#death doesnt absolve anything

[red-dyed-sarumane]

i like to think apoptosis tries to lie to tenshi but tenshi cares too much & has figured her out pretty well & can see through most of it. i dont have much to support this beyond the fact theyre clearly heavily tied together across their songs.

[enby-axels]

wei wuxian is so misunderstood it's painful. "he's a remorseless mass murderer" yall. he canonically does feel bad about it. not to mention that imo guilt (as an emotion) is overly valorized. but more importantly, the discourse's emphasis on condemning wwx for situations literally out of his control undermines the novel's abolitionist themes. like the protagonist himself practically spells it out for you

they can ambush him, try to execute him. they can pledge to murder him and the wen survivors. but he cant defend himself? -> is he just supposed to accept that? when they condemn him for fighting back, the implication is that they expect unflinching, self-sacrificing obedience; that their violence is legitimized; that by delegitimizing the violence he did in self-defense, they can absolve themselves of responsibility. but how can he be at fault, for refusing to lay down his life? when the oppressed take up arms to save themselves, destabilizing the authority of the ruling class, and extreme violence erupts, who is ultimately responsible?

their admiration and contempt are insignificant. + he doesnt expect people to forgive him -> he has no interest in their approval. how can the cultivation world have the moral authority to blame or exonerate wwx, when they are responsible for the injustice done to him and still sanctimoniously monopolize claims to innocence and victimhood? what would punishing him even achieve? it doesnt do anything to transform the conditions that led to all those deaths. it doesnt challenge the institutions that forced him to be their enemy in the first place. and it's just viciously oppressive to hold a survivor accountable for patterns of violence he didnt perpetrate

like at the end of the day i think people are just mad that wwx refuses to be a conveniently pacifistic, self-flagellating target lmao. he understands what's going on, the politics of violence and underlying systems of power. he doesnt give a shit about respecting them. militant abolitionist characters my beloved

[lazaruspiss]

Ok I’m gonna shoot my question here while you are in a analysis red hood mode (??): what do you think about his mommy issues (and fandom’s making it a trope)?

ooooo oh ok ok. this ones touchy. while i dont think its that present in canon i do think its there and worth the however many fics there are about it. like obvi theres probably a lot of boring and/or bad takes about it but the concept itself isnt running contradictory to canon or anything. i reread aditf a bit for this and had some tangents ill put in another post, but back to mommy issues.

jason had very little parental presence in his life at all. dads in prison, moms sick, he has no one looking out for him. probably why he and bruce seem to have bonded fairly quickly and jason accepted him as a father figure faster than any of the others. jasons bar for what makes a decent parent was nonexistent bc hed never really had someone dedicated to taking care of him. (even damian was hesitant, bc bruce being his dad would create distance between him and dick bc dick would no longer be his mentor, and hed gotten a bit attached)

jason accepted bruce as a father, but still missed his parents. he loved and grieved for both of them and most likely missed the idea of having normal parents in general in addition to missing his parents themselves. his love for his mom is still there when he realizes shes his step-mom instead, but it's accompanied by the hope that he still has living family out there.

the fact that jason went on a mom hunt in the first place is already enough that im like, yeah, i see where the mommy issues talk comes from. but i think you can go a few different directions with it

so theres catherine todd, who we only really know as being sick and a substance user throughout jasons childhood up until her death. iirc she died while willis was either already dead or in prison and so theres a period of time where jason (10-12ish?) would be taking care of his mother alone. being your mother's caretaker when you're still in elementary school does not make for a normal relationship.

and sheila haywood was uh. an illegal surgeon of sorts who fled the country and started a new life. apparently had an existing connection to the joker when she lived in gotham. he knows who she is and he knows how to blackmail her. while sheila describes it to jason as an operation gone wrong, joker calls it an "illegal surgery that killed a teenage girl" and sheila didnt seem to dispute that. probably watered down a lot of details in her explanation to jason. (the combination of 'illegal' and 'teenage girl' feels like it could imply an abortion? but it's left vague) and THEN it turns out she was stealing money meant to be used to save starving refugees before the joker even showed up. she sure is something. she still tries to help jason after he helps her, but don't skip over the part where she helps him after he helps her. she is still a person, but she is a fundamentally selfish person in every way. her final words include her commenting on how jason was a good kid who loved his mother. ive seen people take her final moments as a show that she still loved him, but i don't see it. one of those "a person doing a fraction of a good thing doesnt absolve them of everything else" kind of deals.

in both cases jasons mother(s) were relying on him. he never had an opportunity to be cared for and treated like a child. i don't think jason would have specific "mommy issues" about either of them, i think that he'd have some heavy feelings about the concept of a mother itself. what's it like to have a mom? does he still have a chance to be cared for and nurtured? his childhood was over before he had even met batman. becoming robin and being murdered is just tripling the issues he would've already had about his childhood regardless.

this is starting to veer off topic but

yes im finding a way to make this about Brothers in Blood. bite me. but even the first time i read this something that really stuck out is how jasons imaginary version of dick refers to him as a kid. dick doesnt really... do that. he did back when jason really was a kid, but this page says a lot about jasons self perception. he still wants to be taken care of, even if its not specifically "mommy issues" he definitely yearns for a chance to be treated like a kid again, after having rarely gotten that kind of care when he was a kid. (this page in particular is the first page of nightwing (1996) #121, which is one that i have a physical copy of <3)

[wawawawawawawawawawawawawa]

anon who doesnt have aspd and taught myself empathy here yet again! i am Now Thinking and remembering that a huge part of why i've never tried to go to therapy or anything is coz like i Know i'd use what i learn to like, manipule ppl better and shit. i enjoy playing w ppl Too much and coz Fun Childhood i've been good at it all my life, but cognitively i recognise its bad so it would be bad and not fair for me to go to therapy and get even better at it and manipulate ppl i love for my own fun. and like even i dont do illegal shit or even like drink alcohol or smoke coz then i can keep the moral high ground in arguments w ppl and i can say whatever i want and call em out on shit and create a fuss for them and stir the pot and they cant call me a hypocrite. like so much of what i do is about making sure i have a level of ability to manipulate and control ppl and situations. so many behaviours which arent explained by autism, idk why i've just brushed all of them aside except that i've gotten bored by overthinking abt them, and ive mostly gotten to a point where they're under control and im content w life

but back to remorse and empathy i honestly just think they're not really necessarily useful things and ppl place so much importance on "oh im such a good person i have so much empathy" but will also use their empathy/remorse to control ppl? like i know ppl w bpd who use their genuine guilt and worries and stuff to get ppl to feel sorry for them and indulge them instead of confronting and working on it. like even ppl w/o mental illness will sometimes try to use the fact they feel bad abt smth to erase their culpability instead of actually fixing their mistakes. it can be confronting for them that some ppl can be like "oh shit i made a mistake. fuck. oh well" (and sometimes fix their mistake/take responsibility) w/o remorse or other emotions to it coz i think it makes them realise their emotion doesnt absolve them

thanks to listening to me ramble!

