given greater credence in interpreting the author's intent than the actual, published work itself. How about letting the work stand on its own and interpret it as is? I've seen so much hate lobbed at Yoshida for supposedly hating Ash or thinking he deserved to die, when the actual story itself does nothing but portray Ash as deeply sympathetic and tragic. Again, no one could read "Banana Fish" with any level of reading comprehension and come away with anything but the impression that Ash is the hero and a good person who's life and death was deeply unfair and unjust. That fact alone should override any answer Yoshida gave in any interview, especially when it's obvious how much Yoshida hates giving interviews and very obviously, intentionally gives half-assed answers that she doesn't put much thought into. It's clear from the work itself that Yoshida has a great love for Ash as a person and as a character. She based his design off of River Phoenix, her favorite actor, she shares her birthday with him, and again, the way she frames Ash and his actions is as that of a hero, from beginning to end. I don't know, maybe it's because she sees Ash as a hero herself?

Ash dying only demonstrates the point further about how child abuse ruined Ash's life. He was led into a life of crime because of the abuse he suffered, and the fact it was that life of crime that led to his eventual death, with it basically being a gang dispute that got him in the end, only further drives home the point of how devastating and ruinous child abuse is. Ash wasn't a criminal because he was a bad person, he was a criminal because the abuse he suffered drove him to become one, and then, eventually, that life of crime he'd been forced to lead came back on him in the form of Lao stabbing him, which is what I think Yoshida actually means when she says Ash couldn't just walk away from the life of crime he'd lived. That inability to walk away further demonstrates the tragedy of the abuse Ash suffered, because it shows how it forced him into doing things which eventually came back to haunt him, things which he couldn't "escape". Lao stabbing Ash was in consequence to his being a gang leader, and his being a gang leader was a result of the abuse he suffered. The two things are interconnected with one another. It's not about Ash deserving to die because of the lives he'd taken, it's about how the life Ash was forced to live as a result of his abuse eventually led to his death. That's where the whole notion of "you live by the sword, you die by the sword" comes from. It's not necessarily a moral condemnation of the person committing acts of violence, but an acknowledgement that violence begets violence. That violence is cyclical. But the fact of Ash's death as a result of his life of crime only further demonstrates the true devastation wrought by the abuse of children, and that's the ultimate point of "Banana Fish's" ending. It's meant to force us to face, through the tragedy of Ash's death, the tragedy of his life in turn.

[triptychofvoids]

metal pipe falling sound effect

[bibxrbie]

"Between Anakin and Luke who is the better Jedi?"

"Who's the strongest?"

Blah blah blah.

Every single person who thinks it is Anakin is wrong because Anakin "coolest thing about me is my kids" Skywalker would beat you up for thinking that his son isn't the greatest thing of all time.