#filial cannibalism

[devoted-rotting]

I made an alignment compass for the various kinds of Cannibalism.

[chronurgy]

Now I'm imagining Durge as a saint too, a living saint to the Bhaalists

What would your durge be the patron saint of, and what would their halo and saintly regalia and symbols be?

[archduke-enver-gortash]

gortash when the destruction of nature through industrialisation hits

[nonasbirthday]

sometimes the insta algorithm sends me to the "fic enthusiast" side of instagram and they're not wrong to categorize me as a fic reader. but those people are reading about fairy dick and i'm reading a fic where john watson and james moriarty are hamsters and they cook and eat their hamster child. we are not the same

[markiafc]

familial cannibalism has a powerful presence in chinese history + as a popular literary trope in chinese myths and texts; fathers tricked into eating their sons, sons who display a nonchalance or even willingness to eat their fathers (vice versa for fathers taking the act of eating sons in stride). and ofc these male figures are frequently political leaders & generals; voluntarily eating their own kin is a sign of accomplishment, pride, power, strength. men in power proving they can remain solid & unshaken in the face of utmost brutality.

the whole phenomenon of filial slicing 割股 where younger members and/or children of the family cuts out a part of their body (usually the thigh, but organs are also on the menu) for the parents to eat. both a medicinal means to cure ailing parents and bring the family together via ritual bond.

it entered mainstream chinese society in the late-ming period. and is also a way in-laws can secure a position and/or establish a deeper tie with the other family, eg. a bride giving up her flesh to the mother-in-law entrenches her in the husband's family.

and the ancient chinese practice of sacrificing your firstborn son - to be shared as food amongst the family + other parties like local rulers (who is, again, a male lord or royal aka. an imperial patriarch). exactly because eldest sons are so valued, so prized they are imagined to be a profound flavour befitting of the heavens. so much so they're killed, then dismembered as infants, then turned into sacrificial meat (using the term zuo 昨 which means "meat" as well as "blessings / fortune"); this duality of first-sons as dehumanized victims & also harbingers of prosperity and social order.

and the custom is meant to be a communal event. it's important that eldest son is divided amongst a group in a ritual feast. something for the family to share internally or the people in society to partake in. or, on a greater scale, a portion of the sacrificed son becomes a token of friendship to secure an alliance with other regions. your firstborn son is also a political instrument to secure national stability and safety.

cannibalism inside the chinese family is pretty versatile, it's deployed for a variety of reasons chronic in chinese society: an attribute for the indomitable, power-hungry male ideal. an act of filial piety. a sacrifice in order to ensure the welfare of greater society, be it through gods or governance. and consistently, it's a form of violence which nurtures a closeness and unity amongst the perpetrators.

the confucian structure and traditional chinese thought as a whole breeds parent/child violence in the name of material profit and social wins. it's a filial piety issue & a patriarchal system issue & a pragmatism policy issue, and so on.

[darkhopping]

is the world is ready for cannibalism as love takes from aroace ppl

[smaller-comfort]

What is aephorul or whatever his name is got pregananant

Banned. Blocked. Banished.

[hogrobbin-go]

crying and stimming wildly in the kitchen this morning listening to eat your young

[eastgaysian]

starts geguposting again

[chariot-pair]

⭐ SALVE, STRANGER!

call me DRUSUS. adult, he/him. circus of spectacle & bullshit. adults only.

GENERAL WARNING: COMPLEX/MATURE THEMES

not limited to: imperial incest (as you might find in the accounts of the roman imperial biographers like suetonius. oedipus rex. gladiator (2000) dir. ridley scott.) cannibalism, exploitation & abuse & spectacle: dynamics of power. war. atrocities. body horror. roman emperors being awful.

⛔ depiction of motifs and themes that have been use for over a millennium to explore the rot of hegemonic power is not a literal endorsement of those themes/motifs. if you prefer 'the curtains are blue and that's IT,' narratives, this is not the place for you! I'm not interested in a cleaner imperial family; these guys are freaks.

