#even if the goals are noble

[tomwambsganshater]

Vinland saga gets a lot of criticism for being unrealistic and too naive in its pacifism but I feel like that's a fundamental misunderstanding of thorfinn's character. His ideology isn't supposed to be universal, he develops it because of his circumstances, he's killed too many people and inflicted too much misery to be able to stomach any more of it, to the point that defending himself disgusts him. It's not a method to live your life or to change the world, it's his specific emotional reaction to his experiences. He's not even preachy about it either, when he meets Canute he admits that he knows he can't change the world that way, and that he can't judge whether Canute's way is right or wrong. His vinland plan is an attempt to create a society from scratch based on his radical pacifism in hopes that it'll meaningfully stick and become a value for the next generations, and thus create a society where it's the norm, but as we can see in the story and just history, it's going to fail. I don't know how exactly it's going to end, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be by telling the reader that "You should be a pacifist all the time and violence is never justified". The story's always been nuanced, Thorfinn himself is just incapable of stomaching it.

[distortedmoondisc]

I think we as a fandom don't talk enough about Aira being Hiiro's fan—y'know, as an idol.

It might be because most people don't read the main story, or because it's not blatantly stated in there like other things, but it's something I think is a very unique facet about their relationship.

As we know, Aira separates his professional life and his personal life a lot. He will wait in line to shake hands with Hiyori Tomoe and buy a dozen CDs just to have a couple of extra minutes just talk to him, even though he can do this at any time since they're both idols living in the ES dorms and friends from the same circle.

And while this is admittedly silly from Aira's part, he truly sees this something serious and actually, he's kind of justified in thinking this way? He takes pride in being an idol otaku, and he wants to play as fair as possible with fellow fans, he doesn't want to take advantage of the fact that he's living and working alongside these super stars, and in my eyes that just shows how pure-hearted and honest he is.

With that in mind, it would be obvious to conclude that Aira would be a fan of his unitmates. He's definitely a fan of Tatsumi and Mayoi, but it's explicitly said in the MS that Aira is a fan of Hiiro.

This is from episode 89, "Grace"

(this episode may or may have not changed my brain chemistry forever lol)

Here, Aira makes the statement that he wants to protect Hiiro as an idol.

Hiiro is new to this world; he's a rookie, he's unpolished, far from perfect, but he's brimming with potential and he shines brightly on stage regardless of his imperfections — especially to Aira's eyes, and Aira wants to protect that, he wants to keep Hiiro's shine, and to help him grow and become the great idol Aira sees in him.

And I just can't express how much this means to me??? To their relationship??? This is why I can't understand people who say Aira doesn't care about Hiiro (these are opinions I've read way too often on twitter...), when Aira more than anyone wants to protect him not only as a person (like when he comforts him, cheers him up and motivates him after Rinne disowns him), but also as an idol. Aira trusts in Hiiro the idol. He sees his potential and he admires him deeply — not only as a fellow idol or as a friend, but as a fan.

And what gets me is the wording Aira uses here. He talks about wanting to protect Hiiro, to defend him. This is stated in another chapter and I don't remember exactly where (I believe it's one of the last episodes of the MS, but please correct me if I'm mistaken), but Aira states that he wants to protect Hiiro's purity — and this can be interpreted many ways, be it in that he wants to protect Hiiro's innocence as in his personality trait (his endearing naivety, his trusting and friendly nature, his endless curiosity, his earnestness and sincerity), or his purity as an idol, in the sense that because Hiiro is an idol, he has an appearance to keep, he has to be shining and to be pure and beautiful all the time (because that's the image idols give to the world, to their fans; the image that gives countless of people like Aira hope); this can include protecting Hiiro from the darker sides of the industry, such as toxic fans, unhealthy relationships with fame, corrupted producers or people from the industry, among other things. Aira seems to be aware of these issues (as he mentions in the second chapter of the main story, see below), so it makes sense that he wants to shield Hiiro, who knows absolutely nothing about this industry or the city, from those things.

Episode 24, "Suspicious"

And personally, I think Aira means both. He wants to protect Hiiro's purity as a person: he wants to protect the cheerful and positive Hiiro he knows and loves and admires (Aira himself states this. Multiple times. So much so that Aira often comments about how uncomfortable he feels when Hiiro is gloomy or troubled, that he is always the first to ask what is wrong or if something is bothering him.... but talking about Aira's high perceptiveness for Hiiro's emotions is a topic for another day) — but he also wants to protect Hiiro as an idol, wants to protect the immaculate image he gives to the world and to his fans, because Aira loves him, the same way he loves an idol from a fan standpoint. And he hopes that by protecting this purity, Hiiro will grow to be the talented and shining idol Aira knows he can be.

