#but he had to be selfishly selfless and sacrifice himself

[mythicalartistx]

So I decided to read the KH mangas

A week or two ago I read the kh1 manga, it was cute and love how Amano's art style developed (Since I've seen kh3 manga) and saved some of my favorite panels as I do.

Then two days ago, Tuesday night I decided to read the chain of memories manga. And I have opinions.

First of all I love Repliku, he is so silly and so bothered by Riku. I love all the Repliku moments those were the best. From first meeting Sora was super excited he was there— even blushing but Repliku didn't care 😭😭😭

He looked bored and then annoyed and so bothered. It didn't help that Sora was saying the "Riku is fine he can take care of himself.." scene when Repliku first arrives.

But then I got to this scene after it was revealed Repliku is a replica and Sora already fought Larxene. It was a scene I didn't know existed where Naminé brings Repliku to a hallway in Castle Oblivion and she says," I'm sorry I made you face a painful memory," and she takes the star charm as she says "it's not necessary."

And during this moment she just feels his hair and it's so cute. Like I didn't know his existed until now

But it's basically the last time he's seen in the manga and that's where I have problems with the manga. He's not there defending Naminé with Sora before Marluxia. Sora doesn't tell him he is his own person and he's thankful that Sora's feelings are real.

I wish it had that because it's such a great scene. Also he doesn't die he just leaves. So there a bonus scene basically after com events and he wakes up is confused and wonders where Naminé is, runs into Riku. Then he leaves carrying a bag like he's the sad ant meme 😭

And I was thinking it's sad because that's probably the last time we'll see Repliku. In the kh3 manga, he's cut out. Dark Riku wasn't shown. They skipped Fransankyoto a long a few other words, but that word has Dark Riku.

I was afraid they would cut him out completely even though that's a big plot point.

However THE VERY NEXT DAY, yesterday I find out the next chapter of kh3 manga released and had Repliku, however only certain people can access it and I have not.

Though I heard they skipped the sacrifice scene with Riku and all the guardians falling which is disappointing 😢💔

But I'm so excited when it's there for everyone to see on February 15

[raivenantcravings]

Round 6 Reaction/Analysis

SDFFSDHFLSDHF ROUND 6 FSDHKFDSH ROUND 6 FSDKFSDHFDS ROUND 6

I woke up to twitter analysis saying that Till never even looked at Ivan until his final moments. And I made pre round 6 fanart titled "look at me." Couldn't manifest it. He never looked at him in the end,,,

broo dont look so happy. oh my god you lovesick fool.

reaction and analysis under the cut

First detail I noticed was that are the mics clear because both Ivan and Till are being vulnerable? They have nothing to hide anymore, so they'll show the world their whole being.

Anyways, to my main point,,

My interpretation of the ending was that Ivan was really trying to "cure" Till.

Till opens up with wanting to feel pain, to feel hurt.

"Please, leave me scars"

"Please, hurt me so that not a single drop of me remains"

Which, I realize he's talking to Mizi, but it's a cry for "help" either way.

Ivan's part goes:

"Notice my pain and mend me right now"

Again, he's talking about himself, but I think it could apply to what he does to Till.

So they kiss.

And, I've seen a lot of other people already say this, but I also do feel the kiss was not only meant to be for Ivan to selfishly show his love for Till.

Like bro don't go nonconsensually kissing your crush, what are you doing!?

When the scores came out, Ivan was much lower than Till than I expected. I thought it'd be a Mizi-Sua situation where the scores were close, but Mizi barely edged it out.

But Till almost had 20 points over Ivan.

And I know it's because Till is a rising star. And his new image change would really garner the attention of everyone. But it's not like Ivan is a nobody either. I didn't expect the scores to be so different.

I do think its because Ivan kissed Till. As a final nail in the coffin that guarantees his loss.

Alien Stage is commentary on the idol industry. One of the most prevalent issues in the idol industry is the romantic lives of the idols. Idols are not supposed to be in relationships, at least not outwardly. Their whole image is for the fans. Nothing they do should ruin that public image as an idol.

Much less in a in a queer relationship.

Now I don't believe the universe of Alien Stage cares about LGBTQ+ issues because there's bigger issues surrounding their human pets. But I think that it is an issue that Vivinos is trying to address because they certainly never shy away from queer issues in their other works.

And I feel the idea that idols/pets should not be swayed by their romantic emotions is still prevalent in their society.

So for the audience to see Ivan kiss Till, in one of the most outrageous and public displays possible, further pushes the votes in Till's favor.

And yeah, I also do believe that he kissed Till for him to finally look at him, but I also feel that it was a self-sacrifice too.

And then Ivan violently chokes Till.

Possibly, as another way to give Till votes. Since when Mizi started punching Luka, the audience was outraged at her actions.

Violence is definitely frowned upon on the stage.

More on the choking scene,,

I also saw some people saying that it's because Ivan wanted Till to die with him, which may be part of it. I don't think everything Ivan did was completely selfless.

But

Till accepts it. Earlier when he is at the bar (party? venue? the private show either way), he fights the alien who tries to punch him.

He did show him Mizi's missing image, so he is enraged in this moment, but he does have fight left in him even then.

He doesn't resist when Ivan chokes him just closes his eyes and awaits death. Perhaps if Mizi was already dead, he can just join her in the afterlife since he had no way of knowing she was still alive.

In this way, Ivan is his savior. The one who is finally freeing him from all this pain he felt after losing Mizi. This is his "cure."

And for Ivan, he sorta wants to be a savior to Till. He has freed him on multiple accounts from his shackles. Even helping him run away with him, so they can experience freedom together.

They both get what they want, but,,

Ivan lets go of Till and Till, with an expression that feels like shock, finally looks at Ivan.

Killing him would not give him the freedom that Till needs

that Ivan wants Till to have.

So, like the countless times Till has been chained around his neck, Ivan gives him his chains:

hurting him like he desires.

A scar around his neck.

(Where the scar from his name is)

And mending him,

by taking away the final chain that Ivan could release from Till.

His "cure."

It felt like his final desire was to get Till to snap out of it, to realize that he needs to find true freedom, to not get apathetic at the situation, to keep on going and to live.

He really, truly loves Till even if Till does and never will understand it.

Also final thoughts, is it not strange that Ivan is able to release Till's bindings so easily?

No one else is shown releasing the bindings, so maybe it is just as easy as a press of the button. Yet, I don't feel like it's just poorly designed if that's the case. Because you literally have a person like Ivan releasing a dangerous human like Till. Shouldn't a cautious society like the world of Alien Stage made sure it wouldn't be super easy to get out of.

If there is more to it, I wonder if that'll be a plot point later on. With Ivan leaving behind the secret to getting out of the bindings for Till. So, when a character maybe Till or even Hyuna or Mizi have been captured, they're able to escape since they know how to remove them.

Maybe, I'm just being delulu

And final final thoughts, the kiss was great and definitely made me almost scream. But the way Ivan nuzzled Till has got me acting up.

Like, it's just so soft and sweet and not a big show of it like when Ivan kisses Till on stage.

It feels so intimate, so personal, so full of love.

I just, I just can't. They'll be the death of me.

[gleamingtempest]

DRDT Character Theme Playlist - Personal Placements & Graphics

Look to reblogs for guidelines regarding graphics in this post.

Here is a playlist of the songs; please reference this playlist for song credits. It is in order.

Diamond is Unbreakable - Xander

Song reflects Xander's fixation on willpower.

A Mistaken Belief of Love - Min

Song reflects Min's sacrifice for Teruko; a mistaken belief of affection warped through selfless selfish desire to save someone and yourself - to be salvation, selfishly.

