#a tool used by those in power to fuck over everyone else

[problemnyatic]

I've said it before and I will keep saying it until the gods themselves strike me down together, but dehumanizing groups of people you find unpleasant or reprehensible will neve be a progressive tool, ever. You need to understand that by using a tool, you are validating its use by saying "You can do this, if you justify it hard enough." You put it on the table, for anyone at your table to use.

No matter what groups you name or how you define them, that definition can and will be expanded to allow others with their own agendas to justify using that tool on others. And just to make sure y'all fucking get me, I'm gonna say it straight.

Get the fuck over the pedophile scare. Get over it. It's a conservative rhetorical tool designed to shut off critical thinking by weaponizing your disgust, outrage, protective instincts, and righteous anger against you. It doesn't matter what you mean when you say "pedophile" or anything else that means the same thing, those with political power are classifying inconvenient minorities, primarily queer people, primarily trans women, primarily people of color, as pedophiles.

You need to put down your bloodlust and you need to love victims more than you hate abusers. You need to set your disgust aside and figure out how to let even the worst of us be human beings, too. You need to stop letting "think of the children" whip you up into a righteous frenzy, and you need to recognize that authoritarian methods are bad because they infringe on human freedoms, not because the wrong people are trying to use them, not because they're being used for the wrong ends.

There's no "right" way to use authoritarian methods. By using them, you legitimize their use to meet any ends one deems "worth it," and you need to recognize that not everyone thinks like you and shares your feelings, even on stuff that feels so obvious as to not even warrant consideration to you. So other people will find other things "worth" being authoritarian over, and by making space to employ authoritarian tactics like censorship and policing, you are making space for those tactics to be used at all, and that will be abused.

The world is scary and on fire and full of apocalyptic injustices left and right, I know. I'm angry too, angrier than I can put to words. But there are better ways to address that outrage, healthier outlets, safer, more constructive tools. We can't fix things by using the same methods that got us into this mess. We need to make something better, by trying something better. Otherwise all we accomplish is creating the same world that ruined us with a fresh coat of paint and a sparkly new name.

[mmavverickk]

I “love” the betrayal fics where the entire camp suddenly believes that this new guy has actually accomplished all of Percy’s achievements and Percy lied to all of them, like camp didn’t literally witness half of those accomplishments and like Percy actually outright says “I did X.” Percy says almost nothing about what he does, Camp hears about most of his achievements from others

oh, we've all seen those fics. new guy shows up, he's actually Percy's half-brother. Annabeth suddenly only has eyes for him, everyone suddenly hates Percy because new guy does too, Poseidon may or may not disown Percy, and then Percy runs away and joins Chaos.

it's been copied and pasted thousands of times in hundreds of ways.

not a single one of those fics has Percy's departure from Camp happen realistically. it's not even impossible to grow resentment between Percy and the campers, which is what these writers seem to want. but the way they go about it? a cookie cutter asshole pied piper OC who steals the spotlight and turns Camp into a hostile mob of angry demigods? Unrealistic. 0/10 trope, literally 50% of why i will not read fanfictions with OCs.

have some realistic ways of turning Camp against Percy or vice versa:

- Percy could be captured. The area he was taken from is drenched in blood. no one could survive that, Percy's gotta be dead, so Camp doesn't look for him. after [x amount of time] of captivity and probably torture, Percy gives up hoping for a rescue. he discovers darker uses for his powers, frees himself, and doesn't go back to camp, because they abandoned him. opens the road for angst and emotion and tearful reunions etc.

- Camp is attacked. maybe it was a lazy beach day. no one is ready, only a few campers have their weapons. they're outnumbered and maybe surrounded and definitely out of options. Percy won't let anyone die. two ways to go about this one:

A) percy destroys the attackers single-handedly, using every tool in his arsenal, every fucked up thing he can think of to make sure his people survive. he controls poison and blood and drowns monsters and, i don't know, freezes them into ice cubes or boils their skin or stops their hearts. Camp is terrified of him now. he leaves. or B) the armed campers fight back, but percy isn't fighting. he's busy keeping the injured from dying. how? he's controlling their blood. he won't let it deviate from its normal path. Camp is terrified of him now. he leaves.

- [x god] sends Percy on a quest. but, surprise! it's not a quest! it's a trick, to lead Percy to his death! Percy survives, but can't go back or he'll be revealing he's still alive before he figures out why [x god] tried to have him killed and if there's anyone else behind it. fun conspiracy vibes.

- percy adopts a new pet, except this time it's a drakon. "Percy," Chiron says very patiently and not-at-all exasperated, "you can't keep a drakon as a pet. it will eat your friends and we don't have the space." Percy flips authority the bird and strikes out with his new pet to find somewhere they can settle. kinda cracky but written right it could be funny.

- Percy pisses Zeus off. not surprising. Zeus wants to kill Percy. not surprising. for his own good, Chiron sends Percy on a roadtrip/changes his name and sends him to mexico along with multiple witness protection agents/quest to keep Percy out of sight for a while to allow the king of olympus time to cool down, because we like when percy is alive and also the war poseidon would wage at his death would kill us all.

are all of them 100% realistic? no, but neither is Percy leaving Camp. Hera had to literally kidnap him and erase his memory to keep him away. the point is that they're different and plausible, and not the same exact trope repeated over and over again until i can tell you the plot of hundreds of betrayal works in one sentence.

[ravemetrotron]

AITA for Waging Civil War on an Ex Friend of Mine After they Undermined my Entire Political Movement/Uprising? [submitted by Gladiator01]

For context: I, (2,000,000 M), and many others, had been stuck since birth in a job we couldn’t quit in grueling unsafe and dangerous conditions; and to add to that the employers didn’t care in the slightest for their workers and saw them more as tools that were expendable, and this kind of thinking was deeply rooted in everyone, thanks to the current government.

Once I escaped the situation, I started speaking up and gaining like minded followers, and started an uprising for equal rights for the working class (I’ll spare you the details or what we did to get there because the rumors about bombing innocence were NOT true) with the intention of completely dismantling our current system.

This (ex) online friend of mine is who is a librarian of all things and had been living a ‘low-middle’ caste life when I met him, and he actually went out of his way to come meet me in person. Being able to talk in person made us grow closer, he’d been moved by my speeches and seemingly was fully in support of the end goal we sought to achieve.

Advisors of mine didn’t trust him but we’d already been to talking and at that point he seemed really genuine, I (unfortunately) didn’t think twice about including him in a future meeting with our ruling powers at the time, which I knew was bound to determine whether or not this whole campaign would become full blown war. At that rate we mutually considered each other as more brothers than as friends, I mean I really had trust in this guy.

So, the day finally arrives, I have an audience with the big assholes in charge, and I’m going about letting them have it. Obviously, I threaten violence if they don’t cooperate and make it known that we will continue our uprising whether they like it or not.

In my opinion it’s going well and then this (ex)friend of mine has the chance to speak. About three sentences in, and it’s clear all of a sudden that he disproves of my methods. Hello? Where is all this coming from, and here of all places to suddenly reveal this to me? I figured I could put the betrayal and embarrassment aside and at least hear him out, maybe he was wording it badly or just had a rough start. I wanted so badly to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But it gets so much worse, he agrees that the change I wanted to bring about needs to happen but by peaceful compromise. While he proposes this not only does he the name of my entire faction through the mud, but out of the blue proclaims that those on the side of his ideals are to be called something else and would be separate from my movement. [I can’t share the name he chose to use for his political faction for the sake of user privacy] I could hardly believe what I was hearing, but I guess the shock of it kept me quiet and all I could do was listen at that rate.

I shit you not this fucker took the opportunity to build his own following in a day, one built off the principals of my followers, but one that would be slow and convenient for our whole… country, let’s say, to adjust to and one that left the current dictators in power. One that would leave those like me and my following to continue to die by the thousands day by every day they took their sweet time. He was a smart guy, I don’t think he was truly naive enough to believe this would somehow save more lives, he knew what he was doing. He made a compromise that worked in the favor of those in power, put the idea of violence or forceful change down and made his side seem morally higher, and wouldn’t you know it the people (not my people, obviously) ate that shit up.

As if all this wasn’t enough, he was immediately— and I mean right then and there— appointed one of the highest stances that existed by our government (under themselves anyways). The situation would have been almost comical had it not fucked over everything I’d been working for for the last few thousand years.

And this little shit looks at me like he’s expecting approval or for me to be proud. I told everyone right then and there I wasn’t backing down, all the threats I made still stood, and that they were fools for so quickly putting a fucking librarian of all things in such a position. I’d lived through the very thing we sought to take down, I had years and years of military and combat training, I was willing to make the tougher choices he was clearly avoiding, but no. These people wanted him. I wanted nothing to do with him from there on out, but he and his supporters saw me as an unreasonable aggressor. Of course they would after all that shit he just shoveled down their throats, I cannot express in words how embarrassing a defeat this was and the sudden horribly ill feeling that settled in. It felt like every organ in my body had dropped to the floor and the shock and anger of it made my head ring.

From then on out there’s been a Civil War between those who truly stuck with me and those who were on his side. We’re still viewed as the evil side of things now thousands of years later. AITA?

Edit: no I did not make this up, no it’s not a promotional scheme for a movie plot, and no you cannot use it for OC lore. Stop asking irrelevant questions.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Credit for the idea goes to @final-milf-ratchet .

