#because she too is unreliable!!! she can't do it alone!!!!

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Why The Ending Sucks

Ok I figured it out. Hear me out:

The entire comic has a running theme best summed up as "who is controlling the narrative, and why are we listening to them?"

Hussie plays a caricaturized version of himself that he describes as "buffoonish" and "oafish". Caricature!Hussie is well-meaning, but a dumb idiot who's incredibly biased in favor of certain characters and in disfavor of others (the most obvious example being his "love" of Vriska, but there's also the way he constantly disparages Eridan). As a result, you have to be VERY SKEPTICAL and VERY CAREFUL when approaching Homestuck's narration, because even when the "best" narrator is at the helm, he's not 100% trustworthy and incapable of giving the readers an unbiased view of the story.

I say "best" because, importantly, Hussie isn't the story's only narrator. He and Doc Scratch explicitly fight over control of the story - Doc Scratch, the child abusing predator who engineered Alternia's fascist murder society, whose shaping of its history is explicitly described by character!Hussie as "fanfic". He is then killed by Lord English, who is described by Hussie as embodying the "toxically masculine" and by extension, the patriarchy, and Caliborn explicitly takes control of the story. John even grapples with Caliborn's version of events, calling out how sexist and misogynistic and shitty it is.

So if we're keeping score: control over the narrative is LITERALLY wrested away from Hussie (who was already struggling to be unbiased) by fascists, abusers, and the patriarchy. It's stressed multiple times that Caliborn/LE are responsible for literally everything that ever happens; the reason the Game Over timeline ends the way that it does is because the alpha timeline is, in essence, the narrative LE is telling: the forces of fascism get to claim the new universe, thereby propogating itself, while friendship dies and all hope is lost.

Who's in control of the narrative, and why are we listening to them?

There are other minor examples of this, too: Aranea is an exposition fairy, and she's biased as fuck and wrong ALL THE TIME about her own teammates. Karkat's explanations and rationalizations are constantly tinged with his own self-loathing and self-blame. Sollux and Meulin are both prophets as per their Mage class, but are both so bogged down by their own emotional issues that the futures they pick out are actively harmful. So on and so on. At nearly every turn, you have to interrogate who's telling the story, what their motivations are, and what they're overlooking or deliberately obfuscating.

So given that this theme is so prevalent, and so thoroughly weighted toward "well, actually, maybe you shouldn't take narration at face value and should interrogate it and come to your own conclusions," it would be Really Weird for the story to go "actually, you can totally trust the narrative now because everyone gets a happy ending".

So, I know that it makes me sound like a conspiracy theorist, but here's my genuine take on Homestuck's ending:

The ending is shitty on purpose because the viewer is intended to take it as a dare to refute the narration and make something better.

Why are we letting character!Hussie tell the story? He's a biased idiot. Why are we letting the various avatars of LE and Caliborn tell the story? They're fascist, misogynistic, predatory assholes.

And - because Homestuck is a story about life - why are we letting idiots, assholes, abusers, and creeps dictate the story of real life? The world is full of forces that would try to take control of the story and make everyone else play along, represented in microcosm within the text of Homestuck. We cannot let those forces win.

So please go out and do something kind and hopeful and loving in the world today. Thanks for reading.

[spaceratprodigy]

lights are on but nobody's home

Commission Info | Ko-Fi | My Links

[rabbitsrants]

Could you tell me what's your opinion about kogoro,like you always appear like you hate kogoro that's why I wanted to know (whenever you mention him you tell that unbothered fuckin father) wanna know your opinion please answer my ask

fun question!

I LOVE KOGORO

with that being said, i have a very nuanced opinion on him

do i think he's a good detective, husband or father? NO, absolutely not. i don't even think he's a good guardian in regards to conan lol

kogoro can be very self-absorbed, impatient and superficial. his alcoholism and gambling addiction strain every aspect of his life, but kogoro doesn't seem to care enough to change

a few examples:

chapter 1

chapter 370

LIKE??? SHE HAS TO STUDY FOR HER MOCK EXAMS AND KOGORO CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO GIVE A FUCK LOL

initially, i blamed his attitude on his lack of success as a detective. but he shows signs of being irresponsible in his youth as well, despite working for the police:

chapter 572

even after shinichi saves kogoro's career and introduces him to a lot of fame, kogoro shows no willingness to change. he's chronically self-indulgent:

chapter 853

on top of that, the rare times that ran asks him to do something for her, he acts like it's a complete burden:

chapter 528

ran asks him to watch eri's cat while she's in school and kogoro tries to pass the responsibility on to conan

speaking of conan, kogoro repeatedly gets violent with him when he's investigating alongside him

chapter 12

the reason why it appears like i hate him is because my posts are mainly about shinran and interestingly enough, gosho decided to write kogoro as shinichi's polar opposite in a lot of ways. which he even admits in his own writing:

chapter 163

it's evidently a writing choice that gosho decided to go for on purpose. and i think that's fucking brilliant. think about it: ran growing up with an irresponsible, unreliable dad who often prioritizes drinking and gambling over his own daughter? and that same girl falling in love with a guy who's incredibly dependable, attentive, selfless and everything her father is not? IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE

so whenever i analyze certain shinran moments, it becomes glaringly obvious to me that shinichi often acts like an anti-kogoro, so to speak.

examples i already mentioned in my acts of service post: kogoro refusing to help ran - shinichi stepping up as a result in chapter 457 and 716.

additional examples:

chapter 192

kogoro drops off ran at this weird, isolated mansion for a meeting that sonoko arranged with a bunch of strangers online and he feels off about the whole thing and i'm like YES LOVE THAT, SHOWING GREAT PARENTAL INSTINCTS

he even warns one of the guys and i'm like YEAH YOU'RE BEING A GOOD DAD, LETS GO KOGORO

naturally, shinichi feels weird about the situation as well, so he insists on staying with his girl, even though it's already been discussed that he's too sick:

so, despite the fact that a) kogoro feels like something is odd about the meeting, b) he warns the guy to leave ran tf alone... HE STILL LEAVES HER AT THE MANSION UNPROTECTED

and i'm like... WHY????? and gosho immediately answers my question:

LIKE????????????????????? talk about bad parenting lol

anyway, turns out something about the meeting was indeed off and ran is potentially in danger. both shin and kogoro lose their shit:

but there's a key difference between kogoro and shinichi and i feel like gosho wrote this difference on purpose - nothing, and i mean absolutely NOTHING will ever stop shinichi from trying to keep ran safe:

ONE MORE EXAMPLE

chapter 347-349

the case barely even begins and shinichi immediately observes that ran isn't feeling well:

he even tries to convince her to ditch dinner and go back home:

when shit starts hitting the fan and ran is getting incredibly dizzy, kogoro doesn't even notice:

again, maybe i'm reading too much into it, but i think the fact that gosho depicts kogoro's ignorance in this situation is 100% by design and as a result shinichi gets to be the anti-kogoro again:

throughout the whole case shinichi worries about ran and tries to take care of her. which is very impressive considering that ran constantly tries to downplay her symptoms:

examples like this occur way too often for me to write them off as a coincidence. we're clearly dealing with a pattern. how could i not point that out in my analysis? especially when shinichi's unwavering loyalty towards ran is something that she gushes about constantly?

