#i understand that its supposed to feel that way to a certain extent

[thescreaminghat]

tired and thinking too much about things in my mind askew but also suddenly wondering what annerose was supposed to represent in reinhard’s entire worldview. even though she’s been freed from the tower she must exist only as the proof of reinhard’s noble act: without him she would be living among the vengeful and gluttonous nobles, unlike now, where she is still living with the same trappings of royalty but it’s ok because the people don’t have bad ideologies i guess. was she even a person before reinhard’s career really began to take off. every time she’s on screen it feels like we’re looking at the madonna, some otherworldly presence unspoiled by the grime of human history (prime example is when hilda first meets annerose in her secluded cottage, the place is so romanticized it feels unreal, even unnatural). and the stiltedness i think comes from the fact that we know that none of this is true. annerose was essentially sold into being the emperor’s concubine. in its most literal sense she isn’t a virgin, isn’t some “untouched, innocent” woman who must not know of the world’s wrongs, because she’s lived through them already. perhaps her otherworldliness comes from her compassion, her moral virtues, her devotion to her brother. but would anything have changed if she had died instead of kircheis. was her grace and kindness so central to guiding reinhard’s character that her living being would have successfully overshadowed any impact that would have accompanied her death. yet even with the benefit of hindsight the narrative/narrator never truly speculates on the other half of it. because ultimately annerose exists as a concept---the justification used by “good” and “just” rulers, the sanitation of individual trauma to turn history into an epic. the longevity of reinhard’s reign in the narrative sense is premised upon the purity of his intention. what if annerose hadn’t been a victim “in the right way,” choosing anger as her reason to encourage reinhard instead of the mute graciousness superimposed by the narrative. does it even matter if the results are the same---the framing suggests that “yes, it does matter,” because the optics of saving a damsel are vastly different from saving a witch, even if they experience the same injustices. imagine the prince dying, not from the illness plot screwdriver purposefully used to remove him when he has fulfilled his purpose in the story, but because he chose to do the “right” thing for the “wrong” reasons. 

[ms-demeanor]

Knowledge Fight anon again - thank you for the list and recs! I look forwatd to checking them out. I was excited to see there's a West Wing podcast because I enjoyed that show, but yourself and the hosts hate it so maybe not for me lmao. Though I will still give the first episode a listen - very curious to understand why our feeligns about the show differ so vastly. And if you -want- to rant about why you hate TWW - feel free! I'm genuinely curious - I'm European, have never lived in the US, so for me it was one of the biggest tools of learning how US politics work, which made it absolutely fascinating to watch.

Anyways! I'll be looking at the other podcasts as well, they all seem very interesting, and the common-denominator format you describe them having does jive with me. Thanks again!

My very republican father and sister very much wish that all democrats would act like the democrats in the west wing. It's touted as a point of honor and a great example of compromise when Democrat Jed Bartlett appoints a republican justice to the Supreme court, any time there's an environmentalist or a union supporter on the show they're painted as extreme and uncompromising, in the later seasons the Jimmy Smitts character is running as a democrat on a pro-school-vouchers, anti-tenure/union (so anti-public school, basically) platform, the show as a whole is against entitlements (free college especially is something the ostensible dems in the show aren't even interested in enough to lament).

Idk at a certain point it gets frustrating to see anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, anti-healthcare republicans being praised as the mature compromisers in the room with complicated motivations and good points when every time a leftist protest shows up it's a warehouse full of people without enough message discipline to talk to to cameras without erupting into a shouting match and getting brushed off as whiny babies by toby zigler.

"Oh, we need CJ to look a little loopy, let's have her agree with these cartographers who are pointing out that the mercator projection privileges the global north." "Oh we need to present something that's a ridiculous waste of money, how about a wildlife crossing that would prevent keystone species injuries in an area of urban incursion, that's bullshit that we shouldn't spend money on." "Oh, we want to explain why big pharma can't provide free HIV meds to african nations in 2003, let's suggest that it wouldn't matter even if they did because *Africans don't have clocks and can't take meds 12 hours apart.*" "this hollywood producer is pushing too hard for gay marriage in 2007, let's lecture him about how you need to slow down and respect the process instead of being an activist about it"

There's this interview with Aaron Sorkin where he's saying "America used to be the world's heroes, when my dad was a soldier people would say 'thank god, the Americans are here' and they don't say that anymore and it's because of Donald Trump" - Sorkin totally ignores US imperialism and the way that people in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan wouldn't say 'thank god, the americans are here' to an extent that is genuinely startling, and that shows up in the show. At one point in the show president bartlett okays the assassination of a foreign leader and says 'today we enter the league of ordinary nations' as though the US hasn't backed coups or assassination around the world, as though the CIA isn't a thing, as though Henry Kissinger isn't a thing, and it's *bizarre* from a show that is supposed to be politically aware.

I'm actually super hesitant to recommend the west wing thing to general audiences because i don't always agree with the hosts or their guests but as an analysis of the surprisingly right-leaning politics of the show it's a worthwhile listen.

It's honestly something i could rant about for way too long because I had early warning signs about it. My sister *loves* this show and its politics. She's got a "my president is Jed Bartlett" sticker that she keeps next to her signed copy of one of Ann Coulter's books. If my sister thinks your liberal character is reasonable and level headed and has good policy positions, your liberal character isn't all that liberal.

The show is steeped in American exceptionalism and imperialist apologia but it's got a tearjerker soundtrack and maybe the best and most charming cast ever assembled so you ignore it when CJ wants to brush off constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure or cruel and unusual punishment (she's a huge fan of cops and intelligence agencies and not a fan of oversight) or when she shits on affirmative action (she believes her father lost his dream job to a less qualified candidate who was selected due to minority status, and that that job loss led to his mental decline - CJ Craig thinks that DEI hiring practices killed her father) because Allison Janney is an incredibly talented and charismatic actress who is elevating the hell out of her character.

But, you know, it would be kind of fucked up if a Democrat president's chief of staff was cheerfully on-record about the fact that she thinks intelligence agencies are more effective when nobody knows what they're doing so we should leave them to their own devices.

Thank you for the opportunity to rant i cannot fucking stand this show and i kind of want to do an episode-by-episode breakdown of various flavors of bullshit but there are much better things to do with my time so i don't but it's nice to have a chance to yell about the stuff that makes me crazy off the top of my head.

That said: if you want a podcast that is less vitriolic but does actually get into how parts of the US political system work, check out 5 to 4, which is a podcast by 3 lefty lawyers talking about Supreme Court decisions. It's great!

[mellowwillowy]

Let's talk about Yan! TWST!

The Yan that enjoys inflicting pain on you would be...

Riddle doesn't see the charm of hurting you and so are his card soldiers. But, that doesn't mean Riddle will not hurt you dear, oh noooo, do you remember the time your guardian punished you with something that hurt physically? A pinch on your forearm or a smack by the ruler? Take that double-fold.

"Now now, what did I say about standing straight?" Riddle fixes your posture with his staff before eyeing you from head to toe, "I assume you've been good today, you are safe from the... unsavory punishment, I'd say."

Cater can understand the charm of it, I mean, he enjoys biting you every now and then playfully! Now Imagine what if he does it with a different intention, hm?

Trey is, hm, 50/50. Just like Riddle except that part of him secretly loathes the fact that he wishes he could do more for you but that won't do good. He is not supposed to act like this.

The ADeuce duo? They are wholesome babies who just sometimes enjoy bullying you, just sometimes! Maybe a poke and prod here until it suddenly escalates into something that actually hurts you. Will immediately realize that and apologize to you nonstop.

Leona? You bet you got lots of bite marks and scratch marks! He treats you like his chewing toy and he loves it! Well, part of his sadistic side will sometimes take over and turn this into a much darker turn.

"Hey, come now, don't trouble me from having to find you, herbivore. Stop hiding unless you want me to drag you out with my fangs."

Ruggie and Jack don't really get it. Aren't they supposed to treasure and protect those who they love? Sure, the animalistic sides of marking might come every now and then but that's as far as it goes.

Alright, the Tweels are right off the bat. Any kind of pain honestly, physically and mentally. You get the drill. "What do you say if we turn you into a literal shrimp? Maybe... bend your back until you look like one, shrimpy?" "Kukuku, that is a great idea though I am worried about the aftereffects."

And the person who would be opposed to this would be the Octopus, Azul.

He prefers his angelfish to be unscratched unlike those brutes after all (Though he understands why they love seeing your fear-stricken expression, it truly has its own charm.) "You two! Stop playing around and go back to work if you have the time to bother them! ... Hey, are you alright?" Azul will check on you and tend to any bruises they leave after they are gone.

put that chain down! Real talk here though? Both Kalim and Jamil are on the same flavour but they leave different aftertaste.

Now I know Kalim is such a sunshine baby that is soooo sooo, free of threat and won't even have the thought of hurting you for fun. But what if he has no other choice but to do this...? Now he doesn't take any form of pleasure from this but what I'm trying to say is that he is not below from hurting you indirectly.

Take it when he feels the need to chain you down, should he let the others do this dirty deed or should he do this himself? The idea of someone else hurting you makes him sick but so does the idea of him having to immobilize you!

"I'm really sorry but I just, have no choice! I'll make it up to you, name anything you want and I'll give it to you in a blink! Everything... but leaving me... then I will grant it to you like a magic lamp..."

