#i'm kind of horrified
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somebody help i got my wisdom teeth out yesterday and now bits of my gums keep falling out
#it only happened twice so far#and they were itty bitty#but still??#this is affecting my ocd enough as it is#like this is a fears-being-realized kind of thing that might seriously fuck me up if i'm being honest#rn i'm like.... kind of chill about it?#but i can feel the instability lurking underneath#i have a feeling i might wake up tomorrow morning like#....#you know#anyway#point is#MY FUCKING GUMS ARE FALLING OFF#i feel a bit of thing on my tongue and i'm like#i haven't eaten recently#what's that#and then it's just FLESH#so#i'm kind of horrified#do i talk to the dentist about this or am i overreacting?#bc i know i have a tendency to blow things like this up#you know. with the mental illness#but likeeee this feels like an actual thing#but idk#arhhhhhh#boink
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Too angry to get into it rn but it's important.
Guy on the street was catcalling a lady. I told him, "come on man, it's 2023, don't do that, have some fuckin' class."
He told me, "It's a compliment. I compliment everyone. I was telling her she's beautiful. You aren't being very beautiful right now, though."
We argued. I realized I wasn't gonna get through to him and it was a drop in the bucket anyway. Started walking away.
He yelled after me, "by the way, you're beautiful!" All grinning and smug, like he'd won something. Like I'm just some poor jealous hag bitter from lack of compliments, and not a human being.
Incredible that he didn't seem to get it, even as he was proving the point.
If I'm ugly when I'm unpleasant, and I'm beautiful when it gives you power over me. It's not a compliment, it's dominance.
ā” Terfs and radfems fuck off, by the way ā”
#I'm okay with my appearance#And being beautiful in our society gives all kinds of privilege#But sometimes I wonder if I'd be happier if I looked horrifying
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i've been thinking about exactly why people portraying one of the other crew members successfully killing Jimmy as a "for what you did to Anya" kind of thing rubs me the wrong way a bit and it's because like..... this is just another form of taking agency away from Anya, in a way. it's kind of framing her as some meek, shivery woman-thing who's entirely at the mercy of the men around her, either to hurt her or save her.
(i understand these are mostly for wish fulfillment on the audience's behalf because everyone would like to see Jimmy pay for his crimes. whether or not this is the intention of the person writing it isn't really relevant, characterization happens with or without intent. i feel like it misses the point by portraying it as an 'ideal ending'.)
because... Anya is a capable person. she takes things into her own hands when she can. it was partially(?) her idea to get into the cargo,
(before he interrupts her.. remember when she interrupted Curly in the dead pixel segment?)
it was her idea to get the code scanner from the cockpit,
it was her idea to get the medication from behind the foam.
(the chance to do these things herself is not given to her.)
she'd been keeping Curly alive for months in a critical state somehow, her psych evaluations at the start are only so useless because Jimmy refuses to take it/her seriously and Curly is obviously biased when he puts it into his own hands. he's known him a long time, like he said. "I'll just put good for that one."
there's not a lot of material to work with because of how the game is framed, but it's there. we are working with two very biased perspectives and neither one lends Anya what she deserves
there's significant changes in how she speaks post- and pre- crash, and depending on who she happens to be talking to. i recommend re-reading her dialogue, because the difference is drastic
she acts the way she does around Jimmy because he has tangibly done horrible things to her, is actively hostile, and physically could not escape him by any means. she can't take away Curly's agency herself, in my eyes. you have to remember that Especially in the post-crash segments of the game, it's entirely from Jimmy's POV, and he obviously does not (and has never) thought very highly of her or treated her with a shred of respect
i've seen a general idea that she can't bear to hurt other people for any reason, but that doesn't really track to me. this is the real point of the post by the way
it seems based on the parts where she says she struggles to give Curly medication. "It just hurts him so much, I can't stand the noise." "It makes me nauseous."