with all that being said, just because i regurarly point out kogoro's flaws as a dad, doesn't mean i hate him. it's just that i aim to reach a full, comprehensive conclusion with every analysis i write and that entails important details like the glaring differences between shinichi and kogoro regarding their treatment of ran.

i still adore kogoro. cause like i said, there's nuance. i feel like there's a lot of hidden depth behind kogoro's character that i wish gosho explored more:

he's smarter than people think

chapter 11

HE'S THE FIRST PERSON TO QUESTION CONAN'S REAL IDENTITY, EVEN BEFORE RAN:

chapter 165

to everyone's suprise, kogoro deducts that eri lost her wedding ring and he goes out of his way to find it for her:

there are more examples of him showing decent detective skills during certain cases but this post is already long enough lol so i'm not getting into that

he can be very idealistic

chapter 86

him holding an old and dear friend accountable for murdering someone:

chapter 376

him doing the same again with a childhood friend:

HE HAS HIS MOMENTS, OKAY?!

chapter 266

I LOVE IT when kogoro shows his vulnerable side, i find it so heartwarming:

chapter 986

OR HIS BADASS SIDE (this is him protecting eri from a guy who's about to sexually assault her)

WHAT A KING

and even though i shit on his parenting a lot he can be very endearing at times! examples:

chapter 207

his reaction to ran dreaming about the one time that shinichi asked her to give him her bra (it was for a case lol)

chapter 254

MY FAVORITE KOGORO MOMENT:

it's a small but incredibly touching gesture and i love him so much for moments like this

chapter 255

HE CAN BE SO SUPPORTIVE AND SWEET

chapter 765

even though i criticized him for his treatment of conan earlier, shinichi and kogoro have their moments as well. the ramen case is one of my favorite moments between them, it's just so wholesome!

this case is giving dad and son-in-law eneregy!

to sum up my very long response: kogoro is an overall shitty person but he can be very smart, idealistic and sweet and i wish gosho explored those aspects of his character more, cause i feel like he gets sidelined a lot. he often uses kogoro for comedic relief which is fair to a certain extent cause kogoro is HILARIOUS and makes me laugh all the time but gosho keeps giving the bigger and more meaningful plotlines to characters that I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT (looking at you amuro) and i think that's a fucking shame cause kogoro has a lot of potential

hope that answers your question! :)

visit the shinran library for more

[rose-of-red-lake]

Unreliable Narrator in the Sith Show

I have seen a few arguments that the Acolyte is a case of total unreliable narration, that it's a new Star Wars era of storytelling, a "sophisticated" show from the "Sith's POV," which is why the Stranger/Qimir seems so calm, balanced, and sure of himself. But don't worry - according to these opinions, the modern audience will be able to see through his lies, being astute enough to know that he's evil, without having to tell us directly. Because telling us directly is too much of a mustache-twirling villain trope, or something.

So is everyone on the same page? Did we all get this?

Naur, I don think so... because I have also seen a lot of odd defenses of the character, that he's not really as bad as the Jedi make him out to be, that he's not a Sith, and that he wants to be left alone as a rogue, without any allegiances, just doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants. I have seen people agree with his perspective, that the Jedi are the oppressors because they won't let him live how he wants. Someone even compared him to Mando with Osha as his Grogu. Man just wants a family without the government telling him how to live his lyfe. 😥

So if audiences are indeed smart enough to see through the unreliable narrator, why are they agreeing with him? Why are people sucked into his own perspective, which is Ayn Rand on steroids to my mind. Running through the galaxy, doing whatever you want? Okay, but look where that led. Once he wanted an acolyte to go out into the world and assassinate some Jedi, he isn't like Brendock or Dathomir witches anymore. That should have been a line, drawn, clear to the audience. But then the narrative goes back to extreme moral relativism. "Well, maybe the Jedi shouldn't have interfered..." or, "Maybe they were right to." So we have morally grey situations with a baddie POV mixed in, in a television show where we can't get inside people's heads? Okaaaay...Leysle with a Y. Good luck with that.

If this is all just unreliable narration, why is Sol so unsympathetic, unwilling to ask for forgiveness, even right up to the end? This just makes Osha look justified for killing him. The Dark Side doesn't even need to be "seductive" if Sol's actions were so bad. And I'm taking his actions that way because of what the showrunner said about him: Sol has a darkness in him that he can't control. And what was the content of this darkness, you might wonder? Well, he was being more like a "father" than a "Jedi" again according to Headland. Alright, why are those two roles mutually exclusive, at all? Doesn't her own mentor Feloni criticize Obi-Wan for not being enough of a father to Anakin?

But maybe the unreliable narration could come through with how the Order is portrayed in their scenes without Qimir. But nope, they're like the freaking police department in the Wire: cold, calculating, trying to cover things up. If it was an unreliable narrator, wouldn't we have a break in all of the bleakness that shows us, hey "Qimir is kinda wrong here." I don't think we do.

Beyond any of this, I don't trust this writer to write something as complex as a "Sith POV," or use unreliable narration effectively. I don't think she's experienced enough.

Not to mention, I don't think the showrunner gets the emotional turmoil of what its like to be a Dark Side user. They should be lost in their emotions, letting their emotions rule them, subject to constant turmoil, constant fear of losing what they have, and wanting more and more because of their greed. The unreliable narration should break at some point to show that, and it shouldn't be so subtle that it goes over people's heads. Moreover, a Jedi like Sol should be more sympathetic because they are at least struggling to suppress their inner Dark Side. Sol did nothing like what Anakin did. If he is truly acting like a overly-compassionate father, then he shouldn't refuse to ask for her forgiveness either. He shouldn't be dead in the mud, choked by his own daughter.

Goddamn this show is fucking bleak.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What is your opinion on the „aang idealized katara take“

I personally find it very ridiculous that people assume that he idealized katara because he showed disconcern over her bevaiour in the southern raiders.

He literally asks her „what do you think will this accomplish“ because indeed what would accomplish and he had her happiness in priority.

https://www.tumblr.com/araeph/160425658850/also-if-you-wrote-out-everything-katara-has-ever

Zutarians say Aang idealized Katara because, despite their claim that they are her "real" fans", they cannot understand, let alone appreciate, her character at all.

They see Aang acknowledging her qualities and are confused because they see nothing worth admiring in her. They see Aang being worried when she's doing things that are out of character or a sign that she's not doing well mentally and think he just "can't handle the real her" because they think Katara is nothing EXCEPT her worst traits and actions.

Objective truth is always going to look like idealization to people that are only interested in the dark, ugly and unlikeable because they think it's "edgy" and "mature."