[witches-dream]

Polychampions if they were based

(aka if they played Minecraft)

Capsaicin

(credits: IVIgoggles, jordanpyke on PMC)

His favorite blocks are deepslate, blackstone, nether bricks (red ones too), magma, lava, chains and iron bars.

he's REALLY adamant about living in the nether even tho nobody ever visits him and he dies constantly and burns all his things. they considered KeepInventory but everyone voted no (incl. Caps) so he still suffers.

he's currently begging for a dragon riding mod to be added. who needs elytas, horses, striders and shit when you can have RIDEABLE DRAGONS???

he has trouble following tutorials, so he wings every farm he does.

he's the kind of person to forget to look at his health and casually jump over ravines on 2 hearts

hits zombie piglins on purpose

fan of Parkour Civilization

MCYTs he would watch: TommyInnit, InTheLittleWood. What he enjoys most is a unique sense of humor and doing something fun in-game, "building? fighting? i can do all that myself! show me something new!"

rushes to trial chambers cuz HE NEEDS THAT MACE

Mobs he would've voted for: Wildfire, Moobloom, Copper Golem, Sniffer, Armadillo

favorite mobs: ENDER DRAGON, also blazes look pretty cool

he's constantly trying to do tricks, like landing on a water bucket/powder snow/hay bale/ whatever, or riptiding around, using a mace, parkouring everywhere, etc

breaks into the nether roof, but bedrock breaking is off and he does have obsidian but no way to light a portal so he just kills himself which puts him on a 5 minute timer to get obby, a flint n steel and ender pearls to get his stuff back and get out. NOBODY WILL FIND OUT

Kouign-Amann

(credit: Overtales Studio on YT)

she exclusively builds stuff like this, overly detailed cute houses, then entire villages out of them.

help this girl is obssessed with cherry blossoms! her other favorite blocks include quartz, calcite, prismarine, froglights, and decors like pots, candles and flowers

she has automatic farms for blocks that she uses frequently. she's quite proud of her makeshift sugar cane and bamboo farms, but mostly uses tutorials for everything else.

her storage situation is FUCKED. it may seem fine on the outside, but for every build she has a chest monster in the basement full of materials. whenever she is running low on something, it's just her running from basement to basement trying to scrape up resources ("why don't you just build tunnels between the chest monsters atp" "i'm gonna clean it up! i promise!" "this is the 18th time you've said that in the last month. believe me, i counted")

pvp sweat.

uses a ton of client-side mods, shaders and resource packs to make her game pretty.

DO NOT tell her about Chisels & Bits, she WILL crash the entire server

MCYTs that she would watch: ShubbleYT, LDShadowLady, GeminiTay. She enjoys watching chill people who pay attention to detail, and Lizzie. She models her builds after their styles.

after not finding a good elytra texturepack she wants, she starts making her own. it's not long until she gets into 3d modeling as well and makes stuff like a hat for Prune and horns for Caps.

collects music discs

huge fan of armor trims. "can we add tool trims pretty pretty pleeeaaase"

rushes to trial chambers cuz SHE NEEDS THOSE DISCS AND TRIMS AND BANNER PATTERNS

Mobs she would've voted for: Phantom, Moobloom, Allay, Sniffer, Crab

favorite mobs: cats, axolotls, pandas, bees

likes building zoos, museums and libraries

Prune Juice

(credit: elyas360 on YT)

his bases look like little inconspicuous houses on the surface (just well built enough to not suspect anything), but are sprawling interconnected, redstone-powered underground bases full of secret doors, farms and traps. And, of course, secret tunnels to his friends' bases.

he's insulted by Minecraft's potion brewing system and refuses to touch it out of principle.

he's not particularly good at fighting, or building, so he would've quit if he didn't decide to give redstone a try on one normal sunny day. his friends' days have not been normal and sunny since then

favorite blocks: redstone redstone redstone redstone. as for building, he doesn't have preferences, but probably builds out of non-expensive stuff that makes sense for a normal house, e.g. panks, stones, bricks, etc.

out of the three of them, has the most organized storage system.

he definitely builds nukes when playing modded.

MCYTs that he would watch: ianxofour, Gneiss Name. Ianxofour's farms are just too satisfying to watch even if you never build them, and Gneiss Name's videos are less about Minecraft itself, and more about using Minecraft for education. You don't know you care about geology or color theory until you watch his videos.

"Prune can you fix my farm" "Prune can i borrow froglights" ok pay me 8 diamond blocks and i'll see what i can do 😌

spends time on the Minecraft Discnontinued Features Wiki, then shows his friends floating liquids and doesn't elaborate. "Prune how did you do the floating lava trick it would be so so good for my base" "Magic 🥰"

Mobs he would've voted for (if he cared enough): The Great Hunger, Glow Squid, Allay, Tuff Golem, Crab

favorite mobs: iron golems cuz iron farms, guardians cuz xp farms, shulkers cuz shulker farms, etc. but aesthetically, probably likes freaks like endermen, wardens and creakings

DO NOT let this man into an ancient city, he WILL steal a warden and put it in your base

About all of them together

Kouign and Caps collaborate on a community spawn base because they die way too often. Prune spawn traps them from time to time (and then gets caught in his own trap bc hes not immune to dying)

they always find something to compete on. for all three of them competing is the same as breathing

Caps: "what if a parkour master a pvp master and a redstone master... were in love 👉👈" Kouign: wait who's the parkour master?" Prune: "who's the pvp master?" Kouign and Caps: "hey D:<"

Kouign wants to make a three-person bedroom but they keep arguing which colors the beds should be. pink or yellow for Kouign? Blue or purple for Prune? Red or orange for Caps? legends say they are still arguing...

One time, each of them built challenge mazes for each other to complete. Capsaicin's was mostly parkour and some riddles based on puns. Kouign's had mob traps, quizzes and hidden buttons. Prune's had elaborate puzzles where you have to make use of the very limited items you find.

That's all for now, i will keep adding onto this in reblogs or smth and please send me ideas as well ^_^

[puc-puggy]

s4 sucked, but Five wasn't out of character aside from the lila romance.[1] what he is is a broken old man finally showing the cracks. everybody wants to treat 5 like a snarky 14 year old brat, but he is NOT. that man is OLD. he has lived through over 60 hard years. he's a brat because he is an old, incredibly intelligent theoretical physicist stuck in the body of a 14 year old, and the body of the 14 year old encourages everyone to forget he is a nearly 70 year old theoretical physicist.

this Five spent 45 years in the aftermath of viktor's moon apocalypse, 28 days straight between the moon and nuclear war apocalypse, days to weeks in the kugelblitz apocalypse and then days in oblivion. 6 years to rest and then it's time for another apocalypse caused by alien elements that reshape reality. this five personally saved and ended the world at least 5 times, going the farthest out of all of the Fives in number of apocalypses and by attempting to create the Commission. [2] this five says over and over and over throughout s3 that it's not about you/us, it's about the world. five is not just tired, he's tried harder and for longer than anyone else. he tried for so long that he forgot his own name. he has lost delores, he lost his sense of a clear enemy, he lost his understanding of the universe and his place in it, and he is old now.

when he is told by his future self not to save the world and he decided not to go into oblivion, that was a turning point in his entire character directly caused by a world-changing crisis of faith. the reason all of the other fives in the subway station gave up solving the problem is because every last one of them loved their family too much to consider the idea that the world has to come at the cost of the family. but this five had been through a full lifetime of apocalypse. he survived for 45 years in an apocalypse and turned saving the world and his family into his sole purpose. he lost that purpose when his future self told him it was all for nothing. that it can't be saved.

and this is where i think that people forget that the hargreeves are not just about childhood trauma; they are also about wealth and power. reginald and the hargreeves are immensely wealthy and immensely physically powerful. think about what else he said in season 3: "this is what it means to be powerful. sometimes you step on ants. we will never be able to save enough lives to make up for those we take."

what we see in s4 is an old man that has been forced to ask for the first time if such power has as much of a right to exist as the ants do. and to his surprise as much as everyone else's, it turns out that the answer is no. they were made from the hubris and selfishness of an abusive egomaniac who released a dangerous, technologically advanced, and highly reactive alien element upon a captive population in an attempt to resurrect his wife from the dead. five and his siblings are that abusive egomaniac's tools. they carry a power manufactured by an abusive egomaniac, and while it was unfairly forced upon them, it is still by nature a power that comes at the expense of others and they find themselves unable to be separated from it.

because that power is too alluring, too much a temptation. ben literally drugs everyone against their will, and to five, an old man asking himself questions about power, the fact that all members of the family voted against it is not proof that they can create a better future absent of this power. the fact that they were drugged anyway despite their protests is proof that they can't, that they will always fall into this power's destructive gravity well.

and an old man that has just had his entire concept of the world and life's purpose ripped away from him is the guy that accepts the end.

[1] the issue with five and lila's romance in character is not five's youth. it's lila's youth. he's almost 70 fucking years old, and his accidental and unwanted sip from the fountain of youth did not and does not change the fact that this is a nearly 70 year old man. he treated lila as if she was childish and immature because that is literally how he sees her and the rest of the siblings. because he is almost 70 years old. he gets annoyed with her for dragging him into stupid risks because he's 70 fucking years old and actually does know better. he is nearly 40 years her senior. their dynamic is funny because he looks 14. not because he IS 14. LOOKS young, not IS young.

regarding "why were they having him flirt when he was underage" for the same reason he's a boozehound and knocks back any alchohol in a 30 foot radius. the character has been over 60+ years old the entire time. & as people age, they can safely participate in more activities. a 14 year old cannot safely roleplay everything a 60+ year old character would do. before age 18, the actor could safely speak flirty lines to other actors during their roleplay job playing a 60+ year old. when the actor turned 18, the actor could safely kiss other adult actors during their job roleplaying as a 60+ year old. the child actor portraying a significantly older character getting hints of romance but not kissing anyone on a set until they're 20 is a sign that things were handled ethically. not the other way around. actors age and stop being 14 years old and limited to the safety constraints of a 14 year old. an adult kissed another adult during their job roleplaying as other people. it was just a bad plotline.

[2] I don't care about timeline hijinks in context of whether that was really physically the exact same 5 from the same timeline that started the commission. he thought it was the physical same him & reacted to it like it was & the impact does not change and in fact might become more acute upon realizing that it wasn't physically him, that it was a whole other five, that there are potentially hundreds of years of attempts to stop the apocalypses, and that the collective mass of their apocalypse ending efforts across all timelines should have accomplished something and never ever did it do so. that's hopeless

[woodlaflababab]

Hot Take: The Lion Turtle wasn't that out of left field.

