#dissecting microscope

[creantzy]

Defying God - a parallel between Fyolai and Stavrovensky

The Demons brainrot is taking over, and you know what happens when I acquire a new interest: my brain WILL find a way to connect it to my other interests, whether I like it or not!! And this is essentially what it's about xD I've come here to present a parallel I found between Fyolai (Fyodor & Nikolai from BSD) and Stavrovensky (Verkhovensky & Stavrogin from "Demons" by Dostoevsky). Before I start I want to clarify a few things:

• I don't think these two pairings are similar, I just love picking up any crumbs of connections I can find between my interests, even if it'd count as reaching.

• This interpretation (in either character's case) is in no way "the only true way of looking at it". It's merely one interpretation out of many and I chose to focus on just a few aspects out of the many others there are to explore in these complex characters. 

• Feel free to add onto or disagree with anything I say! I'm interested in your thoughts :D

WARNING: There will be spoilers for Bungou Stray Dogs and Demons.

The reason Nikolai wants to kill Fyodor is because he feels affection for him. Emotions are a prison to him, and he basically seeks the opposite of what his emotions make him want to do. Thus, in the face of affection, which makes you want to be closer and wish the best for your friend, he does the opposite and decides to kill said friend, going directly against his feelings in an attempt to prove free will. But here I want to focus more on the "You want to defy God in order to lose sight of yourself" part, specifically the bit about God.

One part of my interpretation is that Nikolai associates God with control. If there is a God who controls all, how can there be a free will? He wants to go against Him and His creations (the human mind, morality, etc.) to prove that it's possible. But God is very abstract - the idea of God is influential but varies depending on cultures, etc. For this point, I'll use the example of the biblical God, or, more specifically, some attributes commonly assigned to the idea of God:

• omnipotence (all-powerful)

• omnipresence (all-present)

• omniscience (all-knowing)

What I am leading up to is the fact that these traits can, in one way or another, be applied to Fyodor. Fyodor's character represents everything Nikolai wants to defy. Nikolai hates control; he wants to fight the idea of God and prove the possibility of complete independence. Fyodor (though not in a "direct" way) could be seen as a symbol for God. He knows everything, he is always present (metaphorically and sometimes literally, the way he spawns sometimes I swear-), and he seems to control everything. Only few people actually see him, but he pulls the strings behind the scenes, and his power is felt everywhere. For Nikolai, to kill Fyodor is not just a protest against his feelings of affection, but can also be a symbolic act of defying "God", of killing "God", by killing Fyodor.

This is supposed to be very symbolic and not taken literally. I feel the need to repeat this because I personally dislike the notion of Fyodor as a literal God (and disagree with the idea of him having a God-complex), so this is merely about the God-like traits he possesses, like a "substitute" for the idea of God, and how it interacts with Nikolai's philosophy. (I've also exaggerated some points for the sake of simplification - for example, I don't actually believe Fyodor is in control of absolutely everything, etc.)

Moving onto Demons:

Pyotr Verkhovensky grew up religious and (assuming based on Stepan's description) with a fear of God.

Now he's an atheist and very anti-religious. He plans to overthrow society, and destroying religion + everything it preaches is part of that plan. But interestingly enough, he picks not himself as the official future "ruler", but someone else: Nikolai Stavrogin. He chooses Stavrogin to be the role of the leader in Verkhovensky's ideal society. But not exactly the "leader" in the traditional sense, because he wouldn't necessarily give Stavrogin all the power. He would simply use him as a "pawn" (for lack of a better word) while himself pulling the strings behind said society. With that, Verkhovensky puts someone else above himself, in a God-like position, but he wants to do it while still keeping full control over Stavrogin. By doing so, he would overcome his childhood fear of God because instead of being controlled by God, *he* will control God.

(Same case here, not the literal God, but the character who he assigns God-like traits to.)

I am undecided (with both Nikolai's and Verkhovensky's character) whether this could be read as a solely subconscious intention or if it would make sense as a conscious one as well. Given that both have a different "main" goal (Nikolai focuses on emotions and Verkhovensky on the revolution) I lean more towards thinking it's subconscious (if present at all - like I said, just interpretations!)

It doesn't help that Verkhovensky describes his vision of Stavrogin's leadership as "hidden": Everyone believes in him and his power, but only very few people are said to actually have laid their eyes upon him. When I first read this part, I was honestly reminded of Big Brother from Orwell's 1984, but eventually realised that similar things can be said about God as well.