man i feel that, im also obsessed with having the moral high ground, except i think my view of morality is the best one and everyone else is stupid. also i'm a hypocrite. i also hate hypocrites! yes this in of itself is hypocritical i am aware. do something morally reprehensible? shame on you! doesn't matter that i do the same thing with no intent to stop. its over anakin i have the moral high ground!! i have Standards and Morals and also i'm correct all the time. if i had the death note there would be no story and everything would be okay. i simply would not go mad with power and i'd only kill people who are deserving of it

also yeah i hate the empathy = morality thing i hate it so so so so much. i do think cognitive empathy is a useful tool and remorse can be useful as like, the emotions equivalent of getting spritzed with a water bottle and also you are a cat. do something shitty? feel remorse? my cuck ass is NEVER doing that again!! because remorse felt so bad the first time, why would i risk doing it Again and feeling remorse Again? its just not worth it. but then again if you get more and more used to its presence it wouldnt work all that great and also would suck balls

and i've known a dude w bpd who was like that, and ive known people with good ol fashioned Anxiety Disorder that were like that- worse, even! they thought that bc they had anxiety, they were these cutesy little waifs and anything they did could be rebutted with "but i have anxietttyyyyyy" and everyone was just expected to pity them because of it- no matter what they did! people put too high of an emphasis on emotion as the standard of morality- if you're a scared abuse victim, thats Moral and you are Pitiable, which is Good. however if you fought back, you are Immoral and you are Secretly Probably The Aggressor, which is Bad. (consequently, if you're too scared, that's Moral, however you Didn't Fight Back, which means you were acting Illogically, and Had It Coming, therefore you are Bad) which is hypocritical as fuck! ive taken responsibility w/o remorse and i've takne responsibility with remorse and remorse is Not the important part of this argument, it's emotional intelligence.

[crypto-jn]

I know it's old beans at this point but I can't help talking about the whole "batman punching mentally ill people", "he should just kill them" or "he could do more as a philanthropist than a superhero" and they're just stupid talking points from people that don't actually read the comics and it shows

Firstly Bruce IS a MASSIVE philanthropist. He's got three charities named after his father, mother, and Alfred, on top of the Wayne foundation. He also has a construction division that repairs damage to the city made from fights ALL free of charge paid for out of pocket by Bruce himself along with pay for homes and the rent of people displaced by said fights. "But he could be doing more" he's got four or five different charity foundations on top of being a world saving superhero what more could he do? A major part of the underside of Gotham is the court of owls a collection of all the oldest and wealthiest families in Gotham's history who will stop at nothing to preserve their wealth and control of the city. It's why so many super villains don't get put to death (besides being a comic and needing the characters to make stories) because those super villains are useful to the court of owls and so they buy off the courts and police and prisons and everything else in the city. All of Bruce's philanthropy would fix practically everything irl but he's being stopped at every point by an underground oligarchy, uber-capitalist, death cult.

As for the former yes their mental health issues are serious problems that need to be treated (just like they should be irl) IT DOESNT EXCUSE OR ABSOLVE THEM OF THEIR ACTIONS!!! "They need real therapeutic help, not punching and prison" yes that's why they get sent to arkham which yes in the past was a horrible place like many mental health facilities of the past both irl and in fiction but in recent years both in irl and in fiction these places have become legitimate mental health facilities. Arkham is state of the art with some of the greatest therapists, and psychologists in the world trying to help people like the joker, two face, and many others through their problems because yes they are mentally ill and need help BUT THEY'RE ALSO SUPER VILLAINS!!! they can't and won't be stopped with anything other than force! You think the joker is going to stop blowing shit up unless he gets the shit beat outta him? No! He also doesn't use anymore force than necessary especially for the goons because more often than not they're people who have no other choice!

"why doesn't he just kill them" because no one man should hold the power to make that decision! I agree some of them probably should die but it's not only stupid but unfair to expect that burden to be put on one person. And also the treatment they receive from Arkham and Bruce himself works! Harley has been rehabilitated and is now a hero and part of the batfam, orphan is now part of the batfam, Jason after he became red hood has now been rehabilitated, Ivy while she still has some extreme views is no longer an eco-facist and has been rehabilitated. Bane has been rehabilitated (in some runs but idk if he is in the current run) while yes these are horrible people many of them are victims of experimentation, the joker, or abuse and need help and need the opportunity to grow and change and become better people and when they're given that chance they do become better people

All of these complaints against batman are really just stupid, clearly wrong, and coke from people that in all likelihood have never touched a comic in their life.

TLDR: people are dumb and there's reasons he doesn't do those things or he already does

[themoonstarwarrior]

Okay so... I wasn't gonna say anything cuz a lot of people were already saying it way better than me lol. But I really cant get over how AWFUL that decision was from a writing perspective.

KillCode is/was the ONLY person who could even hope to relate to BloodMoon. That's the very reason he "adopted" them. KillCode knows what it's like to have a hunger that never fades. KillCode knows what it's like to want chaos and destruction. KILLCODE KNOWS WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE A TOOL FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESNT CARE WHAT YOU THINK!

And while I guess Eclipse convinced the Twins that KC was using them too (though I don't remember if KC himself said it) which is why they hate KC post resurrection, KC admitted to Moon that their death brought a sense of loss, so there was CLEARLY something real there since he wouldn't have a reason to lie to Moon at that point.