In Jamil's case though he just resorted to this method should his paranoia reach a certain extent. What if you leave him even though he hasn't done anything much for you at all? Should he charm you with his UM or... should he just straight up immobilize you and lock you away in the dorm, away from privy eyes? Or maybe should he shamelessly ask for Kalim's assistance in sending you to Scalding Sands for the time being?

"Rest assured, Najma will be there for you."

The Hunter, Rook. Now listen to me, no he doesn't find any pleasure in the same way the Tweels do. Take him as a hunter, only wounding you to keep you immobile and that's all, he'd prefer to not wound you at all to ensure your beauty unscratched like a taxidermized animal!

The people who would go against this would be Vil and Epel! Come on now, really? He'd rather inflict emotional and mental pain than this! How is he supposed to cover the bruises, let alone if it remains as a scar?

"Rook! What did I tell you about not leaving any mark on them? Can't you just ever listen?" "Aha, I'm so sorry~! It's just that they have been hopping around like a rabbit so I had no choice but to treat them as one."

As for Epel, he just doesn't see the charm in causing any pain to his dearest darling at all. He prefers seeing you smiling and laughing rather than crying. Oh gosh, these sick fucks are questionable!

"Even so, you shouldn't retort to this method! Oh no... it hurts so much, right...?"

Do not touch Ortho in the wrong way but damn this murder bot is on the loose. He will most definitely be doing the dirty job here for Idia like dude, he will stun you right on the spot should his system detect any suspicious movements and signs of doing something dumb.

Idia on the other hand is pretty neutral about this. Yeah, comatose, knocked out cold. Cool. You shouldn't have done that, noob, can't you at least make a plan that will allow you to evade Ortho's sight of view? Not like the phone he gave you will not save him from this trouble though.

"You thought you could sneak out of an enemy base camp that easily? You gotta at least watch the walkthrough from start to finish, anyway, off we go... to the enemy's underground chamber."

He'd prefer things to be as solace as possible so I think he doesn't enjoy partaking in this trope with these sadistic bitches. (He's just a silly meow meow after all)

Lilia has a kink in marking you with his fangs and it shows~ That, is on the playful note, what about the much darker note? Moments when the fistfight you two share turns into an uncontrollable fight that allows him to cut you with his nails and punch you right in your guts, hard, until you choke out.

"Ah~? Sorry, did I go too hard? I forgot that your body is now just as fragile as a stuffed doll!" He'll shrug it off playfully while relishing in your state for a moment before helping you ^^ (Ah, he misses those good' ol days so dearly!)

Malleus, Silver, and Sebek though? They are shaking their heads at Lilia but can't say anything about it.

Malleus sees this as a way to keep you still next to him, maybe by spraining your ankle or slamming your head so that you are knocked out.

Silver on the other hand does not lay a single finger on you with the intention of hurting you, at all! Cinnamon baby! huhuhu.

Sebek? After watching Lilia and Malleus, he deems this to be some sort of disciplinary action! He takes pride in it while secretly pushing away the guilt of hurting you and the fact that he was enchanted by the teary sight of you.

Divider Credit: @edith-is-a-cat

I have favorites and it shows. (Lilia)

[transientcuriosity]

sometimes im just like… yeah meow im a silly kitty :3c and sometimes im like actually really upset like why are my teeth not sharp. theyre SUPPOSED to be sharp for BITING and theyre just not and its disappointing. why is my voice box made this way like why cant i purr- i can mimic it to a certain extent and i gotta get better but WHY do i have to try when it should be like a default part of my existence. why dont i have ears that move and people can just understand my emotions by my ears. i will wear a tail around like NORMAL because it feels RIGHT- i would totally feel stupid if i was like just a little younger and a little more insecure but now im just angry its not prehensile and part of ME. like its not every characteristic but its just a really weird feeling with some defining ones.

[loving-n0t-heyting]

Hi! So, seeing you in my notes reminded me that I meant to ask you about that Instrumentality poll. Being as I am tumblr user 人類補完計画, I have, asyoumightimagine, a lot of interest in the topic, and I'd be very curious to hear *your* thoughts on Shinji's choice - in part because you mentioned in the tags that you were wondering whether your take aligned with the consensus view, but also because I feel like you're among the most distinctive & intellectually honest philosophical voices I've encountered on here, and I do wonder how your faith, along with your overall view on things, influences your take(s) re:EoE.

I was going to wait until the poll finally closed but i think its been plateauing for a couple of days now anyway so i might as well. This is all going to be pretty vague and mysticism-y ofc, especially given the vagueness and mysticism of the source material itself, and im going off of memory on top of that (i am not putting myself thru the emotional hurdle of rewatching EoE just for a post, sorry)

So, first off, my interpretation of shinjis ultimate choice is to reject instrumentality for all of humanity, to retain our ATFs and our individuality. And i lean towards thinking this was a mistake, on his part. I sometimes see ppl suggest that he offered everyone a choice to either join or refuse instrumentality, but i tend to think this is just projection; idr anything in the text to clearly support this

Im not really sure how to go about arguing for this position directly, beyond rebutting objections. To the extent we are given a clear explanation of what an ATF is, it is smth like the secrecy of our own thoughts and desires and personality; ie, others ignorance of those things. Ignorance is a terrible thing, just generally, in itself! Like impotence. Its terrible in proportion to the importance/value of the things one is ignorant of, and ppl are about the most valuable things there are. Thats much of whats so bad about death, which is why it makes perfect sense the dead get to join in HI as well. So, putting it all together, the presence of ATFs is a terrible imposition, and their removal thru HI is a great blessing, maybe even the greatest possible blessing. And this shows itself in the end of strife and discord and the beginning of real unity of spirit and will, but its already present in the mere dissolution of interpersonal ignorance

The narrative itself frames this as an erasure of individuality, but im not sure how to understand this. Is the idea supposed to be that we would not survive the loss of our ATFs? Im not sure thats even intelligible: the loss of our ATFs is just the lifting of certain kinds of ignorance or, in other words, the instilling of certain kinds of knowledge. Knowledge in whom? In those undergoing human instrumentality. So clearly we survive HI, if it involves us coming into knowledge, and thus being around to know these things. Is this supposed to mean our distinctive contributions to the diversity of human experience etc would all be destroyed in favour of some uniform replacement? I dont see why that would be necessary; we can certainly imagine ways ppls varying idiosyncratic quirks can all "make it into" some sufficiently rich collaborative work. Why should HI not be the same? I suppose the fact it involves everyones bodies into a homogeneous sea of yellow goop speaks against this, but my inclination is to read this as a sort of pupal stage from which a mature instrumentalised humanity can emerge. Tho thats admittedly a bit of a reach

Theres yet another negative interpretation of the "destruction of individuality" i sometimes hear: that it would somehow rob us each of our agency and ability to shape the world in accord with our desires and beliefs. This goes along with a worry that the inauguration of HI would necessarily be a violation of consent and mental autonomy, which strikes me as misguided for much the same reason. Our ignorance of one another is not an individual condition of oneself in particular one can opt in or out of irrespective of the choices of others; if my not being able to retsin my ATF is a violation of my "autonomy", why is my retaining my ATF not in turn a violation of the autonomy of the others being thereby kept ignorant of my deepest self? Mutual ignorance of one anothers mental states (including that very ignorance) is in no interesting way reducible to the ignorant subjects each having certain "individual" or "intrinsic" or "internal" states that can individually and unilaterally be shifted without affecting those of the others; it is an "external" relation. So thinking about HI in terms of individual, unilaterally revocable consent is confused; the fact it is changing is irreducibly collective, and thus consent to it and only be given or refused collectively if at all. Hopefully thats not too opaque

This reply feeds into my answer to the worry about the dilution of ones agency and control over the world. This objection makes sense against a background view on which, for an agent A to control the answer to a question Q and a distinct agent A* to control the answer to a question Q*, Q and Q* must be modally independent: any answer to the latter must be compossible with any answer to the former. Or that, if this isnt true, this is bc As control over Q or A*s over Q* must be only "limited" or "partial" or w/e. My rejection of this assumption (which is i think what lies behind the last objection about autonomy) is probably my deepest, most abstract anti-liberal commitment. Its a conception of control or freedom that i think ultimately requires a debilitatingly narrow view of what full freedom could look like, or of what facts can amount to states of a person. (For example, i think it prolly requires you to say that knowing that the sun rises, a property entailing the "external" fact that the sun rises, is not actually a state of a person, in some important sense, rather than smth like a conjunction of a state of a person and a state of the horizon/sun.) But going all the way into this would probably take a lengthy book; mb i will try to work it out slightly more precisely at some point tho

You asked how my feeling about EoE connect with my faith, and broader view of the world. This illiberal assumption is close to the heart of it. I am always tempted in this context to quote marxs comments in the 1848 manuscripts about the whole of nature being the "inorganic body of man", and i dont think im alone in seeing connections between those passages and remarks like pauls about the mystical body of the church ("So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." Now there is smth for mereologists to chew on!!) And this is a trend you see elsewhere in the Christian tradition, like dantes description of the celestial eagle in paradiso xviii-xx. I was surprised, when talking to an atheist friend about my tentative support for HI, that they said my christianity made sense of my disagreement with them about this point; not bc i dont think theres a connection but bc idt of these emphases on the unity of the mystical body as particularly prominent in outsiders impressions of Christian belief

Anyway, hopefully that was at least somewhat illuminating. Thx for the kind words ^^

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

Ok a rant about Cerri bomb and how much I HATE her

In the addict music video she was a very supportive friend of Angel and I loved her in the pilot! I wish we got that supportive best friend to Angel in the final product, but unfortunately she is a woman in a vivziepop show.