Plus zutarians are wanna-be feminists and they'll latch onto any pseudo-feminist lingo. That's why they'll ramble about Male Gaze, idealization, manic-pixie-dream-girl and what not. They think Zuko and Katara look good together while Aang and Katara don't, and instead of just owning that they want to pretend their preference is objective instead of subjective, so just use whatever buzz word they read on buzzfeed five years ago and slap it on Aang to make him look bad.

No kind deed can be genuine, no compliment isn't manipulation, no disagreement isn't abuse and control. He's guilty until proven innocent, always.

If he thinks she's attractive, he's a misogynist sexualizing her. But if sex isn't on his mind, he's not "mature" enough for her. If he agrees with her he's a pathetic simp, if he disagrees he's oppressing her. If he spends his time with her he's codependent and a burden, if he spends it elsewhere/with someone else he's uncaring, selfish and unreliable. If he helps her he has a savior complex and doesn't trust her abilities, if he lets her do her thing he's not supportive of her like she is of him. If he needs her help he is a toddler, if he doesn't he is "too perfect" and "boring" and "typical male wish fullfilment"

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. Always.

[autumn-foxfire]

Part of the closeted besties series probably

-

"I'm going with you."

Ran glared at Shinichi, her mouth set in a straight line and daring him to argue.

Of course, because her friend was a stubborn brat, he turned back to argue with her. "Ran, this is for your own protection-"

Before he could even finish his sentance, her leg kicked up and swung towards his neck with deadly precision. He didn't even have the chance to flinch as she stopped her foot from connecting with his throat, only years of intense training making it so the fabric of her laces just grazed the skin on his neck.

Shinichi's face was pale.

Ran continued to glare at him, "How are you supposed to protect me if you can't even dodge my kick?" she asked before she lowered her leg back onto the ground, "Out of the two of us, Shinichi, I'm the one who knows how to defend themselves, so don't tell me leaving me behind is for my own protection."

She was angry at him but underneath that anger was a hurt that was clawing at her chest to get out. She bit her lip and clenched her fists.

"Why... why do you no longer trust me?" she whispered. This wasn't the first time he had told Ran to stay behind. In fact, it was becoming more and more common for him to run off without her, telling her to wait for him as if she was just a hindrance. She didn't know what she had done to make him feel that way.

Shinichi looked stricken and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to answer, but no words left his throat.

"Am I really that unreliable?" Ran continued, all the self-doubt that had been plaguing her since this behaviour of his had started bubbling to the surface, "Do I really just get in your way."

"No!" Shinichi shouted, "It's not-Ran, I-" he was still struggling to form the words, to explain himself. "I just... I don't want you to get hurt," he finally admitted in a small voice, "You're my best friend, Ran, and I could never forgive myself if you got hurt because you helped me chase criminals."

Ran's anger flared up again, "And you don't think I feel the same way?!" she snapped, "You think I want my best friend to confront dangerous people alone?! That I wouldn't hate myself if I wasn't there to protect you?!"

It made her sick at the sight of Shinichi looking so startled, so goddamn confused that someone actually cared about his safety. Tears began to gather in her eyes.

"I love you, Shinichi, you're my best friend," she whispered, "Please, let me protect you too."

It wasn't often Shinichi cried. He often saved his tears for when his emotions were too overwhelming for him and right now they were gathering at the corners of his eyes. He was still too prideful to let them fall, especially in public, so Ran wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled his head down to her own, so he could blink them away into her jacket.

"I'm sorry, Ran," he whispered and she tightened her grip on him.

"You better be," she said, "No more of that protect me nonsense, we protect each other, you hear me?"

Shinichi nodded against her neck and Ran continued to hold him as relief and happiness swelled inside her knowing she had gotten her friend back.

[clarabowmp3]

hate brigade? I'm sorry but joe alwyn is directly responsible for a lot of the mental hurt that taylor will have to deal with for the rest of her life. I don't understand how people can hear sll, half the songs on midnights not to mention the anxiety ridden lover album and not see the emotional gaslighting joe was putting taylor through! Like that takes a toll and fans qnd the general public alike has a right to call that out. Now he's saying ish about tayvis when none of this concerns him?? Like if that's not manipulative, my name is Bennett cuz he's literally re inserting himself into the ex he resented' life. Unhinged if you ask me. So I don't think it's fair to characterize people as doing the most in this case. Alwyn could have just kept quiet and ate and ate food but now he deserves the dragging. Peace.

wowww wow okay so a couple of things:

we don't know much about their relationship. all we have is speculation based on taylor's lyrics, but we have to remember she is an unreliable narrator, so at best we can take them with a grain of salt. that is excluding how she might have modified certain things to present herself in a favourable light. I'm not saying she did or didn't, but it's a possibility. I say this because of how she's written music about her cheating. She very obviously focuses on how she was feeling and what led her to cheat, rather than her considerations of how it would affect her partner, which I think is yet another manifestation of how she perpetuates her victim narrative. I'm not saying all cheaters are villains, there's definitely some complex emotions involved, but she writes in such a way so as to encourage the reader to root for her by default.

This plays into her desire to be seen as the underdog or hero that everyone wants to support. She did this with Miss Americana too where she spun this whole standing up for women and other marginalised groups narrative, which I think contributed to being a swiftie becoming a trend, along with her whole 'relatable' schtick, fostering personal relationships etc.

There is nothing wrong with liking her music (I'm not gatekeeping), my issue is with people who treat becoming a swiftie as some girl scouts patch to earn by ripping into her 'enemies,' most popularly her exes. Naturally, he has been put through hell on social media since the break-up, up till ttpd dropped and the attention shifted to matty instead.

I agree that many of her love songs from as early as lover are anxiety-ridden, but I think that speaks more to her personality rather than his actions. Certain events may have transpired and he might have acted in a certain way which made her feel insecure etc but we have no reason to think he did it maliciously. What we do have is reason to think this is extremely unlikely. 2016 was rough man, no one knew if she would ever recover from #taylorswiftisoverparty, and yet he still stuck around. To me I think that shows he genuinely cared about her, something taylor has also thought.

Could you elaborate on the emotional gaslighting he has done, (and hence the "mental hurt" he has caused her) keeping in mind all those other reasons why her music is not an accurate source of info ^^?

getting more specific with sll, I don't see how he did anything wrong? I don't want to get too much into it but I know what it feels like to be burdened by someone else's mental health issues, and I do feel irritated by it at times, even though at the end of the day I know it's something they can't control. There's nothing wrong with creating art about difficult emotions, but I think she did not need to release it for the whole world to hear, knowing that they know who she is talking about. The song itself isn't too egregious, she just expresses her frustration with the whole situation ("you'll find someone," "I'm not the one" -> even she doesn't blame him for anything let alone the emotional gaslighting you're accusing him of anon what are you on 😭) the main problem is when people like you use it to villainise joe. like explain to me what part of it shows his gaslighting

For context here is what the whole deuxmoi thing is about, taken from this post:

You can clearly see that he was expressing an opinion on what he thought was a private enough setting. How could he have known he was going to be overheard and it was going to leak to the internet and eventually reach taylor (if any of this ie even true)? She is his ex of 6 years and it's only been a year since their breakup, I think it's fine that he's still somewhat emotionally occupied with her. We don't know if he obsesses about her every day and since the London travis thing is pretty recent, maybe it was just on his mind that day? Also why does he have to keep quiet? taylor can write whatever she wants in her songs, I think he is more than justified to have a conversation in public. We have no reason to think he meant for this to get out or to "[re-insert] himself into the ex he resented' life," as you put it.

to end off, anon I really think you should touch grass (and I'm not trying to be condescending here) because it feels like you're blowing up select details out of proportion to fit the narrative taylor has created through her music. We don't know how accurate that narrative is.

