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genderkoolaid · 5 days ago

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in what way, if any, do you think that indulging kinks is different than making jokes as far as emplanting/reinforcing ideas in the mind? do you think that being a sexual sadist makes you more permissive of nonconsensual violence?genuine question, feel free to ignore or answer privately if this is too thorny.

OKAY I have tried to write this 4 times now here we go!!!! This time it will NOT get deleted!!!!!!!!

This is a really good + important question so I am glad you asked! To me, it comes down to context and critical self-reflection.

Kink, done properly, occurs in a very specific and frank context. You discuss what a scene will look like beforehand, and then you discuss what happened and each person's experiences afterward. Proper kink requires blatant discussions of what is wanted and what is to be avoided, and the consent of all parties is what helps create this context.

Humor, on the other hand, tends to live in a hazy grey area between truth and lies. We like to think that because jokes are jokes, this means they are completely detached from our world. But humor has a social function. It helps bring people together, as well as delineate divisions. And it also helps us dip a toe into a certain feeling without having to discuss the feeling itself.

To give an example, let's talk about bees and wasps.

Say there is a person named A. A generally thinks of themself as liking animals and the natural world. They are against climate change and pro-biodiversity, although they don't really know a ton about these topics. They see people making jokes about wasps vs. bees: bees are sweet pollinators just trying to enjoy the summer, while wasps are angry assholes who will fuck your wife. A finds these jokes funny, especially having learned about how important bees are but having always been afraid of wasps. A also begins making jokes about how wasps have no purpose, they just exist to ruin your day, and should be killed. A finds themself joking about how we should really just kill off all wasps, since they are evil and worthless creatures. When A sees a wasp, they feel nothing but fear and the desire to kill it painfully. If they hear about something is causing mass death amongst wasps, they think its probably a net positive for everyone.

A was clearly biased against wasps from the beginning, which isn't really their fault; wasps can be scary and hurtful! The jokes seem to reaffirm their feelings as natural, socially valid, and even funny. But as I'm sure many of my followers know, wasps ARE pollinators and are quite important to the environment, as well as having the inherent worth that all creatures do. It's rather contradictory for A to both say they value biodiversity, while also devaluing an entire group of creatures and being okay with, or even advocating for, their extinction.

It is fully possible for A to dislike wasps, AND value biodiversity. The problem is that A does not really know how to apply their values to the world and their actions. They generally have beliefs, but those beliefs do not form a bedrock they can reference. Their values and their actions are not in conversation.

To take it back to what you were discussing: properly done kink always involves conversation between values and actions. The values are consent, risk-aware safety, and mutual pleasure/satisfaction/positive experiences. Knowing these values and what they mean, the people involved can talk about what they want to do and how those actions will relate to those values. When a sadist is hitting someone in a scene, they know that this is happening because they have created a context in which that action aligns with their values. And if someone does find that they are being shaped negatively by kink experiences, they can recognize that and choose to stop.

I believe there is a problem with people not truly knowing what they believe or value, and/or not truly knowing how their beliefs/values interact with the world and their actions. And when you combine that with the ambiguity of jokes, the way we are encouraged to see jokes as something separated from the "real world," and the way they can encourage people to follow their gut feelings and reaffirm them as socially valid and true, you get. well. bad times! radicalization! Oops All Assholes!

I just made a post that was kind of an example of this. I watched Megan Thee Stallion's documentary and joked about how she should be allowed to kill indiscriminately. When I think about making those kinds of jokes, I am keeping in mind:

Killing individuals doesn't solve systemic issues

I value transformative justice over punitive justice

I generally avoid making these- humourously communicating my anger at injustice into calls for violence- because I am conscious that jokes aren't "just jokes." This doesn't mean I NEVER do it. It's not, like, radioactive. Making a joke won't corrupt me a la the One Ring. But I make a choice to steer myself away from that kind of humor. Because I don't want to create that kind of thought pattern; because I am being conscious of the distinction between feeling and value, of catharsis and justice; because I don't want to connect with others on the basis of a belief I don't actually hold and am just putting on to express frustration; and because, in the case of other jokes, regardless of their impact on ME, they can still hurt other people. Even if you feel like you can make small dick jokes and still genuinely believe body-shaming is bad… if your jokes still have the impact of body-shaming people, then your values aren't really having an impact on your actions, at which point they are meaningless.

#m.#ask box

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queenaeducan · 7 months ago

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In Defense of Spirits

Or, alternatively:

I. Introduction

Spirits are one of my favourite parts of the Dragon Age lore, but they didn't start that way! Initially with Origins the various demons I fought I considered little more than cannon fodder, enemies put in my way to cut down so I could move on with my mission. With the introduction of Justice in Awakening and Dragon Age II coupled with Merrill’s alternate perspective also introduced in the latter, my feelings about them started to change. Solas and Cole crack those feelings wide open come Inquisition, and when replaying the games I found myself questioning the motivations of encounters with people I once considered one-note enemies.

I wanted to compile a list of these alternate readings of the various spirits we meet throughout the series, starting first with Origins. I'll be detailing some common themes and, where it’s appropriate, to defend their actions. This list is not comprehensive as there are some encounters I don’t consider significant or interesting enough to mention, although if someone’s curious about a particular spirit I’m happy to oblige. For the purposes of clarity, if I use the word “spirit” I am still referring to all denizens of the Fade, whether they call themselves Pride or Compassion. I may use the word “demon,” as a treat.

The purpose of this retrospective is to reflect upon the motivations of the spirits we kill through the series and how I think Bioware successfully created a world where, in this instance, we were sucked into their preconceived biases regarding spirits. And hopefully to make you feel as bad as I do when I’m forced to kill spirits who probably are better people than my player characters. I am also not arguing that everything I put forth here was intended by the writers. I have the reach and flexibility to pull out threads they didn’t expect me to.

Finally, this won’t be an exhaustive examination. There are a lot of spirits and some don’t invite discussion on my part.

II. Analytical Lens

There are several recurring themes that will crop up when I’m recontextualising the motivations of the spirits throughout the series. We’ll be going over these in detail as we talk about individual spirits, but for now:

The Veil is a construct. There was initially no barrier stopping them from moving back and forth freely, and in many ways their desire to manifest physically outside the Fade is a natural inclination. The problem being that going there and back again isn’t as easy as it once was.

They don’t understand this world. Again, I think the presence of the Veil exacerbates this. Time and again we see spirits who do have enough will to manifest safely have difficulty adjusting.

Trying to help hurts. Spirits can’t sicken with Blight or the common cold (that we know of), but intense emotions or cruel intentions can twist them from their purposes. Those who reach out in the honest urge to help may find themselves burned, sometimes through no fault of either party.

Their design encourages dehumanisation. For lack of a better word, considering this is a land of elves, dwarves, qunari, and so on. Many of the spirits we’re asked to empathise with are humanoid, with those we are at odds with being more likely to be monstrous or animal in design, making it easier to justify why we need to choose violence.

III. Dragon Age: Origins

Mouse

Mouse is among the first spirit players will meet in Dragon Age, depending on whether or not they play the Mage origin or not. Narratively he is meant to introduce the player to the role spirits often play in the lives of mages, that is to say: an evil that is not always self-evident. He tells a sympathetic lie, presents himself as someone who was once in a position like the protagonist currently is, and wants to make sure they don’t end up like him, only for it to be revealed that the entire reason he’s there is to possess them. At least, nominally that’s his role. A second pass at Mouse’s actions does raise questions as to his true intentions.

Throughout the test Mouse encourages two things within the protagonist: their self-worth and their questioning of the ritual. The former makes sense, he is ultimately revealed to be a spirit of Pride and so to stoke the protagonist’s own pride may inflate their confidence to a point where they can’t see the potential harm in dealing with him. Still, in a society where magic is feared and mages prisoners, there is something radical in encouraging that in someone. Especially when paired with remarks Mouse makes where he questions the logic of the Harrowing itself:

“It isn’t right they do this, the Templars. Not to you, me, anyone.”

This is one of the first things he says to you, and is one of the first pieces of Circle critical rhetoric in the entire series. From the perspective of the protagonist at the time, it would seem he’s referring only to apprentices, but is he? Spirits are drawn into the Harrowing as much as mages, ostensibly willingly with the promise of a body to possess, but we see in rituals such as the one that drew Wisdom into the world that the Circle isn’t above shackling spirits into doing their bidding, be it as a means of protection or garnering information. Once inside, they’re subject to the will of the apprentice, who have been taught to fear and mistrust the Fade since they were first brought to the Circle. So is Mouse expressing bitterness about the situation of the apprentices, or is he looking at the situation as being equally unfair to all involved?

Furthermore, what’s most interesting about Mouse is he never actually tries to possess you. He makes some requests, which Surana or Amell can’t agree to, but even if you avoid catching onto his game for as long as you can it never goes farther than that. He reveals himself as the final test and before the Harrowing ends he dispenses the to-be Warden a warning:

“Simple killing is a warrior’s job. The real dangers of the Fade are preconceptions, careless trust… pride. Keep your wits about you, mage. True tests never end.”

A piece of wisdom, if you will.

I don’t believe Mouse ever truly intended to possess you, although it’s impossible to tell if he truly would or not without the ability to agree to his bargain. He gives up the game too quickly, with the Warden only needing to vaguely doubt his story before he reveals it. By following the Warden through their Harrowing he helps them successfully bargain with spirits like Valor and Sloth and safely introduces the idea that not everything here is as it seems. Rather than being purely a Pride demon, I think Mouse is a spirit of Wisdom influenced by the Warden’s preconceptions towards what some might call the darker aspect of the values he represents.

While I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Mouse was exactly what we’re led to believe, nevertheless I believe it probable that spirits aren’t always gleeful participants in the Harrowing and that the rite is damaging to them as well as the apprentice mages.

Desire

We go now to another spirit from the Circle, specifically the Desire demon we meet in the Broken Circle quest. When we come across her she’s possessed a Templar and letting him live out a fantasy of having a wife and children. When the Warden and their party come across her, she argues that she’s giving him what he wants and doesn’t see the harm in it. Upon my first playthrough I took this as a lie and killed her, although it was difficult not feeling bad, as from the perspective of the enthralled Templar he died defending his family from bandits. To him the Warden was unequivocally the bad guy, and it’s tragic thinking about what his final thoughts might have been.

As for Desire herself, I think there’s an argument to be made that she simply didn’t see a difference between her making a life for herself and the Templar all within his head and a physical, lived life. We see in Inquisition especially, where we talk to more spirits, that the nature of the physical world is as alien to them as the Fade is to mortals. Command wonders out loud why the rocks do not move at her command, and Cole asks Varric to talk to his shoelaces for him because they “don’t listen to him.” They existed in a world where will mattered more and where dreams were real, so it stands to reason that to Desire there is no discernable difference between giving him what he wants for real and dreaming it.