it's not really the same thing as, say, hurting someone in self defense
this sounds like she did want the gun itself. this never felt worded like someone who would refuse to, at very least, threaten Jimmy with a gun, with violence. if she had been given the agency to make that decision on her own. she wasn't though
she still tries to reclaim some of it even as she's denied it
by the end she's still trying to keep that gun out of his hands
i think some people overly soften her, for similar reasons the game itself is trying to comment on. she's not a tender victim who couldn't cause pain to another out of the softness of her soul, she's a person who's had every last bit of agency ripped from her repeatedly until she couldn't take it anymore. that's the point. that's why framing her that way, "needing" someone to save her, is odd to me
she didn't need Curly to save her, she needed him to take responsibility
she didn't want to escalate things, but she's not an idiot. self defense was absolutely on her mind
but who knows im just saying shit *smiles serenely*
#dib noise#mouthwashing#sorryyyyyyyyy lol#i will defend you anya o7#its been fun to roll this game around in my brain. gives me something to do#long post#could be reaching though. it's unfortunate so much of her screentime is hammering home how poorly jimmy regards her#or her being scared/nervous in his presence#or trying to placate him#yes i know that's the point#are my feelings on how anya is treated by the the characters the fans and the game itself weirdly personal? yeah sorry#unfortunately i do think they didn't get the anya parts as solidly as the rest but oh well#everything has flaws#i've gone through a playthrough of this game like 10 times for this#you KNOW im sourcing my claims!!#not really an attack on the people who made the stuff i mentioned at the start#more of a commentary on how they relate with the source material itself#yes yes i know giving a crewmate a lethal weapon is probably not the best idea to curly#does that make this situation any less horrifying?#remember: these aren't real people. everything they do was written on purpose for a reason#i still need to write down my general thoughts on the game as a whole..#also not about one specific person post image writing ect it's a collection of things and ideas thrown onto one post#I'm not any good at ending posts like thase it kind of devolves by yhe end but thats ok
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Thank you. I'm sorry.
[First]Ā PrevĀ <ā->Ā Next
#poorly drawn mdzs#mdzs#wei wuxian#jin guangyao#lan wangij#jin ling#LWJ shifting into fight mode was so damn cool. He is always ready to start throwing hands.#It's in a way that befits someone with a bit more bloodlust that his calm demeanor lets on - but nearly always in defense of someone.#What a great synergy with his personal philosophies! see that he is a Genuinely Noble Guy time and time again!#Is is also way more hilarious and unhinged than most people give him credit for? Also yes.#Nothing and no one ever said he did not or would not rip off JGY's hat mid-fight. I think LWJ needs to snatch more wigs LITERALLY.#Yes I'm delaying the part where I have to address the emotional turmoil of Jin Ling stabbing wwx. It gutted me terribly.#What is worse that realizing that someone you respected has done horrible things#than discovering someone who did horrible things being a kind and trustworthy person?#What is more horrifying that realizing other people are extremely complex and cannot be categorized into black and white?#When people hurt us or our loved ones we very much want to make them out to be irredeemable monsters. But they are not.#It is not actually such a terrible fate to just be a person. To be forgiven and forgive is possible. To change is possible.#This lesson is hard. It is something you have to actively challenge yourself to do. Black and white is the innate path to go down.#And its *why* I love Jin Ling so much. He is the character who fights the longest and hardest to challenge social and personal beliefs#He gets a pass for stabbing wwx for being so deliciously conflicted and tormented by it.#And with wrists THAT limp I can't imagine the wound was particularly deep
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It's weirdly funny to me that the cynical princess is the one who nicknames you "hero"
#Slay the princess#Stp#Art#The shifting mound#I like the princess' design#I'm not sure how intentional some of it is but#She seems like a 'generic' princess at first glance#But from certain shots you can tell her eyes are a bit too big for her face#Her teeth are sharp#Her outfit kind of looks like a costume (that might just be me)#And less horrifying details#She looks tired and kind of disheveled#There's visual bags under her eyes#Idk I like it#Tumblr keeps making the photo blurry. Sigh
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THE NEWSREADER | 1x01 "Three, two, one..."
#sorry this is very long i could not bear to cut the captain's salute#the newsreader#thenewsreaderedit#helen norville#helendale#dale jennings#a scene that completely changed my expectations of who helen was as a character bc based on gifs i thought she would be much more closed of#kind of the typical girlboss bad bitch american version of her#but then. THEN.#the way she reacts to dale's earnestness. the surprise and the acceptance of help. the way she immediately embraces him as part of her life#the way she never stops being on his side from this point on!!!!! she said I'm loyal and meant it with her whole soul!!#when she teaches him and builds him up professionally but it's never about control vs. the horrifying way she was controlled in her career#helen norville i love you so much im sorry for everything bad thats ever happened to you. im killing all men in my mind
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#fĆ«anor#maedhros#my art#silmarillion#the brainrot continues i'm afraid. yes i'm aware of how much feanor&maedhros stuff i've drawn and written here in the past couple of weeks#i too am horrified. not surprised though#fĆ«anor & maedhros#why so many floral ornaments on their clothes? they're noldor! you might ask. and you would be completely right#i have no idea what i'm doing#i have a very limited fantasy i just copy the ornaments from whatever clothed i find on pinterest and like#i DON'T enjoy thinking ohhh what kind of clothes and ornaments would these characters wear if we take into account their culture and the we#ther (which we know nothing about) their individual personalities their character arcs and symbolism the parallels between them and the oth#r characters. i DON'T care!!!!! and i can't just leave their clothes unadorned. so here we are#i say if the clothes match the characters vibe ā great amazing good lovely. if they don't ā fantastic splendid beautiful wonderful
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I've been thinking about the tragedy of Elizabeth Woodville living to see the end of her family name.