[crushedsweets]

what is jack and toby's relationship like?

oohh ive covered this a few times. i love them.

this post i did on their relationship basically sums it up !! ill do more under the cut

jack helps the proxies so that slenderman lets him stay in the forest as refuge. he doesn't like toby at first, seeing him as too violent, too aggressive, viewing himself even in his monstrous form as more human than toby - which is true, in a sense . toby kills for slenderman. he wouldn't be killing people if not for that, BUT he absolutely finds release in it - he makes a game out of it, he detaches himself from the victims and reflects all he wanted to do to his dad onto them. sometimes he catches himself saying exact phrases his dad screamed back onto them. bro probably called his victims 'npcs' at some point LOLLLL

and jack RARELY EVER does his own killing. he gets a lot of his bodies as a dark web human remains disposer(cuz he gets paid for it too), or from jeff. and it took a while for him to be able to stomach the shit he has to do to survive, so it's rough for him.

jack hates it, jack hates what toby does, but he can see so much in toby that goes beyond that and it fucking sucks and it hurts and jacks prob cried FOR toby before. not in front of him, but anytime jacks confronting his own mortality and humanity, toby is one of the first people that comes to mind each time, and he wants to throw up thinking about it. only nina can rival how emotional jack is LOL

it's kinda weird for toby the way jack treats him - sometimes he gets mad and accuses him of treating toby like some research paper in a book, because he knew jack had a decently privileged upbringing in comparison to himself, and hates the supiroirty complex. jack asks too many questions and is always just trying to grasp whats going on in tobys brain and its fucking infuritating for toby.

but jacks just always fucking there. jack is easily the most present person, always easy to find, usually calm. tim/brian are rarely around, kate is unsettling and hiding away half the time, jeffs a dick, bens unreliable, ninas in love with jeff and has a life seperate from the creeps. even natalie has long periods of time where she just cannot get herself to confront toby because she has her own issues and is struggling to even maintain her job as a waitress. she can't be there half the time.

but jacks never gone. jack rarely tells him to get the fuck out. jacks so welcoming, even if he's an annoying uptight prick who thinks he's better than everyone - and half the time, toby knows jack is. he knows jacks better than everyone else around him and it sucks fucking ASSSSSS being around someone like him, but its also something toby needs really bad

after a year or so of knowing toby jack would be able to comfortably say he loves him, whether its as a friend or a brother or whatever the fuck sort of fucked up shit is going on in these freaks heads . again, jack is INCREDIBLY FUCKING HUMAN hes emotional he loves so hard he hates himself he wants people he wants connection he feels so alone he wants everyone to be there he wants his mom he wants his siblings he wants to read he wants to walk around he wants to cook he wants to breath in fresh air. and toby really does put in some work for that. maybe not correctly, honestly he might fuck it up more often than he gets it right, but who the fuck else is gonna invite jack to go swimming on a random summer night ? how badly he wish he could see tobys face when toby asks to hang out

also this one shot from necroromantics if ur looking for good jack toby content . sorry for stealing tomb. u just get them so much . also sort of in the same vein of this drawing i did ... jack was full of life and empathy and love and joy for so long....... doesn't understand how toby never had any to begin with.

[3d-wifey]

TBOSAS was a great movie and an even greater miss---here's why:

The problem here is no fault of the movie. It's not that it isn't a good adaptation or that it cut out too many important scenes. The casting was amazing, the acting phenomenal, the writing and plot translated immaculately into the screenplay format, and the ending was tragically beautiful. All of those boxes are ticked. The problem lies with one thing: Coriolanus Snow.

To understand what I mean, I'll bring the main trilogy to the stand. All of the books were written in first person from Katniss's pov. There were things that we as the audience don't know because Katniss doesn't know them and vise versa all do to her inner monologue. But there are also things we as the audience do know that Katniss doesn't because she's an unreliable narrator. She often misreads people because, whether she'll admit it or not, she's highly suspicious of those that aren't obviously weaker than her and is quick to judge in general. Her biases and black and white moral standpoint can be attributed to her environment, ptsd, and, though not confirmed, Autism (source: I'm actually Dr. Autism) or bpd. So, in this case, she's unreliable, but we understand it's not malicious and it was translated well in the movie (i.e. her thinking Peeta wanted her dead, her thinking Peeta is only acting like he's in love with her, her misconceptions about Finnick.)

Coriolanus Snow on the, other hand, is an entirely different case. He's a bad person at the start of the book and that isn't up for debate. His thoughts about Lucy Gray should make you angry, let alone about people who knew and cared for him for years (Tigris and Sejanus). He is also an unreliable narrator, but in a completely different sense than him. While hers is founded in ignorance and defensiveness, his is built in paranoia and narcissism. He's obsessive, possessive, demeaning to any and everyone, and thinks he's owed more than he is and hates anyone that has what he doesn't. We get all this through his inner thoughts as well (him hating the very idea of Lucy Grey being with anyone before him and likening her to a whore---implying she's slept with peacekeepers, wanting to own her in the literal sense of the word hating Sejanus for having basic human empathy, hating looking down on the Plinths who have been nothing but kind to him, so on and so forth). I say he's bad because, though he hasn't done any of the horrible things he thinks about or acts on them is because he didn't have the power or social standing to back them, something he has plenty of as a president. All this to say, the movie lacks that insight into the character that we gain with Katniss. Enough that people that have only watched the movie genuinely believe he was a nice person drove to the brink or thought there was a little gray area in regards to his morality. Enough that people that think the actor is hot will say they like "Coryo" not Snow, or some people send hate mail to the author because they think she tried to humanize him/excuse his behavior, the exact opposite of the point of the book. I don't fault the movie too harshly for this too harshly. Other than having a voice over, they could do very little to convey his every horrid thought. And because of this and Tom's phenomenal acting, Snow was able to manipulate the audience just like everyone else he fucked over.

Snow is a narcissist who can't wrap his mind around people genuinely being kind while having no ulterior motives, because he would never do that from the kindness of his heart. He thinks everyone is trying to back stab him and want to turn on him and are out to get him or are trying to embarrass him because that is what he would do if he was in their position. Unlike Katniss, he can read people and he can act his ass off, but unlike Katniss, he can't see the best in people because he doesn't want to/it doesn't benefit him. He had many opportunities to do the right thing or the kind thing and actively chose not to.

