#he's a very good hamlet tbh

[lenreli]

Hi there! Sorry to bother you, but, firstly, I've just seen that you posted Ferdie as God videos (and the link to the whole thing!) and it made my previously crappy day amazing, so THANK YOU! And so, secondly, I wanted to ask if by chance you have 2010 "Hamlet". (I'm seriously dying to see Rory Kinnear as Hamlet and I spent some time trying to find it anywhere, but I couldn't, so... thought I'd ask). Anyway, wonderful blog, thanks a lot!

You're welcome, and you're not a bother at all! :D I didn't put the video on the drive, just shared it so you can see the wonderfulness yourself.

I do have that actually! [https:// bestup.org /info/47e1f7d80b9083856747ad2d6337836bfa3d69b6.html] Broken up because well. 🏴‍☠️ This is for the 720p torrent for it, but there's also another way to watch it too, with thanks to Velo's Ferdie document! It has part 1 and 2 videos for Hamlet as well!

[lesbianslvt666]

Sea Monster and Tressures

captain! Ellie x pirate! Reader

In which instead of finding your brother in a pirate crew, you end up fighting the Ellie Williams, the infamous pirate. however, fighting would not be the end goal, for Ellie longs for something deep, every time she sees you.

Content warning: swearing, smoking, mentions of drugs and alcohol, burglary, fights, swords, denigration, abandonment issues, a bit of gore, you aren't the good guy, neither is Ellie lol. Morally grey characters tbh.

The village you were in wasn’t much than a shaggy mess, with infants running wild alongside goats and small dogs, the people, mean eyed and guarded up. The rumours of pirates and thieves expanded alongside the shores hamlets, melting the people together in fear of being disposed of the little to no belongings they had. So you could imagine how they must feel, when a new woman in town appear out of nowhere, no men beside her, only one horse and a brass hip flask with leather cover. Your dishevel appearance did not much to help you. Your Whild locks leaps with every step and jump that Callous, your beautiful brown horse gives. You found him after a village was sweep by burglars, however, you knew she had something to do with it.

You have been following her every step, from coast to coast, in land or sea. she feels like a smoked dream, a foggy memory of the fantasy your soul desired.  At first it felt like admiration, the town you were born at knew her pretty well, so much so that your older brother got to talk to her, agreed upon being part of her navigation. He was your best friend, so, naturally, you thought, he would not leave you behind in the filth, down with the woman who took care of every parentless child. You were wrong…

For the longest time you thought he had abandon you, how dare him not take you alongside his adventure, an aspiration you so much longed for ever since a toddler. And then it got to you, the need of revenge, how fucking dare him leaving you behind, knowing fully well how capable you are, how much you hated were you lived, and how much you loved the sea. Finding him at first wasn’t easy. so you thought, he, a nobody, the leads came to abrupt ends very fast. So now, the target was her, however, you came to realize that maybe, she was always who you were hoping to find.

You knew as much of her as the stories could tell, have never even seen her face before, it was told that she was a natural beauty, auburn hair and freckles, green unwelcoming eyes that didn’t forget nor forgive. The more you heard about her, the more you wanted to be likewise, or alongside…

She wasn’t even much older than you, if the rumours were true, she could only be around three or so years older than you, then… how come a 23 year old achieve as much as she had…

Walking along the narrow streets with callous wasn’t the easiest task, the people selling stuff outside their doors, making the way even thinner, residing like the forgotten path of a river, the chatter could be hear from everywhere, the screams of the kids and the barks of the dogs, the smell of the sea intensified, you knew what was coming, you could feel it in your skin as the air got chiller, it was the first time in all your journey were you had arrive on time.

Agitating the reels of Callous, signalled him to move faster, this time not caring on portraying a low profile. the dangles in your hair clacking alongside with the jewellery that you had taken from your past visits, as to not forget, how many places you’ve been.

Callous was sprinting, moving alongside the shore the sand heavy behind you, leaving clouds large enough to find your whereabouts from miles away, you saw it. The sea monster, the grandiose nature couldn’t compare to anything you’ve seen before, the sea fog opened itself for it, in fear it might have repercussions itself. The plan? It was easy, find your brother, fight with him, and when he feels his defeat, you forgive his life, in exchange of course, to convince the E llie Williams, to join her crew…

Honestly, this is only like a synopsis, cause I would like to know if you want to read the full thing…

Interactions are incredibly appreciated

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Man. How did I forget that an entire subplot of Dazai's main story was just. Trying to trap him into having a single conversation with MC like a normal person I'm so akhdjgfkljshgskjd

I just love watching her, Arthur, and Isaac deadass plot with glee to get one over on Dazai it's killing me, this is some Hamlet level shit (no Charles do not stand behind the curtain to kill Dazai coming in the window!!! yamero!!!!!)

Also because I felt personally attacked (/j) when Isaac said this:

I love you Isaac but pls have mercy on creatives we only have one brain cell and we're trying s o hard oTL

Although, and I'll leave it under the cut since I'm back on my Comte-posting, but the way Comte talks about Dazai fascinates me. Also just as fair warning, I do broach a lot of the topics that come up in Dazai rt so trigger warnings for self-harm, suicide, CPTSD and PTSD, trauma, etc. I don't go too too in-depth, but they are there.

Comte: "Dazai is quite skilled at concealing what he's really feeling, even from himself, perhaps."

The way he instantly remarks on how Dazai is not only working to conceal what he feels from others, but also from himself. Tbh I think that's enormously perceptive, because at first glance most people tend to think Dazai is lazy, troublesome, flippant, or erratic (and sometimes, a combination of all of these).

I love that he sees to the core of who Dazai is and what he's feeling; fear. Dazai is afraid of hurting someone again, but I also think on some level he's made it an ontological problem; he's afraid of himself. He thinks his very existence is a negative entity, something that exists only to hurt and/or estrange other people, something wrong/different. I'd argue that's why he's so adamant about mood-making and keeping to himself. If you never express how you truly feel or live true to yourself, on some level you can't entirely reach others. Because fundamentally, being close to other people does require some level of lowered defenses and sharing. Ergo, never dwell too long or give too much of yourself away, never make a mark on anyone--good or bad.

As a side note, Theo calls him "a half-strewn dandelion puff" and I agree that's rather blunt, but on some level Theo operates on a level of utility. His entire operating precept is that life and work must serve a discrete purpose. And Dazai, in choosing to opt out of living with meaning/intent out of fear, makes this description entirely consistent with Theo's perspective of the world. Though his phrasing is harsh and perhaps one-dimensional, I do find it interesting that he comes to a similar conclusion as Comte as to what Dazai is doing.