So now KC has a new respect for life and is hiding out to avoid the Creator WHO WAS USING HIM and BloodMoon finds him. I would understand KC seeing BloodMoon as a representation of the past he now hates and that causing strife, but surely the ORIGINATOR of the twins bloodlust would believe that there was a chance to change them if he could. As everyone else has said, this was KCs chance to put his money where his mouth is, and TRY to help BloodMoon since he is the ONLY ONE WHO CAN.

BloodMoon can still refuse to change. Hell, they could even still kill KC, which would show to the audience that despite what Sun's hallucination said the Twins do not want to be redeemed. That also absolves KC and makes him less of a waste.

They are sending BloodMoon down the same path as Eclipse, who decayed from a character perspective until the only choice was to kill him off for good. But whereas Eclipse technically never "died", not like Lunar/BM, and had his own lack of direction and purpose atrophy his ability to both be the villian or be redeemed, BloodMoon got brought back just to be used for other villians since they're too wild/impulsive to be a solo antagonist, have no one actually try to change them, and eventually be killed AGAIN because they pose too much of a threat to the main characters.

KC forcing BloodMoon to stay and rehabilitate follows with the charactization that has already been established for these characters and gives them something to DO. They dont even need to have their own show (tho itd be cool) because the Main Characters would know that BM is being handled and KC is being of some use. It would be a reasonable way to narrow the character focus if needed while also not stagnating these characters to the point where you have to fridge them or making them OOC and pissing everyone off. Cough.

BloodMoon wants to be free, but due to their nature they CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO. Unless they have a redemption arc their final outcome is just to be killed off again. BloodMoon doesn't want to be anyone's tool, but as a character they cannot direct themselves alone, toward villainy or rehabilitation. So they are ALWAYS going to be a tool until they die or change, and that's frustrating for the audience.

The decision the writers made (at least for now) not only made KC and Moons sacrifice pointless, but also BloodMoons resurrection. They still have time to turn it around, reveal KCs survival and head in this MUCH more reasonable direction that everyone has put forward. And for the shows sake I hope they do because they've all put in too much work in this world to make a retroactively debilitating mistake like this.

DO YOU WANT A BLOODMOON REDEMPTION ARC? OR DO YOU WANT HIM STILL BE EVIL? sorry I crave conversation too

I want him to have a redemption arc but the way I want it is impossible (Kill Code is DEAD)

[lyteupthelyfe]

*sigh*

I've never wanted to get tangled up in anything but i've seen some dragledE discourse around and like.

I've always been of the firm opinion that by the end of the second half of the game, on every route but Crimson Flower, she quite literally does not want to go to war anymore.

"bUt WhY DoEsNT sHe eND ThE WAr sHE's EmPErOr CaN't ShE jUSt EnD thE waR"

because I believe that as far as she sees it, she can't.

it's like she's contractually obligated to see the war through.

We're talking about someone who went through immense childhood trauma (and no, this does not absolve her of starting the war and everything else), either after or near the end of the period of time where almost all the Imperial houses wanted to overthrow her father because he was doing a splendid job at wanting to hoard all the power for himself.

And like. It's not like the nobles who participated in the Insurrection aren't still in their positions of power during the game's events. So. Say something happened that could make Hresvelg's hold to power seem dubious. Like even more than Ionius pulling his shenanigans. Could they not like--and this is speculation--decide to...idk, seize control of the Empire if they essentially pull a vote of no confidence on you-know-who's ass? (They could probably even be all like, "see? who thought putting a 17y/o girl on the throne would be a good idea?", because without something that compromises Hresvelg, the nobility are still subordinate too and at the whim of the Imperial House)

Beyond that, we see in her declaration of war (manifesto? is that the word?) that she makes a couple VERY big claims, made more significant because the Church has its roots and foundations in Adrestia, but yet after the dissolution of the Southern Church and the Central Church's increasing centralisation, there is a very plausible simultaneous connection and disconnection between the Adrestian people and the Seiros faith--the faith is something old and increasingly (relatively) alien to them, this, this new and bright and shiny promise of change and something Adrestian to put their faith in, I'd reckon, is something very attractive.

And then, there's also TWSITD. We see from *gestures to the entire game* that they're manipulative bastards who think parading around in the likenesses of people who are probably dead counts as a top-tier infiltration and manipulation. We see from Hapi, the Hrym-Ordelia debacle and the War of Heroes--at the very least--that in addition to being manipulative, they decide to use that manipulation to also be VERY opportunistic in casually using everyone else to accomplish their own goals. What we also see with Hapi, the Ordelia's, Kronya, and arguably Nemesis, too, is that as SOON as they're done with someone, or something, they VERY quickly discard them with a callous deficiency of care. What's also interesting is that the Flame Emperor's actions at the end of chapter 1 can seem extremely cruel, as she goes "you failed to do what i wanted, so you die" to Kostas, who does, indeed, die, but not at her direct hands.

Looks like someone had the values and "tactical" approaches of TWSITD, all inter-generational trauma-like, ingrained into them, because where else do we see this exact same approach? Thales accuses Kronya of compromising their plans with her risky experiments to see if she could turn humans into monsters, and only saves her from death so that the "the secrets of their bodies are kept safe"--so she survives, yes? Except wait Thales manipulates and lies to her too because whoop-de-do he tells her to work with Solon, she's delighted to do whatever reparations she can to Not Die, except lmao she gets pranked in the Sealed Forest and does die as punishment in a way that also furthers TWSITD's goals (until Byleth frees themself from Zahras, that is).

And the whole schtick with TWSITD's imperial experiments was to create the Flame Emperor to all Nemesis-like achieve their own goals for them with limited finger-lifting from TWSITD's part.

So TWSITD grooms you-know-who for this specific role once she survives getting her second crest, imposing upon her the "need" to expose Fodlan's truths, painting the ends as justifying the means, propping the Church up as as corrupt as possible, or at the very least to see them in as bad faith as possible.

However I don't think they gave her the "liberation" idea. This might be going out on a limb, but I'd say that from always being under Thales' wing, or her Father's watch, or simply the immense loneliness that her life must have been, and continued to have been, even in the Officer's Academy. When she taught Dimitri to dance, she seemed genuinely happy. If I remember correctly, by the end of her support chain with Hubert, she's been ever telling him to be more of a friend to her.