He, more than anyone in the Capitol, even more than Sajanus, should know what the Districts go through. He grew up poor, starved, and was forced to grow up too soon. He knows what it means to have nothing, be starved, and go into the arena and almost be killed. Yet, he looks down on them and sends children who were younger than him when he went into the arena, to their deaths because it benefits him.

He's a horrible person. He's always been bad, but he strove to be worse. I'm not saying the movie wasn't able to portray this in it's own way, but since it's not as obvious and in your face if you're too focused on how cute you think his face is, you can miss it. You'll find reasons to justify his actions just like he does and, ironically, become like his inner monologue where he continuously made himself the victim in almost every scenario.

Again, great movie! Fantastic even, my I beg of you, read a book. Or watch a youtube essay about it.

[decadentbutterflies]

"Made up beef of who's the prettiest child" are we calling bullying of Arya's looks a "made up beef" now? It's not a beef, it's us having to explain to people who don't seem to read Arya's chapters or because for some reason y'all are so against Arya growing up to be pretty, which she literally is if you're actually reading the books.

"Growing up to be a model" the fact that this person tries to exaggerate and ridicule that point (manipulation tactic btw) of fans explaining why she's not in fact ugly, speaks volumes.

Sounds like y'all just want the "made up beef" to be Sansa being right and Arya being ugly 🤷🏾‍♀️.

"And getting things she specifically doesn't want to be" Being a Lady? Because she was led to believe she'd be terrible because she's not as good in being proper etc. as Sansa. She isn't aversive to a higher position though. She even wishes "she was as good as her sister" in being ladylike and why she's so insecure - including her looks - from the "made up beef".

Nah, because people for some reason don't want to admit that she's ALSO feminine. No one here is proving that she "is the most girliest feminine girl", there's people trying explain to thickheaded people that don't seem to read her chapters, that she's is feminine too AND pretty. Like anyone actually reading the books can take a hint over believing what young Sansa bullied her over when she had mud on her face too most of the time lol. Like I get you love her, but she's clearly an unreliable narrator.

She's just not patriarchal feminine, but that only makes her "weird little girl" in some people's eyes in the books, but I assume that's not what this person meant because of the "embodiment of weird little girl vibes, just in a medieval setting" No clue what that's supposed to mean. The only times she was weird was when she was just being a CHILD. Other than that I'd say "weirdest" thing is the magic.

But what does that have to do with us proving she's also feminine? Feminine girls can't be weird or? And what does the "shipping girlies" mean? Like is there a problem with people shipping Arya now? 🙄 Ik y'all want Arya to be forever alone, but cmon now this is getting ridiculous. Just bc she didn't want to be tied down and bred like a mare doesn't mean she doesn't like men etc.

I'm genuinely confused as hell by these people 🤦🏾‍♀️ "so many of you don't even read the books, how does one read - and thinks - instead of" and proceeds to write another, their own mischaracterization.

It's Sansa stans that aren't actually accepting Sansa lmao, otherwise they wouldn't try to change her so much. Fanon/how her stans see her is so much different from the books. Hell, in all of Sansa fics I've read she acts more like Daenerys lmao. Arya at least acts like Arya 🤷🏾‍♀️.

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

Rayllum Month 2024! (13/13)

even after all this, you’re still everything to me

July 25th - You’re the Moon In My Sky

Holy moly, I can't believe it's over! S6 is TOMORROW. HOW ARE WE FEELING?!?!

Tonight, I'll be blocking the tags because I won't be able to watch it until tomorrow afternoon- either that, or I'll wake up at like 3am to binge the whole thing. Probably the latter lol.

Rayla was many things, and irrational was not one of them. Everything about her was completely founded, thanks very much. She was a master of logic.

About most things. Callum was an exception.

Fear of water? She’d nearly drowned at eight. Wanting to kill Aaravos? He’d possessed her ex-boyfriend-turned-situationship and caused a war. Leaving Callum? Perhaps not the most logical thing to do, but it’d made sense at the time, and he’d been safe. At least part of her mission had been a success. So she remained undefeated as a logic champion. Pragmatic, if nothing else.

So it was completely logical to be shaking in her boots, tentatively peeking over the side of the Starscraper. A much farther fall than the Storm Spire- she couldn’t even see the ground, just fluffy clouds.

Even with the bracelets she’d been told would give her wings, Rayla wasn’t convinced. It was new technology, as far as she was concerned, and technology was notoriously unreliable. She wasn’t exactly eager to be a guinea pig, even if she wouldn’t be alone for a second. She’d never be alone again, Callum’d promised, and he always kept his promises.

“I’m…” Rayla trailed off, grasping for his ever-patient hand next to her. Astrid and Azhar stood giggling behind them, talking about something or the other Rayla couldn’t hear through the ringing in her ears.

Callum tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, gazing at her with the intensity of a thousand burning suns, the light in his eyes soft and rose-golden. “You won’t fall,” he promised gravely, and Rayla thanked her lucky stars that he was the only one (that she knew of, at least) who knew about her relatively new fear of heights, one that had only developed when she’d first been back.

Nights spent lying awake, wondering if he’d redo it. If he’d jump after her again, knowing what she’d do to him.

“And if you do…” he continued, hands finding her upper arms and grasping there, firm but not uncomfortably tight. Just right, just like all of him. “I’ll catch you. I’ll always catch you. I promise.”

Rayla stared at him for a good while longer, dumbstruck, just because she could. With a suddenly dry throat, she made herself nod. “Okay,” she breathed through a shudder. “Can you… make sure they’re on tight enough?”

A soft smile gracing his unfairly handsome features, Callum nodded and took her wrists. “Is this an excuse to get me to hold your hand?” he murmured, fingers checking the clasps of the gold bracelets and dancing along hers in a way that suggested he didn’t care in the slightest– appreciated it, rather.

“Maybe?” Rayla said, suddenly breathless and choosing to blame it on the high altitude.

“You can just ask me, you know.” Satisfied the bracelets were secure, Callum slid his hand up to her jaw, cupping it lightly. “They’re…”

Rayla shifted on her feet, getting closer. “They’re…?”

He stroked along her cheek, eyes softening. “Beautiful.”

“The bracelets?” she asked through a giggle, unable to help it. She’d never been good at serious time.

His dextrous fingers moved to hold her chin so she couldn’t look away. Rayla wasn’t sure she’d have been able to even if she’d had the mobility. “No,” he said softly, slowly, watching her earnestly.

Getting to her tiptoes, Rayla moved up against him until barely a centimeter separated their chests, his perfect lips all she could see. A centimeter far too much. “The opals?”

Read more on AO3!

