#The Idealist Compilation

[sxyx]

[atopvisenyashill]

@tracing-rivers thank you for your thoughtful reply, i love the way you described jaehaerys bc that really is how he comes across, you put it very succinctly. he’s not so much “gray” the way say, maekar, is shown to be in the dunk & egg stories where he will do shitty things for understandable reasons, or like the tyrells in the main series, who will do good things for kinda shitty reasons, there’s just an odd, stark line in his behavior wrt the realm vs his family that is incredibly jarring to read.

but imo, jae is at best a mediocre king and at worst just as useless politically as like 70% of the targ kings. he builds a dirt road instead of a stone road even tho valyrians can make fused stone with dragons (i know it’s a stupid thing to be annoyed at but twoiaf mentions the black fused stone literally a dozen times and this man doesn’t even try to replicate that??? it’s potentially likely that balerion has even made that stone before like george PLS!!), he has to be talked around to giving the smallfolk clean water & abolishing prima noctus by barth & aly, the only marriage alliance he makes that makes any sort of sense politically is aemon/jocelyn, all his enemies are complete idiots he defeats easily so he doesn’t have any impressive military wins either.

some of that can be chalked up to grrm’s lackluster understanding of battle and economy (no shade i also refuse to understand the economy) but the fact that we have no main characters give their opinion on him besides mention him as “the conciliator” really makes me wonder if jae’s lackluster everything is partially on purpose. i don’t know if he specifically meant to imply that jae rapes his daughters, but he certainly makes it clear jae sexually abused aly & i am suspicious of how all three of the Good Kings (jae, daeron ii, and aegon v) start with admirable intentions but seem to go super sideways at the ending of their reign & what that means for The General Themes of the main series and for dunk & egg.

i try to compare it to the way other patriarchs and other kings and rulers are treated by the narrative and when you hold the way jae is written up to the likes of our mains, imo the structure of his story seems to fall more along the lines of “asshole patriarch brings about the ruin of his house due to the way he mistreats people” a la tywin, all three viserys kings, walder, balon, and robert rather than with “a well meaning patriarch fucks his house because he refuses to deal with his own weird traumas” a la ned, davos, aegon the dragon, and probably egg & daeron ii. not as extreme as tywin or balon maybe, more along the lines of the viserys’ and stannis; men who experience trauma as young boys and instead of dealing with it, they make it the entire realm’s god damn problem.

[which isn’t to say that the weirdness in jae’s writing can’t just be grrm trying and failing at moral grayness bc he spends like a hundred pages telling us that daemon was both good and bad but daemon’s goodness is more informed and heavily subtextual/accidental than anything grrm wrote him doing lmao. sure, i love to post about how daemon wants to be a targaryen bride and how his pursuit of rhaenyra (and laena and nettles) is just as much about him working through his grief over his mother’s death and his confusing attraction to viserys as much as it is about his own attraction to rhaenyra and desire to be in control at all times, but like, obviously george did not write daemon as a bisexual genderfucked menace with an oedipal complex ya know. i’m aware some of this is just my personal reading of the text lollll]

patterns of abuse with jaehaerys

this post made me deeply depressed and i reread f&b which was my first mistake.

tldr i’m making the argument that jaehaerys definitely sexually abused saera and alysanne, and likely viserra and gael, and also i hate this man. if you disagree and want to say so *nicely* that’s cool but if you hardcore love jae and don’t want to hear criticism, maybe just scroll past bc i’m not nice to him at all (obviously, i’m accusing him of csa lol).

breaking this down by each woman, so there’s 6 sections: saera, viserra, daella, gael, alysanne, and alicent.

saera targaryen

If she were the king’s firstborn, or better still his only child, she would be well content. Instead she finds herself the ninthborn, with six living siblings who are older than her and even more adored. Aemon is to be king, Baelon most like will be his Hand, Alyssa may be all her mother is and more, Vaegon is more learned than she is, Maegelle is holier, and Daella…when does a day go by when Daella is not in need of comfort? And whilst she is being soothed, Saera is being ignored. Such a fierce little thing she is, they say, she has no need of comfort. They are wrong in that, I fear. All men need comfort.

that’s septon barth’s opinion on her and barth is always right. simply put, she’s a deeply neglected child who acts like a brat to get her parents attention because she’s learned the only way they’ll pay attention to her is if she’s causing a problem.

Before she was eleven, she was stealing wine and ale instead. By twelve, she was like as not to arrive drunk when summoned to the sept for prayer.

The king’s half-witted fool, Tom Turnip, was the victim of many of her japes, and her unwitting catspaw for others. Once, before a great feast where many lords and ladies were to be in attendance, she persuaded Tom that it would be much funnier if he performed naked. It was not well received.

stealing alcohol at 10 and being a committed alcoholic at 12 is not normal behavior. it is a sign of something deeply at wrong at home. also, the way she kind of, sexually humiliated tom, someone who is too “innocent” to even realize she’s sexually humiliating him…gives me the ick re: how she views sex.

Saera had learned the art of getting anything she wanted from her father: a kitten, a hound, a pony, a hawk, a horse (Jaehaerys did draw a firm line at the elephant). Queen Alysanne was far less gullible, however, and Septon Barth tells us that Saera’s sisters all misliked her to various degrees.

i don’t like this. nothing wrong with giving your child gifts (see ned going above and beyond to get arya not just instruction on how to fight but also a specific style that would gel with being smaller than your average opponent) but in conjunction with “jaehaerys ignores saera unless she’s pressing him for an expensive gift which he immediately gives her and alysanne doesn’t get why he caved so quickly” its an alarming dynamic.

also speaks to how isolated saera specifically was, that the only siblings that like her (aemon and baelon) are usually out and about, and there’s a clear wedge between saera and her sisters, even viserra.

The screams were coming from Tom Turnip, who was lurching helplessly in circles trying to escape from half a dozen naked whores, whilst the patrons of the house laughed uproariously and shouted on the harlots. Jonah Mooton, Red Roy Connington, and Stinger Beesbury were amongst those patrons, each one drunker than the last. They had thought it would be funny to see old Turnip do the deed, Red Roy admitted. Then Jonah Mooton laughed and said the jape had all been Saera’s notion, and what a funny girl she was.

again with sexually humiliating tom.

it continues with her friends. it’s not unusual for a 15 year old girl to want to fool around with other 15 year olds but alys and perri are all guilt ridden and upset and alys is with child. it reminds me a lot of cersei sexually abusing taena in affc. when she’s caught (now, mind you, she’s been marched in front of her parents sitting on the throne and not brought to them in their private rooms. she’s being treated right off the bat as if she’s guilty of a crime and not guilty of being a shitty teenager):

“She went from denial to dismissal to quibbling to contrition to accusation to justification to defiance in the space of an hour, with stops at giggling and weeping along the way,” Septon Barth would write. “She never did it, they were lying, it never happened, how could they believe that, it was just a game, it was just a jape, who said that, that was not how it happened, everyone likes kissing, she was sorry, Peri started it, it was such fun, no one was hurt, no one ever told her kissing was bad, Sweetberry had dared her, she was so ashamed, Baelon used to kiss Alyssa all the time, once she started she did not know how to stop, she was afraid of Stinger, the Mother Above had forgiven her, all the girls were doing it, the first time she was drunk, she had never wanted to, it was what men wanted, Maegelle said the gods forgave all sins, Jonah said he loved her, the gods had made her pretty, it was not her fault, she would be good from now on, it will be as if it never happened, she would marry Red Roy Connington, they had to forgive her, she would never kiss a man again or do any of those other things, it wasn’t her who was with child, she was their daughter, she was their little girl, she was a princess, if she were queen she would do as she liked, why wouldn’t they believe her, they never loved her, she hated them, they could whip her if they wanted but she would never be their slave. She took my breath away, this girl. There was never a mummer in all the land who gave such a performance, but by the end she was exhausted and afraid, and her mask slipped.”

What does Jaehaerys ask after all of this? “Have you given any of these boys your maidenhead?” Her response:

“True?” said Saera. It was in that moment, with that word, that the contempt came out. “No. I gave it to all three. They all think they were the first. Boys are such silly fools.”

Now mind you, Alyssa and Daella have both died of childbirth recently and her parents are mad she had sex as a 16 year old bordering on 17 year old, and not the fact that she like, at best peer pressured her besties into having sex and now one of them is pregnant. jaehaerys has only asked if she’s still a virgin.