Comte talks about it with such clarity and calm, he really does feel so parental in this moment. He's not necessarily minimizing the reality of how Dazai is experiencing the world, but he also clearly doesn't agree with Dazai's self-perception. Perhaps most striking to me is how Comte seems to understand that the only threat Dazai poses is to himself...Sometimes it feels like, in the case of conditions like mental illness/depression/etc. people are so eager to assume ill will of a person. This is only exponentially compounded if they prove to have striking intelligence and strategic capacity, the same way Dazai does. I guess I can't help but appreciate that Comte knows the difference between strong and scared, and even how the lines between the two can and often do blur (perhaps best exemplified in his relationships with Jeanne and Dazai).

(Side note: I forgot which event it was but, one time when Dazai was homesick for cherry blossom watching, Comte had the entire house filled with flowers to cheer him up [insert ugly sobbing]).

For someone so enigmatic, evasive, and distant, Comte still notices instantly that Dazai is much, much happier with MC. I suppose it makes me wonder if Comte knew all along that Dazai's real wish was to be accepted and loved as he was, but kept quiet out of respect for his privacy. I would offer too that sometimes people need to realize these things on their own for the information to have value.

But what really gets my ass is what Comte says right after:

This is my bread and butter (so is he but that's not the point of this particular TED talk). In the last few years I've done a lot of exploratory work on how trauma is mapped both internally but also visibly on the body. What I think is engaging here is that, while it could be read on a surface level as "body language gives people's true intentions away" I don't think that's quite what he's getting at. Or perhaps better phrased, it's an oversimplification. I don't think it's that body language can't communicate real and important information about people's lives. Rather, that people associate rigid and absolutist interpretations to singular mannerisms, which does a disservice to both parties. Nobody can know a person at a glance; to say that you do reduces the lived reality of the opposite party.

Comte gives simple examples and couches his words for the context of the moment, but I think that first line is incredibly telling. "But the body is remarkably truthful." It makes me think of how, in moments where Comte is overcome with anxiety as a result of traumatic recurrence, he has acute panic attacks (i.e. shortened breath, racing heart, trembling). How Leonardo's lethargy (i.e. napping on the floor everywhere like the hobo he is) belies the reality of his very real exhaustion, the emotional turmoil that comes with a fraught immortal life.

Dazai's endless struggle with dissociation and self-harm, the way he stood in the rain unmoving at the thought of MC returning home to the modern era. Whether to numb himself from the pain of that grief/loneliness, or perhaps more likely the self-immolation of subjecting himself to the re-enactment of the most harrowing moment of his life. To relive that anguish as a reminder; to abstain from making the same mistake ever again. Jeanne's endless bodily tension, struggles with basic self-care (appears to be interoception-based; reduced signalling of the need to eat/rest/etc.), and self-isolation to cope in a world where only the strong survive. Never safe, always alone, always defensive.

I think, for many people in general but especially people who have been through intense PTSD/CPTSD/etc., it can be hard to express these feelings directly. Whether they are forcibly silenced, ridiculed into self-derision/self-concealment, or are overwhelmed by emotions that are difficult to process--each manifests itself in unconventional ways. It means a lot to me when those phenomena are portrayed so sensitively in written works/media, that they're explored with real intention and narrative subtlety to communicate how hard it is for people who are wounded or simply different (or both, as often is the case).

Addendum:

Even more than that, and this is an observation at the end of Dazai's route, is Comte's open belief that life is something to be cherished. Of course, like any other person he has behaviors he won't abide and people he doesn't feel partial to, but by and large he doesn't take life lightly. Perhaps that's why he doesn't expect Dazai to resort to such measures again, in conjunction with the circumstances of his transition. From an outsider perspective, I could see how Comte might assume Dazai no longer wishes for that if he seemed to regret his initial course of action by seeking resurrection. There is also the implication that Dazai is always at war with himself, and therefore might give contradictory impressions; one moment he wants to live, the next he doesn't. This is precisely what led him to ask Charles for help to subdue his own 'cowardice.' (His terms, not mine. [bonks him]) There is a sizeable subset of s-word survivors who, after recovery, feel that their problems were actually solvable despite their despair in the moment.

Of course, that doesn't apply to everyone, but I think there's something to be said of Comte feeling such real affection for the mansion boys that he is stricken to find out what Dazai attempted. And perhaps unsurprisingly, very adamant to keep him from ever pursuing such a course of action again. He's incredibly vulnerable about his horror that he might have inflicted something on Dazai that he never wanted in bringing him back, though Dazai comfortably refutes any lack of agency in the situation.

I guess I feel very compelled by the duality inherent in Comte's glass heart, precisely because of how realistic it feels. His greatest strength is his sensitivity, but it's also his greatest weakness in tandem. His genuine care for Dazai--the unwavering belief that his life is valuable and worthy--ends up being the reason he doesn't anticipate Dazai's rather deeply entrenched self-loathing. And to be honest, I'm a bit inclined to agree; looking back on a third reading Dazai feels way too hard on himself. It feels like the young girl's death was more a catalyst for what Dazai was already feeling, than anything. Dazai wanted so badly to have a reason to despise himself (as he already disliked how different and out of place he naturally felt) and with this, his self-reproach could have a viable, rational explanation. A locus outside of his body by which to rationalize his self-hatred. Accident or not becomes irrelevant; he was involved, and thus he is guilty.

He reminds me a lot of that post that was circulating once about how cultish behavior inculcates intelligent people with more devastating pull than one might expect, because intelligent people can more easily and more insistently find ways to desperately rationalize their situation to function in that whirlpool of abuse. Dazai feels like he's in this same such Catch-22, so busy believing he deserves to be scorned (because of how well he hides his perceived abnormalities) that he takes steps to ensure and reinforce it. He wants and needs to see his reality make sense, and if it won't answer his designs he will find a way to make it so.

It fascinates me because Dazai is an incredibly complex example of someone who desires control, but instead of inflicting it with external rapacity, he targets his own internal state. I once heard a Buddhist explain: yes, it is a sign of disturbance to engage with others aggressively and without grace. However, it is also a sign of disturbance when the mind seeks to harm one's own body. Although Dazai's disturbance is not as apparent, it is there. And that's part of what makes him so excruciatingly compelling to me, in a lot of ways he is the manifestation of the Sisyphean suffering of being ill in a quiet way. In enduring and smiling and laughing because you don't want to burden others--or know you're not allowed to--all while you slowly bleed from the inside out.

[yougetsu]

Since I've been into Bauhaus for years and B-T members have mentioned them as an influence, going deep into the roots is something I enjoy. I wasn't sure of writing this (long post), but the two bands are really important at a personal level, gonna share some thoughts.

The first time I watched Physical Neurose PV, the aesthetics inmediately reminded me of Telegram Sam MV. Sakurai has mentioned that he enjoyed "Shadow of Light" (1984), an archive with promotional videos of the band. So, it's possible he got some inspiration from it.