And what gets me is that after thinking of Hiiro this way, Aira snaps out of his self-deprecating thoughts and decides to give his best in the Ullambana (episode 89). Aira literally overcame his insecurities because of Hiiro. Thinking of having to do his best and keep working hard in order to keep up with him and with Alkaloid gave him the strength he needed to stop spiraling down his own insecurities and focus his efforts into something that was worth it: in keeping Alkaloid alive, and keeping Hiiro The Idol alive, because Aira believes he will become an idol that will soothe, delight and captivate hearts of many like Aira in the future — and Aira has to become an accomplished idol and a strong person if he is to be next to him on stage to protect him and to help him grow.

-

I say a lot, mostly jokingly between my friends, that Aira is the biggest HiiroP... but after writing this whole post, I realize I'm not so far off from this assumption. Aira loves Hiiro as a friend, we all know and understand that, but what is often overlooked is that Aira—who divides his professional and personal life so strictly—recognizes the rookie, unpolished, but talented Hiiro as an idol, and he wants to see him grow and succeed not only as his friend and unitmate, but also as a fan. Hiiro is so shining and wonderful on stage that it awakens the idol-ota instinct on Aira, it brings him back to his roots where he watched and admired idols from afar and inspired and soothed his lonely heart. And honestly? I think this is terribly wholesome, if not incredibly beautiful, and I'm getting emotional over hiiai once again, so I'm going to finish the essay here. Thanks for reading ahdjfk

[awesomebutunpractical]

If I got into physical letter writing, it'd all be a clever excuse to show off the dozens of cool wax seals I'd get my grubby hands on. (I'd need them. For the letters you see.)

[oooohno]

I think it’s crazy how the Devil Believers’ arc was so short despite addressing super important issues with discrimination & oppression within the clover society

[yellowocaballero]

It was cool seeing a bit more of Dedue this chapter, cause like his dynamic with Dimitri is just so interesting yk? Like alongside the loyalty and devotion, Dedue also genuinely cares about Dimitri and Dimitri very much so cares about him in turn, but there's also the added layer of Dimitri being basically his only hope for the justice and restoration of his people and that adds even more of a power imbalance (outside of just the general future king and his vassel imbalance lol). And the way that in their supports they both had said that the other had saved them and Dedue calling Faergheus abhorrent with Dimitri as the exception. There's just a lot of depth there, and I really like the way you're showing that so far in the fic.

YEAH BABY. I know I went on for WAY too long about Dedue in a comment, did I do it here??? I don't think I did? I'll more or less repeat what i said.

You're so right. Dimitri and Dedue's relationship is so complicated, and Dedue is so complicated, and I think the nature of Dedue's character is that he is very, very quiet about how complicated it is.

Dedue and Dimitri genuinely love each other very, very much. They're so devoted to each other, they would do anything for each other. I think they 'killed off' Dedue because Dimitri would not have lost all hope if Dedue was alive. Blaming himself for Dedue's death fucked Dima up bad. Dima genuinely, actually cares a ton about saving Duscur and helping the people his country hurt, about helping Dedue with his life goal of giving the country freedom. I also think Dedue is...um, bad for Dimitri.

You can't forget that Dedue is a single issue voter. He is a genocide survivor. The goal of his life is to save Duscur. Dimitri is his only method of saving Duscur. Dimitri is the only person who cares. Dedue has to make Dimitri king. He's thrown his hat into Dimitri's ring and he has to keep it there. Dedue knows every secret Dimitri has - his hatred, his mass murdering tendencies, his sickness - and he doesn't tell anybody, because that would get in the way of making Dimitri king, and that would put him at odds with Dimitri and what Dimitri wants. He enables continuously when what Dimitri needs is an intervention. He actually openly tells Felix that, should Dimitri start burning down a village and murdering women and children, that Dedue would help him. Dimitri would do that because he's nuts, but Dedue would do it fully aware of what he's doing and completely willing to do it, because Dimitri told him to, and Dedue needs to make Dimitri king, because Dimitri is going to save Duscur.