Interestingly, you can choose to let them both go, and we get no indication of where they go from the Circle. Leliana also approves because she thinks what counts is that he’s happy. Personally I don’t feel there’s a right option in this quest as either leaves the Templar in a tragic spot, but I do think the Desire demon’s motivations aren’t as evil or manipulative as they seemed on my first playthrough.

Lady of the Forest

The Lady is perhaps the first spirit in the series given a more complicated character than “spirit good, demon bad.” We have Valor in the mage origin, Wynne’s spirit of Faith, etc, but they aren’t given much characterisation and their benevolent nature is taken as a matter of fact. We have a biased introduction to her, we see the damage she has done to Zathrian’s clan and hear his side of the story. We go into the forest to carve the heart from her chest.

But when the time comes to actually speak with her, his bias and deception is plain. She has all the trappings of a demon: summoned at a point of great tragedy, as a tool of vengeance, enacting a literal curse upon Zathrian’s enemies. Yet now she is an advocate for non-violent solutions, only compelled to violence by desperation (she sent letters but Zathrian left her on read) or by the player’s encouragement (potentially). I do think this was an end she worked towards, and didn’t come by naturally, saying to the Warden at one point:

“Then the time has come to… set our rage aside. I apologise on Swiftrunner’s behalf. He struggles with his nature.”

While she is speaking of Swiftrunnher, given she is the curse’s origin, I think the same could be said of her nature (as it is her curse). Zathrian implies much the same, saying to her:

“Your nature compels it, as does mine.”

I think it’s very likely that had we encountered the Lady those hundred years ago when she was first made, she would have been to our eyes a demon, rather than the semi-benevolent force of nature she appears as in-game. Interestingly, her outward nature doesn’t change if she is compelled to kill the Dalish. She isn’t thrilled, but neither is her nature twisted. She’s pretty quick to move on, afterwards. Of the major spirits in DA:O, I do think she is an outlier in the series. Killing her is the bad option, especially when a mutually beneficial solution is forced upon you. She also has a stronger presence of mind than many of the other spirits, perhaps accounting to her age and the fact that she is tethered to the world through not only Zathrian but her ‘followers.’ It’s fitting that the Dalish quest is the one where a spirit is presented not only sympathetically, but (as far as I can tell) exclusively referred to as a spirit whether they are doing right or wrong.

Rage

We meet many Rage demons in Origins, and throughout the series, but the spirit I’m referring to are the ones we meet in the Alienage’s orphanage. The recent site of a massacre, the orphanage is now home to a spirit of Rage who attacks those who enter. Rage, I thought, was a curious choice, when Despair and Terror exist. Although the fact that they probably didn’t want to make a new spirit model for this one sidequest would probably explain it on a development level, but then I wondered— whose rage?

The spirits don’t seem to embody the rage of the people who massacred the orphanage, or even the rage of the victims. They tell the Warden and Ser Otto that they “do not belong here” and one is furious that the party has killed “my brood.” I think the presence of the spirits here is indicative of how helpful or benevolent spirits can be twisted by the horrors of our world, that they were drawn by the misery of what happened at the orphanage and upon witnessing it they became enraged. They are ultimately protecting nothing, just an empty building that’s probably best torn down or cleared out, or whatever the elves of Denerim’s Alienage decide they need to properly mourn. Yet as we walk through the building the screams of children still play around us, it’s still happening for its current residents.

In the final encounter of the quest, the Rage demon targets and kills Ser Otto (assuming those mabari you encounter like two minutes in don’t get him first, like they do for me every time if I’m not paying attention) first out of your entire party. It makes sense, although his motivation was pure, he is representative of the human justice that allows horrors like this, and what’s more— how many orphans were taken from the orphanage’s midst by people wearing armour just like his, never to return?

The rage demons had every right to be angry, even if their anger manifested in a harmful way. The tragedy is that, outside of Denerim’s Alienage, most people weren’t.

IV. Other

These are spirits whose roles I don’t have much to say about, for one reason or another.

Kitty. I don’t have much to say about Kitty, who as a reminder is the spirit held captive in the basement of Wilhelm, the former master of Shale. Given Kitty can agree to not possess Amalia, content simply to be free of the basement, and then doubles back on that promise once you complete the puzzle, I don’t have the highest opinion of Kitty. However, can I do want to point out that Wilhelm held Kitty captive in his basement for decades for his research. Research which, by the way, was to find ways to prevent mages from becoming possessed. A little ironic that he essentially possessed a spirit to do so. I want to point this out only because I think it highlights how spirits are casually used by people and at no point do we stop and wonder what decades of being locked up in a basement outside of their intended realm of existence might do to someone, even a metaphysical someone.

Herren. The merchant and life partner of the blacksmith Wade, who may have made your Warden some nice armour from all those endangered dragons they killed. In the Darkspawn Chronicles Herren is fought— as a desire demon. Gaider says this is not canon, but he doesn’t even go here anymore, so instead I’d like to put forth the idea that Herren is a desire demon taken physical form who lives out his existence peacefully (if somewhat grumpily) with his eccentric husband. I have no evidence of this being a fact, in fact I have the opposite of evidence, but I like my version better, so.

The Grand Oak. I think everyone with a modicum of taste likes this guy, but I do think he's an interesting lens to look at how spirits in Elvhenan might have lived. I like to think all of them had a period where they just vibed as a tree for a hundred years or so.

#dragon age #dragon age meta #dragon age lore #dragon age: origins #lady of the forest #mouse dragon age #long post #my writing #i have no idea what to tag this tbh

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jackfrostimposter · 4 months ago

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this may be just me but l honestly do not get the whole "the guardians are abusers who abandoned Jack and hurt pitch and also Pitch did nothing wrong" fanon that is so prevalent. There's genuinely nothing in the script, narrative, themes, ANYTHING that hint at anything like that. It completely changes everyone's characters and undermines the actual themes and messages of this story.

First off, Pitch wanted world domination NOT BALANCE. Miss me with that fear is necessary bs: that’s not what this movie is about. Rotg is about morality and the difference between selfishness/selflessness. Pitch is the wrong choice not because he is fear but because he is selfish and likes to hurt people. Rotg illustrates this point again and again by comparing Jack and pitch and showing how Jack chooses to make people happy and puts others first and is selfless. It’s what Jack learns in the movie. The Guardians have reasons to not like Pitch: he murdered and stole and kidnapped. He blackmailed Jack, tried to kill a child… for control of the world. Any emotion he displayed in the Antarctica scene was mostly a farce to get Jack to sympathize with him (although I do believe that he was being genuine about wanting a family, but he wasn’t thinking about Jack at all in that scene and got there through insincere means). He didn’t care about Jack before Jack showed potential in raw power.

Secondly, the Guardians did nothing wrong. They were strangers to Jack. Strangers. They had no obligation to him and he had no obligation to them. Jack could’ve left anytime but DIDN’T until he was fully in the situation, had chosen a side, and was the only thing stopping Pitch. That’s why the Easter Destroyed scene is like that. That’s why the movie, not just the characters, acts like Jack betrayed the Guardians. He was in too deep in this to walk away! When he broke that bed it was a choice to not go back! They made the story work that way on purpose by having him make the decision to BREAK it and jump in the dark. It was his choice to go under the bed and not help the Mini-fairies or just go back to the Guardians when he knew he didn’t have the time to stray. That was his betrayal, but Pitch made it seem worse by making the Guardians think that Jack traded Baby Tooth for his memories. Sure Jack was lead away and tricked, but he still followed a familiar voice despite knowing that he shouldn’t follow it. Sure he didn't maliciously betray them but like goddamn that's literally going into the Evil Villain Layer™ and being surprised that there's Evil there. The point of these scenes is that Jack was selfish and reckless and had to learn to do better.

Not that the guardians are evil and pitch is the actual good guy. Why are we genuinely acting like the guardians did anything wrong but be kinda mean to Main Character when literally Dying. Why are we acting like they are abusive and not the guy who murdered someone to get more power.

#Long post #rotg #rise of the guardians #Jack Frost #nicholas st. north #e. aster bunnymund #sanderson mansnoozie #toothiana #pitch black

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soulfulazrael · 2 months ago

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Stolas and Stella. Shallow conflict that could be so much more. Conflict of two Hells and torment of the immortal.

So... another post that probably will be another long Yap fest of a weirdo who has only the brainpower to make threads on a cartoon. Eh. Could be worse. My drive to make this post was sparked by this one image (or well... two).

Great... Very subtle... Deserves a medal don't you think? Ah well. Today's subject as you can tell from the image presented here is RELATIONSHIPS! Or rather one set of relationships that has been bothering me and inspired me to do better in my own work based on this show. This disaster that is the Stella/Stolas/Octavia dynamic is one huge problem in my eyes and I will explain that below with some thoughts of mine and why this particular image sparked such vitriol in my peanut brain.

I think the biggest and most noticeable problem that can be seen straight away in this one picture and entire show that... it is just so damn simple. Way too simple and 1 dimensional which this show tries to parade as something meaningful and deep. I mean one look at it and you can see all of the problems. Stella is made into a laughing all evil bastard. Octavia FOR SOME REASON is just angry at Stolas and makes a mean face which makes no sense given how they interact. And Stolas is presented as some tragic, deeply hurt figure when he is in fact the architect of most of his own miseries, but the show seems to believe in that horseshait.

And at first one who only has this picture as any sort of context may say that "It's okay. The wife is obviously an evil capital B, but the daughter in this whole equation adds to the complexity and the feeling of that the dad also screwed up heavily".

Except to anyone who actually watched the show this makes no sense because Octavia has literally NO reason to ever side or ignore her mother's stupid and malicious behavior. It's one thing where you want to include a complex dynamic where the sides are more blurred and another where you make one side so obviously WORSE. Not to mention stupid and seemingly unable to hide any of their douchebaggery.

And it's another issue of the show as a whole where it just cannot for the life of it have complex antagonists and most of them are pretty much the same damn archetype. Both shows do that in fact. Because both HH and HB work in the same way. They all have the same kind of snickering abuser who loves to torment their victim and they are about as smart as average Twitter Blue buyer. I mean can you tell me ANY sort of difference between someone like Val, Stella, Crim or Mammon? Any of them? Besides their designs and people they abuse? You probably have to think it through and I think it goes to show how all of them are so damn similar to each other. To the point where they are all almost exactly the same boring character.

And funny thing is? It didn't have to be this way. And this second image feels like more of an insult for two reasons.

Still not perfect, but it's better somewhat And the reason for that is... it feels like actually a bit subtle. You have less cramming in of how terrible Stella is. Octavia being a more oblivious child and Stolas while caring for her being more absent minded. That creates an interesting dynamic and Stella has some air of mystery to her where she can be taken in many directions.

They just chose the absolute dumbest one. And that's why this image makes me mad. It shows they COULD do better, but choose not to and that this art serves no other purpose than just to say STELLA LE BAD. And they have no other agenda with it. No other way to interpret it because of that second stupid one. It narrows and destroys so much potential. Almost as much as that picture of baby Stella from Circus.