Quite possibly one of the reasons she's so startled by Dimitri's parting gift is that she simply has no idea what to do with a dagger to cut her own path with, and after the tragedy of losing almost every family member she'd ever known, through her trauma recontextualises her experiences to think "ah, yes, my own path will be to do what is expected of me because that is what will make the people around me happy and will make me feel accomplished" because, if the three points about the factors that relate to her declaration of war are true, she's been more or less instructed that she carries the weight and fate of house Hresvelg and consequently the entire Adrestian Empire on her achievements.

From here a couple of my points will probably align with this post I made on a similar topic, but now in addition to Edelgard being so immensely lonely by the end of the war, i think she's also tired. She has to stay in this thing otherwise she'll look like she's reneging on a promise to her people, a promise to her father, and a promise to herself, as well as on her agreement with TWSITD, if that accounts for anything. If she stops the war she'll be going against TWSITD, and she knows enough about them to know, if not consciously then subconsciously, that she'd die for it. At Gronder she all but laments that these people are truly her enemies now. After her defeat on VW and SS, she wails about how, "even now, across this land, people are dying", or something that carries the sentiment. Her dream becomes her nightmare, and she was never prepared.

I'd argue that part of her impetus for bellowing that she will free the people of Fodlan, and part of the reason that she's so idealised on winning the war and then turning against TWSITD, is because she wants to be free. If she's been taught that her purpose is to serve and lead the empire and its people, then I can imagine that she believe that the people's freedom is her freedom.

But she's chained to the war because she probably doesn't know what else to do.

Because if she does anything else, or steps out of line, TWSTID will make her pay the consequence. Just like how they destroy Arianrhod the moment Edelgard betrays them and kills Cornelia. Head held high, jaw tight, past and memories as fragile as shattered glass, she has to stay or else she has no idea what could happen.

She keeps the mask up, and does as much in a final desperation that this is what she wants, what she needs, and what is best for the people of Fodlan, what she is, for the final map of Azure Moon.

And so, like, ig by the time she's defeated on VW and SS, she can finally let at least some of her true thoughts on the war out, and realise (albeit probably quite reluctantly) that with the situation TWSITD (the bastards) have ensured, the way forward to a peaceful Fodlan "lies across [her] grave"

Don't get me wrong, there were probably several times throughout her life and definitely during part one where she's is very convicted in her beliefs and truly thinks that they're the best way forward, and does do quite literally morally wrong things, but I believe that by the end of part two, after she's been at the centre of this war for five years, that she realises or at least considers that she might've just been a pawn for TWSITD all this time, just like Nemesis, and if not regret the war then at the very least have a kind of re-evaluation of what she's actually trying to accomplish and why, and how it all started out.

Maybe part of that is why in the non-CF routes she holds Rhea hostage, rather than killing her--idk though I'd have to do more thinking on that specific point to figure more of it out.

Idk. 3h is in a lot of ways a tragedy, and part of that tragedy, I think, is that Edelgard is here, with a set of ardent beliefs she thinks are her own, aiming to accomplish something great, something remarkable, something that will put her down in the annals of history as a hero, something that will make the people she grew up around proud, but instead ends up tired and lonely, acting out the motions, ultimately either insisting, pretending and lying to herself that those imposed beliefs are hers AND are who she is, or lamenting the war and wishing that she could have had the freedom and choice to "walk with you,"--either quite literally Byleth and the Beagles, or Claude and the air of freedom and hope that he strives to make true.

And else on Crimson Flower just lives out her "dreams" and goals and aims and what she's been taught and told to do and believe in, taking full action and ownership of what she does on that route--concealing the truth about Arianrhod to manipulate her commanders, acting almost like a member of TWSITD would--once she has Byleth back at her side.

With the given Crest of Flames and the Crest of Seiros, I suppose that makes her the High Priestess who had the World forced upon her.

bruh now i just feel sad for Edelgard

[itonje]

i accidentally unfollowed you trying to send this ask... thats the anti anti song of achilles agenda trying to hijack me. anyway i dont know anything about greek stuff and ive never read song of achilles but i love drama, whats wrong with it?

HI also this has happened thrice with my mutuals once with claudio and once with ramon everyone unfollows me whilst trying to send asks anyways uhh i think the song of achilles is a poor iliad adaptation that kind of makes the characters either really milquetoast or really caricaturized beyond belief (the one character i think they did...relatively less awful with briseis just because for ONCE. for ONCE an adaptation didnt make her in love with achilles and actually leaned into her relationship with patroclus more which i really like as in the iliad the one time she speaks its not even about achilles lol. but she still only rlly exists to augment the achilles and patroclus relationship and also she dies in a really awful way which i HATE). like if a character is not made like wildly evil (agamemnon, thetis, neoptolemus and the latter i find funny cause hes just as bad as his dad is in the iliad and iliadic related content) theyre declawed to all HELL

and thetis being evil makes me so mad when she has a good relationship with achilles, maybe one of the most important relationships with achilles in the iliad, his best loved one other than patroclus, and its implied she cares for patroclus as well as shes the one to preserve his body and keep it from rotting but in here shes just. the homophobe mom who only exists to keep achilles and patroclus apart bc she hates patroclus which is SO stupid because it goes against one of her biggest character traits which is ‘she loves achilles so much and would do anything for him’ as well as so many of the women in this story only being a wedge between achilles and patroclus’ relationship (like deidamia) which is so misogynist and pisses me off SO much because theres so much more you could do with that! like i understand making the gods more distant and abstract and cold to humanity but there are canonically cruel ass gods in the iliad and thetis is not one of them!!! 

and going back to my declawed comment objectively the worst characterization here is patroclus. in the iliad patroclus is known to be very friendly and likeable among the greeks, he weeps when he hears of them being beaten by the trojans and one of his epithets is even ‘amicable’, as well as briseis saying he was the sweetest to her when she became a slave (because yes she was a slave she literally was a slave and no one acknowledges that because god forbid achilles and his men could be the the BAD guys here). 

 but hes not just nice lol! hes known to be a fantastic fighter and when he dons the armor of achilles and goes to fight the trojans he has the highest kill count of any iliad character! he tries to mount the walls of troy because he wants to destroy shit so bad he may be nice to the greeks but hes also an incredibly formidable and violent fighter (and he killed a guy at the age of 12 by the way hes just wild i love my crazy boyfriend soooo much) and tsoa just makes him. incompetent lol? so that achilles can like rescue him all the time which is so silly...lean into the warrior boyfriends dynamic you want to have warrior boyfriends who are crazy and kill people in your books SOOO bad 

also the song of achilles doesnt even lean into the kind aspect of him yeah hes nice to briseis and the women but where are his friendships w the greek men lol? what about him and menelaus?? theyre really good friends in the iliad, menelaus getting upset over patroclus’ death is heartbreaking too. 