“I will be married,” the princess said. “Why shouldn’t I be? You were married at my age. I shall be wedded and bedded, but to whom? Jonah and Roy both love me, I could take one of them, but they are both such boys. Stinger does not love me, but he makes me laugh and sometimes makes me scream. I could marry all three of them, why not? Why should I have just one husband? The Conqueror had two wives, and Maegor had six or eight.”

i keep trying not to give my opinion and just lay it all out but the thing is i’d just be reposting the whole scene because it’s just filled with so much weird sex stuff. if you don’t remember it, go reread it. it doesn’t feel (to me) like regular “george is bad at writing sex” vibes but “george is purposefully trying to skeeve you out” vibes but i am willing to admit i could be wrong and he really just doesn’t understand what he wrote.

anyways remember how i said saera acts out to get attention from her parents? all she’s done here is act out, her “crimes” are basically nonexistent; beyond how alys feels about being pregnant, saera consensually had sex with boys around her age who aren’t married, and then blithely compared herself to some asshole relatives. if your teenager idolizes dick cheney that’s probably worrying but not a crime! this is not how jae treats it however.

When the princess heard his words, she rushed toward him, crying, “Father, Father!” but Jaehaerys turned his back on her, and Gyles Morrigen caught her by the arm and wrenched her away. She would not go of her own accord, so the guards were forced to drag her from the hall, wailing and sobbing and calling for her father.

The king was angry and unyielding, for his shame was deeply felt, and he could not forget Saera’s taunting words about his uncle’s wives. “She is no longer my daughter,” he said more than once. Queen Alysanne could not find it in her heart to be so harsh, however. “

saera tries to escape.

This time the princess was not allowed to return to her own chambers. She was confined to a tower cell instead, with Jonquil Darke guarding her day and night, even in the privy.

Princess Saera watched from the window of her cell. Jonquil Darke, her gaoler, made certain that she did not turn away.

that’s as her dad is murdering stinger btw. is he a creepy 19 year old? yeah. but like, making your 15 year old watch you murder her 19 year old trust fund baby stoner boyfriend sure is something.

so then they sent her to the silent sisters where she’s beaten all the time and has to pray all the time and she runs away, becomes a sex worker and literally never looks back.

The truth did not come out until a year later, when the former princess was seen in a Lysene pleasure garden, still clad as a novice. Queen Alysanne wept to hear it. “They have made our daughter into a whore,” she said. “She always was,” the king replied.

“You need her as a Dornishman needs a pit viper,” Jaehaerys said. “I am sorry. King’s Landing has sufficient whores. I do not wish to hear her name again.”

but before we move on, let’s look at one more related ick, when saera’s sons show up to the great council:

From Essos came three rival competitors, grandsons of King Jaehaerys through his daughter Saera, each sired by a different father. One was said to be the very image of his grandsire in his youth.

after her drinking, acting out, and jaehaerys’ focus on calling her a whore, explicitly pointing out that one of her grandsons looks just like jae is a choice. i know they’re super inbred. it’s still uncomfortable in context.

viserra targaryen

alysanne makes no sense here but i’m just gonna quickly explain instead of lay it out or we will be here all day bc viserra’s engagement is completely nonsensical. theomore manderly is old, ugly, has a shitton of heirs, and viserra clearly doesn’t want to marry him. also if she wanted to be queen, why is she going after baelon, aemon is still alive. anyways jaehaerys is no help here, then she goes to baelon for help, but she’s also super drunk.

Frustrated, Viserra next turned to her brother Baelon in hopes of rescue, if court gossip can be believed. Slipping past his guards into his bedchamber one night, she disrobed and waited for him, making free with the prince’s wine whilst she lingered. When Prince Baelon finally appeared, he found her drunk and naked in his bed and sent her on her way. The princess was so unsteady that she required the help of two maids and a knight of the Kingsguard to get her safely back to her own apartments.

she gets drunk with some friends again, goes riding, breaks her neck. i wanted to point out this pattern of drinking and acting out at a young age. as well as this pattern of targaryen daughters who aren’t “meant” for a brother and are promised to men who are old and with heirs

daella targaryen

i wanted to add daella because her getting married at 15 makes as little sense as viserra, and her match to a old man with several heirs is equally nonsensical. but also this:

“I would never marry her,” the boy said, in front of half the court. “She can barely read. She should find some lord in need of stupid children, for that’s the only sort he will ever have of her.”

where did vaegon get that mouth.

Daella was not clever, even her septa had to admit. She learned to read after a fashion, but haltingly, and without full comprehension. She could not seem to commit even the simplest prayers to memory. She had a sweet voice, but was afraid to sing; she always got the words wrong. She loved flowers, but was frightened of gardens; a bee had almost stung her once.

Jaehaerys, even more than Alysanne, despaired of her. “She will not even speak to a boy. How is she to marry? We could entrust her to the Faith, but she does not know her prayers, and her septa says that she cries when asked to read aloud from The Seven-Pointed Star.”

The queen always rose to her defense. “Daella is sweet and kind and gentle. She has such a tender heart. Give me time, and I will find a lord to cherish her. Not every Targaryen needs to wield a sword and ride a dragon.”

so daella is 12 at this point.

Her sixteenth nameday was fast approaching, and with it her womanhood. Queen Alysanne was at her wit’s end, and the king had lost his patience. On the first day of the 80th year since Aegon’s Conquest, he told the queen he wanted Daella wed before the year’s end. “If she wants I can find a hundred men and line them up before her naked, and she can pick the one she likes,” he said. “I would sooner she wed a lord, but if she prefers a hedge knight or a merchant or Pate the Pig Boy, I am past the point of caring, so long as she picks someone.”

i just don’t like this. other “simple” targs are not required to marry, like vaella and aelora, two of daeron ii’s grandfaughters so i don’t get why daella is pressured into marrying before she’s even of age. at least jae 2 forced rhaella and aerys because of a prophecy? what is jae’s reasoning for so sexualizing his daughter?

gael targaryen

this one is definitely a reach but i’d like to point out that this is basically all we know about gael:

Princess Gael, a sweet, shy child of seven, became the queen’s constant shadow and support, even sharing her bed at night.

and our information on how she dies is so shady:

A sweet-natured girl, but frail and somewhat simpleminded, she remained with the queen long after her other children had grown and gone, but in 99 AC she vanished from court, and soon afterward it was announced that she had died of a summer fever. Only after both her parents were gone did the true tale come out. Seduced and abandoned by a traveling singer, the princess had given birth to a stillborn son, then, overwhelmed by grief, walked into the waters of Blackwater Bay and drowned.

how does gael get pregnant by a traveling singer when she never leaves her mother’s side? why doesn’t anyone in court know gael got pregnant and killed herself until after aly and jae both die and how was this even found out?

am i implying that jaehaerys sexually abused all four of his daughters? yes because he literally sexually abuses his own wife.

alysanne targaryen

“I am forty-two years old,” she told the king. “You must be content with the children I have given you. I am more suited to be a grandmother than a mother now, I fear.”

King Jaehaerys did not share her certainty. “Our mother, Queen Alyssa, was forty-six when she gave birth to Jocelyn,” he pointed out to Grand Maester Elysar. “The gods may not be done with us.” He was not wrong. The very next year, the Grand Maester informed Queen Alysanne that she was once more with child, to her surprise and dismay.

he uses the birth that killed their mother and that is condemned by rhaena and alysanne as reckless and cruel of rogar to force on her. that birth.

at this point as well, he had abused saera and daella, then they’re gone, then viserra starts drinking and dies, then jae marital rapes aly into having gael, giving him access to another young girl to abuse…i’m aware this is a very uncharitable reading of him but…

alicent hightower (and kind of alyssa targaryen)

Ser Otto’s precocious fifteen-year-old daughter, Alicent, became his constant companion, fetching His Grace his meals, reading to him, helping him to bathe and dress himself. The Old King sometimes mistook her for one of his daughters, calling her by their names; near the end, he grew certain she was his daughter Saera, returned to him from beyond the narrow sea.

saera is the one he fixated on yet again but notable that he’s fixated on his daughters as he dies and not his sons, despite jaehaerys turning to drink after aemon died bc he was so upset.

He announced his intention to wed Lady Alicent of House Hightower, the clever and lovely eighteen-year-old daughter of the King’s Hand, the girl who had read to King Jaehaerys as he lay dying.