Polygonal - Teruko

Song reflects Teruko's self hatred.

Asymptotic - Charles

Song reflects Charles relationship with Ellie - forever just out of reach. Dear memories, kept from him, frustratingly, implicitly.

Sing Along - Eden

Song reflects Eden's relationship with the girl who she kissed(?) - (Process of elimination.)

Shun-Ran - Arei

Song reflects Arei's fragile ego-fixation on being strong melting away when push came to shove. Kindness is weakness, stripped away from her - what little she had to cling to after her traumatic past.

Drawing Pins - Nico

Song reflects Nico's inability to understand others and the world. Implicitly not for them, regardless of how much they seek connection.

Yesman - Ace

Song reflects Ace's fixation on living a normal life - something he can't ever truly do.

Tip Toes - Hu

Song reflects Hu's ego-fixation on being important to others & how she needs to see past this shallow fixation in order to grow as a person.

Hi-Fi Evolution Theory - Veronika

Song reflects Veronika's fixation on fun, and a aversion to feeling hollow. Ravenous fear of the all-consuming empty.

Cartoons - Rose

Song reflects Rose's fixation on abstraction of reality; avoidance of dreariness, melting away truth, soaking in fantasy.

RQ Laji 2 - Desk Rotation - J

Song.

Runaway - Arturo

Song reflects Arturo's fixation on projecting his own high self standards elsewhere where he can't apply them to himself, and progressing or learning to introspect and see himself for who he's truly become - a monster.

Spitfire - Levi

Song reflects Levi's violent past.

Good Grief - Whit

Song reflects Whit's aversion, grieving. Instead of engaging a hard truth it's easier to look away and feel joy.

Undead Enemy - David

Song reflects David's fixation on performance. Truthfully seeking something out only to reflect it as a part of yourself you can't have faith in. Hollow salvation and empty words. Not human anymore.

-

Feel free to engage or ask about / disagree with any of these placements. I hope this was engaging or insightful. Please be well & take care. 🎶

[ninjakk]

I've been thinking of how JC attempts to sacrifice himself for WWX when they first run from the Wens after the fall of LP and his reasons/feelings for doing that and reconciling them with this person who acts so shamefully and is full of such hatred that he kills all 'demonic cultivators' after wwx's death. Even as WWX thinks of whether JC and JL are okay, I notice he calls JC "Sect Leader" out loud to others. I don't know how they could reconcile. Sorry lots of feelings.

Hi again anon 👋🏻

I've answered your two asks separately as they were addressing different aspects of the novel and my original response was getting rather long 😆

It certainly was an unexpected revelation when we found out that JC lured the searching Wen cultivators away from an unsuspecting WWX. Of course, I don't think it was his intention to get caught in the process, but he definitely thought about someone else other than himself for once - which was interesting. Although it was one of the very few selfless acts he did during the course of the novel, it still doesn't retract any of the awful things he has done, nor the way he treated WWX or his homophobic outburst.

Even after WWX has died, JC's bitterness remains very strong and he does indeed hunt down those that use the ghost path in hope of capturing WWX, should he return. Which I always find quite telling of just how little JCs actually knows and understands WWX - who would never actually do such a thing.

In all honesty, JC actually redeemed himself ever so slightly at the very end of the novel, when he decides not to tell WWX about how he really lost his golden core. Instead, he finally let him go, severing the very last thread of "debt" and "obligation" between them. It was actually a fitting character arc for him and it showed a glimmer of possible growth.

Even if JC had selfishly told WWX that particular fact, I don't think it would have changed much at all. WWX has already paid back his "debt" and "obligations" to the Jiang sect far beyond what was required or reasonable. There is nothing left to say between them and WWX literally has nothing left to give. Too much water has gone under the bridge. All of that is in the past and WWX always focuses on the present. So either way, nothing would have changed. I also think WWX would not want to associate with someone he thought his love for LWJ was disgusting and shameful regardless of anything else at play. He chooses love, happiness and freedom as his parents did before him.

JC and WWX are too different, in both personality and virtue. They would not have been friends or hung out in any other scenario bar the circumstance they found themselves in during the course of the novel. They both literally embody the traits that the other actually cannot stand! Their relationship was that of a master and subordinate, it was toxic and they are both better off giving each other a wide berth and moving on.

A reconciliation would never happen and it doesn't need to. WWX is entitled to a happy life for all his efforts in his previous life and JC needs to live with the consequences of his actions and learn from them in his own way.

I know it's probably not the response you were hoping for. But if you consider the above, they both got some form of a happy ending. JC is finally learning to let go of things that little bit more and WWX is free to move on and live his life how he always wanted. I honestly couldn't think of a more suitable and realistic ending.

[general-cyno]

just when I think zoro's sacrifice in thriller bark couldn't be more meaningful than it already is chapter 1097 comes for my life (spoilers ahead under the cut)

as more of kuma's heart-wrenching story is told - we now learn that just like zoro took luffy's pain as his own during thriller bark, kuma had been doing the same thing for his fellow villagers back when he was a pastor in sorbet kingdom.

for kuma, whose life since childhood had been deeply marked by the discrimination he faced as a buccaneer and the slavery forced upon his family, using the paw paw fruit's power to free slaves and relieve those in suffering of their pain was his way of liberation - and this ideal was fueled in the first place by his belief in nika, the sun god who embodied the fight for freedom, which was passed on to him by his father. as ivankov later says, kuma now has "the hands of liberation that set people free".

of course, kuma's backstory is completely different from zoro's own, so they're not really comparable in that sense per se. but it speaks highly of both their characters that they're the only ones so far to have sacrificed themselves for others in such a specific way. this shows the strength of their spirits and bodies, how far they're willing to go for their beliefs and the ppl they cherish, the plain goodness and selflessness that's written into who they are within the story.

zoro is a bit of a curious case, in that he's "selfishly selfless/kind" just like luffy, and doesn't enjoy being treated nor seen as a hero despite what he and the crew do for ppl. still, his kindness and willingness to protect others have been there pretty much since the start. the reason why he ends strung up by the marines in shells town is because he chose to save a little girl from helmeppo's violent wolf. the reason why luffy chooses to recruit him as part of his crew is because he eats those stomped riceballs and asks luffy to thank rika for them in his stead. imo, luffy and zoro start out as the pillars of the crew (they are the first two after all) but zoro and the rest of the straw hats each represent all the good qualities luffy himself has and admires in others.

throughout his journey with luffy and the straw hats too, zoro starts driving himself to get stronger not just for the sake of his dream anymore but also to keep his promise to luffy and for his crew. of course, thriller bark is that one moment in which this part of his development is made perfectly clear.

also - while zoro's sacrifice was rooted in how loyal he is to and how much he cares for luffy (and by extension the crew), by going through with this, unknowingly, both zoro and kuma ensured, at least in this instance, that nika's fight for liberation would continue to exist within and later awaken in luffy via his devil fruit.

in the aftermath of thriller bark, kuma acknowledges that luffy has exceptional friends and says that "he's your son after all, dragon". knowing now about kuma's past and how/why he came to join dragon's revolutionary army, there's no one better suited to highlight this moment - the kind of loyalty, devotion and endurance zoro displayed for luffy's sake is not the kind that's earned without reason. this says as much about zoro as it does about luffy. considering that now luffy's unlocked joy boy/nika the warrior of liberation through his devil fruit and zoro's been revealed as a descendant of folks who have either been heroes and/or stood firmly against oppressors (ryuma and ushimaru), that both of them alongside the crew have fought for the freedom of different people/nations so far... well. you can see why zoro's sacrifice, why kuma protecting the straw hats and the sunny in sabaody have all become so much more important.