And I think another big issue I kind of mentioned before is this parade of complexity. It wants to put on facade of being complex and having something to say, but it really doesn't. It provides a very simple and dumbed down story with clear good and bad side where one side is cartoonishly evil to the point of being moronic while other one is paraded as a victim to end all victims and they put in a dress of sad crying scenes and the daughter being pissed for no reason at clearly good party because the idiotic plot demands it.

And other big issue... Is that this does not explore ANY interesting ideas. No interesting dynamics. No interesting implications or provides any sort of value to the world or explores anything in this world of HELL. Where you can make the world feel wild and interesting and the ways this world shaped those people. The ways those people are broken. The ways you can expand on this conflict beyond the surface level idiocy.

And I want here to present an example of a story rather similar... that did this right. So right it's almost comedic. I am talking about a story of Bloody Baron from Witcher 3 so for all people who did not play this almost 10 year old game (holy shit W3 came out almost 10 years ago... Can you slow down time?) then I must warn you. For the rest who did play or don't care. Enjoy.

Seems appropriate. Bloody Baron questline is probably one of the most impactful, complex and interesting conflicts I've seen in any game. A story of abuse, trauma and pain in a family of Bloody Baron, his wife Anna and daughter Tamara. amazing writing, great voice acting, great characters all that good stuff. But let me tell you why it's so good.

First off. The characters. They are all very well written and are very believable. Bloody Baron especially is a sad mess of a man. An ex veteran, drunkard and abuser who tries to find his wife and their daughter she took with her when she escaped from him after their recent fight. A fact Geralt is not aware of, one of many he and us by extension are not aware of.

This may already sound rather familiar and stay with me because it gets better. What works so well with character of Bloody Baron is that while he is at first a completely unlikeable person that gets worse over time as you discover more filth in his story, he is also extremely human. He is no caricature and you can tell why he became the way he is and you can tell he is full of great regrets and despite his actions still holds a lot of love for both his daughter and wife. He is someone who did terrible things to his family, someone very rash and very brutal, but he is not a total and complete monster. He watched his own other child die partially as a consequence of his own actions. Lost his family. He lost almost everything besides an army of men that couldn't give less of a shit about him and a home in a dreadful swamp full of monsters. His character greatly explores the mind of someone very broken, someone who lost himself to alcohol and ended up making a ton of terrible mistakes and now tries to atone for them. But we also see in flashbacks that he can be also a caring man as he helped Ciri and little girls she saved. He is no less of a terrible person because of it, but it adds humanity to him.

And other two characters in this do not fall far behind as well. Anna especially is also a very broken shell of a person. And despite what one may think she is also not innocent in all of this as she is someone who first cheated on the Baron after he went out to war. Leaving him for some other man as he was putting his life on the line for them (while also falling to alcoholism as well). And when she was confronted about it and when her lover got slaughtered by Baron she broke and started to try to kill him and herself which started the abuse from Baron who only found this to be a good way to calm her down and Anna herself was a clearly traumatized woman who was now in a cage with the Baron.

And in between all of that was a young, very scared child of both. Tamara who saw only the abuse her mother received and felt like it was all her father's fault for everything breaking apart around them and eventually devoting herself to group of Eternal Flame as a way of handling her situation. She still received lots of love from her father, but could never see him as anything less than a monster.

All of them in this scenario... probably feel oddly familiar. And it's funny because in many ways they ARE like Stolas and Stella and Octavia. But roles are somewhat moved and the conflicts feel far more real. Tamara is not for some reason seeing the abuser as lesser evil seemingly. She sees the abuse, but doesn't know a full story much like Geralt or anyone else. Baron in this case is in many ways like Stella. He is someone who abuses their partner and goes into violent rage when they leave them, but unlike Stella you can tell there is this lingering love for his family that further fuels this abuse and brings more pain to everyone while Anna is a broken mess of a woman who cheated on her husband and paid terrible price for it and kept paying as... she sold her upcoming child to terrible witches. Or rather she wished for it to die and for it sold her soul.

And this I think is what makes this story all the stronger. It's not just the tragedy or realism. It's how it ties into the world of Witcher as a whole where we are introduced to some of the most harrowing set pieces of the game and some of the most disturbing villains in the game who also simply act upon their nature as deal makers with Anna and simply know something about Geralt's own daughter Ciri (who they tried to eat). It expands the world and uses it in a meaningful way and pushes more interesting ideas like the side of Anna caring for children at the swamp that are meant to be devoured by witches. Another Hell that ends either with her complete breakdown or death, but also either suicide of the Baron or redemption as he tries to save her and no longer drink or abuse her. While Tamara no matter what has to also face her own consequences of having to forever be tied to Endless Flame, but also putting faith in her father in the good ending and possibly ending with their relationship beginning to heal.

And all of that feels natural. This kind of story definitely can be told anywhere, this kind of story doesn't need this setting, but it further enriches it. And I think another big part of this story I like is that it doesn't try to paint any side as being in the RIGHT. Because in this kind of situation NO PARTY is in the right... And as someone who did went through similar thing... I respect that. And that is why I cannot accept what HB does. In this situation there are no good guys or bad guys... Just people who keep making mistakes (and don't worry, family may be a bit broken, but I still love both my parents no matter how far one may be).

And it is funny because story of Bloody Baron in many ways is how the whole situation with Octavia and her family SHOULD look like. A very harrowing story where there is no place for good or bad sides. Where you have to choose FOR YOURSELF who is more at fault. And the game leaves that decision to you. It does not tell you what to think. It tells you to think. One of the writers who made that whole story said once "I do not like likeable characters. I like interesting characters". And I think that is also where the writing suffers. It tries to paint one side as "likeable", but because of that it removes so much complexity from the character by excusing all of their awful behavior or painting them as ultimate victim. And do not try to tell me also that because Stella is so easy to hate then they are well written. That's not true. Making hateable character is the easiest thing in the world. Just put everything bad in them and make them not like protagonist and oppose them. That's it. It's lazy.

And that also makes me so mad about HB because they were CLOSE to making something good. Not exactly the same as Bloody Baron, but something of it's own that could also be good.

I personally make a fic called "Song for the Quiet Bird". There I partially explore characters of Stolas and Stella and Octavia and I try to paint the entire situation in a more gray light where each side is not truly in the right. Where both of them are in their own ways broken people. And to do so I also try to use something I wish Viv used which is Immortality of Ars Goetia which could have been a thing, but Viv decided to make Stolas like 30 because then you have cute Stolas and Blitzo arts as kids.

In my version both have lived already for 800 years. They lived already for a long time and there is eternity waiting ahead and both cope in their own ways that were taught to them by the world of Hell to not lose themselves to eternity. Stolas is a selfish hedonist who cares the most about his own pleasures and even though he cares for Octavia it is very easy for him to lose himself in his own desires and pleasures as he mostly cares for himself the most and anything that is extension of him. Meanwhile Stella is a cold, distant and very duty focused character. Someone who while trains Octavia for the longest time does not involve herself too much with her own daughter, barely seeing her as one. Someone entirely focused on the prosperity of the family as a whole, someone who does not believe in value of individuality or personal joy and instead focuses on the good of everything else solely. This good being judged by her and her views that value subjugation and order compared to Stolas's love for chaos and selfish freedom.

In this case both sides are very broken. They both have to live through their own Hells made by their own choices that add to the fact they were born into the world of Hell. Neither one can really truly coexist with each other and both long ago abandoned any hope for true understanding. And in all of that the only real victim and good party you can find is Octavia. A person who suffers because of this clash of ideals and has to cope in her own way with suffering both she and her parents go through. All of them suffering.

That's at least how I write it. Something where you cannot pin to one side being terrible or evil. Just everyone being broken in a terrible world you have to fight with to make something better and both in a way... gave up. Until of course Moxxie comes along there for Stella and his presence helps her develop... but that's another thing.

I also have some quotes below from my fic to show my approach to both Stella and Stolas as characters. First one is Stolas and Octavia having a chat in the most recent chapter.

And here below is a scene between Stella and Moxxie where there is some discussion about theatre plays of Hell and difference between human and hellish ones delving into also her own view of the world (this IS a Stella/Moxxie crackship fic... just a big slowburn). From one of the earlier chapters.

Both I think probably show their own deep flaws and ways of coping with their own realities.

Now I don't say I want my ideas to be in the show, but more complex ones. Ones that are not just this... thing we've been fed for all of Season 2 and partially in Season 1 which could have been taken in a better direction, but it never was and just like one image here ruins another, here season 2 retroactively ruins the 1st one. Stella/Stolas/Octavia dynamic just has potential to be so much more than... whatever HB is now.

Well that was stupidly long and I can't imagine many people getting here, but hey. I wrote it and it's already too long to not post it. To whoever came this far I thank you and hope you will leave your opinion on this manifesto. Hope it was entertaining at least.

#helluva boss #hazbin hotel #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #fanfic #helluva boss rewrite #helluva boss critique #witcher 3 #too long #God help me I have no life

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orcasoul · 1 year ago

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Welcome to my Pedro Pascal masterlist. I'm still fairly new to fan fiction and have never attempted creative writing until last year, so please go easy on me, people lol. I currently write for Din Djarin, Joel Miller, Marcus Acacius and Pedro Pascal himself. Comments and reblogs mean the world to me. It lets us know if we're doing a good job or not. I hope you all enjoy.....

💔= Angst 💘=Fluff 🔥=Smut 🗡= Violence

A03 Link

Din Djarin Masterlist

Remember Cyar'ika Masterlist 💔 💘 🗡

You and Din hunt bounties together, but you get injured and have Amnesia. Will his love help you regain your memory?

Priceless Masterlist 💔 💘 🗡

You and Din miss Grogu terribly after he leaves with Luke Skywalker. After confessing your feelings to each other Din leaves to track down a quarry. While waiting for Din's return you are abducted by slavers. Din saves the day!

We don't talk anymore 💔 💘

You are afraid Din doesn't want you around anymore since Grogu has been returned to his people. After an argument yours and Dins' true feelings come out.

Warm or cold 💔 💘 🔥 🗡

You and Din track bounties together. During one hunt the quarry gets the upper hand and tries to kill you in order to escape. Din makes him pay. No one hurts his Cyare!

Catch Me If You Can 🔥 💘

You'd better run. The Mandalorian is hot on your heels....

That Time Again 💘

You've bled through but Din panics, thinking you're injured...

Across an Ocean of Stars - Coming Soon WIP

Broken Masterlist 💔 💘 🗡

Din is on the brink of death. The only way to save him is to remove his helmet. Surely he'll understand and forgive you... right?

A Beskar Dress for Dins Cyare 💘 🔥

Just a little scene I've conjured, inspired by a chainmail dress.

Din Djarin Head-canons

Din Djarin Imagine

Joel Miller Masterlist

Am I Too Late to Love You? Masterlist 💔 💘 🗡

Joel breaks you heart when you confess your love for him. You get into trouble whilst on patrol, causing Joel to accept his feelings and leave in a desperate search for you.

Reckless 💔 💘 🗡

You are a bit too headstrong and impulsive for Joel's liking. After purposely putting yourself in danger he let's you know just how much you mean to him.