She’s AWFUL now I can’t stand her, the way she tried to make Angel relapse was so weird like pilot cherri wouldn’t do that! I also really dislike her design it has to be one of my personal least favourites (not the bottom though nothing is worse than alastors design to me) she isn’t enjoyable to watch anymore she had potential if she’d only been introduced earlier! Imagine if she was introduced in episode 4 and played the supportive friend she was originally supposed to be!

And GOD I hate her ship with pentious, it was SO RUSHED, so poorly done and the ship isn’t very “so cute and in love!!” When you remember she showed literally NO interest in him until Angel brought up that he has 2 dicks, and this is supposed to be a romantic relationship we CARE about.

Cherri didn’t need a romantic relationship she needed CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT we needed to get to know her! If you’ve only seen the show and no other Hazbin media at all (which shouldn’t be required you should be able to get all your info FROM THE SHOW) you’d barely know anything about her character or who she is. I wish we got pilot cherri bomb, and that she got a design update, and that her and pent’s relationship was either taken slower or didn’t happen at all

You silly little creature you, you have me writing in my notes app instead of Tumblr because I’m about to go crazy!

Cherri Bomb. More like Cherri what the hell happened

Anyway I’m gonna tackle this one thing at a time, and also forgive me if I word something weird I just woke up an hour ago at the time of writing this.

First thing, design: I personally quite like her design since it very loosely reminds me of Iris from Ruby Gloom with ofc the one eye, the very rowdy personality and kind of the hair, but those are very broad design choices and its just me remembering some random girl I thought was silly but like Iris did it better.

Okay now second thing and then we go into literally everything else: My blog has been an angry pit of despair for everything in Episode 6 as of recent so let’s tap into that again 🤏 just a little. I am going to give my classic centrist opinion and say I don’t mind Cherri Bomb all that much but I absolutely get why people dislike her, and I mean this in the kinda way as people who dislike… Idk Fukuchi from BSD. WILD jump in fandoms but gimme a second. I can’t 100% say that Cherri Bomb in the pilot was better than the series since we have no idea if maybe for some reason she was intended to be like that offscreen, but judging by the pilot and “Addict” alone, it’s very unlikely. I could see her maybe being a bad influence at times and being like “Loosen up dude we’re in hell and its Friday” or something (idk if they have Friday in hell but everyday is probably Monday 🥁) but overall I feel like she’d end up apologising for it. However on the other side of things, I can understand why Cherri did that in Episode 6. Of course not to say this is okay, but Cherri is still very clearly not in the “redemption” mindset. She’s happy the way she is and is really only focused on certain aspects of issues. We see her comfort Angel in “Addict” but thats basically the extent of it. Cherri’s definition of “self-care” seems to be less of actually taking care of yourself and more like just letting go and having fun instead which really only gives a momentary fix to the issue, much like how substances can be abused. Do you kinda see what im getting at? Cherri offering Angel drugs while he’s trying not to relapse is not okay, full stop. But her reasoning as to why makes a bit of sense for her purpose in the show which is honestly not much, since, as you said, she is a woman in a Vivziepop show.

To my knowledge Cherri is like 30-ish years younger than Angel Dust in Hell experience so she’s likely not reached a point where she’s gotten tired of how things work, as well as the fact we don’t really have much of an idea on her backstory aside from that random shot in “Addict” of that guy in a puddle??? But generally she seems to be in a better position than Angel is, so there isn’t really any reason for her to want to change, yknow? I will say I do like exploring characters that are good friends while still being bad influences at times, but I’m going to be honest I feel like thats really not what Angel needs right now. I wouldn’t be as pissy about it if she did end up apologising afterwards (I’m just gonna headcanon she did for my sanity) but even then as Angel’s friend we don’t know like… anything about her. I would’ve really liked to get some kind of callback to the pilot where Cherri mentions she thought Angel was dead until the random Sir Pentious turf war, and maybe we could see her actually being worried about Angel again instead of those 3 frames in “Addict”, but Hazbin is rushed and I guess we don’t have time for that. And also YES it would’ve been great to see her in Episode 4 and actually doing something but again, Vivziepop is boring.

Going forward I would really like to see Cherri, if not become a patron, at least try to be a better friend and sure if she wants to keep doing stuff she can keep doing it, but just don’t encourage other people to relapse. It is very simple.

SIR PENTIOUS! About Sir Pentious, this is going to be incredibly short. I don’t hate the ship but also I’m not really crazy about any of the Hazbin Hotel ships? I also don’t really hate any except for the genuinely horrid ones but thats basic sense. I absolutely agree with you, Cherri does not need a romantic interest. Romance doesn’t always = growth and growth should not always = romance. She needs some genuine character TLC and I hope to god she gets some in season 2. We’ve only seen a few minutes of her so I have yet to give a firm opinion, but as of now I’m just hoping they do something actually interesting with her instead of just alluding to Sir Pentious ship. Also the penis thing. 1. What was that, and 2. It made me and my friends briefly pause to sex Sir Pentious and come to the conclusion he is likely transgender/hj

TLDR; Please give us a fun Cherri Bomb again. ☹️

[aisuruyuuji]

Suni talks: Chainsaw Man and the over-s*xualization of some of its characters....

From women to female characters, they all were, are and will continue to be the objects of all men's desires. Nothing is different when it comes to the anime community. In fact, it only gets worse.

Not only do some fans seek to s*xualize some characters for their own 'enjoyment', but they seem to be encouraged. In same cases, the mangakas, the anime studio, the merch producers and other unofficial sellers of merchandise contribute to the damaging viewing of female characters...

(small break) This reminds me of the TikTok an 'anime' guy made in which he implies he stole the virginity of his body pillow of Demon Slayers' 12 to 14 year old Nezuko. That's exactly what I am trying to hint at. These people will s*xualize female characters despite their age and no matter if the 'right' content will be provided for them. That's why I personally think they shouldn't be given 'what they want' (s*xualized figurines, body pillows, etc).

My inspiration for this post was a certain series of Chainsaw Man figurines of some of its female characters dressed in playboy bunny costumes.

With just one search of "Chainsaw Man Figurines" and below a minute of scrolling, you will be greeted by the pictures of Makima and Power figurines dressed in playboy bunny costumes. While Makima is depicted as an adult, Power is not. And besides their ages, which i could not find anywhere, Power is made out to be Denji's first friend, a 16 year old. Most of the times, she behaves much more childishly than Denji, so no matter her 'real' age, the viewers are meant to believe she's only a teenager.

Now it's true that Chainsaw Man is a story which revolves around a teenage boy so the s*xual side of it is mainly present because of that aspect. However, not all anime fans are teenagers and this content, whether it's shonen anime, merchandise and even h*ntai (oh god, the territory i'm crossing here), can be consumed by anybody.

There are plenty other female characters that are s*xualized without having a 'sexy figurine' made of them, including Himeno (supposedly in her mid to late 20's and is also a romanticized by the fandom s*xual abus*r), Kobeni (20 year old), Reze (supposedly late teens to early 20's, shown wearing little to no clothing in the manga) and lately Asa (mid to late teens). It doesn't take much to be seen as an object.

And don't get me wrong, I love Chainsaw Man. I am currently reading the series and I'm not anywhere near dropping it. It's entertaining and its approach is really different from usual shonen manga. However we can't not acknowledge the flaws in some scenes and merchandise pieces.

Some people might say not only female characters get over-s*xualized in the anime community and that's absolutely right! Again, some men have been getting mad after the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen got released and seeing all the "female" fan service of Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, Nanami Kento, Kamo Choso, etc. There have been understandably terrible incidents such as the "Bloody Gojo Figurine" one when a supposed underage fan had ruined their figurine of Jujutsu Kaisen's character with their own period blood... But unfortunately for women and most likely fortunately for men, these behaviors are currently not affecting men to the extent it affects women.

Why I am only mentioning the Chainsaw Man figurines, which from what I've seen are sold by none other than Crunchyroll itself, and not the other merchandise of h*ntai characters and whatnot is because Chainsaw Man is getting more main stream as more chapters get released.

What's your opinion on this? Are these pieces of merchandise really encouraging certain people and make them feel they have the right to behave in creepy and lewd ways or do they hold no significance in this situations?

[kazarinn]

I watched Last Evolution a while back and found it to be extremely grim and cynical with its talk of "potential" but i'd be willing to watch the movie again if the translation was at fault if there was a more accurate sub. I see a couple sub groups did translations for the movie, but I wasn't sure if there was one you recommended or worked on? Otherwise I'd be very interested in hearing what bothered you about the official translation, regardless of my own feelings about what I watched, but I was having a hard time finding a post on your blog that talked about it directly.

Hello! Yes, I would absolutely agree the official subs are a mess to the point I can't even recommend the movie with them. Personally, I think any of the fansubs should be fine; the one I personally had a hand in was the L Subs version (which I did not translate myself but was lightly involved with the subbing process for), but to my understanding, there is at least one other well-done one done by a fan who clearly knows and loves the series.

