#i dont even know if the human was a woman in a literal 'mother' sense but I think the gutterman was being metaphorical since yknow

[debatablyspicydurian]

I know the full arsenal update is out and hype for that but I just found the gutterman's poem in 7-2 and I HAVE to type about it because its night where I am and I cant wake up my friends to rant about Ultrakill.

Anyway, absolutely indescribable how we have the thoughts of a machine just laid bear in a secret for the first and maybe last time. The fact that a machine made for merciless slaughter could not only feel sadness for the person powering it but also WRITE a POEM? A machine made art??? The knowledge that they understand how cruel it is to make a human a blood battery, recognize it as torture, but also feel gratitude for the life they've been given?? It was known that machines had a sense of aesthetic from Swordsmachine and Mindflayer's entries but. Goddamn. The gutterman refers to the human as their mother and it states it CRIED when it crushed her skull as it hoped it would redeem its life.

Also the excerpt, "I know I know you would hate me so, and mother of me, I do too." Does this mean the Gutterman hated itself as much as the human? Did it hate the human instead along with the feelings of love and gratitude? Probably the former. Gutterman angst is so in.

V2's mannerisms and Swordsmachine's data entry are intresting, but a gutterman's eulogy for its prisoner and its attempt at redemption is another level. Actual machine thought process recorded!! Sapient lifeform that knows only war and death! The fact that the gutterman crushing the human's skull seemed to be out of mercy. Ough.

Noone has to interact I havent proof read this I am just RANTING this is CRAZY HAKITA HOW COULD YOU AND THE TEAM DO THIS

[bibibbon]

something that i can’t stand when it comes to this fandom is that basically no one can wrap their head around the fact that a victim can also be an abuser.

yes, rei was physically and emotionally abused by endeavor. yes, she was literally sold to him.

but she also just completely checked out and left fuyumi to pick up the slack.

yes, it’s not her fault that the abuse caused her to shut down, but as a result of that she neglected her children.

after she left fuyumi had to raise her brothers and become the woman of the house.

again, at the end of the day the root cause of the abuse is endeavor, but rei had checked out even before dabi's death.

it’s not victim blaming to point out the fact that rei neglected her kids. victim blaming would be saying that the abuse she suffered was her fault.

sometimes this fandom can be so fucking braindead. it’s always black and white, good or bad, hero or villain.

there is not a soul on this earth who is 100% a pure and good person.

all might, knowing full well what one for all contained and the massive responsibility that came with it. including an old wrinkly guy who will stop at nothing to take it, to a child and then proceed to not tell the aforementioned child what he was getting himself into. he with held crucial information because he knew that if he told izuku everything there was a chance he wouldn’t take it.

on the flip side, no one is 100% evil.

dabi cares deeply for the league, even though he doesn’t show it. shigaraki is literally the only person he will take orders from. some people may think he showed everyone hawks killing twice just for more ammo against the hero's. but thats not true at all. he cared about twice, and he wanted the world to know who he was. he wanted the hero’s to know that twice was human.

again i’m fucking rambling but i just hate how this fandom can be allergic to nuance and critical thinking.

I do think that many people do want a simple answer because at the end of the day it's easy to root for the good guys and boo the bad guys. There's also the fact that the narrative itself does sometimes struggle in creating a proper grey space morally.

Take for example the abuse victims in MHA. A lot of them are straight up innocent perfect heroes victims like izuku (who can never feel resentment in the narrative) and shoto while the others are straight up villains like Dabi and shigaraki. There's no in between with these characters and it's annoying. I remember talking with @mikeellee she has her saying of Shigaraki being the dark deku which honestly after that chapter where izuku comes into contact with a evil version of himself makes more sense.

I do agree with you in the sense that no one is 100% good or evil and in a way almost everyone is a victim to hero society. All might did willingly give a quirk that has a big responsibility to a naive quirkless child and all might is a bad mentor. However, at the same time all might is also a victim to a society he contributed to creating which is honestly so ironic and I wish horikoshi would explore these aspects of all mights character yet he doesn't and just gave us iron might (I dont like iron might tbh).

Also I love the fact that you brought up Rei himura and honestly Iam a big advocate for giving rei a redemption arc since it would of been more interesting and it would actually make sense to give her one than giving enji todoroki one. Rei was a victim and yes motherhood is difficult especially with the fact that she was abused and stripped of autonomy or agency but she also wasn't the best mother and that's something she does recognise in the narrative. My main problem however, is that the narrative doesn't allow her to fully engage with the family and she doesn't do much about it. Yes she apologises to both shoto and touya but what about her other children?!?! What about fuyumi who had to take on the role of a mother and shoulder a huge family burden? What about natsou who was also neglected?!?!. I say by giving rei himura a redemption arc the series can do so much that being actually involving the entire todoroki family into this, having more introduction to the hospital arc that may connect both touya and Rei and you can also have Rei make a connection with genten as @nyc3 suggested.

However, this also applies to the flip side. Characters like twice, shigaraki and Dabi aren't completely evil. Yes they have done bad things, yes they are bad people but they are also victims of the hero system and hero society. I do think that the leauge is a bit underdeveloped and I did definitely want more development between Dabi and shigaraki's while frenemies fiasco going on.

In the end I do think that almost every fandom may be allergic to nuance in one way or another. I do actually mean this because I remember seeing people try and say that Eren Yeager is completely good while some tried saying that he is completely evil but in reality he is complex and layered. You really can't put a definitive label on the aot characters because they all did their fair share of good and bad things and that's what makes them well written and enjoyable.

[peasthedumb]

K, let’s talk about my self indulgent headcanons about Adam. Also kinda more like Psychoanalysis? Is that the right word? I’m no professional I’m just making this up

Ps: I’m not saying I think any of this is canon or correct. It’s what I’ve chosen to derive because I want him to be a sympathisable train wreck rather than just a train wreck I don’t like liking.

But let’s be real, this guy definitely has so many issues. Humans are social beings, relying heavily on friends, parents and partners, and general interaction. This guy was literally spawned in- no real involved parental figures or childhood for guidance, was the first human so had NO social interaction, and the first person he got (Lilith) who was meant to be his wife left him. (And did Eve too? That part is muddy for me but she sure as hell doesn’t seem to be with him right now.)

Obv not putting shit on Lilith and Eve, who the hell would stay with him, but even if it was justified, who’s saying that can’t fuck with someone who has so little human interaction in the first place.

All this to say: yk how he’s a complete asshole the whole time? He’s probably REALLY emotionally incapable/uneducated from his ‘youth’.

Also no way having no active mom or dad figures hasn’t given him issues.

And in that ep with the trial. Ik it’s expected, but his behaviour with the people in heaven is SO different. Particularly to sera. A) he actually respects her orders (in his own way), and B) in the trial, did you see the way he was checking in on her for approval. I’m taking that and I’m running away with it, do you know how insecure I’ve decided he is? Tied in with the whole no parents plus wife leaving, this guy probably craves approval from anyone he respects. And then beats the shit out of the ones he doesn’t (the sinners) just for some sense of control. Plus he probably gets praise from sera for it.

Another point I saw somewhere on Pinterest I also like which fits in with him having no parental roles. He might see sera sorta as a mother? I mean, female, older that him who commands greater respect and authority, and gives him his orders etc etc. He probably subconsciously latched on- I imagine him like that clingy toddler following her around all day tugging on her wings to ask if he did a good job.

With all this I think we got the bad end of the stick In the show cause killing sinners is where he offloads all of whatever he’s not addressing. Heaven is where we get to see him with his emotional blockades exept for him craving praise and being a lil pathetic man.

And he an Lute are cool. I feel like she’s the only person he’s had in his life who’s actually a friend to him, nothing sinister or based on authority or romance, and I honestly….dont think he’s emotionally capable enough to realise that. I mean, they literally spent every waking hour of every day together and do everything together, but he probably still thinks it’s strictly professional and there’s no way they’re friends. I think he at least realises in the end- did you see how he smiles at her? Something was going on there. And whilst I prefer not to, I do really see the ship to the extent I can’t ignore it, but it would be nice to see just some plain old evil buddies with valued platonic bonds.

All of this ignores Abel btw, I have no idea what that’s gonna bring to the table and I’ll address it when it comes, but not rn.

My dumbass was surprised that the man who started humanity had a child. Like, ofc he does. He started humanity. He just seems like he’s never met a real life woman , let alone is a father.

[lavender-bundle-blithe]

hey. guess what. more Human Abilities AU, starring the Armed Detective Agency!

Kunikida's first up, with Matchless Poet/Doppo Poet (I don't know which one's right-), or just "Poet"! Poet is much like Kunikida, wanting to keep up with work and having an organized and well maintained scheduled. But while Kunikida scolds the others for slacking off, Poet is more kinder with his words. Still has the scary factor though when the others push it, and definitely if they mess with his organization. That's his thing, organization. Mess with it, and you'll end up with a binder at the face. Regardless of his scary factor, Poet is more or less the diligent and caring big brother when it comes to his voice claim. ex: maybeee (goodness voice claims are hard when you have a itty bitty mind and you dont know much voices-) "L. Lawliet" from Death Note.

Ranpo's Super/Ultra Deduction, or Suiri! (going with romaji for some of these-) Suiri is as much as a smarty as they are a foodie. And while they have the same confidence in their deductions like Ranpo, Suiri is a actually a lot more mellow and quiet about their accomplishments which correlates to the fact that Ranpo doesn't actually have an ability. Sometimes they wonder why they're still around when they're at their lowest, but the rest make it an every day occurrence to make them feel needed. Hey, at least they know their way back to the agency. But some thing's for sure when it comes to their voice claim. They have Ranpo's sass and shoot-backs. ex: Nagisa from Assassination Classroom.

Yosano's Thou Shalt Not Die, Kochou(a less common name meaning "butterfly", the other being just "cho")! She is very much similar to Yosano as a feminist and a very independent woman that need no man. But in the sense, she does more of the dirty work. She's not afraid in getting her hands dirty. But even then, she knows beauty just like her iridescent butterflies when she sees it, more or less giving her an elegant but straightforward voice claim. Not as sadistic, but it's still in that scary factor that a single unamused and threatening stare could have many sit down and wait for their demise if she were to unleash such on them. ex: Lust from Full Metal Alchemist (at this point, im just going through random tiktoks of voice claims to figure something out qwq)

Kenji's Undefeated by Rain, or just... Rain! Rain a literal carbon copy of Kenji, with a bit more knowledge about city life... but somehow still not enough. Very much a social butterfly and polite just like Kenji, if not somewhat more mature than the boy. One poignant thing about Rain, though, is his strong nature of not wanting to hurt, so he's actually a pacifist. In a way, he is in the back lines when it comes to things, acting as defense more than offense which Kenji is. But similar to Kenji, if someone were to try and tilt that, Rain won't hesitate and punch someone a block or four back. And for his voice claim, taking to account that he's a but more mature but still golden hearted and he knows where he stands in situations. ex: Lune from The Cat Returns.