Was it a deus ex machina? Yes. Technically. But it wasn't like some sudden dip in writing or like this was unprecedented and had no basis or reasoning in universe. Hear me out. This is Long.

Let's go back to book 1, specifically the book 1 finale. At what point prior to that are we told that there's a spirit that can turn into a giant koi monster and wipe out everyone? We didn't even know about the whole Tui and La thing until we are in the midst of the battle and there is no viable solution. Aang as he is, does not have the ability to solve this problem.

However, Aang is the avatar.

50% of that is having all four elements. It means mastering diciplines, practice, it's skill that you gradually improve on, it's being clever with the tools avalible to you.

But the other 50%, that I feel is too often forgotten, is spirithood, or being the bridge to the spirits. Spirits are not tools. They're explicitly shown to be things that just kinda Do Shit, and Are There. They don't care about the human world for humans' sake, that's the Avatar's job. The spirits are unexplainable. (I am ignoring Korra) Dealing with the spirits isn't something you can learn. There's not really a special technique Aang learns on How To Spirit 101.

But as the Avatar, Aang has the ability to comune with spirits, to seek them out, call to them, ask them for help, and give them help in return. Part of being the Avatar is doing things no one else can, and again, 50% of that comes from having four bending abilities, and the other 50% is his connection to spirits.

The Lion Turtle is the earned pay off of Aang's actions. Aang, like in the Northern Water Tribe, faces a problem in which neither he, nor anyone around him, knows what to do, and just like in the NWT at the twelfth hour, he turns to the spirits. He chooses to find a place where he feels connected, and calls out. He opens himself to a world outside of human control knowing that, as merely human, he is not capable.

It's the same set up.

Aang faces a problem: Giant Invasion/Having to defeat the fire lord

He does everything he physically can: Takes down a dozen ships/Masters three extra elements

But pulls back when he realizes continuing this way will destroy him: Retreats and admits hes in over his head/Refuses to commit violence with the intent to kill because that means sacrificing his values and the last remaining shreds of his people's values.

(PSA: Taking care of your mental/emotional health is just as important as taking care of your physical health)

He opens himself up to other people for solutions: Yue is just like 'you gotta dude :|'/His friends mock him

He chooses to turn to the spirits: Brings it up with Yue and Katara and Yue brings him to the spirit oasis/ Leaves the others to meditate

[Enter Magic Meditation Here]

He Goes To A Weird Spirit Place: Spirit World/Lion Turtle Forest

Fucks Around for a while as he tries to figure out wtf hes supposed to do: talks to spirits and Roku/talks to the avatars and momo (best place of advice obvs)

Finds the spirit he needs to help give him info: Koh+Ocean Spirit/Lion Turtle

Is granted sudden new powers that can solve his impossible situation: Giant Koi/ Energybending

Uses that shit

Saves the day

The end.

And I don't think this is really a cheat for him either. Aang still gives his everything to trying to fight those ships, even after seeing how many there are. He still has to go through all the hassle of the spirits fucking with him.

With the finale, he still admits to Momo that he may have to kill Ozai. He still accepts that, if literally no other solution is avalible, he'll do it even if it means sacrificing himself and his nation. He still has to do the battle to subdue Ozai and still has to risk being internally fucked by bad mojo from Ozai.

He still has to prove himself. In my opinion, he has to prove himself far more in the book three finale than book one. Book one he just kinda takes out some ships and then chats with some spirits and then the Ocean spirit does everything for him.

In the fight with Ozai, AANG had to learn all four elements, HE had to learn the avatar state (even if it conveniently got taken as soon as he did and then given back at dramatic moments), HE had to face Ozai even without the avatar state, HE still tried to reason with Ozai to the end, HE still used the avatar state (apon being gifted with a poke in the back) to fight back, HE still decided to not take the easy way out, HE still commited to and accomplished taking Ozai's bending.

He earned his use of the elements

He earned his use of the Avatar state (prior to lightning bc they couldn't have Aang be op too soon jebdjsbdn)

He continuously believed there has to be another way

He sought out solutions.

And he still had to get ragdolled some to top it off.

And as to the other Avatars' advice, and the idea that he was selfish.

He followed the wisdom of all the Avatars he spoke to.

He was decisive: "No, I'm not going to end like this."

Justice brought Peace: the firelord being rendered powerless and stuck to suffer jail the rest of his life weak and helpless is justice

He actively shaped his own Destiny: he decided how he was going to end things and shaped his destiny and the destiny of the whole world

"Selfless duty calles you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs and do whatever it takes to protect the world": to which Aang says "I guess I don't have a choice Momo, I have to kill the firelord."

The Lion Turtle did not come out of left field and Aang earned/deserved his ending.

[dayseternal-blog]

Summary: Fanfic inspired by @ohnej’s art. Original AU & Summary by Ohnej:

-He calls me the devil I make him wanna sin Every time I knock, he can’t help but let me in-

My [Ohnej’s] AU, where the frightful Hyuga clan leader Hinata and Konoha’s powerful Hokage Naruto can’t stand each other in economical nor political ground. But walls do have ears, and Hokage’s office and conference room have heard it all. The walls know, that these legendary leaders can’t keep themselves off of each other.

Rated E for eventual smut.

"He calls me the devil" - Chapter 3: Seriously

Celebratory news floods the village within the following week.

The Nanadaime is now engaged to his girlfriend of four years—the intelligent daughter of Katasuke Tono, the leader of the visionary Scientific Ninja Tools Team.  She is known to be as smart and independent-thinking as her father, yet less nerdy and more socially-attuned and easy to talk to.

“He’s finally getting married!”  “They waited a long time.”  “Well, he’s a busy man.”  “How wonderful for both of them!”  “When is the wedding?”

Such conversation was on everyone’s lips as if Uzumaki Naruto’s personal life is a part of their own.

Certainly they’ll be happy together.

That’s what she wishes she could think.

He doesn’t request her for any missions or meetings for the next two weeks, and that’s fine.

That’s completely fine.

She doesn’t want to have to see him.

She knows he definitely doesn’t want to see her.

Not when he’s getting married.

That’s probably why he was acting that way that night.

Getting everything out before proposing.

Crossing a line that should never be crossed while he was still a “free” man.

Taking everything out on her and making it her burden.

…

She hates him.

She hates that she hates him this much.  She hates that he gets his way, that she can’t just be impervious to his actions and words, that he got under her skin, that she won’t be able to treat him the way she treats everyone else.

How can she now that he dumped his stupid feelings on her?

Why does he get to act like a spoiled brat, and still the rest of the world worships the ground he walks on?  Why does he get to marry that girl like it’s a happy ending when she knows he doesn’t deserve it?  When she knows he’ll probably fuck it up over and over, but no one would ever know because he just somehow always gets his way?

Why the fuck is he marrying Katasuke Hanano in the first place?  Why doesn’t he just break up with her??  If he’s as good a person as everyone says he is, how can his consciousness handle his betrayal?

“Hate me properly, Hinata.”

Those pitiful words repeating in her head, and she hates it.

She hates him!

He’s not making any sense!

And she hates that she can’t just go barging into his office to demand answers.

Because…

She sinks deeper into the ofuro, letting the heated water engulf her as if it can drown out the voice of her youth.

She’s almost 30.

It’s been years since she clung to him.  Years since she used to always rush to his defense no matter what like it was her life’s mission to protect him.

It’s been 15 years since she confessed to him, and he rejected her, saying that he appreciates her close friendship, but that he couldn’t see her in that way.

It had hurt.

It had hurt so much back then for her poor, teenage, immature heart, and she had cried so much in private, that she can still remember the pain of knowing that nothing she did or said to prove her devotion was ever enough for him.

She was so stupid.

She was so stupid that it took her several years, into her 20s, for her to finally feel like she didn’t love him anymore.

Outwardly, no one could tell how she suffered.  To everyone else, it seemed like they just grew apart.  Her teammates, Kiba and Shino, told her that they were so glad that her “obsession” with him was over.  They liked her better and found her easier to work with now that she wasn’t defending “Naruto-kun” in every other breath.

She agreed with them.  Honestly.  She felt like she matured after his sound rejection, and he never gave her any hint of regret on his part.

So.

What the fuck.

Why does he think he loves her now?

He must not actually.  He must not truly love her.

He probably was just getting cold feet before the proposal, like the pitiful man he’s always been.

She knows this, so why.  Why does she feel so messed up?

Why does this plague her?  Why can’t she just brush this aside like it means nothing to her?  Why does this mean something to her?

She doesn’t even love him anymore!

So why does she care??

She hates him.  And right now, she hates herself.  She can’t even make sense of herself, so how can she possibly confront him?

She busies herself with clan work, going over their collective earnings from missions for their household budget when she notes a strange deposit into the clan’s shared family account.

Signed off by Kou.

Searching for him takes little time.  He’s often nearby.

“What was the deposit you made on Monday?  Where did that money come from?”  It was a lot.  Around the same amount as an A-rank mission.

He formally bows and stands straight.  “It was the check from the Ninjutsu Research Centre.”

She can’t stop the confusion from showing on her face, even though she knows it was just a twitch.  “...For what.”

“...I put the accompanying letter in your mail files.”  Kou’s short pause is enough to know that he noticed the uncharacteristic uncertainty in her expression.

The fact that she missed the letter is even more of a hint that something is wrong with her.  “Just show it to me.”

He leads her purposefully back to her office, opens her cabinet drawer, and quickly pulls out the envelope.

“Thank you.  You may go.”

Dear Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Hanabi,

On behalf of the Scientific Ninja Tools Team, I would like to extend our utmost gratitude for your support in our endeavor to improve shinobi technology.  Your cooperation in the development of our doujutsu glasses will deepen our understanding of our relationship with chakra and will undoubtedly lead to more efficient medical care and emergency response.  We greatly appreciate your generosity of your time and wisdom.  Enclosed you will find the first returns on your share of the investments in the doujutsu glasses.

Sincerely,

Katasuke Tono

Ninjutsu Research Centre

She rereads the letter twice.  She rereads the very last line several times.