While these are parallels, they don't come without differences. Nikolai needs Fyodor dead, Verkhovensky needs Stavrogin alive. Nikolai wants to kill Fyodor for a sense of freedom, Verkhovensky wants to keep Stavrogin for a sense of control. Yet both symbolic goals are bound to fail:

Fyodor turns out to be unkillable, and Stavrogin ends up dead.

At the end, "God" stays untouchable.

[shima-draws]

Obsessed with Law tbh. He's a walking contradiction. He's a doctor but a sadistic one that enjoys playing with people's organs. He's covered in sick tattoos but they're actually in honor of his late father figure. He likes to be carried around like a pretty princess but he'll complain about it the entire time. He's surprisingly picky about food and pouts like a child about it. He's stupidly attractive and badass but he's also the most cringefail loser I've ever seen in my life. He's got such an unhealthy attachment to Cora that he spent thirteen years of his life trying to murder the man that killed him. AND his pirate group is also inspired by Cora. He's an Edgelord but the entire fandom calls him their silly little guy, their babygirl, their cutie patootie. He acts like he hates working with others and people in general but he got tamed and domesticated like a wild animal by the Strawhats SO quickly. What is wrong with him (affectionate) (derogatory)

[justplaggin]

bsd s5 blu-ray & dvd bonus illustration by harukawa

[patroclusdefencesquad]

absolutely batshit insane response to a man telling you about how he lost the love of his life

[theallianceofcelestials]

You know what's an amusing thing about the previous two Eclipses? The way the both of them were with Sun.

They were never kind to him, no, it would be foolish to say that either the first Eclipse or the backup Eclipse were kind to Sun. But regardless of which one we're talking about, Eclipse has always been more, indulgent with him.

When Sun first met Eclipse eye to eye after that fateful argument he had with Moon in Beta-10, Eclipse was... weirdly gentle? It's not even the correct word for it, but he appeared to indulge Sun and his anxious rambling, before shooting him down. He was also much more friendly than he was with Moon, probably because he did not see Sun as a threat, but still. He quite helpfully pointed out the exit point to Sun, and was acting kinda peacful. He was also less antagonistic, although he was definitely condescending.

When Sun exited the mindscape, he apologised to Eclipse, and Eclipse replied something like: "Oh, don't be sorry, only time you're ever sorry is when it actually IS your fault." which is obviously a jab. However, there's also a hidden admitance, that Sun is innocent, and is not at fault. It kind of feels like comfort from Eclipse? This was preluded by Eclipse admiting that Sun WAS a good person, but with issues (like everyone else lol).

Also, ever since Eclipse locked Sun and Moon into the Infinite Staicase SCP, and forced Moon to admit that he (Eclipse) IS better, seemed to have put more weight on Sun's opinion. Which can be clearly seen in the episode where Sun, having been fed up with Eclipse constantly throwing him and New Moon into things, exploded on him, and Eclipse just... left.

He also passed up some opportunities to actually hurt him? Like we now know, that Sun was tortured in the mindscape, but the first interaction we see between them, which is not a power struggle, Eclipse never got violent. He was a jerk, but a toned down jerk compared to how he was with Moon. Eclipse also, during the first ever video fully focused on him "Sun and Moon TRANSFORM into ECLIPSE in VRCHAT", said he was going to kill Sun, and then never followed through with it, even though he had the entirety of October to do so. Like my guy, do you or do you NOT want to kill him? You said you wanted to! Then actually do it, pussy!

And Eclipse is a killcode right? They said in the show that he is so. But compared to other people, he's actually kinda peacful. Like there are only a couple confirmed kills Eclipse has, like the homeless person he beat to death using Monty's body and the government official before that.

All these can be said to be little things, that Eclipse did not bother with, because they seemed like a waste of his time, but there is one piece of information he had, that could have destroyed both his enemies from the very beginning. A neat little fact. Moon wanted to kill Sun. He wanted to kill him, because he felt injustice at the fact that he was locked into their mind, and wanted a body of his own. The fact that it was their PLAN to do so.

Of course it was probably an intrusive thought of Moon, corrupted by his homicide code, and was probably his greatest shame. Before Eclipse that is. And it's obviously understandable why Moon wasn't jumping at the chance to tell this to his brother, the ONLY person he could fully, truly and wholly love and care about (before Lunar also appeared), but then why didn't Eclipse?