but patroclus isnt an active character, everything that happens to him is just that-it happens to him. he makes NO active choices at all the only thing he does is ask achilles to let him fight for the greeks. hes just a witness to EVERYTHING he does NOTHING of genuine importance or active choice and i know that it was written like this so it could make achilles seem more important, (as well as leaning into the ‘oh we have no choice when it comes to how the gods play us’ but i would argue in the iliad whilst a theme of us being victims to our grander fate is there, the iliad also says that even though we cant control our ultimate futures we CAN control the choices we have in front of us, achilles giving back hectors body wont bring back pat or make him. not die eventually but he still does, and its still important. maybe the MOST important choice he makes. but thats... another thing lol) it is tsoa after all, but patroclus is also a main fucking character lol? and as important as achilles is to patroclus’ character so is patroclus’ to achilles! 

also even achilles seems like hes strung around first by his mother and then by the war and god it all seems like this is all here to absolve achilles of responsibility, to absolve him of wrong doing when in the iliad achilles does many many many things wrong as well as just being a bit of. an emotional hotcase (lol), and thats what makes him interesting! but no hes just whitewashed so that we dont have to feel bad for liking him and we wont find patroclus morally dubious for just going along with all of achilles’ shit out of love (when patroclus, like i said above, also does bad shit cause thats just how these characters are...most of the greeks do awful wretched shit in the iliad lol and they still are heroes with compelling characters cause like. moral ambiguity baybee) 

anyways this is all to say as an iliad adaptation it sucks. as a gay love story though. its fine lol? again. not my fav dynamic for these two but. this book isnt meant for people who are like hardcore achilles kinnies or whatever the fuck or have been reading and fixating on greek myth since they were baby like me lol. i know there are lgbt kids who read percy jackson or whatever or are vaguely familiar with greek myth who are going to read this book and see themselves in it and be happy and content with the rep and thats wonderful. i recognize this book isnt really supposed to be for readers like me who are hardasses about adaptation and its okay for people to enjoy it as less of a greek myth interpretation and as the romance it actually is. the writing is very beautiful and yes it inspired some (positive) emotions out of me regardless. 

however if youre looking for gay greek myth content that actually has pretty interesting and compelling characters, with various heartbreaking stories and fascinating themes about divinity, fate, humanity, and love well. just read the iliad. 

[narutosidebitch]

Should the scouts also be held accountable for the rumbling and genocidal deaths with eren?

Honestly Idk.

Because if u think about it, the rumbling wouldn't have happened if the scouts did not intefere to protect zeke and eren and ensuring that they meet. But if they did not intefere then both of them would have died and paradis would have officially lost the war by losing their superior titans as military power.

So instead of believing that there is no hope in protecting Paradis they chose to believe the little hope that eren would protect paradis. And who convinced them of this? It was Armin as he still held on to a small naive hope that eren would not abide to the euthanization plan-

while completely pushing back what he truly believed eren would possibly do but couldnt believe he would actually do it by being blinded by emotions-

since he is going against a friend, someone he felt he no longer understood yet tried to understand via past interactions and relationship with him and refuting the possibility that he had changed. ( This can also kinda parallel with armin and bertholdts second meeting in RTS with Armin relying on the past interaction which simply did not work in his favour as of now with Eren)

And when it doesnt go well and eren does the worst case scenario armin was afraid would happen how did he react?

1. He was trying to convince himself about eren's true intentions

Yet that wasn't the case especially after this eren revealed his true plan to all of the other eldians.

2. He gave up and succumbed to the pressure of not being able to have dealt with the situation in a better way that was doubled up with his imposter syndrome and survivor's guilt

3.He tried to run away. Armin tried to run away from the situation. The Armin we all know whether he is winning or losing he does not run away as running away is a sign of defeat.

Thats why his convo with Connie is important as he rediscovered the meaning of being a survey corps soldier without having to be tied down by anything yet still charging foward without running away while seeking to gain knowledge and understanding.

Now some people are saying that armin has been written here by Isayama as Jesus or by being absolved(free from guilt, blame and responsibility) and that its bad writing or some shit but to me he and the rest of the scouts plus the alliance are trying to take responsibility by stopping the genocide that wouldnt have happened if they didnt enable it, plus chapter 133 shows how they have felt guilt, blame themselves yet accept themselves being irredeemable as they have come to perfectly relate to RBA.

And thats it for my rambling again😊

[ritzcuit]

not to make this post insanely long but while i was writing ^ that, which i have no reason for posting bc it was literally nothing, but anyway i connected a dot thats making me laugh

Cus i was like. "am i crazy or does daryan not even state a motive. isnt that the aa trope?? the criminal gets caught and has a breakdown and then solemnly is like I did crimes because reason. And then goes offscreen. but daryan doesnt do that rly. he has his breakdown and then fucks off foreva

And its like. ok man. thanks. so what. we're left to infer that daryan was the [cowardly seller] looking for a buyer. But then waittt lmfao CUS

MACHI SAYS THIS... ANSD ITS LIKE...WAIT. YOU NEEDED THE MONEY?! IS MACHI THE [COWARDLY SELLER]? SO WHAT THE HELL DID DARYAN EVEN DO

Not to blame the 14 yr old boy for anything but also in hindsight being 14 is crazy. 14 yr olds are kind of inherently criminals so it's fine to be honest. BUT WAITTT. CUS THIS READING IS EVEN MORE INTERESTING THAN WHAT I WAS GOING WITH...Maybe. or maybe it's nothing.