[beevean]

What did you think of Annette from Castlevania: Nocturne? Personally, her altered background did nothing but add even more filler nonsense on what is already a cramped season. And even then, her character arc took up more attention than Richter's, which is quite appalling since her arc had nothing to do with the main storyline (all it did was drag the show even more).

Not to mention, she spent most of the season hating on Richter for no reason, calling him a "child" and "useless as fuck" on certain occasions. I also can't forgive her for chastising Richter as a coward when he ran away at the sight of his mother's killer, when she literally blew their plan at the Chateau and indirectly killed Edouard when she saw Vaublanc, her mother's killer. And even then, no one blamed her for that, which makes it even worse since she constantly makes everything about her and her tragic past as a slave.

So the sudden hint at their romance was both cheap and forced as their chemistry is non-existent throughout the story. I still remember how Steve Stark, a background designer for both Netflixvania shows, fighting against the fans for this decisions, claiming:

"Go complain about something that matters."

Which by itself is a self-own. If it didn't matter like you claimed, why go through such lengths to change her entire character. Surely it must matter to you.

N!Annette should've been an original character while the original Annette is left well enough alone (to which I'm trying to do in the rewrite). And to dunk on the people who would say that game Annette had no personality and is pointless, need I remind you that Rosaly from Curse of Darkness never appeared in the game at all yet the writers behind the manga dedicated their time to flesh her out in the manga itself. So it's not the characters that are the problem, it's the writers.

Sorry about that whole rant. Caught myself blabbering there.

She is not a character. She is discourse bait, and as such, I don't engage with her or the discourse surrounding her seriously.

You pretty much said everything. Annette is insufferable because in theory her flaws make sense. She's brash, angry, has little patience for anyone, wants to do things her own way, maybe even looks down on "privileged" people out of mistrust and bitterness: all behaviors that I can see stemming from the background of a runaway slave. Her breakdown indirectly causing Edouard's death? We have a decent conflict here! (ignoring the fact that Edouard is also not a character so I don't really feel anything for him.) But then she becomes utterly infuriating when the asshole dares to make fun of Richter for his lack of magic, when he all but told her that he lost his powers due to his mother's death - or at the very least, he told her that his dead mother could do magic and maybe that would be a sore spot for him! And the worst part is, Maria and Tera are standing there with no reaction! Tera, you useless idiot, this stranger that already proved herself unreliable is pushing your adopted son's trauma button! Do something!

Same when Ricther runs away, she is all too happy to insult him, call him "useless as fuck", and you think that Cecile would knock some sense into her and be like "hey girl you also ran away from the man who hurt you and killed your mother, maybe don't be so quick to judge", but noooooooo we need to talk about how Annette's character is literally "ex-slave" (hey she says it, not me), culminating in her saying "as if those french people could ever understand us!" woman what is you doing could we please talk about Annette now and stop coddling her????????

And you can look around and think, oh, maybe they're right. Evil, violence, and oppression everywhere. Even these French with their high ideals. What do they know about what we've suffered? And what do they care? They'll build their new world, but it won't be freedom or equality or brotherhood for us.

You were drawing a parallel and trying to teach her empathy for someone that, before being a white European, is a victim of vampires and evil just like her, and you end up telling her that no one else will have empathy for her??????????

And remember: Richter likes this asshole so much that the memory of her is what unlocks his magic! Not his mother. Not his grandfather. This stranger who has been cordial at best, and antagonistic at worst. what's with these shows and having the most godawful romance stories this side of twilight

So the sudden hint at their romance was both cheap and forced as their chemistry is non-existent throughout the story.

Annette suffers from a similar problem as Sypha and Isaac: they're stuck in the role their videogame counterparts have, even when it makes no sense. Sypha bullies Trevor as much as Alucard does, and in fact she seems to like the latter more (when Alucard is a cock to Trevor and he understandably lashes out back, Sypha tells him to grow up, the absolute fuck), but oh wait, she needs to fuck Trevor as per canon! So she travels with him and they're suddenly all cutey and lovey. Isaac is forced to resent Hector for his "betrayal" of Dracula, when if you watch the season, Isaac should only blame himself for being an utter negligent dumbass in regards to Carmilla, who was the real mastermind and he knew it. Annette is nothing but scornful towards Richter, but we need to push them together because hey Annette was meant to be the love interest, and the writing is even worse here because at least Trepha takes two seasons to become canon, but here we go from "stupid Belmont, useless as fuck" to them blushing together in the span of, like, seven episodes?

If it didn't matter like you claimed, why go through such lengths to change her entire character. Surely it must matter to you.

And this is what I mean with "discourse bait". Nothing about Annette is genuine. She is a stereotypical, safe, flat character, she's both the "tough girlboss who is mean to nearly everyone but we swear she's kind inside!" and the "tough black woman with a slave past, tragic enough to make her badass but without more questionable parts like her for example betraying fellow slaves to save her own skin" (so that you get called sexist and racist if you don't like how much of an ass she is! How convenient. Even though I'd argue is much more racist that she freed herself with god powers rather than her own human ingenuity...); and on top of that she's derivative from a game character, a fairly minor one too, so that if you don't like that she has "replaced" the original you can be told that you are, once again, racist, and anyway the original Annette was bad anyway so why would you care, you stupid purist? They did the same with Isaac, before he became the Gary Stu of the story.

And this is why the genuine racists who don't have a better argument against her than "muh wokeflix, how dare they have black people in my fantasy series" piss me off. You are poisoning the well. Stop it. Get better arguments.

And to dunk on the people who would say that game Annette had no personality and is pointless, need I remind you that Rosaly from Curse of Darkness never appeared in the game at all yet the writers behind the manga dedicated their time to flesh her out in the manga itself. So it's not the characters that are the problem, it's the writers.

You can make the same argument with nearly every character in both shows. The hints of personality are there, they only need to be fleshed out! Rosaly was fleshed out into being more than a "kind girl": she became too kind, and stubborn and naive and suffering from loneliness, and that made her interesting while still keeping true to her general archetype and role! They could have deduced from the games that Trevor is a charismatic, friendly individual with a hotheaded streak, instead of turning him into the most cliché cynical drunkard! They could have deduced from the games that Annette, despite her role as damsel in distress, has a lot of courage, from the scene where she nearly kills herself out of spite for Dracula, instead of a generic badass with godlike powers! But no character is kept faithful, there was no respect or care for anything, nothing but inflated superiority that they can do better (with fans sadly agreeing), everyone is just a bunch of OCs masquerading as canon characters for the sake of being clapped for "fixing" the stupid writing of the games, even when said characters were already fleshed out enough like Alucard or the Devil Forgemasters so they really had no "muh 8-bit game" excuse (and if they couldn't keep Isaac's flamboyant personality then they're just homophobic cowards)

tl;dr i don't like annette and i can only hope that alucard hijacks the story so much that she'll have minimal screentime. i mean he's hardly better, but at least i can call him a cunt without risk of getting doxxed or shit

