#nihil rants

[artemisnihil]

Why are there only two Eragon/Vanir fanfics on AO3?? Does no one recognize the inherent eroticism of sword fighting rivals? Of a young elf as immature as the human he insults??? Can we not recognize that Vanir is more suitable than Arya in every way????? Do I have to do everything myself????

[juthemagicalclown]

One thing I like about Reverse 1999 is how the game tells different perspectives about potentially controversial topics that are commonly portrayed as negative in mainstream narrations not because inherently bad but rather because any depth is quickly dismissed. I am thinking about 1.6 event in regards to alcohol drinking (and prohibitionism), 1.8 event concerning communism (its true ideals and utopia), 1.9 story and nihilism (in its often overlooked positive connotation)

[thinkingofausername]

cw: rant, don't read if you're religious and easily offended

The older I get, the more I'm fascinated and avidly repulsed by religion.

I'm fascinated with the fact that so many people view religious texts as the objective truth. They don't even question it, it just is what it is. A virgin gave birth, a man made everything and is watching us all the time and knows everything about us and has a plan for us, a man turned water to wine and cured blindness and came back from the dead, another man parted the sea, etc. Somehow mermaids and vampires aren't believable.

I'm fascinated with the fact that religion holds so much power. It's put its hand on politics, education, healthcare. It dictates things it never should've. It's spoken of as a personal choice and belief which is to be respected and yet it's an all around force involved in things it should've stayed out of.

I'm fascinated with the fact that we never outgrew it, never evolved past it. It's such a backwards and rigid thing that I honestly can't believe we haven't left it behind. I can imagine centuries and centuries ago people needed to be told killing was bad because you will die and burn forever but how does that apply to this day and age? Shouldn't it be the most reasonable thing that our actions be controlled by morals, guilt, rationality, law, etc. If someone has to threaten you with eternal damnation in order for you to be good, than how good are you?

I'm repulsed by the mindlessness of it. It reads as nothing but mass control and simultaneously giving up control. It reads as controlling mindless masses who need to blindly follow something and never question it. I believe "the Lord is my shepherd" is very much on point. It reads as avoiding taking accountability. It reads as avoiding the fact that our lives are in our control. We have no inherent purpose and no one but us is guiding our lives. Our actions have direct consequences. God didn't save that person's life, it was the surgeon who performed the surgery for fifteen fucking hours. We are conscious creatures and we should be exercising critical thinking and not giving up control of our lives because "someone has a plan for us and all will be as he has imagined it".

I'm repulsed by the fact that it's spoken of as something that revolves around loving and forgiving and yet fear is at the center of it. We should believe in God because if we don't we are forever doomed? Religion gives you permission to meddle in other people's lives an question them and judge them? Religion gives you permission to look at a person with piercings/tattoos/skull accessories/black eyeshadow and feel free to tell them they will burn in hell? Religion gives you permission to look at two people who love each other in a way your beliefs don't align with and tell them they will be eternally punished for it?

I'm repulsed by the fact that it's based on lies and a superiority complex. Religion is apparently virtue and purity and mercy and yet it's caused and justified more suffering than anything else in the world. Religion painted women as silent servants in servitude of men and for the obvious reason men liked that and used it as much as possible and they still do. Countless women were burned for being "witches", people were tortured so they would accept a religion, countless other crimes were committed because it was "in the Lord's name".

I'm repulsed by the fact that nothing stands in the face of delusion. Religion is seen as the objective truth and whoever doesn't believe it is wrong, in denial, lost, has to be saved, waiting for God to be speak to them, etc.

I'm fascinated by the fact that the world is led by a cult and no one wants to admit it.

[askdewydrop]

Is it just me or is Omega too good for social media? Like the dude is with a walking embodiment of the social media algorithm! But noooooo big guy Omega says he doesn’t need a social media because it will ‘make your brain turn to mush’ or whatever kind of crap that pompous guy thinks. And yet Terzo has every sort of social media! Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr…you name it, he probably has an account on there. And not only does the guy have every social media account…he also has three phones. The reason? One for work and social media…one for one night stand and saucy pictures and then A WHOLE ASS SEPARATE PHONE FOR BULLYING COPIA! This man needs to be stopped! I’m out of words! I need to be snuggled into my nest…where is Mountain or Aether when you need them?!

[soupthatistohot]

Dazai Osamu (BSD): a case study of a nihilist turned absurdist

I've talked a bit before about the themes of absurdism within BSD, and I think this plays heavily into Dazai and the personal journey he's gone on throughout the series (light novels included). From my perspective, his character development has followed a shift in ideology, from nihilism to absurdism.