Kyouka and Demon Snow, or Shirayuki (romaji once more). Now Shirayuki is different from the others. The reason being is because she was previously Kyouka's mother's ability. Her phantom takes after her mother. With one last order given from her, Shirayuki is immensely protective of Kyouka, acting more or less like a mother-figure in place of Kyouka's. And really, the phantom resembles her mother, and it brings her comfort. So in a way, Shirayuki will take after Kyouka's mother. A nice and loving woman but can be silent and deadly with the help of her katana. But after being linked with Kyouka, she began taking after Kyouka's straightforwardness. Basically motherly for her voice claim. ex: well... Kyouka's mother from Bungou Stray Dogs.

Tanizaki and Light Snow, or just Snow! Snow has that strong familiarity sense, she is very much like the big sister to both Tanizaki and Naomi, and is more or less confused at their antics and a bit concerned, she's just glad they're close (she does not know the full extent). Snow is basically the only one besides a few notable others that have normal braincells in the agency, a good balance of work and having a bit of fun in the office. And similar to Tanizaki, can be ruthless when she wants to be (or if someone hurts her family [that includes the agency too]). And surprisingly, she gets along with everyone, ESPECIALLY Byakko, which often than not shocks most. Because if anything, Byakko is close with Shirayuki and whatever is going on with Rashomon. ex: Sisu from Raya and the Last Dragon. Taking into account about the braincells but also the fact that she somewhat acts similarly to Tanizaki

And you know what, have a Katai with... "Futon". Hm. A bit of a change to the alternate name, "The Quilt", and we now have Quill! Quill, the poor man, is a hopeless romantic. And compared to Katai, he goes out. He touches grass. While Katai is an information broker, Quill is more or less the hacker to get the more restricted information. it's for the greater good, promise! While being a hopeless romantic, Quill is more encouraging and keep seeing the days ahead. Mellow and mature, but he can and will drag Katai to go outside and bet the stray cat at the end of the block, or go to a hole in the wall shop for some deadly good dinner. ex: Joe Gardner from Soul

And last but certainly not least, Fukuzawa and All Men Are Equal. Or in romaji, Hito! Hito is a fair and balanced man, and while Fukuzawa has his agency, Hito watches over the agency's abilities. He takes care of them and spends time with them, a silent father figure moving around as he mostly keeps to both Kochou and Suiri, but he won't hesitate to help the agency members when they need the president's opinion but the man isn't in at the time. One thing, though, about Hito. Hito is silent. Silent. No one, not even Fukuzawa, has heard the man talk. But just his presence, his aura, and his acts, it's enough comfort to help them. And if someone were to try and hurt his found family, he won't hesitate and return to old ways and hurt the perpetrator back.

[zestyjesty]

The Barbarian keeps rolling around my brain so I have many many thoughts under the cut

1. I saw someone talk about the house itself having layers and yes absolutely, the house and the different men we meet represent rape culture in a very literal sense. We start at the top of the iceberg in the house with Keith's "i wont take no for an answer" and not believing Tess about the basement because women who are upset just arent to be believed, and then AJs and then Frank in escalating worseness as we delve deeper into the house.

2. On the Mother ultimately being a victim but still being the monster who Tess has to kill, I actually think it does a lot about how you are raised and how that shapes what you think is normal and the harm you do. Again we start with Keith who is slightly traditional and says its "how i was raised", then we have AJ at the bar with a very old friend and went he tells him he had to "persuade" this girl and "yeah she said no at the start but like totally not by the end you know" his friend agrees and doesn't think thats rape. Basically, if you dont do the extra work to unlearn what youve been brought up to think is normal, you will absolutely inflict harm and be part of rape culture because thats how society currently is. (Clearly we dont hear about frank but if hes the type for 70s rapist/serial killer firstly is a very sexist society and secondly hes parents are 90% likely to be abusive, that combo is what made most serial killers from the 60s-80s). And the thing is despite being raised that way despite thinking it was normal AJ still deserves to be punished for harming that woman because he still did harm. And the mother doesnt know any better but she will still hurt Tess if Tess let her.

3. The final scene where Tess doesnt let her empathy stop her from thinking about herself for once is very important! Over and over she has thought about other people and got herself kidnapped and hurt for it over and over. So at the end when we still the Mothers incredibly human eyes for the very first time up close, and seeing how she cares, and its meant to pull on your heart strings, and Tess says I dont care what you want because Im going to think about me first. Clearly theres a gender gap not addressed (god i wished she got to kill AJ) but it works if we think of the Mother as the concept of distilled rape culture rather than a real person

4. I loved seeing the mechanics of the script happening in the real time. The story of the director writing himself into a corner 30 pages in and thats why the mother shows up in her first scene (i think thats why Frank shoots himself, like straight up wrote himself into another corner and goes fuck it Frank shoots himself).

5. I saw someone else didnt like the shift to AJs storyline but i really liked it, most horror movies have a hard time with pacing so they either start reallyyyyy slowly (peele) or just try to keep the suspense and terror up the whole time and theres always a flat bit in the middle and you get desensitised to it all and stop caring (halloween.....all of them). So i loved this take of doing it all again but from a completely opposite POV, normally they wouldve run the storylines concurrently so having it 1 and then 2 was just really interesting and pretty bold

6. I cannot tell you how many horror movies ive seen where the closing shot is a wide shot of the house/maze/town whatever of the final girl, and its all lit up with red/blue cop lights. Like thats normally when the film ends, when the cops show up we roll credits. So to have just the most unhelpful, apathetic, fucking rude cops cops instead was cool. I didnt even find them to be over the top (sometimes movies when theyre trying to do a 'cops suck' segment make them caricatures of villainy or bafoonery rather than making then real), but to have their very casual but unflinching demand of respect to themselves from everyone above all else, not seeing a filthy terrified woman with no possesions at all as anything unusual but a broken window thats for sure a crime. Yeah that was scary real, really well done.

7. It felt very classic horror with enough modern twists to keep it grounded in this year without being overbearing about it. Like when horror films are trying a bit too hard with that its just very sighhhhh (like in halloween 2018 they had a teen boy say out loud "i like you that means im gonna get some right??" Like no one talks like that whereas AJs version of events sounds like something a real person would say). And the house with a monster in its walls has absolutely been done before and yet watching this felt fresh bc it was playing on your expectations of the genre.

For a horror debut from a guy whose background is 2000s comedy I think he did really really good! Looking forward to what else he does

[traceofexistence]

oh I have examples!

Star Trek Discovery, how much have been trashed by so called fans, because the protag is a black woman.

and I dont know if some of the choices made by the show early on were because women loved the show, but they were certainly controversial in my honest opinion, but later on they did way better.

first of all getting rid of Georgeou, by promising the actress a spin off that we have yet to see, (and no it's not because of covid, many trek have been created ever since already)

bringing her back for some episodes only for her to be an evil AU of herself, and put a stamp on the Georgeou-Michael relationship to be of "mother-daughter" to stop the shippers.

in the first seasons they gave Michael a love interest that, other characters had to tell her, he was interested in her. and it turned out he manipulated her as he was of the people who killed her family, and she had expressed hate over, and they played it as if they were destined, and he was like her soulmate or whatever the fuck, which was utterly disgusting and fucked up, complete character assassination.

then we spend an entire seasons of her being accused of the murder of her mentor, she self pity, losing her rank, to a cis-het white man, being mistreated left and right, and also he (as many years older than her as georgeou) was played as love interest in an alternative universe.

anyway

after that one ended as well, the writers wrote phenomenal stuff for the rest of the show.

--

another example of men despising women.

Supergirl the TV show.

it started on CBS with a woman show runner, excellent writing, wonderfully fleshed out characters, social commentary, and everything in between. besides the protags at the time abusive husband shoehorning himself in the show for an episode, as her love interest (she only came out about the abuse years after), the show was excellent.

of course the dudebros hated it, they hated the fact that the love interest was a handsome black man(in the racist sense of how dare take our white blonde women)

sadly CBS wasn't willing to pay for another seasons as it didnt make CBS numbers, and they dropped it to the CW where all the other DC comics shows were.

we lost couple of actors because of that.

just to be clear,

everyone LOVED supergirl's human sister Alex, who was an original character for the series.

for the second season, the showrunner decided to have a coming out story for Alex, as a lesbian, the actress loved it, and she even came out as queer herself later on, as the story that was told was so well written it made her rethink her entire existence.

and they brought in a well established in the comics lesbian character maggie sawyer, to be both Alex's awakening and later love interest.

they told the actress that maggie will not have a child like in the comic, as they were not interested in that storyline.

the woman show runner by going to CW her leadership was partly taken from her, until they fired her, so the guy who was lower than her in CBS could take full leadership.

that guy wrote a self insert, cis-het-white slave owning man child, who played as love interest to supergirl, who write after she kissed her black boyfriend she decided that you know what im not i love with him anymore. (which made zero sense and it was so obvious what they were trying to do, when they introduced said self insert)

the woman showrunner had written up to episode 8, so the coming out of Alex was in those episode.

what happened later?

everyone hated the manchild character, everyone loved the lesbian storyline,

so that asshole hated that so much, that he literally forced a "I want kids and you dont" bullshit on the lesbians and fired the actress who played maggie in the first five episodes of s3, that also along with reducing her screentime to nothing.

he was fired soon after that, for being a disgusting creep who sexually harassed more that 20 people, in the crew (he went for the low wage/low job security ones)

the actresses admitted he was a control freak who hated their characters, and deleted about 75% of their scenes.

Alex mind you, was not just a second lead in the first season she was a CO-lead, she had only slightly less screentime that supergirl herself. and in the second season, that asshole's self insert even had more screentime than supergirl at times. it was ridiculours.

after he left, he had done so much damage to Alex's character that a recovery needed actual writing skills that the show runners who were left behind didn't have it in them, not to mention the actress herself felt extremely betrayed and kinda lost her will to continue, but she was under 6 years contract.