[lunar1an]

thinking a lot about wildbow's early works (worm, pact) and his more recent moralistic works (ward, pale) and the sheer difference in narrative empathy

in worm and pact you have characters who do fucked up things but it feels like a lot of effort is put into understanding the people behind them and where they're coming from. rachel's dogs maul people but there's a whole Arc of taylor learning to vibe with her and befriend her and of rachel getting what she needs (a place alone with her dogs where she can let other people in at her own pace) and growing as a person. all from the angle of 'this is genuinely good for rachel and helpful'. we want her to succeed because we care about her.

in pact we see how sandra duchamp grew up, how she's just as much a victim of her family as she is someone who perpetuates that harm, and while she's an antagonist the story doesn't spoonfeed it to us--we're allowed to see her human and sympathetic moments and we're allowed to feel bad for her while also wanting her stopped.

it felt. i don't know. like the story in general respected these characters, respected the reader's ability to empathize with those characters while also knowing Murder Bad or whatever.

but then the major worm fandom interpretations shifted. you had reddit and other popular sources going on about how taylor was actually horrible and an unreliable narrator, and how the undersiders were actually ~super fucked up and evil criminals~. pact and twig were spared this for the most part by virtue of being less popular with those crowds.

and i'm not sure if the morality discourse got baked into wildbow's brain by osmosis or if he felt like he wouldn't be appeasing his fandom if he didn't address it or what.

but by ward suddenly that narrative empathy, for the most part, is missing. it becomes conditional -- the protagonist and others do not extend empathy towards others until they Properly Recognize What They've Done Wrong. any improvement, any attempt to do better isn't legitimate unless the Bad Deeds are addressed and atoned for by whatever inconsistent standards the narrative adheres to. what matters isn't riley being in a healthier place and making connections--ward thinks that we should be rooting for riley because she recognizes she messed up and is constantly making up for the atrocities she committed.

i think it's kind of reached its peak in post arc 13 pale though. every time empathy is extended it's near-always accompanied by a patronizing little reminder of "mmmm, well you did Bad Things too".

you aren't allowed to just say "well damn i sympathize with charles", for example, because the narrative constantly reminds you that actually he is Still Doing Bad and therefore you aren't allowed to feel for him. it doesn't help that the story continually one-ups itself on thinking of ways to make charles over the top evil either.

but either way it's just. bleak. in a story purportedly about community building it's shockingly uncaring. you can't just sympathize with a morally grey character or take them As They Are without the story casting judgment and constantly reminding you of their verdict. it's just exhausting and makes any positive message the story tries to send feel hollow

OBLIGATORY NOTE: this essay does not mean "actually all fallen and e88 and etc should be empathized with". what it does mean is that in a moralistic work it becomes telling when ex-nazi rune gets her own interlude and a bunch of pagetime to show how she's 'doing better' while that same courtesy isn't extended to many villains who are traumatized and might have, say, legitimate reasons to not want to be arrested or feel like they have no other option, or legitimate reason to not support the heroes, but oh. they do Crimes so actually none of that matters as long as they're still Doing Crimes.

[androgynousblackbox]

The Ancient Necromancer's Groom AU

Lucifer (20 years old)

Since he was a young kid, he could see and hear things that no one else would, making him an outcast among the other kids. His own family end up abandoning him because he was "too creepy" and has lived on his own in the streets until someone picks him up for an auction. Lucifer is so tired of living alone that accept to participate as something to be sold if at least it will give him a purpose. His magic has affinity with all other kinds, making him extremely desirable for other mages and creatures that want to feed off him.

Alastor Abaddon (???)

A necromancer mage that lives on the swamps outside of New Orleans who bought Lucifer with a bunch of money that he stole. His magic affinity is shadows and the dead. He was born crawling out of the body of his dead mother, a teenager that was killed by his father, and found by Rosie when she was a young mage. His first killing waas his own father. Regularly eats human flesh when he can and in general doesn't have the best opinion of humans for the way they treated mages/other magical creatures. He plans to marry Lucifer to control his training on all forms of magic and have children with him to control the next generation of mages. Because of his upbringing, Alastor has no clue what normal couples do nor how families are supposed to be like, to great frustration of Lucifer.

Charlie (4 years old)

An orphan child with the gift of sight that Lucifer takes a especial liking to so Alastor, without asking Lucifer, decides to adopt her (using a bunch of money he also stole to make the church shut up) to ensure that Lucifer won't ever have a reason to leave. Charlie them both papa or dad, but she is closer to Lucifer and usually follows him around as he is learning on the field. Stolas (???) The familiar of Lucifer that normally takes the form of an owl, but can also disguise himself as a human to follow Lucifer around. He was believed to be a bad omen that only brought on misfortunes and tragedies wherever he went, but he was merely there as a warning that other people never got to experience. The only exception was an old astronomer that Stolas became friends with and taught him a lot about the sky. Stolas takes his familiar role very seriously. He has a crush on the unreliable priest that is "in charge" of keeping watch over Alastor. Father Blitz (35 years old) The priest of the church nearest the swamp that was tasked to keep watch over Alastor to make sure he didn't cause any disasters, but mostly just goes to deliver letters and eat whatever Alastor has edible that isn't raw meat. Alastor already knows he can get almost anything out of him as long he can pay for it, including the adoption of a little girl with very little preparation. Despite his lack of faith and more than loose morals, Blitz is generally not a bad man who prefers to spend his day being lazy and enjoying life however he sees fit. He enjoys learning things about the stars from Stolas. Niffty (???) A house fairy that already lived on the place Alastor came to claim as his own. She cooks, cleans and keeps the place decent, but can't get out the property. She was waiting on the dark covered in dust until Alastor appeared, like a doll without an use. Rosie (???) Another old necromancer whose affinity includes jinxes/curses, the dead and plants (especially poisonus). She practically raised Alastor until he was old enough to live on his own. She becomes the first official teacher of Lucifer and sometimes babysitter of Charlie.

Millie/Titania and Moxxie/Oberon The queen and king of all fairies. They both have known Alastor for many years and are interested to see what does he do with his "little groom."

Carmilla Carmine She makes magical items and instruments to sell. She has known Alastor for a very long time, so naturally she is protective of Lucifer and doesn't want to see him "corrupted" by the asshole that is the necromancer since she can see he has a gentle heart.

[timeskip]

OKAY. So Umineko episode 3 thoughts. I finished it, but I did NOT start the tea party, and I will do that tomorrow. My opinions on this may change, possibly DRASTICALLY, with the tea party, so this is my sleepy preliminary thoughts

FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: THE TWIST

Beatrice doing it all to trick Battler is weird, right? Right. Okay. I don't believe it was all an act. At least PARTS of it were real. Maybe not her pathetic failgirl demeanor, as much as I loved it, but some of the underlying emotions... especially in the way she hesitated before saying it was all to trick him. At the same time, I do believe her that it WAS ultimately to trick him. I have no doubt that she's cruel, and she's tormenting Battler, and this is all to force him to do things her way... At the same, it's hard to say for sure. How much of Beatrice's actions and feelings were real? Can we trust what we were shown? The moments where she was contemplating alone, or even her fight against Eva/Virgilia/etc... Hm. Weird.