Bc who contacted who first then. ?!?!! chief justice -> daryan and daryan -> machi or machi -> daryan do you think...? the CJ was like hey crescend your band is going to borginia right, i heard abt the cocoon, my dead ass son is dying to death, hmu right? and daryan had to hunt for a seller...? Actually idc about any of this it doesnt rly change anything. BUT IT'S FUNNY KINDA. Im not trying to totally absolve daryan of making bad choices bc that's boring... like no matter what he's stupid LMFAO but i just want it to be a stupid that makes sense. And doesnt piss me off.

i mean in my defense daryans motive is At best implied before they knew who did it. And its a stupid motiveLIKE ITS. MONEY??? FOR THE MONEYYYY??? IS "WORKING TWO JOBS ONE OF WHICH IS AN EXTREMELY POPULAR ROCK BAND" POOR TO YOU????????AHRHRHFGHHF

[al-lewinsky]

also my extensive thoughts on squid game for some ... odd reason:

excellent til ep 6 and just got progressively worse frm there and the final episode was pathetic - im sorry. you can tell that they gave up in the writing room after that point LOL. im sad abt it tho the marble ep made me think this was going to become my fav kdrama but then the writing flopped severely so .... awks

i felt the commentary on class was very effective & nuanced until they brought in the guffawing rich spectators. dropped the ball on that - pretty corny and banal display of that dynamic imo.

the barrage of twist n turns at the end ... also very stupid to me. i get that there was somewhat of a setup for who’d the mastermind would be but it was so predictable im sorry. also the frontman being yk who ... was also very stupid to me - made no sense and no further elaboration on how he ended up like that either - it felt like a flung in piece of the story even w the minimal setup done for it. do you see how much i dislike the last stretch of this show? it’s godawful writing anyways

sangwoo and saebyeok were the best written & most interesting characters. love gihun and ali but damn the naïveté got on my nerves a bit. but ig you want to believe that ppl like them exist. to keep faith in the world you want to believe that ppl can be so tender-hearted even when faced w life or death matters. but i find their characters extremely hard to believe - sangwoo and saebyeok seemed like a more accurate depiction of how ppl would respond to this situation. and gihuns makeover was hilarious. and i dont think that was the intention there? like i get that he lost his shit afterwards but fire hydrant red?! like you’re some nugu boy group member? LOL

yay for the lesbians but also nay bc it ended just as quickly as it “begun” but im not surprised this alw happens

old man’s conclusion of his character arc was also very stupid to me but i think that’s just bc i hate nonsensical evil characters. like if you’re gonna be evil i want your motivation to have some kind of justification - it doesn’t rly matter if it’s legitimate or based in any kind of morals - just not the ‘oh he’s just batshit insane’ conclusion. it’s lazy and easy writing and doesn’t rly say anything worthwhile at all

returning to gi hun - i get that he feels some kind of obligation to pursue this operation and get them shut down. but the fact that he had another chance to have his kid again & didnt take up on that? ! yeah ok ... you win millions but you’re so consumed by the guilt you develop a savior complex so profound that you go on to pursue it and consequentially abandon a kid you were somewhat entrusted with & not bother in reuniting and redeeming yourself w your daughter you failed for yrs ... okayyy? maybe im selfish but if i won millions i’d live a quiet life i’d get my kid back and take care of the kid i promised to take care of too and try to absolve myself w charity/community work and just let the guilt and ptsd of those days eat away at me LOL. but maybe it’s just bc my whole life philosophy is incompatible w the way he thinks. i feel like you have to take care of your own folks/your own circle first then you can play suphero all you want 🙄. like before you get your clark kent on let’s at least try doing the present father thing. also i think i’d empathize more w him giving in to his vengeance plan if he ... actually had the capability of taking these ppl on. but he doesnt. literally he got as far as he did due to luck not particularly bc he had any kind of special skillset/survivalism in him. he’s also awfully pacifist and didn’t bring in reinforcement so i dont see how he’d even get back at these ppl i just dont feel like he’d survive them again? unless he just has an endless wealth of luck

like ok ik this was kind of just a list of complaints but i rly think this was very solid like it was a good show. dope premise, awesome cast n acting, clever commentary, everything flowed for the majority of this - it just fell off in the end but that’s pretty typical of kdramas. but honestly i’d hate to see this get a s2 - they should just leave it at this in all its glory. or rather i’d hate if s2 followed gi hun’s journey w his newfound savior complex. but like another round of the squid game w diff childrens games and w diff ppl involved yeah ... that would be cool acc

[red-dyed-sarumane]

my friend asked me to put together all the ways oumen & apoptosis are connected as songs today & i love those two so naturally ive been on this since i woke up & after really going thru the lyrics Yet Again i think i FINALLY have my answer about tenshi's song right.

so basically we know the nami no ne no motif from aru sekai shoushitsu being present in a song means whoever in the song is still a "person"/still has their free will & gets to continue into the next loop. standard info. in all the other songs this is mixed into the instrumental, the only times its sung are in shoushitsu of course & in oumen mokushiroku. didnt think much of it when the song first came out bc like yeah thats just whats in series songs. but more & more across various songs, shoushitsu, apoptosis, kanon, oumen itself it talks about sacrifice & implies that sacrifice was a permanent death. oumen as a whole is her not wanting to accept that sacrifice role, she doesn't have a choice in it, but she doesnt want it either, (& apoptosis being it was originally that girl who was supposed to be the sacrifice but she pushed it off on someone else, therefore is the reason tenshi's song goes the way it does in the first place)

so then why does she have the motif if everything else including her herself say that she dies permanently.

i propose to u my newest theory.

the whole song is her wishing she had more time, not wanting to do it, she wants to live. so. since she's specifically singing it. im willing to bet its a last wish of hers. that somehow, someway, she still has enough free will to counteract the act of sacrifice, if she wishes hard enough, if she holds enough of her own desires, then maybe against everything, she'll get to live on into the next loop. basically, not a sign that she Does live, rather, just that she desperately WANTS to

[ancharan]

Heyy sorry if it isn’t your field of expertise but since you’re a First Founders era fan, do you have any headcanons about Hashirama’s death? And do you think he outlived Tobirama like some theories suggest? Anyway, really love your blog and fics, bye!

i actually DO now that you fucking mention it

like a week or so ago i basically went off at @nightofthemeteor on disc talking about what we thought happened to hashirama after VotE - (im also making an animatic abt it but thats secret so shh)

essentially the conclusion we (and by that i mean i) came to was that it Does Not Matter what hashirama thinks or feels about madaras death, konoha, the will of fire, or anything else. like he said, it’s all the village now, forever - he’s just sacrificed the most important person in his life to this cause, so he’s locked in it now. if he expresses doubts, if he tries to change the course of the village, if he tries to do any kind of reforms, that would imply that he didn’t believe in the premise that the village was the be-all-end-all solution - which completely invalidates madara’s death.