When I wake up I've lost something A 💔 🗡

Joel is finally happy and in love but when he wakes up.....

The swimming lesson 🔥 💘

You are close friends with Joel and Ellie. You can't swim, so Ellie gets Joel to teach you at a secluded lake. All the sexual tension and pining for each other becomes too much....

Twelve days of Christmas 💔 💘

For twenty years Joel never had to think about Christmas. Painful memories of past Christmases with his daughter were easier to bury in the depths of his mind. But now Jackson's festivities are in full swing and an unexpected meeting might just give Joel a reason to embrace the holiday once again.

Every Last One of Them 💔 🗡

Abby is about to kill the man you love. You can't let that happen so you make the ultimate sacrifice....

I'll Come Back For You 💔

Letting go is hard to do for both of you. But as they say, if you love someone, you have to let them go.

Not My Man 💔💘

You are furious when you learn that Joel is suspected of hurting you.

Joel Miller head-cannons

Joel Miller Imagine

General Marcus Acacius Masterlist

The Lesser of Two Evils 💔💘🔥🗡

Series Masterlist

Rome is the enemy but so are the people you've spent your whole life with. When faced with a desperate choice of life or death which enemy should you choose?

Marcus Acacius headcanons - coming soon

Marcus Acacius Imagine

Pedro Pascal Masterlist

Oh Baby Masterlist 💔 💘

A baby is the last thing you and Pedro expected but life has a way of surprising you for the better...

Forever a Winner 💘

It's the night of the Golden Globes awards and you're there to support the love of your life, Pedro Pascal.

The Plus one 💔💘

You and Pedro have been in a relationship for a while but for some reason he'd stopped inviting you to social events. Has he grown tired of you...?

Stay tuned for many more stories to come. I've made a physical note of every story I want to create and there are so many it's always so hard to chose the next one, especially when new ideas pop up all the time! 😆😜 I'm looking forward to one day having them all written and posted for my and your enjoyment 🤗😘

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httpwintersoldier · 2 years ago

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『night visits. || winter soldier x reader』

pairing: winter soldier x f!reader words: lenghty summary: usually people find their own interests, but when you are "forecefully recruited" to work under HYDRA, your interest found you first.

『part 2』

You thought your studies and hard work would be rewarded, especially being one of the only women in the field. You thought all of the late nights studying, all of the potential relationships lost over fear of falling behind in your studies and all of the golden years invested would be worth it. You would be praised, given numerous titles and be able to help the community and give back to Society.

Except that didn't happen.

The payment for your hard work came in the form of a kidnapping. By Hydra. After appearing in the paper, being praised for your skills and knowledge, unbeknownst to you, a target had been placed by one of the most evil forces walking the earth.

Someone as bright and qualified as you who did not yet have the influence or the contacts to generate buzz in the media or in the government when kidnapped qas rare, and Hydra recognized the fact. So one late night, as you were coming back from your lab alone, you were hit in the back of the head and next thing you knew you were sitting in a metal chair, shaking in cold, with two men standing by your side and another menacingly sitting in front of you, waiting for you to wake up.

"The world sure is cruel..." Were your only thoughs, as tears ran down your emotionless face, when you heard where you were and what your purpose was.

You couldn't even choose the easy way out and... "eliminate yourself". They made sure you knew the worst would happen to your loved ones if you did so. So you complied, in hopes there would be a way out.

They then introduced you to a soldier, one genetically enhanced, to be stronger, smarter, smoother and more skilfull than thw average soldier. A previous army man whose brain had been blended and molded into being a mere killer puppet.

You were to supervise him, make sure everything in his heavily modified and messed-with brain was in order. You conducted psychological tests as well as neurological ones.

You were handed his file before you got to meet him, so you could study him. All of his information was there, the information of James Buchanan Barnes.

Tears brimmed your eyes when you met the soldier. He was a person, with a life. With hopes, dreams, loved ones... And Hydra turned him into a monster.

"The tests work best if I am alone with him. Other presences may disturb him and alter the results." You told the other Hydra agents.

It wasn't a complete lie, but you just wanted to be alone with him so you could treat him like a human.

" But he could-"

"I will call if you're needed." You said, interrupting him by raising your finger "You have not-so-gracefully brought me here because I am good. I should know what's best."

All of the men overseeing the Winter Soldier prohect exited the room, while muttering some not-so-nice Russian words under their breaths.

You pushed a chair to sit close to the Winter Soldier (but not too close, since you were still wary).

"Hello, James."

All of the men called him "Soldier", but it seemed inhumane, like a tool to be used, so you just used his first name. You knew it might trigger memories, but you refused to keep up the bad treatment.

This made the soldier look at you through his eyebrows, acknowledging your presence, but not replying.

"I'm here to asses you. Is that okay?"

You were to make sure he didn't remember anything from his past life and that he remained in the borderline-psychotic state he was in constantly, and that was already monsteous enough, so you made sure it was as easygoing as possible.

"Sargeant Barnes I don't want to treat you like those men, I don't want to hurt you."

His eyes softened the least bit, but as you expected his walls were up, strong and solid, and once more he did nor reply.

It would be months of hard work before he trusted your words, before he revealed that there was a bit of James Barnes underneath the soldier.

"Why... Why do you do this?"

You looked up from your notebook.

"Do what, James?"

"That. Give me hope."

Your heart raced a little at those words.

"What do you mean, give you hope?"

"It was easier killing people when I thought they were all cruel..."

There was silence in the room. You knew he didn't mean to say that your encounters were unpleasant, but that they were so pleasant, there was such peace when you were with him, that it was harder to complete his job.

"Do you want me to change my behaviour?" You still had to ask, just in case.

He did not look at you when he shook his head negatively.

"I like you. You're a good one. But I don't want to remember anything."

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion and put down your materials for a second.

"Why's that, James?"

Fortunately, the fact that he was never called "James" (it had always been "Bucky" or "Sargeant Barnes") worked in his favour, as he did not have recurring memories from his past when you called him that.

"If I am here... it was because I was a bad person. No good person ends up in this place. I am here, I must deserve it."

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" This question was genuine curiosity. You wondered, after hearing his logic, if he thought you were evil too.

The man looked at you as if you were stupid. His eyes said "how could it ever come across your mind that I think there's a trace of evil in you". But, due to his conditioned mind, all he said was a cold, harsh "no".

"Then you trust me?"

A nod was all you got in response. If you got a couple sentences out of him per session, you'd be in luck.

"I will respect that you don't want to remember, but I can tell you, I saw who you were. You were not a bad person, you were a great one."

He finally made eye contact with you, and you could almost feel emotion in him.

The soldier's eyes wandered away from yours once more, focusing on the ground.

"I will end up here." He mumbled.

"Sorry James, what was that?"

"I will end up here. No matter what I do, they find me. I know I have remembered before, they left that in my mind. They left that I escaped, they brought me back and put me back in the machine." His voice was more somber as he told his story "I don't want to remember because if I do I won't want to stay, but I will just end up here again and be tortured again. I will just save myself the pain."

That was the most he had ever said to you, and it brought tears to your eyes. It wasn't human, what they did to him, no. It was pure torture on a man that, on the pictures you saw, looked like a hopeful young man, the life of the party, the one that would make friends with any and everyone.

You placed your hand on top of his.

"I'm sorry, James."

This action caused the soldier to widen his eyes and look at you in shock.

It was the first friendly touch he had felt since forever. It was the first human contact he had that wasn't a punch, a slap, or something equally as painful.

That interaction almost made him lose composure, but he remained stiff and serious until you awkwardly removed your hand.

You were slowly bringing out the human in him, but sometimes you wondered if that was the correct choice. You didn't want him to get hurt again. The last time they used the machine you could hear his screams no matter how far your room was or how you tried to cover your ears with the pillow, the Soldier's pained and desperate screams still reached your ears.

After that particular day, Bucky realized how much he enjoyed your touch. It seemed that the spot you had touched him burned every day you were apart. Your sessions were twice a week, three times maximum, but it was the only thing Bucky looked forward to.

"Hello, James."

His gaze remained locked with the floor. You thought you had made no progress whatsoever in your mission to make him accostumed with behaving like a human, however that wasn't true. Bucky was just afraid that if he did look at you he wouldn't be able to contain his excitement.

His brain was in constant disarray - the conflict between wanting to smile and have a conversation with you and the fear of disobeying orders and being punished were constant.

You sighed and sat next to him. You did the usual job of first checking to see if Hydra hadn't permanently fucked his head, and then you moved to the part where you'd check if he still was the emotionless psychopath Hydra had turned him into. Except you bent the last task to your will.

"I don't want to treat you like the rest of them. I won't. No matter what they made you believe, you're a person still. And I want to make your situation a little better but you have to pretend, no matter how much your condition improves, that you're still the same Soldier. I don't want you to go back into the machine because of me." You had explained, in one of your earliest appointments.

"I read the mission report. What are you feeling?"

"Accomplished."

His response was short, and dry, delivered in a voice devoid of all feeling.

"Are you saying that just because you accomplished the mission?"

Silence. His silence was, most of the time, an admission. You nodded and sighed.

You stood up and walked closer to him, placing your hand on his shoulder. There it was. Bucky didn't even care about the rush of emotions flowing through him, he just focused on your touch, how warm it felt, how homely it felt.

"Now, how did it really make you feel."

There was a short silence again, as he thought.

"Confused. I don't think I like to see people suffer, I don't like their screams, but I must do it, or else I suffer." His eyebrows furrowed as he said that, as if he was trying to connect the pieces in his head.

You began saying something about how he wasn't bad, but all that was just background noise. All he could focus on was how your hand travelled down his arm and rested on his hand as you crouched in front of him.

"James? Did you listen?"

Only then did you realize how intensely he was looking at you. His icy blue eyes stared into your soul, and you noticed how beautiful the man was when there were slight traces of emotion on his face. The strands of his jaw-lenght dark hair shaped his face beautifully, and you couldn't help but look at his parted lips.

You felt your face growing hot and immediately stood up, turning your back to him and pretending you were doing something else as you tried to regain your composure.

Before long, Hydra officials came through the door to take the Soldier, You'd never get too long in his presence, just enough time to do your job.

This time you wouldn't see him again in two days, and so you walked back to your "room" (if it could even be called that) thinking about his eyes, the way he looked at you, and the way you wanted to brush back his hair and take a good, long look at his face.

It was late, very late, when you woke up with a cold breeze in your room. You stood up, to close the window, only to realize that it was closed. It was only when you looked towards the door that you saw a tall, large, dark figure standing under the frame. Before you could scream, he paced forward and placed a hand over your mouth.

You could then see who it was. The moon light coming through from the window's glass lit up those blue eyes you had come to be so familiar with, and the mask you dreaded.

Once your breathing calmed down and the Soldier was sure you knew who it was, he allowed you to remove his hand from your mouth.

You then reached around his neck and undid his mask, slowly removing it.