(I actually am tentatively interested in maybe trying it out myself in the future for the hell of it, but I'm not super pressed to do it ASAP because there are so many other things with higher priority. Other than subs of the movie itself, I also personally translated the Shueisha Mirai Bunko version of the novelization, which doesn't have a 1:1 transcription of the dialogue but is still more accurate than whatever was going on with the official translation, or at least I would like to believe.)

I haven't made a proper post breaking it down yet, but what I will say is that, as someone who has spent a long time translating for this series and has gone through the movie's dialogue multiple times (way too many times?) in Japanese, it is absolutely, 100%, for sure, not supposed to be a cynical movie. The official translation had butchered a number of things related to that, such as:

The fact that they didn't preserve the nuances related to 宿命 and 運命, an issue that my senior translator (who translated the L Subs version) and I consider to be important enough that my senior wrote about it on Twitter and I touched on it in my own discussion of Crest names. There are certain distinct contexts where the word that means "something truly unavoidable" and the word that means "something we are guided towards" come up.

The fact that Menoa's motives make no sense in the official subs; certain lines are translated to suggest the opposite of what they should, and certain lines will directly contradict each other, meaning the only thing that a viewer can get out of it is that "she wants to save everyone" and that she might even be right about her ideas (which probably doesn't help the viewing of the movie as cynical, since it sounds like Taichi and Yamato are rejecting her "good but extreme" intentions at worst and not her distorted view of the world as a whole).

The conversation between Gennai and Taichi in the middle of the movie has about two or three critical lines that are mistranslated, and those are probably some of the most important lines in terms of establishing the movie's themes, especially given the issue of "potential"/"possibility" that you mentioned.

In general (well, this has very little to do with your question, but I feel the need to vent about this anyway) the official translation is just plain klutzy about everything. There's no conscientiousness about character voice, one of the most important things in translating Digimon works. References to the original series' plot points or lore don't match up at all, and I don't get the impression the translator or editor was familiar with the original series. (Adventure tri. and The Beginning's subs had this problem too, but not to the same degree; in the case of Adventure tri., the lore was vaguely referenced or contradictory in Japanese to the extent a compliant English translation probably wouldn't have even been possible, and in the case of The Beginning, the issues were less common and less plot-relevant.) Even beyond just plot-important lines, there are far too many lines that are semantically mistranslated. All of it makes the movie an unpleasant experience to watch in terms of sheer vibe, and that's something I think is far more important than people tend to treat it as.

I will give a disclaimer that I feel obligated to give during these situations: if you did not like the movie, while I think it is highly likely that you'll enjoy it better with a properly done translation, I cannot guarantee that it'll turn your opinion over 180 degrees and make it your favorite movie ever. I am a translator before I am a literary critic, so while literary analysis is important for a translator, there is a point I have to hold back before it starts turning into my own fanfiction. But it's exactly because of this that the official translation is so poisonous, because a translator's job should be to maximize potential for readings and interpretations for others. If a work could potentially have a "nonsense interpretation" and a "sensible interpretation", and a translation outright invalidates the possibility of having the sensible interpretation because of how sloppy and nonsensical it is, it becomes a perfect example of what I've referred to as "insidiously bad translation", where it looks passable on the surface but is far more poisonous than it seems.

[writers-get-biters]

sooooo tired of feeling bad and shitty and stuck and miserable

fuck my relationship ocd i hate it so much and also fuck being forced to do stuff i dont want by people i dont want to be with sometimes (like now )they get into some sort of fucked up loop where i feel miserable because of stuff in my brain and then theres external stuff which also fucks it up more so then my disabilities become more disabling because obviously and then i get blamed and hurt more externally because of my disabilities that are not! my! fault! and then of course that makes internal shit worse so then im just stuck in the middle forced to pretend shit doesnt suck and actually im fine and actually everythings fine keep being "jokingly" mean to me and pushing my boundaries i dont care i get it its actually really okay if you say something to me that most other people i know offline wouldnt consider mean even though i have told you to stop its okay if you dont stop i guess i guess its fine if no one listens to me and i have to sit in miserable silence by myself because i dont even feel like doing anything that any of my ceters enjoy like drawing or our data entry projects or video games or writing and it doesnt matter i guess that im so stressed because since its from an arbitrary authoritative institution everyone is supposedly fine with that makes it totally okay and actually the real problem is me and i guess im the problem and reason why no one wants to talk to me or communicate with me the way i want to be talked to or otherwise communicated with yeah my bad i guess its all my fault and im supposed to just suck it up and stop complaining and also its creepy and wrong and bad i guess for me to try to cope with any of this the way that i want to and i guess yeah i need to and should be keeping it a secret because otherwise ill make everyone else uncomfortable and thats the worst possible outcome btw no person left behind unless its me in which case utilitarianism is always right and we cant give a shit about everyone yk like someone is always going to be miserable but we should prioritize the most people so if i mention kink (ew) or my other interests (ew) im a horrible really bad person actually because im making other people (more important than me. btw) uncomfortable and upset also i should ignore the fact that i am systematically and systemically being isolated from and kept away from people who might actually show understanding and kindness towards me or be in a similar position and extend the kind of support i desperately need but its cool because you keep saying youre only doing that because im "better than them" and actually youre helping me because "those people" are bad and wrong and harmful and they might make me (simultaneously innocent and guilty) do bad things like drugs that might offer a chance to alleviate some of my pain or transition to a bodymind i& want or be angry or just generally be a "bad person" and not be able to participate in the joys of continuing the chain of oppression and harm. but its fine because its for my benefit actually because you frame it as ""those people" have it so hard and theyre so unlucky (because theyre treated like shit by everyone which is true because people's actions are definitely a matter of "luck") and i just want to spare you from that" how kind of you wow youre so sweet and nice to me right now because i havent violated any of your rules yet what a great person you are because you let me be myself to a certain extent (a tiny little eensy-weensy extent but thats fine because its more than i deserve anyway) and since im being invited to participate in the continuation of oppression and pain it would be pretty rude for me to say no and if i did say no it would definitely justify treating me badly and doing all of the things you do to "those people" to me because im technically actually even worse than "those people" because i could have been normal i could have just accepted your rules (that were literally killing me to follow) (not that you noticed)

and also on the other hand the people arguing against you get to use me as their fun little trick-up-their-sleeve because obviously its ridiculous to treat someone like me the way that you have and will and i can be used as a perfect little pawn

[the ceter who wrote this switched out around here, but before they did, it asked that the others of us post this vent anyway if they were unable to finish or post it]

[saltynsassy31]

no cus i totally understand your frustration, ive also quit splatfests for the moment until they get an overhaul

i suggest if you feel close to getting hateful to either shiver or shiver fans then maybe quit for a while for your own sake cus ive felt a lot better after doing so, im still really sensitive to negative comments towards frye or rude ones about shiver winning but taking some time for myself has made me feel infinitely better

ive been close to hating shiver before bc of how cocky and rude them and their fans can be but it doesnt really do anything but sour your enjoyment of the game more, so its really not worth it

i do have to say though, anyone who says "its just a game" reaaally needs to understand the frustration of people OTHER than them, sympathy is something a lot of people forget about when it comes to things that arent real life. just because it doesnt affect you doesnt mean everyone can shut off their attachment to the game or a character like a light switch; a lot of the time you dont know whats going on with them. i myself am really attached to frye cus i am hashtag autism creature and he brings me comfort, so anyone being rude to me about shiver winning really REALLY gets under my skin. its not entirely (if they were serious, if they werent then its not at all) their fault, but nintendo fixing the frustration of splatfests constantly keeling in one direction (which theyre supposed to do anyways but they havent) would definitely fix the issue. we need to find a way to have nintendo fix this, not attack anyone else for what bundle of pixels and text theyre attached to.

not everyone has really thick skin and if we want splatoon 3 to be more hospitable then we should try to cut down on the general splatfest bullassery in public spaces (being overly cocky and rude/blaming others in a way with no basis or truth behind it). its not something everyone can always do since we arent all perfect, but if we make steps in that direction then we could help more people enjoy the splatoon community rather than being eaten up by toxicity and spite

i didnt word all of this entirely correctly so like interpret ad best as you can cus im eepy but yeah.

a fye for u to enjoy (also ur anon is off btw)

u dont have to but for the sake of not being harrassed id appreciate if u didnt tag with public tags

👏👏 PREACH

I don't want to quit playing it, I do enjoy splatfests, to a certain extent, i like going with my friends and i made a lot of new friends through it, it's like, the online community that I'm having a problem with

I don't hate shiver, I thought I did but I can't, she is still a comfort character (tho Frye is like, my obsession besides being my comfort character cuz I am also part part the 'tism XD), in a way, I like her dynamic with the group at least, she annoys me, yes, very much so, but I don't hate her

And I don't hate people who like her either

Who I do hate is people being mean about it, I had turned off anon cuz of a stupid person who was going around every frye support account anonymously just saying mean stuff and praising shiver as the best, I just forgot to turn it on, so thanks for reminding me 😅

Saying that "It's just a game" is so annoying to, tell that to the football fans, they go just as crazy if not more so

Splatfests are ment to be fun! You should be able to enjoy the splatfest without having to worry about people fighting

I don't like fighting with people, I hate how angry I become, how mean I can sound sometimes, I usually just vent without interacting

At least she won in Japan, so that is one other win under her belt, I just wish she'd win more in the future 😔

Oh also I almost didn't participate in this splatfest either and I did only because I haven't had time to play and I haven't finished my catalogue yet 😅 I usually use splatfests to up my catalogue quicker lmao

Also, don't worry, I won't tag anything that could get you harassed, if anything does happen, please block for your health, I don't want anything happening to you, you seem very sweet ;w;

Edit: also YOUR FRYE PLUSH IS SO CUTE! I've been seeing people get her but idk where to buy her!!!! Where'd you get it? :0

[asachuu]

A lot of people are talking about Arthur’s age right now to the point even I know about it from under my rock, but instead of stating the obvious and simply assuming everyone is in on everything already, I’ll just ask this: what is actually so unbelievable about him being 27? I’ve heard folks say that it would mean he would be 15-16 at the time of joining his organization, which is indeed correct, but somehow, this comes as a surprise or something unacceptable, and I don’t understand why? The two literal fandom favorites, Dazai and Chuuya, met at fifteen years old when one was a mafia member already and the other joined at the same age, and no one seems to find that unbelievable?