Physical Neurose (1988)

Telegram Sam (1980)

Tbh, there are several interviews where Sakurai (love him for being enthusiastic about the band) shows his appreciation for them, their image and Peter Murphy's vocals. He has highlighted Mask and The Sky's Gone Out as important records since he was a teenager.

It is well known that B-T members enjoy post-punk and goth bands, Imai's love for Love & Rockets, and Hidehiko and Yuta have also shown interest in Bauhaus and Peter Murphy's solo albums. They even got Daniel Ash in Schiz.o Genso -the spiderman mix-.

Six/nine videos also make me recall Bauhaus live at Riverside (1982), look at Murphy's outfit, body language, his extravagant dance moves, and the spotlight game. Also, Ash & Murphy dynamics on stage were similar to Atsushi & Hisashi in early performances.

Another example of getting inspiration from the English band might be in the title of "Mr. Darkness and Mrs. Moonlight", which made me remember "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight". Maybe it's a coincidence but as a fan, it didn't go unnoticed.

And of course here, I'm going to mention The Mortal's cover of Spirit <3 (I was very moved when I listened to this cover for the first time).

Gonna add this Bauhaus live version too 'cause it's so good and when you watch The Mortal's live version you can tell that Sakurai has possibly watched this performance at least once.

I recommend to watch that entire show (Gotham, 1999), if you like vampiric costumes, hats and boas.

I'd like to include Hamlet Machine & Sponge Spirit cover, which can be found in the Satori: A Tribute To Bauhaus (1998) album:

I'll finish by saying that Issay & Atsushi went to watch Murphy's live shows together during the 90s, soo lovely! It's cool to see how music connects people and inspires.

[violet-moonstone]

next gen riders headcanons and ocs

Currently working on a THW rewrite and it's going to take me forever, but while I'm working on it here's some descriptions of the kids that are going to be in it. The rewrite takes place much later than the 3rd movie did so Zephyr and Nuffink are older. All the rest are OCs.

Zephyr (12 or 13). Rides a dark blue and green female Monstrous Nightmare named Nightscale. (I'm not attached to this same though). Headstrong and impulsive. She's a protective older sister but her shenanigans tend to get her brother involved in trouble. She's also quick to fight other kids that get in her face.

Nuffink (10 or 11) is shy and quiet, also somewhat mischievous. (Using Homecoming characterization as a suggestion at best) gets into trouble mostly by accident. Curious but also fearful. Wants to be just like his big sister but he's struggling to bond with a dragon cause they kind of freak him out. Like Hiccup, he was born premature, and his birth took a huge toll on Astrid. After that, Hiccup didn't want to risk it and said Nuffink would be their last kid, though Astrid was willing to try again. Because his birth was so difficult and he's so timid, Astrid tends to be more protective of him than she is of Zephyr, which can make Zephyr jealous sometimes. But she and her brother get along well.

Ingrid (around the same age as Zephyr) is one of the 3 (fraternal) Ingerman triplets. She's very intelligent but also vain and bossy. Has a purple and gold female Deadly Nadder called Nightshade. She and Zephyr are frenemies. In terms of appearance, she takes after her mother Ruffnut.

Ingvar is a himbo-in-training. Has good intentions but often puts his foot in his mouth and says the wrong thing. Rides a dark green, male Thunderdrum named Earthshaker. He looks a lot like Fishlegs but more athletic.

Inga is the quiet one of the triplets and spends a lot of time learning about dragons from her father (he's not supposed to have favourites but he sort of does). She's a natural with dragons and spends more time with them than people. She's kind to Nuffink but his aversion to dragons gives them little to talk about. She rides a pale blue male Gronkle. His name is currently Skybuzzer, but will possibly change. She's got a round baby face like her dad.

Rainier the Relentless, officially Rainier Dagurson (14-15) is Dagur and Mala's only child (and there's a good reason why). He's tall and lean with strawberry blonde hair and wears an eyepatch over the eye he lost some years ago...it's a whole thing. Very traumatic. He's an adept fighter and very much wants to be noble and honorable. But he's deeply unhappy with his home life. He's desperate for his mother's approval, but she's very busy and somewhat distant. He has his father's approval, but he doesn't want anything to do with his father. Lots of angst going on. Probably wears a lot of black. Baby Hamlet/Aemond Targ vibes. But he gets along well with his aunt Heather. He rides a female Skrill (which is going to require some pretty protective armor) whose name I'm still thinking of. Potentially Valkyrie, but I'm not sure. Also Rainier weilds a sword.

Nia of the Ayida (15ish) is a daughter of Bayana, a character from the Dragonvine comic. I've named their tribe The Ayida in reference to a West African serpent deity. She's the oldest of 3-4 younger siblings but they're not in the fic. She's a brave fighter but very cocky and her personality instantly rubs Rainier the wrong way. Their rivalry starts almost immediately. She loves taunting him and he just turns red, unable to respond for fear of behaving in an uncouth way. She rides a large blue/green female Silkspanner named Silverweb and also fights with a spear and Silkspanner web net. Silkspanners can glide, swim, and climb very well, but not fly. I imagine they maneuver in a Spider-man-esque way, so her saddle needs to include a very secure harness. Tbh I just started Dragonvine and I'm not too concerned with making it completely accurate.

There will also be 5 OCS who are the children of the Warlords from THW. More on them soon.

[vacantgodling]

personally bothers me when ppl are like uwu Iago is gay for othello and completely ignore his racism let alone the racism throughout the play

lmao thank u for stopping by to talk old books with me :3c

but tbh thank god i’ve never seen this take in the wild because i just 👁️👁️ did we read the same play? are you okay??

iago’s like not even subtly racist. like the whole play is very racist in general when you start deconstructing it and thinking about it with a critical lens.

(such as: black/dark skinned men are going to come around and seduce your pure white daughters with either “magic” or their physicality, abuse them, black men are inherently violent and angry and good for their physical prowess, the only reason a white woman would love a black man is because she pities him… like i can go on)

however, aside from desdemona’s father, iago is the Most and honestly only maliciously racist character, and it’s not even just towards othello lmao (looking at his speech about how a black woman who’s smart would only be of value if she married a white man 😒) like, i understand the ideology behind wanting to read homoerotic jealousy into his actions because why is he so fixated and jealous of this (1) man who has “everything he wants” and tbh perhaps it could work if the play itself wasn’t saying, in part, that othello cannot be trusted with the things he was “freely given” stolen because he’s black/dark skinned/from the Moors, however ya wanna put it.