I don't mean her family with her husband, which lived on through her daughter and grandson. I mean her own.
Her sisters died, one by one, many of them after 1485. When Elizabeth died, only Katherine was left, and she would die before the turn of the century as well.
All her brothers died, too. Lewis died in childhood. John was executed. Anthony was murdered. Lionel died suddenly in the peak of Richard's reign, unable to see his niece become queen. Edward perished at war. Richard died in grieving peace. For all the violence and judgement the family endured, it was "an accident of biology" that ended their line: none of the brothers left heirs, and the Woodville name was extinguished. We know the family was aware of this. We know they mourned it, too:
āBuy a bell to be a tenor at Grafton to the bells now there, for a remembrance of the last of my blood.ā
Elizabeth lived through the deposition and death of her young sons, and lived to see the end of her own family name. It must have been such a haunting loss, on both sides.
#(the quote is by Richard Woodville in his deathbed will; he was the last of the Woodville brothers to die)#elizabeth woodville#woodvilles#my post#to be clear I am not arguing that the death of an English gentry family name is some kind of giant tragedy (it absolutely the fuck is not)#I'm trying to put it into perspective with regards to what Elizabeth may have felt because we know her family DID feel this way#writing this kinda reminded me of how I am just not fond at all about the way Elizabeth's experiences in 1483-85 are written about#and the way lots so many of the unprecedentedly horrifying aspects are overlooked or treated so casually:#the seizure and murder of two MINOR sons and the illegal execution of another;#her sheer vulnerability in every way compared to all her queenly predecessors; how she was harassed by 'dire threats' for months;#how she had 5 very young daughters with her to look after at the time (Bridget and Katherine were literally 3 and 4 years old);#how unprecedented Richard's treatment of her was: EW was the first queen of england to be officially declared an adulteress;#and the first and ONLY queen to be officially accused of witchcraft#(Joan of Navarre was accused of her treason; she was never explicitly accused of witchcraft on an official level like EW was)#the first crowned queen of england to have her marriage annulled; and the first queen to have her children officially bastardized#what former queens endured through rumors* were turned into horrifying realities for her.#(I'm not trying to downplay the nightmare of that but this was fundamentally on a different level altogether)#nor did Elizabeth get a trial or appeal to the church. like I cannot emphasize this enough: this was not normal for queens#and not normal for depositions. ultimately what Richard did *was* unprecedented#and of course let's not forget that Elizabeth had literally just been unexpectedly widowed like 20 days before everything happened#I really don't feel like any of this is emphasized as much as it should be?#apart from the horrifying death of her sons - but most modern books never call it murder they just write that they 'disappeared'#and emphasize that ACTUALLY we don't know what happened to them (this includes Arlene Okerlund)#rather than allowing her to have that grief (at the very least)#more time is spent dealing with accusations that she was a heartless bitch or inconsistent intriguer for making a deal with Richard instead#it also feels like a waste because there's a lot that can be analyzed about queenship and R3's usurpation if this is ever explored properly#anyway - it's kinda sad that even after Henry won and her daughter became queen EW didn't really get a break#her family kept dying one by one and the Woodville name was extinguished. and she lived to see it#it's kinda heartbreaking - it was such a dramatic rise and such a slow haunting fall#makes for a great story tho
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this idea for a fic has been kicking around my brain and refusing to let me rest so here's my attempt at getting it out so the bees can leave me alone.
~
Will's voice was a weapon, sharp and commanding as it sliced through the air. Stop right there," he said, his gaze intense as he pinned Hannibal with a look that brooked no argument. "Donāt lie to me."
He watched closely, almost hungrily, as Hannibalās mask of composure slipped. It was a mere moment, a flicker of something hungry and unguarded that danced across the psychiatrist's face as his meticulous person suit slipped just an inch. The dilation of Hannibal's pupils, a tightness around his jawāsubtle, yet unmistakably a reaction.
"Oh, you like that?" Willās words slipped out, almost without permission, tinted with a darker, more dangerous curiosity. He savored the slight falter in Hannibalās stance, the way his usual poised demeanor wavered under scrutiny.
Hannibal attempted to regain control, his voice smooth but slightly strained. "Will, I think you misreadā"
"No, I donāt think I did." Will stepped closer, once again denying Hannibal his obfuscations and cutting off the distance, his words a clear no to any form of retreat. "And I just told you not to lie."