[diamondnokouzai]

he didnt even mention xiahou dun

[archduke-enver-gortash]

this is such a gort song TO ME

LIKE LOOK AT THIS

[kaurwreck]

okay, so, what if aya has been passively exercising an ability this entire time.

aya koda (author) wrote and reflected on the profundity of the past, observing even her most complicated relationships with immense and broadminded humanity. she was responsive and filial in her conservation of others through memory, even when communicating with herself through them. further, her writing is not cerebral or fanciful or nostalgic. it is contained within narrow, mundane realities like homemaking, bitterly aging parents, stifling expectations, physical illness, and the material world. but the wisdom, humor, and frankness of her sharp attention to detail lend an elegant and mature candor to her impressions of the past imbuing meaning into the commonplace, without romanticizing or deifying it. the distinctiveness of her internity radiates optimism and magnetic humility, rendering her world remarkable.

in other words, she's capable of sweeping ennui from even atrophy through sheer, clearminded ardence, refusing to cheapen her world despite its fickle propensity for change — and that is what bsd!aya brings to her every panel. she's so small and is only a civilian, but she is never swept beneath the gravity of the scenes unfolding around her. because even though she is little, she expands in others their immense capacity for change by enveloping them within the wideness of her own sincerity and perceptive verve. but I think it's more than just her energy that galvanizes others; I think that's her skill.

(analysis + skill explanation under the cut to spare everyone's dashes)

like, that's how she keeps collecting all of these older brother and father figures.

Kunikida becomes shaken when confronted by his helplessness and loss of life, he will waver and curl into himself until grounded again. In the Cannibalism arc, Ranpo brought him back to his feet, but he still sought to self flagellate after. In the Hunting Dogs arc, he threw himself from a helicopter and absorbed the impact of a grenade with his own hands to mitigate the potential for lost life, but not before visibly panicking. But, in the Walking Alone OVA, he is tied to a pillar and confronted by his past failure in the form of his former student, who he not only didn't reach, but seemingly instigated into an act of domestic terrorism. A young man, like Rokuzo, an explosion, like the Azure Messengers'—this time staking hundreds of civilians lives and that of a ten year old child who has a bomb strapped to her chest while he is being physically beaten with Ideals and enduring PTSD flashbacks of Sasaki's death (who he also envisioned while under Q's curse). But he's scarcely lowered his head when Aya calls out, "Kunikida!" — to which he replies, "That's Kunikida-san," which he previously told her to use for him because when he cares to mentor others, he tends to lecture them and demand proper behavior from them. From that moment forward, he is in his best form, stalwart and brave and resourceful and utterly serene against that which he cannot change or control— even relying on Yosano's schedule for the critical moment.

It's easy to miss that this scene contrasts with the other, similar instances where he's frozen or faltered, because he does find himself again each time. That's because the capacity is always within him, and he's far more balanced than anyone gives him credit (especially when set against his irl...). But, he isn't serene, his fear of loss and lack of control are things he still grapples with, and they usually spill from him in these moments and their aftermath. He hasn't fully self actualized, and although he pulls through each time, ideals intact, he has to wrestle that from himself (which he alludes to quite literally in Dead Apple). Yet, even as he was thrust into a full-blown panic attack, he caught that Aya called him by his name without a suffix and was rendered self-possessed enough to correct her, and then seamlessly move into what needed to be done without a moment of doubt. Then, even after that, he is thrown into a literal trolley problem. But, again, he doesn't waver. He remembers Sasaki and Rozuko, but not involuntarily; he invokes them with aplomb and acceptance, holding them and what they meant to him as strengthening, rather than destabilizing, his commitment to his ideals. Despite his habit of approaching those he cares about rigidly and patronizingly, he fluidly sinks to his knees and embraces Aya (and thus his own humanity and limitations) sincerely and warmly, promising her that he will hold her through it and cradling her without any awkwardness or reticence.