Anyway, since I have my two cents on this matter, I have to shove the rest of this under the cut, but please bear with me here.

I presume people are mostly shocked for that reason, though do correct me if I’m wrong— I do see how it could be inconceivable to think of his whole entire background, memories, memoir and so on as being attributed to a 15-19 year old instead of someone far older, but if that’s due to any other reason than it simply not meeting expectations thanks to some former headcanons, I’m not too sure why. Obvious Fifteen parallels aside, it’s not as if BSD is some light-hearted series where characters going through incredibly harsh events we cannot even imagine have to be of legal age and in perfect circumstances to be able to handle it— I suppose some could be wondering about that aspect, but it would match up with the whole feel and plot of the story, and no part of it feels out of place. I’ll admit I used to believe Arthur was 36-37 at the time of his death as I didn’t know of his age either, but upon seeing he was a decade younger, I didn’t exactly think it to be nonsense for the sake of him being “too young”, and not to mention, this would also mirror his IRL counterpart, being 16 at the time of meeting Verlaine— which you absolutely could say is too young, considering the entire story between them, but it did happen, and BSD is based on the real-life authors after all— so I don’t see any argument against this which truly makes sense, all things considered.

That aside, I will say that Arthur’s canonical age specifically matters to me, unlike some other characters’ ages, and perhaps my reasoning could be a shared one that contributes to some of this confusion, and that is because it does change the perspective of Fifteen/Stormbringer to quite an extent. I had a whole post drafted about this already a week ago, but it seems to be even more relevant now, so I’ll just throw a part of it here and the rest in a reblog to not derail too much.

In my opinion, if one is to read Arthur’s memoir from Stormbringer, it feels much different to think of it as written by an adult as opposed to a teenager, purely because of its content— the character who has no family to return to, no loved ones or friends or even personal feelings he is allowed to have due to his job, the one who is overjoyed to finally have a partner whom he could make any difference to and who is already prepared to be forgotten after his death anyway, is not actually fully grown up, which maybe some are having a hard time accepting, I’m not too certain.

To me, this view on the story is indeed a lot sadder, especially if one is to consider his only partner betrayed him at 19 instead of whatever other theory could be in place, alongside all else I won’t be mentioning here as I believe I wrote a long enough essay about those two as is, but I don’t think any of it is strange or odd-sounding. If I may, in my personal opinion, I actually believe it makes far more sense, and not because it once again would align with his IRL counterpart even here— no, rather considering his behavior in Fifteen of desperately trying to find a way to remember his best yet only friend, likely because he hadn’t had anyone by his side from such a young age and clearly latched onto the first person he could have had alongside him, which could be a fully applicable theory even if you hadn’t seen the pair in any unrequited romantic contexts that could have been his motive. Does it make the story far more sorrowful? Yes. But does it make the story nonsense and unbelievable? Absolutely not. At this point, I would be so much more surprised if he wound up actually being 37 as I and what I suspect is a decent amount of others guessed at first, because in that case, I would somewhat understand the other side to my arguments— I still wouldn’t agree with them as I never did, even in the past when I didn’t have any extra information, but I could potentially see where they’re coming from at the very least.

I’ll just briefly acknowledge that perhaps some saw the memoir implying Arthur being more of Paul’s mentor at the time, being much older and wiser than him as would be expected, but I don’t think this was ever anyhow highlighted in the novels to make it clear that Arthur could be considered as such entirely— it was only said he would be the one to raise him, which I admit would not leave me assuming the given character is 15, but all things considered, it still aligns with everything above. I also have to acknowledge that in Fifteen, he is referred to as an “older” member of the Port Mafia, but I believe that refers to the eight years he spent in it, and was not meant to be an indicator of his actual age at the time, although compared to Chuuya and Dazai back then, perhaps 27 could indeed be seen as older in a very relative sense. Still, neither of these things are a direct contradiction to his supposed age, and while I’m not here to “prove” he’s 27 or 37 or whatever else one could assume, since I don’t have any other source of information other than the S3 guidebook and don’t have any reason to come up with alternative theories, hence why I choose to trust it unless official sources state otherwise, I’m only here because it surprises me how many people are shocked by this, as if many other characters in BSD weren’t in the same exact age range at the time of drastic or serious events happening around them/to them. I assume that, for some, this is merely something which goes against their personal headcanons or is just wholly unexpected, with nothing more in-depth sitting behind it, at whom this post is not aimed whatsoever, but I saw some saying it doesn’t even fit into canon at all, which…how, exactly? Because I don’t see it at all.

[unknownteapot]

How parasocial do you think you are? Specifically with Smosh, but also in general? Is it something that concerns you/ you think about at all?

hiii, veeery very interesing ask, anon, thanks for sending it in <3

first off- i think its interesting the way the word 'parasocial' has evolved into being a somewhat negative descriptor on social media/in gen z culture in general, when by its utmost definition it simply describes a connection between a person and someone they do not know personally. although with the boom in social media use in recent years, the boundaries between fans/admirers and their idols/content creators/etc. are becoming more and more blurred as we have access to people's lives almost daily through things like insta stories or tiktok or whatnot- especially when its the goal of big companies to market that closeness, to give us a sense of personal connection through the many ways we get to see, hear or read our fav's thoughts. its very easy to get absorbed into the thick of it and i understand how much of fan behaviour can become obsessive, hence i suppose the negative association with the word 'parasocial'.

i suppose i am parasocial to the extent that i admire, support, and engage with content produced by smosh and the smosh cast. i know here on tumblr we use a lot of tumblr-specific language to talk about the smosh cast/our favs in any fandom really, which includes lots of loving rants and phrases like 'in love with him' or 'that is my mother' lmao both of which i have definitely done, but i'd like to think we all engage in jargon like that humorously. in truth i try to apply the logic of 'just some guy' to most of the favs i have in any fandom, especially when i find myself disagreeing with an opinion of theirs or disliking certain content- at the end of the day, they don't know me, i don't know them. they post content for free, i can turn it off if i don't want to engage with it. the end. (although there definitely was a time in some earlier fandoms i've been in where i didn't apply logic like this, and all i'll say is it left me emotionally exhausted and feeling like i was ranting angrily into the void of the ethernet- which i was- i'm glad i'm older and can see the ways in which that would have been unhealthy)

that being said, within smosh or the smosh cast, i sometimes find traits that i admire about the people who work there- be it a fashion choice or the way they choose to speak up about something, or even a niche game they enjoy that speaks to my nerdy soul- so in essence i'm not a fan of the people in their entire being (because i can't be, i don't know them!), but rather of the collection of traits they embody/show on screen that i relate to or want to embody myself. in that way, i love and admire the smosh cast.

gosh, i'm so sorry this was a whole ass essay, idk if you signed up for this, anon lmao, but i hope it answered your ask at least a little <3 thank you again for sending it in, its very interesting to think about!!

[pinkmoondoll9shihtzu]

silly love confessions: i keep falling in love with older men. except its not even romantic strictly i just become so attached and adoring towards dudes 10+ years older than me..its like romantic and physical adoration + big brother + idol worship............. to me its fine and i'm accepting it and in my mind love is good so its something to be happy about but honestly this situation kind of ruined one of my closest relationships because i made him uncomfortable i guess. I dont know, having a crush often feels creepy i suppose. but I wish there were more accepted ways to love someone to the extent i love people besides romantic love. I don't really want to date anyone I just want to communicate my adoration and affection and have it be reciprocated without there being the issues of whether you can be in a monogamous relationship or not......idk kind of rambling here but i feel like you are one of few people who could understand when i say i feel like my love is religious. and it keeps being tainted by the expectations of modern society. anyway happy valentines day !!!!! love u!!!!!

lolol...me as hell in my early 20s!! everyone i dated was in their 30s, men and women. i have always acted like an elderly person lmao so at the time it was impossible to find anyone my own age i cld relate to. Also probably some subconscious thing to do w my orphan's nature, having no adult guidance for the latter half of my childhood lol..