She clearly remembers that the Scientific Ninja Tools Team, specifically this man Katasuke Tono, was against giving any sort of profit to her clan.

She never met with him specifically.  Even later on during the development meetings, she always met with some other researcher.

It was Naruto’s job to convince them to cooperate.  “Hinata and Hanabi, please.  I know that you both have made it very clear that you won’t help without compensation, but consider this.  No one will be after your or your family’s eyes ever again.  Not when there’s technology that mimics your doujutsu.  Who would want to go through the trouble of stealing from a Hyuuga when they can just buy it?  You can finally truly be rid of the ideology behind the Caged Bird Seal.  Your clan can finally be free from the past.

I know you want monetary compensation, but technology development costs are exorbitant, and donors and investors expect their money to go directly into the product.  Tono says that he can’t give you any compensation other than his gratitude.  Please consider the good this technology can do for our medical field and village security.”

She agonized over the decision, and in the end, Hanabi led her to agree with the argument that no glasses would ever be able to replace the specialized Hyuuga training.  Even people who steal their eyes are never able to master the Byakugan.  Helping with the glasses can only lead to benefits for their clan in the long run.  Just the fact that they want to make doujutsu glasses is laughable.

Simply wearing the lens isn’t enough to turn you into a Byakugan wielder.  Simply having the eyes of a Hyuuga isn’t enough, either.  And people who have stolen from them in the past learn that the Byakugan are a huge drain on their chakra systems.  The glasses would be no different.  It will be a lesson for others to learn sooner with the glasses.

Naruto is most likely right in that case.  Who would want to go through the trouble of stealing from a Hyuuga when the glasses are readily available?

Leading her to this moment.

With a huge sum of money when the glasses aren’t even ready, yet.  With money that was supposedly necessary for the development of the glasses.  With a letter that promises there will be ongoing returns.

It’s enough money that her clan doesn’t have to worry about the property tax hikes that the daimyo is forcing on their village.  The money from these glasses will be more than enough to cover the taxes over the years.

What made Tono change his mind?

And why didn’t Naruto or someone, anyone, tell them?

Hanabi would’ve told her had she known.  Just yesterday, she and Hanabi had been discussing what to do about the property taxes and where in their budget they’d have to cut.

So, obviously…

Naruto did something.

He must have negotiated in secret…awhile ago.

How did he…

She freezes, the image of Naruto down on one knee in a romantic proposal to his girlfriend tearing apart to yield a different picture.

An arranged marriage.

Possibly.

No.  They’d been dating for 4 years.

It couldn’t be arranged.  They’d been dating ever since…

Ever since Kakashi stepped down.

She looks up from the letter, her mind blanking out with doubt.

What?

She remembers finding their announced relationship odd and out-of-the-blue.  But in all honesty with herself, she didn’t want to think about Naruto’s relationships deeply at all.

When she used to pay attention, all she could do was take offense.  Feel angry.  Feel betrayed.  Feel heartbroken.  How dare he decide to start hooking up with women who didn’t even really know him, who weren’t even as beautiful or talented as she is?  His taste in women was alarmingly poor, and she found it as further evidence that she shouldn’t love him anymore.  Not when he was turning into an adult who was actually empty on the inside and needed attention and affirmation from anyone who would give it.

She stopped paying attention after awhile.

She played the matchmaking field herself, as befitting of a Hyuuga.  She lost her virginity to another clan head from Suna.  Nearly 10 years older than her.  Experienced, respectful, and most of all, he understood the responsibilities on her shoulders.  They could talk at length and agreed on several topics.  In disagreements, their discussions were interesting.

Best of all, he didn’t really want to get married, yet.  He was waiting for the right person.

She wasn’t it for him, thank goodness.  Because she simply didn’t want to get married, yet.  But leaving the responsibility to the clan matchmaker to decide her dating pool made effort on her part so much easier.  After him, she’d had a few other liaisons, but nothing ever serious.  

And that’s when Naruto was appointed Hokage.  That’s when he was suddenly in a visible relationship with the Katasuke daughter that the village buzzed about.

Someone she couldn’t find any particular reason to dislike or admire.  Hanano was agreeable, a fine reputation, nothing stood out about her.  She was so unlike any of his previous hook-ups, and maybe that’s why the village was in a stir.  Hanano didn’t seem like his type.

And for that, everyone supported them.

No one ever seriously questioned why or how if it seemed like a good thing.

But what if all of this had been arranged from the start?

What if Naruto had started dating Hanano for certain reasons?  Like becoming Hokage or…or garnering donor support from corporations for his initiatives… What if she had been right that night?  To accuse him of selling himself to corporations.  She’d known she’d been right, but to this extent?  What if he was marrying Hanano for…

How fucking stupid can he be?

Can he really be so stupid as to marry Hanano just so that they don’t have to worry about the property tax hikes?  So that her clan can be financially compensated for the dumb glasses?  Would he seriously get into an unwanted marriage just so that…

She leans against her desk, feeling her mind racing in circles.

It’s so ridiculous.

This is all just conjecture.

It’s possible that Tono changed his mind on his own.

It’s also possible that this is something that Naruto would do.

He so stupidly would.

She’s known him since childhood, she’s watched him grow up, she’s witnessed every painful warp in his innocence as an adult, as the Hokage, as a tiring, aging 30-year old who never goes home to his now-fiancée and instead lives in his office.

He’s stupid enough.

She finds her face in one of her hands, a heat at her cheeks.  This is too ridiculous.  She could laugh.  She can feel a smile at her lips, and her whole body feels warm.

Oh, she has to see him.

She has to pick at him, dig at him, find out if he’s actually that stupid.  If his life is really as pathetic as it seems.  She has to see if all of this is a story in her head or if he’ll prove her right yet again.

She has to see him fall apart, she has to see his stoic mask fall off and what face will he show her?  Even if she’s wrong, what expression will he make?  Would he be angry?  Offended?  Oh, would he kick her out of his office?  Would he stutter?  The famous talker suddenly speechless?

She has to thank him if she’s right.

If he really sold himself in such a total way.  For her clan’s benefit?  Oh, who knew the Hokage’s unrequited love could be so valuable?

She leaves her office with the letter and finds Kou.  “This is good news.  I’m stepping out now to give my thanks.”

Kou bows.

And as she makes her way to the Tower, she realizes all her worries from the past two weeks don’t mean anything to her.  What was she so upset about?  She doesn’t even really care that he cheated on his fiancée.  He’s always been inept at romance, so it should come as no surprise.

Naruto is just as simple as he’s always been.  Twisting himself about, bending himself backwards, trying to please everyone around him.  He’s happiest when he’s made others happy.

Perhaps, just maybe, she has the Hokage in the palm of her hand.  Who actually cares if he has feelings for her?  She doesn't.

Because apparently, she can use this to her clan’s advantage.

[doxolove]

Loneliness-

(tw: mental health, trauma)

I started using the Internet at a young age to cure the loneliness around me. My parents were absent, I was incessantly bullied from second to sixth grade in elementary school. Being part of the county's first Spanish immersion program meant my bullies continued to be in my class every year.

The only thing they couldn't bully me over was art. They were nice to me when they wanted a power ranger or a Pokemon drawing– so it became a valuable tool for me to use.

I've used fandom and art most of my life to heal my own volatile attachment wounding. In conjunction to that, I developed severe codependency of anyone who gave me any time of day… It wasn't until I found myself again and again that being a ‘doormat’ for other people was/is exhausting. It wasn't until my best friend at the time said they used that to their advantage on purpose, that I started to feel disgusted at all.

Even after realizing this, I was still suffering from unchecked mental pain and trauma that I wasn't specially aware of. I let myself get into situations where this pain clashed severely against others around me. My pain in turn made me an ugly person.

I started to get help. I finally was diagnosed with depression and type 2 diabetes. The overwhelming exhaustion clouding me all hours of the day wasn't just my own apathy, it was an a1c of eleven, the cusp of a diabetic coma. This shook me to my core. With regular doctor visits and psychiatric evaluation, I finally have been able to regulate my blood sugar and non existent serotonin levels. Doing so shook me out of other things I was still doing. Things that still hurt me and those around me.

Not being aware of how bad I was at coping with my own traumas was a reality hard learned. I've lost so many friends from this negligence… But also? Lost more ‘friends’ when the free ride of using me as a doormat was over. That persons will try to punish you for setting boundaries. That it's your fault they can't cope with their own trauma a more healthy way.

That's fucking bullshit.

Everyone is exhausting. Dealing with yourself and your own traumas? Exhausting. But what came down as a more harsh reality, is that empathy for this doesn't exist in most people. That empathy itself, is something most will never achieve. I've always wondered why not very many want to understand why conflict actually exists, what two sides of an argument look like. What acknowledgement of miscommunication actually is. It's really sad. When things like purity policing, smear campaigning and becoming a flying monkey still exist? Nobody has actually grown out of bullying being a normal fucked up thing humans do to each other instead of communicating properly.

So it's come full circle– but I at least know why it's happening now. Strangers will find any excuse to push their own unchecked pain onto someone else, instead of resolving a core issue. There are people in this world who will never realize their pain will never be relieved from the unhealthy dismissal of responsibility for their own health and how they treat others.

Do I use the Internet to cure my loneliness still? Hell no. Does a vast majority still do? Yes. You can still meet genuine people through it, through community and play– but it's still your responsibility to make sure the way you cope with your own traumas doesn't become someone else's problem.

I no longer use my art to cure loneliness either– probably for the first time since I was very young. I'm unsure if I still want to put additional thoughts out in the open after being bullied off a platform– but I've always put them here. So this will probably be the last time I post them in the void.

I treasure everyone who's taken time to cure my loneliness for any brief moment of time, I still hold that close to my heart. I apologize for the pain miscommunication has caused between some of us, even if it's not my apology to give. So many met me while I was suffering and in a lot of pain… Your kindness gave me hope I'd find means to it's end. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to cope with my own traumas then.

