#note: please do not actually commit crimeful sins

[thepersonperson]

Sukuna’s Loneliness Part 5 (Sukuna Did Nothing Wrong in the Heian Era, Probably)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Some notes before we start.

1) Big content warning for in depth discussion of historical slavery and the exploitation of minority groups.

2) I will be mainly using the TCB scans for the manga because of their accessibility. 

3) Raws are from Mangareader(.)to.

(Click images for captions/citations.)

Preface

This is another case of me making everyone suffer the consequences of my fic research. I finally got my hands on 100+ page THESIS on the lives of the lower class in ancient Japan that references multiple peer-reviewed sources. This is my holy grail. Please read all of it. (Thank you Mr. Breann M Goosmann!) Whenever I quote something, I am quoting this source. Most of what I'm summarizing is directly from this source.

Gege may have failed to write a proper backstory for Sukuna, but one was clearly set up using the actual history of that time. So I'm here to infer what's in those gaps using this document.

The Class System in Ancient Japan

During the Heian Era (794–1185) a social caste system called Ritsuryō (you can read more about its application here). The upper class was called 良民 or Ryōmin (good people) and the lower class was called 賤民 Senmin (low people).

The kanji 民 (Min) used for both of these classes can be translated as citizen instead of person. The Wiki page I linked uses the citizen translation. I have decided to change that to people because of 3rd group of people excluded from this system: The 非人 or Hinin (non-people).

Ryōmin included court nobility, citizens, professions that served the court, and tradesmen.

Senmin included servants and slaves.

Hinin included criminals, the deformed/disabled, and those working professions considered "unclean."

The most notable thing about this class system is the mobility between Ryōmin and Senmin. Committing crimes, selling oneself into slavery, aging, paying off debts, and doing good work allowed people to rise or fall from the ranks accordingly. Hinin, however, were confined to their class for the most part because many were viewed as innately "unclean".

Ironically, the best way to understand how this class system functioned is to understand what being "unclean" meant to it.

Uncleanliness (Kegare)

穢れ (Kegare) is a term that can be translated as the following: uncleanliness, defilement, pollution, impure.

晴れ (Hare) is a term considered the opposite for Kegare and can be translated as the following: to clear up, clear skies/sunny, renew, dispel, sacred, pure.

Both of these terms largely inform of how ancient Japan functioned and evolved over time. And though not a black and white dichotomy, it can be generally understood that society was organized in a way to minimize Kegare.

What's interesting about Kegare specifically is its complexity and its impermanence. Rather than being something only bad people have, anyone could acquire and dispel it through the proper rituals.

From the Kojiki, a Shinto document compiled before the introduction of Buddhism, and therefore before the Heian, separates Kegare into 2 categories:

1) Touch Kegare: Defilement through the physical contact with something unclean such as bodily fluids and the dead.

2) Transgression Kegare: Defilement through sinful actions.

"These versions of pollution appear as transient, exorcised relatively simply through misogi (cleansing ritual), seclusion from society, or expulsion of disorder causing elements."

This understanding of Kegare then evolved with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. (This began in the Nara Era and extended well into the Heian.)

"As Jacqueline Stone explains in her study of deathbed rites and rituals, someone who had become enlightened was considered to have a “pure” mind, while those with a deluded mind were said to have a “defiled” mind. Monastic Buddhists also followed their own codes of “pure” conduct such as refraining from the eating of meat and killing of animals."

The old Shinto understandings of Kegare still carried over with the physical avoidment of unclean things such as dead bodies and blood. However, Buddhism introduced the idea that certain groups of people were innately impure. This includes the Hinin who were uniquely ostracized by this system.

"Hinin, like all outcast groups were bound to their “defiled” status. However, unlike other outcasts, they were also cast as blasphemers of Buddhist doctrine afflicted with karmic illness."

But despite being seen as this innately impure, the religious institutions were closest to them. Of the few places in society willing to tolerate and deal with Kegare, they offered outcasts "positions" where they could beg, display themselves as what happens to people who don't follow religious doctrine, and help with jobs considered "unclean". Since outcasts were considered permanently defiled for the duration of that life, they could touch impure things such as the dead, the sick, and blood on behalf of those avoiding temporary Kegare.

This is exploitation point blank. And though this suggests outcasts had some agency when it came to their survival, it doesn't remove the systemic coercion driving their situation.

Please keep this in mind as I explain why Sukuna did nothing wrong.