The reaction was immediate. Hannibal swallowed, his gaze flitting across Will's face, perhaps seeking either escape or permission. "Youļæ½ļæ½ve always had an effect on me, Will. I admire everything you do, as long as itās true to your nature."
Feeling a surge of power at the raw honesty, Will took another deliberate step, reducing the space to just a breath away. His voice was softer now, a menacing whisper, "Even if itās in my nature to control you?"
He watched the visible shudder that ran through Hannibal, the breath that hitched a bit too loudly. It was exhilarating, this visible sign of Hannibalās composure crumbling, an acknowledgment of the dynamic that Will had always suspected existed between them but had never dared to explore.
"I didnāt mean to seduce you so soon, but I can make it work," Will mused, leaning in closer, forcing Hannibal back against the wall. He could now see, unmistakably, the arousal in Hannibalās eyes, the quickening of his breath. It was intoxicating, the power, the control, the undeniable rush of answering arousal that coursed through him, knowing he had Hannibal right there, on the edge.
Hannibal looked back at him, his expression a mix of shock and that darker, deeper allure they seldom spoke of. "Willā"
"Tell me about the betrayal, Hannibal," Will cut in, his tone steady, one hand coming to rest against the wall by Hannibal's temple. He needed to hear it, needed to understand, even as he navigated this charged, dangerous game they were playing. "Why did you do it? Why manipulate meāand everybody elseāso thoroughly and think there would be no repercussions?"
Hannibalās voice, when he finally spoke, was calm but thick with an emotion Will couldnāt quite place. "I wanted to see you liberated, Will. Free from the constraints you so blindly follow."
"And yet, here we are," Will shot back, his voice soft but deadly, other hand coming up to fully surround Hannibal with his body. "Youāre the one constrained. Does it feel liberating?"
Hannibalās response was to close the gap completely, pulling Will in so their bodies were flush from hip to chest. "Quid pro quo, Will. I have laid bare my truths. Now show me yours."
The direct challenge ignited something fierce within Will. He met Hannibalās gaze, his smirk widening. "If my truth involves dominating you, Hannibal, would you accept that as part of my nature?"
A faint smile touched Hannibalās lips as his composure began to rebuild. "I find my defenses quite...receptive to your advances."
"Good," Will breathed out, a curl of satisfaction unfurling within him. This was just the beginning, a new dynamic unfurling, and he was eager to see where it would lead. "Because Iām just getting started."
#god i can already tell this is liable to turn into a full length fic HELP#i'm horrified that i might actually have to come up with plot#please please please be kind#hannibal#hannigram#hannigram fic#will graham#hannibal lecter#murder husbands#nbc hannibal#mads mikkelsen#hugh dancy#hannigram fanfiction#dom will graham#sub hannibal lecter#because obviously#gracie writes hannigram
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I've been reading Dungeon Meshi. I'm almost caught up to where the are in the show, and I haven't been able to get this quote out of my head in regards to Laios and Marcille:
This is about the lengths Marcille using black magic and a dragon corpse to resurrect Falin. This is about the party eating monsters. This is about them hanging that man in chapter 2 so that his body could be found by corpse retrievers.
This is about how others react to this knowledge. Especially, this is about how people react to Laios. Maybe he's just an easy target - he doesn't hide what his party is doing, he isn't ashamed, he doesn't know how to mask - maybe it's that hes the leader, the one who's ordering all this to happen.
We the readers know Laios' true motivations - love and passion - so its funny when people like Kabru assume hes some kind of villain. Laios? That guy?? Of course he isn't a villain, how silly it is to even suggest that he might be!
But like, taking a step back, forgetting that his motivations are sympathetic, it's easy to understand why others might think that he's dangerous. He is dangerous. Not because he's the strong, not because he's smart, but because when he sets his eyes on a goal, he gets it done. No matter what stands in his way.
#i'm on chapter 29btw. if you care.#dungeon meshi#laios touden#dungeon meshi analysis#i'm just saying this is a really good villain origin story#or antihero#laios and marcille have transcended the need for petty things like 'morality' and 'the law'#and we love them because we agree with their motivations.#but if you dont think theyre justified its kind of horrifying to watch
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Something that never fails to crack me up is when I'm speaking English and insert a single German word into the sentence but I forget to change my accent, so I accidentally say the German word with a strong American accent instead of my typical Germanish accent.
I bought some vegan Quark today and told somebody "I'm going to try this Quark" except I pronounced it "quark", as in, quark-gluon plasma. And I'm still giggling about it hours later. I am easily amused.