[ncmadsteve]

WELL i'm completetly satisfied with xiang liu's ending

he's such a sad tragic boy, all that he selfishly left for himself was one tear from a person he loved!!!!! im okay

thank fuck tumblr is one place you can actually hide the spoilers, so spoilers under the cut

xiang liu has long ago seen that he and xiao yao don't have future and that the ending he wants for himself is to die on a battlefield. he's been preparing for it all the time - all the poison that he consumed was actually a ticking bomb that would be activated the moment he died, taking as many enemy troops to the grave with him as he could. this was the path he chose and he didn't want to step away

his love for xiao yao was selfless and when she said that she had no strength to protect herself, no one to rely on and no place she could go to, he gave it all to her one by one. the ending montage lays it on quite thickly, but we get it, he taught her archery, he gave her tushan jing, and i guess made it so that the sea can now be her home

he didn't expect that his fate may come knocking so soon and thought he could enjoy a few more decades of life, but once it was clear that he won't get that, he started tying up all the loose ends to die in peace

first he says goodbye to the good memories of a simpler times in the qingshui town, where he first met xiao yao and where they weren't impossible yet, because back then she wasn't the princess of haoling and cang xuan's sister. he smiles as he recalls their shenanigans

he kills chishui fenglong (yeah im not sure if that's what he wanted or if he wanted to kill cang xuan, probably cx, but)

then he sets out to kill the love bug. when xiao yao passes out, he allows himself to mourn for the future that they will never have, kissing her wounds and embracing her

he wants xiao yao to live on without any burden on her conscience, so he lets her "repay" him for all he's done for her with her blood when she's conscious, and once she passes out, he sacrifices two of his lives to kill the love bug and to make sure xiao yao can live on when he dies. he doesn't let anyone tell xiao yao about it, so that she doesn't feel she owes him anything and can move on without any weight in her heart

then he saves that lukewarm noodle tushan jing and sends his soggy body straight in the arms of the search party, so that xiao yao can still have someone who is dedicated to her to share life with (even though he is an overcooked noodle)

then he sends mao qiu away :( bird is not allowed to die with him

in the end he dies in peace, but not because he let go of everything before his death, but because he held on to everything he cared about and gave it the best ending

he actually tried to let go! he kept a tear that xiao yao shed, and when he first threw her in the arms of tushan jing, he wanted to let go of that tear that symbolized xiao yao's affection for him, and dissolve it in the sea. but in the end he couldn't bear to part with it, and kept it with him

so he dies with a smile, because he's done all he wanted to do in his life to the best of his ability and considering the situation he was in. he weighed his loyalties and his heart to the army and to xiao yao, and made his choices. he chose to live and die with the chenrong army, giving his life for the cause and his soldiers, but not before he could arrange the best life for the person he cared about. even though he couldn't live with her by his side, he made sure she will have the best life she can have in her circumstances

the only thing of xiao yao's affection that he kept for himself was a single solitary tear. in the moment he dies, he lets it drop into his own eye, and it's a tear that xiao yao symbolically sheds for him (oh no, I'm crying again)

his plans were realized and he could die satisfied, and i'm also very satisfied with this consistent story line and ending for him. even though i'm sad that he died, i feel emotionally fulfilled

i'm also glad tan jianci got to play this role - it really wouldn't be the same without his skills and effort, his pretty face and sad eyes that can speak a thousand words. also his voice, in the end of the 22nd episode when he speaks out as a general to the enemy's general... chills!!!!

OKAY i think that's all I want to semi-coherently say about xiang liu's ending in lost you forever. even though he is dead now, he will stay in my heart <3

PS. okay and now nothing connected to the story, my roomie came in when i was writing this post and made me write down a randomly chosen quote from a book she just started reading:

"Besides these bands a less orderly and a worse-armed force, consisting of the Saxon inhabitants of the neighbouring townships, as well as many bondsmen and servants from Cedric's extensive estate, had already arrived for the purpose of assisting in his rescue" ~Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe

PS PS. IM NOT PROUD TO SAY THAT WHILE I WAS CRYING FOR XL DYING I ALSO HAD THE BRAINSPACE TO NOTICE AND APPRECIATE TAN JIANCI'S BEAUTIFUL EYELASHES. appreciate them with me:

[cosmicjoke]

Killing is not always wrong, and the act of killing doesn't automatically make someone a bad person:

Yeahhhh, okay, so as usual, these same idiots are completely misconstruing my words and points.

Let's, for a moment, just accept the absurd premise that killing is always morally wrong, and can never, no matter the circumstances surrounding the act, be justified. Let's just accept that premise for a moment, no matter how absurd or childish or rooted in actually harmful naivety it is.

The argument being made is that Levi, because he's killed, is a bad person. That's the argument. That because he's committed a "bad act", that automatically makes him a "bad person", regardless of the reason or circumstances surrounding his so-called bad act. The argument, then, boils down to ones actions being the sum total of a person's character, and there is no room from there on for any other considerations or factors in judging that person's character. You've killed someone, so, no matter the reason, you're a bad person.

I really wish I didn't have to explain why this type of thinking is wrong, but given the amount of morons liking and reblogging this person's post, I guess I'm forced to.

Even supposing someone commits a "bad act", (again, accepting the premise that killing is always wrong) that in and of itself doesn't make the person who's killed a "bad person". A person's character shouldn't be judged on their actions alone, especially when those actions are viewed in isolation, without considering the mitigating circumstances surrounding them. What a person should be judged by is their actual character, who they are, how they regard and treat others, what they believe, what they feel, etc… Is someone who kills in self-defense automatically a bad person, even if they feel deep regret and sadness over having had to kill someone to save themselves? That's what this person is saying, and it's patently ridiculous and false.

Again, Levi killing, even if you accept the premise that all killing is wrong, doesn't make Levi a bad person. What would make Levi a bad person would be if he killed and enjoyed it (like Zeke) or if he didn't care about what happened to other people, if he felt no empathy or sympathy for anyone but himself, if he enjoyed watching others suffer, if he felt nothing at the loss of life, if he selfishly put his own well being and desires over everyone else's wants and needs. THAT would make Levi a bad person. Not the act of killing alone, but him having a lack of feeling or empathy, remorse or sadness over the act.

This person doesn't seem to get that good people can do bad things, which is one of the central themes of AoT. They don't seem to understand either that we're not saying Levi is good because he kills, or that his killing is good because he's good (why would anyone ever think that's what we're saying?). We're not saying killing is good at all, but that it can be right, depending on the circumstances surrounding the act, and we're saying Levi is good because he's a totally selfless individual who cares genuinely and deeply about others, who sacrifices his own well being, both physical and mental, to help others, no matter the consequences to himself, and that his acts of violence, whether you regard them as justifiable or not, are committed for selfless and understandable reasons, like saving his own life or the lives of others, because he cares about and wants to help people, and are never motivated by things like greed, lust, self-satisfaction, self-aggrandizement or for petty revenge. Regardless of whether you think his violence is right or wrong, justifiable or not, it's that quality of compassion, kindness, empathy and selflessness in Levi that marks him out as a good man and a hero. To deny him that is disgusting and shows a level of stupidly blunt judgmentalism that shouldn't ever be accepted in any substantive debate over this sort of thing.

Beyond that, this idea that killing is always wrong and that killing in self-defense will always and without fail lead to justifying outright murder is nothing but a childish fallacy. There's even a term for it, called the "Slippery Slope Fallacy":

Our justice system differentiates between murder and justifiable homicide for a reason. You can't judge every act of killing the same way, or from the same principle of it always being wrong, no matter what. The only thing that sort of thinking leads to is mass persecution, punishment and oppression, both of thought and action. To view anything through that sort of black and white lens of moral correctness is to deny reality itself and the complexity of both the world we live in and of human beings themselves.

