#fears and desires

[mournfulroses]

Nina Mclaughlin, from "Wake, Siren," originally published in November 2019

[ruporas]

and together we set out on a journey to find treasure! (id in alt)

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

Vincent Price interview on the set of The Masque of The Red Death (1964)

[infernal-lamb]

some rushed doodles of our new goat darling........I have so many plans for them

[llamahearted]

what's worse -- feeling the depths of your desire for the first time, or having all your closest friends around to witness it?

prints ♣︎ song

[beatrixshifts]

[tofixtheshadows]

So I've been thinking lately about how Mithrun is Kabru's dark mirror (more on that another time- it needs its own post), and I thought it interesting that one of their parallels is that they were both cared for by Milsiril, but in opposite directions. She took Kabru in as her foster after he was orphaned and tried to convince him not to become an adventurer. On the flip side, she helped rehabilitate Mithrun specifically so that he could rejoin the Canaries.

And I kept wondering: why?

For Kabru, obviously she loves him a whole lot- despite any other shortcomings in their relationship, I do believe that.

So I get why she tries to convince him not to go dungeoning, and, failing that, at least prepares him as thoroughly as she can.

But why help Mithrun? She used to hate Mithrun, but after realizing what a secretly twisted person he was, she actually thought of him more positively (oh, Milsiril). So it wasn't as if she held the kind of grudge that might motivate her to make his already-depleted life even more miserable by sending him back to the dungeons. And it wasn't that she felt bad for him either, since she didn't visit Mithrun for the first ~20 years of his recovery.

The Adventurer's Bible says that Utaya was the impetus for Mithrun returning to the Canaries, but Milsiril is the one who made the trip to see him and tell him about it.

Why would Milsiril work so hard to get her old coworker back into fighting fit? Why encourage him to return to such a dangerous lifestyle, when she was the one who chose not to mercy-kill him?

That last panel is such a crazy thing to hint at and then never elaborate on. Without it we could have just thought that Milsiril wanted the Canaries' work to continue without her, even if it seemed out of character. I think some people even assume she's just a natural caretaker as a foster mom and handwave it to include nursing Mithrun too. What could Milsiril's suspicious motives be? What does she gain from Mithrun joining the Canaries that isn't an altruistic desire to see dungeons safely sealed? Feeling a sense of responsibility for the work she left behind isn't an ulterior motive.

My theory is: Milsiril, knowing that Mithrun was empty save for the burning desire to face the demon again, wound him up like a clockwork doll and pointed him back at the dungeons.

Hoping that he'd eliminate the biggest threat to Kabru's life, before it was too late for him.

Milsiril the puppetmaster.

[raepliica]

Take to the skies

...and fly free

[macrolit]

Everything you've ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.

- George Addair (1823-1899) - author, speaker and philosopher

[vincekris]

Fear and Desire - Stanley Kubrick - 1953

[sangrefae]

thinking about how in senshi's journal he mentioned that laios collapsed from exhaustion after falin woke up and it was confirmed she was alright. I am always ill about the touden siblings and their relationship but this fact keeps me up at night

[ghostbeam]

Mech pilot yuuta and his mech that’s incredibly possessive over him. He takes to you as a handler almost immediately, excited for the help after his last few handlers were scared off. You’re not allowed inside, your constantly dodging malfunctioning limbs and faulty wires, but you’re not one to back down, and gaining her trust is just as important as gaining his.

Rika only realizes how important you are to Yuuta the day after you spend the night with him, and he’s left alone in the morning with an empty bed and a broken heart. You’re his handler. You’re not supposed to leave him. Not ever.

She lures you into her chest one night, faking some sort of lighting malfunction and allowing you inside for the first time. She keeps you inside all night, enduring all your yelling and banging on her insides to be let out, a nice gift for Yuuta.

[bietrofastimoff23]

In the book, the loyalty of the greens to each other was one of their best traits.

Aegon agreed to become king to protect his family, and demanded the coronation himself, without trying to escape. Helaena was crowned with her husband and had influence over him when she dissuaded him from the dangerous idea of attacking the DS. Aemond wanted his brother's crown, but he never thought of stealing it for himself. Daeron refused to believe in Aegon's death and even threw wine in the face of the man who offered him to take his brother's place on the throne. Alicent never showed pity for her enemies, wanting to bathe in the blood of her grandson's murderer's family, cursing rhay and devaluing the lives of strong bastards, and after Aegon's death, she even tried to kill the newly-made king first with her own hands and then with her granddaughter's hands.

but the show and the rumors around it disappoint me.

Helaena is not crowned and turns away from her husband in front of everyone, although she knows that this is their only chance to protect their children. according to the rumors, Aemond will allow the thought of betraying his brother. Daeron is still missing. and Alicent... there's not even anything to say, everything is too sad no matter how you look at it.

this is not a free interpretation or introduction of semitones. this is just a disrespectful letter out of fear that the green team will surpass the black team in the eyes of the audience. sad. very sad.

[blackfangedhellhound]

fascinating how many tumblrinas will come out going "i support all victims. i support victims soooo much. however i just don't think we have enough information. have you considered the lack of information? here's 30 reasons these victims can't be trusted. it's politically motivated. kinda seems like they want to ruin this nice man's life?" and by fascinating i mean completely inating

[philosophybits]

Since it lacks physical form, the mind can never be harmed by anything, but because it clings to the body it is oppressed by the body’s suffering.

Śāntideva, Bodhicaryāvatāra, Crosby & Skilton tr. (6:52)

[curapicas]

This is dungeon meshi. "I don't want the meal you're offering" might be the cruelest thing a character gets to hear.

Well. Maybe second most cruel...

"I won't offer you food again" might be worse