Also i totally understand wat u mean by wishing love wasnt so "regulated" by certain standards. A huge turning point for me around age 25 was realizing i want to love my friends & family & even strangers as unconditionally as possible even though its bound to get me hurt. i wanted to finally allow myself to b open to people & embrace them without judgement. my life has rly unfolded since that time 5/6 yrs ago & even tho it's been a bumpy ride, it has eventually lead me to the ppl who fully reciprocate this attitude, platonically or otherwise.

So dont be afraid to let your open heart lead the way, it's a rare treasure. One person's sincere unconditional love can be the catalyst for so much positive transformation & healing in the lives of others who feel lost & alone. thankyou for your confession & happy Vday to you too anon <333

[natashasbitxh]

When I said I need to chill out about it, I mean it in the: I need to calm down haha 'cause I been sleeping 5 hours just to watch some videos with them. If I could, I would totally write a lot of thoughts for each video they are in hahaha.

They been acting so silly and I love that. Just having fun. The uno video, that video is so personal right now with everything that's going on. Also a lot of looks, I do wonder what they are thinking when they look at the other like that, it's just so interesting, so curious. Obviously is always so fast so the other one cannot register the eyes.

Another thing you were right about is Chance touching his hair hahaha on those moments.

Also I feel like Chance doesn't insults Shayne that much, he respects him a little bit more in a way as he said in that video of Smosh mouth, he understands boundaries. He says to Shayne the easy insults I suppose when they're playing games. I don't know if this has sense but I feel like they have a soft spot for the other, and that's why they don't be like insulting each other's or something like that.

I hope we get more fun moments, I need them to survive. I also did watch some of your edits and there's a video where they are wearing like a cheerleader costume, I wonder if that's a video or a live and if you could tell me which one it is. I need to see more videos where they're in.

Please share more of your thoughts!! I feel like I love to read all you have to say, it's always nice. Have a nice day!

ahhh, ur genuinely so real for that!!

YES I totally agree, it's just so fun to see THEM have fun, it makes it 10× more entertaining I love it sm. I always think the same thing like WHAT R U THINKING ABTTT, WHAT IS THAT LOOK!

I understand what u mean and I agree! Chanse (as a joke ofc!) insults other ppl a lot, and Shayne too tbh, but they don't rlly do it to one another to the same extent. So yh maybe it's because they have a soft spot for one another idk!

I think I know the clip ur talking abt but pls let me know if I'm wrong! I think ur talking abt a clip from a vid on the Smosh Main Channel, its the High School Musical Reunion. That vid is not full of shaynse moments but I will say that certain segment were but only due to the characters they were playing. I'm not sure how familiar u r with hsm, but Shayne is playing Troy and Chanse for a short amount of time is playing Chad. They jokingly hint at romance a little. It's a rlly funny video! The reunions r genuinely some of my fav Smosh vids!

Thank you sm! I love hearing ur thoughts too and ur also so nice and fun to talk to!! Have a nice day/night!

[greenerteacups]

From what I've seen online, the major consensus amongst HP fans is that Cursed Child is NOT canon ( and many simply pretend it doesn't exist). I remember when it first came out and was being promoted, both the stage show and the published script, and everyone was really excited for new HP material... until we realised that it just... wasn't canon... at all. Yeah, the idea of Voldemort as presented in the HP novels having any sort of romantic relationship with Bellatrix and having a child is simply ridiculous and certainly just exists as a way for him to have a secret child for reasons of the wacky plot... it's very tween fanfic and also very Disney channel sequel (like the og villains all having kids we never heard about is totally a real Disney channel thing).

I remember it being very clear at the time that it came out that any "pointers" or "ideas" JKR provided to the actual writer of CC must've been the very barest of bones, the tiniest of shards perhaps, because it simply read like a sort of AU fanfiction written by the most casual of fans... which, as I understand, it really was. At the time when it came out, it was pretty clear that she had very little to do with actually writing it, though I suppose more was made later of her 'involvement' to legitimise it. I heard since that someone asked her if it should be considered canon, and she said yes? Not sure how this interaction actually went down as I don't particularly care to look into it (since nothing will change my mind that the AU of CC makes no sense within the context of HP canon and lore and it was probably some kind of marketing tactic in support of the stage play) but as she clearly didn't actually write CC herself and it contradicts many things from the books she did write, I'm pretty happy to continue ignoring its existence.

What do you think of Fantastic Beasts in comparison? Personally, I put Fantastic Beasts in a separate category where I can kind of accept aspects of it as canon expansions of the lore and worldbuilding... I can see JKR's style clearly and the inconsistencies with timelines and certain characters being in places and times they shouldn't be don't bother me as much as the straight up character assassination we see in CC. To put it another way, I think CC feels like it belongs to a totally different IP and was written by a different author (because it was) while FB definitely still exists in Rowling's wizarding world, it's just the timeline is kinda off.

this is interesting context. I think she kind of has to say yes to that question in context, because like... who's going to shill out £150 to see some random dude's AU fanfiction play (if it isn't even good)? of course, JKR's stamp isn't nothing, but even she can't weld extra content into the canon by declaring it so. i see TCC like church ephemera: i'm sure SOMEONE finds it interesting or relevant to what we're doing here, but that doesn't mean it's part of the Bible.

i feel the same way about fantastic beasts, but to a lesser extent. i actually enjoyed the first fantastic beasts movie, i thought it was playful and charming and (with the exception of the dumb polyjuice plot) the perfect way to revive harry potter as a storytelling vehicle. like, yeah, it fucked up by trying to go too big too soon, but if you can remove one (1) subplot or narrative thread and have a solid movie, then as a writer, you've still done okay.

Fantastic Beasts also annoys me because it does feel like harry potter, in terms of tone and mouthfeel. it's got the sauce. it just heinously drops the ball in later installations. in particular, it starts getting nervous about holding the audience's attention and throws stuff in that just wouldn't make it in a natural, organic script — most of the shit from the original series is contrived and ill-suited to the dramatic tenor set by Movie About Funny Man Collecting Magical Animals. (e.g. going back to hogwarts? leta lestrange's secret white father revengeplot triple-rugpull? human nagini?? secret undead dumbledore brother raised by american evangelicals???). i like the idea of it very much. i'm honestly drawn to it as a creative space, because unlike TCC, there is potential there. it's just badly abused.

[dododan]

Forgotten Perseverance - Chapter 5

Masterpost

Prologue Previous Next

Gaster decided to take care of the injured girl. She seemed harmless, no matter if she was injured or not. If she did something, he would solve the problem himself.

By the way, Sans makes jokes at certain points in the story. Unfortunately, I don't know much about jokes, but I tried to convey his humour in the story somehow. I hope you will be understanding of his jokes.

I slept on the bed covered with a duvet. I had always been a light sleeper, so when I heard the door creak I open my eyes. In the doorway stood my father dressed in a white apron down to the ground. His typical work attire. Did I mention that Dad was a workaholic?  

He could go to the lab even on weekends and sit there until noon, and then home - as if that wasn't enough - he would bring paperwork.     

Sometimes he would sit with us, playing if he didn't have a project on his mind. Most of the time it was me who took care of Papyrus - we coloured together, did homework, played in the snow.     

I looked at my father with sleepy eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the watch on the dresser. The hands pointed to a few minutes past six.     

Dad walked over to my bed and sat down next to me. In turn, I managed to lean my back against the wall.     

"I would like you to take care of Papyrus and Katharina today," said father.     

Then I thought how he could ask me to do that. I was supposed to take care of a human who was a potential threat to us. I was furious with him and made no secret of it.     

"I don't understand why I should take care of her at all. If she doesn't die from her wounds the king will kill her," I replied coldly, without looking at my father.    

 Yes, I disrespected my father. I resented him for saving the human. I wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible from here.     

I felt my father's stern gaze on me. He didn't like my expression. Now that I look back on it, I don't blame him. I said terrible things.     

"Sans, I understand your concerns. I have similar ones myself, but the girl is injured. If something were to happen you would be able to handle her without a problem" replied father, standing up. "And as for the king, I am sure he will understand the situation. Maybe there is another solution than killing" He walked to the door, and was about to leave. "I hope that you will too." He added on his way out.     

How did I feel then?     

I was frustrated by it all. I didn't understand my father's actions and I was sure, although I didn't know the king personally at the time, that he would kill Katharina anyway.  I thought that he would have no mercy by having people take his children from him. I didn't take into account that the father as well as the king might have thought otherwise.    

I hated people because of what Bravery was like. I took into account only him despite the fact that people before him were not so wrong.     

Katharina gave me no reason to hate her, at first I could not accept that she was different. I had the blindfolds. I did not see the girl's fear. I only saw what I wanted to see.     

After my father left I settled down to sleep again. Paps got up around nine o'clock or even later at weekends, so I had plenty of time to make breakfast. 

Only thoughts swirled around my head not allowing me to sleep. My father's words hurt me to a certain extent. Even then I began to wonder if I was doing the right thing. I was too stubborn to admit to myself that the girl was not a threat.     

 I wrestled with my thoughts for a long time, and remorse wouldn't let me sleep. Maybe I had reacted too harshly?     

 I looked at my watch again. It indicated half past eight. Somehow I saw no point in continuing to sleep, or rather trying to. I crawled lazily out of bed. I sat down on its edge, stretching. My bones ached a few times. A new day had to begin.   

 ...    