There are countless examples I could give in which killing can be and is regarded as justifiable and correct, but there's really no point in me making this post any longer than it already is. Anyone with a functioning brain and that actually applies logic to their thinking should be able to figure out what scenarios and situations and circumstances would render killing the right and correct course of action.

And that's all I'm going to say on this subject. It shouldn't even need to be explained. But, you know, tumblr and its users woeful lack of critical thinking skills strikes again.

[sepublic]

After the events of Fusion, Noxus learned that Samus had Metroid DNA (I have different ideas as to how), and realized it was destiny; He is a Judicator-wielding Vhozon who helped slay Metroids, and came into conflict with Samus Aran multiple times, believing during one incident that the Federation could not be trusted with an ultimate power she was attempting to secure. Noxus believed it was his duty to slay the last Metroid, and bring peace to the galaxy; Its DNA could not be trusted to fall into anyone's hands, least of all the Federation's after Adam helped leak its corruption. The Metroid must be destroyed completely.

Cue a confrontation in which Noxus is more of a threat than before because of Samus' new Metroid-inherited weakness to ice. And when murdering her himself isn’t quite working, Noxus remembers that Samus is still someone with a strong sense of justice that often overlaps with the Vhozon codex, in many ways he sees her as simply misguided. And thus someone whose sense of justice he can appeal to…

So Noxus suggests to Samus that she should just let herself die right here, right now, to save the galaxy; She understands the threat the Metroid poses, and she would sacrifice herself in a more conventional mission to save everyone. Why risk it, except to let herself enjoy a selfishly dangerous existence??? Adam tells Samus within her helmet not to listen to Noxus; You deserve to live too.

And in the end this episodic arc is meant to reiterate, it’s meant to be Samus practicing, a lesson she’s trying to internalize for herself after the events of Fusion, after the guilt and self-loathing she’s accumulated after so many loved ones’ deaths. Because damn Noxus is almost like the devil on her shoulder (ironic given his Holier than Thou personality; And Vhozon parallels to Christian extremism and the belief that suicide is a sin) making it sound real tempting to Samus to just kill herself.

She doesn’t even have to do it herself, someone will do it for her! Insisting it’s actually better for people Samus cares about if she’s dead, so this isn’t selfish but selfless, and vice-versa!!! So once again Samus is grappling with continuing to apply this lesson of self-worth because that’s the exhausting truth; You will relapse and you will have to constantly remind yourself and relearn that same lesson over and over again. That’s life, that’s the banal truth behind living, but there’s also a deep wonder behind it as well.

But in contrast to this, Noxus is essentially telling Samus:

[princess-of-the-corner]

The whole "selfish" thing is weird in ML too cause like, how is Chloé wanting attention through being a worse kind of selfishness than Gabriel being like "actually i'll just commit suicide so I can be eternally dead with my wife and leave my son an orphan but he still needs to think I'm a good dad despite the fact that I've put him and his ex in a white torture room"

Even Gabriel's 'good' and most 'selfless' actions are 100% selfish and not actually that good?

He wants to bring Emilie back? Surely that's selfless, right? Except Emilie had accepted her incoming death and instructed him not to do so. Adrien and Nathalie and even Amelie and Felix have all moved on. Nathalie took a while but has ultimately decided to respect her wishes. No one wants Gabriel to do this, he's doing it 100% because he selfishly wants her back.

And Gabriel's 'sacrifice' at the end is him using a get out of jail free card. Guilt tripping Marinette into lying to Adrien while skipping out on any consequences to his actions and refusing to handle his own grief by taking himself out of the equation.

Re: those 'good' actions being not actually that good: He's becoming a supervillain to go against someone's dying wish. And the only way you could consider a suicide a 'good' thing is in that he's not hurting anyone anymore but 1.) he's still hurting people from beyond the grave because he took everyone out with him and got Mari to lie about it, 2.) better ways for him to stop than going for the death option and 3.) the fact that he was he was doing that shit in the first place to need to not cause harm.

[aitsuheart]

i have this head canon for kh4 and have 0 ppl to talk to abt it ( maybe ill make a blog or write a fic ) but like riku saves sora from quadratum and since we all love angst, a part of riku saving him and bringing him back is sacrificing the memories sora has of him - so sora would come out with no memory or no relationship with Riku, but Rikus willing to do it to save sora. To do said saving Riku will have to sacrifice his body in some way ( not like lose a limb sacrifice but his body would be shattered in some way - idk i really like the idea of riku with mega scars and those scars representing his undying love for sora ) and they come out of quadratum passed tf out, everyone rushes to barely save rikus life and sora wakes up with 0 memory of him. Kairi's pissed, the king is pissed - EVERYONE is pissed like Riku cmon how could you do that to yourself and to sora but whatev , time passes on and the MoM shows up to fuck some shit up and Sora goes on another adventure ( basically what kh4 would be - travelling to worlds collecting soras lost memories ) while Riku and Mr Michael Mouse try to find a way to beat MoM. At the end of this process Sora meets up with the Radiant Garden group and Aerith - through her super magic powers - is somehow able to give Sora his memories of riku back bc Soras heart will never be complete without Riku ( def with the help of kairi - like having your past love find your true love kind of deal? ) and Soras like "Where is he, where is Riku?" and in their adventures trying to find Riku they figure out through his lineage that hes either the King of Light or the King of Kingdom Hearts. Anyway, Riku and Mickey are facing off against MoM and Riku is , stupidly, abt to sacrifice his life again for like.....everyone.....and Sora shows up like NO SIR MISTER MAN basically stops him yelling "HES THE KING, HES THE KING PROTECT HIM" and basically saves Riku like a knight in shining armor protecting his king. they realize their love for each other, destroy MOM ( through the power of true love ) and live together happily ever after. thoughts?

I definitely have some thoughts and I do love a good angst and this has it, Riku saving Sora requires him to lose all his memories of him

It's not like they already were missing in this case before he had them but by saving Sora he loses all the ones of him

And Riku would because that's how he is, he is selfishly selfless for Sora and would do anything to save him even if it means dying or risking his own happiness like in kh3 sacrifice and kh2 becoming Ansem's form to awaken Sora

Him being on the verge of death is so great to me and the others are clearly upset since he's not thinking about his own worth again and would do anything for Sora. All his scars being all the times he sacrificed for him like even perhaps in previous games such as when he took a blow during that Xemnas fight.

Sora traveling around collecting his memories of Riku sounds interesting and there's so many possibilities. There could be more parallels of what happened between them through Disney worlds as well.

Also I like the idea of Kairi and Sora past relationship mention and that she can help Sora remember Riku. Kairi probably knows what's up with them and Sora probably has no idea at this point and maybe help him realize through gaining some memories.

Riku is of course always sacrificing himself and just sees his life as not really valuable but with knowledge that he's this king Sora saves him.

Love a good knight in shining armor saving a princess, being tied to them once again. Riku needs saving, Sora is the knight rescuing him from darkness and in this case sacrificing himself.

Riku being king of light perhaps relates to royal bloodline theory?

Their love for each other saving everything would definitely something that could happen in the games since friendship and love seems to play an importance.

Some of my first thought after reading for the first time was this is really good and so terrible at what Riku did to save Sora.

I think this has some fun and interesting potential. I'll be curious if you ever make a blog or even write a fanfic about it.

[digisurvive]

Scorpion moments: Survive and (self) sacrifice.