#but still not as bad as the time i said 'bildungsgutschein' with absolutely zero german accent#i horrified myself as i heard it coming out of my own mouth#'yeah i'm thinking about doing a BILL-dngs-GOOT-shine' oh god it was a bad moment#german stuff#german#i laughed. i cried. etc.#cosmo gyres#my kind of humor#linguistic humor
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it's kind of like insanely isolating that literally every aspec or "ace & aro" space I've found has been in actuality, solely for aces. perhaps arospec aces or aroaces who entirely prioritize their asexuality could also find company there, but even as an aromantic person who is also asexual, they're really not intended for me. so I can only imagine how isolating it must be if you're aromantic and allosexual
#I went to this aspec club on campus last fallā and cliquiness asideā they were literally talking about dating in there. like one guy was all#''I've been talking to this girl.... you think I should get her number?'' yada yada yada#like ok I guess this is just for asexuals then.#I can put up with hearing vague romance talk in other situations but in an allegedly 'aro and ace' club? nah fam#alsoā the first time I went (I gave up after the second meeting lol)ā we went around and introduced ourselves and then you could say what#kind of aspec you were if you wanted to#and everyone was saying asexualā with maybe 4 or 5 aroacesā and then when it got to me I said ''aromanticā probably asexual'' and they just#all looked at me weird#maybe I imagined that. I'm bad at reading expressions#but cmon. imagine if I'd said aro straight or aro gay or smth#anyway I really do not like how the aspec community as a whole prioritizes asexuality over aromanticism#partially it's likely bc asexual used to mean aroace before the SAM was a thing#but I think its also bc people can imagine going without sex in a relationship (although they may conflate it with celibacy) (and not to say#people treat alloaces well at all lol)#(but the idea of someone eschewing romance entirelyā whether they (want to) have sex or notā is still widely horrifying or confusing or#scary to many people. including other queer people and including asexual people#)#I'd make my tag rant into an actual post if I was sure I could word it right lol#aro#aromantic#aroallo#aroace#non sam aro#o.
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youāve mentioned a few times in your meta that you view nmj as being hypocritical, and iām inclined to agree with you! would you share some specific quotes from the text that you feel especially support this reading of his character? š
It is one of my favourite words to apply to him, isnāt it! I think thatās because a) itās true, and b) NMJās reputation for righteousness (and his belief in his own righteousness) grant an in-universe illusion of consistency that often bleeds through to external readings of him. So I press the point, because itās fundamental to his character and I usually see it elided or reduced to all-bark-and-no-bite-grumpy-bear-with-a-heart-of-gold fanon NMJ.
And oh yes, thereās an absolute wealth of quotes supporting this. As always, I use the EXR fan translation because Iām old school.
Christ, this got long. Click for more.
Itās all relative, man
First we need to establish what NMJās principles supposedly are.
[Nie Huaisangās] brother, Nie Mingjue, was extremely resolute when carrying out orders, quite renowned in the cultivation world. [ā¦] Nie Mingjue had always taught his younger brother with extreme harshness, particularly caring for his studies. (Chapter 13)
[ā¦] he took over the Nie Sect before he even reached twenty, doing everything in a direct, forceful fashion. (Chapter 21)
When he lived, Nie Mingjue was often exasperated by the fact that his brother didnāt meet expectations, so he disciplined him strictly. (Chapter 21)
In spite of Nie Mingjue being a junior to Jin Guangshan, he conducted himself in a strict manner and refused to tolerate Xue Yang no matter what. (Chapter 30)
Without any hesitation, Nie Mingjue scolded, āDrinking the water he brought you while speaking such spiteful words! Did you join my forces not to kill the Wen-dogs but to make idle talk?!ā (Chapter 48)
āA proper man should carry himself with proud righteousness. Thereās no need to care for the talk of those idlers.ā (Chapter 48)
As we can see, NMJ is all about righteousness, but we donāt get too many details confirming what that righteousness entails. Weāre expected to make assumptions based on context: that his values are in line with the ideal values of his society, and that heās living his life according to those principles (and enforcing said principles on others).
This is worth keeping in mind. We know NMJ is ārighteousā. We know, in a general sense, what societal standards for morality are in this setting and we see the tension between societyās theoretical standards, its actual standards, and the moral frameworks of characters such as WWX and LXC. And thereās tension between those standards and NMJās moral framework, too. But though WWX attempts (and fails) to opt out and LXC attempts (and fails) to find a better way through open conversation and consideration of context, their failures are not due to hypocrisy but instead larger forces at play. In other words, they go up against society and society wins.