The Hightowers of Oldtown were an ancient and noble family, of impeccable lineage; there could be no possible objection to the king’s choice of bride. Even so, there were those who murmured that the Hand had risen above himself, that he had brought his daughter to court with this in mind. A few even cast doubt on Lady Alicent’s virtue, suggesting she had welcomed King Viserys into her bed even before Queen Aemma’s death. (These calumnies were never proved, though Mushroom repeats them in his Testimony and goes so far as to claim that reading was not the only service Lady Alicent performed for the Old King in his bedchamber.)

i know it’s just mushroom being a perv but a rumor that 15 year old alicent “serviced” jaehaerys existing besides rumors that he mistook 15 year old alicent for the daughter he last saw when she was 17 - and viserra was 15, gael 19, and daella 15, all around alicent’s age and all died before age 20. all the targaryen girls that weren’t born “for” a brother exit the narrative after some sort of sexual abuse that centers around jae, as teenagers; daenerys was born for aemon, alyssa for baelon, and maegelle for vaegon before they both fucked off and maegelle was too pious (and too old). this idea of being “for” a brother leads directly to alyssa’s death before 30:

“You were made for battles, and I was made for this. Viserys and Daemon and Aegon, that’s three. As soon as I am well, let’s make another. I want to give you twenty sons. An army of your own!” It was not to be. Alyssa Targaryen had a warrior’s heart in a woman’s body, and her strength failed her. She never fully recovered from Aegon’s birth, and died within the year at only four-and-twenty.

and alysanne being “for” jaehaerys is how he excusing sexually abusing her into a risky pregnancy. essentially what i fear is that because saera, daella, viserra, and gael aren’t “for” someone, jaehaerys gets it into his mind that that are for him. even without him raping them tho, that subtext is there! he is entitled to saera’s virginity and calls her a whore multiple times, even decades after she’s left, and murders her boyfriend in front of her. he claims a weird sexual ownership over his neurodivergent daughter daella and his alcoholic, depressed daughter viserra, and we get zero information on gael’s pregnancy or his reaction to it. but jaehaerys deciding his daughters are “for” him certainly has a basis in canon just judging from the erratic and worrying behavior of his younger daughters.

jaehaerys is a creep and i hate him and i don’t know how much of this is on purpose (like, will aegon vi or dany find out jaehaerys was a shady pedo and it shatters their world? will dunk and egg find it out and it affects their plot somehow? did george just put it in there to make a comment on power and monarchy and misogyny, similar to aegon iv raping the bracken women? or is just there for window dressing creepiness, like “i will pepper in the fact that jaehaerys is sexually obsessed with his daughters” thing?) or if george just made jaehaerys sexually obsessed with his daughters on accident?

on the one hand, it seems out of character for george. he romanticizes drogo thru dany’s eyes but it’s clear he’s meant to be seen as a creep (dany talking about being pregnant followed by “she had just turned 14” is sickeningly jarring for a reason) and also, drogo dies bc of his own pride. sansa doesn’t like any of the old dudes touching her; she is at least marginally freaked out by her wedding night, the unkiss, and lf & dontos taking liberties with her, and rightly. the story that’s told about the mountain raping a girl and making the father pay him is meant to disgust us. the walk of shame is a harrowing chapter to read, because whatever cersei’s crimes, this sexual humiliation is not something she deserves. on and on. yes, we all hate the way arya is sexualized in the mercy chapter, but crucially, she’s not blithely and happily seducing these pervs, she’s going hard candy on their asses. is this just messy set up for something like that?? i think, given how little dany knows about her family’s crimes that somehow learning jae sexually abused (and maybe even impregnated) his own daughters after she herself experiences sexual abuse would be huge. the same goes for aegon vi learning that sexual abuse runs rampant in his family tree; would he empathize with saera hiding out in essos to escape the sexual abuse of her father, see some of elia and his own plight in her? in gael?

or did george really just. not realize how sexually obsessed jaehaerys was with his daughters?

idk how to end this. where’s the winds of winter george i need answers.

[txttletale]

one bit of pop-history smarminess that really annoys me on this site is when someone says something about the influence of tiktok or whatever on Young People or Society and someone smugly responds with a compilation of centuries-old newspaper where people fearmonger about the proliferation of the novel or the radio. because like--and i'm not saying the points being responded to are themselves well-considered or insightful, they're usually not--but, like, the novel and the radio did profoundly transform society in countless ways, and everyone who grew up with them lived profoundly different lives and were profoundly different people as a result.

trains did not make women's uteruses fly out, no, but they sure did profoundly transform every aspect of the global economy and the lives of billions of people as a result--so i find the invocation of that kind of silly scaremongering to be a pretty weak fucking retort to someone making a broad claim about the societal impact of a new technology. like if you think their particular claim is unsourced speculative and silly (many such cases!) you should point that out instead of relying on this idealist, historically illiterate, 'oh, people have said stuff about every new technology' truism.

[perfectwitchcrown]

Allusions in Make the Exorcist Fall in Love

So far in Make the Exorcist Fall in Love there’s been a lot of allusions to various texts. I thought it might be fun to compile all the ones people have noticed so far as far as I've seen. Some of these are more speculative than others and I will update as I go along. Also, I read Ekuoto as free first read chapters on Mangaplus so unfortunately I can’t go back and check much so this is largely through memory, so if anyone has anything else to add I would greatly appreciate it! All I’ve got is a few screenshots and a dream. If I get anything wrong feel free to correct me! I’ve organized this in order of allusions I’m confident about to allusions I’m less so confident about.

CW: reference to sexual violence

Dante's Divine Comedy and Vita Nuova: Dante Alighieri

This one is pretty obvious since there are characters directly named after the characters figured in Dante’s Inferno. It’s been a long time since I read it, but other details are also taken from the text, such as the frozen center of hell where Satan is located.

Lmao Leah from the Bible (who is probably Leah’s namesake) also shows up in Dante’s Divine Comedy apparently in Purgatorio.

Ok also super important to Dante retellings r Beatrice, who’s used as a symbol of divine love and is instrumental to Dante's journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise, so of course Ekuoto Dante advises Priest to fall in love lmao. So far though there hasn’t been a direct Beatrice in narrative (which there might never be one since the text has already made the Dante-Virgil connection an active choice of Virgilius's to reference the Divine Comedy rather than just an allusion by the author).

To be so real though I figure that Vergilius is probably also intended to be the Beatrice in this narrative.

The points I would draw attention in support of this would be these: 1. Beatrice is the woman who Dante has been in love with since early childhood but unable to ever be with because they both married others. Ekuoto Virgilius and Dante have known each other since childhood, and have something going on. 2. Beatrice is, like Virgil, one of Dante’s guides (through part of purgatorio and paradiso) 3. We still don’t know what Virgilius’s name was before he took that one on. Beatrice does not have a masculine form in current use and I tried finding some sort of nickname that would work and was unable to do so. However. Beatrice’s name is rendered in Japanese as ベアトリーチェ, and Beato is at least a surname. Then again, I’m not sure anyone has both a first name and last name except for Imuri so far???

"Book of Tobit"

I wasn’t familiar w this one so I didn’t notice it until I saw posts pointing it out, but the Asmodeus flashback was a retelling of the book of Tobit. Other people have already done analysis of this so I’d recommend checking other’s out. Unfortunately I failed to save the link to any of them so I can’t pass any along :’) Belfagor arcidiavolo: Machiavelli

Another one that I wasn’t familiar with but have seen people referencing. As above, I recommend checking out other’s analysis. "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas": Ursula K. Le Guin

The Brothers Karamazov: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Ok major spoilers and I also highly recommend this book, but also, its super long so I don’t blame anyone who chooses not to read. This book is about the most disgusting father alive and his three, maybe four, sons: Dimitri, Ivan, Alyosha, and maybe Smerdyakov (rumored to be an illegitimate son). Most of the action follows Alyosha, who is the youngest and probably the most idealistic character in the novel, at least in the beginning. Alyosha starts out as a novice in the local Russian Orthodox monastery under the purview of Father Zossima, an elder who really emphasizes love in religious practice. There's a series of chapters that cover a theological debate between Ivan and Alyosha.

In this theological debate, Ivan is arguing not that God doesn’t exist, but that the foundation of the world as understood by Christianity is something he fundamentally rejects.