As we learn during moral’s endgame stretch, the Survive antagonists’ goal to sacrifice the children was with aims to preserve their world. The potential deaths of the children are, then, purported to have a benefit for an alleged greater good, something that we will see more of in different moments of the game.

Selflessness and virtue. 

The idea of self-sacrifice as noble is something most will be familiar with, but for this meta I wanna discuss Survive’s take on it as contrasted to The Night of the Galactic Railroad (the movie, since I haven’t read the book), given it’s a story that’s pretty ubiquitous in Japanese pop culture, but moreover, deals heavily with ideas about self-sacrifice.

As some of you might know, The Night of the Galactic Railroad (NOTR, onwards) has as centerpiece the self-sacrifice of the protagonist’s (Giovanni) best friend (Campanella) when he jumps into a river to save someone who had fallen off a boat during a festival night. His self-sacrifice is seen as the ultimate act of selflessness and key to reaching the path to happiness. This virtuous read on it is further reinforced through the fable of the scorpion presented in the story:

“"My father told me its story: A long time ago in a field there lived a scorpion that ate other bugs by using its tail to catch them. Then one day he found himself cornered by a weasel. Fearing for his life, he ran but could not escape it. Suddenly, he fell into a well and, unable to climb out, began to drown. He started to pray then, saying:  ”‘Oh, God. How many lives have I stolen to survive? Yet when it came my turn to be eaten by the weasel, I selfishly ran away. And for what? What a waste my life has been! If only I’d let the weasel eat me, I could have helped him live another day. God, please hear my prayer. Even if my life has been meaningless, let my death be of help to others. Burn my body so that it may become a beacon, to light the way for others as they search for true happiness.’ “The scorpion’s prayer was answered, and his body became a beautiful crimson flame that shot up into the night sky. There he burns to this day. My father was telling the truth…”

The scorpion had been someone deeply selfish on account of only being able to sustain itself by taking away from others, yet when its moment to give back came, it cowered and his death was nearly futile— wasting on a well without being of help to anyone; it only redeems itself through asking to be set ablaze so it can be of use to others. The throughline of self-sacrifice as something that gives both your death and life meaning by granting you a legacy in benefit of the people you leave behind is clear.

Redeeming one’s self.

One of the earlier examples of self-sacrifice popping up in Survive’s narrative is when Shuuji is negotiating with Arukenimon— the latter offers Shuuji the chance to get everyone back home at the small price of offering up a sacrifice. Given that this aligns with their ultimate goal and would presume the ultimate greater good for the group, Shuuji considers the offer seriously. Yet, the only answer he can consider as appropriate is to give himself up as the required sacrifice.

Arukenimon implies it’s because he wants an escape from the situation, since “his sense of justice isn’t anything special”. While it’s not entirely untrue Shuuji was in such utter despair even death seemed like a respite from his suffering, it’s also not entirely accurate. Shuuji choosing to act based on what he considers will be best for the whole group is consistent even before he rectifies his behavior. His big fight with Kaito in part 4 is rooted in him placing the safety of the group above the desires of a single individual. Similarly, his reluctance to go to the waterways is not founded solely on his risk aversion but this mentality of seeking the greater good. This propels Shuuji to offer himself up, as the dead weight of the group.

Even though Shuuji reacts in deep anger upon the suggestion he should be left behind when the group is about to venture into the waterways— because it’s implied he’d be in the way and he’s desperate to prove himself— his self-perception fully aligns with the idea he’s worthless, as he openly cries about when fused with Wendimon. Shuuji’s desire to redeem himself to the group is laid out in explicit terms in his Perfect evolution dialogue, where he talks about wanting to be able to stand side by side with the others.

[Image ID: dialogue log between Shuuji and Lopmon. It reads:

Shuuji: I’ve just been a burden on everyone up to now… I have to make up for it, or else…

Lopmon: That’s not true… No one thinks of you that way, Shuuji.

Shuuji: This is something I want. Confidence to stand side-by-side next to everyone, with pride. It’s not about what the others think—or my dad, even. I want my own approval.]

However, we get more hints to him desiring to be someone valuable to group in the vanilla route, too. He often expresses to Takuma his deep embarrassment and guilt over the fact Takuma has to do a lot of heavy-lifting to keep the group together. He’s acutely self-aware he fails as a leader, as he often fails to stay level-headed and respond properly to the crises in front of them, which is reflected in his constant lamenting about Lopmon contributing nothing and the consequent berating. 

These intense feelings of worthlessness and desire to be useful then place his desire to self-sacrifice as a way to be able to contribute to the group. It’s of note that, in the end, that self-sacrifice never came to be, and his death is ultimately caused by him succumbing to the most pernicious extremes of his anger and drowning in his unresolved trauma and suicidal ideation. The ideal of self-lessness he wanted to aspire to isn’t something he can achieve through death but through staying alive, owning up to his mistakes, listening to the others and working to take care of them with kindness.

The meaning of one’s life.

As we learn during the start of Wrathful’s part 9, Saki is someone who deeply struggles with her sense of belonging. She laments that she fought with her friends right before camp and—with her worries about death at all time high due a looming surgical procedure, as well as the general worry over her illness— straight up states that “If someone like me disappeared, I doubt anyone would miss me…” Although she jokes about it at the start of Truthful’s part 11—when they're talking about separation and she "jokingly" makes Takuma promise not to forget hee— it's clear she fears dying and leaving nothing behind for people to remember her by. 

This can be partially related to the scorpion’s regrets as its about to die: because of her constant social fallouts, Saki is deeply socially isolated. During the waterways event, when the kids are faced by duplicates of their partners that reflect their innermost fears and anxieties, we learn Saki worries about how much she troubles others and how selfish she is —which is very loaded in the context of her chronic illness, a detail the game most blatantly hints at during this passage.  She also worries about living one’s life to its fullest (giving one’s all to whatever they set their sights to) and being able to move freely and truly do what she wants (very apparent during her dialogue at the cafeteria and at the amusement park in Wrathful’s part 9). Saki doesn’t want to die, that much is a given, but she doubly doesn’t want to die after having a meaningless life, both on a social sphere and with regards her own personal accomplishments. She resents the idea of a wasted existence that’d lead her to be forgotten once she dies.

This plays into her motivation to run off her own: at first, she's paralyzed by fear and unable to move. This perceived cowardice of hers is part of her avoidance coping that has led her to postpone her medical care and also makes her unable to address things directly. During her Wrathful flashback, she states she hates this about herself and longs to change it. Inspired by Miu's determination to use her fear over losing others to spring into action and save her brother, Saki decides to follow her example to do what she's wanted to: help others, broadly, but more especially save all the young digimon at the park. She longs to do something meaningful with her existence and to improve herself through this selflessness, even if it costs her everything. 

This willingness to take such extreme risks is partly rooted in her own self-depreciation. When Aoi wants to call the rescue off due to the thickening mist, Saki refuses to give up and states Aoi should go back to safety— Aoi is their all important leader, after all. Saki wants to be remembered and be meaningful to the world, but the baggage of her intense social alienation propels her to her death in Wrathful. Her willingness to self-sacrifice is there from the get-go of the scenario and it informs her stubbornness to take on great risks, which eventually comes to a head in the tug-of-war deciding her death. Judging her death inexorable, she decides to let go of Aoi's hand in order to protect everyone. 

A life like the scorpion.