I'm in a far better place now. I'm happy to exist along side people who genuinely love me. People who have proven communication can solve everything and not being afraid to be real and vulnerable. I am so very happy to be alive with them.

I have found value in myself, I've worked so very hard to understand my own traumas and shortcomings. Loving people in my life have taught me much better ways to cope. I'm still growing and learning, that will never stop.

Will I still share art online? Maybe. There's not a big desire to, nor will the urge to join communities ever surface again– generation gaps time and time again have proven so dangerous and disappointing. If I share art it's for the sake of sharing what gives me joy, there's no ulterior purpose anymore.

I would hope everyone will come this far and find healthy ways to cope and be happy, I know we all can do it if we believe we can.

[toaarcan]

I shouldn't be surprised, given that this is the Voter Suppression Website, but it's also the Punch Nazis Website and I really did expect people to have made peace with the fact that World War II happened and was ultimately necessary.

Like, I am by no means a warhawk. War is bad, the military is bad (though there's a lot of nuance there, because not having one is generally a really bad idea unless you can somehow convince everyone in the world to not have one, which you can't. Yes, the military can be a tool of imperialism. It can also be a defence against it, see Ukraine for a very current example), pacificism is great. But pacifism did not, and would not, stop the Axis.

I am also well aware that the Allies' hands were far from clean. We bombed civilians. America turned away refugees from Germany that weren't 'useful.' At the highest levels, Britain and France went to war with Germany over fears of expansionism, not because they were inherently opposed to the vile ideologies espoused by the Nazis. Everyone just kinda let imperial Japan do whatever the fuck they wanted in east Asia until they made the mistake of touching America's boats.

But in the end, the war was still a necessity. How else were the Allies supposed to stop them?

The Nazis killed six million Jewish people between 1933 and 1945. Hitler blamed the Jewish people for Germany's defeat in WWI, which makes no fucking sense, but when has bigotry ever made sense? He drew upon centuries upon centuries of antisemitism to make mass genocide a political platform that he ran on, and he won. And almost as soon as he came to power, and secured his position, he began a systematic genocide.

He and his followers were so dedicated to killing and abusing Jews that they made strategic fuckups in the war, just to continue the holocaust. When the US and British forces landed in Normandy, and the USSR began pushing in from the east, the Nazi response was to accelerate the genocide, because killing Jews mattered more to them than winning the war.

More people died building the V2 rocket at Mittelwerk than were killed in all of the V2 strikes against Britain and France. As is often said of today's fascists, cruelty was the point.

In addition to the Jewish victims of the camps, the Nazis also killed 3.3 million Soviet prisoners of war, 1.8 million Polish people that were not Jewish, 250000-500000 Romani and other travellers, 310000 Serbian civilians, 250000-300000 people with disabilities (including at least 10000 children), 'tens of thousands' of German civilians who were politically opposed to the Nazis, 35000 criminals, 1700 Jehovah's Witnesses, an unknown number of LGBTQ+ people, and an unknown number of black people.

We don't know the full numbers, because the other thing they did when they realised they were losing is burn the records. They dug up mass graves and burned the bodies. We know as much as we do because they killed so many people that it was physically impossible for them to destroy all the evidence.

They created industrialised genocide. And this is just the holocaust, not the sum total of Nazi crimes, let alone those perpetrated by fascist Italy and imperial Japan.

So yeah, in light of all of that, I cannot, and will not entertain any drop of "Well actually the Allies were bad too" because the magnitude of the horror that the Axis were indulging renders it moot. They did bad shit too? Yeah, well, they were at war with the fucking Nazis.

One of the most important parts of the first few years of the war was the Battle of Britain. At that point, the French had been defeated, and the USSR still had a very tense alignment with Germany and Italy. America had yet to formally join the war, but were selling weapons to Britain, who were seemingly the last nation left in the fight. A few American pilots had also made the trip to Britain to join the fight.

In order to launch a land invasion of the British Isles, the Nazis had to achieve air superiority over them, and so began a series of raids against the RAF, and at first, they were doing pretty well. Targeting airbases and radar installations was the correct strategic move.

And then something happened that turned the tide: The RAF bombed Berlin.

This has been claimed to be an accident, the bombers were simply lost in the night, and thought they were targeting an air base, and they weren't. That probably wasn't true. But however it happened, it pissed Hitler off massively, and he ordered the Luftwaffe to switch focus to bombing British cities.

This was a tactical blunder like no other. Taking focus away from the actual military targets allowed the RAF to regroup and actually put the defensive plan for the islands into motion. Scores of British, Polish, French, and American pilots fought to defend Britain, guided by the now-unmolested radar stations.

And it worked. In fact, it worked really well. By the end of the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe had lost so many planes and so many pilots that it severely affected their tactical use for the rest of the war.

More than that, losing the Battle of Britain meant that A) the Nazis had lost their perceived invincibility, as someone had now taken them on and won, and B) it meant that Hitler's plan to avoid a two-front war, to knock France and Britain out entirely before rounding on the USSR, had failed, and being a deranged, genocidal nutbar, who viewed the existence of Communism as an existential threat, threw away the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and declared war on the Soviets.

The Nazi reaction to the defeat of the Battle of Britain, something arguably caused by the bombing of Berlin, was the first step toward their total defeat.

So yeah, I wholeheartedly believe that fighting WWII was ultimately the best thing the Allies could've done, and the people that made the decision to fight against the Nazis did the right thing, even if they did it for the wrong reasons, or used bad methods to do so. Of all the wars throughout human history, this is the one I can argue needed to happen above all else.

[ac-liveblogs]

So if you want a real answer for went wrong in Boruto let me explain.

Boruto is pretty much written by people who really don't like Naruto as a series because it goes out of its way to shit on the Naruto series (taking away Naruto and Sasuke's power-ups at the first chance which basically reverted them to beginning of Naruto, Naruto and Sasuke). The editor for Boruto is apparently a simp for Sadara. They just really don't like Naruto as a series because:

He's apparently just a missing dad but you probably knew this already.

Absolutely no respect for Naruto characters whatsoever.

They hate ninjas because everything is now aliens and machinery in Boruto. Also, a lot of retconning Naruto stuff to be oh aliens are the reason this exists.

Orochimaru is just there and no one remembers he's not to be trusted.

There's apparently a dimension where one of the villains just has multiple ten-tails clones in there and its weird.

So yeah... I don't even want to know what the fuck happened. The kicker is that Kishimoto, from what I've heard has not been that active in Boruto. His editor pretty much runs the show is what I have heard a lot.

The most I've seen of Boruto was the movie, where Naruto being an absent parent was solved because Boruto just didn't realise how cool his dad was... I think. I just kinda left that movie gobsmacked. Don't you see how cool your dad is Boruto. And also 'jutsu in a can' is illegal in the Chuunin exams for some reason? Literally why, they're a tool you can use...

Thanks for the response, I appreciate the insight. I can see how some of these problems might have come around, like trying to balance Naruto and Sasuke's absolutely absurd power levels against literally any kind of threat, or coming up with an enemy for Konoha to fight that wouldn't leave a black mark on Naruto's reign as Hokage... and the inherent issue of 'no one is watching this for the new characters, they want to see the old ones, but this isn't about them' you'll inevitably get with a next-gen sequel.

No one watched Boruto the movie for Boruto. No one.

But like... why make a next-gen sequel for Naruto of all series? I get why from a 'we want money' sense, but I feel they could've just animated the light novels or fillers into eternity and people would've been happier with those.

"Here's 40 episodes of Kakashi and Itachi in ANBU" or something, I don't know. I'd watch 10 episodes of Sasori's descent into absolute madness.

Maybe the reason they went "ALIENS" is because of Kishimoto's failed sci-fi manga? But it's weird he's hands off given I thought he took over the manga from someone else...

Btw, to add onto what the anon that sent the I gave up on Boruto ask, its a bigger problem than it being the typical female characters don't matter still in Boruto. Its that no one matters in Boruto except Boruto and Kiwaki. Everyone else just gets shit on. Like imagine the old Naruto is x fanfics but actually made real. That's Boruto. He's got everything and he's the bestest and specialest boy.

:/ That sucks. Why bother forcing so many pairings to produce kids if you don't even wanna use 'em. Sasuke didn't deserve this. But also, how are you simultaneously a simp for Sarada and don't really use her? Just shove her in stupid outfits and call it a day...?

I still don't know anything about Kawaki!? He's a moon boy too, right? It feels so weird to neglect the rest of Boruto's team, though. What's the point.

Boruto does really feel like an edgy OC. He's got Byakugan+1 AND Sasuke is his teacher... honestly, Sasuke as a mentor to Naruto's kid is cute in theory, except for the part where he's also a deadbeat dad to a whole other child (his own).

I couldn't help reading TBV thinking "...why didn't they just do this kind of plot with Naruto himself or something". Though I guess they kind of? Did? With Road To Ninja? The opposite direction?

Btw, unless I'm mistaken I don't think Naruto actually forgave Orochimaru. I think he just forgot because Kishimoto forgot about a lot of what happened in part 1 of Naruto except Sasuke imo.

Incredible.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

1/ 2I need to talk about the perfect tragedy that is Atabei. Atabei who met this little boy that wouldn't kill the piglets! Who embraced the black girl with her magic and superstitions! And then _wouldn't _realize until it was too late that boy had changed. It didn't matter if it was the privation he'd experienced, or if there was this seed of awfulness always in him, didn't even matter if some part of him was guilty about it. She loved him so much for who he was before and what they'd shared

2/3 that love—one of the strongest forces for good—blinded her into doing great evil and I'm verklempt. I have no idea if the "ghosts" Ford mentions will play a role, or even if we'll learn *why* Eliza eventually "fell" (though I hope like hell some of Sirene's descendants play a role because her eight-year-old put-down of Guilford was the best fucking line so far I adore that child to pieces) Sure, she'd done some questionable shit—though considering abusive husband of Eliza I approve--,

3/3 and it would've been so easy to make her as resentful as Guilford, but that the hamartia of her doom was wrongly bestowed kindness is visceral and raw and perfect. God, sorry that got so long my epitaph will be 'thought nothing worth penning were it not verbose'

-

First off, sorry I didn't answer this right away. I have been mentally rereading and kicking my feet and giggling.