The name of the OVA comes from the literal translation of "Doppo," which means lone wanderer and invokes the image of a solitary wanderer— but "lone" isn't a character invoking loneliness; it implies that he's peerless, unparalleled, matchless. His name is a double entendre speaking to his individualism and invoking the image of an iconoclast heroic figure standing above the fray of mediocrity— which is the impression that made his former student feel taunted and spat upon. But, he sheds his lofty veneer in this OVA and expresses the height of who he's capable of becoming when grounded in reality but unhibited by fear and self-doubt: the Confucian virtue of ren, meaning humaness or benevolence. For Confucius, it was illustrated by love for others, including within relationships between people. But it further encompasses an inner drive for altruism that's cognizant that one is never alone in the home, the state, the world, and, ultimately, the cosmology of the universe.

If it were only Kunikida, I would think it an illustration of what he'll be as a leader or a moment of clarity. But Aya manages to reach Bram past centuries of ennui and morbid depression and learned helplessness. Not immediately, but by satisfying his seemingly silly and, to him, unattainable want for something as mundane as a radio. She does him one better and introduces him to streaming & earbuds, and quite literally expands his whole world so that he's, however briefly, no longer immobilized within the claustrophobic confines of his coffin, but floating untethered in the ever expanding vacuum of space. He wanted a radio, but, really, he wanted music that would take him outside of himself and the limitations of his reality, which he could consistently have with him in lieu of company to transcend the constraints of his purgatory. Shortly thereafter, despite Fukuchi having command over his kin through the sword and seal, Bram regains his air of nobility to snap, "Impudent!" at a vampire such that the vampire recoiled and even l looked askance. Further, like Kunikida, Bram is swept into his memories when he looks at Aya— but not wistfully or bitterly. They're light and beautiful and remind him of who he is and what is precious to him— his family and his vassals, his duty to whom had given him purpose and meaning. I'd relate his oath to Aya and his renewed observance of his role before his kin to the Confucian virtue li, meaning propriety, or observance of the formal rules of proper conduct conducive to social harmony.

She does it to Fyodor, too, whose triggering detail is her dirty hair. He attributes his compulsion to spare her as Bram's lingering oath, but I think it's a reflection of Fyodor's own inclination towards children. (I know he kills children in canon, but his perceptions of suffering and salvation are violently skewed, and so his expressions of righteousness (as in the Confucian virtue yi) look to us like sadistic violence.)

Which is to say, I think Aya brings out the highest capacity in others, triggered when they latch onto a detail she offers them that may appear mundane, but which touches on some core aspect of who they are or their memories.

I think she'll do the same for Akutagawa, which will be part of the transformation he undergoes from the version of him clinging to the spider's thread from irl!Akutagawa's short story of the same name (the headspace that causes Rashomon to resemble spider legs) to becoming the dragon complement to Atsushi's tiger (the imagery invoked by his armor from the teaser at the end of S5). The Confucian virtue I'd assign him would be xin, aligning ones actions with one's word/ honesty, sincerity, and faithfulness. Akutagawa keeps his promises.

(I specifically think Aya is elevating the Confucian virtue each character most embodies, which aligns with irl!Aya Koda's education in Confucian ethics as taught by her father; if that isn't apparent yet.)

This ability is more conceptual than many of the others, but the precedent for an ability like this is there in Fukuzawa's All Men Are Created Equal and Lippmann's unnamed ability, which reacted to and countered others' murderous intent.

Anyway, so yeah. I think Aya's ability is a mirror into the best, most focused versions of those who see in her some detail revealing themselves.

[just-existng]

my dear mother

If you are the shield then why am I the one bleeding with arrows stuck in my chest?

filial cannibalism- bless the daughter raised by the voice in her head//pinterset//fourth of july-sufjan steven//blue- billie eillish// merida//lady bird//unbearable weight of staying- bless the daughter raised by the voice in her head

[darkhopping]

i understand what ppl who are sad abt rarepairs are on about now (has very very very specific ideas about cannibalism)