like it’s easier to read homoeroticism into fucking julius caesar (the play, and i suppose the man) than this play. in hamlet, CLEARLY, than this one. and then it creates a whole host of other issues with the play IF iago is gay because then *insert a slew of homophobic stereotypes here*

however, what gets me is the play already does give reasoning behind iago’s actions. like as i was reading wiki and analyses of it after i finished my first pass of it, there seems to be a lot of “discourse” around iago’s motivations and how they’re not clear… but they are? at least to me? like, he’s egotistical, and big for his britches. he’s petty and jealous and feels that he deserves things simply because he wants them. he wants the lieutenant position because he feels he’s owed it for being done the disservice of having to serve a Moor in the first place and for being a tenured soldier for so long; and whether or not cassio is competent are neither here nor there, the point is if you get passed up for a promotion at work: work harder, accept it, or just fucking quit. but iago decided to make it everyone else’s problem. it really didn’t have much to do with desdemona herself (though i could argue that he was perhaps jealous that othello had a pretty wife who actually loved him; because even though i mentioned the racist sentiments about white women and black men earlier i don’t think desdemona is a racist character in the slightest: she fell in love with othello for who he is and she is faithfully in love with him to the end. that doesn’t change the outside perspective of those who see their interracial relationship, which is very translatable into real life in how interracial relationships are viewed but that’s a whole different conversation), nor do i think did it have to do with this weird homoerotic tension people want to force into the reading.

whenever iago says that he ‘loves’ othello, people should understand that in this time period the word “love” was (1) more freely used to describe a wide variety of positive emotions (2) in this context probably meant something more akin to “loyal” that he wouldn’t betray othello or that he values him as a subordinate should (which is clearly sarcasm) and (3) be read with heavy damn sarcasm especially when iago is not talking directly to othello. he doesn’t care about othello in the slightest; and i would argue that even if iago was made lieutenant from jump he would be scheming about how to become general. we would still have a play about how iago hates and wants to “dethrone” othello. like he’s just fucking selfish in how he treats everyone throughout the play lmao. he doesn’t even describe othello in a “i hate that i yearn for you” type of way like there is Nothing that can construct this narrative to me in the text.

so like long story short (i didn’t mean to rant but yknow ya got me going) i think a homoerotic reading of iago is just kind of out there at best and just irresponsible at worst. there’s plenty of other characters you can read as gay in shakespeare’s works, even fucking desdemona and emilia in this play itself have a better gay reading than iago and othello lmao.

obviously shippers gonna ship and like do you but i just don’t see it.

[coffee-in-veins]

I was thinking again about how Dismas's Face Your Failure sucks, but tbh they kinda fucked up with the concept? To have Dismas kill a random guard doesnt really represent what went on and how it affected him, on the other hand, for him to face his failure by shooting that poor woman again would have been horrible and stupid.

There are very different types of backstory they tried to pigeonhole into the "failure" theme and to represent it by a single NPC gets even more awkward. You have Para killing the result of her horrid experiment, good, ok, makes sense. But Audrey kills her husband which she has no reason to regret killing in the first place, only that she didn't get away with it, Bonnie is faced with the adult that tortured her as a kid (is her failure running away from a fucking cult???)... then Barristan has to kill the ghosts of people led to their deaths and genuinely regrets doing so. Damian has to beat himself like he doesn't do that shit every day.

I'm sure if this was an anime it would all make sense, with dialogue and the evil shades taunting the heroes by distorting what went on, but as is stands, it's just forced. It's no Come Unto Your Maker in terms of impact, that's for sure

thank you for the ask!

sorry i'm slow with those lately ^^' too much irl shite falling on my lap... i am genuinely happy to receive asks, but i barely have much strength to do more than reblog some nice art lately. my bad.

i hope the length of it will make up for how late it is.

frankly, i refuse to engage with DD2 on principle and do my best to forget it exists, so where i feel comfortable discussing DD1 and my knowledge of it, in DD2 I can mostly speak based on youtube walkthroughs and my spite.

please, bear in mind that i'm biased. i'm still salty at DD2, and what i let slide in DD1, i meticulously dissect in DD2. so if this bothers you, i'm genuinely sorry. i can't help it. this was why i tried my best to distance from DD2 entirely.

that includes the little arsonist. i still can't help but resent her for taking space away from someone from the old cast. so i can't say anything about Bonnie, sorry.

Dismas is just a whole mess in his own league, as I mentioned before. and it's too depressing for me to dig into it fully, but the way the game is now (to my knowledge) it seems that his biggest 'failure' is getting out of a 'hellish' prison which had left such a lasting impact on his psyche that he has nightmares about it instead of some eldritch horrors. which imo speaks volumes about his time there.

frankly, for me Para is firmly in a 'this is not as traumatizing as they make it out to be' category. the guy was already dead, and based on narration, he was dead before she found him (where in DD1 comic this fact was up to debate). morally, at least in my eyes, it is no worse than autopsy. is autopsy immoral? no, not really. it doesn't hurt anyone. the corpses don't really care what happens to them. she basically created a Gaunt and we see no proof that Gaunts are sentient or can comprehend what is happening to them. for all intents and purposes, Para made a zombie, and then killed a zombie. the only change was that she used to know the basis of said zombie. was that traumatic for her? most likely, in a way every failed experiment of such magnitude is. was it immoral since the guy was dead and wasn't technically there anymore…? ehhhh… no? not in my head, at least. it definitely didn't warrant the place of her biggest failure - after all, she continued her trade, in DD1 at least, and there she was quite self-assured and willing to do what it takes to battle illnesses of Hamlet.

Audrey actually got away with killing her husband. the problem was that she got his debts too, as the new Lord of her household. so to not lose the lifestyle she had, she resorted to grave robbing. later, she either didn't get away with that, or got way too into it for the thrills. if anything, my bet would be on her regretting not killing him sooner, before the debts. i can't see any point where he would be her failure. marrying him? well, considering the age and her noble lineage, being a woman and narrator's phrase about her "Born into money, and married into more", marrying her husband was hardly her own decision, so not a failure in that regard, too. unless RH are implying very, very dubious things, i fail to see any scenario where he is her fault, worthy of 'Face your Failure' yelled at her face.

Barristan we get to see in both DD1 and DD2 seemed to be post-redemption arc, personally. well, save for few barks in DD1 afflictions (man, i miss how jaded and pointed they were unlike what i've seen in DD2...), but in DD1 everyone was much more at each other's throats and less sanded off to be mellow when they were afflicted, imo. but i digress. so, guardian grandpa felt like he had had his redemption arc already, before the game even started. he fucked up, he made amends, he learned his lesson. making him re-kill the ghosts is just a dick move from writers, imo.

i'm lowkey afraid to ask who Junia and Sarmenti get. because i dunno. i have my guesses, but if they are true, then i'm... i'm not even disappointed, i'm just tired.