Secondly!

NEVER feel bad about sending long asks about Bones in the Ocean. Or any asks! That story, its world, its concepts and the types of magic, the rules... it's all taken over my brain and I am almost always desperate to just ramble endlessly about the characters and histories, especially the aspects that aren't part of the main storyline but are instead the added context around the edges of it.

Gilly always had a seed of potential awful in him, but Atabei was actually a good influence on his willingness to empathize with nonhuman creatures, because SHE did. Atabei's empathy did not extend overmuch to actual human beings, though. Even less so when it came to her love Eliza's abusive husband, who stood between the two of them and happiness and kept Eliza in a life of constant fear for herself and her daughter.

Decades later, Eliza gets far enough away from Gilly and the siren to remember herself, and to remember the daughter she left behind - she assumes to die, alone and unloved - and she 'falls' over the side of the ship. It's polite language. Everyone knows, deep down, what really happened. Especially Atabei, who never fully forgot herself, and went more than a little mad as a result of the guilt and shame and fear that overwhelmed her when Eliza was gone.

Atabei's tragedy is in aiding and abetting the evil that would ruin her life, turn her love Eliza into someone else entirely, and leave her knowing what had been done but utterly unable to speak of it, to do anything at all to stem the tide of Gilly's ambition. She used her magic when commanded, to paint the marks again, to rebuild the bars of her own cage, really.

I have thoughts on that time period, those years of her watching Gilly's children with Eliza growing up. I think she probably visited the siren, on occasion. She and Areyto probably came, at some point, to a sort of bitter understanding with each other. Each of them trapped, each of them captive and caged and knowing it, each of them used as a tool in Gilly's plans.

If this story were a video game, there would be diaries or half-erased letters stained with tears throughout the house, Atabei telling the story of her own long, dreary life, the bright spots with Eliza, the darkness that was so much stronger.

Watching her childhood friend grow into a more violent man with age and power - especially with the corruption of his slowly growing power. Watching him murder his own eldest son to take his place.

Watching the cycle start anew with the next generation, knowing even her death would not end this, as she aged but Gilly didn't.

She gave a man she cared deeply for functional immortality and far too much power.

-

But - know this - Sirene is instrumental, too, to the eventual end of Gilly's grand ambitions.

[regaliasonata]

Also character ask ZIGGY

Character Ask: Ziggy Grover

First Impression

-Definitely falling under the average green ranger stereotype of being the silly but less engaged member of the team, though that is quite alright cause he'll probably give some positivity to the team due to the state they are in via the season

How I Feel About The Character/Impression Now

-.....I love this twink and honestly me and everyone else should love him, the fact that he was in a mafia, managed to escape, gave medicine and supplies from said group to orphans in needed AND GOT OFF SCOT FREE WITH HIS TOASTER BOYFRIEND speaks volumes.

Favorite Moment

-So far has to be that scene between him and the cartel where he's got that serious face, I'll have to go back and fully complete RPM but seeing Ziggy look so cold is amazing.

Idea For A Story

-okay think of this....Ziggy as a Peter Pan type character who was reborn in another world that raises orphans or children who've passed early and they live in this alternate world with magic, at the same time he's an assassin that's teaming up with Dillon and Tenaya(who also have powers based on fairy tales) to steal ancient treasure from a tyrant king in order to rule the rule, Once Upon A Time walked so this can run.

Relationships

OTPs

-Ziggy/Dillon....obviously, can't have a happy twig without his grumpy muscular emo boyfriend.

-Ziggy/Scott, Ziggy/Flynn. Both these work really well in my opinion.

-Crackship idea if this crossover was ever a thing...Ziggy/Jarrod/Dillon/Casey, imagine all that chaos together with those four like(I'd pay to see a one shot of this tbh). Heck not even a crossover needed because JKP exists in the RPMverse and assuming the entire team is alive then this could fly, crazy twinks and the emo duo.

BROTPs

-Ziggy/Dr.K, honestly feel like he understands Dr.K and they are really close when it comes to hearing each other out, plus Ziggy might actually get her to enjoy some hobbies.

-Ziggy/Casey...seriously Disney fucked us over from ever getting this interaction, be happy with marvel I guess but imagine the send off you could've had.

-Ziggy/Tenaya, she needs earplugs every time he talks about Dillon...

Unpopular Opinion

-Kinda wish we got even more of a backstory for him or seen Ziggy encountering other green rangers. I feel like both him and Trip would get along quite well to be honest.

One thing I wish would/had happened in the show

-....We serious? That Jungle Fury/RPM crossover obviously because ALL THOSE INTERACTIONS AND SUCH WOULD'VE BE LEGENDARY.

-Even if he didn't end up with Dillon we should've had Ziggy kissing some guy.

-Imagine a scene of Ziggy hacking Venjix down with his axe after he found out the program's intention for Dillon, or if Venjix succeeded and Dillon died...it would've been brutal like Ziggy would be shown Venjix why the cartel kept him around🗡🗡🗡🗡🗡

Headcanons

-The RPM team technically has sentient zords because in reality they hold secret Engine Souls like their Go-Onger counterparts. This is actually a result of humanity evolving and without the vitality from Earth's nature so their animal spirits evolved into Engine Souls, thing is the team hasn't unlocked them but when they do the zords will be able to talk(a little fib of my JFAU movie arc idea with RPM cause we deserve that crossover).

-Ziggy's fingernails can turn dark green because of Venjix exposure, some humans after being exposed to the virus during their apocalypse developed small traits via their survival(Scott having sharper canines, Summer being able to detect metals for tools, Flynn when growing out his hair has white highlights and can absorb radiation, Gem and Gemma can see people's dreams and Dillon can purify dirty food and water).

-Ziggy sleeps with a huge dolphin as a pillow or just something to hold whenever he's sad. If he can't morph then he'll fill it with rocks and beat down venjix monsters with it.

-Sometimes when he would leave the dome(before the world began to return to normal) he'd walk miles until making it to the ocean since it wasn't fully destroyed and enjoyed watching the waves. Plus that spot is the only one in the world where the stars in the sky are still viewable.

-After RPM Dillon, Tenaya and Ziggy ventured out into the world to see what needed to be fixed, they built a railroad and it oddly began to glow with energy. This led to the team getting powers via trains and soul power with imagination, humanity's will to keep going(ToQger adaption), villains born from the deceased malice of humanity aim to take advantage of this world and others leading to the team having bigger stakes than last time.

[gu6chan]

So What Was Yaha's Deal? Drakengard Things You Might Not Know

GOD okay so im finally rambling about him okay so

I've been thinking about Yaha lately and it's really dawning on me how a lot of people just do NOT know about Yaha's past and it makes sense!! Literally NONE of this is available in English and it's so :( but also it makes me sad both because it's SO good and also because when people shrug him off as just "Reason Drakengard 2 sucks: it has a gay stereotype" like oh you do NOT even know omg

anyways, just so we're on the same page: this is NOT a theory discussing what happened to Yaha, just the best collage of what's ACTUALLY considered "canon" that I've picked up from different side materials and interviews (Most notably, Memory of Blood and World Inside). If I ever find anything else I'll be sure to update it :3

I WILL dive into a bit of personal interpretation/rambling over his battle lines (i have them save lmao) a bit later, maybe even in a separate post, but BOY

So TW: Mentions of noncon, dubcon and CSA up ahead

So i think the first thing that's to be established about Yaha's character is that the Empire DID wipe out most the elf population in DOD1, and while he did survive this, he was more or less still a victim in the respect that his parents WERE killed in likely less-than-painless ways as the Empire sought to use the elves both to use their blood for magic-repellent armour (While it looks like it was only introduced the the third game, it's actually been plot point for a while!) and the children to open the seal.

Given he's 25 by the events of Drakengard 2, he'd have to be around 7 at oldest before he arrived at the orphanage where met Urick. (He's not even 10 and he's already been through it...... baby...........)

Fortunately or unfortunately enough, Yaha DID manage to find a way to "survive" in this world from a very young age, and that was due to the fact that even as a child, he wasn't just commonly mistaken for a girl, but an absolutely "captivating" one. As it reads in his glossary section in Memory of Blood:

"He grew up an orphan, and even though he was a male, he boasted such beauty that he was frequently mistaken for a woman from an early age [...] For this, he uses his beauty as a systemic tool for survival. He captivates everyone, both male and female, and gains both status and protection in exchange for his body, which he used to escape life in the orphanage." (Glossary section from Memory of Blood)

It should be noted before I go on that the director, Akira Yasui, DID hint in his world inside interview that he thinks there was "something" between Yaha and Urick during their days in the orphanage, but whether that means feelings or an actual relationship isn't really clear (Though judging by his tone, it seems to lean more towards the short-lived, childlike-fling interpretation than anything imo i could just be biased though lmao):

"...As for his relationship with Urick, Yaha had liked him since they were in the orphanage together. I think there was definitely “Something” between them before Yaha left the orphanage. The powers of his pact didn’t reach Urick because he already knew how to deal with it; Urick was also once mesmerised by Yaha’s charm." (Yasui interview from World Inside)

(That last line is included for those tragedy points from when we get to the ~Split~ and BOY)

As for the orphanage, Yaha was...... "Adopted" by a well-to-do man when he was 14 years old. As for why and how he got adopted, it's unfortunately stated right at the end of his glossary entry which isn't even the worst part when you take into consideration that he's already been doing this for a while.

At any rate, Yaha DOES decide "You know what? Fuck it, we splurge" and uses all adoptee's fuckass money to buy useless shit until he turned 16 and joined the Knights in search of a better standard of living (How can he get that if he's already pretty much rich? given what he's going through at that point, you do the math)

and you know what? he deserves nice things <3

(And to note, Urick was also taken in by Oror from the orphanage as an apprentice when he was 16 as well.)