Quotations from the Signet Classics edition:

“I don’t accept this world of God’s. Although I know it exists, I don’t accept it at all. It’s not that I don’t accept God, you must understand, it’s the world created by Him I don’t and cannot accept” (Dostoevsky 266) - “If all must suffer to pay for eternal harmony, what have children to do with it?....I understand solidarity in sin among men. I understand solidarity in retribution too; but there can be no such solidarity with children. And if it is really true that they must share responsibility for all their father’s crimes, such a truth is not of this world and is beyond my comprehension” (Dostoevsky 276)

“Imagine that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end, giving them peace and rest at last. Imagine you are doing this but that it is essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature—that child beating its breast with its fist, for instance—in order to found that edifice on its unavenged tears. Would you consent to be the architect on those conditions?” (This quotation, although from a different translation, is the one that inspired Omelas - I think the bowling alley theological discussion between Virgilius and Priest bears some similarities to this conversation. Its not a debate about the existence of god, but rather a debate whether or not the world envisioned by Christianity is inherently unjust or not. Demian: Hermann Hesse

“The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas”

Potential references but tbh they’re a bit of a stretch:

“Book of Martha”: Octavia Butler

"Book of Martha" is an Octavia Butler short story in the Bloodchild collection about an ordinary woman who is visited by god one day who tells her to choose one thing to change about people to try and make the world a better place. It’s a very short read and I’d recommend reading it before you read the next sentence where I’ll spoil the end.

She eventually decides that the thing to focus on is people’s dreams. Specifically, to give them the things they desire most within their dreams, in the hope that people will be less violent to each other in real life. A stretch, but Octavia Butler comes from similar recommendation circles as Ursula K. Le Guin (feminist science fiction authors with overlapping periods of activity) so I don’t think it’s impossible for the most recent chapters' use of dreams to hold some sort of inspiration from this short story. Again, this one is a pretty big stretch, as the idea of dreams to escape reality is pretty common.

The Monk: Matthew Lewis

Ok! So! Demon seduces a person is like not at all an original story (The Daemon Lover, Cazotte’s The Devil in Love, etc etc). BUT! The Monk is specifically a story that’s like. What if there was this extremely virtuous young man who has never lived in the outside world ever because he was raised in the church as an orphan and then the devil sent a demon girl to seduce him.

I have not finished the book yet so I can’t comment in depth on it other than to say the concept is similar but the execution so far is very different (It's a fairly misogynistic text. Ambrosio turns evil in ways that I doubt Priest will because thematically they’d go completely against the story. Also, The Monk is veryyy lurid in terms of Lust is Evil!!! And will turn you into a murdering maniac!!!! Because evil women are out there seducing you!!! Whereas so far sexual desire in Ekuoto has been handled as a perfectly natural thing, but complicated by religion, patriarchy, trauma, etc.)

This is all I have so far but I'd be interested to see if anyone else has any other ideas!

[dropout-if]

Dropout Customization

Due to some questions about MC customization, I have decided to compile all the physical and personality aspects that are selectable about the Dropout.

A reminder that this is all subject to change and that new things may be added (or deleted). Feedback and ideas to further develop MC are encouraged.

Main Ideas

Name Surname Nickname

Sex, Gender, Pronouns (it's possible to customise them), Breast/Pecs, Penis/Vagina (If MC is transgender, their transition takes place while they're away) Title (Ms. / Mr. / Mx.)

Virginity or lack thereof.

If MC is trans (when they realized about it [high school, middle school, college] and if they told their family // the ROs already know, as MC told Uma and J, and word spread).

Birthday which establishes the Dropout's age as either 21 or 22 depending on the season (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter)

Major (Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Computer science, Law, Economics, Education (in relation to science/maths/etc), Mathematics, Physics, Psychology). The Dropout's Major affects flavor text. These options are the ones approved by the Dropout's parents, though it's possible for MC to express interest in other degrees/topics (music, art, English, anthropology, archeology, classical studies, history).

Reason behind dropping out (MC got kicked out (they were caught cheating) MC didn't get a high enough GPA and dropped out / MC never even wanted to go to college and ultimately decided they wanted out / MC didn't fit in (they were discriminated, lonely, etc) though they really liked college / MC originally liked their degree and college but gradually lost interest in the entire thing / MC never liked their degree and decided to drop out / Something specifically related to mental health (mainly anxiety) / Impostor's syndrome.) This affects flavor text.

2 Coping Mechanisms (Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs, Sleeping around, Avoidance, Overspending, Humor, *Hobby (overworking self) [Anger, Fake/forced happiness, Sadness, Indifference].) Each coping mechanism opens a variable and a storyline. You can choose two, though choosing one related to emotional responses [between brackets] automatically blocks out the others.

2 Hobbies (Singing, playing an instrument, songwriting, creative writing, drawing, sketching, sculpting, acting, photography, soccer, football, swimming, basketball, gymnastics, boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, kickboxing, going to the gym, cooking/baking, dancing [ballet, contemporary dance, modern], yoga.) This affects flavor text and scenes.

Job (Bartender [Wanda, Statler is also around often], Cashier [Statler], Columnist [J (+Kai if poly)], Caregiver [Kai], Waiter/Waitress [Uma (+Travis if poly)], Tutor [Travis]) Each job gives you more time with a certain RO, as well as unlocking a storyline.

Personality Stats

Playful/Serious Honest/Dishonest Friendly/Rude Introverted/Extroverted Laid-back/Uptight Cynical/Idealistic Flirty/Reserved Family oriented/Individualistic

Others: Insomnia, Migraines

Physical Appearance

*It's possible to choose MC's appearance as a high schooler as well. This affects flavor text.

Height (very tall, talk, average, short, very short)

Skin tone (ebony, dark brown, light brown, russet, golden, olive, honey, tawny, tanned, fair, rosy, ivory.) Choosing any skin tone gives you the possibility of choosing to be a poc (idea I stole from Mila, @beyondthegame)

*Build (scrawny, skinny, lithe, lean, muscular, chubby, curvy, hourglass).

*Hair color (max 3 tones, 1 base and other 2) (possible to return home with a mess of dye for Maude to fix. NATURAL (Ashen blonde, Sunflower blonde, Strawberry blonde, Caramel, Honey brown, Chocolate brown, Copper, Auburn, Ruby red, Midnight brown, Jet black, Ebony black) NON-NATURAL (Pink, Violet, Lilac, Blue jade, Vermilion red, Snowy white, Silver, Emerald green, Canary yellow, Bleached).

Hair texture (kinky, very coiled, coiled, curly, wavy, slightly wavy, straight)

*Hair length (ear-length, chin-length, shoulder-length, below shoulder-length, chest-length, waist-length)

*Hair style (SHORT/MEDIUM: natural, side-parted, mullet, layered, bob, ponytail, twin ponytails, buzz fade, slick back, messy, wolf cut, bun. LONG: natural, high/low ponytail, messy, shaggy, California waves, a half updo, side-swept, bun, braid, twin braids, twin ponytails).

*Eye color (albino red, dark blue, light blue, dark green, light green, hazel, amber, chestnut brown, chocolate brown, black, grey).

Others

*It's possible to choose MC's appearance as a high schooler as well. This affects flavor text.

*Glasses (yes, no, contacts)

*Facial hair (No/shaved. Stubble, full beard, goatee, ducktail,van dyke, garibaldi, mustache, soul patch, light beard).

Scars, can choose as many as possible (Back, chest, abdomen, upper and lower arm, thigh, knees, calf, mouth area, neck, cheek, hands, eye area, shoulder)

*Tattoos (One big in X body area, patch-like bodysuit, bodysuit, one/two sleeves, just legs, a few tattoos all over, a small in X place).

*Piercings (Ears [helix, lobe, industrial], navel, tongue, nose ring and septum, eyebrow, lips, smiley, nipples, genital)

Dimples

Braces

Freckles (face, body, both)

Beauty mark, multiple (under eye, over lip, neck, body)

*Outfit/Style (streetwear, alternative, cute, preppy, casual, formal, business casual, dark academia, messy, boho/eclectic, comfortable)

*Bedroom, at family home and at new apartment (messy, colorful, emo, basic, boho, modern, industrial, vintage, minimalist, cute)

*Diet (vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian, keto, meat-eater, lactose intolerant)

Family pet (small/large dog, cat, fish tank, hamster/rabbit/guinea pig, cockatiel/parrot/canaries)

Characters

Closeness to all family members (tight-knit, close, so-so, cold, barely any relationship)

Same with the friend group

Crush on Statler during high school (yes/no)

'Popularity' during high school and college (popular, social butterfly [got along with many people but wasn't part of the popular groups], normal, loner, outcast [somewhat antagonistic in a way/rebel].)