so with that in mind

i think that hashirama just... goes to work. he does his hokage stuff, he does the political stuff, he goes to fight wars on konoha’s behalf - except maybe he gets a little too careless, sometimes, on the battlefield. maybe he doesn’t pay attention to that kunai, or doesnt dodge fast enough to avoid a shuriken or two. it’s not that he’s trying to die - him dying wouldn’t be for the good of the village, after all - but if he happened to succumb to his wounds on a battlefield, far from home, fighting in konoha’s name? well, that solves two birds with one stone, doesnt it? it absolves him of the responsibility of taking his own life, and it leaves his family (and the village) with an easier-to-swallow death.

essentially, my headcanons for hashirama are almost universally Very Sad

[mistermaxwellboucherdieasilived]

rambling about Redstoner hiiii

Ive only watched this scene once two days ago so if any details are wrong that's why

Shelby's death scene in Redstoner is fucking intense like the way we can see Ross fighting with himself by trying to let her have the grappling hook or rope but then still being compelled by Sky to just kill her while also having Shelby (blue text not just irl) beg him not to do this. He even gives her the rope and tells her to throw it so he can pull her out but when the rope doesnt work it's like he's absolving himself of guilt because Well he tried and it didnt work so it's not his fault she's dying. but of course he knew he couldnt save her. Fucked up

This whole episode is the first time we see him affected in real time by the messagss he's getting. He used to act as if nothing happened but now every time we see a message on the screen Ross seems upset and disoriented. While Shelby is sinking into the ground there's the scene I clipped where everything is turning red and he's speaking backwards etc u know like Sky has a tight hold on him by now and Ross is aware that this is a separate force but he cant do anything to fight it.

Also just the duration where he's watching Shelby sink and he's TALKING TO HER and she's talking to him and begging him to help her, asking what's going to happen if she reaches the bottom--she's terrified and really Ross is too but it's too late and Ross is barely himself anymore. This scene is long it's harrowing and our sense that we have no control, we are outsiders watching this tragedy, reflects the lack of control that Ross feels over what his life has become

[themeed]

damn allowed myself to want things for a day and all i want is a van to live in, knowledge, freedom, weight loss, and a bass guitar.

im. happy with that i think. im proud of me, no jokes. im proud of being able to want things and care about them and vibrate towards them with longing. im... pleased with that. its fulfilling in a way Not Wanting For Anything isnt, because thats... kinda hollow. empty. in a vacant, lonely, yearning and grieving and SAD way. maybe because i Couldnt Want then. i Couldnt Desire or it would be used against me or taken away. that sucks. that sucked.

and now. im free to want again. and comparatively???? i think im very much never going to aim for buddhism or that weird Not Desiring Not Attached Nirvana mindset. like good for u but been there out of trauma and its not fun theres no reason to truly Live. u just float endlessly and experience and it aches so badly!!!! it hurts to want to want and not be able to. and i guess that is different from not wanting at all but... its not different enough for me to justify ever going back to that. or going forward to that. i just got this back and screw enlightenment if it means i have to give up on my passions i dont think life is worth living without it.

and anybody who looks down on that from a spiritual tower has yet to examine their own pride and how empty they feel without it.

anybody who looks down and smiles and wishes me luck on my journey? good for them. im glad theyre living their best life, on their journey as they see fit.

and i feel the need to protect myself because ive been hurt by the pride- the arrogance of others before. a lot of my hurts and traumas stem from my mother being too prideful to recognize that she can be wrong and someone under her power could be correct over her. and it was an uncomfortable truth. so she denied it was one at all and hurt me. i know the reason could be elaborated on. she didnt want to confront her own internal logic. or trauma. or even doublethink. that doesnt excuse her hurting a child for the sake of her sense of pride, of comfort, of self-worth. a child under her power, that she claimed to be parent of. teacher of.

not owing anyone anything is not the same as not hurting anyone. i havent reconciled that yet. oppressors should be held accountable for their mistakes, and give reparations if the harm is physical at LEAST. and i think that applies to politics, yes. privately though? if i beat up a nazi, i dont want to pay for his hospital bills. my personal philosophy struggles between equating people and ideas as a worth measurement, and realizing that that line of thinking is... similar to oppressors. but. its based on something people can change. the question is, do i think "if given the opportunity" is a good enough reason to stop and question a racist that runs their mouth? and do i think pre-emptive violence is okay? if say, a nazi walks into a bar and doesnt say anything but is wearing all the red flags and bells and whistles. i dont think that justifies a beatdown. being asked to leave, sure, but the beatdown doesnt start til the first remark flies.

once the intent is given OR the action is taken, the line is drawn. doesnt matter if they Havent Had The Chance. if theyre starting shit outside of debate spaces like that, and not, say, asking questions, theyre not looking for new perspectives, and it is NOT my job to educate people. its not my job to Show People The Light. a quick fucking google search could tell them why theyre wrong. if they havent put even the most basic energy into questioning their beliefs, thats on them.

it sounds like im trying to absolve myself of blame here. largely because. i think i should go out and help educate people because theyre inherently complacent if theyre, yknow, in a position of power. aka white folk and men and rich folk and cis folk and on and on and on. these people dont live my reality. they dont live the reality of a gay black man in the south, or a genderqueer lesbian in the west, or an indigenous woman whose nation is being targeted, or a muslim woman who cannot wear her headcoverings in the face of danger of death, or an asian immigrant who cant get a job because of COVD age discrimination resurging. we will never live each others realities, but we can become aware of them.

they wont come into awareness without someone asking or telling, and then doing something to change them.

we shouldnt need to go running to people in power for them to be aware of problems in the populace, govt is supposed to help and solve issues like this. like. actively. thats the whole point, make life better for the countrys citizens. and individuals in a position of social power...

are individuals who didnt take on a responsibility to protect and serve or otherwise care for the populace of a nation. i personally think they SHOULD care, but they are not obligated to. i cant make them care about others.

and honestly, on some of them, it would be a waste of time. there are people who want to change or question things and yknow what? they seek out answers. in people or places or online usually. stats and stories.