Sukuna is Hinin

Though there is plenty of debate on what makes someone Hinin, the general consensus is the following:

"All agree that hinin were considered defiled by others in society and looked at with some contempt. One medieval reference book called the Chiribukuro explains that hinin and other outcast groups “are alike in that they are shunned by human society.”"

But when trying to define Hinin more narrowly, this is the result:

"the term hinin indicated a very specific group of social outcasts isolated from the community and cast aside due to disease or deformation. In his description of hinin, Nagahara explains that those referred to as “kojiki-hinin” were of the lowest social class, physically isolated from their families and communities and therefore excluded from society and economic activities in the medieval period."

Sounds like Sukuna, right?

Sukuna does not refer to himself as Hinin of course, but he does call himself 忌み子 (Imigo).

To quote myself from Part 1, Imigo can be translated as "Abominable Child", "Unwanted Child", or "Shunned Child." None of these translations in my opinion get across how severe Imigo is. It's closer to meaning "child who should've never been born". Like the child's very existence is an affront to god. (If you play Elden Ring the Omen are called Imigo in Japanese for this reason.)

And since we know that Sukuna is canonically a conjoined twin, aka someone with a visible deformity, this all indicates he was considered afflicted with a "karmic illness" that would classify him as Hinin.

This means that from birth, Sukuna was designated as fundamentally unclean and non-human. Within that society, there was no route he could take to remove himself from this uncleanliness and be seen as human.

The following views of Hinin were considered controversial for their time (during the Kamakura Era aka right after the Heian):

"Although Nichiren believed in the karmic nature of certain diseases, he also understood that this kind of disease was not a hindrance to salvation."

"Undoubtedly, Eison envisioned hinin as the physical representation of the Bodhisattva Monju and advocated that compassion and charity were the appropriate response to karmic illness."

And since these controversial views of *checks notes* considering Hinin worthy of compassion and salvation were documented after the Heian, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume Hinin had less advocates during the Heian.

In other words, Sukuna could not exist within human society without being shunned or exploited. The manga itself suggests this has always been the case.

As you can see Sukuna is absolutely miserable performing a ritual someone of this lower class would be responsible for overseeing. All while the people he is helping regard him with disgust. (By the way there is a purification ritual in Nara called Yamayaki that involves burning an entire mountainside. Something Sukuna's flames would be very good at.)

This is also from the same chapter where he's assaulted by Yorozu who assumes he's lonely because he's strong. She's wrong about this. Just like Kashimo who assumes Sukuna cares little for love for the same reasons he does.

Love from one person is worthless when compared to the nonstop ostracization that comes from institutional discrimination. At most, love can offer relief from that pain. It does not eliminate it. I'm saying this as a minority myself. I love my friends dearly and they love me as well, but I still wake up and go about my day with the soul-crushing knowledge that most wish for me to not exist.

Sukuna is not lonely because he's not loved. Uraume clearly does. It's that for circumstances beyond his control, he has been excluded from human society and forced to constantly be around people who exploit him for the very traits they scorn.

Sukuna pretty much confirms this himself when he talks to Mahito.

And you know what? Sukuna deciding to kill all the people exploiting him is completely justified. (Imo, he can even kill the non-sorcerers that discriminate against him as a treat.)

The Cannibalism was Justified too, for the most part.

Another thing to note about Sukuna. He was born starving and he died starving.

Famines and natural disaster were frequent and extremely hard on the commoner population during the Heian. The fact Sukuna was born starving indicates he was of lower birth to begin with since nobility hoarded the resources to avoid starvation for themselves.

One way for commoners dealt with famine was via foraging. We actually see Sukuna doing that when he meets Uraume.

Now there are several very interesting things we learn from this.

1) Sukuna hunts and eats elk/deer. Something massively taboo for the time. Especially since deer were considered sacred animals back then and even to this day.

2) He appears to wander around and owns very little. This is further in line with him being Hinin per the following:

"Clearly, welcome could be revoked at any time, which meant that hinin had to be prepared to leave any location at any given moment. This mobile lifestyle also meant that hinin could only afford to carry essential daily items, such as cooking utensils and begging bowls. The image also reveals that the hinin were never officially invited to stay in that particular area. Instead, they sought out their own locations to set up communities."

3) Despite Uraume being alive and fresh human meat, Sukuna does not immediately see them as food. Nor does he attack them. This, combined with him not taking the dead villagers for eating and preparing deer/elk instead, suggests that cannibalism is not the default for him.