Damian is... well, he simply is. i can get a separate rant about him, but boy, i have a lot of punches for the way the narrative worked with him. granted, he appeared when the levels of my blood salt regarding DD2 were reaching organ-failure levels (guess like Damian himself), but boy, did the RH did him dirty! not only in handling him, but also with going the most stupid, the most cheap option of self-fight.

however, and that's one huge however.

however, there's one character who, to me, outshines all this crap.

the most baffling example for me personally has to be Baldwin. the game made a very pointed, on the nose, blatant effort of showing him like the only actually undeniably good guy from the whole roster. he is kind, humble, loving, and is a 2-meter tall disney princess in disguise considering how each of his official artwork features small birds loving him and sitting on his hands. i don't even know what he gets as a Failure. his advisers? he dealt with them in more ways than one. the beggars he selflessly helped got leprosy from? if yes, this is undoubtedly not-as-good of a character anymore. does he just get to slap the boss for 200 HP because he's a gigachad or something? i'm genuinely confused.

as i said before, given the game's narrative, Face Your Failure makes no goddamn sense, and i stand by those words.

not only it feels cheaper than Come Unto Thy Maker (you can't straight out DIE from it afaik) it's not a hindrance - it's outright your way to win. unless you play with a vestal who has 0 attack skills, this is not a thing which makes the fight harder (like Come Unto Thy Maker does, progressively reducing your damage output and safety options), it does the exact opposite! why? why would the big bad make this fight easier for you to win? ugh! are we going for the 'i know you are in there somewhere' fights? is the guy called Hateful God for fuck's sake playing along with you, pulls his punches and secretly wishes you well? WHY would he??

excuse me, i need to read some soft reymas else thinking about this will put me into salt-induced frenzy.

[shmreduplication]

saw Hamlet last week and the fashion was v clearly evoking a time period w/o being historically accurate, so everyone had colorful patterned fabric with some metallic/shiny thread as part of the design. Except for our boy Ham, who was wearing a black shirt with white poofy sleeves (to better show the blood later on in the show) and the shiniest element of his costume was......this leather short sleeves+collar combo that was, imo, v bondage-y except for the fact that it was over clothes. I can't find a good pic of the actor in costume but this isn't too far off for the leather piece. Overall he looked much more piratey than princely

Then I saw The Tempest today, a free shakespeare in the park version. The royal party were all in modern-day suits, Miranda and Prospero were in kinda resort lounge wear, like loose fabrics that are a bit flowy (Miranda also had plant garlands decorating her outfit, showing she's much more "from the island" than Prospero) and Ariel was in white pants, a sparkley mesh shirt, and a shiney rainbowy leather-style harness with angel wings on it, possibly this exact style

....so like does every Shakespeare play have a leather harness in it? I'm looking at my list of upcoming shows to see what other shakespeare is interesting me. Twelfth Night set in a 1970s German nightclub, Fat Ham is a modern-day Hamlet where Ham is a queer black man, another Twelfth Night but a jazz funk musical adaptation...........yeah I think those could all very easily have leather harnesses in them

I am thinking maybe the adaptations I'm interested in say more about me than about Billy Shakes & the people who put on his shows BUT i saw Hamlet because it was in repertory with R&G Are Dead and The Tempest because it was a free show and heavily referenced in The Librarians so the fact that both of those had leather harnesses is actually about the people who love Shakes enough to put on these shows

altho tbh I am adding "shakespeare play costumed fully in bondage gear" to the list of shows I would put on if I ever get theater producer money. That guy who has his head turned into a mule's head could have a puppy-style mask. Altho the leather with the hot theater lights might give heat stroke to all the actors.......much to think about

[hey-hamlet]

hey hamlet! I want to know if you have any headcanons or thoughs about Shen Jiu and Shang Qinghua

I have many thoughts about both of them!

Shen Jiu

Headcanon him as a trans man tbh, one that really wishes he wasn't trans because he prefers the company of woman and has a deep seated hatred of men. Whole lot of weird thoughts in this man's head!

Hated Binghe because he was the 'right kind' of poor person - humble, kind, had a mother who loved him and a talent for cultivation that was wasnt ruined by years of torment, a bad master or starting too late.His jealous of the noble children was present, but not personal - he'd never been a noble. But he had been a street rat and Luo Binghe was the god's favourite street rat.

Threw his tea at Binghe bc the tea was terrible and he assumed that was intentional because there is something wrong with him <3

Would be much happier if he get left cultivation society and became a farmer or something, but he'd never be able to leave until Yue Qingyuan told him why he never came back, and thats never happening.

His Shizun was also terrible. If he engaged in one second of self reflection, he'd see he was carrying on the cycle of abuse. He will never do that though!

Shang Qinghua (Airplane edition)

Bad family, child of divorce with parents who stopped pretending to care about him the second they split up.

Luo Binghe is his self insert 100% - that bad boy can fit so much trauma in him!

Originally planned for a reveal of Shen Jiu's history after Binghe killed him to make a point about the cycle of abuse, but everyone was just so happy to see Shen Jiu dead that he didn't want to alienate his readers.

Hates maths but is good at it.

Woke up in the dead of night post canon, struck with the thought that his perfect man was unironically modeled off Peerless Cucumber's speech patterns, and that Cucumber fell in love with is self insert. He very carefully never thinks about that or it's many implications ever again.

[infiniteorangethethird]

(kskdkrkekd ignore my ask before i sent it on accident before i could finish it)

hiiii we haven't talked in a bit so this is me popping by

how have you been doing? :)

i have finished reading hamlet so i am going to reread i fell in love with hope any day now and give you your promised highly detailed essay. yay? also i have been seeing a therapist, idk if i told you about that and i'm pretty sure that's a yay!! she's very nice

question time!! i miss your aro fic so i decided to ask something regarding that. firstly, can i ask why are there different mating systems? like, what is the in-world explanation and/or what is the narrative purpose? (idk if that's too much spoiler, you can just answer in private if you want or not answer at all, whatever you seem fit)

other question is about björn bc i love him. does he like musicals too?? i know you said you, yourself are not that into theatre but if yes, do you have an idea what types of musicals would be his fav?

that's all for now i think. you answer when you answer, if you want to at all - as always. no pressure!!

bye-bye (´^_^)ノ

hiiiii sorry this took me so long to get around to, I've finally started on my summer job and I can count my free seconds on just one hand 😭 otherwise I'm mostly fine, bit preoccupied with getting obsessed over various crochet projects and trying not to lose my sanity over them lmao

oh I am so looking forward to that essay of yours, it's been a hot moment since I read I fell in love with hope so perhaps this is a call for me to reread it as well. I'd say we should do a race to see who can finish sooner but I get the feeling neither of us needs any kind of extra stress right now, lol. And I'm glad to hear you found a good therapist! I remember you mentioned you were looking for one, so happy to hear that turned out nicely!