 Dressed I went downstairs. Katharina was lying on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. She was asleep. I didn't even go up to her, but headed for the kitchen with the intention of making pancakes. Although it may come as a surprise I could cook. I didn't always dine at Grillbi's or his father Netsu's. I went to Netsu's bar occasionally. Usually when I didn't want to make meals.     

 I made breakfast quickly and efficiently. I also prepared a few more pancakes for Kath, but I did this out of remorse and a desire not to let his father down than out of concern.     

 By the time I finished it was getting to nine o'clock, so I headed to my brother's room to wake him up. I quickly found myself at Papyrus' bedroom, skipping up the stairs two steps at a time. I didn't even knock just opened the door wide, letting the light into the room. I heard quiet murmurs of displeasure. The room was illuminated by the faint glow of lamps from the corridor. The outlines of Paps' bed, desk and a few cupboards appeared in the darkness. I turned towards the window with the intention of letting in more light. However, something stopped me, more specifically the scattered books. I stumbled over them and landed on the floor with a bang.     

 Suddenly the light came on and I heard my brother's voice.    

 "What are you doing?" he asked, yawning.     

 "Educating myself," I said, standing up. It may not have been the joke of all time, but it was enough to make Paps nervous. Sometimes... Well, okay. I always made jokes to annoy him. Then he would pretend he wasn't amused by my jokes, trying to hold back a smile. I had a lot of fun in the process, seeing his poor efforts. He was then funnier than my rusks.     

 "They are awful!" announced Papyrus, getting up abruptly from the bed. I massaged my skull, heading towards the door.      

 "Since you're up, let's go to breakfast" I replied, opening the door. "I made pancakes." 

 At the word pancakes Papyrus was already in the corridor. My brother was even fond of pancakes with strawberry jam. They were a good way of getting Paps out of bed. I made them every other weekend. This one I decided to make an exception because of a recent rather unusual experience.    

 "Are you coming?" shouted Papyrus from the top of the stairs.  Well my little brother wasn't too quiet, so I figured he had also woken Katharina up with his morning screams.   

"Yes, just don't run up the stairs," I admonished him, leaving the room. As usual it was of no use, because after a while I heard him running down to the ground floor.  Like a pea against the wall... Going downstairs, I wondered when Papyrus would start listening to me. The paradox was that if he had listened to me and stayed at home, I would have done something to Katharina that I might have regretted later. To think that by my brother's disobedience we had saved this girl's life.     

"SANS! Hurry!" Pap shouted  from the kitchen. As a kid he was always in a hurry to go somewhere, especially to breakfast. 

"Put out the plates and I'll wake up our guest," I replied.     

Paps and I had been behaving terribly loudly for some time, and the girl didn't even react. A normal person would have woken up some time ago, but she was still asleep. Either she was in such a deep sleep or something is wrong. With this thought, I walked the distance between the stairs and the couch.     

Katharina was lying on the couch covered up to her head with a blanket. I couldn't see her face because her hair was covering it. Something didn't feel right here.     

"Hey, get up" I crouched down by the sofa. I brushed a few strands off her forehead. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a strange grimace and her cheeks were slightly flushed. As if that wasn't enough she was breathing fast with a slight effort. "Are you all right? " 

"C-cold" she said with difficulty, covering herself with the blanket. I touched her forehead. She had a fever and a high one at that.     

"F$ck" I said briefly. Fever and chills boded badly, especially in a person whose body I knew nothing about.     

"SANS! What are you doing?" Papyrus asked, looking out of the kitchen. I looked at him. I must have looked worried because he responded immediately. - Big brother, what's going on? " 

"I need to call my dad" I said, standing up. I walked over to the cabinet by the other side of the couch. I reached for the phone, dialing the number for Dad's lab. "Kath has a fever. " 

I heard three beeps... Nothing... I called the number again... Nothing... I was annoyed. My father didn't answer. He probably didn't hear the ringtone, muted it. I couldn't wait. I had to do something. I gave the phone to Paps and told him to dial the number until it rang. Bro listened to me, and in the meantime I went running to the kitchen. Katharina had a high fever, so it had to be brought down somehow. The only thing that came to my mind was ice. I took a towel and took the ice out of the freezer. I wrapped my ankles in the towel, heading towards the living room. I put the compress on the girl's forehead. I didn't know what to do next. I didn't have the faintest idea what could be wrong with her. This... I knew a lot about anatomy, I may not have been a top student, but I knew the basics. But as far as people were concerned I knew absolutely nothing, maybe some residual information. There wasn't much of that. All I could do was sit and wait for my father to kindly tear himself away from his work.      

Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long for an answer. As soon as my father picked up Paps handed me the phone. I walked away from him a piece. If it turned out that she was going to die I wanted to relieve him of that somehow. I surprised myself that I cared about her after all. Papyrus took an instant liking to this girl. Somehow at the time I did not want to contribute to her death.     

"What is it, son?" asked the father quickly. From the background I heard some calling, shouting... I was surprised. Dad didn't like working in a hectic environment.     

"Dad, are you OK?" I asked uncertainly. What was going on there?   

"Sans, if you were just calling for...." he didn't finish because he was interrupted by a bang, and after a while I heard the screams of Doctor Resma. She was a cat-like monster with bluish fur. She also worked as my father's subordinate together with Mr Timo the human-like green monster and Dr Tarel, who was a big white head.     

There were other scientists working in the lab in Hotland, but these monsters belonged to my dad's team of royal scientists. Ah... I would almost skip Saere. The young monster looked like a pink lizard with no arms. She mostly wore plaid shirts. She was, as Ms Resma put it, "a person with potential", so it was no surprise that she became her assistant.... And she was only three years older than me!      

Good! Let's better get back to the story before I lose the thread.    

After the situation at my father's had quietened down for a short while, he came back to me. "Son, we have a little problem here and if it's nothing important.... "  

"Katharina has a high fever and chills" I interrupted my father. He fell silent. On the other side I could only hear the sounds of running and someone's calls. After a short while, my father answered me.    

"Sans, listen to me. Try to bring her fever down. You have to make sure that her temperature doesn't exceed 40 degrees and that it doesn't drop too much," my father said calmly, but I could sense the uncertainty in his voice. I didn't know what was wrong with her and I was in no way reassured by my father's statement. "I will try to come back as soon as possible. " 

"OK, I'll take care of her" I looked at the girl and at Paps standing next to her. She really didn't look well. "But what's wrong with her?"    

"Sepsis" that's all I heard in reply. I didn't really understand what he meant. Paps must have realised that I didn't know what it was, because after a while he added. - I will explain it to you later.     

After that he hung up, and there was nothing left for me to do but follow his advice and wait. I put the phone down on the table and sat down on the floor next to the sofa. Papyrus was sitting close to Kath, watching her with a worried face. As soon as I sat down it was Paps who looked at me, anticipating any response.     

"Dad said we should do her compresses and he'll try to get back as soon as possible,' I said scratching the back of my skull." But something happened in the lab, so I don't know how long it will take him.     

The youngster said nothing but returned his gaze to the girl. You could read from Papyrus like an open book. He cared about the girl and wanted to help her somehow, but he didn't know how. I felt sorry for him. That sad look on his face made me feel guilty, even though I had not contributed to the girl's illness in any way. Maybe the very realisation that I wanted her to die made my conscience seize up.     

"Bro, don't worry," I said, and Paps looked at me. "'I'm sure our father will help her. He is a royal scientist after all "  

A small smile began to appear on my little brother's face, which after a while turned into a big grin, and his eyes flashed orange.     

"You're right! Father manages everything," he said, standing up abruptly. I shuddered at his impulsiveness. "I can help too!"  

He said and ran to the floor. He skipped up a few steps at a fast pace and disappeared behind the door of his room. I stared at him the whole time, wondering what had hatched in that little skull of his. I soon found out, because just a few minutes later he was standing next to the sofa, holding a teddy bear - his favourite mascot - in his hands. He had received it when he was less than two years old from his father. He slept with it every night. He surprised me by bringing it. 

"Mr Candy supported me when I was ill, so Kath will help too," Papyrus said proudly, puffing out his chest proudly. I smiled. Paps could be really corny at times like this. And how could anyone not like him?    

My bro placed the toy next to the girl's head. The plushie's head tilted slightly, peeling against the armrest of the sofa.  Paps sat down next to the girl on the sofa. I looked at him and suddenly, as if someone had cracked a whip, I remembered my breakfast. I had also forgotten about my hunger. But now he was making himself known with redoubled force.    

"Papy, there's no point in both of us sitting here. You'd better go have breakfast," I said to my brother. He immediately got up without stammering and went to the kitchen.     

I thought he would eat there, but my brother can surprise. He came into the living room with a plate of pancakes in one hand, and in the other he held the plates, and on them stood the jam.     

I smiled slightly. Sometimes my brother could surprise me. He sat down next to me on the floor and we ate pancakes together. In the meantime, I changed Kath's wrap.     

"Sans, will you get me some water?" asked the teenager weakly.  

"Sure, I'm coming," I said, getting up.    

When I was in the kitchen I heard Papyrus talking to the girl. I could mostly hear my brother. Kath was probably nodding weakly.    

I picked up a glass and poured water into it. I was back in the living room with the water when the door swung open abruptly, letting the cold wind in. I looked together with Paps in that direction.   