[thepayloadmoves]

im drunk, enid is trans, and you absolutely cannot change my mind on this and here is why: (spoilers for Wednesday ahead)

first of all, pink and blue in her hair aside, not only is she hyper feminine (as transwomen often become hyperfeminine, source: my trans gf who knows many other transwomen) but it is, to my knowledge, never explicitly stated why she cannot wolf out at the start of the series. just that she can't and might not. she also identifies herself as a kitty, which i did not think much of UNTIL the parent's day episode, and here's why:

not only is her mom so fucking overbearing and insistent that enid go to a "conversion camp" in order to wolf out, but is wolfing out late so common that there needs to be literal lycanthropy conversion camps in order to make it happen for young werewolves who are a little late on the path? something hit me during that scene while enid refused to go, stating that if she was meant to wolf out then she would do it on her own, and it's this:

if she is trans, which i think she most certainly is, and wolfing out often happens early on in puberty or the early teenage years, it is very much possible that sweet, sharp little enid here went on puberty blockers before wolfing out could potentially happen, thus throwing off her biological timeline for when wolfing out would naturally happen for her body if she had not begun taking puberty blockers and undergoing HRT.

the doctors say they dont know why she can't and that she might never actually do it, but how much of that is actually true? maybe the doctors dont actually have a lot of experience with MtF werewolves, and therefore, would not know the typical species response to puberty blockers combined with taking estrogen. it's entirely possible they have plenty of data on FtM werewolves, but MtF werewolves could still be a bit of a mystery to them so they don't really know. not only is her human body adjusting to becoming a woman's body but her wolf bits and bobs have to adjust as well from male wolf biology to female wolf biology.

further evidence that backs this up could be read as normal werewolf worries, but the fact that enid hemms and haws about if "two species" can "make it together" to her love interest, a male gorgon, speaks a lot to me. not only does it make sense for her to worry about dating someone of a different species, but trans people who are not aro/ace often worry about the same exact thing: what if they, as a transgender person of whatever flavor, cannot find a romantic/sexual connection? Even if Enid was Aro/Ace, there's still that deep set fear: what if they can't find anyone at all and are destined to be alone?

of course it is normal werewolf worries to be scared to not be able to find a mate or a pack of her own, especially if she's late to realizing her true werewolf form, but wouldn't that worry just be amplified by not only being hate to wolfing out, but to being a trans werewolf as well? it's no secret that many transgender people ALSO worry about never finding a partner or a "family", so to speak.

the fact is, sugary sharp-claw enid's entire character arc absolutely screams transgender&self-acceptance to me AND to other trans folk i've spoken about this to, especially when it comes to the conversion camp thing and how her mother is so ... like That, and her father simply says that he is proud of her and hugs her, because he inherently accepts who she is and what her life choices are even if she never "wolfs out" properly like her brothers did. Her father does not care if she is trans or cis or straight or gay or wolfs our or does not, he loves his daughter. Her mother wants to send her to conversion therapy. also its cute that her werewolf form has pink and blue fur goodnight

[loveerran]

Heavenly Mother

Some people are interested in the LDS doctrine of a Heavenly Mother. While we know very little, here are some quotes from current church members and supporting thoughts from church leaders over time:

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"Personally, I believe that Heavenly Mother is just as important as God, and had an intimate and involved role in our creation as spirit sons and daughters. I also think she has just as big a part in our day to day lives" - @ye-fuzzy-cuddly-monster

"I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to think of Heavenly Mother as a [god] as well" - @bimormondisaster

"I do not think it is a stretch to say Heavenly Mother is also a God... Of course the church instructs us to direct our prayers to Heavenly Father, but saying Heavenly Mother, as His partner, also has Godhood doesn’t seem to go against church teachings" - @i-stand-all-amazed

"I believe Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father together are God, and that She is more involved in our lives than we know. We worship one God, who is two beings who do the job together" - @dont-wake-the-dragon

---------------------------------------------------

"All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.” “The Origin and Destiny of Man,” Improvement Era (November 1909): 78.

"All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and as such, each has a divine nature and destiny" - The Family Proclamation

"We forget that we have a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother who are even more concerned, probably, than our earthly father and mother, and that influences from beyond are constantly working to try to help us when we do all we can.” Harold B. Lee, “The Influence and Responsibility of Women,” Relief Society Magazine, no. 2 (February 1964); 85

"The glorious vision of life hereafter . . . is given radiant warmth by the thought that . . . [we have] a mother who possesses the attributes of Godhood.” John A. Widtsoe, “Everlasting Motherhood,” Millennial Star 90 (May 10, 1928): 298

“We . . . [are] literally the sons and daughters of divine parents, the spiritual progeny of God our Eternal Father, and of our God Mother.” James E. Talmage, “The Philosophical Basis of ‘Mormonism,’” Improvement Era 18 (September 1915): 950.

"we honor woman when we acknowledge Godhood in her eternal prototype.”[Rudger Clawson], “Our Mother in Heaven,” Millennial Star 72 (September 29, 1910): 619–20.

"When we speak of marriage as a partnership, let us speak of marriage as a full partnership. We do not want our LDS women to be silent partners or limited partners in that eternal assignment! Please be a contributing and full partner.” President Spencer W. Kimball, “Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Ensign (November 1978): 106. - emphasis added. what is a contributing or 'full' partner in the eternal sense? I don't know, but DC 76:95 is more interesting now, right?

"[E]ternal mothers and eternal daughters will be prepared to frame earths like ours” Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 18:259, October 8, 1876

"In other words, in the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the priesthood power are shared by husband and wife.” Elder M. Russell Ballard, “This is My Work and My Glory,” Ensign 43 (May 2013), 19.

"Elder B.H. Roberts challenged the rest of Christianity to offer a doctrine that presents a ‘conception of the nobility of woman and of motherhood and of wifehood—placing her side by side with the Divine Father’ as does our doctrine of Heavenly Mother.” in David L. Paulsen and Martin Pulido, “A Mother There: A Survey of Historical Teachings about Mother in Heaven,” BYU Studies, no. 1 (2011), 77.

"There can be no God except he is composed of the man and woman united, and there is not in all the eternities that exist, or ever will be a God in any other way... We may never hope to attain unto the eternal power and the Godhead upon any other principle . . . this Godhead composing two parts, male and female." Erastus Snow, in Journal of Discourses, 19:269–70, March 3, 1878

[hanarchy]

ok here’s the cut, sorry i mixed up the last two but im not fixing it:

1 Die Wut die bleibt: Austrian book abt a mother that commits suicide bc she can’t stand family life anymore and her daughter who has to take over her responsibilities after. Apparently made an Austrian politician literally quit his job bc it impacted him so much and he wanted to be there for his family more (he was their equivalent to a governor so not even a low position) published 2022

2 The memory police: Dystopia abt - you guessed it - memory and memory police. I picked it up bc i love explorations of memory in literature. Published 1994

3 Scrap: Mystery/Crime novel that my mom recommended me abt a woman who gets hired to make a scrapbook abt some rich ladies marriage and then the rich lady dies and the first woman investigates through the materials she was sent abt her husband. Published 2024

4 I who have never known men: Speculative/Science Fiction abt a group of women who are underground in a cage with no memory of the past or any other reality. Published 1995

5 Das perfekte Grau: A kind of road movie story abt a group of ppl who came to a rundown hotel on the german coast from many different placesall over the world, through different means (refugees, tourists, old germans). Published 2021

6 The trunk: Korean novel abt a woman who is a wife for rent, which just sounded intriguing to me. I think they made it into a romantic kdrama if im not completely mistaken tho the novel sounds a bit more substantial than those often tend to be 😬 Published 2024

7 Wo die Geister tanzen: Story of a palestinian family out of jaffa (based on the authors’ own family) that ends up in germany. Published 2023

8 Human Acts (this is the german translation): Story of the Gwangju massacre told from the perspective of the friends and family of a young boy that died in it. Picked it up bc infamously this happened the last time martial law was declared in south korea and the korean papers covered it quite a bit recently. Published 2014

9 City of night: A ‘crime’ novel (genuinely dont rly know why it gets put in that category but i also havent read it) abt gay nightlife and life in general in 1960s america, that was acclaimed by James Baldwin and Christopher Isherwood at the time. Published 1963

10 Brick Lane short stories: Picked these up at brick lane bookshop bc i love when independent bookshops publish books and also I like short stories.

11 Percy Jackson: u know what this is. I heard it was not a good sequel and doesnt make sense with canon so far but i usually disagree with the pjo fandom anyway and i was never NOT gonna read it. Published 2023

(no cover bc i hit picture limit rip)

ok guys i need help deciding what to read next would u participate in a poll if i posted the covers and summaries?

[crowsent]

tales from the smp: the village that went mad ft. salt losing his goddamn mind

“im jack. and. im a farm person, and i like p o t a t o e s”

starting the stream well i see. ponk coming in with generic potato boy and i love him for it

=

QUACKITY

QUACKITY

“my name is helga, wife of badboyhalo” QUACKITY

=

karl: “bad, explain your character other than person that beats up their wife”

bad, immediately: “well, i do declare that my name is jimmy and im the mayor of this town”

and then bbh just fucking starts spinning around when hes asked what the name of this town is, theres a pause, and then he fucking hits us with “not a very good town, town” like BAD

this is why i love this man

this is why i fux with this man

he is unparalleled

=

but as much as i love bbh and would literally murder god for him, he still canNOT match the quiet theatricality of mr corpsehusband saying “im gonna turn around and itll all make sense” and then he has a fucking CAT TAIL

corpse “choke me like you hate me” husband is a fucking CATBOY ladies and gentlemen

hes a fucking catboy which further proves something which we already knew was true all along: furries exist in minecraft and are, in fact, accepted in society and treated no less differently than humans

this is why fundy and antfrost can just walk around without anyone telling them shit

this is why wilbur can fuck a salmon

corpse “catboi” husband paved the fucking road and drove down in a custom vintage jaguar so every other furry on the smp could fucking drive behind him in a second hand porsche

i salute you mr corpsehusband

truly amazing

=

miles memeington, connoisseur of steak and bob, “bob the builder” need no explanation

=

CORNELIUS COMING IN WITH THE BRIGHTASS NEON GREEN BODYSUIT EVERYBODY

GIVE IT UP FOR CORNELIUS

BEST RPER ON THE ENTIRE SMP

CORNELIUS GREENBODYSUIT EVERYONE

=

tubbo with the very cute ‘i am robin, i am an orphan child” being IMMEDIATELY ruined by karl sayin

“dont let technoblade hear about that”

i love this already

i love this already

feed me technoblade lore. the man never fucking uploads so i have to get content adjacent to him

i wanna hear about technoblade the orphan killer. i want that backstory lore

and also i wanna protect robin the orphan boy because hello???????????

that skin???????

let me adopt you mr orphan boy

=

i love quackity just very casually going “my husband and i had intercourse” at the fucking TOWN MEETING BY THE WELL

truly

quackity’s comedy is unmatched

“hes into lots of weird stuff. he taught me this one thing called dunderhead”

and IMMEDIATELY someone (cant tell who, i have auditory processin issues) fucking goes “i DO NOT know this woman” and tbh if i were in that fucking town hall listening to my fucking weirdass neighbour casually lay out all her family secrets, id fucking say that shit too. id fucking disown this bitch as my neighbour. id fucking pretend she doesnt exist

like

imagine your fucking next door neighbour siddling up to you in the fucking w*lmart while youre just minding your own goddamn business trying to buy a fucking banana and your next door neighbour helga is dressed in a fucking bikini going “my husband fucked me so hard i couldnt walk” and even though you are clearly not interested and trying desperately to get away from her and her wackass gossip, helga goes ahead and fucking LISTS OUT HER HUSBANDS KINKS IN THE FUCKING FRUIT AISLE AT FULL VOLUME

id die

id just fucking die

id uninstall life right then and there

id pack my fucking bags and take a fucking extended vacation to guatemala and never return. id fucking change my goddamn name just to ensure that people never associate me with this woman.

thats what quackity is doing and i am very thankful this man exists and has given us the treasure that is helga

=

cOuLd iT Be iN ThE nAMe oF SaTaN???????? 🤔

karl

bruh

bustin out the fucking OLD conspiracies huh

“or could it be in the name of content on karls stream”

and hes just casually breaking the 4th wall too huh

kinda stealing techno “ill read donations in the middle of rp bc i need a distraction” blade’s go-to method there huh

its fucking funny tho. hes narrating this all serious-like but then he just goes “content on my stream uwu” and unrepentantly shatters that suspension of disbelief (in a good way)

but it wouldnt even matter bc apparently, satan and karls content have no difference

=

does protection exist in the smp? im worried for helgas health

the woman visited 3 different fucking houses in one night

=

i love how the rp just stops dead in its tracks around the campfire

no one was using any of the names

corpse was out here calling everyone by their actual names and not the names of their characters