First, I'd like to define how these two philosophies are similar yet different. Nihilism is the belief that life is intrinsically meaningless, and that there's no value to seeking meaning. Absurdism also believes that life has no intrinsic meaning, but states that revolting against the absurdity of existence is the way to create meaning.

While I don't think Dazai 100% fits either category fully at any given point in his life as we've seen it thus far, I think in his PM days he leans more towards a nihilist perspective, and following Oda's death he leans more towards an absurdist perspective.

Dazai's reasoning for joining the PM was because he thought that perhaps being around violence and raw emotions would help him understand humanity, giving him a reason to live. This doesn't sound quite like nihilism, but honestly, I think he gains a more nihilist point of view as time progresses and he realizes that he can't find meaning in the PM. I'm not even sure he believed that there was meaning to find in the first place, he was just desperate to prove himself wrong, and then failed, which really cemented this nihilistic mindset for him.

Friedrich Nietzsche, often regarded as the founding father of nihilism, claimed that nihilism "not only the belief that everything deserves to perish; but one actually puts one shoulder to the plough; one destroys.”

If life doesn't have meaning, then it doesn't matter to Dazai if he destroys. So, he fills a corpse with bullets, he horrifically abuses his subordinate, he actively tries to take his own life.

Nihilism is right in line with his suicidal nature. This isn't to say that all nihilists are inherently suicidal, but when one believes that life has no meaning, it's quite easy to come to the conclusion to kill oneself. I think this mindset really lends to his general depression and suicidal ideation, on top of the fact that he feels generally disconnected from humanity. It's so easy for him to consider himself inhuman because he has this nihilistic point of view that nothing matters and everyone else in society seems so dead set on opposing that worldview.

And then you have Oda. He is the closest thing Dazai gets to finding meaning within the PM. Like Chuuya, this is a person that fascinates Dazai, although his reason for fascination is much different. To Dazai, Oda represents what is good in the world, he thinks that he is a good man, and struggles to reconcile how a good person can come out of an existence so seemingly pointless and horrific.

Then, Oda dies.

It's an absurd occurrence, and to Dazai it only proves that life has no meaning. This is exemplified when Dazai speaks to Fyodor about God in Meursault: "[God] is known for is famous for his coincidences and absurdism, I've seen it countless times," and a flashback to Oda's death is shown. A good man died for seemingly no good reason, and to Dazai, this only proves life's meaningless, because to the universe it didn't matter who Oda was, he died, regardless.

(I quoted the dialogue from the BSD anime English dub because I feel it better suited my argument, but you can see that he's essentially saying the same thing).

This event should have only further cemented Dazai as a hardcore nihilist, but fortunately for him, Oda was able to get a word in before he passed. He told Dazai that as long as he believes the sides of good and bad are the same to him, he should be on the side that helps people. Oda suggests fighting against life's inherent absurdity -- and that's absurdism in a nutshell, revolting against a meaningless universe.

Dazai takes his advice, and within a few years, he's working for the ADA, he's on the side that helps people.

In that same conversation with Fyodor, Dazai speaks further about life's meaning:

"Those who scream within the storm of uncertainty and run with flowing blood." That's absurdism, the rebellion against uncertainty, meaninglessness, absurdity.

While I don't think Dazai is a bona-fide absurdist due to his suicidality (absurdism basically sees suicide as giving into meaninglessness), I think he's on his way there because of moments like this.

I don't think he's totally convinced that life is completely and utterly meaningless anymore. He, at the very least, has a respect for those who forge their own meaning through the act of revolt.

"Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world." - Albert Camus

[grimalkinmessor]

"Oh this story is so realistic—!" WRONG that story is not realistic it is dark and dreary and DEPRESSING. Why is unending hopelessness and "there was nothing you could do" your standard for reality 😭💀

[gogodollie]

Alright, what's your opinion about Nihil's relationship with the rest of his kid's mother(s)? And what role did Sister have in their lives growing up?

First off I’m so sorry for taking so long to answer this😭 I had half of it written down but had to think harder about it and completely forgot. I’m starting this off by saying all of my thoughts are based off of my own aus/speculation. Anyways with that being said…

Nihil’s relationship with baby mamas 1-3 is non-existent at best. In RHRN Nihil says that he’s almost 80 so I place him as being born in ‘44 which MEANS that he was a young father (25 yrs old in KTGG and already had 3 children). Like. Very young. In my hcs I think that Primo’s mother was a high school sweetheart of Nihil’s, I’d speculate in their junior/senior year. It was probably just dumb love and not really any substance, probably would not have gone anywhere after graduation (at a fault of Nihil’s) but sweet nonetheless. Until the pregnancy obviously because an unmarried teenage girl in the 60s??? I think she carried Primo to term (pressured from family) but after giving birth, essentially dropped off the face of the Earth and left baby Primo with a 17 year old Nihil. It was less so a purposeful act of abandonment and more like desperate parents pushing for their daughter to live an actual life that didn’t include being ostracized. Sucks for Primo and single teen dad Nihil but for Primo’s mom this is somewhat of a win! She feels guilt from time to time and thinks about what her baby is up to but overall? She’s content with the life she made for herself after it all and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