NOTR's protagonist, Giovanni, is a boy in an unfortunate situation. His father is often away as a sailor, but this time it seems he might not come back at all— if his classmates teasing about his father being in jail is to be believed. Without him, his household situation is precarious. More so because his mother is sick; so even if they receive some help from Giovanni's sister in the form of prepared food sent to them, Giovanni still works for pennies at a local printer and fulfills a lot of household errands after school. This alienates him from his peers, cutting him out from his opportunities to socialize. You could say Giovanni's life involves a series of recurrent, small sacrifices for the sake of his mother and his own well-being. Giovanni doesn't resent his family nor his life, but he does begin the movie deeply disconnected from the world and life itself. After being given the opportunity to spend a last night with Campanella and see him off, Giovanni is inspired to follow Campanella's selfless example. He's able to make peace with the sacrifices and work he does under the lense of being like the scorpion— because he's helpful and aids his mother to live longer, Giovanni gains a connection to life itself and sense of purpose. 

Aoi's life before she went to camp could be said to be akin to Giovanni's — she goes the extra mile in all aspects of her life because it's something that is beneficial and contributes to society. She says as much in her prequel story: she takes on the extra work others foister on her because it's good to be helpful. She's someone whose sense of purpose is deeply tied to other people. Her Moral shadow event reinforces this through her own assertions that helping people in need (acting in accordance to her sense of Justice) and being relied on by her friends is what gives her the courage to move forward. This is remarkable because through the course of the game she struggled deeply to assert herself and act decisively, especially if her desires contradicted social rules and order. Her deep sense of responsibility towards others is one of her main driving forces, for better or worse. 

Yet, despite her disciplined selflessness, Aoi begins the game similarly disconnected from her peers and her sense of purpose. One of her affinity dialogues in part 5 has her asking Takuma just what she means to the group. She deeply resents the idea of being seen as the class president who other people can take advantage of, and sees herself as too much of a side-character, weak and indecisive, to be able to play a proactive role in the group. The fact of the matter is— no matter how helpful her work is, she doesn't enjoy being overworked, especially not when it's stemming from others' selfishness, as we see her rant about after the group fights her a second time as Plutomon. 

[Image ID: Plutomon dialogue log that goes as follows:

Plutomon: I hate it when people are selfish, when all they do is complain and put everything on me! Why is it always like this?! So what if I’m class president? Why do only I get lectured? It’s not like I ever wanted to be in charge! I hate dealing with people! I can’t do it! But that’s how it turns out, whether it’s in class, after school, or here! Still, someone has to do the work, and if not me then who? That’s why I do these things!”]

The game takes this idea further— not only does she deeply resent the thankless work forced on her, it's not healthy nor fair for her to have to shoulder it all. The idea of her needing to trust the people around her and delegate her workload is seen both in affinity dialogues for Moral and Truthful as well as part of the main story in the form of her shadow moral event.

Survive's narrative continually rejects self-sacrifice or extremist behavior, always striving to present an idealist sense of balance between individual and community, which will be hard to strike and fraught to maintain but ultimately worth it. This is further reinforced during Wrathful. Just as the light of the flame from Campanella's self-sacrifice guides Giovanni forward and changes his worldview, so is Aoi moved to change through witnessing Saki's selflessness. Initially, it's not something that is twisted, as it moves her to be braver and more decisive during their rescue efforts. Watching Saki push through her fear and be true to her ideals prods Aoi to reflect on her own behavior. She laments her own inertia born out of her strict adherence to rules and risk aversion. She wishes to be truly kind and bold enough to stand behind her words and actions the way Saki does. This admiration arguably drives her positive growth in other routes; however, her intense attachment to Saki takes on an awry turn after her death. 

Saki's self-sacrifice decidedly doesn't propel Aoi to value life and the impact her actions have on others more, but it sends her spiraling into the complete corruption of her own ideals. She repudiates all behavior she deems as selfish and irresponsible, as evidenced by her desire to mold the world to her own image and uphold the standard of behavior and ethos she stood for all her life. Her corruption arc is intrinsically linked to her lack of kinship and connection to her community, something that Saki's death exacerbates.

[phoenixradiant]

For the recently created universe Ask game

🌌 Galaxy - Rant to me.

Alright! Two topics come to mind to rant on, but I think I'm gonna stick to talking about Cellic, and how desperate and broken I made him. I'm not going to talk about how I fixed him again either, because that would be way too long. It's essay-length as it is.

Cellic is introduced as a compassionate person. A hard man, yes, but a compassionate one. His entire life up until the story starts has been filled with self-sacrifice. First his family, then his friends, and now his kingdom and Alador as a whole have come to rely on his strength and goodwill. He was slaving away to provide for his brothers even as a cripple, because he couldn't bring himself to rely on nearby families who had also fallen on tough times. He helped Maiph get through the sudden loss of her parents, and helped Randar's father get back on his feet after his son's murder shocked him out of drunkenness. He's stubborn as anything, and sometimes a real pain to get along with, but in the words of his king, Falder Faldarin, he's "a good man, inasmuch as those two words can be reconciled." He doesn't think of himself as having problems, but everything good and bad about him can be summed up in his two greatest desires: To be strong enough to protect those he loves and bring justice to a broken world. His selflessness is not the issue, but the manner in which he goes about it. He blindly assumes that if he were just stronger, he could make everything all right. You'll see why this matters in a moment, but Cellic is ernest and devoted to a fault.

And because I needed a plot, I took everything away from him. Everything. He lost both his parents, a sister, and an older brother figure as backstory, yes, but then he joins the Deathguard. And he makes friends, friends who think like him, friends with honor like his and fervor like his, and he watches them die, and the ones who don't die, he watches scream and writhe and burn with a searing pain that never ends as their blood is drained and used for profane rituals, and he feels the same, and even once they escape, he watches them die on the inside. They are all dangerously close to believing the words whispered by their captors: "mankind are monsters, nothing is sacrosanct, nothing is whole." And while acting as the anchor for people back home, he also has to be his compatriots' hold on reality. He reminds them about the ideals they fought for, and he is, outwardly, everything they want to be. Stalwart, and violently whole, even through horror and pain. And then Illenfold. One of his friends is betrayed by her own flesh and blood, who raises an army to selfishly claim what is rightfully hers. And still, Cellic stands, a bastion of justice, and peace, even as he wages war and spills blood.

At this point, I think every character in Cellic's "supporting cast profiles" but one, King Faldarin, has their hope in Cellic. Farric and Lettic hope in his justice to make the world a better place and to keep them safe, and they hope in his job to make enough money to keep them afloat. Maiph hopes in his tenacity and strength, that she won't lose him forever like she's lost everyone else who loved her. Anesaru and Relpier hope in his hope, they need him to prove that men can be more than monsters, that there is real good in the world. Sizen hopes that he can keep Anesaru and Relpier sane (Sizen's Saru's bodyguard, so his entire purpose in life is just to keep her safe). Cellic has a lot riding on his shoulders, and to him, that's normal. To him, that's right, that's who he is. His parents, and his role model Randar, all told him that since he's more capable than others that he has a greater responsibility than others, which was correct and they themselves practiced, but he interpreted it to mean he had to bear the weight of the world. Being selfless is all well and good, but it won't be long until that weight comes crashing down around him. Because he does the unthinkable: he loses himself.

Cellic kills someone. Two people actually. He had plausible deniability, there was a case to be made that they were a threat to peace in Alador (according to the information he had been given), but he enjoyed it, and it sickens him. Up until that point, he'd killed, but he'd never really murdered anyone. He can't face himself, he rejects himself, and for two months he drops off the face of the earth. Part of that self-rejection is the destruction of everything he had connecting him to his old life, including a gemstone that allowed him to communicate with Maiph. When it breaks, so does hers, and she, Farric, and Lettic all fly off the rails in various different ways. They all think he's dead, and start unraveling almost immediately. When he doesn't come back from a mission, Anesaru and Relpier lose hope, and the actions they take out of desperation turn them into major antagonists. Sizen and Falder remain mostly sane, but they're worried about the way Alador is spinning out of control, which Queen Anesaru's mental state is not helping.