The power imbalance is a big thing, yes. It's huge, and it's understandable but silly of Dimitri to want them to be friends. But I think Dimitri is extremely reliant on Dedue. When somebody depends on you completely, when they share everything with you, you have power over them. Dedue had the power to help Dimitri, and he chose not to.

I don't blame him. Dedue had his own ways of coping too, and this was how. I think he put the salvation of his people over Dimitri's happiness, and...that's fine. The sad white boy is not the most important person in the world. In the fic, I draw an explicit comparison between Dedue and Byleth: that they needed Dimitri to be a king and a leader and alive, and they didn't need him sane for that. But it was the actions of two people who loved Dimitri so much that they were willing to do anything to keep him alive.

I always kind of wondered if Dedue had THAT MUCH internalized racism, or if he just knew that he had to be careful with his words and show the world the right face. He talks a lot about how ashamed he is of Duscur's So Awful Bad Actions We Killed Your King :(, but...he also privately shares that he finds finds Faerghus abhorrent. SO MUCH of Dedue's lines in his supports are just severely internalized racism, and I just kind of wonder how honest it is...same way that you have to wonder how honest Petra is. I think they're both doing what they have to in order to survive, and that they have to protect themselves and this is the way they have to do it, but...it's not...good...

He's a fascinating character in a way I don't think is immediately obvious, and I think he's kind of slept on in that way! Dedue portrays his own actions as very simple and straightforward, but I really don't think they are. Unfortunately, due to the story, this is the last time we see Dedue play a very active role in the narrative. I was sad about it (I also dislike writing out POC, but such was the story). Thanks for the ask, though - I think if you drain out all of this complexity about Dedue, then you're really missing the point. And the Dedue you'd be creating is somebody who has no internal life or motivations or faults or strengths outside of Dimitri, and who also just has so much internalized racism. Which is lame.

TL;DR

FELIX, AS USUAL, YOU'RE RIGHT BUT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY IT LIKE THAT.

[llycaons]

'poor heroic tragic saint jiang cheng' is actually my favorite jc misinterpretation it is just so fucking funny. I'll watch the man advocate to abandon a group of political prisoners to mass murder, constantly yell about his issues, threaten his nephew and everyone else around him, and abuse his power to intentionally trigger his traumatized brother bc he's mad at him and I go online and see posts about how he's so strong and noble and a great parent/leader despite suffering so much. LIKE

[randomnameless]

Which story do you like more, Scarlet Blaze's or Golden Wildfire's?

It's SB!

I mean, have you seen that ending?

Slap a kickass song on it, and you have a sentai ending where the hero "disappears" taking down the "evil bad guy" in an explosion! Forget SS, SB's ending is really the ending where Rhea goes down like the champ she is, to save the world.

(wait someone told me Rhea isn't the protagonist of that route?)

Much like CF, I like SB not because of what the playable protagonist cast does, but because I like the antagonists (and it's the only route where you can get rid of Clout!).

Granted, it's a Supreme Leader route, so that also helps : the cast isn't forced to swallow cobras to justify her uwu conquest since we're playing as her and her Court - in a way it's more bearable than the uwu sobfest AG gives us about "wah wah we're participating in this war we BaD" and the "we are invading Adrestia the people here must hate us :'( even if we are fighting to get rid of the people who are playing bowling with adrestian citizens used their heads as a ball :'("

It's also the route where, despite what Supreme Leader and her Court parrot, we see how the so-called "nefarious values" of the Kingdom like chivalry, self-sacrifice and loyalty/devotion are rooted in love, aka affection for people those so called knights have to protect (iirc that's what happens when House Dominic takes the fight!) - and it shows how far Adrestia has fallen (Adrestian Nobles would never do something like Baron Dominic did!), ditto with Rhea knowing "secret routes" in Enbarr's palace, unknown to the current Emperor and her long list of predecessors : a person who was there 1100 years ago knows more about the City than people currently living in it.

In a nutshell, much like Tru Piss, Supreme Bullshit is a route where, if you squint a bit, you can see things that are completely opposite to what your playable cast is telling you (remember Ferdie and the crested Kingdom nobles?), informing the player that the protagonists are, just like in Tru Piss, full of nonsense.

What is shown contradicts what is told!

But I confess I'm biased, because Supreme Bullshit at least gives some spotlight to Nabateans, especially Rhea, who doesn't reappear in the plot only to die - and what kind of spotlight ! She literally steals the show at the end, defeating the Mole People while Supreme Leader is watching the spectacle, eating popcorn and giving a high five to her pal Barney.