"Daddy!" said Paps, running up to his father.   

Paps had just managed to close the door when the youngster hugged him.  

"Yes, Papyrus I'm happy to see you too," said his father, hugging Paps. "And now we'll take care of Katharina," added the father, looking at me.    

Papyrus moved away from dad, and he followed me into the living room. Katharina, who until then had not reacted to anything, raised her head with an effort. However, she immediately lowered it. With her fever and general weakness, even this was too much effort for her.    

Gaster approached her, putting his briefcase down next to the sofa.  

"How are you feeling?" He asked, crouching down beside her. "Where are you in pain?" 

The girl did not really respond to her father's words. The fever must have been tormenting her.    

After a while Papyrus stood up, looking for something in his bag.  

"Papyrus bring a medical bag, not a first aid bag," said the father, without even looking at him.    

Paps immediately ran upstairs to his father's office. I didn't understand what his purpose was when Paps took a syringe and a vial with a strange substance out of the bag after a while.  

"What is this?" I asked. "And why did you make him go upstairs?" 

"These are antibiotics," said my father calmly, pushing the clear liquid with the syringe. "And I have something strengthening in my medical bag" he added, checking for air in the syringe."Can you help me?" I nodded. "Roll up her shirt sleeve"  

I did as he instructed and it was over. Literally a moment later Papyrus ran down the stairs carrying a first aid kit in his hands. Bro placed it on the table where the plates still stood.   

"Paps, go wash the plates," I said to him. Surprisingly he took them without the slightest objection. This was completely unlike him. Perhaps he was beginning to be responsible?    

At this time my father took another substance out of the medical bag. It was a strange green colour. I don't know if I thought it, but this substance was flickering.  

"Are you administering magic to her?" I asked. "Will this not harm her?" 

"As perceptive as ever" said the father, handing Katharina the medicine. "Magic does not harm people. Now people have residual amounts of magic in them. They used to have more of it, but over the years they have forgotten how to use it. Increasing the concentration of magic will help purify her blood." 

"Why should it purify her blood? Is it related to that sepsis you mentioned earlier?" I asked. At the time I didn't know much, or rather at all, about the human body. I didn't know how magic was supposed to help her.   

My father put the syringe back in the medicine cabinet. Only now did I see what he looked like. He was wearing a slightly smeared apron and in some places it was torn. This sight heightened my growing sense of curiosity. What had happened in the laboratory? However, I doubted he would answer me now, if at all.  

"Sepsis is a bacterial or viral infection of the blood. With all sorts of infections, microorganisms enter the bloodstream. If the body cannot cope with them there is a general infection of the body," the father explained. "Sometimes it occurs in monsters with corporeal shells, but it does not occur in skeletons."  

"I guess sepsis can't get under our skin," I said.   

Father looked at me, smiling slightly. After a moment Papyrus ran into the room with a large bag. He placed it next to father on the table. Dad opened it and looked through some vials of medicine. I didn't really know what was in them.    

I preferred not to disturb my father, so I took Papyrus upstairs. Little brother had to do his homework eventually. It was a bit difficult to drag him away, but his father's support helped.   

We sat together in my brother's room. We were doing maths homework. As Papyrus put it the greatest bane of the Underground. He simply hated it, even though he did well in it.   

After an hour we were down to the last assignment. However, there was one thing that did not give me peace of mind. And that was Katharina. I didn't mean her health. That was a completely different tale. I was more concerned with what would happen to her now. Would she stay with us? I didn't know anything yet at the time.    

Although by then I had already started to have doubts.    

She may have been with us for less than two days, but she had done nothing to make me worry, even though she was unconscious most of the time. Above all, her father had decided to take her in himself. He wouldn't do something like that if Kath was dangerous. And then something came to my mind. King Asgore.   

I jumped off the chair like a scalded man.  

"What happened to you?" asked a confused Paps.   

"I just remembered something" I said, walking towards the door. "I need to talk to dad" I added opening the door. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the youngster make a victory gesture. Oh it's not that easy with me. "Finish this task and I'll check it later" I said closing the door. I didn't even have to turn around because I knew he wasn't happy about it.    

I went down the stairs. The father was no longer with the teenager. Instead, she was standing next to her with an IV. I thought she was probably in the kitchen and I was not mistaken. Dad was sitting at the table, drinking coffee.  

"Her condition had improved. She'll recover in a few days" Gaster said as soon as I entered the room. I wanted to say that he was wrong.... But he was right. I silently pushed back my chair and sat down. Gaster took another sip of coffee. I ostensibly wanted to ask him how the King thing was going, but I didn't want it to come out that I was worried about it. I guess he guessed that I had no small problem with it, because after a moment of silence he added. "I spoke to the king. I told him the situation. And he agreed that the girl could stay with us...."  

"But? " 

The father sighed heavily. You could see that this matter was bothering him terribly.   

"If she does something suspicious then..." He fell silent. Father looked at me. He was anxious. "I am then to solve the problem" he finished grimly.   

I knew what he meant. He meant that he would have to be the one to kill Katharina. Yes father had killed a man before. It was Bravery, but it was in self-defence. Two completely different things. I don't know if Father could ever kill a defenceless person.   

After that we both didn't speak. We felt quite uncomfortable in the situation. However, the silence was broken by Paps' loud voice coming from the living room.  

"And how are you feeling Katharina?"   

"A little better" I barely heard her.  

Paps got up and moved towards the living room. After a while I followed his footsteps. Kath was sitting on the sofa, tightly wrapped in a blanket. She was still pale and her cheeks were flushed, but she was conscious. She smiled weakly at the sight of her father.  

"Good morning," she replied.   

"It is good to see that you are feeling better" said the father, smiling slightly. I leaned against the door frame. I preferred to watch them from a distance.   

"YES! Mr Candy certainly helped you with taht!" replied Papyrus, sitting down next to the girl. Quite quickly she realised that he was talking about the teddy bear that was lying next to her. She took it in her hands, hugging it.  

"You're right, his help was indispensable," she said.  

"NYEH HEH HEH"   

Eh... That's when I really started to doubt my rationale. Thanks to her, Papyrus is smiling. The father is at home. He's not trying to get home at all costs. I seriously didn't know what to think about her. Maybe I should give her a chance? After all, her father did, and he couldn't be wrong.    

I walked slowly over to the couch.  

"Are you hungry?" I asked, leaning with my hands against the back of the sofa.  

She turned to me. She was looking straight at me with those violet eyes of hers. For a moment I thought they shone.  

" I'm sorry, but I'm not hungry just Katharina" she said smiling slightly. Well... I have to admit that I didn't expect something like this. Either she's trying to befriend me or.... And let my suspicions run wild! I laughed along with my father, and Papy, as Papy does, scoffed.  

"DAD! SANS INFECTED KATHARINA WITH A BAD SENSE OF HUMOUR!"    

I couldn't stand it and neither could my father and Kath. We laughed and Paps, even more upset, got up abruptly from the sofa and started stomping his foot.    

This sight was really disjointed. It was only after a good minute that we calmed down.  

"OK, now for the serious stuff," Paps began, heading towards the kitchen. "He'll take care of dinner. " 

I sat down next to them on the sofa, taking the remote control in my hand.  

"Then why don't we watch something?" I asked, turning on the TV.   

"YES! HOW ABOUT 'MR ARIS AND HIS FRIENDS'?" suggested the youngster.   

Kath just shrugged her shoulders. I didn't care either, so we turned on 'Mr Aris and His Friends'. A children's series about the adventures of a monster dog and his friends. One of the few series that flew on Underground Television. Yes, we had a studio in Hotland, but.... There weren't many people willing to run programmes. There were a few cooking programmes, science programmes and children's cartoons. We also created fake films that went underground. You're probably familiar with 'A Christmas Story'? In ours, instead of Ebenezer Scrooge, there is a spider called Sting Y. Freak. The story was the same as the original, but the names of the characters were changed. And there was no connection to religion. There were a few more films like this e.g. Lone Alone at Home.    

But there was still an anime broadcast. It had different stories depending on the genre, so there was something for everyone. There weren't many of them flying on TV, because you had to find a whole season on the Dump and see if it worked. One of the anime I happened to watch was 'Sailor Moon'. A story about a girl who turns into a moon heroine and saves the world from evil. This one... I only watched one episode, not even to the end. In my opinion it was too girly.    

Coming back to the rest of the day, it passed in a nice, friendly atmosphere. My father prepared broth for dinner. Although he cooked infrequently, the soup turned out well. We watched some more television. We talked about everything from TV programmes to interesting books.    

I didn't even notice when it was evening. There was some kind of adventure film on the TV, I don't remember much what kind. I was already tired. I looked at my brother. He was sleeping cuddled up with Kath and she was cuddled up with him. It was a really sweet sight.  

"I'd better take him to bed," my father said, turning off the TV.   

When Dad put Paps down in his bed, he stopped in the doorway of my room. I looked up at him. My eye sockets were closing from exhaustion. I had the feeling that I could fall asleep standing up.    

"I'm proud of you son" my father said, closing my bedroom door.    

This really made me swoon. Dad said he was proud of me. In that moment I felt happy. I know he loved me, but he rarely said such words to me. THAT made me happy. Maybe giving this girl a chance isn't such a bad idea? I thought, going to bed.