[lou-syd]

Rewatched Mad Max: Fury Road recently, read the Furiosa and Max comics (I had issues with it but some interesting ideas were presented in it) and read the script (I am very normal about this) and Angharad is such a fascinating character to me and I had to compile my thoughts about her and what could have been in a very long post lol

After rewatching with the added context of the comics and script I think she could have had such a cool dynamic with Max specifically if she had lived. I get why from a story-telling perspective it was her who died, doomed by the narrative in a way for being the symbol of hope but her survival could have been very interesting to see play out in relation to other characters, in this case, Max because I love character foils. Also it would have been fun to me personally to see her be part of the Vuvalini and rocking Immortan's shit but anyway...

Angharad as a character is crazy layered with how little there is about her beyond the snippets of her that exist in the movie. She exists in this limbo of being a person and a martyr of sorts.

After she dies, in the script, she does predictably play the role of the Catalyst™

And it's her that keeps the little bit of humanity and hope alive.

And that's a turning point for Nux (and Max lowkey)

Max's reaction:

And in the movie she's introduced with a shot focusing on her pregnant belly and holding a hose, spurting out water (which she immediately shuts off as soon as she notices Max is thirsty but more on this later) which are both very important for the world they live in -- literal new life (the prospect of 'healthy babies') and water as life/ sustenance; hence why Immortan controls the world.

As a foil to Max, she's the idealist. He's past caring about anything beyond survival.

That's not to say she isn't pragmatic. She knows the world they live in and how they have to survive in it. For example, her stance on violence. She knows violence in this world is nearly inevitable but it doesn't mean they have to participate in it if they can avoid it. She reminds Furiosa that they agreed on no unnecessary killing. She can see past the cultish reverence the War Boys have for Immortan to see the reality:

There's also this part in the script:

The comic opens by pointing out that Immortan had allowed for the Wives to have an education and a teacher which ultimately turned out to be his downfall:

And I think that sums up her character pretty well. She's clearly internalized this knowledge from the way she spits back her philosophies and how dogmatic she is about her beliefs. When Cheedo tries to run back after her death, the others remind her 'we are not things' and that these were her words. Which points to the messages left in the vault after they escaped (Who killed the world, we are not things, our babies will not be warlords, etc.) being her words if not literally written by her as a last fuck you to Immortan.

So then Max gets added to the mix.

In the movie and script, there's a sense that he recognizes that among the Wives she's their sort of 'leader' (at least by my interpretation) with how he tends to focus on her and maybe to an extent sees her connection with Furiosa as something of value for his self-preservation among these women hence it's her he holds at gunpoint and makes stay as leverage when they make it to the canyon pass.

It's also her that walks past him and back to the rig even after he just overpowered Furiosa and had a gun in his hand with no qualms about using it. Which the script makes a point of:

It's her that tells Toast she doesn't have to do as Max tells her when they all first get on the rig together and he's securing all the weapons.

She's defiant. Her idealism is still pragmatic and it has teeth. She fights back with what she can -- putting herself in front of Furiosa in the movie (Max in the script) knowing Immortan won't take the shot, immediately jumping out of the rig to cut Max free, shutting off the hose when she notices Max is thirsty while he's holding them at gunpoint, giving the others hope and pushing them to escape.

Putting herself in front of Furiosa/Max also comes after the scene where Furiosa tosses her a gun to reload. Angharad can't reload the gun, she doesn't know how. Toast has to do it. But she can leverage what she has to protect them.

She refuses to lay down even if she might not be 'battle-hardened' in the way Furiosa and Max clearly are, or even Toast who clearly has so more real world experience.

I mean she looks at the man holding her at gunpoint like this:

She's a survivor, like him. And in the subtext, Max recognizes that.

They are so different and have lived vastly different lives. I'm sticking with the chronology of the three first films for Max even if it's super wonky timeline-wise but since Max's comic includes his original established history I'm going with that.

Max is haunted by the ghost of his past, the people he couldn't save. He was a father, a husband, he's alone in the world by the start of the movie and ends every movie alone. He kills if he must, if it's the fastest and easiest option, and moves on. He's succumbed to ennui but still wants to live. He's an aimless drifter, living day to day with no real goals beyond that. The comic describes hims as 'seeking contact only when necessity demanded it of him.' Max has to be forced to care but he's still capable of doing so.

But what has caring brought him but more loss.

Angharad cares a lot. It's her defense. She takes on being a pillar for four other women who suffer the same violent abuses and that's all she has until Furiosa gives them an out. She's not alone, hasn't been for a while. She has hope, she's suffered horribly and pushes on. They survive, in their own way.

It's also Angharad who really believed in the Green Place and likely passed that on to the others (Toast affirming that they're going to the Green Place no matter what after her death) and that includes Max.

As it stands, I do think their characters are sort of connected to each other. If you squint, Max indirectly caused her death. She couldn't regain her footing to get back on the rig because she slipped on her own blood, blood from the wound he inflicted.

And all this is to say that, it would have been very interesting to see them evolve and where that would have taken them. Past cruelties forgiven, a debt owed, and a bond forged -- what would that have looked like for these two? Would she have been on board with his idea to go back to the Citadel and reclaim it? How would she have reacted to the Green Place not existing anymore? To the Vuvalini? Would she have had to cash in on that 'debt' when they faced off against Immortan? So many what-ifs.

Sidenote: I also think her relationship with Furiosa could have been neat to see evolve if she had lived. Like, she's the one that spurred the others into action after Furiosa was forced to leave them. She directly says Furiosa showed them to be stronger.

[bitter69uk]

On this day in show business history (14 October 1963), a grief-stricken Marlene Dietrich attended the funeral of her friend, the venerated French chanteuse Édith Piaf (Édith Giovanna Gassion, 19 December 1915 - 10 October 1963) in Paris. “The sparrow of the Paris streets,” Dietrich reflected on Piaf in her 1962 book Marlene Dietrich’s ABC. “A waif from the wrong side of the tracks. A soul which was born hurt and wouldn’t say die. An idealist, an optimist with sad eyes, a frail body marked by a childhood full of hunger, hands of a princess. Delicate and robust, courageous and shy, singing her heart out, giving her love, her friendship, her help and inspiration, believing in all and everything with the mighty strength of her romantic soul – the sparrow became phoenix.” (Marlene Dietrich’s ABC is a compilation of the diva’s wit and wisdom and musings on various subjects arranged in alphabetical order – including cooking tips! – and is a blast). La Môme Piaf is, of course, interred at the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise – the starriest of Parisian cemeteries.

[kim-the-kryptid]

I thought I'd compile some notes on my jedi character, I think they're pretty cool!

This is their design pre order 66 while fighting in the clone wars as a master:

Oros Sami (they/them)

Agender & aromantic

Became a master at 23 during the clone wars

Trained their Padawan Dej for 2 years until order 66

An adament follwer of the jedi code (a bit of an idealist with a traditional mindset)

Homeworld is Naboo

Here's a close up of their lightsaber:

Hoping to expand more on them through art cuz I have ideas!!

[starcurtain]

Haikaveh Fics I Want to Read (Part 4)

1. The situation in Sumeru takes an unexpected turn for the worse as both corruption and the Abyss begin to encroach. Nahida foresees a way to protect her beloved nation, but it's going to take both extensive knowledge of King Deshret's records and the mechanical and structural workings of the old desert empire. How convenient that she knows two people who've researched exactly that.

Or: Alhaitham and Kaveh are forced to team up to finally complete the research project that tore their friendship apart years ago--and, in the process, maybe mend a little more than just their unfinished thesis.

And the rest are under the read more:

2. Haunted by his broken relationships and his idealistic dreams of what a proper, happy family should look like, Kaveh is completely blind to what's happening around him in the here-and-now; it takes him far too long to realize that the rowdy gang of people who've carved out niches in his daily life may not resemble the harmony of his childhood home, but are, nonetheless, a family--full of love.

It's just a found family feel-good fic, featuring: An Alhaitham who has been waiting forever for Kaveh to acknowledge his feelings, double date buddies Cyno and Tighnari who don't mean any of their complaints (about Alhaitham, Kaveh, or even each other), a merc who wanders in and out of their lives like a feral cat, a dancer with big dreams and a bigger heart, and two ancient supernatural beings who definitely aren't children but still sometimes really need an open door and a helping hand.

3. It's not a crime to dream, okay?! Kaveh knows he's not getting out of debt any time soon. He won't be able to build the beautiful mansion of his fantasies for a million more years. But that doesn't mean he can't at least plan for it, right? Right? It should have lots of light, and lots of garden space, and a built-in coffee bar, a good place for warm naps, and at least two desks, close to the Akademiya as a mansion can be, and maybe the library should be a little bigger--the Akasha is gone now, that just makes sense--

Or: Kaveh drafts the blueprints for his dream home. It takes him until the very last line to realize that he'd just assumed Alhaitham would also be there.