Imma be honest, it's been a hot moment since I thought abt my aro fic 😅 other projects came up and then I started working on Absolutely Nothing At All, so that one has been kinda put on the backburner lately - it's probably a good thing you're reminding me of it, then. Tbh I don't remember if I had any specific reason for multiple mating systems, I think I just wanted to represent many of them to say: no, the problem isn't with one specific system, the problem is with the idea itself. Then again I have been considering going through every idea I had thus far again and sort of "restarting" bc I wasn't entirely happy with what I came up with thus far, so who knows. Maybe next time you ask I will stick with just one system lol.

Oh yeah Björn is a really funny guy I love him too, for some reason I imagine he would be the type of person who loves musicals but purely for their music, and otherwise has zero clue as to what the musical is actually about. He would listen to the soundtrack on 24/7 loop but if someone came up to him like "actually this musical is about [plot]" he would give you the most confused surprised pikachu face. (What kind would be his favorite, I am honestly not sure)

man I really should think about getting back to writing this Thang I have been putting it off for so long I'm already forgetting things about it 😭

Anyway, how are you doing? I hope everything's going fine with you this summer break and that ur resting at least a little bit (and that your brain hasn't boiled yet in the heat lmao). Doing anything interesting lately?

[saintadeline]

(don't remember if this was answered in game!) how long do you think the entire process in research hall was? + what do you think she was like before her time in there?

GOOD QUESTION TBH bloodborne timelines in general are extremely vague and confusing aside from a few events, its less about being hard to place in order (thats usually fine) and more who the fuck knows how much time passes and when. Like how the old hunters and the events of the dlc couldve happened 5 years ago just as they might have 80 years ago. So that doesnt really help theory making LMFAO. The way i see it, the rh timeline is kind of cut in two where the waking world has its own timeline of events and then when the nightmare took it, it was brought back to a mix of specific times in the past, resetting some of the timeline of events and mashing it together to put them in stasis. So to make it easier ill just talk about the waking world LOL i think its like... we know for sure adeline was part of the early experiments, i wouldnt say the first because of the timeline of the healing church itself, the rh was created fairly soon after the healing church actually took position (after the hamlet incident) and we know adeline likely became a saint around its creation as well, so the way i see it she helped in the rh as a saint/nun before actually joining the experiments. So not the first (few?) batch(es) of patients but still early on relative to the rest. I also think her waking world self died a few years after the start of the actual experiments? She seems to have been a bit more resilient than most patients at least in terms of what she could take, but the her we see in the nightmare is definitely not the same way she was in the waking world but thats a whole other can of worms. What im getting at is i think she was possibly already gone by the time the experiments advanced to the stage of the living failures which are definitely more developed in terms of manmade ascension. Its hard to tell when and how the rh transitioned into the orphanage but the way i see it, either the living failures marked the end of an era of trial and error, or the nightmare had a physical effect on it somehow. Maybe both. ITS HARD TO EXPLAIN what i mean about the nightmare id have to make like a timeline graph but i think there IS a physical and timestamped event when a certain place is brought into the nightmare (see: yahargul and mensis), however the nightmare realm itself isnt bound by the law of time and can bring things back in time inside itself when twisting them. I completely lost what i was talking about but i think there was an off time between the official "end" of the rh, (possibly because they could tell something about water wasnt working right. And laurence and maria probably died in between.) and what was later known as upper cathedral ward. I dont *think* the orphanage is directly the rh? Id say the orphanage is a subset of the choir and we can see its not the exact same area as the rh it just overlaps in one place. What i mean by that is the orphanage didnt Replace the rh and there is still very much likely an active equivalent of the rh still working nowadays that the orphanage is attached to. We just dont get to see it but i highly doubt the choir was just concentrated in the orphanage and that wasnt just a smaller portion of upper cathedral ward. Anyway all that to say ummm i have to clue as to how long exactly but id say the rh as a whole had a span of over a few years, maybe something like 5-7? Could be more or less depending on how close to present time you see the dlc. Not extremely long, you can tell the research didnt manage to get pushed very far compared to the emissaries for example. But these did have the backing of ebrietas so its hard to say how much of it comes from pure research and how much is an outside influence. Overall id say it kind of depends on when you think laurence died compared to when he created the church. I dont think he had a long lived vicarhood

[libraryfag]

feel free to pick & choose if this is too many, but merrily (as well), trc, and hamlet for the ask game!!

holy trinity of media that makes me insane about tragedy!

Merrily:

Favorite character: a tie between Charly and Mary.... i literally cannot chose between them Second favorite character: Frank, to complete the trio, he's such an asshole but i do love him

Least favorite character: Not a proper answer because I really don't have a least favorite character but gussie was honestly done a little bit dirty by the show.i understand that it's a very easy way of showing how the friendship collapsed overtime but the show makes it seem like it was all gussies fault and i feel so bad for her because it wasn't as if she was deliberately doing it it just sorta happened but whatever.

The character I’m most like: hm. i think maybe Act Two Frank specifically just bc im so so in love with theatre. merrily is so so special to me bc it really captures that magic. not a character but i really really relate to Opening Doors bc thats just what writing a show is like or making any art reallly.

Favorite pairing: Frank/Charly/Mary not just platonic not romantic not sexual but a secret fourth thing (including all the above) they loved each other so much!

Least favorite pairing: theo I totally agree with everything you said about frank and meg. i cant think of anyone else i could say so i might as welll copy your answer

Favorite moment: Opening Doors which has grown on me since i heard that Sondheim said it was his only autobiographic song. as well as the previously discussed reliability of it, it's such an earworm, like ive had it stuck in my head basically alll year its crazy. Also it shows how close they were together which makes it incredibly heartbreaking also

Rating out of 10: 9/10. its one of my favourite musicals ever! obligatory point reduction for whatever was wrong with the original production (Hal Prince wtf were you doing casting children??)

The Raven Cycle

Favorite character: Ronan Lynch <3 Second favorite character: oh god. im just going to say chainsaw bc i love her so much and i don't want to single out any of the other protagonists bc then i feel bad.

Least favorite character: Maggie Steifvater is such a great author I cannot name a single character I'm not 100% invested in, even ones that would be so easy to get bored by, like Mr Gray or Greenmantle I need to learn everything about them ever.

The character I’m most like: gansey tbh. to the point where i try not to think about it

Favorite pairing: all of the guys (aka blue, gansey, adam, ronan, noah and maybe henry, i don't know him so well yet). basically the same as my merrily answer, labels don't really matter: what matters is they all love each other so so much its insaneeeeeee. im also a big sucker for whatever ronan and adam have going on

Least favorite pairing: tbh i wasn't so invested in maura and the gray man at first.