It almost makes episode 3 feel hollow? NOT in a bad way. It's very much like "ahhhh she fucking GOT me huh. She truly is an amazing villain." but at the same time I had ADORED her character development. Maybe me trying to twist it to make her have felt some of it genuinely is me attempting to keep that, in order to get rid of that hollowness, even though the POINT is that it's hollow. At the same time, I'm almost surprised I got tricked, because I kept thinking "this is only episode 3. I know this goes on for 5 more episodes. How are we going to go back. Isn't this too fast?" so basically I did know it was in some way "fake" even if only subconsciously. And I love Beato being cruel so I'm not mad about that... but it's. weird. god idk how to feel about it. I feel positively for sure, but. dude. You can't just say "everything you saw was a lie" and expect people like me to not go "wtf you can't tell lies like that" even though it's fiction and they absolutely can. Without a specific unreliable narrator to point to (since Umineko swaps POVs and ultimately some scenes end up coming off as omniscient even as they establish a lack of "truth" to any scene being shown) it just leaves me wondering what to think of it, and trying to wrap my head around Beatrice's truth and lies. It's fun! I enjoy that!!! But also I'd have appreciated more hints... I guess. Maybe the tea party will help. Or maybe I'm just being overdramatic about being tricked with Battler. She really did get me.

As for Ange, I was NOT expecting her. Obviously. Who would? But I guess it's time for her to join the game...!!! So excited!!! I do wonder why she's roughly a decade older than she is in 1986, so... time travel? That's crazy. I'm all here for it.

ANYWAYS. Episode 3 was by far my favorite. I loved seeing more of Eva, and she's a fascinating character. Beato's act pulled on my heartstrings in all the right ways to make me fall in love with her. She truly is the woman ever. And Battler's rejection of her was so interesting, and everything that forced him to believe in Beatrice, even if only for a short while... All the twists were fun, I was kept on the edge of my seat, it was truly amazing in a beautifully brutal way.

If I have any complaint other than the ending knocking me notably off-center, it's... Virgilia. I ultimately accepted her, and ofc I love Beato's teacher as a concept, and the Beatrice name passing on, butttttt I have so many questions about where she came from. As Kumasawa? Kumasawa is ALSO a witch connected to this, but has none of the same mannerisms as Virgilia? It just felt so. over the top to me, for lack of a better phrase. It's such a minor complaint though, and a matter of taste. But also, was she just as cruel as Beato? I genuinely don't know. Wild.

Definitely an episode to chew on.

[aleksanderscult]

Can you do the scene "he was my monster too"? That complete dialogue

Yeah, sure!

I love that line and scene (as every Darklina fan) because it really describes their dynamic. It's basically their relationship in just a few words and I'll explain to you why.

I'll start from here.

The Darkling used various means to get her to his side in that scene. First he bargained, then appealed to her loneliness that drew him to her every time through the tether, then pointed out that Mal couldn't understand her and now she knows it, then used Genya to show her what happens every time she leaves him, then tried to make her understand that they could save more lives together and kinda chastised her for the fact that she's stuck on the Novokribirsk murders and doesn't look beyond that, towards the persecution that's happening on a global scale for so many years.

Did he use various manipulative techniques to get her here? Yes.

Did he also mean the things he said? Also yes.

The Darkling sees in her the very thing that first separated him from other people too so many years ago: the rare powers they both have and can't find someone else to relate to.

Also, the fact that he has been proven correct ever since he witnessed Alina growing distant from Mal and feeling more and more alone makes him believe in that line even more.

Who else has rare Grisha powers? The Darkling

Who else is immortal? The Darkling

Who else has been "separated" from all others because of these great powers? The Darkling

Alina knew it all along but has been denying it to herself, clutching desperately on Mal in hopes that everything will go alright between them. But now, when Aleksander speaks these words, she realizes how true that is. There is the person that in terms of power and needs she can match and relate with.

I always believed that he wasn't only excited about having Alina's power in his hands here but also for the fact that she finally decided to willingly come to him. This is the first time that is happening ever since she left him on the Winter fete since she fought him every other time.

Her power is for his plans.

But her willingness and resignation are for him. He awaited this moment and wanted it for so long.

The connection between Aleksander and Alina existed long before the latter got the collar. So I bet that the collar and the nichevo'ya bite only enhanced that connection.

They can "touch" each other's powers. Reach out and feel it. They're connected in such a deep and strong spiritual way. I don't think any other Grisha have ever experienced that with another of his kind. They truly were unique.

Now these are the lines that are the basis of my "Alina feels embarrassed for her dark side and therefore afraid to admit that she wants the Darkling" philosophy and I will die on this hill.

Aside from the fact that this makes her an unreliable narrator, this is a major flaw of her character that Bardugo never fixed.

Alina, as every other person in the world, has light and darkness inside of her. But she's too afraid to admit it and, more importantly, even more afraid of embracing it. And that pushes her back. Instead of having this character accept her dark side and even using it at times on a moderate scale, we have her running away from it, never fully accepting it and presenting it as something disgusting inside of her.

Leigh could use this scene as the basis for her development. This and the "She would make herself a reckoning. She would rise" could be excellent premises of a girl becoming a strong woman and warrior, determined to save and lead her people and unite them with the otkazat'sya. Willing to become Queen just so she can make a change for the better and learn from the Darkling's actions and mistakes. Instead in R&R we got the same Alina. Again.

Alina had darkness inside her long before the Darkling did something. For example, when she let those people die on the skiff. The Darkling just put the kind of darkness inside her that made her connected to the volcra, the Fold, the nichevo'ya. There's a difference here.

Now. About that line.

I've said it before that Darklina is a ship of contradictions: man and woman, light and dark, good and bad. They're two sides of the same coin and therefore complete each other. In a way, one cannot live without the other. And they each have a piece that the other lacks and still wants.

The Darkling has darkness and Alina is a creature of light. But she still seeks that darkness in him and when she used it, it felt right and powerful and not at all strange.

Alina has light and the Darkling is a creature of darkness. But he still searches for her light because, to his great surprise, he likes the feeling of it.

You can see this aspect of them in their following quotes:

‘And he was my monster too.’

- Siege and Storm

‘Because with her he was human again.’

- Rule of Wolves

Both of them don't want to admit it. They recoil from it but Alina can't help but feel drawn to his darkness, to his "monstrous" side just as much Aleksander can't help but be enticed by her light, by her humanity. They bring out a wave of emotions and needs to each other that upset them.

But if only Alina kept believing in that line and if only that relationship and this aspect of it was explored more. It's so painfully interesting that I can't believe how the author chose to spend her trilogy talking about Malina.

Like seriously? Them over THIS SHIP AND THE WAY THEY WORK??

WHO ON THEIR RIGHT MIND---