4. "Alhaitham is the most irritating person on the face of the earth! He's temperamental, deliberately irksome, lazy, and archons forbid you're in conversation range when he comes across something brand new in those books of his--you won't get a word in edgewise for hours!"

"Kaveh... Have you been drinking again? This doesn't sound like Alhaitham at all..."

No matter who he tells, no one seems to believe Kaveh's story that Alhaitham acts totally different around Kaveh than he does around everyone else. But it's true! Kaveh has to live with it everyday! Fed up with being doubted, Kaveh encourages their mutual friends to eavesdrop to prove it once and for all. If they see just how doubly frustrating Alhaitham really is in private, then maybe they'll finally grant Kaveh the commiseration he is due!

Cyno is in it for the blackmail evidence. Tighnari is in it for the betting pool. Aether's always in it, whatever "it" is. Nahida is nosy. Dehya is there for the laughs. And Nilou's not sure how she got involved at all, but she's definitely going to do her best!

(Or: The Sumeru Crew tries their hardest to spy on Alhaitham to prove he's a simp, and it goes exactly as ridiculously as it sounds.)

5. A 5+1 fic that's just a soft compilation of little things Kaveh has adjusted in his daily life to accommodate to living with Alhaitham (and one time Alhaitham returned the favor). They're small gestures, barely noticeable when taken individually-- remembering to stop for takeout on gloomy days because his roommate hates going out in the rain, memorizing the order Alhaitham uses to shelve his books, tip-toeing because Alhaitham always insists on napping in the living room, no more client meetings after 5pm--but together they form the picture of settling down softly, (sort of) easily, into another person's life.

6. After the Interdarshan Championship, Kaveh wades his way through the arduous process of dividing up and donating Sachin's estate, including properties in the Avidya Forest. But on one trip out to survey land, a run in with Ruin machines leaves Kaveh and Mehrak both worse for the wear. Injured and at the mercy of the jungle, far from help, Kaveh fears the worst--until he encounters a strange, cabbage-shaped creature that seems (if he's understanding its odd way of speaking) like it wants to help. Little does Kaveh know that "help" from an aranara may involve solving endless ancient puzzles, diving into the unfathomable world of dreams--and finding out things about his father that he never could have learned by himself.

Meanwhile, Alhaitham is a rational, calm individual who is most definitely not worried about his roommate disappearing while dealing with a nihilist's estate. He's absolutely not taking time off from his work duties to scour the forest for signs of a missing architect. And he certainly isn't forming any advanced conspiracy theory about forest fairies spiriting people away. Obviously not.

(Or: Kaveh is rescued in the jungle by the same aranara his father befriended decades ago, allowing him to heal some wounds both physical and mental. Meanwhile, suddenly finding himself alone opens up some wounds Alhaitham didn't know he had.)

+1, where Haikaveh isn't the main focus but is definitely still in the background:

A slight canon-divergent AU where, during the Interdarshan Championship, that weird "Hat Guy" takes an unintentionally fierce blow from Cyno and receives a wound that definitely... does not look like something a human being might experience. Kaveh notices and, in typical empathetic fashion, can't let it go--if he hadn't distracted Cyno with all his flailing, that injury might never have happened, so Kaveh's at least got to offer to help this (probably not-quite-human) stranger, right? There isn't any form of engineering on Teyvat that Kaveh can't manage, after all!

It's... easier said that done to actually corner the weird Wanderer, and even easier said than done to get him to agree to Kaveh's checks. But that difficulty is nothing compared to handling the history of abuse writ plain upon the puppet body's inner-workings or the story of centuries of grief the boy finally deigns to share.

Kaveh knows a thing or two about suffering, but there are some things no heart--however much the Wanderer claims to lack one--should have to bear.

If there's one thing Wanderer doesn't trust, it's generosity. If this gullible fool thinks he'll be allowed to fix all the damage Dottore left just completely free of charge, well, he has another thing coming. Say what you want about Wanderer, but he pays his debts.

Or: An odd-friendship fic where Kaveh fixes Scaramouche's injuries-- the ones that can be seen and even some that can't--and Scaramouche pays him back by trying help solve some of Kaveh's problems too, starting with the big, tactless one known as Scribe Alhaitham.

(Archons above, humans are stupid and the struggle is real.)

[commonguttersnipe]

(insert a tribute photo compilation of Graham Chapman being Graham Chapman ❤️ in honour of his 34th death anniversary tomorrow (4th October))

8th January 1941 ~ 4th October 1989

Dear Graham,

Words cannot express how we all miss you. Despite us never having met, you have touched each of our lives with your dry wit and idealistic outlook on life. You truly sparkle amongst the stars.

Fly high, Doctor.

[science-lings]

Dialogue from TGAA that tickles my brain in the context of my Actual Phoenix!Naruhodo's AU

Not-very-local man is totally normal about fire:

It's just stated too many times to be normal, I don't have a screenshot but I remember Susato warning Ryunosuke against getting too close to the fireplace so he doesn't set himself on fire and I like to think she said that bc he does hang out way too close to the flames with Wagahai, let the little guys get warm...

Discussions of the reoccurring mentions of humanity and bird symbolism under the cut

'Only Human' but is he? (and other discussions about mortality)

This would just be so funny for Kazuma to think if Ryunosuke wasn't quite human

Ryunosuke is less skeptical when it comes to things like ghosts and curses, so I could see him believing in the reaper's curse in the context that Barok has something otherworldly going on bc Ryunosuke knows exactly what it's like to have something going on, maybe he was looking for some form of comradery but unfortunately, he didn't get it. Turns out it's just a myth he uses to batman his way through London. Use other's fear of him against them and all that.

Even if each discussion of humanity isn't targeted at Ryunosuke specifically, he's still included in the 'like everyone else' and I find that funny with the Phoenix AU in mind. It keeps being brought up and he has to be like 'haha... yeah... i get that...' while he's sitting on the knowledge that he isn't human, he isn't normal, no matter how much he's trying to be 'just some guy' he's fated to be drawn towards situations where he's actually so important. Every time the phrase 'we're only human' comes up he's reminded that that's exactly what he isn't but no one else can know.

bird guy talks about bird without being suspicious

Also on what Ryunosuke could've meant by this I found some info on the symbolism of sparrows:

In Japanese culture, sparrows hold special symbolism. They are seen as messengers of joy and happiness, bringing good fortune to those who encounter them. Sparrows also represent resilience and adaptability, as they can thrive in different environments and overcome challenges. In Japan, sparrows are often associated with the arrival of spring, symbolizing new beginnings and hope for the future. Their cheerful presence is believed to bring harmony into people’s lives and foster a sense of community.

and I interpret that into Ryunosuke seeing Kazuma as this resilient idealistic figure and as the hope to make a difference (his goal to make japans legal system better), but also he is the person that brings Ryunosuke the most joy.

also...

spotting a sparrow on your windowsill was considered the presence of a deceased loved one watching over you.

Which tracks as Ryunosuke copes by believing that Kazuma resides within Karuma and is 'with' him throughout his whole journey. He takes comfort in the idea that some part of Kazuma is watching over him and regularly addresses him as such.

anyway bird tangent over, He's also got the thing when you realize that it's a miracle that he is even alive (ie. swallowing all his pills at once, making an enemy of the british government, like they really just let him reveal government secrets and only put him in a time-out, like those were Stronghart's secrets and he was still like 'I guess you can just go to detention idc')

this was actually mostly just for me to compilate relevant screenshots, but if anyone else finds this interesting that's pretty cool too ig.

[gold-rhine]

For the sub!Venti fic, may I ask what was your thought process on this section?