BABY MAMA TWO🗣️ Also dgaf about her baby, so sorry Secondo. I do think the case with Secondo’s mother is a lot more tragic than any of the other mothers because she was just in the worst position prior to getting pregnant and things really only got worse from there. She was probably just some girl who met Nihil at a bar by chance and these two were just absolutely never meant to come across each other. At this point I think on both ends there’s a good deal with substance reliance brewing because of the constant partying and drugs which is putting a strain on the relationship (which is more like a dependency really) and the pregnancy is kind of the last straw. She doesn’t want a baby at all, has no interest in a life with children or settling and isn’t ready for any of that- isn’t even sure if she’d want that with Nihil of all people anyways. I think Nihil pushed for her to carry out the pregnancy thinking that it might save the relationship or do something with the mess they had because he’s stupid and naive and surely another baby wouldn’t hurt, right? So she does in fact give birth to Secondo, who’s got a good deal of respiratory issues at birth and only pushes her away from the idea of caring from him more. She doesn’t even stick around long enough to heal up completely, gone within a few days of the birth with some friend before Secondo makes it out of the NICU. It takes her some time to manage the postpartum depression and everything else she has in her plate but I do think after a good while she does sober up and learns to cope with everything that had happened. At the end of the day, it’s all like a bad dream to her and the memories are all fuzzy. Nihil attempts to find her for a while after Secondo is born but nothing ever turns up. She’s off in the next state over and doesn’t ever think about the baby she had, definitely doesn’t wish things

Baby mama: TRES. Okay so technically we only know about this one because Tobias wanted to include his mommy and if he was asked in an interview today he would completely forget what he said about this matter years ago. SO. I think baby mama #3 was an aspiring actress or model- I tend to imagine her being similar to Olga Baclanova, at least for a face claim. Anyways whatever, Nihil and baby mama 3 are both very ambitious at this point and they genuinely seem compatible. Between working dead end jobs and trying to make something of themselves, they’re actually pretty affectionate and things are looking up (at least compared to the last two). They’re well off for the time being but then SURPRISE. The man that doesn’t know what a condom is had helped create yet another unplanned baby. Who would’ve guessed. It’s exciting at first but in the way that it feels like playing house- they’ll have their flat, their baby, and their dream careers! But give or take a few months and she quickly realizes what a damper this is going to put on everything she had planned for herself and the fantasy in her head is falling apart. She’s falling out of love, she’s realizing that her life will need to change drastically to fit a child in it, and she knows that nothing can be the same. The difference between baby mamas 1-2 and baby mama 3 is that she is at a place in life where she is willing to take on motherhood and actually does want to be a mother. Sure, she didn’t expect it to come so soon but she does love and want Terzo. She waits until a while after Terzo is born to break up with Nihil, didn’t want to push him away during the pregnancy out of fear that he would completely deny Terzo a spot in his life. The split is fairly clean and it ends up as a split custody sort of arrangement which really depends on what the parents have going on as opposed to a healthy routine for Terzo. Nihil and baby mama #3 still get along fairly well and kept in contact up until Terzo was around 13 when they figured he could make the arrangements himself (where he tends to choose his mother over Nihil). There’s no bad blood but it’s sort of like a lingering sadness and “what if”s though there’s no real desire for that ending- they’re both happy with where they’ve ended up in life and got to live out their dreams, even if just for a short while. Side note, Terzo’s mother gave up the acting gig after birth and settled for modeling which later turned to visual arts when she eventually couldn’t keep up with that lifestyle.

I’ve got to keep it real with you here, I don’t think Sister Imperator ever cared to have any sort of relationship with Nihil’s children and didn’t ever attempt to take up any sort of “step-mom” role in their lives. Sister doesn’t come across as someone deeply interested in caring for homemaking or having children or anything of the like. Given the very current politics surrounding women’s rights and the feminist movement at the time combined with growing up in the satanic church, it just doesn’t seem like something that would ever call to her. She sees Nihil’s children as tools for the clergy in the kindest way she possibly could, I guess? Sister knows the basics of childcare and development and wants their needs to be met- so they’re well enough to later take on their clergy duties. I don’t even think she would do all that well with reprimanding them which is something she excels in usually (verbally abusing people is one of her favorite pastimes). She expects Nihil to be a father to them and their sole caregiver but also expects a great deal of Nihil’s time as a partner. Sister is a 25 year old, unmarried, and childless woman so of course she’s going to want to live her life to the fullest and free of distractions. She may feel pity towards Primo and Secondo at times because she sees her own childhood in their experiences (absent mother, semi-neglectful/absent father) as opposed to Terzo (present/loving mother and a father in his life). It’s not enough to make her motherly towards them but it’s something that they feel and she figures that’s enough.