=

this might just be bc im a pathological liar whos seen and heard shit but

i love him but

i mean

bbh cant lie

the man cannot lie

his voice is off, pitch wrong, tone sus

he is deffo a murderer

being accused of something hes not would make a person defensive/angry and bbh is not either

the man is LYING

and his argument/defense was LITERALLY tubbos

man cant lie

send this murderer to hell

=

tubbo can lie, but imo hes not. his voice is the voice of a person whos telling the truth

man is legit the doctor

a doctor who chose to fucking lay on the LORE

father killed in the red-eyed village wars????? mother taken from a young age?

motherfucker brought the LORE

motherfucker brought the SOB STORY

motherfucker legit said “here is my canonical in-character reason for being a doctor fuck you”

and honestly

what is bads defense?

karl asked if the town should kill an orphan over a mayor and there is legit no right answer to that

there is no good rebuttal

so bad straight went “you make a great point. just execute me”

amazing

10/10

=

idk who said it but “orphans just suck up resources” whoever you are i love you

i was eating my chips in peace but then i almost choked

thank

=

I FUCKING KNEW TUBBO WASNT THE MURDERER

his voice did not match

=

my bets on fucking ponk

=

its fucking DREAM

DREAM MURDERER

my respect for this man

motherfucker

shouldve known

he was kinda quiet at first but then he suddenly started talking a lot

son of a BITCH

gg dream

=

round 1 wasnt very rp heavy but

i can excuse that

=

who in the FUCK is making choking donald duck noises

who

bbh got a new skin cool

WHO IS MAKING THE CHOKING DONALD DUCK NOISES

=

corpse, about dreams death: “they killed him in front of me”

the town: “who was it corpse?”

ladies and gentlemen corpse, without a moments hesitation: “im also blind”

=

so the murderer is deffo not corpse. deffo not tubbo. probably not lazarbeam probably not bbh

that leaves quackity, george, and ponk

=

MY PARTNER WAS KILLED

MY PARTNER WAS KILLED

i knew corpse was a catboi but i didnt know that mr dream “i went on a date and almost married a fox” wastaken partnered with a fucking catboy

what is this

dnf is out, dream corpse is in /j

bruh

MY PARTNER WAS KILLED

bro

the tragedy

=

CALM DOWN WENCH THE BOY DID NOTHIGN

CORPSE

CORPSE

STOP

CORPSE

standing up for tubbo like that

corpse

please

my heart cannot handle this

=

okay so its deffo not corpse and tubbo. most likely not quackity after that fucking disaster at the campfire. probably not lazarbeam or bbh. still think its george and ponk

=

CORPSE

he got executed trying to console tubbo who legit WENT IN THE PRISON TRYING TO LOOK FOR HIM

BRUH

WHAT THE FUCK

=

TUBBO

no

TUBBO

technically its robin but

TUBBO

he lost his father so quick what the FUCK

i will murder god for robin

the little shaking head he does after corpse got killed. going completely silent as he lost the one family he had left.

bruh

robin bby no

=

I KNEW HE WASNT THE MURDERER

tubbo

im sorry

=

I KNEW IT WAS PONK

was wrong about lazarbeam/george tho

=

bruh

what the fuck

tubbo/robin honey i am so so sorry

catboi corpse i am so so sorry

[nanaminsonyfans]

✨🐉The Dragon Beifong🐉✨

Masterlist ✨ Requesting Rules

Request; hiii! i have a long prompt- could i get a lok x platonic fem hybrid reader where the reader is half human half dragon and her kind have brought despair upon people in the past n she’s basically an outcast but ms lin beifong takes her in as her child then she gets hurt or somethin,, i’m sry if it’s like stupid or anything lol have fun writing!! 💖💖

A/N; This is a vvv interesting request. Also im so sorry this too so long again i just wanted to get a creative bust and that was today! I hope you like it!

Pairing; Platonic LOK x Hybrid!Fem!Reader

Warnings; Mentions of abuse, curing, broken bones, fluff, slight angst

You were a firebender, that was honestly a given, you were half dragon and human. Do not ask me how that works because I, myself, don’t even know. You were half dragon but at some point everyone collectively decided that, human and dragon hybrids shouldn’t be a thing. Your parents sent you away to your mother’s side of the family since they were human. But you weren’t. Yes you looked human but your eyes were yellow with lizard like slit pupils, but you could control if that showed or not. You also had a small horn on your hairline and talon like nails, but you could clip them, currently you just weren’t scared for.

They didn’t want you. A disgusting hybrid? No thanks. So you lived on the streets of Republic City. You were like, five or six, you had to steal food to survive, eventually getting caught by the police. Luckily it wasn’t a mean cop, but a nice lady with a scar on her cheek. 

“What’s a little girl like you doing? Where are your parents?” Her voice was soft and calm, holding her hand out to you to grab. Your poor little body was trembling with fear, everyone on the streets shoved you and if you got caught by the shopkeepers that you stole from, they would beat you. They didn’t care that this was a literal child, you were a thief. You also weren’t like normal thieves, they noticed your horn and nails and beat on you more because of that.

This lady didn’t seem like that, almost like you could sense her intentions. All pure and good. You sniffled and wiped your eyes, still trembling. “Don’t worry little one. I won’t hurt you.” She whispered and tried to cup your cheek, causing you to flinch but ease into it slowly. “I promise.” You sniffled and rubbed your eyes. “Mah-My mommy and daddy....they-they were killed by mean men. They send me to gamgam but she hates me and kicked me away.” You stuttered, trembling horribly. “What’s your name?” The woman asked softly, now hugging you. “Y-Y/n...” You sniffle, “Well Y/n, my name is Lin Beifong. Why don’t we go get some lunch together?” Lin Beifong hummed. You smiled softly and nodded.

“And that’s how mom adopted me.” You hum happily as you sat with your adoptive mother’s family in Zaofu. Korra, Mako, and Bolin already knew your story. They were your best friends. As you suspected though, questions arose. “That’s so cool Y/n! So your really part dragon?” One of the Beifong twins asked, you were still struggling to tell them apart. 

You smile at their curiousity and pulled your bangs back, revealing you small horn that seemed like a simple bump but it also came to a sharp point with a horn texture.(i dont know how to explain it) “I’m basically just a super strong firebender. Firelord Zuko has nothing on me. I kick Korra and Mako’s asses easy.” You laugh, earning an elbow to the side from your adoptive mother. You just giggled and shook your head.

“Republic City calls her the Dragon Beifong! Cool right?!” Bolin gushed, causing you to blush. “Oh shut it.” You mumble, but the twins and your other cousins just grinned in awe. “Can you show us?” “Show you what?” “Your moves of course! Go against Korra! It would be so cool!” One of the twins begged. You turned red from embarrassment and turned to the Avatar with a raised eyebrow, she smiled in response. 

“Alright then, after dinner then. How about it, Avatar Korra?” You ask with a stupid shit eating grin. She responded to her own shit grin. “Of course, the Dragon Beifong.”

You circled around Korra with your fists up in a defensive stance. Both of you had serious looks on your faces, sizing each other up and scanning for any movement. You saw her move so you reacted fast. She started to earthbend rocks at you, which you dodged gracefully. The entire sparring match seemed like a dance. Your moves were well thought out, while some of Korra’s were. most were erratic and you expected this from the young Avatar and your best friend.

You moved in the air and punched multiple fireballs at her. Being half dragon you had much more stamina than the average firebender. You hit Korra four times out of the five that you shot at her. You heard her grunt and saw the scorch marks on her clothing. “Do you yield?” You ask in a snarky tone.

Korra smirked and sent you flying with her airbending then pinned you down with a few rocks. You grunted as the wind was knock out of you as you fell to the ground. You heard a crack of something, then numbness in your arm. “HOLY FUCK KORRA!” You whined as you looked at your arm and saw it was limp. Motherfucker dislocated your SHOULDER. “Oh my spirits, I’m so sorry Y/n.” Korra said as she rushed to your side, as did everyone else.

You laughed as you sat in the medical center of Suyin’s home. Your arm was put in a sling and your aunt, mom, twin cousins, and friends gathered around you. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Lin asked, examining your body. “Do you remember Lin ever being this caring about us?” Korra whispered to Mako earning a snort from you. 

“I’m fine mom. Really, it’s just a dislocated shoulder. It’s happened before. Don’t worry.” You smiled at your adoptive mother and moved away from your mother’s concerning hands cupping your cheeks. “I had a lot of fun Korra. Glad you didn’t hold back. Guess I gotta train harder now huh?” You tease, earning a laugh from everyone and a glare from your mother.

You were truly happy, you weren’t and outcast, you were wanted. You finally had a family, This is what home and love feels like, huh?

[aguadyne]

no matter how often I see it, i'm still startled by the absolute heartlessness from the average person. I know you've seen enough of the reproductive rights posts, but truly it's so scary the "justice" mentality so many have regarding peoples bodies and humanity.

they will say that abortion is unjust, either because babies have an inherent right to live and (for simplicity's sake, I will refer to all the hypothetical pregnant people as "mothers"- I am a trans man myself, I know cis women aren't the only people who can get pregnant, but let's be real, "women" and everyone a cis society deems a "woman" are the main target of this, so bare with me.) the mother has no agency in this- her unborn child is above her, above her social, financial, physical, mental, emotional status- or, in a far more cruel reasoning, a punishment for daring to have sex.

and those who argue the second point will say, "well, that's what she gets for whoring around."

"actually, this was in a committed relationship... not that it should matter."

"well, that's what she gets for having unsafe sex."

"but her contraceptive failed."

"then she shouldnt had had sex."

it's this constant merry go around of "it couldve been avoided if this, this and this"- a bullet point list of all things that always have a chance to go wrong, and these contrarians always have a comeback, but never any sympathy.

and it always ends in the same way; just dont have sex. they make it sound so easy, well, just don't engage in a very intimate activity that you and your partner enjoy. just dont live in a state where the only sex ed is abstinence based. just dont be poor. just dont work as a sex worker. just dont be a victim of rape. just don't be.

it's so insidious, this mindset that childbirth should be a punishment for daring to exist in a way that that society deems disgusting. because they would never tell an upperclass white woman "too bad" for getting impregnated accidentally. it's just everyone else who should suffer: poc, the poor, the disabled, the gay- all of the groups shunned and fucked over by society the most.

but i'm getting off topic a bit. to be honest, I dont have a layout in mind for this post. I just wanted to point out how some sense of justice is not justice at all- and how so many revel in hurting others. those who wish to force financial, emotional, physical, and social burdens onto women in the form of forcing them to have children are the same kind as those who cheer when black children are killed for (allegedly) stealing from a store. they're the same breed of person who snickers when someone gets their lives ruined for being found with drugs.

these people want nothing more than to put down and oppress others they deem under them to feel better about themselves because they are miserable in their own bodies, they hate where they are in life, they know they have amounted to nothing, and so they must make others feel the same way, except these are human lives on the line we are talking about.

an unwanted child becomes an abused one more likely than not. it might not even be intentional. but a lot of stress, be it financial, societal, emotional, physical...it can do a lot to a person. and if someone doesnt have the ability or resources to take care of their child, the child will be the ones to suffer in the end, and the target of your bigotry. and you may say, well, just give the child up to foster care- no. foster care isnt any better. I shouldnt even have to elaborate on that.