NMJ has a problem with society too, but for him the problem is not with its rules and assumptionsāitās with the individuals who make it up. He has no problem with the system. To NMJ, the system is a good thing. If only the people in it would rigidly conform to the rules, everything would be fine. And an outlook like that can only ever lead to hypocrisy, not just because human beings and their actions donāt fit into rigid categories, but because by not attempting to navigate the system (LXC, JGY, JC) or even attempting to opt out (WWX, LWJ, XY), NMJ positions himself above society, as a moral arbiter.
This is why he feels entitled to upbraid JGS, who is a generation above him. Itās why he feels entitled to harass and attempt to murder JGY for not being loyal to NMJ over and above his filial duty to his father. These actions are after heās reached the point of no return with the sabre spirit, yes, but they didnāt come out of nowhere. Itās just the nadir of a path heās been on presumably his entire life.
All the information is on the task
NMJ is very good at bending his supposedly rigid principles when itās convenient for him, while not offering any grace or understanding to others who do the same. And āothersā, letās be real, usually equates to JGY. The horror vortex of NMJās obsession with controlling JGY really cannot be escaped.
Letās start with the biggie. JGY is naturally the one who calls NMJ out, because heās the only one who can see the emperor has no clothes, and by clothes I mean leg to stand on.
āBut, Brother, I have always wanted to ask you somethingāthe lives under your hands are in any regard more than those under mine, so why is it that I only killed a few cultivators out of desperation and you keep on bringing it up, even until now?ā (Chapter 48)
āAre you saying that all of the people you killed deserved their deaths? [ā¦] Then, may I ask, just how do you decide if someone deserves death? Are your standards absolutely correct? If I kill one but save hundreds, would the good outweigh the bad, or would I still deserve death? To do great things, sacrifices must happen.ā (Chapter 48)
Chifeng-zun, my man, he has nailed you. The point is not to start drawing equivalences in quite the way JGY is doingāI would certainly argue that if youāre killing undeserving people for the greater good youād better have one hell of a greater good to be aiming for, even in the crapsack world of MDZS. JGYās argument is partly a numbers game, but I want to set that aside, because itās a distraction from his core point, to which numbers are irrelevant: can NMJ truly justify every single murder he has ever committed? Because if he canāt, heās condemned by his own supposed standards. Note JGYās use of the word āabsoluteā. NMJ is a moral absolutist! Is he absolutely sure? And if he is sure, does it matter that heās sure? Why is his certainty more important than anyone elseās?
NMJ never once grapples with these questions. If he did, he might be able to pull the teeth of his own hypocrisy by acknowledging it and engaging with it. But of course heās not capable of that, certainly not by the time of this scene.
And speaking of NMJās hypocrisy re: who does and doesnāt deserve to dieā¦
āVery well! Iāll kill myself after I kill you!ā (Chapter 49)
But Roquen, you cry! NMJ says such an utterly mad thing because heās battered and beaten and not thinking clearly, not to mention past the point of no return with the sabre spirit as heās been cultivating with resentful energy intensely throughout the war! Thatās why he walks it back after LXC intervenes!
To which I say: it is almost as though context matters!
And yes, Iām aware of the context. Iām aware that just before this bit of dialogue the narrative claims JGY pointing out āif I hadnāt killed them youād be deadā is a subtle way of saying āyou canāt kill me because you owe me your lifeā as though thatās purely manipulative rather than being, you know, true. āEven if you refuse to accept I acted for the best, please donāt kill me and Iām going to subtly remind you that you owe me to maximise my chances of getting you to not kill me (after I just risked my life to save yours when it would have been 100x better for me personally if you died)ā is hardly an outrageous position.
Itās interesting, though, isnāt it, that NMJ never again mentions taking his own life as a matter of principle, despite the fact that he subsequently attempts to murder JGY again for the apparently unforgivable crime of ā¦ not being able to overrule his abusive father about XY, and then having the temerity to complain to LXC about NMJās attempt to murder him.
Obviously the Jin are a huge threat after the war, but these are all pretty feeble reasons for piling on JGY. Sure, maybe JGY would also have tried to protect XY if JGS werenāt around, but the fact is that JGS is around and heās calling the shots. Besides, once JGS is out of the picture JGY has no issue disposing of XY (with Dr Evil levels of ineptness, apparently), so thatās a fairly decent indicator heās not ride or die. As for the fact that JGY is making nice to NMJās face but complaining behind his back, well. Regardless of any genuine desire to vent to his only friend, I have no doubt he was indeed trying to drive a wedge between NMJ and LXC as a strategic move. But is it wrong of him to do so, considering NMJ is a genuine and present threat to his life and LXC is just not getting it? And does any of the above, including his struggle to maintain his position and all the other work he does for his father mean he deserves deathāimmediate, extrajudicial and violent death?