He could have won. He could have won before the brothers had a chance to realise how screwed they actually were, before the October Takeover, before the Wither Storm, before the infamous Beta-10 argument, before anything really. All he had to do, was basically poison Sun with this hate, and ruin any sort of relationship Sun and Moon ever had. Sure, probably when he would have first told it to Sun, he would've thought him a liar, but doubt eventually would have come. That was something Moon could not have countered in any form, and he probably would not have wanted to from how terrible he must have felt about that. Moon would have probably given up, if confronted with that information, because I don't think he'd have lied about something of that magnitude.

But alas, Eclipse never told (probably cuz Reed and Davis had no solid idea about it back then). This could have been such a powerful trump card from him. He could have ruined New Moon and Sun's relationship before it even began! Because back then Sun was still (understandably) more attuned to the Old Moon. So he would not have overcome it as easily, not saying he would do so now. Eclipse could very easily break Sun's fragile little sanity. And yet he never did. He never once even uttered anything similiar to it when in front of Sun. Sure he threw insults and taunts, basically tortured the guy for funsies, but this was a line he never once crossed. And I'm not sure why.

Eclipse had a strong ace up his (non-existent) sleeve, that he could have used anytime. At all times, it would have allowed him to win. But he never once used it. He took it with him silently, everytime he was defeated. I can't stress this enough.

This man had the chance to destroy his enemies with just a couple little words.

But both times he took it to his GRAVE.

Let's see if this one will too (:

[miyamiwu]

Not gonna lie, I love Kaiser as a character more after chapter 261. His relationship with Ness also becomes more compelling and nuanced that KaiNess has now cemented itself in my psyche.

God, I just love dissecting characters that are so mentally wrong (I think I can understand my psychiatrist now)

[drawingvvitch]

He smoke the gas station weed

[ammyamarant]

This voice line fascinates the living daylights out of me. The insinuation that she'd be just as close to SilverAsh as she is Pramanix if he became a religious figure like Pram, and that the two of them have more in common than they want to admit...

[ahdriking]

Khem meet Wichien for the first time

- Mansuang (2023)

[i-eat-deodorant]

[ the fray, the fretful harmonies, it twists the good in me ]

[tomystars]

[ofghostsandmen]

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 4

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i think dutch has petulant and impulsive bpd where his fps were hosea and arthur and after hosea was killed dutch internally latched more strongly to arthur which is why he immediately starts getting angry with him when arthur shows the slightest bit of disobedience because hes splitting and hahahahaha yeah but you guys arent ready for that conversation

[cilil]

For the inbox game for fanfic writers:

what is your least favourite character to write about and why?

name three fic writers you personally like to read from or are inspired by.

🖤

Hey love and thanks for the ask🖤

What is your least most favourite character to write about and why? (cílil is blind apparently)

I've talked about Eönwë in a previous response and purposefully left Mairon for you🌚

Mairon is... definitely among my favorite characters to write ever. He is such an evil little shithead and a hater and hot and smart and just everything that is entertaining and interesting to me. I have spent an ungodly amount of time thinking about this man, his life, his messed up relationships and his more than shady opinions and dealings for almost a decade. He is, simply put, iconic.

Writing about him feels like selecting your favorite character in a video game and already buzzing with excitement while you stare at the loading screen (or in this case your writing document) because you just KNOW you're gonna have a blast.

Name three fic writers you personally like to read from or are inspired by

@i-did-not-mean-to. She has a style that I find entertaining and engaging to read and she has written my number one comfort fic (yes, it's Gothmog x Eönwë smut)

@verecunda and @crackinthecup have both shared pieces of writing that I found incredibly well-composed, enjoyed reading and felt like I could learn from the way they paint scenes

You. One day I will steal those wonderfully delicious vibes from you and EAT THEM

Did I cheat a bit here? Maybe, but I don't care. In fact I could list a lot more writer friends and mutuals here that I admire for various different things and aspire to learn from, so please nobody be discouraged. I probably either told you in comments before or at least attempted to while I was violating my keyboard to express my emotions x)

[hasarjunadoneanythingwrong]

castor: sister you should give master a nice valentine present oh but not TOO nice im gonna hang around and remind them it was a collaborative effort

castor: anyway

castor: one of a kind blessing coming right up! lol pollux whats wrong w you why are you banging your head against the floor?

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

I love yugioh gx because they were like "what if we create the most pathetic emo guy of all time?" and then they made him bisexual as well

[mycological-mariner]

“Of course you like it, it has snow and cannibals”

— my little brother 2023