I hope one day we can reach a point in society where others actually care about each other, at least enough to not want to literally ruin others lives because you personally believe they made bad life choices, and instead a community who makes it possible for people to choose whether or not they want to have children, and if they do, to help them in any way you can. it takes a village after all.

[heyitsyn]

Oh God

TimeTraveler!Son x Haikyuu!! Part 2

a/n: hehe i wouldnt put ‘x haikyuu’ if manager y/n ends up with that certain character. youll just have to,,,, wait for the end 😏

he didnt want to lie but he had to so he could survive

hinata offered his hand to help him up and natsu winced at the scratches and the slight headache as he stood on his two feet

‘you okay?’

hinata asked and natsu nodded

‘yea, just a headache’

natsu tried to play it off as cooly as he could bc this must’ve been from the car hit before and he couldnt just say he got ran over by a damn car

‘where do you live? i can go and treat your wounds there’

natsu was about to respond but he remembers hes not in tokyo anymore and he cant just spout out his address

so he did the thing his mom told him to do whenever it was necessary

he lied

‘i-um,,,’

he fumbled for an excuse but he sighed to maintain the act

‘i got kicked out’

he mumbled and hinata had to make him repeat it twice because he said it so quietly

the tangerine boy gasped and held his arms

‘what?! why?!’

natsu sniffled

‘my dad,,,, he just,,, doesnt want me’

well, that was actually true

so a true statement could equal that lie, right?

thankfully, hinata bought it and he grabbed his arm to walk forward while his other was pushing his bike

‘i hit you with my bike so the least i could do is take you to my house and treat you!’

and that was what they did

natsu’s phone was dead even though he was sure he charged it from denki’s powerbank during practice but it remained its black screen no matter how many times he hit the power button

his surroundings was also something unfamiliar

his mother only kept him in tokyo and never took him to go visit her family because she was kicked out and had to go live with her auntie when she found out about him and his father refused to help her

‘so, sendai, huh?’

he mumbled and hinata looked at him confused

‘sounds like youre not from around here. where you from?’

‘t-tokyo’

he replied and saw hinata’s eyes brighten

‘oh?! you look like youre my age so you must have been in a high school in tokyo, right? what school?’

‘yuuei’

‘hah?! yuuei?! what is that?!’

natsu rolled his eyes and shrugged

‘a school’

hinata persisted though

‘do you know other schools?! any other school friends?! like nekoma?! or fukurodani?!’

natsu shook his head and he was supposed to be happy that he got to meet, even talk, to his idol yet his younger self was much more hyper than his mellowed out behavior on tv

‘i stick to my friends from yuuei’

‘but what are you doing all the way here?’

natsu’s throat dried up and he watched his feet kick the pebbles to distract him of his urge to just whine and throw a tantrum with the confusion from this mess

‘i dont know’

he choked out and he was so tired and confused and all he wants to do is cry in his mother’s arms like he used to but she doesnt even know he exists

hinata sensed the tension and sadness from the boy beside him and tried his best to stay quiet until they get home

to say his mom was angry was an understatement

‘SHOYO, DONT YOU KNOW TO WATCH WHERE YOURE GOING?!’

‘kaa-san i was so angry and bakageyama was yelling at me and hit me and-’

‘THAT DOESNT GIVE YOU AN EXCUSE TO RUN SOMEONE OVER!’

natsu sat there on their couch awkwardly watching the black-haired woman yell at the human tangerine

he coughed in impulse and she turned away from her son and went to sit next to the h/c boy

‘dear, im so sorry for my son and his terrible biking. i didnt catch your name when you entered, what is it?’

even hinata forgot to ask his name but thats such a hinata thing to do though

natsu froze

if he was to say his mother’s last name, it would raise suspicion that he might know her in this time period and izuku has shown him enough doctor who to show him what happens when he messes up in time

again, he lied

‘kiri,,,shima,,, natsu. kirishima natsu’

he inwardly apologized to eijirou for using his last name

mrs. hinata raised a hand to her mouth with a surprised gasp

‘oh! my daughter’s name is also natsu! natsu, dear! can you come here for a second?’

natsu heard soft sounds from the stairs and she shyly walked down 

‘come say hi’

she softly urged her daughter to come closer and the little girl ran to hide behind her older brother who gently smiled and held her hand

‘well, thats her. she just turned 10 a few days ago. look dear, kirishima-kun has the same name as you!’

she waved slightly and natsu felt his heart swell at the sight of the adorable little girl

his mother never really had time for relationships so he was an only child and never got to experience a sibling, only hearing the experience of having siblings from his friend, shouto

mrs. hinata placed a gentle hand on his arm to revert his attention back to her

‘shoyo told me what happened and im sorry that this is all happening to you’

he felt guilty at the sight of her sad eyes because this was all a lie but he knew if he told them the real reason, they wouldnt believe him

so he had to continue with the lie

‘everything was falling apart and i wanted to leave everything behind. so i just took the shinkansen to nowhere and ended up here’

mrs. hinata felt her heart tug because he was just a little boy and he was too young to experience this so she offered him something he shouldnt have agreed to but again, survival

‘you can stay with us in the mean time. our guest room has been collecting dust so you can live here’

‘what? no! i can’t!’

natsu instinctually turned it down because he hated people giving him charity

but the woman squeezed his arm to give him a smile

‘i will not allow a child to live in the streets because of something he couldnt help’

‘arent you worried youre inviting a total stranger in your home?’

but she gave him a knowing smile

‘im a mother. i can trust you, boy’

in exchange for board and food, he promised to get a part time job so he could pay her back and get out of their house as quickly as he could

shoyo led him to the bathroom upstairs so he could treat the wounds from the ground

natsu sat on the closed toilet seat while his literal idol was putting cream on his boo-boos

he still cant wrap his head with everything

maybe it was because he was so busy trying to come up with lies that he wasnt able to fully sit down and think about the fact that he just TRAVELED BACK IN TIME and could accidentally change it

‘shoyo, what year is it?’

he mumbled

‘2012′

he answered and natsu sighed but his head perked up

oh god

2012

thats a year away from 2013

the year he was born

that meant shoyo’s team manager was going to give birth to him next year

‘why? did you hit your head so far that you forgot?’

hinata joked but he paled when natsu didnt laugh

‘OH GOD DID YOU?!’

‘NO! AND STOP YELLING!’

natsu shouted, equally surprised

‘whew, thank god. again, im so sorry i hit you’

‘shoyo, dont worry about it, okay? im fine, i swear’

during dinner, mrs. hinata told him about his school situation

‘you can go to karasuno with shoyo. what year were you in?’

‘first’

‘perfect! shoyo is too so he could easily help you around the school!’

natsu nodded quietly, still out of it and his brain finally starting to accept this impossible reality

‘but i dont think i could help you with the entrance exams. im not the most-um-smartest, per se’

shoyo apologized but natsu already knew that

he was no extreme fanatic but he knew quite a lot about hinata shoyo, the player he watched during the 2021 olympics and the reason he started playing volleyball

natsu dreamed to join the msby jackals just like his idol did and eventually reach the national team like hinata did

it was during the olympics of 2021, he knew he wanted to be like him

this boy who sat next to him was the reason he came to love volleyball along with his other idol, oikawa tooru, from the argentina volleyball team after seeing that legendary match 

when oikawa hit that service ace, natsu wanted to be able to receive that

he was merely 8 and his neighbor, midoriya inko, was babysitting him and she placed him and her son who was his friend, izuku, in front of the tv where they watched the olympics match

‘someday, ill be someone great. ill be great like him’

he promised and from then on, he worked to achieve that goal 

‘natsu? hello?’

he was shaken from his thoughts as shoyo nudged him back to reality

mrs. hinata laughed

‘maybe you should head to bed early, dear. you must be tired after having a hard journey’

he nodded and was about to go and wash his dishes when she stopped him

‘no. go and sleep, ill take care of this’

‘i have to do my part in here, hinata-san. please, let me do this’

she finally agreed and he was scrubbing the plates when his mind wandered over to possible solutions on how he could go back

there was an episode that he watched with izuku that the character had to do something to go back

and he had a feeling that he would have to do the same thing

but what would that something be?

there had to be a reason he was thrown all the way in this time and it couldnt just be a coincidence that supposedly, this would be around the same time his mother would get pregnant

but who would it be?

he finished putting the plates on the drying rack and he felt really thirsty suddenly

opening the fridge, he found no water bottles and natsu had a very sensitive stomach so he couldnt drink tap water

his next favorite beverage was there and he pulled a glass from the cabinet

‘hinata-san, is it okay if i can have some milk?’

he called out and she shouted that it was okay

natsu poured the drink on his glass and started drinking it when hinata entered the kitchen and snickered at him

‘yknow, you remind me of my idiot teammate. none of my other friends drink straight milk except for him’

natsu placed the glass down and wiped his lips

‘chocolate milk make me sick and i hate the taste of flavoring in milk. but i just hate flavoring in general. except for gari gari popsicles, those are good’

natsu reasoned, watching hinata move across the room to get an apple

‘still ew. but come on! lets go to bed so i can show you around school early before practice tomorrow!’

natsu noticed his excitement by the way he bounced in place and he chuckled

it reminded him of his friends mina and denki

hinata led them both to his room so he could check his wounds again just to make sure

then something caught his eye

‘kirishima-kun you like volleyball?!’

that threw him off

partly because he wasnt used to being called by his friend’s last name

but also because of the question

‘huh? how do you know that?’

natsu asked, almost defensively

hinata shrugged

‘i saw your volleyball shoes in your bag’

hinata reasoned and excitedly pointed at them

‘you should play for us! im part of the team too! oh oh! what position do you play?!’

‘l-libero’

natsu stuttered out, slightly overwhelmed by hinata’s energy

hinata started circling him, inspecting his height and looking at him up and down

‘yanno, kirishima-kun, youre really tall. like much taller than the rest of my club. maybe not saltyshima but really!! youre so tall!!’

hinata whined in envy and natsu laughed

‘blame it on the paternal side of the family. my ma isnt really tall’

he laughs but then memories of his mother resurfaced and he suddenly felt gloomy, guilty, even, bc he doesnt know if time stopped there or it kept going and if so, shes probably worried sick

and he knew she was always one who blamed herself

hinata noticed his downcast expression and thought he probably remembers his dad and got sad since he got kicked out

so our baby sunshine freaked out and he frantically waved his hands around

‘oh no! gomen kiri-kun! gomen! i really didnt mean to make you think about him! gomen!!!’

he even bowed which surprised the h/c boy and made him stand back up

‘o-oi shoyo! dont! you didnt because i wasnt thinking about him!’

he fussed and patted hinata’s hair

‘i dont care about him. to be honest, there isnt much to think about’

he didnt think about what he said until he heard himself

natsu’s eyes widened, fearful of how hinata could take it but he flinched when the orange-haired boy’s eyes were filled with his own tears

‘OH NO!! KIRI-KUN!!!’

then launched another series of apologies and natsu had to calm him down

oh dear

it was early in the morning like 5 when hinata bursted into natsu’s room

the loud shout of shoyo made his eyes blink open and he groaned before turning to the side

‘come on, kiri-kun! we need to go to take your exam!’