Back to famines, it's also not unheard of for people to resort to cannibalism during them. The logic is simple: An outcast with no support network eats humans to survive.

And given the frequency of death from natural disasters of this time, there’s a real chance he never had to hunt humans in the first place. As Hinin, handling the dead is one of the few jobs he’s allowed to do. So it’s possible the worst thing he did was desecrate corpses in the name of scavenging.

Furthermore, if Sukuna is considered a non-human, is it even cannibalism to begin with? Is a hungry animal evil for eating a human?

I may consider Sukuna human because I refuse to partake in his dehumanization, but it needs to be understood that in the context of the JJK's story, there is not a single character that refers to Sukuna as a human. He's not even referred to as a man. He's either a curse, a monster, or at the very end, a sorcerer. Sukuna has been so dehumanized by others that he himself identifies as a "curse". This is also separate from "cursed spirit", leaving him in his own unique category of non-human.

Sukuna may not see eating other people as acts of cannibalism. After all, they are the ones who decided he was non-human at birth. (And since he is taboo, eating the deer/elk can’t make him more taboo than he already is.)

The following is an excerpt discussing the dehumanization of the starving:

"This strange image is from the Scroll of Hungry Ghosts and the huge emaciated creature depicted is just one of many of the numerous depictions of hungry ghosts or gaki. Invisible to humans, the gaki depicted are the spirits of greedy or jealous individuals karmically punished for their covetous thoughts with perpetual hunger for bodily excretions such as urine or feces."

"The protrusions of the stomach, the red-tinted hair, as well as the greying of the skin, are all genuine symptoms of starvation. In this light, our image appears significantly different. Instead of an invisible monster attacking a man, we have a disfigured and suffering human reaching out for humanity."

The phenomenon of hair during red or blond from starvation is called Kwashiorkor. Gege may be color blind, but Sukuna being depicted with pink or blond hair appears to be deliberate and in line with Kwashiorkor.

Sukuna was probably framed.

The only crimes Sukuna is accused of by Jujutsu Society is murder and cannibalism. As demonstrated by the previous section, there could be a pretty good reason for the cannibalism. But what about the murder?

Another thing that should be noted about Sukuna is how his destruction is largely retaliatory in the modern era. Every kill or kill attempt is made as a response to a challenge that was directed at him first.

When Sukuna first incarnates, Megumi says this to him:

Yuji may be Megumi's target, but remember that Kegare spreads through touch. Sukuna coming into contact with Yuji has made them both unclean. In other words, Sukuna has been informed that in this life, 1,000 years later, where he has yet to do any harm (Those comments about the women, children, and massacre are still sus, but they could've been about the Merger.), he will be attacked by sorcerers no matter what. It's not unreasonable for him to then attack them on sight.

But even when he does that, most of them survive until Shinjuku. During the culling games, Sukuna kills only 2 sorcerers—Ryu and Yorozu. Ryu is given a chance to walk away, but he doesn't. Uro flees and is spared. Yorozu is the sole person Sukuna seeks out to kill and that’s just for his Gojo plans.

And in that month Sukuna has before the showdown with Gojo? Nothing happens. He kills no one and just lounges around. Eating his own corpse is the only cannibalism. He absolutely could have eaten Tsumiki’s body to further crush Megumi’s soul, but he doesn’t.

Then when it comes to the actual showdown, Sukuna kills 3 sorcerers total. It's also very telling that after Sukuna is dead...no one blames him for what happened. They blame Kenjaku, hell even Gojo, but Sukuna isn't mentioned once. Higuruma is convinced that Sukuna was playing around. Kusakabe agrees that Sukuna’s manner of play isn't what they’re super worried about, it's Kenjaku.

The worst thing Sukuna does is Shibuya and that too has nuance to it. The twins aren't killed for fun. Sukuna punishes them for making demands of him. The citizens of Shibuya? Collateral from dealing with Jogo and Mahoraga. (He only really kills Haruta for the sake of it. And let's be real, he deserved that.)

And though the Shibuya civilian deaths are an objectively a bad thing Sukuna has done, the fact they are not intentional gives credence to the idea that Sukuna didn't really target them in the past either. This suggests that the "murders" Sukuna did in the Heian were likely retaliation against people challenging him or trying to subjugate him. In other words, self defense.

And if he did wipe out a village, it was probably collateral. But that's kind of the thing. Did Sukuna even kill innocents by accident? The only confirmed kills of the Heian are those of the Subjugation and Military Squads. You know, people who may have attacked him for simply being "unclean".