In the two months while all this is happening, Cellic just snaps. He starts killing people left and right, at first he tries to justify it by killing only criminals and soldiers of whoever his hallucinations decide is the "enemy" that day, but eventually he's murdering anyone he happens across while wandering out in the middle of nowhere. He's usually sane enough to know that the people he sees are often mere hallucinations, but he also does have the ability to see ghosts and the voice of an evil god in his head (picked up as a result of the torture and blood magic), so he's never entirely sure, so sometimes he kills people thinking they're illusory. He's definitely killed some people he knew were people though.

And finally, after plot happens, he's forced to confront the monster he's become, and he can't. He doesn't think that there is nothing sacrosanct, nothing whole, but he now knows that men are monsters, and he decides there's nothing worth living for, that continuing to live will only mean destroying everything he holds dear. The only problem is that his death would destroy the people he holds dear, and so, hopeless but unwilling to vanquish the hope of others, he survives without living, doing everything he can to keep those he loves from clinging to him so that when he's dragged into damnation they won't follow. And he spends Act II and part of Act III this way. I broke the guy, and I feel bad about it, I think because who he was before (though not to the extent as the person he will be after) is exactly the kind of person I would like to be. Who Cellic becomes is unquestionably the better man, but who he was before was so close to being that man, and in watching him fall so far in between the two, it almost feels like, as the author, I'm destroying a bit of my own soul. And painful though it may be, it's also glorious.

...

So that's my rant. It's... very long. You did ask, though, so I hope its length was to your liking!

[sbrn10]

1. This is not discourse.

2. "Why would he do this???" in relation to the person who jumped head first into fucking lava is such a weird question to me. Like, if you were already asking that back then, okay, that's valid, but if this a new question, I'm confused. Please note that I say this as someone who fully expected Matt to keyfish Ashton in that instant (probably because I do not actually play this game and 10d10 is, in my mind, not enough damage for being fully submerged in 1000+ degree molten rock lol).

3. I cannot stress enough how much I love the parallels between Laudna and Ashton and how much she doesn't seem to trust them almost BECAUSE of it. "I'm a dead end / I had nothing to live for until two years ago" vs. "I was never supposed to have anything. This is all nuts." And despite showing after showing of Ashton's (genuine, if sometimes poorly communicated) caring of and commitment to BH, not the least of which was the rock person throwing themselves into a damn river without hesitation to save Laudna's non-acrobatic ass, she sees Ashton's dumb fucking decisions (born largely OF being high on this newfound sense of purpose!) and is like, "I don't trust it." 😂😂😂

(Also, so curious whether watching Ashton almost explode himself will have changed Laudna's opinion on self-sacrifice, although I feel like there are plenty of ways she could distinguish and justify too lol.)

MARISHA. TAL. CAN UR KIDS HAVE A 1 ON 1 CONVERSATION PLS???

4. Anyway, I'm just so interested to see how the fallout of this decision will unfold. WE know that Ashton did this for many reasons, including at least one semi-selfless one that Fearne didn't seem to want the shard and Ashton was actually in some ways accommodating that and taking that burden away from her, but how many of them will think Ashton did it mostly because they selfishly (and/or in an obsessed with their Hishari fate way) wanted the power and will trust them less because of it, especially given the lie? Also, please let Fearne kick his ass in at least 42 different ways.

[rev3rb]

Hiya again! This month’s chapter was pretty straightforward and simple. Although I actually expected Paimon to go for something a little more subtle and strategic than a knife lol. And I am a bit confused on how Mika’s power caused the explosion. Poor thing though, he really was just trying to understand and do the right thing. But it doesn’t seem like this sacrifice prevents God from punishing them, which is what I really wanna get to. Rn I’m guessing that the punishment will involve the first turning into a vampire and the other angels turning into humans?? Regardless of what the punishment is, I’m a bit lost on what it does for the story. Like are we supposed to accept God’s action as the laws of nature or question his rules? When it comes to almost all of the other characters, we’ve already gotten information on their motivations and goals. Now that God has been introduced he’s a new unknown that I would some answers about. What about you? Thoughts on the new chapter?

Hey! Long time no see even though we talked briefly last month!

Simple and straightforward is a good way to put it. For once, the chapter isn't bombarding us with too many unanswered questions which is refreshing in a way.

I expected something more subtle too, especially bc this is supposed to be Rigr, and Rigr is all secret plans and subtlety. Guess these angels aren't exactly one to one... though given how little time he had, maybe Paimon just didn't have many options/opportunities for subtlety.

Eh, I have a feeling we won't get an exact explanation of angel Mika's powers just bc he's already kinda dead lol. He's powerful and that's probably all we need to know. Why he's that powerful is the real question here, one of which I'm not sure how to answer. Sika Madu obviously made him special but it's hard to speculate what that means exactly.

Ah, God. I'm not entirely sure if we're heading toward God being an actual character or if God will just stay as this punishing presence. I could see the story going either way. I think I'd honestly prefer God staying a presence as we already have a heaping of characters that are all doing similar things for their own selfishly selfless reasons. With that trend, if God became a character, there'd also probably be some sympathetic reason that 'the laws' need to be upheld or whatever. I'm ok with not having that and just having God stay 'taboos must not be committed bc this all powerful presence will punish you'. As for the actual punishment? I'm thinking that the punishment is going to come later after Sika Madu does something else to try and resurrect Mika. Mika is dead after all and Sika Madu seemingly hasn't found a way to cure that disease yet, so any taboos have been corrected. I would guess that there has to be some other taboo committed before any punishment actually happens. Considering all these angels aren't around anymore and all the ones we recognize are now demons, I would think it has something to do with destroying all that has been built here and killing or otherwise changing the angels on Earth. Only time will tell though I suppose. Maybe Sika Madu created mankind or something. Wouldn't that be something?

Now for my thoughts beyond this? Just one off thoughts here and there:

We really wasted more panel space watching Yu go "this stuff is exhausting but I'm eating so I'll be good". It feels unnecessary at this point. It didn't add anything, but we ended at a good stopping point so I'm not too upset about it.

"There's no time to explain" Paimon says as he then proceeds to explain everything lmao

In that same line of thought, you'd think Sika Madu would have gotten to the scene sooner since that explosion happened a fair amount of time before Mika did that to himself

I'm thinking that the Yu eye thing we see is going to be recycled into Sika Madu's next project that involves reviving Mika, that taboo I mentioned earlier. That's probably partially how the Yu we know today has memories of all this.

The cycle that is sacrificing yourself for your loved ones continues spinning round and round, though it's been slightly more subtle before now.

It feels like the past is starting to ish wrap up so I'm wondering if we only have a chapter or two more here in the past

[di-daynamic]

Ok, I'm going to say it.

I don't hate TV Sally Jackson. I just think she's a generic single mother slapped on with the name. Book Sally Jackson was very different.

The very first description we get of Sally is that she NEVER raises her voice at anyone. Ever. Not even Percy or Gabe (and the self-esteem of this child to hold himself at the same level as a abuser, I'm gonna sob).

For someone with anxiety and depression issues who constantly has a lack of motivation and is accused of being lazy and yelled at and pleaded with by parents all the time, this is a HUGE freaking deal. My parents are kind of like TV Sally - they have the best of intentions, but they just don't get it, and they yell, understandably, because of their own frustrations and ultimately for what in their opinion is my good.