‘nooooooooo’

‘yeeessssssss’

it was quite a battle for hinata to even just get natsu out of bed but he managed to bribe the latter with some milk bread from the bakery down the street

‘2′

natsu showed his two fingers and hinata sighed before nodding

‘yes. now go hurry so we can leave!’

dressed in his grey sweatpants and a yuuei sweatshirt, natsu cursed as he only has clothes good for 2 days and he didnt want to bother the hinatas so he was at a loss

mrs hinata bid the two boys good bye and natsu was yawning and dragging his body to walk while hinata was skipping over to his bike

then he finally realized the problem

he nervously looked at natsu and the taller boy didnt understand why he was looking at him that way

‘what?’

shoyo pointed at the bike and awkwardly smiled

‘uh,,, you see,,, i dont think youd,,, fit,,, at the back seat’

natsu shrugged

‘then ill bike. ive done it before’

he sauntered over to the bike and swiftly lifted his leg before testing out the brake handles

‘its good and better than mine back home’

‘a-are you-’

‘sit down, sho’

hinata gripped on to the back of natsu’s sweatshirt as he told him the directions to how to get to the school

natsu remembered watching an interview of hinata talking about his high-school life and he remembered the star player talking about his dedication to go to karasuno everyday for volleyball

and the boy couldn’t believe hes doing that right now, with his idol literally behind him, and driving to the legendary karasuno high school

from the jackals to the adlers and even some other teams like the frogs, natsu cheered for them

there was a memory of his mother sitting with him on their couch during one of her rare day offs as they rewatched the recorded copy of the olympics

it has become natsu’s favorite thing to watch

‘with great talent comes great hardships. people don’t become good overnight and i watched those people suffer through it all but look where they are now’

‘KIRISHIMA, WATCH OUT! COWS CROSSING!’

natsu was snapped out of his thoughts at hinata’s shout

then it morphed into pure and utter confusion

‘cows?’

shoyo laughed

‘since youre from the city, this must be a weird sight for you, huh? well, in the countryside, this happens a lot!’

but natsu didnt mind

in fact, he loved cows

he loved any farm animal in general

maybe it was his upbringing in the hustle and bustle of the city that he grew to love the countryside

shoto took him with his family to a trip to the country once and he remembered loving the smell of grass

they were able to do an activity in a farm where they worked in a rice farm and the peace and serenity was something he will always remember

his mother was lucky she grew up in a place like this

‘kiri-kun, ive been wanting to ask, how is your volleyball team in the city? are you a powerhouse?’

natsu felt pride bubble up in his chest

‘of course! we got second place in nationals!’

he boasted and blurted out before he could stop himself

then he felt fear

he shouldnt have said that because for all he knows, yuuei probably doesn’t exist at this time period

hinata had a different reaction and his eyes shone

‘WHAT?! WOAH! SO COOL! I HAVE TO TELL OUR CAPTAIN THAT WE’RE GETTING A POWERHOUSE STUDENT!’

‘uh-i-uh-’

natsu didnt know what to say because he had a feeling he definitely just did an oopsie

so he switched topics really quick to divert the attention away from his past

‘o-oi sho, once youre done being a pro volleyball player and stuff, we should have our own rice farm’

of course it was such a random idea but it distracted the orange boy

hinata shrugged

‘i mean,,, i have to be a pro first but i guess we can!’

‘hmm,,,, i dont think you have to worry about that’

.................................................

taglist:

@hartbeat-art​ @yakus-yakult​ @nerdyphantomlady​ @jollycowboysaladhero​ @cynicallychaotic​ 

a/n: oh god this sat in my drafts for so long and i really dont know what im doing like i kinda have a rough outline of what im doing but im just going with the flow but i dont think the flow is quite flowy 

[zenosanalytic]

Growing Up is Hard; It’s Hard and Nobody Understands

So I noticed netflix has Neon Genesis Evangelion up last week and started watching it front to back for the first time ever(this happens to have coincided with me being in a down-mood for your edification, dear readers u_u), finished it today, REALLY liked it, and I wanted to try my hand at explaining what the hell is even going on in NGE cuz it actl seemed super-clear to me(a person who has been consuming NGE analysis and post-NGE media for literally 25 years) u_u

Surface Plot; Or NERV: What the Hell Is It?

I’ll try to make this as brief as possible: An organization of super-wealthy individuals calling itself Seele(looking this up, it means soul in german) wants to possess the power of God. The final third or so of the series is clear on this; it’s all about power. Ikari Yui, a geneticist, is recruited by this organization, and her husband Gendo(having taken her name which says a LOT given typical Japanese practice) comes with her. In seeking out this power, they discover a hollow sphere underneath Antarctica(”The White Moon”), send an expedition there under the guise of the UN, encounter an entity with this power which they label an “Angel”, and do SOMETHING which prompts it to explode the continent flooding the earth and killing half the population(that Gendo left beforehand implies this may have been intentional, or that a bad outcome to Seele’s approach was easy to predict, tho in typical Gendo fashion, his is the only ass he cared to save).

Afterwards Seele blame the scientists for this outcome and send Gendo on a salvage mission which recovers both remains of the Angel, now dubbed “Adam”, and a device they dub “the spear of Longinus”. Seele creates Gehirn to study these remains for practical use; they clone “Adam” and dub the result Evas(Eves). Having cloned them, they now need a way to use and control them as the Evas are non-responsive. They hit on the idea of injecting people into them via the Entry Plug system, presumably to act as a brain. The first person to try this, Ikari Yui, was absorbed by the Eva(Unit 01); the second(Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin; Asuka’s mother) was partially psychologically absorbed by Unit 02, psychologically and mentally injured by this, institutionalized, abandoned by her shit USian husband Langley who remarried to her LEAD DOCTOR, and eventual kills herself in a hanging which Asuka either is the first to discover or, given her memories of promising to die with her/begging her not to do it, was present for. An important thing to note about this: Shinji and Asuka’s ability to sync with their Evas comes from the fact that their mothers are PART of their Eva’s identity, and all of their classmates are potential pilot-candidates. The implication here is that Seele KNEW this happened when you put adults into an Angel, and they KEPT DOING IT ANYWAY to create more pilots, but there’s no confirmation of that in series.

After the attempt at human adult control fails, Gendo combines Yui’s DNA with Adam’s and creates Rei. At the same time he is doing this another team, under Akagi Naoko, is developing Magi, a biomechanical computer for simulating the human mind(again: certain implication to this re: Evas though the series never says anything). Naoko is romantically interested in Gendo, and they start getting together(Gendo’s too much of an asshole to be said to date, I think). After Rei, a toddler, tells her Gendo calls her an “old woman” in private, not realizing this is insulting, Naoko kills her, then kills herself out of shame over having MURDERED A CHILD, and Gehirn is folded into a new organization, NERV, which Gendo is put in charge of. Rei forms the basis of the second attempt at controlling the Evas; child-pilots.

How they use Rei for this I’m not exactly sure. It could be because Rei is cloned from Yui(she easily syncs with Unit 01 before Shinji bonds with it completely), or because she’s part Angel via her Adam element(Kaworu says Angels merge with one another easily and naturally), or it could be they did something with Rei I’s corpse and Unit 00(I dont see how as it seems to require a LIVE pilot). Regardless, she is raised to be the pilot for 00, the prototype. MUCH later, when the rest of the Angels finally decide to come looking for Adam, Shinji is called in, and after his success Asuka(who like Rei and unlike Shinji has been training to pilot her whole life) is called to Nerv headquarters(under Japan, in the “Black Moon”; a second spherical hollow where they found another Angel they call Lilith) too.

Regardless the child-pilots are only a step in Nerv and Seele’s plans, as Rei is ALSO the template for the Dummy Plug system, the final step in complete control of Eva units. To put it simply, the Dummy Plugs are Rei-clones without her personality or memories, and will just do whatever the heck they’re ordered to. At least once during the series(and I’d argue two, possibly three times) Rei dies and is replaced by one of these clones through some process, which involves what looks like a pre 00 Eva’s spine and probably a Magi-like backup, which transfers her personality and memories into the new body.

So what is Nerv? Well it’s hard to say EXACTLY because Gendo is in some sort of conflict with Seele(and I want to keep my watches of End of Evangelion out of this post; to focus entirely on JUST NGE itself) and Nerv IS Gendo, but as the series states repeatedly it’s an attempt to control the future of humanity by controlling what they call “the power of god” which, given that it’s what most distinguishes the “Angels”, is the AT, or “Absolute Terror”, Field. What is the AT Field? It’s a field that can make or unmake any kind of matter or energy from basically nothing, and it also seems to have a strong tie to what you could call the Ego; to desires and sense-of-self. An AT Field gets stronger when the person generating it is experiencing powerful emotions; Confidence, sure, but also Fear, Abandonment, the Will to Live, and Anger.

That last bit is very important. Why? Strong AT Field effects require a powerful emotional motivation in the pilot combined with high sync-rates with the Eva(basically a lobotomized Angel-clone) generating the Field. The three pilots we meet, the Strongest candidates, are all exceedingly traumatized people, and Gendo is the direct cause of the trauma of two of them. At no point in the series is Gendo ever a good father to Shinji, he is CONSTANTLY unreasonable, neglectful, and cruel to him; he’s kinder to Rei but at the same time her loneliness, the state of her “home”, and her lack of self worth shows that he rarely interacts with her outside of missions or explains what’s going on beyond bald facts; and he COMPLETELY ignores Asuka, a deeply lonely child with a history of abandonment and close brushes with death; he even delegates bumping her from the program. This point is important because it’s important to recognize that Gendo is a bad dad on PURPOSE; that he instrumentalizes his bad dadness to traumatize Shinji(and Rei and Asuka, though sadly the series doesn’t focus on them enough for us to see much) as much as he can, because he thinks that trauma, that emotional instability and anger, MAKES SHINJI A MORE USEFUL PILOT; ie lets him generate more powerful AT Fields. This is never said clearly, but it’s clearly what’s going on as forcing Unit 01(and thus Shinji) into awful, heartbreaking, life-threatening situations is vital to his plan. Gendo’s a piece of shit, and I want ppl to recognize just HOW BIG a piece of shit he is, because I feel this powerfully.

And for what? For Power. To be “God”. To get the highest numbers. To generate the MOST Invincible Invincibility Shield. For Ridiculous, Absurd, Childish reasons. For, you know, the same reasons rich and powerful people do all the fucked up shit they do in the real world where giant magic robots thankfully DONT exist.

And how do they plan to do this? Through “Human Instrumentation”, which will literally kill everyone by turning them all into goo.

Metaplot; Or “SHINJI! Don’t Get in that Robot!!”

So, maybe this is just because(as said previously) I’ve been reading NGE Analysis and consuming media which NGE heavily inspired for ~25 years, but I think it’s old hat at this point to note that Neon Genesis Evangelion is ALSO an allegory for becoming an adult, centered on Shinji. However, it’s just really SO on the nose in this, so PERFECT as such a narrative, that I want to run through it real quick. Also: A Cruel Angel’s Thesis is basically a thesis-statement for this series; please check out the lyrics.