"Why are you here?" You asked, your voice above a whisper.

The mask fell to the ground but Bucky's eyes never left yours.

"I won't hurt you."

It stung you that he thought you'd ever think he was capable of hurting you, but that was how he was conditioned to think.

"I know..."

Those words sent a wave of relief over Bucky, and he wasn't sure how to describe the feelings inside of him if he had to.

"I came back from a mission and I should head back but... I can't. I needed to see you."

Your mind immediately went into work mode and you looked at him with a very serious face.

"Are you feeling alright? Did something trigger you in the mission?" You asked, sitting down on your bed and pulling him down so he could be comfortable.

"No, miss Y/N, I needed to see you." As he said this, Bucky slid a hand up your thigh, stopping dangerously close to your core.

Only then did you realise that you were sitting next to a very big man wearing nothing but the sheer and short nightgown you used, as it would get very hot in your particular side of the building due to all the machinery working.

Your legs spread slightly, and you didn't miss the ever so sublte smirk tugging at the corner of Soldier's lips. The man watched your reactions carefully, and took that as a green card to proceed. His face got closer to yours, and he teased your lips, brushing his own against yours, before moving to your neck and kissing the spot right below your ear.

"James..." His name escaped past your lips.

It wasn't voluntary, because you didn't know if you wanted him to stop or continue. Morally it was wrong, he was your patient (technically), but it felt so right, so good...

"Hm? Want me to stop?" He asked, as his hand made its way closer to your core and his lips bit down on your neck.

Fuck it. If you were stuck here you might as well enjoy it, there was nothing morally right around you, why would you be the exception.

"No." You said, with the upmost certainty.

"Good."

With his metalic arm, the man separated your legs far enough so he could have access to your vagina, and with the other he cupped your face and brought your lips to his.

His fingers went inside your panties and rubbed between your folds before teasing at the entrance. You couldn't help but moan into the kiss as one experimental finger went inside of you.

There had obviously been a considerable ammount of time since you had been sexaully active, so you were very sensitive, and the Soldier could tell.

You weren't sure on what to focus: the way his lips completely dominated yours, or the way his fingers fucked you.

Soon after he added a second finger and switched between curling and uncurling them as he fucked you. His thumb found your clit and he rubbed it, adding to your pleasure.

You didn't hide how good he made you feel, incessantly moaning into the kiss and calling his name.

The man pulled away for a second, kissed your cheek and then your neck.

"I love the way you sound." He whispered.

"Then... Then fuck me, I promise I will sound so much better." You said, almost breathless.

Bucky shoved the fingers that were in you inside of your mouth so you could lick them clean, and then wrapped the same hand around your neck.

"That's all I needed, doll." He whispered.

Bucky unzipped his tight pants and pulled his cock out. You admired his size before he wrapped an arm around you and pulled you onto his lap. The soldier lifted you up pulled your panties to the side and, once his tip found your entrance, slowly lowered you on his cock.

You gripped his arms and let out a long, strained moan, until he was fully inside you. He then started moving you on his cock, thrusting slightly when pulling you down.

He skillfully and smoothly removed your little sleeping gown and kept on fucking you.

"Shit." He cursed, as he watched your ass bounce on his cock.

You realised how much you loved to hear him curse, how much you loved to hear his voice in your ear.

Slowly, the soldier picked up the pace when he felt you were comfortable. He then wrapped one arm around your body to keep the movements steady, and wrapped the metal hand around your throat.

You would've guessed the man that barely spoke would've been a quiet one, but oh were you wrong. The grunts and moans in your ear brought you closer and closer to your climax, along with the way his metal arm applied a slight but noticeable pressure in your neck.

"James I'm gonna... I'm gonna cum."

With these words, Bucky flipped you two, wanting to see the pleasure in your face when you came. You laid on your back as Bucky kept fucking you with his hand on your neck, switching between the way your tits bounced and the way your face looked as you were about to reach your climax.

It wasn't long before your hands gripped the thin sheets and your back arched. With a cry for his name, you came. Soon after hearing you call for him, Bucky buried himself deep inside of you and came.

The way he looked at you had you in a trance.

He bent down, grabbed your face and kissed you, before looking down and caressing your stomach.

"You're mine. Mine. All mine."

#bucky #bucky smut #bucky fanfic #bucky reader insert #bucky x reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #winter soldier #winter soldier smut #winter soldier x reader #winter soldier x y/n #winter soldier fanfiction #winter soldier x you #winter soldier angst #bucky barnes #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes imagine #marvel smut #bucky breeding kink

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aroace-rizgukgak · 9 months ago

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Look, I don't see Kipperlilly as naturally evil or anything, but her mental illness is absolutely not an excuse for hating somebody for having life ruining trauma. What about riz's mental health!!!! That's just as important as hers!!!! Why can she hate him because mental health but she's not allowed tp be hated when she's hurting someone elses?? The problem isn't that she has anger or jealousy issues, the problem is she genuinely believes riz deserves less than her. She, as somebody who is trying to run for student government, if she had it her way, would have people with trauma be punished for it. AND she chose not to do adventuring!!!! She on purpose did not do what the entire school is about!!! That was her choice. She could have gone to an academic school but she didn't. It's okay to not excel in school but you can't purposefully not do what the entire school is about and then get mad at people getting vague popularity for SAVING THE WORLD. THEY DIDN'T EVEN PASS SCHOOL ON THE BASIS OF SAVING POTENTIALLY ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. INCLUDING KIPPERLILLY. She is mad that her parents are boring, but she is literally in the best place in the entire realm of Spyre to become an interesting person. She wants to be interesting but at every turn she chooses to NOT do adventuring. She is doing everything to not be an adventurer and getting mad her life is boring. The power is in your hands girl!!!

#fantasy high #dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #riz gukgak

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spinji · 4 months ago

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Do you have any idea why Nana continued to dehumanize Shigaraki after learning that her murderer groomed him to be evil?

I think what a lot of people don't get with the whole "you might have to kill Shigaraki" thing is that Nana (and Torino by extension) aren't removing his autonomy when they say that.

At a certain point, it doesn't matter who's fault it is for turning someone into a villian. The entire purpose of Deku's rematch with Muscular is to make it clear that some people aren't going to stop destroying things and hurting people by talking about their abusive dad or their dead mom or whatever tragic circumstances led them here.

Tomura has also reached a similar point, refusing to compromise on his goal to destroy the causes of his suffering. That includes both All for One and the society that left him to rot. AFO meticulously planned a lot of Tenko’s misfortune but he didn't manipulate the strangers that passed him on the street. He didn't create that feeling of abandonment, only pointed it in the wrong direction. Tomura not making this choice for himself because he was groomed genuinely doesn't matter anymore because these are his choices now. He's shown multiple times to understand that AFO is using him against All Might and for his own ends, but he doesn't try to get away and turn to the heroes; he tries to get away so he can be a villian on his own terms.

It's easy to forget, since he's the protagonist, but Izuku's optimism about saving the crying boy at the core of who Tomura is, is a massive outlier and his leaps in logic aren't always solid. Nana is very callous when she talks about it, my personal guess is it's because she's still not fully willing to face her sense of guilt that her attempt to save her son from AFO led to the creation and abuse of Tomura. But she is still correct, regardless of what pain lingers inside Tomura, it is too late to help him.

Even when Izuku reaches his hand to Tenko when he is at his absolute most vulnerable, he maintains his loyalty to the league. He's been cast from society for so long that there's nothing that can convince him to stop. He would rather die destorying than live in a world he couldn't change.

In fact most of the major deaths in the league maintain this theme. Twice would rather die fighting than let his friends get screwed over by his own shortcomings again. Toga would rather die a free girl that lived as she pleased than fall in line with society. The heroes didn't choose to kill any of them from the outset, they could have gone quietly at any time to save their own skin, but their cause was more important.

This is what Nana means when she maintains that Shigaraki dying is a possiblity that needs to stay on the table, because he won't allow anything that isn't victory or death. It's tragic but I think it helps convey the message that the ending wants to, that change in how we treat the strange and disparaged doesn't just need to happen, but it needs to happen sooner. You can't just wait until a villian tries to blow up the country to try and help them, you need to give that kindness to everyone before those villians can even exist.

Sorry this got off topic because I really hate how people simplify the ending as bad writing when to me it seems really obvious that Horikoshi was going for a bittersweet ending with the league. They did destroy society but didn't live long enough to see what it rebuit into because even trust in one person trying to save them isn't enough when you're this far gone.

Either way, Horikoshi's writing style leads to a lot of necessary intuiting about the characters to actually understand the motivations for how they act. I think Nana ends up being a particularly rough victim of this because her stoicism and blunt attitude is very obviously supposed to be a front.

She opened herself up to others and All for One killed her loved ones, so she guards her heart the best she can to avoid showing more weaknesses. She does feel like a failure to her legacy; she never fully believes she made the right choices regarding Kotaro or Tomura. But if she cracks then not only is she done but AFO will make it his duty to twist the knife and hurt the people she cried for too.

She's a contrast to Izuku serving as a cautionary what-if scenario if Izuku's big open heart just makes more people targets by association (which it does!). She's not entirely right when she calls Tomura a monster but she isn't being entirely honest with herself either.

#long post #nana shimura #tenko shimura #tomura shigaraki #mha #bnha #my hero academia #mha spoilers #ask #eclecticfurrywhispers

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menacinmasochist · 5 months ago

Note

How would S+M boys react when they found out that their S/O doesn't trust men because her mother, a narcissistic woman, was cheated on by her husband. She hated men so much that she manipulated her S/O into believing that men were horrible, liars and unfaithful, and that her S/O doesn't need men unless her mother

Shu: Would look at her so baffled but also wouldn't go out of his way to prove her wrong, he doesn't like people and usually avoids interacting with people, questioning his loyalty is stupid, he's too lazy to go to someone he barely knows, even for means of pleasure, he prefers to be in his own solitude for the most part.

Reiji: He'd be extremely offended, "Do I appear to lack self respect like the vile creatures your foolish mother is referring to? Do I appear to look like an insecure man?" He'd scoff and honestly would prove just how devotedly loyal he can and will be, but will expect the same in return or he will poison his S/O.

Ayato: Well well well, he's the type to be extremely loyal only if the relationship is clearly defined as a relationship, if it's just talking or a situationship he will do whatever he wants. His S/O would have to pretty much be clear of the relationship and have him on a leash.

Kanato: Much like Reiji would definitely get offended and super mad, would flip the entire situation onto his S/O, saying that they would do him wrong before he ever thought of doing them dirty. Would get somewhat violent in the process and go to the extreme length of having his S/O and him keep a vial of each other's blood in a necklace for everyone to see.

Laito: "Your mom isn't wrong about me at all, I'll bring you down to hell with me and you'll learn to enjoy my unjust ways" LMAOOO he's a whoreee, he doesn't care if you get hurt, that type of shit turns him on, and you can't even cheat back because he would expect it and enjoy it.