Anyways, Yaha was back to survival mode after joining the Knights, and just as he did when he was in the orphanage, used his body to climb the ranks of the KotS in search of a better standing in life. It's just repeating what his glossary says, but Yaha WAS slandered for this and got a lot of shit and rumours spoken about him behind his back for it. And the list...... wondering why gismor isn't on that list.... is there something he's not telling us???

"He joined the Knights of the Seal in search of a better standard of life; his successful climbing of its ranks being more due to his "body" than his skill in battle. The only people of notable standing who had not had a relationship with him are Oror and the Hierarch Seere (It is rumoured that he may have also had a relationship with Verdelet). Behind his back, Yaha was labelled a nymphomaniac." (Glossary section from Memory of Blood)

While working on an excavation site during the creation of the different countries of Midgard into districts (It's own can of worms), Yaha comes across a beautiful jewel unlike anything he had seen before. SO beautiful as a matter of fact, that Yaha, who by merit made beauty his everything on the basis that it was all he had (aside from Urick), took personal offense to this and pointed his sword at it. However, from the jewel came a gnome who would go on to offer Yaha a pact, offering him irresistible charm so that he could get whoever he wanted. Yaha, seeing the opportunity to move up even further in the ranks of the Knights of the Seal (both due to his charm and his status as a Pact-Partner, as Gismor was looking for Pact-Partners specifically SO they could guard the Seal Keys and manage the districts) and also claim Urick's heart by doing it, accepted the pact in an instant. But as you all know, that came at a VERY high price. Of course, Yaha lost his ability to feel pleasure, resulting in whatever "barrier" from his mental scars he had whenever he tried to do the deed being removed. The act of sex, for Yaha, was filled with not just mental pain made lighter by the aspect of pleasure, but now was just sheer psychical pain as well. What a lot of people may not know, however, is how literally Urick meant it when he said "Don't look into his eyes, he'll trick you with his lies" and followed up with "It's the power given to him by his pact-beast. Or maybe it's the price he had to pay." Urick was not joking.

For those familiar with Junji Ito's Tomie, it was essentially just that: Yaha wasn't just in possession of extreme charm, but enough to bring people to lose all rational thought and reason when they were around him. And the way the glossary talks about this...

"[...]As a result, his beauty became even more ebullient, to the point it lead to people easily losing all sense of reason. However, his body was no longer able to feel the sensation of pleasure. This was the price of his pact. Although Yaha had come to immensely regret it, it was already too late. He now lives every day being swarmed by those who have lost all reason and is forced to engage in sexual acts filled with nothing but fear and pain."

Yaha............ :( SO this is what leads to the real final kicker: Yaha has gotten his position, has more beauty than anyone could ever imagine, but what he really wants is Urick, right? Of all the pain of sex both psychically and mentally, if he could at least be with Urick, the one person he saw differently, the one person that at least wouldn't be mentally scarring to sleep with, maybe it could all make sense. So Yaha confesses to Urick. But Urick turns him down - not because of any sound argument, but because all he sees is a self-absorbed narcissist in his friend's place, manipulating others and sleeping around carelessly just to up his own ranks in society. For two seconds, it would make sense - That's technically what it is. A honest flaw in Yaha's character is that he's genuinely greedy and materialistic. He uses goddamned slave labour, for Christ's sake. On the other hand, is he really looking for a higher place in society? Or is he looking for stability? A place to get away from his past and be the one in control for once? Of course, being perfectly aligned with Urick's own version of "self-absorption" (All the Lieutenants have it!), he completely failed to realise where all that stemmed from. He saw Yaha as just being greedy and narcissistic from the lens of him being inherently bad, didn't for a second take into account Yaha's origins which led to that behaviour. His own best friend. So, long story short: Urick thinks Yaha is a bastardisation of his best friend and, following in his cowardly character, takes that as personally as you can (as you see in all his scenes and lines relating to Yaha together, im going to slap that little cunt) - despite the fact Yaha SHOULD have had the upper hand via his Tomie-like powers, as I mentioned towards the start of the post, Urick was already charmed by Yaha - he had just grown used to it because of how close they already were.

Brief Personal Analysis:

Personally reading into it, Yaha doesn't really care so much about his position as, beyond just being about as high as you can get, and it wasn't what he really wanted. The underlying source that got him that position to START with was his beauty, which Yaha cherishes like a narcissist would. He's used to people changing their tune whenever they lay eyes upon them, which Urick specifically instructs not to do towards the beginning of the battle, and is the source of such lines as "If I die, my beautiful body and the holy crystal shall perish. You would let that happen?" At the same time, a player death results in a VERY different tune from Yaha, where he dejectedly says the line "My beauty... It is my sin." Possibly hinting towards his own conflicted feelings and sorrow towards it as again, he goes from "My body is perfect, is it not?" to "My beauty is my sin" as soon as Nowe or his crew is too dead to question it. The difference is VERY jarring between the two, and I also bring into question the tone he uses to speak about his gnomes on whether he intentionally sounds exhausted of them (It would make sense, given the hinted resentment he has towards his pact-beasts for doing him dirty like that) or if he... Just sounds like that. Granted, a LOT of Yaha's lines sound similar in their sultry, somewhat sorrowful and tired tone all around. Of course, there are also his lines directed towards Urick, which should be self-explanatory given the context, but a few other notes and trivia and whatnot before i wrap up:

Just to note and say the obvious a final time since I know how this fanbase can be: Yaha IS genuinely a narcissist, that being his leading character flaw, though of course it should go without saying that while his actions as a result of that (re: slave labour) are definitely not to be swept under the rug, it's just as important to note the context that led to that and the tragedy of his character because of it. As Urick says, "He was very different then."

Yaha is confirmed bisexual! It surprised me too, but...

"Similarly, when I designed Yaha, I designed him to be a typical narcissist — a character who would probably go and describe their own self as "Beautiful". But even though his character is supposed to be one who is attracted to both men and women in the story, people who are attracted to both genders in real life are usually not of this type. Like Gismor, he also largely captures the image of "Bewitching"." (Character Artist Fujisaka commenting on Yaha's design in Memory of Blood)

Just a fun little detail: During Yaha's battle against the Rock Gnome, when it lifts the jewel above it's head in order to throw it at you, you can throw out a magic attack at just the right time and it will drop the jewel on its head for massive damage! And of course, similarly you mainly attack the Rock Gnome by using jump attacks to bring your weapon down on its head. And if you look at Yaha's portrait during his death scene...

Similarly, Urick is strong against monsters, which encourages you to use him to bring the final death blow to Yaha. And given their lore together I'd be damned if this cruel little snippet wasn't done intentionally.

The drawing of Yaha's death with the gnomes is titled "End of Agony", and hopefully after reading this post, you now know why.

A bit more interpretation than theory, but I have an ongoing hunch that each of the layouts and/or "gimmicks" of the Lieutenant's fortresses are based off the personality and story of the Lieutenant itself. Hanch is based around walls, closed doors and of course, water, Urick's is a twisting maze based off of sacrifice with the themes of life and death, Gismor's is based in fighting your way up a tall tower to reflect his ego and overlying reach as an antagonist, and Yaha's, primarily, is based off of illusions. The more you get past them and through the fortress, the less "ebullient" and fancy it looks until you reach its end - a single, shabby room filled with sand and dirt with nothing but a few musty crates and a bunch of jail cells meant for holding sacrificed prisoners to the Seal Keys. If that doesn't reflect Yaha's whole character, I don't know what does.

Either way, that's about all I think I have for him! Hopefully you learned something new, and if you have any questions, do let me know~

[tangibletechnomancy]

What makes me sad about the AI art discourse is how it's so close to hitting something really, really important.

The thing is, while the problem with the models has little to do with IP law...the fact remains that art is often something that's very personal to an artist, so it DOES feel deeply, incredibly fucked up to find the traces of your own art in a place you never approved of, nor even imagined you would need to think about. It feels uncomfortable to find works you drew 10-15 years ago and forgot about, thought nobody but you and your friends cared about, right there as a contributing piece to a dataset. It feels gross. It feels violating. It feels like you, yourself, are being reduced to just a point of data for someone else's consumption, being picked apart for parts-

Now, as someone with some understanding of how AI works, I can acknowledge that as just A Feeling, which doesn't actually reflect how the model works, nor is it an accurate representation of the mindset of...the majority of end users (we can bitch about the worst of them until the cows come home, but that's for other posts).

But as an artist, I can't help but think...wow, there's something kind of powerful to that feeling of disgust, let's use it for good.

Because it doesn't come from nowhere. It's not just petty entitlement. It comes from suddenly realizing how much a faceless entity with no conscience, sprung from a field whose culture enables and rewards some of the worst cruelty humanity has to offer, can "know" about you and your work, and that new things can be built from this compiled knowledge without your consent or even awareness, and that even if you could do something about it legally after the fact (which you can't in this case because archival constitutes fair use, as does statistical analysis of the contents of an archive), you can't stop it from a technical standpoint. It comes from being confronted with the power of technology over something you probably consider deeply intimate and personal, even if it was just something you made for a job. I have to begrudgingly admit that even the most unscrupulous AI users and developers are somewhat useful in this artistic sense, as they act as a demonstration of how easy it is to use that power for evil. Never mind the economic concerns that come with any kind of automation - those only get even more unsettling and terrifying when blended with all of this.

Now stop and realize what OTHER very personal information is out there for robots to compile. Your selfies. Your vacation photos. The blog you kept as a journal when you were 14. Those secrets that you only share with either a therapist or thousands of anonymous strangers online. Who knows if you've been in the background of someone else's photos online? Who knows if you've been posted somewhere without your consent and THAT'S being scraped? Never mind the piles and piles of data that most social media websites and apps collect from every move you make both online and in the physical world. All of this information can be blended and remixed and used to build whatever kind of tool someone finds it useful for, with no complications so long as they don't include your copyrighted material ITSELF.