So Shinji is living under the guardianship of a teacher(yup: this series even takes a swing at how our society uses schools to warehouse kids so their parents can waste their lives producing “Value” instead of raising them), when the shitty dad that abandoned him decides he has a use for him after all and calls him up.

On meeting with a child he has not seen SINCE HE WAS A TODDLER LITERALLY ABANDONED HIM ON THE STREET WHEN HIS MOTHER DIED he immediately ambushes him with the command that he get in a huge body(that he grow up) to do what? Whatever Gendo tells him to, but specifically: commit acts of violence for Gendo and Seele’s profit. He tells him this will protect people; meanwhile doing it destroys those peoples’ literal homes. The rest of the series is a series of monotonous, incomprehensible “Tests” judging his, and his peers, worthiness for approval and affection on the basis of how well they can use those giant bodies to do what Gendo tells them(so: capitalist work), punctuated by unpredictable, brutal, traumatizing, and physically dangerous events(so: capitalist work). Every friend, and the one lover, he meets, he is placed in unnecessary, destructive competition with and, when they are male, forced to attack and(in the case of the one lover, Kaworu) kill them; this last comment on homophobia is so stark and obvs I don’t even feel like you can CALL it subtext, even IF it plays out over mostly a single episode(honestly this plotline should have been given more time). And all the time they’re doing this, they must ALSO continue going to school and maintaining the front that they’re happy smiley Heroes, completely normal and not traumatized at all, and Nerv and the government that lets them run this city is a great and wonderful organization. Is this not what becoming an adult, over your teens and 20s, feels like?

And then there’s Seele and Nerv. Able to move state governments as they wish, Seele CAUSED Second Impact(Global Warming). By not returning Adam’s remains, they’re CAUSING the Angel attacks on Nerv meant to retrieve them(the threat of Human extinction). The Angels eventually begin trying to communicate and Nerv’s response? Destroy them before they can; blow up the Evas(and their pilots) if they succeed. And to top it all off Seele and Nerv are actually trying to CAUSE the very extinction(Third Impact) they claim to be preventing! Seele and Nerv are just SUCH good metaphors for capitalism in our modern day.

The transwoman reading of Shinji also seems pretty dang strong to me, though I’ll only deal with it shallowly. Shinji is the only “male” of all the pilots. Outside of command and security, most Nerv staff are women. Being an Eva pilot, being Nerv staff, is marked as “feminine”, and Shinji is an Eva pilot; is a Nerv staffer. The body he gets into, Unit 01, acts as a metaphor for the large, imposing, masculine body he’s expected to have as an adult “man”, yet it’s also spiritually his mom -feminine- and his ability to use it is tied DIRECTLY with his ability to “Sync” with that spirit; with his ease and comfort being feminine. Even at the level of mere aesthetics, Shinji’s plugsuit makes him appear to have breasts! Going a bit deeper, he initially relates to the women around him by relating to their gender. He’s most at ease with Rei because of the personality traits she shares with him which, we know from his gender-policing of Misato from earlier in the series, are traits he considers feminine(ie: he doesn’t feel like Misato has them, so he thinks she’s being a woman “wrong” and gets oddly offended by this in a way that really feels more about him than her). Asuka is constantly expressing her frustration with him for not “being a man”, ie, for being “feminine” in her eyes, and he isn’t really bothered by it(her calling him an idiot seems to stick much more firmly). Misato and Shinji establish a modus vevendi when she accepts him as he is, allowing him to do the household chores and to cook; he’s comfortable and happy when accepted into roles his culture considers feminine, while most of the series is him bucking AGAINST the masculinity forced on him by Nerv, his father, and others. Again: this is a very surface-level engagement with the subject, but even at that shallow level I feel like the case for reading Shinji as a transwoman is pretty solid.

Dislikes

It’s not a perfect series by any means of course.

There’s allot of dialogue that’s pure 90s nonsense, though the series mostly includes it only to shoot it down.

Like I said above, I don’t think Rei and Asuka really get the time or attention they deserve. In general the series treatment of women is ...Weird... especially around the issue of sex. It’s really strange; in many ways it’s far better than most anime(spcl from that period) on this. Women are ACTUAL PEOPLE with psychology, opinions, and pasts; they’re allowed to have emotions of their own, and struggles, and to be damn competent; they are independent and their own selves rather than accessories or “prizes” to men. But on the issue of feminine sexuality it just gets suddenly so weird in this very particular old-school misogynist way. Like: it treats women’s attraction and reactions TO relationships as something devoid of and impenetrable to reason, without belittling the emotions(the desire and hurt) behind those reactions. That’s the only way I can describe it, and it’s so strange to see something that is both so insulting and sympathetic at once. Oh, and the Akagis in particular are done super-dirty for seemingly no reason I can see, tho I can guess, and Akagi Ritsuki is CLEARLY a lesbian(possibly bi lesbian) and also Rose Lalonde(srsl; her Deal should have been an unrequited, unspoken crush on Misato. They openly dealt with queerness re: Kaworu and Shinji they could have done it here too).

The Kaworu storyline should have been a series of episodes or even developed from the start with him as another pilot(maybe replace Toji with him), though they’d have to tone down his weirdness, at least at the start. A deeper dive on Shinji’s sexuality(honestly his attraction to Kaworu is SO much more immediate and believable than anything we see with him and Asuka, which there is basically nothing of beyond the ep where they had to do choreography for a fight, and that’s not developed on) would have really been appreciated, and having Kaworu be a bigger part of the series would have facilitated that.

Also honestly the whole series feels a bit rushed? Spcl the second half. Like I said: I haven’t done any followup reading lately, but I remember there being some budget problems or something, so maybe that’s the cause. Ironically it might actl also be why it’s as GOOD as it is; having to keep it short forces you to write concise and lean, and that’s probably why its themes and message are so clear. But, I’d have liked more rambling for character development, and more time spent on seeing Rei and Asuka react to the stresses we saw Shinji face(also they never really get moments to shine like he does; another negative common to the medium and genre). Asuka in particular, as a Japanese German with a USian temperament abandoned by her parents, already an outsider in SO many ways, coming to live in an entirely different culture where she’s even MORE of an outsider; forced to live with people(Misato and Shinji) she finds it impossible to relate to or connect with; who has literally NO ONE beside a single adult guardian who totally blows her off THE WHOLE SERIES after delivering her; PLUS her awful past: there’s just SO MUCH material I’d have loved to see explored more slowly and with greater depth, detail, and sympathy even if what IS there already is pretty powerful and effecting. She’s SUCH a good Vriska(so I’d also have loved to see her break more shit too >:>)

Conclusion

So Anyway: I really liked this series. It had its problems, there are things I’d have liked to see, but it absolutely deserves the reputation it has. I might write more about this, I might do a watch through INCLUDING End of Evangelion(which actl makes much more sense having watched the series, though having done so makes Shinji’s masturbation scene comPLETELY out of left-field like where the hell did THAT come from); we’ll see.

[fe3h-incorrectquotes]

Hello! Was wondering what you thought of Rhea?

Just got the game last week and I do not trust her in the slightest! (Feel free to speak as freely about her as you want, I dont care for spoilers or anything whats so ever)

Hi! Thanks for asking! I’m not sure what route you are or are planning to play first, but there’s a whole lot here that probably won’t make much sense until you’ve played Edelgard’s route.

Putting it simply: I hate her. She’s an interesting character and I love reading peoples’ analyses of her, but I hate her. Cannot stand the woman. 

First off: I understand why she did everything that she did. It was kind of genius of her. Doesn’t mean I can’t hate her for it, though.

Spoilers under the cut! And also a lot of rambling! I’m not great at analyses or keeping things succinct so this is kind of a huge mess!

I don’t even know where to begin when talking about Rhea. Her blind devotion to her mother? The way she’s twisted the past to benefit her? Her whole “join me or die” attitude?

Y’know what, that is where I’ll start.

Rhea is so fixated on bringing Sothis back. Throughout the entire game, that is her sole goal, the one thing she’s wanted to do. Even before the events of the game, she’s been trying to get her mother back. And sure, I get wanting to bring around a second coming of the goddess, but she was willing to sacrifice so many innocents to do that. And before someone says “oh Edelgard sacrificed plenty of innocents, why aren’t you mad about her?”, Edelgard was trying to obtain a better future for everyone (and yeah maybe there were better ways to go about that but her hands were kind of tied and this post isn’t about her). Rhea just wanted her mom back. And even if she got Sothis back, would she really recognize her? I think about the post I linked there a lot.

Second part: the way she’s twisted the past. This post has a lot of good points about how Rhea lying about the origin of the heroes’ relics is pretty damn genius, seeing as her goal was self-preservation at that point. Despite that, though, I am still pretty pissed about how difficult it is to get the truth from her. I haven’t played through the church route (and refuse to) but I’m pretty sure the only routes where you actually get answers about Seiros and the ten elites are Claude’s and (I assume) the church route. 

And of course, the literal “join me or die” attitude. As in, if you side with Edelgard, she tries to murder you right then and there in a fit of rage. And of course everything just goes downhill from there - when you fight her at tailtean plains, post timeskip, she’s not even really there for the kingdom. She just wants her mother back, and to kill Byleth and Edelgard.

Despite you saying that you’re alright with spoilers, I feel obligated to say that what I’m going to say next is a MASSIVE spoiler for the end of Edelgard’s route.

 When you finally reach Fhirdiad, the Kingdom Capital, she sets it on fire despite there still being innocents in the city. One of her pre-battle lines, “I shall sacrifice as many lives as it takes!”, is when it really cemented in my mind that I despise her. Edelgard’s line to her really verbalized how I felt - “So it's true. You don't value human life at all.”

Rhea’s not fighting for humanity. She’s not fighting for the sake of the people who’ve just lost their king. She just wants her mother back. That singlemindedness, that lifelong obsession on bringing Sothis back, it’s what I can’t stand about her. Loss is hard to deal with, but dwelling on it, or fixating on it as she did, just makes it worse. She doesn’t care about anything other than killing Byleth and Edelgard at that point, and it honestly makes me really sad.

Sorry for that massive rant but I hope that’s an alright answer!

[justsomevoltronstuff]

FINALLY SOMEONE WITH OPEN REQUESTS THANK YOU 🥰🤗 This will suddenly take a dArK tUrN- can you do a Paladins (and Allura) x dying reader? Haha idk but I'm in it for the angst and crying 👌👏 You seem like a wonderful person so keep on being wonderful (*˘︶˘*).｡*♡

my cousin gave me the BIGGEST judgemental side eye when she asked what I was writing about and I told her character deaths, I’m tryna not to fite, y’all I ain’t gonna lie imma throw hands frfr

also, so sorry this took so long, I’m pretty sure I rewrote it like five times tryna get it to my damn satisfaction (which is such a nasty habit, don’t reread you’re own shit if you want an honest opinion on it y’all)

also also, I’m on mobile rn so I can’t cut it so just so all y’all know:

DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO DEATH/GRIEVING. THIS IS LITERALLY ALL ABOUT DEATH AND GRIEF AND IT IS MAJOR SAD BOI HOURS AND I WORRY ABOUT YALL AND DONT WANT YOU READING THIS IF YOU KNOW YOU WONT HANDLE IT WELL😤😤😤

this is a long one bois so if you wanna skip around they’ll all be colored as per usual and the order is: Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Keith, Pidge, Allura

please enjoy lovers🥺💜🌸

»»»»»»»»»«««««««««

The battle wasn’t an easy one by any means, it was touch and go for the whole team. You knew it wasn’t gonna end well, but that had never stopped you from putting forth your all. You swung your weapon, keeping your enemies at bay as much as you possibly could. Your team was all over the place, the enemy having succeeded in separating everyone in hopes of tipping the odds in their favor. It worked.