Subaru: He's a loner, he wouldn't do that to his S/O and would try to reassure his S/O as much as he can, he's used to getting insulted and treated badly so he can definitely handle it, he knows what it like to have a mother who would say detrimental things, he tries to be understanding as much as possible but it does hurt him that his S/O would think so poorly of him.

Ruki: As soon as he heard his S/O talk about infidelity he would be so quick to cut them off. "My mother left my father to be with her lover..you have the audacity to think only men are that distrustful and awful?" He'd give you an entire lecture on how both men and women ain't shit basically and it's all about the individual at the end of the day as well as explaining that we all have choices and he would never choose something stupid.

Kou: HE WOULD PURPOSELY CHEAT AND DO HIS S/O SO WRONG, THEN WOULD AT LIKE HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HIS S/O.

Yuma: He would understand why his S/Os mother thinks that we, he knows there's a lot of evil in the world but he wouldn't like how his S/O would be speaking to him and being all accusing, he will straight up leave.

Azusa: He would tattoo his S/O name on himself all over just to show his devotion. He would cut his S/os name into his skin.

#diabolik lovers #diabolik boys #dialovers #yui komori #diabolik brothers #diahell #answering #reaction #anime and manga #diabolik lovers community #diaboys

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moon-lv3r · 6 months ago

Text

my cursed fate °.*ೃ✧˚.

🦋 category: one-shot, au where geto did not defect when he was supposed to

🦋 characters: geto, gojo, nobara, yuji, megumi, nanako, mimiko, mentioned nanami, shoko

🦋 summary: au - in which geto didn’t turn evil so quick but will his fate allow him to stay pure? even after he talked things out with gojo?

🦋 warnings: nil

🦋 notes: idk whats the purpose of this pls don’t ask. i kinda played around with mimiko’s technique and how it works since the specifics were never shown (how the doll works to kill targets)

Geto Suguru could only wonder, what was the purpose of being a sorcerer? The very end of the path was the dead corpses of everyone he had ever cared about.

He had seen the flaws the world has to offer. He wasn’t a fan of it. But what else could he do aside from doing his best to defend those he should?

Geto Suguru vowed to protect all sorcerers around him. He did not care about non-sorcerers anymore. He just can’t see any more of his comrades getting hurt. He had never regretted this decision.

He smiled as he watched Nanako and Mimiko grow up, alongside Megumi. Those two enjoyed pestering Megumi. They had a funny sibling-like relationship. Suguru never regretted taking the twins away. He just wished he had done more to the village instead of just walking away. He enjoyed seeing the twins having fun with someone with similar interests, like Nobara. How happy they were.

Suguru would do anything to shield them from dangers.

He could not do anything about the humans producing cursed spirit though. He had sat down with Satoru and the both of them had a small talk about it. It was upsetting, but the truth.

All he could do was just swallow the negativity down to his very core. He should be able to do it. To protect those around him. Seeing them safe was worth it.

It had to be.

As long as they could be safe. He could use his curses to train the students when it came to practicing. Suguru never took on any missions after meeting the twins. He could not bring himself to do so. Cleaning humanity’s dirty work without any sort of reward, only his drained energy in return. How could he subject himself to that?

He could only watch and see as the first years train with the twins. Nanako and Mimiko were not like Maki and Mai. Nanako and Mimiko were fraternal twins unlike the Zen’in twins.

Mimiko’s technique was the most similar to Nobara’s. It involved the skin to skin contact of the target to Mimiko’s stuffed doll, then tying a noose around it to hang the target to death. The doll would essentially become the target when it was touched.

Nanako’s technique was less murderous at first glance. It manipulates photographed objects, good for long distance escaping. Though Suguru still trained Nanako to fight hand to hand. One can never have their guard down.

The Hasaba twins were amazing sorcerers, though Zen’in Maki could put them out with ease. A mere human. A mere human with super strength, like the very man who ruined his innocent youth.

Maki was a normal person, yet here she was. An exception to the school. It was people like her who caused problems for real sorcerers to fight against. Suguru often debated her whole existence and reason for being in the school.

Though he should not.

She was still fighting, on their side, so he should not judge her too harshly. At least she knew her place, somewhat.

Yuji was another exceptional fighter. He was so much like Haibara.

The reason why he decided to have students train with his curses.

So they would not die in missions against a curse they were unmatched against.

Geto Suguru would do all that he could to protect all that he has left. He shall never leave anyone behind. Everyone was going to be safe, he was going to grow in strength and train everyone so that they could defend themselves.

He made that promise with Gojo Satoru.

The path that Tsukumo had asked him to choose, and the one he picked was to protect everyone.

He was staying true to himself, right?

This was his true thought. His most sincere belief. His genuine self.

He did not like non-sorcerers but the safety of his friends was more important. He was not crazy enough to get rid of all non-sorcerers… right? It wasn’t something achievable… right?

His job now was to defend his friends. Humans were undeserving, but that did not mean that his fellow sorcerers should suffer. He would use his technique to help them, giving the students cursed spirits to practice with.

Nobody knew how curses even tasted like… How gross it was… How could he expect people to understand?

That was, until he met Yuji. The boy who reminded him of one of the main reasons why he chose to project everyone instead of rebelling.

Haibara Yu…

They were so similar…

Their smiles.

Their innocence.

Their need of helping those in need.

“Geto-Sensei!” Nobara’s loud and annoyed tone hung in the air as she ran out from the classroom and out into the field, calling out to him. “Nanako and Mimiko are up to their usual tricks again!”

Suguru laughed as he turned around to see the hilarious sight of Nobara suddenly having long pink hair, no doubt from Nanako’s technique of manipulating photographed objects. Nanako really enjoyed photoshop for this reason. Behind Nobara was Yuji, Megumi and the Hasaba twins, Yuji and Megumi had their hair swapped, no doubt that it was Nanako’s work. Nanako really enjoyed toying around with her juniors, teasing them nonstop and testing her new photoshop technique on them.

“Nanako,” Suguru called out. “It's not fun to pick on your juniors like that.”

That comment made him remember the old days when Satoru would often tease Utahime to no end, despite her being the senior. The good old days.

“Fine,” Nanako responded as she took pictures of her three juniors and returned their hair to normal.

Nobara turned back to look at the twins, and charged towards them, her hands reaching for her nails that she kept. “I am so going to get back at you two!” She screeched, ready to throw her nails at the twins. Kugisaki Nobara has the talent for her technique, though her physical ability could use more improvement.

The scene that unfolded before Suguru was a funny one. Teens soaking in the fun of their youth. That was what he wanted to do now, shield them from the potential dangers as they were just children. He just wished that he had someone to shield his youth from the likes of Fushiguro Toji, that stupid, stinking monkey.

It was hard for him to look at Megumi sometimes, seeing how much those two had in common. From their face down to their personalities, it was scary for Suguru to see the tamed version of his greatest nightmare. He knew it was not Megumi’s fault for having that monkey to be his father, but Suguru just could not help but be reminded of his tortuous year caused by that filthy monkey. He knew Megumi hadn’t had it easy, having that monkey abandoning him at a young age.

Him and Satoru would never allow their youths to be stolen ever again. Not while he was standing, not while he was with Satoru, ensuring their goals remained intact. It was not a crime to be carefree. A child should be able to enjoy the nature the world has to present, instead of seeing the void of adulthood.

Though the cruelty of the world could never be hidden away forever, Suguru wanted the children to enjoy their blissful innocence for as long as time would allow for it. For as long as fate would give them.

Though Suguru often wondered, just what else could he do? His mind has been plagued with an endless train of questions. Questions that have remained answered for years.

All he wanted was a world where everyone he ever loved could be safe. Sure he was doing his best in protecting them now but as long as curses existed, there would always be the sense of danger looming around, forever haunting him, tainting his life. Curses coming from people like Zen’in Maki.

Geto Suguru will never stop protecting the weak. He will just find another way to defend them.

Nobody deserves to have their lives tainted. Especially not by forces that could be eliminated.

“Suguru!” Satoru’s typical cheerful voice echoed in the air, catching Suguru’s attention.

Suguru laughed as he saw his blindfolded friend making his way towards him. “What is it? Satoru?” Suguru asked, wondering what could his dear friend be wanting from him.

“The higher-ups want to meet us again,” he whined, as though he remained a teenager. Gojo Satoru was a teenager stuck in the body of an adult.

Suguru laughed, “I wonder what trouble you got us into this time.”

Satoru responded back with another laugh, “Those old people are just cranky,” he said.

After dealing with Gojo Satoru, it was no wonder that the higher-ups would be cranky. Satoru had never once listened to them, their words having no meaning to the man who could decimate them as and when he liked. Perhaps it was fear that also played a part in their crankiness.

There were a lot of reasons for their dislike of the strongest. Yet what could they do? The world of jujutsu was complicated, yet here Geto Suguru was, seemingly helping out.

Eating, consuming, engulfing, absorbing.

Over and over.

Repeat.

Redo.

Again.

Over and over, never ending.

The actions he would have to do time and time again. Sometimes he wondered how he tolerated the taste. Why did he tolerate it? He wondered…

It was to ensure that the people he cared for would remain safe. That was all. Ignorant humans did not deserve an ounce of his concern. He was only doing all of this for the sake of his comrades, they were who that mattered. Everyone else was nothing to Geto Suguru.

In his eyes, they held no value. They were the reasons why those Suguru cared about lost their spark, their life. Why should he care? It was not a surprise when Suguru turned out like Tsukumo, a special grade who would not go on missions.

He only went if Satoru went with him, then he would be more willing to at least swallow some curses. Otherwise, he refused to even step foot into the venue, unless there was a really good reason for him to do so.

Things have remained this way for years. The higher-ups could do little to change him, maybe because Satoru didn’t allow them to as well. The higher-ups could do little against the powerhouse that was Gojo Satoru.

Not when he could easily destroy everything while blindfolded.

Suguru and Satoru used to be equals. Yet here Satoru stood, all alone up on the pedestal everyone built for him and nobody allowed him to step down. Suguru was the only one who allowed him to breathe away from the pedestal, to be viewed as something aside from a prize. To be normal.

Though Satoru never once tried to make Suguru feel that way, Suguru just can’t seem to shake off the feeling of being under Satoru’s shadow. It was obvious that Satoru was at a different level, one Suguru could never reach. A level only accessible by Gojo Satoru himself.

What was Geto Suguru?

He had learned reversed cursed technique way after Satoru. His domain was not perfect, he tried his best to hone it to the best of his abilities. But Suguru was not the honoured one. He was just a friend of the strongest.

At least he still had the ability to defend those in need, though he wished he hadn’t had to swallow those damn curses. Curses caused by humans. Humans who almost never had to deal with the consequences of their actions.

Who was the one handling them all? Geto Suguru. But he was alright with it, as long as everyone around him stayed as safe as possible.

What could go wrong?

Of course who could blame him when Itadori Yuji had died on a mission. Having his heart ripped out by none other than Sukuna himself. Having a young Megumi witnessing the scene. It’s all wrong. Children’s innocence should be protected, yet here it was, all ruined, ripped out, shattered into pieces, destroyed beyond recognition. All that he had fought for… Gone, just like that.