Let me put it this way. NMJ is making JGY responsible for his fatherās actions and his fatherās ordersāthe question of whether JGY is on board with his fatherās instructions is academic, because he has no choice in the matter. JGY cannot opt out of his situation. The only opt out is death, and that is not a meaningful choice because no one else is getting vilified for having the audacity to fight for their place in their world rather than lie down and die. And even if JGY really were a cackling supervillain 100% on board with his fatherās diabolical plans, NMJās focus on him to the exclusion of JGS is driven by emotion and not by a rational evaluation of the morality and logistics of the situation.
And when heās insisting that JGY deserves death (and trying to mete it out to him) NMJ never again considers for a moment whether, if JGY really deserves to die, then maybe he does too.
As a third example, to make it a hat trick, we have this:
However, Jin Guangyao wasnāt his subordinate anymore. Only after they became sworn brothers would he have the status and the position to urge Jin Guangyao, like how he disciplined his younger brother, Nie Huaisang. (Chapter 49)
āBrother, it really was my fatherās orders. I couldnāt refuse. Now. if you want me to take care of Xue Yang, what would I say to him?ā (Chapter 49)
NMJ is perfectly aware that according to the rules of their society and the moral framework he himself subscribes to, JGYās highest authority is his father. But NMJ canāt accept that. He thinks he should be the ultimate authority over JGY, and though he couches it in moral terms about wanting JGY to follow the correct path, what he really means is what he himself considers to be the correct path. As always, he doesnāt listen to JGYās perfectly valid points about how itās not possible for him to do the ārightā thing as he just doesnāt have that kind of authority and will only end up making his own life worse. I donāt have a quote demonstrating this, but considering everything we know about NMJ, I think we can infer he would not take kindly to JGY ordering NHS to do something futile and self-destructive in the name of the correct path, purely on the grounds that JGY is now his elder brother.
Iāll acknowledge again that JGY is absolutely an accomplice in his fatherās schemes, and the originator of a fair few of them since heās politically gifted. But itās just not possible to untangle JGYās complicity from his need (and his right!) to survive. NMJ is correct to be concerned about JGY as a risk, because heās a huge asset to JGS. But once again, making JGY a target is not the moral or even the sensible thing to do. We know JGY enjoys aspects of what his father asks him to do. We also know that once his father is out of the picture he gets rid of XY, purges the Jin of corruption and pushes through the watchtower project. When he has agency as a clan leader he doesnāt follow his fatherās political agenda to the letter, to say the least! So there is certainly a large dollop of truth in his claims that he has no choice and heās unhappy and vulnerable.
And then a bonus, something not linked to JGY to demonstrate that NMJās hypocrisy extends beyond his personal vendetta.
Nie Mingjue spoke coldly. āIf she responded with only silence and not opposition when the Wen Sect was causing mayhem, itās the same as indifference. She shouldnāt have been so disillusioned as to hope that she could be treated with respect when the Wen Sect was doing evil and be unwilling to suffer the consequences and pay the price when the Wen Sect was wiped out.ā (Chapter 73)
Charming. Funny how NMJ says this after spending the war fighting on the same side as the guy who invented demonic cultivation and controls an army of desecrated corpses, violating every possible social and cultural principle they have. But the Sunshot Campaign would have failed without WWXās contributions, so I suppose NMJ thought that compromise was acceptable. Itās all right for him to stay silent and not oppose WWX, since WWX has been useful to his own agenda. Whatās not acceptable is staying silent when the consequence is your own violent death and literally no good whatsoever being achieved thereby.
Aside from being a hypocrite, NMJ is also pathologically incapable of self-reflection.
Finish him!
At the end of the day, NMJās principles are inherently contradictory because heās living in morally relative world where the narrative expects us to take context into account and root for a protagonist who brutally tortures his enemies to death and a romantic lead who find+replaces his ethical framework with āWei Yingā.
It is simply not possible for NMJ to be both righteous and rigid, so when he chooses to be rigid he foregoes being righteous. Even in his moments of flexibility, he continues to apply harsh standards to others that he refuses to apply to himself. Thatās what makes him a hypocrite. He isnāt a bastion of absolute morality in a sea of corruption. Heās in denial about the nuanced reality heās living in, and placing himself on high as a moral authority with no actual mandate. Hypocrisy inevitably results, and the consequences are hugely damaging to everyone around him.