so like. i dont think someones Potential as a person matters when theres a throwdown about to happen. it really isnt my responsibility to save people from themselves or try to change their sides against their will. if they want to chat about it they can ask questions first.

not throw insults or punches or hatred.

what people have been taught is worth analyzing and trying to correct IN SOCIETY but i cant fix every broken white boy that comes to me. PSAs, fliers, outreach, online videos, debate spaces. those are things i already have access to and can be a part of if i really want to go around changing minds. or yknow. get involved in legislation and be myself around others to change their perceptions of whats socially acceptable or normal. maybe protest, maybe call congressfolk, etc.

but not every comment has to be analyzed or a learning opportunity. im allowed to shut it down, and people can respect that or stop talking to me. this isnt my parents house where i had to justify everything that i said or did when scrutinized, and doubly justify any criticism i had of mother, or any joke i frowned at instead of smiling.

these people dont have that power over me. they arent my mother. they arent my boss, and if they are i can fuck off and get a new job if necessary. they dont have financial control over my living space and food and schooling and physical control of where i can go and with who and for how long. I CONTROL THAT. I do.

Huh. maybe thats why i want a van so bad. i mean... when this lease ends if nobody is gonna end up living with me...

i could just... live in my car and shower at truck stops. get a storage unit for my stuff. save by driving jobs. like 40 to 60 a day. tear out my cars back, insulate it, and install my mattress pad there. water on the floor, cooler next to it, wooden cutting coard, knife, single camping plateware set, and another little shelf for spices. maybe a hot plate i can hook up to the car battery? get a long enough usb and it might be doable. i could go camping and open the trunk to just... vibe.

because yeah, honestly? i dont plan on having a solid apartment for a bit. like a long bit. and i still have like 70000 miles on my car before itll want to go. and by that point, even at like 100 miles a day, thats like 2 years, less if i go cross country in that vehicle. i could save up SO MUCH for a better vehicle, or like. college. live on campus, get some credit, continue working after i figure out want i want to do.

i think thats a solid plan, even if i dont get another apartment and put everything in storage. work as i need to instead of all the time for rent, really only paying for gas, car repairs, car ins, food, and phone data/hotspot internet... that would bring my monthly expenses down to like 500 a month max instead of like 1400. id only need to make some 1000 a month doing contract stuff to save for taxes and stuff. anything extra would be just that: extra for savings and things. holy shit.

depending on how this next month goes for my friends, holy s h i t.

i. i might do this. legitimately.

i. dont think i can yet. i need proof of address to get my license im pretty sure? but hey, thatll be my 21st this year, so. once i have that i wont need a new address for a While. i dont know if ill want one, really.

i could always just ask a friend or family member if i could use theirs for mail that cant go to a PO box.

anyway. yeah. wow.

[keepoffthedirigibleplumss]

So there's a post going around thats like "many people assume Snape is awful, and use him appearing as Neville's boggart as proof but they lack an understanding of the meta-textual reason why Rowling chose to do that." It goes on to explain that Neville needed an easy boggart, and thats why Snape was his boggart and not because of anything bad that Snape actually did.

Which is interesting, because... first off, Snape has, in text, done many awful things to Neville and generally treats his students who arent Slytherin in ways that range from mistreatment to full on abuse. He is an abusive bully, frequently, and literally used to be a magical nazi. So the idea that Neville (and I think a few scenes before this he tried to poison Neville's toad...) could be legitimately terrified of him, is not surprising.

But fine, lets talk about writing and the mechanics of plotting a story.

The fun thing about writing and learning the mechanics of story telling and plotting is that lots of things can have double meanings and levels of importance.

Let's say you've got a character, and their favourite colour is white. They wear white everywhere, their clothes are always pristine and shining. If you're analyzing this character on a meta-textual level, this clothing choice probably represents purity, innocence and an unblemished nature. It tells you what the AUTHOR wants you to know about the character, and how their personality is reflected in their clothing.

But it also tells you something else. It tells you that the character, with in the world of the story, woke up that morning and said to themselves "I'm gonna wear white." Because when you're reading a story, you're reading the text. You're reading about the characters choices, about their interactions within the confines of their world. It almost doesnt even matter what the author intended, meta-textually because anything NOT explicitly on the page is open to interpretation.

If you write a character making an in text decision, anything from "im gonna wear white" to "im gonna kill this guy" then it doesn't really matter what the narrative function of that choice represents. No one is like "well, the Protagonist only killed that guy because this is the classic 'refusal of the call to adventure' that many heroes must deal with before..." thats not how a reader interacts with your story. He killed that guy, the guy is dead, your protagonist chose to kill someone. The rest of the story now has to operate within the world where your Protagonist is a killer, because if you go on ignoring that decision through the rest of the text, readers would be extremely confused.

Let's look at a Harry Potter example. At the start of the seventh book, Hedwig gets killed by a death eater. On a meta-textual level, that happens to represent loss of innocence, loss of childhood and also to prepare the reader for the rest of the coming death. No one is safe, not even perfectly innocent characters like the damn owl.

So Hedwigs death serves a narrative function. We know why it happened, and it makes sense on this level.

When you read that for the first time, its probably safe to say that your first thought was not "yes I appreciate the meta-textual purpose of Hedwigs death and the reason it was included within the function of the narrative."

No. You're thinking something like "that is sad, I am upset."

Understanding the meta-textual reason behind her death does not make it less sad, because thats not how readers interact with a story. It also doesn't absolve the death eater who killed her from blame. Sure, Rowling needed them to kill her in that moment, but with in the confines of the story, they still did it.

When the author makes a choice for their story, that choice becomes part of the text. It doesn't matter WHY they chose to do it, it doesn't matter if it was a plot device to move things forward, or reveal something or whatever. It still happened, and telling readers they're misunderstanding the story because they're not looking at the authors intentions fundamentally misunderstands the way a reader interacts with a story.

When the boggarts are introduced in book 3, most of the students are like "a mummy" or "giant spider" or whatever. But the thing Neville fears most is his teacher, who constantly abuses and demeans him. It doesn't matter what purpose that fact serves in the narrative, only that it did in fact happen, in text. Snape is a bully, a bad person and an abusive asshole and no amount of meta-textual analysis will ever absolve him of that.