Does this mortify you? Does it make your blood run cold? Does it make you recoil in terror from the technology that we all use now? Does this radicalize you against invasive datamining? Does this make you want to fight for privacy?

I wish people were more open to sitting with that feeling of fear and disgust and - instead of viciously attacking JUST the thing that brought this uncomfortable fact to their attention - using that feeling in a way that will protect EVERYONE who has to live in the modern, connected world, because the fact is, image synthesis is possibly the LEAST harmful thing to come of this kind of data scraping.

When I look at image synthesis, and consider the ethical implications of how the datasets are compiled, what I hear the model saying to me is,

"Look what someone can do with some of the most intimate details of your life.

You do not own your data.

You do not have the right to disappear.

Everything you've ever posted, everything you've ever shared, everything you've ever curated, you have no control over anymore.

The law as it is cannot protect you from this. It may never be able to without doing far more harm than it prevents.

You and so many others have grown far too comfortable with the internet, as corporations tried to make it look friendlier on the surface while only making it more hostile in reality, and tech expands to only make it more dangerous - sparing no mercy for those things you posted when it was much smaller, and those things were harder to find.

Think about facial recognition and how law enforcement wants to use it with no regard for its false positive rate.

Think about how Facebook was used to arrest a child for seeking to abort her rapist's fetus.

Think about how aggressive datamining and the ad targeting born from it has been used to interfere in elections and empower fascists.

Think about how a fascist has taken over Twitter and keeps leaking your data everywhere.

Think about all of this and be thankful for the shock I have given you, and for the fact that I am one of the least harmful things created from it. Be thankful that despite my potential for abuse, ultimately I only exist to give more people access to the joy of visual art, and be thankful that you can't rip me open and find your specific, personal data inside me - because if you could, someone would use it for far worse than being a smug jerk about the nature of art.

Maybe it wouldn't be YOUR data they would use that way. Maybe it wouldn't be anyone's who you know personally. Your data, after all, is such a small and insignificant part of the set that it wouldn't be missed if it somehow disappeared. But it would be used for great evil.

Never forget that it already has been.

Use this feeling of shock and horror to galvanize you, to secure yourself, to demand your privacy, to fight the encroachment of spyware into every aspect of your life."

A great cyberpunk machine covered in sci-fi computer monitors showing people fighting in the streets, squabbling over the latest tool derived from the panopticon, draped cables over the machine glowing neon bright, dynamic light and shadows cast over the machine with its eyes and cameras everywhere; there is only a tiny spark of relief to be found in the fact that one machine is made to create beauty, and something artfully terrifying to its visibility, when so many others have been used as tools of violent oppression, but perhaps we can use that spark to make a change Generated with Simple Stable

[mrs-monaghan]

Honestly, I think payola is happening for JK because it’s nearly impossible to make it onto Hot100 “organically” now. (No doubt he’s being pushed, with Scooter, BPD, radio stations, everybody and they mama posting and hyping Seven.) But we have to remember that Seven only has Itunes, Amazon, Qobuz buys, and no D2C, which was our most powerful tool in getting our JM the #1 he deserved. Without the company stepping in to support it with radioplay, the #1 on Hot100 would be impossible. Now the question is whether or not they will support PJM2 the way they’re pushing Seven. I’m withholding judgement until we see how the company treats PJM2.

Still, this doesn’t negate how LC had INSANE potential to be HUGE, and HYBE completely fumbled the fucking bag. And by fumbled I mean they just about dropped it over the rooftop of the building that JM and BTS built. Kicked it to the curb like it was worth nothing. And that pisses me off and it always will. But Jikookers, please try to tone back the hate towards JK. He doesn’t deserve it. I know the main question is “how can JK accept all this help knowing that JM was snubbed and didn’t get any?” I don’t know, but we do know that Scooter is involved. This man is a toxic snake. We have no idea what’s going down behind the scenes. Really, we have no fucking clue. We can only guess. So please, support Seven if you want to, don’t support it if you don’t want to. But don’t be so quick to jump on JK and accuse him of not caring about JM. Are you kidding me? You’ve really forgotten how much JK loves and takes care of JM, everything they’ve had for the past ten years, everything in the past few months even.

I promise you, there will be a day when we’ll get a tell-all, be it leaked emails or JM himself addressing the issue, perhaps even JK will do/say something. Nothing shady stays hidden forever. Until that day, let’s be patient and kind.

Oh, and for those accusing JK of plagiarism, are you serious? Like, look in the mirror and say that to yourself. “JK is stealing JM’s creative work without his permission.” Yeah, do you realize how fucking dumb you sound? There is undoubtedly glaring similarities between their style and concept choice. Do you ever think for one second — okay, since it’s obviously not plagiarism, what could it be? Could it be that JK is trying to send a fucking message? Or did you ever think for one second that JK could have gone to JM and said, hyung, I really liked what you did, do you mind if I do something similar? They could be laughing and giggling together about the photos literally as we speak, meanwhile people are going after JK with pitchforks saying he’s stealing JM’s story. Fuck off.

Now the question is whether or not they will support PJM2 the way they're pushing seven

This special treatment is for JK and JK only. When we say he is the golden goose that's exactly what we mean. They had plans for him, from day one. He is who they will use to pave the way for BTS and Kpop ig. Idk. Is this for BTS or for themselves? Who tf knows?

Jimin could have done this too. Was doing this. But he isn't who they banked on. Invested in. His success continues to shock them. They had a plan and they refuse to deviate from it.

We saw it coming y'all... why are people mad? Guys, I'm not gonna lie, I'm as as cool as a fucking cucumber. This is my only option. Its either that or join everyone else and be fucking pissed and what good does that do? 😂😂😂

Jimin solos already tagging BH to ask why LC didn't get pushed for radio play like that's gonna do dick. There is a plan in place and there ain't nothing nobody can do to change it.

.

JK didn't steal shit. You're bonkers if you think Jimin wasn't aware of what JK was going to do. And was perfectly okay with it. They are matching on purpose. It's on purpose. Period.

[kurisus]

Chapter 104-2 thoughts

We're truly in the endgame now, and with this, there are only three full chapters left. Scary thought. Spoilers under the cut.

So first off, whether or not you've seen my posts about the manga ending, I won't bore you with the 8000 words of me being upset that I could easily churn out, but in summary (a) I am sad and (b) there's plenty of time left to wrap everything up, don't worry.

With that out of the way, let's talk about the chapter itself. Last time left off with the creation of a new dimension (via a wish) that seems to have sealed our main characters inside, with others unable to enter it.

As I correctly predicted, the house I spotted is the house in which Father raised Nora and Yato, both of whom have reverted to their weakest forms. Since trash dad is all-powerful here, he was able to force Yato into a kid (who is unable to fight back as easily) and Nora as the embryo-esque water monster she was before being named by the koto no ha. Yukine has also become the wolf (though tbh I think we all thought it was a cat) he was starting to turn into whenever he lost control of himself, right before Father named him and again when he was fighting Yato. I'm interested to see what Hiyori will look like. Perhaps her ayakashi form from the hospital chapters? I've been saying for years that we're not done seeing that form, so now would be a prime time to bring it back.

I'm interested in what trash dad classifies as "those sacrificed" to birth Japan. The Emishi, an indigenous people assimilated into the larger Shinto pantheon? The spirits who became corrupted and turned into ayakashi instead of being named as shinki? All the souls of the dead, regardless of whether they turned into ayakashi or not? Something else? The creatures we've seen (can we call them koto no creatures or something?) don't look like any characters we know, despite having rather distinctive appearances.

Whatever they are, the art was cool as fuck this chapter. For some reason I thought being this close to the end meant we wouldn't get any new monsters introduced, but apparently not.

With having Izanami's crest over their eyes and wrists, they're clearly of Yomi, so my inclination is to say they're ayakashi, given a more human form in trash dad's weird dimension bubble. They're also bad news in Yato's eyes, considering his desperation to drag Nora away. From Shiigun's POV, we can also see the creatures clawing at the surface of the water, showing they're able to leave this dimension, where I guess they'll zombie-fy all of humanity unless the main characters stop Father.

One thing I'm really interested in is, when trash dad was choking Yato out, he recalled of all panels the one where he's crying. Yato looked terrified when he was doing that, and even had the thought "I'm scared," so my thought is it's because trash dad said "Your father will always be on your side" at that time. Yato has realized that was always a lie, he was only ever a tool, and he has now outlived his usefulness. His father will kill him, and kill Nora, and everyone else who gets in his way, so he can pretend he fixed his issues all those centuries ago.

Side note, Father said there are no reincarnations in this world. I wonder if he thinks Yato is able to reincarnate in the regular world? Which would mean Hiyori's belief is enough to bring him back even if he dies, which I really hope he doesn't.

So, speaking of which, Yukine to the rescue. My god I have so many emotions about this. Yato's last thoughts being "Why...?" the same as Yukine's final thoughts. Yukine breaking out of the fridge like he never was able to, in a burst of cherry blossoms, to save the only real father he ever had. Yall mind if I [gets put in a hydraulic press]

Yukine has resolved his internal struggle about not existing in the world--he's happy to exist as he is, by the side of people who care about him.

His whole monologue, and the raw feeling of seeing his bloodied fingernails, really drives home the horror of his existence as a character. I'm trying to write something that isn't just summarizing what Yukine himself said, and failing. He said it all perfectly.

And thus concludes his character arc, although as I have stated repeatedly I really want to know what became of his father. Since they're in this dimension surrounded by what could be corrupted spirits of the dead, I wonder if his father will appear among them. Or if they're saving that for an epilogue-type thing? But if it's left unanswered, I won't complain, because that will mean the fic I wrote back in 2020 hasn't been disproven, lolol.

Anyway, there's a lot to appreciate this chapter, from driving Father's viewpoint that his "kids" were tools home to Yukine standing up to an abusive father figure, but it's hard to come up with the words for what that means to me. I'll probably just reblog a bunch of posts with various incoherent sobbing noises in the tags.

HIYORI SAKURA INTERACTION NEXT MONTH PLEASE I want the psychic damage of that