Favorite moment: i love it when ronan is protective of chainsaw.. he loves that bird so much

Rating out of 10: 11/10 aka so good its literally having a detrimental impact on my school results and mental health/sleep :)

Hamlet

Favorite character: Hamlet Thee Dane. truly the character of all time

Second favorite character: i think about ophelia every single day

Least favorite character: depends on the production tbh. like i used to not care about laertes and polonius, but i became obsessed with the former either last year or the year before, and the version i read this year (Nicki Greenberg's graphic novel which i would recommend) had a really engaging interpretation of the latter which was so good i got sad when he died.

The character I’m most like: hamlet is literally me btw.

Favorite pairing: tragic danish boyfriends is a classic and brilliant but hamlet and laertes also upsets me so so much. like they are literally perfect foils

Least favorite pairing: ugh. gertrude and hamlet sexually. freud suck my dick

Favorite moment: yes ive seen/read it 5 times now. no, i've never not been emotionally destroyed by the ending

Rating out of 10: 10/10. one of the best pieces of fiction ever. which is a totally subjective statement but also im right.

[iaus]

For director's commentary: picking a snippet from i'll crawl home (to you) because. While dd2 never quite ended up grabbing me the same way the first game did, this fic took me in its claws and never let go. I'm such a sucker for memories-from-past-timelines stories, and the implication of Tardif having an inhuman element was so fascinating too, thus my selection:

“I am offering my services to those who need an extra hand along the road,” the bounty hunter says flatly, the image of professionalism if he did not clutch one of the flagellant’s hands in his. “It is a long, lonely road filled with horrors. Sometimes a hunter at your back is the best solution to dealing with the shadowy beasts.”

“And how do we know you are not a shadowy beast, following to devour us all?”

The bounty hunter barks a harsh laugh that draws the rest of the party’s attention. The sound fills the rickety walls. The inn goes silent. The hearth light flickers.

“Suppose you don’t really.”

oh I see the revenge I do. AUGH.

I still have such a huge soft spot for this fic and kind of regret not expanding on it. And tbh even though I put hours and hours (derogatory) into DD2 I still have so many bitter complicated feelings about it.

So, I definitely get it.

BUT that's not what we're here to talk about.

We're here to talk about this ^

I wanna preface this with saying that I still do love that they made it so Tardif is just not an actual character (much like DD1, ah, I miss her).

But that's also the driving force of why I wrote this fic. Like. We keep seeing this guy, we can hire him and keep him on for this small part of his journey he takes CANDLES which is a currency that seems to have no worth so what's his fucking deal.

(Tardif thought of the century let's be real here.)

First off this fic was SO HARD to write because I wanted to purposefully avoid using names even though we already know their names. We are intimate with these two (we know they are too), but DD2 despite expanding on pasts always felt... distancing to me.

Like I cared more about my silly little DD1 characters without backstories than I ever did the DD2 characters. I literally stopped playing for like a week when my original "Damian" sacrificed himself to stop Vvulf from destroying the Hamlet. (Feu you get to live on in my d&d campaign as an absolute menace.)

But, so we keep with that separation in this fic with the flagellant and the bounty hunter (not even proper nouns)... until the very end but that's not what we're looking at right now.

Now, I had to go back and read this fic in its entirety just to make sure to get all the Context of this scene (which you picked the one I adore because otherworldly Tardif sets off a Pavlovian response in me).

Which, this line of dialogue:

“It is a long, lonely road filled with horrors. Sometimes a hunter at your back is the best solution to dealing with the shadowy beasts.”

I see this version of Tardif as both this marauder spirit almost... but also a Tardif who's stuck in his past. In my fics, Damian forces Tardif to grow just as much as Tardif forces Damian to grow so in this moment he is both a Tardif who has never had Damian and the Tardif who has experienced Damian... but can't quite get that emotional connection there. BUT his body language that led into the dialogue has an implication that he misses it:

...the bounty hunter says flatly, the image of professionalism if he did not clutch one of the flagellant’s hands in his.

I've never really seen Tardif as the one initiating contact in my mind's eye. I've always seen these two as Damian pursuing Tardif to the point of discomfort if only to get a reaction (any attention is good attention, even getting clocked or called a freak). But in this fic-- in this scene-- Tardif is initiating. He sees this rotting corpse of a man and he recognizes him. What memories is he drawing on? Is he like Damian (currently) and seeing past lives in the wainwright? Is he seeing the memories of their "domesticity" in the Hamlet? At this point, it's not really clear but he wants something from Damian.

He's not just offering himself as a guard dog (Tardif will insist if pressed that THAT is all he's offering, nothing else, nothing more). This is more than original Tardif ever did. Original Tardif incited Damian to chase him and then reacted, but he didn't force the interactions.

So, he's changed. Somehow.

“And how do we know you are not a shadowy beast, following to devour us all?”

And then we get our beloved Tardif-Damian bantering where Damian immediately, out of reflex, pecks at Tardif.

Flirts with him. This is flirting.

This is easily something Damian might have said at the Hamlet given the right circumstances and Tardif probably would have responded physically. Fist fight or something more intimate.

But instead, we get another glimpse into how Tardif has changed. His reaction is involuntary:

The bounty hunter barks a harsh laugh that draws the rest of the party’s attention. The sound fills the rickety walls. The inn goes silent. The hearth light flickers.

He laughs and the very atmosphere around him changes. We as readers can now understand the extent that Tardif has changed without/with Damian.

So when I wrote this I definitely pictured a monstrous Tardif beneath the hood. Think a mix of the Collector and Thing From the Stars. Faceless and terrible, a being corrupted by forces that none of them understand.

I had envisioned someone who could match Damian's new, horrifying form. That would easily withstand Damian's new blighted abilities without even having to realize the danger.

He was made for Damian because Damian changed. So the universe decided that Tardif must change too. But. Even when things change, things stay the same because Tardif is almost playful when responding to Damian:

“Suppose you don’t really.”

Flirting back a bit, honestly.

Like that's the only way he knows how to respond to Damian.

[lcndonboysstuff]

Tbh I don't mind if his role is minimal and I think this is a good step into things when he's been lying low for so long. He's just shy and not very Hollywood like his costars. I'm looking to the Hamlet promos ngl, he's a much bigger part and he is with other British actors so I think he'll find it easier ( I love Riz Ahmed so I'm biased lol.)

yeah i think he’ll be friendlier with the Hamlet cast. the thing here is he probably only had scenes with Emma so if he wasn’t talking to her he’d probably keep to himself. though he seems friendly with Hunter which is nice

[suzannahnatters]

MOON LOVERS: SCARLET HEART RYEO has deaded me and I've never been so happy about it

EUN!!!!