Seeing Sally be short with a neurodivergent kid who just doesn't want to swim or leave her?? Understandable from a Stressed Single Parent™ but leaves a bad taste in my mouth from Book Sally Jackson, someone whose literal main character trait is patience and gentleness.

The Posally flashback scene was brilliant, though. Sally is very young and uncertain, and I love how it's shown how lonely she is. These are definitely traits worth exploring and I'm glad they did!!

There are just other flaws they could have explored rather than change from the book like this - the combination of selflessness and selfishness in her for example. The books DON'T say she's perfect. Percy does. She herself admits her selfishness there. She gave up everything to look after her uncle, lost her parents, was broke and had no diploma. After such a hard life, it isn't that much of a stretch to want to selfishly keep her son with her, despite the danger, despite the abuse he would be subjected to and the low self-esteem and suicidal and authority issues he would develop as a result of that. I wish this choice would be given more thought than just 'what a sacrifice!' and the show was the perfect opportunity for that.

I don't hate TV Sally Jackson. She's a great mother and an incredible person. She just isn't the BOOK Sally Jackson, and that was who I wanted to see onscreen.

tv sally jackson show haters can’t handle that she’s portrayed as a woman and not an angel

[makeste]

I like Bakuguo but his attitude is starting to really piss me off. He's talking about Daku as if he's just ~crazy~ and as if he isn't partly to blame for Deku's toxic self-worth issues. It's infuriating to watch. If Bakuguo doesn’t admit out loud and in front of his friends that his bullying of Deku played a part in Deku's current destructive state and if he doesn’t verbally apologize and reaffirm Deku's worth then I can no longer like Bakuguo's character or Hori's writing.

tbh I don't really know why this is the discourse of choice for people all of a sudden, but this is already the second ask I've gotten about it, so I might as well address it lol.

I think fandom is conflating fanon!Deku and canon!Deku here again. fanon Deku is of course much more sensitive and woobified and has much shakier self-esteem. fanon Deku is the one that turns evil in so many AUs because of Kacchan's bullying. fanon Deku is the one that actually jumps off the roof in so many fics, as opposed to fishing his notebook back out of the pond a few minutes later grumbling about how Kacchan needs to think before he speaks or else he could land himself in serious shit one day if god forbid anyone actually does take his cruel words to heart.

and just to clarify before I get any further, I am not saying this to excuse Kacchan's actions in any way, because what he did was still completely terrible and unacceptable and WAY over the line, and what's more he knew it, too. the bullying was still shitty and horrible and awful, and definitely impacted Deku and made him miserable. I fully acknowledge that, and that Kacchan has a lot of atoning to do for it. this is not a "Kacchan did nothing wrong" post.

but that being said, I don't think canon Deku's reckless self-sacrificing nature actually has anything to do with the bullying. I think they're two completely separate things. canon Deku actually has pretty decent self-esteem in spite of everything Kacchan did to him. canon Deku doesn't think he is useless. canon Deku had a wholeass fight with Kacchan less than 10 chapters into the series in which he explicitly spelled it out for Kacchan that he had a lot of worth, and was going to prove it to him. canon Deku was persistent in wanting to become a hero and hoping and believing that he could find some way in spite of being quirkless. canon Deku never let go of that dream even when no one else supported it. I don't think he would have even given up on it after being told no by All Might, tbh -- we just never got to see how it would have played out because of everything that happened with the sludge monster shortly afterward. but he's not the type to ever give up on something that easily, and we've seen that. canon Deku never thought he was useless, but rather wanted to prove to everyone else that he wasn't.

the drive that Deku has to save and protect others even at the expense of his own safety is something entirely separate from that. he doesn't break his body for others simply because he has no self-esteem and thinks that his own life isn't important. he does it because he can't stand the thought of someone else getting hurt, and knowing that he could have done something to prevent it. it's as simple as that. like, Spider-Man has the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" thing, right? and he doesn't have low self-esteem; he simply believes that if he has the ability to help someone else, then he has a responsibility to help them. it's a personal creed. and Deku is based on Spider-Man. his philosophy is based on that philosophy, which was one of Horikoshi's core influences and is one of the core creeds in superhero fiction.

Deku is self-destructive not because he doesn't value himself, but because he is literally physically incapable of standing back and doing nothing if he knows that he can do something. he's the type of person who sees a car speeding towards someone and leaps in to push them out of the way. NOT because he wants to get himself fucking pancaked by a speeding car, but simply because he can't sit back and watch the other person get hurt without taking action. his body moves before he can think. and that's where the whole "doesn't take himself into account" thing comes in -- the fact that his thought process simply stops at "get them out of the way of the car", and never extends beyond that to "hey, and maybe I should try to find a way to do this that doesn't involve me getting hit in their place." to him, that's simply less important than the first priority, which is getting the other person out of the way.

and regarding that last part, while that may seem like a self-worth issue if he's prioritizing everyone else above himself, I think what it actually is just selflessness taken to extremes. like for instance, when a parent sacrifices themselves to save their child, them placing the child's life above their own isn't necessarily because they don't see themselves as having value. rather, it's that they love the child so much that they place their well-being even above their own. and that's what Deku is like as well. except that in his case he cares about EVERYONE, and so is willing to sacrifice himself for anyone. and that selflessness is his defining character trait, and simultaneously the most admirable and the most terrifying thing about him. it's both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness, which I think is fascinating to explore.

but anyway, so that's also why we never really see anyone thoroughly chewing him out for this behavior either. because the thing is, it is admirable how selfless he is. it's just that there's also a reason why most people are at least a little bit selfish. and that's because too much selflessness will ultimately and inevitably wind up getting you killed. at some point you either have to learn when to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, or else find yourself a loyal group of friends (or classmates) to watch your back, and make sure that mask gets on you when you need it. and maybe help you land the plane too while they're at it.

anyway so that was a lot of rambling, but basically it all boils down to three things:

when Deku berates himself for being useless (for instance at the end of the War arc), he's doing it out of frustration for not being able to push the others out of the way of the metaphorical car. that's the kind of uselessness he can't stand. the sitting-back-and-doing-nothing uselessness.

Kacchan's bullying was terrible, and it might have indeed played a part in Deku's choice of the word "useless" as a way of berating himself in these instances, but he is not the one who gave Deku this mindset of taking himself out of the equation. that's something that was already inherent to Deku from day one. (but that said, Kacchan has a lot of things to apologize to Deku for anyway, so if he wants to add this to the list I certainly won't stop him. he gets mad about Deku's suicidal attitude because it worries him, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't feel responsible for it. people underestimated his feelings of atonement before 284/285, and I think they're still underestimating him now.)

and lastly, one last important note, which is that Deku's current "saving" mindset isn't wrong, just as Kacchan's "winning" mindset was not wrong either. the lesson to be learned here is NOT that being selfless and wanting to save other people is bad. rather, it's the fact that he's trying to do it alone that's got him all fucked up right now. basically when you think about it, selflessness is really just selfishness on someone else's behalf. which means that in order for Deku to be saved, it isn't necessary for him to change his outlook or his selfless attitude, even if it is pretty crazy lol. rather, all he really needs is a good group of friends who are willing to act selfishly on his behalf in return. protecting each other through mutual selflessness lol. teamwork as self-preservation. hence why the U.A. kids are here now.

anyway so yeah, I think that's everything. sorry this got so long and out of control lol. this is just a very specific nuanced thing that's hard for me to express, but which I feel is very important when it comes to Deku's character. Kacchan didn't unleash Depressed Nomad Deku on the world (or at least not in this respect). but that being said, he and the others will hopefully be the ones to nudge him back on the right course again.