TLDR: Everyone involved was just too young and stupid and selfish to gaf and did not have the generosity required to bring a child (or several) into their lives.

[drakkonyan]

Reminder that hating humans is not an alternative to loving nature. You add nothing by saying you wish human kind went extinct. You add nothing by saying humans are irredimable monsters. You are helping no harmed animal nor plant nor fungi nor microorganism by shitting on humans and, as a nature lover, you are my least favorite kind of "nature lover" because you don't like nature, you hate humans

[neuroticboyfriend]

if we die in the end and there's nothing after, feels like there really is no grand point to living. but that would also mean the same for dying. it's all just about when it ends and what happens before that. it could end tonight. it could end tomorrow. it could end years or decades from now. fuck if i know. at this point, i'm just here because death only happens once. here for the ride, even though i still wanna cut things short. guess that's good enough.

[artemisnihil]

I despaired over the lack of Eragon/Vanir fanfiction, but I can’t find even one fic that even mentions Iorunn! She was openly flirting with Eragon at every clanmeet! He blushed and called her a great beauty every time he happened to look at her! Am I the only one who sees the potential here?? Where are all the obscure Eragon shippers???

He is a rider and thus needs a partner who is as long-lived as him. No human will do. The elves are obvious, but it could be a dwarf! Eragon and Iorunn would be such a power couple!!

[suleikazuleika]

I'm still catching up on Phase 3 of the High Republic, but trust me, even if the Acolyte doesn't go into it?

Blame the Nihil.

You're going to watch the show and go, Why does the Jedi do this? It doesn't make sense!

It's the Nihil's fault.

These notherfuckers...

[borderlinevamp]

Something I struggle with when it comes to having white friends is there like inherent belief “all humanity is guilty” mindset.

I commented to a friend that when video essayist talk about “the human races guilt” or “Americans need for conquest” I all ways say “who is WE?”. She responded about something about collective human guilt and I just…

My family was enslaved or being displaced for most of the last 200 hundred years,

My ancestral country is still to this day punished for getting independence.

No, i don’t see ALL humanity as equally guilty. And while I recognize we all have a responsibility to do better and no one is truly “innocent” in capitalism…when I say “who is we” I mean it. My ancestors are not responsible for half the reprehensible shit that caused us to be here today. Sorry.

[intersexfairy]

hey man, hey. you're basically just a collection of elementary particles (albeit you posess what we call sentience). what makes you up is the same thing that makes up everything else. everything you love. everything you hate. everything you don't have strong feelings toward, or just don't know about yet. everything you will never, ever know.

you are permanently connected to everything around you. even when you die, the stuff that makes you is going to become something else. and then that'll become something else. and so on. your death will result in life, one way or another.

so, you know: there's never been anything uniquely wrong with you; what could ever be fundamentally wrong about a bunch of stuff? you've never been alone; how could you ever be truly isolated when all that surrounds you and is fundamentally the same thing as you?

also, maybe it's not a case of how much anything "matters." maybe you can just accept you exist, and in some form, you probably always will. maybe just existing and exploring life is enough. what does the heat death of the universe care for anything different?

even so, if existence is meaningless on a cosmic scale (keyword: if), why not at least enjoy it? does meaning really need to be inherent? or can whatever matters to you just simply exist like that, too?

[nihilistikal]

Before and after the sleep token concert tonight.

Aside from feeling like an old man ("my feet hurt my back hurts I need water" - you know the drill) I am thoroughly excited. What a wonderful experience!

...also I think I scared two girls in pajamas when I stalked the foyer of the hotel for something to drink right now...

[askdewydrop]

“Don’t rile up Swiss when you get home”…bitch…you know very god damn well I’m gonna rile him up by asking if he wants treats or to go for a walk…and then do nothing about it. What can I say? I’m a dick…

[stargatelov3r]

hmmmm..

*BOOP*

*runs*

(Trying to find a good gif and failing)

*dramatically drags myself across the floor trying to reach you*

*must. boop*

My paw trembles, just moments away from its goal it stops, i collapse completely, unable to boop.