“After, he curls against you, lets you clean and hold him. He created his own body, so he can control it, make it resistant to weakness like this, but he likes it, feeling raw and tender after being used, he always liked bringing others joy, at least for a few moments, be it from his songs or his body. And when you whisper sweet praises for him, stroke his hair and back, hold him close, and just for now, it feels like even as he truly is, weak and sinful, not living up to the visage of the Nameless Bard, he can be good enough.”

okay disclaimer i am not a venti scholar, i didn't do character study for him like i usually do for my fics, this quote is from more casual compilation where i did only couple paragraphs per character so i'm open to discussion or corrections

ok that said, what i think is impossible to not mention in like psychosexual context about venti is that he's wearing nameless' bard body, but unlike NPC in his quest, he doesn't try to act like him most of the time. like, that fake adventurer was trying to ACT like his dead friend full time to spread his name, to make sure he's known as the greatest adventurer. venti doesn't do that, he acts almost in opposite from the idealistic, driven, inspirational nameless bard we see in flashbacks and stories. UNLESS he's acting as Barbatos, which we see him do with said adventurer in one scene where he reveals his godhood to bring the dead friend's soul to rest. his demeanor shifts drastically into the benevolent, inspirational and poised.

adding this to the general theme of his quest, the fake adventurer feeling inferior to his dead friend and also guilty that he survived when "greater" adventurer died, it reads to me that when he's acting as Barbatos, venti is performing what he thinks Nameless Bard would have done, he's making sure Bard's legacy lives on in this image of god of freedom, inspiration for the freedom fighters, giver of hope for the hopeless, etc. and the rest of the time he's distancing himself from being seen as Barbatos, living as venti the bard, local drunk goofball, as if on purpose exaggerating the difference.

so all the great deeds he's done, all the good and influential, is done and remembered from the visage of the Nameless Bard, while venti is just kind of goofing around, trying to keep himself entertained, in a drunk haze or actual slumber, until the next time comes when he needs to embody the ideal of the Bard again. like, he's channeling what the Bard would do, so doesn't feel like it should be credited to himself, does it make sense?

so in that quote i was trying to hint at the kinds of coping mechanisms that he would do to deal in living in this duality of being a shapeshifter wearing a body of a ghost who he believes should have been the one to become a god of freedom

[hussyknee]

I really wanna know why both Jewish and gentile "allies" in the West are unable to step over a bar that is already in hell.

Context:

- Eighteen year old Israeli decides to do the normal person thing, chooses to go to jail than join the IOF. The sentence will be renewed every 30 days if he doesn't join. Usually this goes on for over a year until they get sick of them. Kid also writes a sweet, idealistic letter about Choosing Peace™ and that what they're doing to Palestinians is wrong. It's of course a very liberal Zionist speech that Condemns Hamas™ (sigh) and is very ignorant of the scope of Israeli occupation. But he comes from a Zionist family. This could be a start. It also undermines the whinging about the IOF being full of "kids who don't have a choice" other than dropping bombs on toddlers and shooting unarmed civilians in the head. Bar is in hell, but good for him. Let us move on.

- Or not. Within five minutes everyone and their dog immediately starts falling over themselves calling him a hero.

- Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims: Wtf? Our people are literally being killed for doing ANYTHING to protest our own slaughter? One guy willing to not take part OUR GENOCIDE is a hero?? He and his family are settlers and still part of the ongoing violence against us?

- Jewish "allies": omg just say you hate Jews! IT'S NOT EASY TO SIT IN JAIL ALRIGHT?

- Palestinians: As opposed to blowing our children to pieces??

- Jewish "allies": See, this is why you people can't get free! I bet you're feds!

- Western gentile "allies": I know bb they're so mean and unreasonable! Like are we supposed to blame our kids for having joined in our militaries too?? Antisemitism!

But I get their point. I'm sure Jews in the camps loved seeing gentiles hail Germans heroes for not joining the Third Reich, while calling the Warsaw Uprising terrorists. Not even after, mind. DURING. Children of slavers should have statues built in their honour just not joining the Confederate Army! (Actually they probably do say that, what do I know.)

I'm not Muslim or Palestinian btw. I'm speaking on my own behalf as someone who has also been terrorized by Zionists on this site way before I even knew what they were, enabled by both ordinary Jews and gentiles who didn't think Zionists were a real threat and more interested in policing BIPOC for calling them out. Meanwhile, Palestinians bend over backwards to never single Jews out and keep them safe. But I compiled that list on my pinned and I know exactly how many anti Zionist Jewish organisations and allies there are in the movement, and how many are either defunct, grifting or Two-State normalizers that speak over Palestinians, or just plain apologists like the one I now have to take off my list. Palestinians are still being let down by each one of you one after the other like dominoes. You cannot keep claiming credit for allyship this way. If you truly want to divest from Israel, you need to do better.

ALL you non-Muslim and western people in your nice unbombed homes with all your limbs and families intact appear to believe that the countries your people blow up with your votes and tax dollars should be grateful to you for speaking up for them. Stop policing the anger of victims. Know when to shut up. Or just stay home. All of Palestine's gains so far have been the work of Palestinians themselves, and of the armed resistance from the other Arab countries most victimized by yours. Israelis will never be key to Palestine's liberation, and their allyship have always been too expensive to be worth it. The master's house will never be dismantled by the master's own tools, much less the members of the master's own household.

[agentrouka-blog]

My favourite thing when anons want to stir trouble is that like, inevitably they have consistent misspelling habits which mean you know exactly who it is sending repeat asks. So unself-aware.

Anyway, I do think there is a balanced path between the text and what the author says. GRRM's comments about Sansa are about as light as they could come. I love when people want to ungenerously frame the debate as if she's tantamount to Tyrian or Daenerys, come on. Girl took a steak knife to see a drunken knight in the godswood. The most harm she's going to inflict is driving Jon crazy with the incest. I'm trying to be lighthearted here.

Anyway, Rouka, what's your opinion on author vs. text? How much is too much, relying on the former? On the other hand, with the Daenerys is a tragic hero fandom, there's a lot of outright twisting of the text. Does relying on the author's comments provide some clarity or just make the conversation harder, since one would want to reason based on the text? Thank you for your time and your graceful handling of us terrible anons 🥰

(The posts referenced: one and two)

(I'm chronically bad at recognizing these individuall spelling patterns. Unless they make it obvious, every anon is a newborn dawn to me.)

Hello and thank you!

For me, the actual text of the books should always be central when it comes to actually analyzing the books. (You know. Obviously.) Interviews can be nice, but should be absolutely optional to any of it. If you NEED an interview to support your position, you're not analyzing the text.

Perhaps I am biased because I can't be bothered to follow GRRM interviews, let alone dig up ancient ones - unless I am feeling especially motivated.

But also, most of the time we don't have a lot of good context for GRRM's quotes. How exactly a question was phrased, what direction the conversation went before it, how distracted or rushed was GRRM when answering, how likely is it he actually managed to get across exactly what he meant, and how easily can it get twisted around? Who edited and published it? Worse, did it go through a translation process?

Take the "Aragorn's Tax Policy" quote that still has people frothing at the mouth. People hear him mention Tolkien and lose all sense of nuance. No, he's not describing how his endgame king will be elected on his tax plan. He's giving context for parts of ADWD. That's it. Still people wail about what an evil hypocrite GRRM supposedly is because Bran was crowned king in the show without a single published treatise on his taxation policy.

Same with some commentary on the show, specifically Dany with Drogo. I've had people in my Inbox arguing for Rhaegar/Lyanna because GRRM is obviously okay with adult men preying on teenaged girls based on that interview. Which... you know, actually read Dany's chapters? Please?

The books, on the other hand, were not blathered out in a hurry. They are not a commentary on a text, they are the text. A labor of many hours of writing, editing, rewriting and more editing. They are complete and fully intentional in their form. They are the message.

So, while I admire how someone who knows what they are doing is able to create a brilliant body of supporting evidence on book content by compiling quotes in a meaningful way, often with good sources and context - looking at you here, @kellyvela - these lovely metas should never be considered necessary to understanding the text, and they should certainly neither replace nor supercede it. They augment the experience of it.

Knowing GRRM approved on the Meereenese Blot essays is nice.

But you don't need to know them, nor what GRRM thinks of them, in order to arrive at the same conclusion.

Knowing GRRM agrees with the statement that "Brienne is Sansa with a sword" is nice.

But you need never have heard of that quote in order to understand the similarities between these two idealistic, dutiful female characters.

He called Tyrion a villain, which is nice.

But you can arrive at that same conclusion by reading the books.

On the other hand, you can take one quote about the Key Five Characters from a decades-old outline that deviates from established plot in multiple significant instances, and then try and justify dismissing the importance of other characters. You just need to ignore the published text in order to do it!

So I just can't take that anon seriously when they gesture wildly at some quote about Sansa while ignoring the way it's entirely contradicted by the actual body of the text.

And if some members of the fandom have a habit of very selectively reading the text then this makes their analysis suspect, so what's really the point of arguing with someone who isn't really interested in analysis in the first place?

If "she burned a slave alive" or "she is ordering her servant to please her sexually" or "she condons torture even while she knows its useless" or "she ordered the murder of children" isn't going to convince them, an interview snippet isn't going to do it, either.