Who am I kidding he absolutely was attacked for being “unclean”. This is how Angel talks about Sukuna and the incarnated.

She doesn’t care about saving the lives of innocents, all that matters to her are things that she deems evil are purged. Sukuna to Angel is ontologically evil and doesn’t deserve to exist. She targets him more than other incarnated players while ignoring Kenjaku who is responsible for this mess in the first place. She also quite literally did something she deemed wrong and evil so she could follow him into the future and make sure he died. (Move over Gojo Satoru we've got a new minority hunter.)

But it’s not like her attitude is new. Jujutsu Society is notorious for trying to kill things they deem "bad" such as Yuji and Yuta. The striking thing about the wanted executions of these literal children is that the higher ups giving the command make other sorcerers do it for them. Going back to the ideas of Kegare—spilling blood and touching corpses makes one impure so the outcasts are to deal with it. This is the logic driving their decision to coerce Yuta into a binding vow to kill Yuji.

("No matter how many cursed spirits you kill, it's proof of nothing!" <Please take note of how Yuta's good deeds do nothing to earn the higher ups' favor because he's seen as inherently evil.)

Yuta is essentially scapegoated through this manipulation and Yuji initially treats him like an enemy. In the same way characters like Kusakabe blame Gojo for refusing to execute Yuji. Despite the higher ups being responsible for the system functioning this way, the people they’re manipulating bear the brunt of responsibility to other characters.

Who's to say Sukuna isn't also a victim of this scapegoating? His power is comparable to a natural disaster. It would be very easy to blame one on him. After all, the higher ups of the Heian, the Fujiwaras, did exactly that to Uro.

Uro’s situation is much worse than Yuta’s however. She is a military slave. This distinction of military slave is important because unlike domestic slaves, they were allowed to rise through the ranks and be given awards despite their status.

And since Uro is a Sukuna parallel, there is a pretty good chance he was a slave at some point during the Heian.

Slavery in the Heian

A little detail I left out when discussing famine in the Heian. The asymmetrical wealth distribution was so severe during this time that commoners would sell themselves into slavery in hopes of not starving to death.

An example from the Kamakura Era (after the Heian):

"As the article shows, during the three years of the Kangi famine (1229-1232) and several recovery years following, various common people sold themselves, their relatives, and their retainers into slavery in exchange for sustenance. Not only would an amount be given to the seller, but also presumably whoever now owned the sold individual would be responsible for feeding and providing shelter for that individual. In this way, the common populations of Japan created a strategy for survival. There was no certainty that a new owner would fulfill this obligation, but the promise of reprieve from daily struggles was impetus enough for the sale."

Another example from the same era:

"A didactic tale from 1283 tells the story of a small family consisting of a mother and son, who after experiencing severe famine, came to the realization they would soon starve to death. In the hope of saving his mother, the young boy offers to sell himself into bondage, and although the mother disagrees, he goes ahead with the plan."

Yes this is as bad as it sounds, but there is one thing I would like to get out of the way—this slave system did not function anything like the chattel slavery during colonialism. Strangely enough, these slaves had some rights they could fight their owners in court over. They could pay off debts and be set free. They were allowed to be married and have children with those outside of their class. They were not kept in cages or in chains like animals. (Silver linings! /s)

The term used for these slaves was 奴婢 (Nuhi) which roughly translates to “bonded person”. This is more in the contractual sense rather than the physical sense since most were slaves by contract or debt.

This kind of sounds like something binding vows could do, right? Well binding vows share no kanji with Nuhi using 縛り(Shibari) instead. However, Sukuna introduces the concept of binding vows with chains and a handshake.

Sukuna was also born unwanted to a starving mother during a time when starving people sold themselves or their relatives into slavery to survive. This can mean a lot of things for his upbringing and none of them are pleasant.

Here is a summary of what jobs Nuhi did:

"As stated previously, wealthy households frequently obtained slaves and assigned them to various domestic tasks. However, sources further illuminate trafficking of women into the sex trade of Kamakura Japan."

If you noticed, Sukuna's Cursed Technique is perfect for this. He can chop up veggies, butcher fish, till farmland, slash and burn farmland, light fires, and every other non-violent thing a knife and fire can be used for. If he wasn't exploited for exorcising curses, he absolutely would've been exploited for domestic tasks.

