#Tragedy in narratives

[alynnl]

Sometimes, Things Happen (Ace Attorney Analysis)

I have more thoughts in my mind about Miles Edgeworth and the way he’s written in the Ace Attorney Trilogy and the Investigations duology so far.

There is one detail I appreciate about the way his backstory is framed.

Often in stories (movies, video games, TV, any media under the sun with characters and a narrative) we see a character’s tragic past as “something that had to happen.”  That “they wouldn’t be who they are today if it wasn’t for their hardships,” their suffering built character and/or made them stronger, and that everything happens for a reason.

If we take a look at Edgeworth and the way he (and the narrative) treats his past, we are shown a different angle.  The DL-6 Incident and its fallout are depicted as a negative event, one that ruined the lives of many.  It was a devastating case for almost everyone involved (and even Manfred von Karma was worse for it, diving even further into corruption and going way past the point of no return.)

In later games, even after the DL-6 case is solved and officially put to rest, Edgeworth still refers to it as the time his life was shattered forever.  It’s only through a lot of soul searching and reconnecting with old friends (along with new ones) that Edgeworth begins a new path in his life.  I start to delve into speculation and head canon territory with my next statement, but one could argue that Miles wouldn’t be questioning his own morality and purpose in life if DL-6 didn’t occur and Gregory was still alive to give him guidance.

Ace Attorney’s writing is consistent so far in that it doesn’t consider its more tragic events as blessings in disguise, meant to give characters challenges to overcome and be their best selves. Instead these scenes show that “sometimes bad things happen to good people, and acceptance still doesn’t bring back the people who are gone.”  It is a sad truth, but one that can probably resonate with players to some degree.

This game series might have some gimmicks, running jokes and pun-filled names, but when it gets into serious matters, it sure doesn’t mess around.

I truly respect that as a storyteller and reader.

[mag200]

one thing about orpheus and eurydice is you guys are all like “i’m different i wouldnt turn to look at her” because you are all familiar with the story of orpheus and eurydice. but orpheus wasnt familiar with the story because he was in it lol.

[humunanunga]

Enough of the trope where memory loss undoes the damage or the corruption or whatever. More content where removing memories just removes the context.

The tragedy of needing to grieve and not knowing what or who you lost or why. The angst of having trauma and being denied the awareness that it's trauma. The suspense of being different somehow and left to wonder how and when. The tension of knowing that something is off and you can't find where it hurts. The Adventure Zone gets it. Kingdom Hearts gets it.

There is an aching inside you and you don't know how it got there.

[dreamgirljune]

if tumblr loves anything, it's bitches who are doomed by the narrative. in this uquiz, find out what role are you in the tragic play?

[nancywheeeler]

hopeless time loop. the way out isn’t to save everyone. the way out isn’t to save even one person. the way out isn’t to change anything. the way out is accepting how it happened the first time is how it always will be. that’s how you acted, that’s how they acted, that’s how you would have acted every time if you weren’t given the curse of hindsight. the way out is accepting you can’t fix the past; you can only forgive yourself for it.

[buttahpie]

i lied. put your clothes back on. i’m going to explain to you how the codependent and homoerotic relationship between john lennon and paul mccartney caused the beatles to break up and ultimately led to john’s premature murder.

[poirott]

Poirot + ruthlessness AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT (1989 - 2013)

"And he is ruthless, ruthless with those who commit crime. And they will be brought to justice." - David Suchet, BFI Q&A, Nov 12 2013

[queenlucythevaliant]

I made a silly uquiz while dog sitting"

(This is very Tumblr-core. There are many like it, but this one is mine.)

[drenched-in-sunlight]

Yesterday for the first time I saw a post in a public forum that actually points out Marika has every reason to be so cold & distant towards Maliketh... thanks God.

The Two Fingers/ EIden Beast stood aside & let her entire family die, then when it successfully entrapped her in a literal divine prison it said “here we gave you a brother lol” like istg WHAT are you even saying. Her entire real family is already in a ditch !!! No prayers to the Gods help them! And now these Godlike beings are like take this random guy as your bro???