#ask#thatswhatsushesaid#roquen meta#like i said he is FASCINATING#but in a horrifying kind of way#i should also sling in the tags a clarification#that i literally do not care that wwx has an army of desecrated corpses#i'm just pointing out that like you know#it's relevant#if i applied my actual real life moral standards to this text#i wouldn't be able to engage with it all#bc everyone is a walking war crime
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This is exclusively talking about fiction. It's been a while since I've seen people talking about it, so of course that's when I've finalized my opinion on it: I think the Backrooms works better when there's some kind of Scary Grabber than when there isn't. And I'll immediately undercut myself and say that obviously different people are going to be scared of different things. From the many tumblr posts I have seen about it, it's pretty clear that letting one's own brain invent all kinds of problems can be more effective for some than some kind of creature that Gets You. I disagree. Someone slowly dying of thirst is not horrifying to me. Don't get me wrong, it is sad. It can be upsetting, especially if you get to know the character. But it isn't scary. Scary is waking up in the middle of the night and feeling your muscles twitch because you can tell that something is in the same space as you, but you just can't see it.
It's knowing, on a fundamental level, that you have been removed from the standards of modern society, to the point that you can be made into prey in a space that looks depressingly and alarmingly like your workplace.
Can you imagine? Just for a moment?
A lot of us talk about how much we hate our workplaces, and if you work in an office, you've definitely seen some Backrooms-ass spaces. We already exist there! It's already an endless void of shitty yellow walls and weird hollow music and ugly looped carpeting. That's not scary. That doesn't make my heart pound. If anything, it just makes me flatly angry, like a labor violation. No, there has to be something else, to tip it over the edge. There has to be something else in this place that's already miserable, unlivable, ugly, and unkind. I can live in an office indefinitely, I know I can, I already do. I have horrible anxiety, that will kick up until it doesn't, and after that I'm either dehydrating to death or making these ugly hallways my home. There has to be something else. Be it a boss telling me to pick up the pace or a monster that wants to kill me, these things give context! How can you possibly be afraid of yellow walls without context?
#I don't know#I've just been thinking about this#and I'm sure I'm not quite making my own point#but I wanted to at least get the gist out there#to be clear#I'm not trying to mock people for saying surreal horror#is better without monsters#just that I fundamentally disagree with them as to what makes something horrifying#horror is in context#and endless dull yellow hallways do scare me#they depress me#but put Something in there#and suddenly I have a reason to be afraid#If someone wants to write a character dying of thirst and hunger#they had better be wiling to dive hard into some psychological horror#I used to get absolutely scared out of my wits playing fairly passive exploration games#because I've got awful anxiety#and guess what I'd spend the whole time expecting?#Some kind of creature#some kind of shift in the tone and the genre#It's not necessary for horror in general#but I do feel it makes a difference for THIS kind of horror
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Were Peter and Harry properly a thing? Or was it more of a spur of the moment hook-up?
in 9319? it was just two sordid nights āĀ and sweet, sweet lingering trauma...
harry so nice, peter had to have it twice.
#sci speaks#ask-spiderpool#the fic is non-explicit! and kind of vital reading to get into peter's head and all his baggage.#this fic honest to god caused me so much psychic damage to write. and i've been trapped in peter's brain ever since.#i can't get out. let me OUT. it's such a horrifying MESS up in here.#i'm really glad i wrote this because. god. peter has so many more dimensions now than he did prior.#peter levelled up so much in the ask-spiderpool revival#it's so funny because if harry didn't rear his head then peter was going to be relegated to the supportive boyfriend role.#but no sir. he's got his own messes to clean. and he's kind of become the pov character now.#which is so fun! because wade always used to be the pov character before. how the turntables...#i think boys night might be my favourite bit of writing i've done for 9319. in some messed up sort of way.#i really wish everyone'd read it.#the harry stuff in 9319 is some of my most favouritest stuff. it's so juicy. it's so juicy !!#i love the osborns kind of existing solely to get peter to question himself and face uncomfortable truths.#the osborns just being able to worm out everything that peter parker supresses. all his anger and all of his... ugly.#delicious. smacks lips.
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Look, dominox preys on insecurity. He's not omniscient. Even if the worst was true, even if Chetney DID kill kids when he was feral, dominox does not have magical access to memories Chetney doesn't. His whole thing is playing out the worst case what-if scenario. Dorian's has already partially happened. The only thing that would make it worse is his fear that Cyrus would hate him for what happened on top of being murdered. Respectfully, that himbo is not developed enough as a person to be making insights about his trouble VS Dorian's trouble or ruminating on Dorian never letting him make his own mistakes. That's the specific way DORIAN fears he fucked up.
Dominox's power is limited only by his prey's imagination, but imagination is all it is.
#I'm not saying it's impossible that Chetney ate someone and doesn't remember#But also I am kind of saying it because if so I don't think the claret order would've let him live#Either way. Dominox doesn't know either.#He just knows Chetney is horrified by the very idea and the not being able to account for certain times#cr spoilers#chetney pock o'pea
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