I'm not okay.

of course So was always going to make this choice, and I suppose it's hard to just opt out of a system when you and everyone you care about it trapped inside it, but there tragedy is definitely HERE

oh heck no, did he just lie to her? after promising he wouldn't?? and when the real thing he used as an excuse was a genuine point of conflict that could have served the writers just as well???

everything was going so WELL

Jung has no damns left to give either :3

big fan of the way nobody's wearing pastel robes anymore, they're all in black and guyliner

cept Baek Ah, please stay alive my child

dying over the internal thematic resonance here. So wants to be king so he won't be someone's killer anymore. but if you take the throne you have to be willing to throw everyone else away. And that's what he's already done to our girl, as happened to Lady Oh before her

taking the throne is the leading cause of insanity in this kingdom, looks like

ok they actually resigned me to the Break Her Heart To Save Her bit by downplaying it a whole lot and justifying it pretty well. it's still not my favourite & it IS cruddy of him to lie but also the king IS very actively using her to control him.

most of the time this trope happens I'm like "in what universe does this even make sense" but in this case, well it's a stupid decision but one I can actually imagine making

So explains why he wants the throne: at first he just wanted to protect the people he loved but now he wants to FIGHT THE SYSTEM, YEAH

*cough* or make things better for the normies

she's 100% Ophelia but he's better than Hamlet so I support him tbh

it's on, even Baek Ah is in armour now

not so evil queen gets the thesis statement: you must throw away love in order to gain the world

aaaaaaaaaaaAAaaaaAAAAAaaahhh

did...did our girl poison king Guyliner (no but it was convenient yes?)

what was in the letter

our girl getting to be the first to acclaim the new king yessss

well HECK the throne-induced insanity is setting in quick this time

I repent, I repent, he should have listened to our girl T_T

astrologer is Concerned and so am I

I'm so happy for Rebel Princess getting to stab someone at last

augh Wook very correctly points out to our girl that she's stuck by So as he makes the same decision Wook did

and then she retorts that at least he was honest about it with her

well played and game over

oh no I knew it wasn't good that she was clutching her heart

the sheer stress of the lifestyle is getting to her...the way it did to Lady Oh

and our girl's protege Chae Ryung is in love with a prince, it's all starting another tragic cycle huargh

fascinating how the back half is contextualising the show's treatment of the original king.

I hate that it went easy on him, but it quickly started to be apparent that the king is similarly caught in the system as everyone else. one person wanting to change isn't enough.

this show is so much more complex than I gave it credit for!

well I have a three page list of Reasons Why Marrying Princess Smirks-a-Lot is NOT Good Realpolitik

oh the pain is ON now our boy is making a whole parade of bad decisions and the show...isn't letting him off for them?

like, it's showing him yielding to the pressure of the system but also our girl takes a good long hard look at him and...

is this show going to Do The Thing

couples who pledge love over this swimming pool never end well, goodbye Baek Ah

no this is almost worse, Baek Ah gets to live in the most heartbroken manner possible

meanwhile So is gradually losing the bits of his humanity one by one T_T

SHRIEK

Jung just came to get our girl in the dumbest way possible, this is why you do not ask the general to rescue you from the deadly court

WOOK, DID YOU JUST DO SOMETHING LEGITIMATELY UNSELFISH

oh the sad king lurking in Jung's garden all eaten up with jealousy is the BEST THING and totally what he deserves

oh I LOVE this - our girl makes sure Chae Ryung's last letter gets to Won ahhhhh

the actor for Wook has just done an amazing job of visibly aging from 20 to 50 before our eyes, and he's done it all with facial expressions and body language

our girl has made it back YESS

and left history a little better in her wake

that rates as a happy ending in my book

THEY DID THE THING

I NEVER THOUGHT THEY WOULD BUT THEY DID

IT'S OPHELIA IN ANCIENT GORYEO

look idk what I expected from a story about a modern girl going back in time to charm 8 cute princes but it sure wasn't a brutal Shakespearean tragedy about power corrupting even the truest love

10/10 perfect ending, no notes. Bittersweet, agonising, fitting, PERFECT.

review to come

[boyfridged]

In regards to your recent reblog, the only evidence I’ve seen about the pit madness stuff is the daniels interview. And even that interview says that Jason was always crazy so I don’t think it’s a reliable source. The comics themselves say Jason’s breakdown was caused by the video Bruce sent him. Every action Jason has done has always been 100% his own choice, he may have been mentally unwell but I don’t think the pit played any part in that.

i don't really have time nor energy (nor enough interest in it tbh) to compile the list of sources but i can promise you that it's not the only mention of it. first of all, ableist language that is a common ground for both the concept of magic-induced "madness" and regular psychosis is used to describe jason by other characters often enough that it gets blended with each other for readers -- which i think is more of an issue of writing than the readership, because the writers should be sensitive to such issues. second of all, even in annual 25, winick wrote that whether it was lazarus pit that made him this way was a "question that would always be asked" (winick does point at the knowledge that he was unavenged being the reason, but it is not unequivocal). and i guess it is truly the question that will always be asked because it's at least the 7th time i get an ask in this spirit.

i appreciate that you want to reply to my ramblings, but i'm sorry, i'm kinda tired of discussing this topic (i like talking to people on here, but also the problem of autonomy is not something that interests me much in terms of jay nor that plays a big role in my reading of him -- i have written way too many academic essays on the meaning of the term to think it's a question that can be answered in a tumblr post about a comicbook character), so i will just copy-paste a fragment from this post that i think answers the sentiment that "every action jason has done has always been 100% his own choice" from here:

so, regarding whether or not everything he does is fully his choice– i think it’s a bit of a reductive presumption and question in general. i’m sorry for getting philosophical but most discussions of autonomy in the field presume that the circumstances someone finds themselves in already limit autonomy a fair share. and at the end of the day, jason’s position in the narrative and in the world he finds himself post-res are so obscure that it is the point that he doesn’t get much choice in how he communicates his grief. and grief and madness are themes that blur into each other too. i think, very much like in hamlet, the question of whether the protagonist is sane or mad doesn’t actually matter much because the extreme circumstances call into question if there’s a “normal” response to this situation at all.

if you want to be realistic about it, you have to ask how much someone who has been raised (in good faith and not fully intentionally) to believe it’s their duty to fight criminals and protect people only to get brutally murdered, resurrected, kidnapped and finally given access to assassin training at 16/17 can be believed to be a fully self-aware and autonomous person.

if you want to think of it in terms of what the story is about, at least the initial stages of it (so the lost days & utrh for example, as well as countdown, if you will) then it doesn’t truly matter that much. this is something that can hold weight if there’s talk of redemption – and in the narrative he’s not alive enough for it as things stand anyway (and sometimes he’s just written as a very much redeemed corpse without any significant build-up leading to it.) to me, a perfect story would address his wrongdoings, but also highlight it's not the core of his personality; but still, this is such thin ice to walk on with all the classism and ableism inherent in his development as a "villain" and "anti-hero."