It’s confirmed in the base game Shadowbeast is like sleeper agent that the Two Fingers put there to monitor their Empyrean & off them if they try to rebel, no matter how earnest the Shadowbeast sounds. Ranni and Blaid literally grew up together & we still have to get rid of him at the end of her questline 💀 Marika was a young woman who had lost everything then forced to recognize some stranger as family. To her that must be some fucked up joke.

And get this, I do believe Maliketh and Blaidd care for Marika & Ranni genuinely, it’s a tragedy that they were born to bring “nothing but bale” to the person they love. Just like how Messmer, the beloved son in the Shadow, also became a curse to the person he loves the most in the end. That’s the doomed narrative they are trying to portray.

[cupidswurld]

last night i watched the first episode in supernatural and within 10 minutes i put it on pause because in NO way, through the 15 seasons, should anyone be happy with how dean's story ends with him dying whilst hunting

because in the 10 minutes that ive learnt about him is that he's spent his entire life fighting, and he dies FIGHTING

no satisfying narrative ends like that, especially not for one thats run for 15 years

[lesbianmariuspontmercy]

doomed from the start.

twin peaks dir. david lynch // ptolemaea - ethel cain // yellowjackets opening sequence // the oresteia - aeschylus // road to hell (reprise) - hadestown // lake mungo dir. joel anderson // wolf in white van - john darnielle // planet of love - richard siken // neon genesis evangelion - "The Beginning and the End, or 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'"

[cfs-melkire]

Not gonna reblog the person answering a good-natured ask because I don't want to be That Person, so instead I'll just post this here.

The unsundered Ascians were tempered by Zodiark. This is canon. We get the optional dialogue (read: optional as in, "if you do not speak to the NPC that doesn't have the quest marker, you will miss this bit of dialogue/lore") from Emet-Selch himself during the Lv. 76 quest "Best Way Out." Image below.

[loveydive]

The Tragedy of Hayakawa Aki - chainsaw man, tatsuki fujimoto

grief lessons: four plays by euripides, anne carson // chainsaw man, tatsuki fujimoto // deathless, catherynne m. valente // “untitled,” 2016, ink on paper, kara walker // james, clementine von radics // slide tackle, japanese breakfast // how to cure a ghost, fariha róisín // red glove, holly black // the letter, richard paul evans // interview with james hall, richard siken // ptolemaea, ethel cain // iq84, haruki murakami // the godfather, mario puzo // god's silence, franz wright // crush, richard siken // tumblr user ojibwe // when i was done dying, dan deacon

[fun-esta]

[bloodraven55]

[rigginsstreet]

The thing about billy is that he was marked for death the second his mom left him with neil.

He was either gonna die by Neil’s hands or, as we saw on the show, he was gonna go down such a self destructive path it would send him into an early grave of his own making.

So him dying at 18 isn’t really shocking. The part of it that was never written in the stars for him previously is that in his final moments he got to take some of his power back. He made the choice to stand against his abuser (the mindflayer) in the name of saving someone else. He got to fight back against the thing controlling him and contribute to its demise. Something he likely would’ve never gotten a chance to do with neil.

The tragedy is that he dies anyway, and no one can even give him the courtesy of acknowledging what that tragedy is. Not the writers, not the fandom, not the characters within the show.

His death becomes Max’s tragedy, it can’t even be his own. Nobody cares what billys death means in the context of billys life. Just like how nobody cared about billy when his mom left or when his dad was getting physical with him or when he started lashing out because of the abuse.

Nobody ever cared for billy, so why was he expected to care about anyone else?

He was never treated as a person, just a presence. And an inconvenient one at that. So of course he was never gonna make it to a long fulfilling life. And nobody ever thought to step in and intervene because well, Billys a problem, right? So what does it matter if he’s gone?

And you start to realize how inherently cruel the entire stranger things narrative is because there’s a clear line of people “worth” saving and those who aren’t. And if someone’s too much trouble then well, they’re expendable.

Billy was too much trouble for his mom to make her clean escape. He was too much trouble for not fitting in to Neil’s ideals of the perfect son. He was too much trouble for max as a brother. Too much trouble with all the rage and hate he had built up for the world around him for not protecting him.

So in the end, really, what was left for him to do?