It had to be the higher-ups messing about. It had to have been them, Suguru knew that Satoru knew it was the higher-ups too.

Why was protecting something so pure and innocent so hard? What sin had those children committed to have this happen to them?

They should be enjoying the freedom, yet here they were… enslaved to the consequences that those humans created because they couldn’t use jujutsu… if only everyone knew how to control their cursed energy… Maybe then…

No.

Suguru snapped him out of that murderous fantasy… He cannot fall back. Not into that ideology… But it was something that might work out…

He should just stop thinking.

Even though Yuji managed to come back to life… everything was just wrong. Why was Suguru still tolerating the higher-ups? They have been nothing but trouble…

“Are you sure everything will be fine?” Suguru asked.

Satoru laughed, his hands waving about, “As long as nobody finds out about Yuji. I told Shoko to handle it.”

But wouldn’t Yuji still be in danger after the revelation of his status? Will that boy ever be free? It was unfair. He should not have been roped into this! His innocence should’ve stayed with him. Why was this happening?

Why?

Why couldn’t Suguru have stopped it? If he was there, none of it would have happened! Perhaps he should have just gone on missions! But who would give an obviously dangerous mission to a bunch of children?

It was all the higher-up’s fault.

Their mindless actions repeatedly caused mistakes. All they succeeded in doing was ridding children of their innocence. Using mere children to get rid of curses, instead of finding ways to make sure curses could no longer exist… Tsukumo was right, the higher-up’s were treating the symptoms, not getting to the root of the problem.

But what could he do?

Suguru was out for a walk one night when he encountered a fellow sorcerer. One that was supposed to be dead, 6 months ago.

Nisemura Kentaro (偽村健太郎). Grade 1 sorcerer. His cursed technique was invisibility. The higher-ups have never been fond of his ability for some reason. Nisemura had the ability to turn anything and anyone with cursed energy invisible. It was rather cool to Suguru, where was the harm?

Suguru had trained with Nisemura before, and they mastered reversed cursed technique together.

Was the one before him a fake?

“Long time no see, Geto,” Nisemura greeted. The only thing foreign about Nisemura was the stitches on his forehead.

“How?” Suguru asked.

Nisemura’s lips formed a small smile. “I barely survived, but the higher-ups chose to hide me away. Kept me known as dead. I was held captive. Cruel I know. Haven’t they always been this twisted?”

Suguru nodded.

“What if I asked you to join me, in over throwing the higher-ups?” Nisemura asked, the request shocking Suguru.

“Why me? Why not Satoru?” Suguru asked.

“Because the higher-ups will suspect Gojo, no matter what he does. Asking him would be begging for me to be exposed. You however…,” Nisemura explained. His plan involved changing the world of jujutsu. Similar ideals to Geto Suguru himself.

“I would not be as suspicious, while still remaining strong enough?” Suguru answered.

Nisemura nodded, while awaiting Suguru’s answer. All Suguru said was that he would consider it, and to meet back at the same place a week later at the same time.

Suguru decided to agree, something had to be changed. The way things were handled… getting rid of curses… not letting any more innocence be corrupted. Though his methods and Nisemura’s clashed. Suguru suggested killing every non-sorcerer. It was his only good idea.

Nisemura shot it down. All he said was a Shibuya plan. Suguru did not know the details of it. All Nisemura told him was that many people would be involved, and that it was all for the greater good. Suguru’s role was to lure jujutsu sorcerers away from the station, before meeting Nisemura in the station so that they could do something together.

Something about the Nisemura standing before him felt different. He was still the same Nisemura with long, bleached blonde hair tied in a braid, the same Nisemura with emerald eyes. The same Nisemura who often dressed himself in crop tops because the weather was too hot. But he did not have the same mannerism as the old Nisemura. It felt forced.

Nonetheless, Suguru went ahead with Nisemura’s plans. Nisemura had Suguru ingesting as many curses as he could, to unleash during Shibuya. Nisemura had points to prove, and he was going to show it.

Suguru wondered if Nisemura’s plan could truly work. Nisemura seemed to have other accomplices as well, though Suguru never met them. Something was boiling inside of Suguru as he began to doubt Nisemura. The closer the date got, the more his suspicions grew.

“I know you doubt my idea, Geto,” Nisemura announced. It was during one of their meetings at Nisemura’s hideout. “But trust me, it will work. The curse free world you and I envision will arrive. It is more practical than your idea of killing every non-sorcerer. They might be useless, but they’re worth more alive than dead.”

What Suguru failed to realise was the fact that Nisemura was trying to instill his former negative beliefs back into his mind. Suguru fell for it. So easily. All the facts were thrown in his face, how could he not?

He felt inclined to follow his friend. He felt as though Nisemura somehow got him. He did not judge Suguru’s insane idea, just claimed it to be impractical.

He was slowly spiraling again. His twisted idea of protection was slowly returning to him. Those monkeys…

Their filthy impacts…

Nisemura saw through Suguru, and he egged it on, added fuel to the fire. Nothing Nisemura did was accidental. Nisemura even stole some items without Suguru’s realisation.

Fingers.

Mechamaru’s death seemed to be brushed under the rug as well. Suguru was not at the scene where the innocent boy died.

The day of the Shibuya incident finally arrived.

Suguru did as he was told. So many monkeys just screaming in confusion. Some dying, some still living. They wore ridiculous costumes, begging to be set free. Poor thing, silly monkeys could not comprehend how powerless they were. Suguru slowly released some low level curses, for the jujutsu students to handle.

Nisemura has said that he will handle Gojo Satoru himself. He wanted a meeting with Satoru in the station, claiming that it was important for Satoru to be alone before Suguru came to join them.

The students fought well against the curses. Nisemura had ordered Suguru to only head into the station at a certain time. When the time arrived, he entered the station, to where Satoru stood, panting.

Suguru was more confused at the carnage that seemed to have unfolded. What on earth happened? Nisemura was nowhere to be found! Satoru seemed exhausted, he greeted Suguru with a small smile despite his gasps for air.

A cube was thrown in front of Satoru.

A blade penetrated Suguru’s mind.

Suguru’s eyes widen his shock as realisation washed over him. It was never Nisemura all along. It has always been someone else. Suguru was just a pawn. He should have realised it, before he allowed his hatred for monkeys to overtake him just like that.

Satoru looked on in frozen shock as the invisibility wore off to reveal someone who was supposed to be dead. The stitches opening, the brains moving. Suguru’s brain fell on the floor, his blood joined in with those of innocent civilians.

The prison realm was slowly sealing Satoru as well.

All of the confusion has led to this very moment.

Nisemura’s body slumped on the ground as the dead body of Suguru suddenly came to life. But it was no longer Suguru.

Satoru was sealed.

Frenzy broke out as Kenjaku, who took over Suguru’s body walked about. He knew Jogo stole the fingers he had stolen from Suguru, but he did not mind. The more carnage, the better.

The Hasaba twins were the first to happen upon the new Suguru. They knew that it was not the same man. Kenjaku did not want to waste his time with mere children, he had better things to do.

Yet, the twins refused to let him go, preparing to engage in a fight. Kenjaku had Suguru ingest curses for a reason, he unleashed a strong one on the twins before leaving. Nobara had to join in and help the twins.

News of the loss of two special grades spread like wildfire. Curse users finally realising their freedom while sorcerers were fighting for their lives.

Megumi had witnessed the death of his father, without even knowing who that man was. Poor boy. He was just so confused. All he knew was that the man could have killed him, but killed himself instead.

Nanako had to save Nobara from being touched by Mahito as well. Fighting the curse alongside Yuji and Todo. The death of Nanami was fueling Yuji as he fought.

In the end, Kenjaku still won. His plan still succeeded.

Nisemura was branded a traitor, Suguru was branded a traitor. Anyone who tries to free Satoru would be branded a traitor. Even Yaga, who taught all three men, was branded a traitor as well.

The cursed fate never goes away.

#jujutsu kaisen #fic writing #geto suguru #gojo satoru #alternate universe #jjk #shibuya #shibuya incident #why did i write this #i do not know either #i am a victim of my own brain #and i am making it everyone else's problem

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jedi-enthusiast · 1 year ago

Text

Debunking the "The Jedi are Evil" Theory Made by The Film Theorists PT 4

Point 4 - The Jedi are a Cult

(TW: Human Trafficking, SA in regards to Human Trafficking)

Oh boy! We've finally gotten to the point that every single anti-Jedi idiot makes when they claim that the Jedi are evil!

Let's see what exactly Matthew says about it:

"The Jedi Order is a irrevocable cult that lands somewhere between an involuntary boot camp and human trafficking!"

Wow, that's quite a claim! Surely if you're making a claim like that, you've checked to make sure that the Jedi Order fits at least one of those definitions, right?

Let's check!

---

Cult Definition:

"A relatively small group of people having beliefs or practices, especially relating to religion, that are regarded by others as strange or sinister or as imposing excessive control over members." - via Oxford Dictionary, according to Google

The Jedi Order is about a group of 10,000 during the Prequels, so not exactly what I would call small--but sure, I'll give you small, since that's a pretty negligible amount of people in the galaxy.

Their beliefs and practices are rarely seen as a bit odd by people who aren't Jedi and/or haven't ever interacted with the Jedi, but for the most part people just regard their practices as hard to follow--since they practice a lot of self control and emotional regulation (which is healthy)--but ultimately good. Their beliefs definitely aren't regarded as "sinister."

The only people we see that even come close to believing that are the protesters in TCW, but they just think the Jedi are wrong for fighting in the war. It's nothing about their beliefs or practices.

And the Jedi certainly don't exercise "excessive control" over their members.

Many of the members dress differently, we're shown that the Jedi often disagree with each other and interpret their philosophy differently, the Jedi can leave the Order whenever they want, many members of the Order also practice the cultures of their homeworlds, people are literally appointed to the Council for thinking differently because the Jedi want to have differing viewpoints brought up, etc.

They even bend their own fucking rules sometimes to help their fellow Jedi!

Once a female Jedi fell in love and got pregnant and hid it, and Yoda and Dooku literally had a conversation where Yoda said point blank that they would've helped her, if they'd have known about it!

Literally the only things that the Jedi are anal about are:

1. Don't kill or hurt people, except as a last resort.

and 2. don't turn to the Dark Side (and I've already outlined why that's bad).

And even when people do turn to the Dark Side and hurt people, the Jedi fucking help them! They, of course, hold them accountable for their actions, but they try to help them turn back to Light and do better in the future!

---

Welp, they obviously don't fit the definition of a cult. Let's see about the next definition--involuntary boot camp.

Involuntary Definition:

"Done against someone's will; compulsory." - via Google

Boot Camp Definition:

"A place for training soldiers, especially new recruits." - via Google

Considering that parents willingly give up their children to the Jedi Order and then those children--when they grow up--choose to stay, since we've already established that they can leave at any time, I'd say that the Jedi Order definitely isn't involuntary.