You couldn’t keep up alone. Fighting had always been instinct to you, you had never felt so overwhelmed as you had in that moment. They were closing in and you had nowhere left to go and no tricks left up your sleeve. You were stuck, and there weren't any quick enough plans to keep you out of harm's way this time.

You held your ground for as long as you could, refusing to give in easily. You fought until your limbs were too exhausted to move and your breathing was too shallow to continue. It was in a moment of hesitation from sluggish movements that they finally overtook you, and you felt pain spread through you, worse than any you had ever felt before.

You heard shouts of panic, you listened as the battle got thicker and the enemy retreated, you smiled at the sound of victory. Your team shouted in excitement, another battle well fought, another win for Voltron.

Attempting to sit up, you felt pain rush your body once again, causing you to groan. Your team's cheers quickly died down as they took in your situation. Before you knew it, your head was being cradled by the person you wanted to see the most at this moment. Their eyes were filled with concern and tears were brimming. You attempted a soft smile, in hopes of comforting them. Your breathing was shaky as the brushed your hair away from your eyes.

“You’re going to be okay.” They promised.

Your last thoughts were of your family, earth, the realization you’ll never feel rain on your face again, of your team, who you hated abandoning, and finally, of the one person you hated leaving the most. You knew you weren’t making it out of this one, you despised you were going to pass in their arms. You wished you could turn back time and fight a little harder, you wished things could be different, that you could live the life the two of you dreamed together.

“Don’t blame yourself.” You whispered in response.

They shook their head in defiance. “Don’t talk like that. We’re gonna get you to the castle and into a med pod and you’re going to be good as new in no time.”

You shakily lifted a hand and brushed a tear from their cheek. “I love you.”

Their face was filled with pain and you knew the only thing keeping them from losing it was this being your final moments. “I love you.” They responded, their voice cracking. They leaned down and gently pressed their lips to yours.

You felt everything around you becoming further and further away.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered out to your team as you took a final shaky breath, your senses being overwhelmed as you felt yourself fading.

Shiro

The tears kept flowing as he watched the light fade from your usually bright, curious eyes. He pulled you into him as he sobbed into your shoulder, wishing you’d wrap your arms around him and tell him everything was okay, that there was no reason to cry. But you didn’t, and you never would again. Your team surrounded the two of you, tears running down their cheeks as well as they watched their leader completely break in front of them, their friend tucked in his arms unmoving.

He tried to move on. He knew you wouldn’t want him blaming himself or wallowing in misery on your behalf. He mourned you, he still does, but he needs to keep leading the team, he doesn't have time to let the memories of you being by his side drag him into complete uselessness.

It was hard, it took a long time, but eventually he could remember you, his lover, his everything, without crumpling immediately.

When the team got back to earth, it was raining. He stood outside, face tilted to the sky, just letting the water drench him. The rain reminded him of you, you always told him it was what you missed most about earth.

It was as he stood outside, head facing the endless clouds, lighting striking in the far off distance, enduring the first rainstorm he’d felt since before the Kerberos Mission, that he smiled for the first time since the morning before your final battle.

Lance

Once you had taken your final breath and your gentle hand slipped off his, all composure he had left was out the window. He screamed and sobbed in the middle of that battlefield. His team knew he had a tendency to keep his emotions at bay, so watching him break over your body, knowing there was nothing they could do to help him, was heartbreaking. They all shared his grief, but none on a level even close to him.

You had been his rock, you helped him keep sane and reminded him he wasn’t a horrible person. He sobbed harder as he remembered how excited you were to meet his family once all of you went back to earth.

After a while he just, stopped. He had run out of tears, he had his moment of grief, he had to stand tall and move on now. Or at least that’s what everyone saw. Every single day of his life, he blamed himself. If only he hadn’t let himself get separated from you, if only he’d gotten to you a little sooner, if only, if only, if only. In the end, he knew there was no changing the outcome, but that didn’t stop him from imagining worlds in which you were still by his side.

He never thought he’d dread finally going home, but as the team landed, and a woman that looked eerily familiar came rushing from the building towards them, he felt himself snap. HE crashed to his knees as the woman came up to the group, looking around at each of them.

“Where are they?” she demanded. “Where is my child?” She had tears in her eyes as she noticed Lance on his knees, holding back tears and hugging himself.

“I’m so sorry ma’am,” Shiro started but she just shoved him away.

“You let them die?! My child died in outer space, surrounded by a bunch of strangers, and you didn’t even try to save them?!” She had tears rushing down her cheeks. “Who do you even think you are? Do you think you deserve to ball up because of them? You don’t even know them! No, nevermind, yes, you do deserve to be down there, not out of pity, but out of remorse. This is all your fault, all of you! My child never should’ve come to this stupid place.”

He flinched as he took in the woman's words.

“That is enough ma’am. Your child died honorably, saving people, and they were our family. We aren’t just some strangers, we’re the people your child died for. So, in all due respect, I suggest you back away from your child's mourning lover and stop slandering the life they died protecting.”

Everyone shut up in shock as Keith put your mother in her place, causing her to take a deep shaky breath, tears slipping from her eyes at last as she took in his words.

Hunk

Your hand slipped out of his as your eyes fluttered shut for the final time. He didn’t rage, he didn’t scream or burst, he just silently held you a little longer, his tears running down his cheeks until they ran dry. He didn’t have the energy to leave you yet, he never thought you’d be the one to go first.

The team didn’t know what to do, Hunk had always been the emotional one of the team, never being shy with showing his feelings. He wore his heart on his sleeve without regret, but now, he just looked emotionless.

He tried to distract himself. He threw himself into engineering projects and every mission the team ran he put everything he had into completing. He stopped cooking all together, every time he even so much as looked at the kitchen door, his heart would break slightly more. Memories of the two of you spending hours in that room, cooking with space goo and assorted ingredients you found. It hurt too much to attempt doing something you were both passionate about without you.

He was silent as they finally made it back to earth, his family welcomed him home, having adr him his favorite dessert and everything, but he just didn’t have the heart to enjoy it. The two of you had spent countless hours sharing stories and memories and things you wanted to eat when you finally made it back, and that banana cake had been the one thing you couldn’t wait to try.

He cried himself to sleep that night, wishing he could change the past. It was difficult for him to find something to fight for, a future without you having been something he hadn’t considered since the two of you met at the Garrison all that time ago. He came to the conclusion that his heart would never recover, but that wouldn’t stop him from fighting for the future you so easily described to him, a future where aliens and humans could live in peace, where the Galra weren’t an enemy, where the two of you could live out blissful lives together, having done your time in a war that wasn’t supposed to be yours.

Keith

His breath got shallow as yours ceased, his heart racing as your own stopped all together.

“This can’t be happening. Y/n please! Please open your eyes. Please,” his broken sobs echoed as the Paladins watched him plead with your lifeless body.

They didn’t know what to do. The normally stoic red paladin was shattering before their own eyes, more emotions flooding him than they expected to be possible. It was heartbreaking to say the least.

They had all lost one of their own that day, but none felt it more than the broken boy.

You were his family. You stuck by him on earth when no one else would, you left the Garrison with him just so he wouldn’t be alone, where there was him, there was you, and now you were gone, and he didn’t know how to cope without you.

He changed. He was already pretty closed off from the rest of the team, he never really smiled a lot, he wasn’t an extremely emotional person, but after his outburst that day, he completely shut off everything. Jokes that Lance would tell that would once make him smirk fell on deaf ears, even Hunks cooking and Shiros dadly advice didn’t pull him out of it.

The team learned to just work around his new behavior, wishing he’d go back to being a hothead or something. Anything.

He pushed his hardest on every mission, fighting as though he had absolutely nothing left to lose, because, in his mind, he didn’t. He felt alone in a universe out to get him, he knew he had friends, a team, even family now, but he didn’t have you, and nothing would be the same because of that. He would never be the same reckless, hotheaded, careless red paladin he once was, because he did all of that stuff knowing you’d either back him up or smack him upside the head.

Everyone told him time would ease the pain, but as he brought flowers to the memorial grave they created for you, on the anniversary of that day, he knew that no amount of time given to him would ease the pain he still felt. Because he was too painfully aware that all of that time given to him was time taken from you.

Pidge

Pidge was never exactly one to attach to people, not really, and definitely not so emotionally. Attachment to robots? Sure. But human beings were a whole lot more difficult. Which is why when the two of you admitted to being in a relationship, no one saw it coming or knew what to expect, it was completely uncharted territory.

And now, as Pidge was hovering over your body, swearing to find a way to help you, they once again didn’t know what to do.

Pidge sobbed and made halfhearted promises, telling you that you were going to be okay, but knowing you weren’t, and you never would again. It took the entire team to pry Pidge off your dead body, Pidge immediately begging them to let go, just needing to be near you.

After the shock of it all wore off, Pidge holed up in the garage/workspace, working on this project and that, trying desperately to keep distracted, but nothing worked. Every single thing held a memory, every memory brought you back to life, and every memory would ease and you would just vanish all over again.

Countless nights were spent wrapped up in your clothes, with your blanket, in your/on your side of the bed, weeping into the familiar smell of you. Pidge didn’t express emotions very well, but it was obvious this time. The distracted mindset, the distant gazes, the quiet sobs no one else was supposed to hear, all of it made it glaringly obvious that Pidge was not okay.

Pidge took to wearing your clothing more often than not, determined to keep any and every part of you alive so the memories of you would never fade.

Pidge was never one to attach to people, but Pidge also never imagined a life where you weren’t in it.

Allura

She watched you drop from the other side of the battlefield, a heartbreaking shriek escaping her throat as she watched you fall. In her mind you were supposed to be invincible, you were her wonderful significant other that gave her a reason to keep going, you were always telling her that everything was gonna turn out the way it’s supposed to, that the two of you were gonna make it through anything that could possibly be thrown your way.

She ruthlessly fought her way to you, no longer caring for leaving as little harm as possible. They hurt you, they didn’t deserve her sympathy. Once she finally got to you, the battle had ended and the other Paladins had joined her in surrounding you.

“Help me get them to the pods.” Allura pleaded, clutching your lifeless body. “They have to be okay. They can be healed, we just need to get them to the pods.” She was frantic, emotional, scared, and panicking.

Keith gently grabbed her shoulder. “They’re gone, Allura. They’re already gone.” The Red Paladin pulled her into his arms and let her release everything that day.

Everything following was a blur. The team moved forward with plans and missions, Allura never missing a beat. There were points when the team was concerned with how well she seemed to be doing, she lost her lover and was seemingly perfectly okay. But late at night, if they listened close enough, they could here the stifled, choked sobs of the princess as she got out all the pent up emotions in preparation for the next exhausting day of not letting her personal life interfere with the mission.

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I might be the only one that got emotional™️ during this one, but I hope you all enjoyed🌸

~Admin Rori💜