[ikuzeminna]

AI tries to explain: early Relena hatred

ChatGPT, explain why Relena Peacecraft of "Mobile Sit Gundam Wing" was falsely disliked by many fans in the early 2000s.

Relena Peacecraft, a central character in "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing," was indeed a polarizing figure among fans in the early 2000s and even when the series originally aired in the late 1990s. Several factors contributed to her initially negative reception: Initial Perceptions: At the beginning of the series, Relena comes across as a seemingly naive and idealistic character. Her initial persona as a sheltered pacifist and diplomat's daughter contrasted sharply with the Gundam pilots, who were more action-oriented and stoic. This contrast led some viewers to find her character annoying or out of place in a mecha anime.

For the early 2000s the truth is more shallow than that in that Relena is simply female and has a pink limo which upset a lot of ..."fans" who had never watched a single episode up to that point yet read loads and loads of fanfics and were suddenly confronted with the fact that Heero was not star-crossed lovers with Duo but might actually be connected to the female protagonist.

The argument is certainly applicable to a lot of people who watched the series later though and crapped on Relena's character because missing the point on multiple occasions has become an Olympic discipline rather than actually paying attention to what is shown.

I mean, I get that most people let preconceptions and media tradition sway their interpretation (like Relena having a crush on the mysterious new guy at school being the reason she follows Heero to the harbor when the series itself gives plenty of hints she's doing it because Heero is shady af and she's suspicious of him) but when they then form a negative opinion on Wing that is completely baseless because they didn't understand plot points, it destroys their argument and makes them look silly. Especially when it is coupled with an air of superiority.

You wanna rip Gundam Wing to shreds? Go right ahead, bro, just please put some effort into it.

Contrast with Gundam Pilots: Relena's character was often juxtaposed with the more action-driven and complex Gundam pilots. Her early interactions with characters like Heero Yuy, who were dedicated to their mission and often displayed little emotion, created a perception that she was a hindrance to their objectives.

Oh my goodness, I have actually seen this argument in the wild. I had once gone through hate sites to compile a list of accusations people threw at Relena back in the rowdy days of Gundam Wing to compare to more recent takes (spoiler: not much has changed) and I came across stuff along the lines of Relena "getting in the way of everyone's missions, creating problems for Noin, Milliardo and the others and endangering them."

ChatGPT, you impress me with your blanket statements going in the right direction.

I take issue with "more action-driven and complex" though. Compared to Relena's complexity most Gundam pilots are as flat as a pancake. They all have their depth, mind you, but Relena has waaaay more stuff happening and a lot more character development.

Initial Helplessness: In the early episodes, Relena found herself in vulnerable situations and required rescue by the Gundam pilots. This portrayal of her as helpless or in need of saving added to the negative perception.

I guess we're back in fanfic land. Unless AI means the Cinq arc, but that's the late middle of the show and is a little more complicated than just that.

Shift in Character Development: Over time, Relena's character undergoes significant development. She evolves from a seemingly naive girl into a strong and independent character. Her journey towards becoming a more capable and determined individual was not immediately evident to some viewers who formed their opinions early in the series.

...This doesn't even make sense, neither in the context of the show nor as a general statement.

It is true that a lot of people like to form an early opinion of Relena they don't part with no matter how far into the show they get. In many cases it's a decidedly negative one and that colors their perspective and ruins their enjoyment of the show, especially during the Cinq arc because that one is all about Relena and I have seen people scream for those episodes to end during their watch. Which, not gonna lie, amused me since she's the female protagonist so it's a given she'd get a lot of screentime.

The main problem with the Cinq arc though is that many don't recognize Relena's genius in how she handled the whole situation. The Cinq arc isn't just Relena preaching pacifism to the world at the most inopportune time where Romefeller is razing cities to the ground with Mobile Dolls. It's a political move that presents an alternative to Romefeller who claim that peace can only be achieved through them and their military presence. Cue a bunch of pacifists showing up.

Cinq's fall was not a loss per se. Relena surrendered publicly, with the whole world watching, especially the colonies who manufactured Mobile Dolls for Romefeller at the time. You think following that Dermail made Relena Romefeller's head representative for funsies? She had backed him into a corner. He had lost public support, the peaceful colonies had witnessed what they had contributed to and even people inside Romefeller were starting to grumble about him. He was scrambling for damage control, forcing Relena's hand and desperate to build Libra to have a giant space laser that will keep people in line should they not obey him.

Crap later hits the fan for him when Relena turns the tables on him and the colonists take control of Libra.

Complex Morality: Relena's pacifist stance and commitment to peace are central to her character. Her ideological beliefs sometimes clashed with the actions of the Gundam pilots, leading to a moral dilemma in the story. Some fans may have initially disliked her character due to this moral tension.

Such a pacifist.

Different Expectations: "Gundam Wing" is part of the wider "Gundam" franchise, known for its complex political and philosophical themes. Some fans may have had expectations for a more traditional mecha anime and found Relena's character and her focus on diplomacy and peace less appealing in comparison.

If this is AI talk for UC fans crapping on Relena because she isn't Sayla Mass and doesn't pilot anything then it's weird. By now there have been so many iterations of Gundam shows with the "princess" character not piloting a mobile suit (Relena, Kihel, Lacus, Marina, etc.) that no one watching Wing for the first time expects Relena to do so. Expectations for a mecha anime? Even watching The Vision of Escaflowne I never expected Hitomi to hop into a guymelef.

AI, what are you on?

Character Growth: As the series progresses, Relena's character becomes more relatable and her determination to create a peaceful world resonates with viewers. However, this character development took time to manifest and was not immediately evident in the early episodes.

You said that already. It didn't make sense the first time and it's not making sense now either. Who expects full character development in the first two episodes? ò_ô

It's important to note that over time, many fans came to appreciate Relena's character for her growth, complexity, and her role in exploring the series' themes of war, peace, and morality. She went from being disliked by some in the early episodes to becoming a more well-rounded and respected character by the end of the series. Viewer opinions about characters can often change as the story unfolds and characters undergo development.

Save the preaching.

The rest is correct mostly though. There are many out there who hated Relena when they first saw the show but found her tolerable to actually badass on a second rewatch after a couple of years had passed. It wasn't the end of the series though that made most people like her but Endless Waltz instead.

You still get an F for not mentioned rabid shippers at all, AI. That crap was an actual problem in this fandom. Thank Goodness that's over.

[asp1diske]

My friend is currently playing through hollow knight for the first time and just got to monomon. He was trying to decipher the tablets and was like what the hell is this?? So I was like there's this great artist who headcanons its monomon'a shorthand, and told him about your art and showed him, and he loved it and immediately wanted to dive more into your monomon.

But the thing is he's my souls buddy. We are currently doing a joint playthrough of all 3 games + bloodborne and ER, on the last dlc for ds2 now. Ds2 is his favorite game so I got to show him those as well and he was like WOAH THIS IS THE MONOMON PERSON'S? and loved them (he doesn't have a tumblr or else he'd reblog I'm sure)

His favorite bloodborne character is Eileen, and we talk about her a lot. So I told him I had new fanart to show him thats gonna make him cry and he was like oh? From where? And I was like you're never gonna believe it. It's the same person 😂

(Anyway he loved it again)

HE'S FAVORITE IS DS2??!!! I AM SHAKING YOUR FRIEND'S HAND DS2 WAS MY FIRST SOULS GAME AND PART OF MY SOUL WILL FOREVER BE IN MAJULA

if he's interested in the archive script these might be of interest to him

this is my take on deciphering the archive script (it's a more direct translation compared other people's work)

this is a document i compiled on all the written languages in hallownest. while this one is in korean, it's readable with some effort with a translator (i recommend papago). more importantly, there is a transcript of the archive letters that i've traced from the game files. (i frequently reference them whenever i write the archive letters lol) i also have a table of recognizable pictograms and some notes on the tablet in lurien's secret room.

i don't have a lot on monomon compared to lurien (i am admittedly not normal about lurien) but i consider this and this to be the epitome of my interpretation of monomon. i headcanon monomon as an idealist and a philantropist. i think she was a kind and eccentric person. and i think that she was thoughtlessly, carelessly cruel to quirrel in that she had no idea just how much influence she had over him. (to quote the first comic, 'how could he dare say no'?)

tell your friend thank you for liking my art and good luck on hollow knight! and thank you to you as well for telling me this and for all the support you gave me <3 i hope you have a good day!