And, as I've said before, the Jedi Order is a religious institution--not a militia--and even the work they do for the Republic is primarily diplomatic and peacekeeping ventures. So they're definitely not a boot camp either.

---

Wow, that's two definitions down that the Jedi definitely don't fit!

This next one's quite a serious claim, though, so the Jedi must fit this one--because it'd be pretty tone deaf and shitty to make said claim without it actually being true, right?

Human Trafficking Definition:

"Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation." - via Wikipedia

HOLY SHIT, YOU COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG!

The Jedi do not "trade" their initiates, they do not force them into labor, and they certainly don't sexually exploit them--what the actual fuck is wrong with you to make this claim?

Especially when nothing we're shown is even remotely close to coming near this definition--even in the worst bad-faith reading of SW media.

Wow, so not a single thing that Matthew assigns the Jedi is actually something they fit the definition of. Imagine that.

#star wars #sw prequels #the clone wars #pro jedi #pro jedi council #pro jedi order #in defense of the jedi #in defense of the jedi council #tw sa mention #tw human trafficking

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shmowder · 6 months ago

Note

I’m not quite sure if you’ve played the marbles nest dlc yet but if you have….could I get some hcs for how marbles nest Daniil would be with a reader? Maybe even they’ve confessed their love for him randomly during one of the loops?

I always liked the concept of timeloops. Just when Daniil thinks he has seen and memorised everything, you go off-script and confess your feelings.

A tragedian Reader? Yeah I like the idea.

Death Is The Only Way Out

[ MN Daniil x Tragedian GN Reader ]

[ Angst with a happy end..kinda, Hurt/Comfort, Love confession, Romance, 4th wall breaks, Metafiction]

It was getting dull.

The same people stopping him in the same streets, delivering the same news.

Gleefully informing him of his failures, of his supposed dead status, of the Judge lifting quarantine and overruling any speck of authority the Bachelor may have held in this town.

- The Fifth Loop -

Dankovsky stopped listening to them by now

They've already said their useful piece time after time.

He already knows where to go, without being needlessly subjected to their sadistic gossip, vaguely disguised as concern for him.

…walking by the stillwaters, her voice still haunts him.

- The Twentieth Loop -

He finally came to the bitter acceptance that there is no feasible way to prevent the vial of Panacea from breaking.

No matter how many instructions he gave to Cookaroo–the kid, even handing him his own snakeskin coat to use as a cushion for the fallen items.

It ended the same... except with broken glass embedded into his coat this time around. Neither could he possibly hide them from the guard outside.

Daniil even brought a water bottle with him just to swap its content with the Panacea, to hopefully sneak it outside this time around.

The guard confiscated it all the same, with the confidence of someone who witnessed him in the very act itself.

Daniil was sure he locked the door before he did. The walls must have eyes and ears, he concluded.

As he held the Panacea in his hand, pale blue eyes chided him from not having faith in him.

- The Twenty-sixth Loop -

It never gets easier.

Having to purposely fail as a doctor, having to go against his very own instinct at every turn and butcher the self-inflicted wound on the worm.

Failing at the very basics of the basic training granted to each student in their first year of medical school.

But after the first few times of being handed a still-warm human heart–bright red, freshly plucked from someone's chest, oozing blood from every vein and crevice–He decided to pick the lesser evil... or the one that doesn't test the endurance of his lurching stomach each time.

One death was mandatory to happen this day, he reckoned, one that must involve him as a participant.

Directly or else.

Both the worm and the Herb Bride chose to die, and both of them welcomed it. The blood on his hands is something he cannot change.

He can only choose whose.

To even call it a wedding, what a tasteless joke. What crude practices.

- The Forty-fifth Loop -

How idiotic of him to think that he even had a choice to begin with. The heart was mandatory. He learned it the hard way

All the days he wasted thinking he was sparing a life, saving someone's daughter from being butchered like cattle.

Letting a patient die in his own arms, killing him with the same medical tools meant to mend and heal.

Only for it to be the wrong choice after all.

Of course it was.

Of course, this rotten town will never be satisfied until his suffering reaches its maximum potential.

Of course, he couldn't even be granted this one mercy.

Daniil stopped looking in her direction afterwards. He couldn't stomach seeing her dance.

He just focused on sparing the worm's life, accepting his curses and insults without retaliation this time around. For part of them felt deserved.

What a grim wedding.

- The Fifty-seventh Loop -

One of the tragedians appeared in front of the cathedral earlier than expected.

Daniil didn't even have the heart yet to trade you with.

Just when he was about to inform you of that, he noticed something different, Your mask was cracked.

Sure, the tragedians' clothes were always worn with visible stitches, their masks covered in tiny scratches, the white colour eroding into grey with the constant wear and tear.

But yours was indefinitely cracked. It wasn't anything small either but a major split.

"How does it stay in place?"

The question caught both of you off-guard as it slipped from his lips.

Daniil immediately regretted asking it, he doesn't have the time for this, you're not going to tell him anything useful, you're just here to insult him and rub salt into his wounds, just like that insufferable executer dwelling in-

"Fabric glue." You answered.

Oh.

Yeah, it makes sense.

His brain must be getting very stale if he couldn't figure this one out by himself.

Without another word, he turned around and went about his usual routine for this Saturday.

- The Fifty-eighth Loop -

You're here again... even earlier than last time.

Daniil approaches you with caution still, as if you're about to grow two heads or fizzle out into a plague cloud. Because of the off-chance that you might carry crucial information that could help him finally defeat death... he must prevail.

It feels odd, attempting to strike a conversation after so many loops of people just coming to him unannounced to voice their thoughts.

You're quieter than the other tragedians, less fidgety, too. You're not acting in place like a mime performance, nor are you standing ominously still like a statue.

You're simply... there.

Eerily human-like.

Sometimes, looking at the sky, other times stretching your limbs. Loitering, in summary.

"Why aren't you with your friends?" The question came out by his own agency this time around... although it was said with a hint of venom.

Daniil stood impatiently in front of you, as it took you a moment to realise he was addressing you and not one of the townsfolk.

"My friends?" The mask twitched, your expression must have changed underneath, the crack making its movement more pronounced, "I'm not sure who you're referring to..."

"The other actors, mimes, tragedians, whatever your group calls itself." The hostility in Daniil's tone simmered down at your casual demeanour.

"We're not really friends. Coworkers, more likely."

Daniil gave you an expected look. You weren't sure what it meant… so you continued to elaborate on the subject.

"I mean, Anton's nice and all, he always brings an extra coffee for anyone who asks, but like I wouldn't say we've ever invited each other to a birthday party or something." You explained earnestly.

"No, that's not what I-" Daniil took a deep breath, "I meant to ask, why aren't you with them? What are you doing here so early?"

You faced him, and for a second, Daniil thought he glimpsed a pair of human eyes looking at him behind the dim fabric, veiling your face from underneath the mask.

The eye contact was cut short as you urgently turned your head away, refusing to meet his face again. Realising that he's still awaiting an answer, you simply shrugged.

"I see..." So you weren't here because of his actions or something he did during one of the loops... that's both relieving and frustrating at the same time.

Without another word, he turned around and went about his usual routine for this Saturday

- The Fifty-ninth Loop -

Daniil didn't bother addressing the townsfolk gathering outside the grocery. Their praise fell on deaf ears as he pocketed the remaining change left over from pawning his pocket watch and hurried away.

Not only was your demeanour unusual, but the way you acted when you thought he wasn't looking as well.

Daniil felt your eyes following him as he trudged through the stone yard, facing away and feigning innocence whenever he'd abruptly stop and turn to catch you in the act.

At first, he was put off by it.

But the more he observed you from far away, the more he came to the blunt realisation that you were simply bored out of your mind, and he happened to be the only changing variable nearby.

That's why he decided to head towards the Committee first thing this time around. Informing them to unlock the nearby store.

The Bachelor wasn't sure why he's doing this.

Was it a vain attempt to gain some sort of benefits or information out of you that might aid him in this seemingly endless battle?

Or was it the fact you seemed to retain your memories through each reset just like him.

…maybe the fact these two conversations with you were the closest thing to normality he has experienced through this hopeless journey.

But he cannot trust you, not yet.

For all he knows, you could be death itself, who found another way to taunt him through exploiting his ever growing loneliness in this fragment of reality, detached from the outer world, never ending, never growing, much like a bird stuck in a cage or a soul preserved in a peanut.

He should really stop humouring these kids; their wild imagination is starting to alter his thoughts and view on reality.

You're at your usual spot, in front of the cathedral is where he finds you.

It seems that you've taken a liking to sitting at the far end of the stairs, than to aimlessly standing around.

Were your legs tired? he couldn't help but wonder.

The click of his bag opening caught your attention, Daniil reached into the safety of a pocket lining the inner walls, three coffee beans tucked in there.

The ones he freshly bought from the grocery a few minutes ago.

“Here.” He says, unceremoniously extending his hand to you, coffee beans sitting on his palm.

Your expression is veiled beneath a layer of black fabric. The cracked mask–was the split always this big?–offers some leeway, however. Daniil can vaguely make out the shape of your nose, poking from underneath the fabric.

With initial hesitation, you opened your hand, feeling his gloved fingers carefully set the coffee beans atop yours one by one, rather than just dumping them all down.

It wasn't feasible to feel his skin beneath the thick layer of leather, but by the gods, did the tightness in your chest claim otherwise.

“I couldn't find a kettle or sugar, but I'm sure you'll figure something out.” Daniil retracted his hand, politely taking a step back–it just hit you how close he must have been–his tone devoid of any bitterness this time. “Was it Afton, right? the colleague who usually brought you coffee.”

“Anton,” you corrected him, still staring at the coffee beans in your palm with disbelief, “...thank you.”

“I…” Gratitude is definitely not what he was expecting. Daniil's eyes softened, the tension in his shoulders easing away, “it's nothing really.”

The smile on your lips, he couldn't see, neither the glimmer adorning your eyes as you admired this humble yet thoughtful act of kindness.

“Did you get out of your way to do this? you always order the Committee to just send more guards.” Your words made him pause in place.

The genuine surprise on Dankovsky's face was quickly masked away. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it, gears churning in his brain.

“Don't flatter yourself, I had my own reasons.” Daniil took another step back, spoke with a defensive tone “...you're more observant than you initially seemed, I didn't think anyone was keeping track, least of all the tragedians.”

It felt like the temperature dropped several degrees, the quaint atmosphere vanishing in an instant as his cold eyes sized you up and down.

“The game is rigged, isn't it?” He continued, not giving you a chance to speak. “You've indirectly confirmed my suspicions, just now. I'm under constant surveillance, aren't I? That's why that pesky guard couldn't be outsmarted.”

Whatever fragile resemblance of a friendship you two held was shattered by a mere slip of the tongue on your part.

“...yes.” It came out in a whisper, yet you were sure Daniil still heard it all the same.

Without another word, he turned around and went about his usual routine for this Saturday.

– The Sixtieth Loop –