There's also the Shamir'n'Catherine scene - that obviously ceases to be interesting the moment when Shamir becomes a part of Supreme Leader's court - where, again, we can see another instance of a knight (even if Shamir would deny it! She is a tru merc, not a knight!) sacrificing themselves to save a loved one.

SB>>>GW.

[isekyaaa]

One story that'd be really fun to write out would be from a person that is isekai'd into the world of a dating sim as the heroine. They're one of those evil heroines that want all the male routes to fall in love with them. They even have that innate charm magic or they use methods like laced cookies to make the men fall in love with them. However, much to their dismay, there's this character that always foils them. He's the secret route that the heroine never took interest in. He passed out wards against charm magic. He finds antidotes to love potions. No matter what the heroine tries, he keeps foiling each and every single one of their plans. The heroine hates him but he finds the heroine and their tactics absolutely fascinating. They keep going at it until one day the heroine realizes with horror that they may have fallen in love with him.

[agentrouka-blog]

But there can't be compromise with slavers. Burning and killing people isn't right of course, but neither is allowing your neighboring countries to continue trading slaves as their main source of income, thus depriving humans of basic rights and dignity. Pit fighting is inhumane too, and illegal. Dany doesn't have the best foreign policy and lacks political acumen, but I can sympathize with her cause. Violence is not the answer, but neither is reluctant compliance

Yeah, but what is the alternative to compromise? Carnage? Genocide, to eradicate the entirety of their tainted culture? A brutal police state accountable to no one, ripe with torture and no legal protections for anyone deemed suspicious by the Shavepate?

Dany isn't entering into negotiations and compromise because she has a font of great other options. She is doing it to minimize the level of death and misery overall. And that is admirable and could have led to better results down the line if she had been commited to it.

[araneitela]

What type of villain are you?

No Moral Compass: You are cold, analytical, and you strive to be as objective as a person of flesh and blood can be. Either don't understand the concepts of good and evil, or you understand it perfectly and think it's a load of bull. Some may call you selfish, some may call you unfeeling, but you're just doing what you believe will yield the best results, plain and simple. Why bother with petty ideals of right or wrong when you can do what will actively help those you give a fuck about? Your goals may be selfish or noble or anything in between, but you will not let anyone make you feel like garbage for going after them. You couldn't care less about what people brand you as. You just care about getting shit done by any means necessary.

Tagged by: @pluvianguis (I know you tagged my Guizhong, but I hope you don't mind! 💖) Tagging: @inominati (Caelus), @helldevour, @resolutepath (Elio), @luminaei, @icefell, @kanxing, @etherealguard, @sagnaevi (Neuv! I'm really curious), @hxkerwxlf, @narvvhal (please call out your boy), and anyone else who wants it— steal it and say I tagged you so I can read. <3

[petr1kov]

while i still enjoyed yellowjackets season 2 for the most part, the whole season was already displaying a worrying lack of direction, imo. it really feels like they're making shit up as they go, and while i don't think that's necessarily bad, it definitely is bad on a show that depends so much on maintaining a mystery over what happened on a past that haunts the present day narrative, yet seems to keep changing at will. i felt that the characters, both on the present and on the past, were not consistent with how they were portrayed on season 1, which is a big problem for a show that focuses so much on the psyche of the protagonists

[bistaxx]

k!Luzu is both the most tragic little man who gives me constant pain and grief but also a total loser who I want to bully /lovingly

[rosemary-bells]

may be remembering this wrong but that one scene post-five yrs when smj was worrying abt mr not being as considerate to him anymore.

bro u literally cut his heart open. he was probably worried abt the flower not working or smth like that and not like. mr not liking him anymore (didn’t he admit that he didn’t even like mr that much??) but bro. knife. heart. if he doesn’t pay attention to you anymore he has ever y right to do so sir

[doomednarrative]

Could never understand being a Michinaga hater the guy has carried the Entire series for me at this point

[gay-impressionist]

Japanese bookbinding 🥳

I did the one on the left at a workshop a few months ago. Now I've finally bought everything I need (craft knife, awl, metal ruler, binder clips, large-eye needles, paper) so I got around to making one of my own 😌

The next step is trying out other japanese bookbinding methods, namely the "noble binding" 😏

[randomcanbian]

.