And to get to much more depressing line of work Sukuna could've been subjected to as a child, I'd like to discuss why someone as masculine as him would be associated with women's work in the first place.

The Treatment of Women in Ancient Japan

"In Japan prior to the Heian and Kamakura periods, women played prominent roles in religious activities as miko, which was akin to a female medium or female shaman...Since miko functioned as a sacred and integral part in religious communities, issues of impurity did not appear to be an issue. Instead, it was Buddhist ideas that linked the female form to impurity."

With the introduction of Buddhism, women began to be seen as innately impure due to the blood and fluids associated with childbirth and mensuration.

"In the Heian period, Buddhist temples such as such as Enryakuji and Tōdaiji, began barring women from entering the premises due to their defiled nature."

"prominent Buddhist discourse painted women as innately defiled and therefore unable to achieve enlightenment in their own female bodies."

"To be born as an innately defiled female was considered a karmic punishment for past actions."

Though not ostracized as much as outcasts, women were seen as innately unclean in a similar vein to Sukuna. Women were expelled from religious institutions but not the courts, while outcasts were tolerated by religious institutions and barred from the courts. (The courts and temples operated independently of each other, which is why it was possible for noble women to hold power despite being designated as unclean.)

A few months ago I made a joke about this panel:

"Sukuna’s two options were helping Uraume transition or becoming a girl himself."

This is still mostly a joke, but I do think Sukuna identifies more with women than with men. Not that Sukuna is a girl, but that he relates to them and their struggles better. (Keep in mind he does wear a women's yukata and a men's obi at the same time as Yujikuna.)

It's important to note is that this mystery woman here wears the clothes of a Miko or Shrine Maiden/Priestess—the main group of women that was displaced and persecuted because of the new religious doctrine. And like every other group without a proper social safety net, selling themselves into slavery became a survival strategy. They did have other options of course. In the case of Asobi, the Priestess that used to serve the courts, turned to entertainment and sex work after their exclusion.

"Either riding in boats or setting up shop on busy routes to the capital and religious sites, Goodwin argues that these performers were part of independent, possibly female-run organizations, which were not stigmatized until the later part of the Kamakura period. However, as Wakita Haruko has examined, at least some women involved in sexual entertainment were female indentured servants, serving as security on a loan issued by their parents."

In this way, the exact identity of the Miko in Sukuna's path may not matter. She might be a representation of those who accepted their exclusion and did their best to survive on society's terms. If the South choice is meant to represent returning to who Sukuna used to be, then it can also mean the types of struggles Mikos faced are his as well.

However, there was a temple that continued to accept women as followers—the Muroji Temple in Nara. Interestingly enough, this temple contains an inner sanctuary devoted to the founder of Shingon Buddhism, the type of Buddhism Tengen brought over. The mountain this temple is located on is also associated with a dragon spirit. Since there is historical precedent of at least one temple accepting a group of people seen as innately impure, a place like this may have also been a sanctuary for Sukuna.

With the information we have, it's not really possible to know exactly what awful thing happened to Sukuna. The most important takeaway from this is that the suffering he experienced was systemic. He didn't get unlucky with a few ignorant and bad people. This was the direct result of the Heian class system dehumanizing people. In other words, his choices were severely limited.

Sukuna's Other Choice

Going North with Uraume appears to be very similar what he did back in the Heian—taking in an abandoned child and looking after them. What makes this choice slightly different this time around is that the class system that oppressed him no longer exists in the modern era. Yes, he’ll absolutely face discrimination for being deformed, but the complete denial of his humanity at every turn for his appearance is gone. He won’t be treated as untouchable and inherently evil. Legally speaking, he has drastically more rights. Violence won’t be his only option moving up in the world.

I will always loathe that Sukuna had to die to obtain this. And that the “reformed” modern Jujutsu Society refuses to acknowledge the systemic failures of their institution. Kusakabe makes it very clear he still believes the immediate extermination of anything deemed “evil” is a valid way to go about things, even if it means the death of a child…as long as he doesn’t have to do it. (Hence him blaming Gojo for it, just like the higher ups.) After the fight, everyone passes blame around, absolves themselves of any wrongdoing, and decides no one is really at fault.

There were people at fault for this. There are institutions at fault for this. But their failure to confront those things directly is probably why Sukuna rejected Yuji’s offer so viciously. Instead of trying to understand Sukuna on his own terms, Yuji showed him the value of a simple life he was never allowed to have, then told him to die or go back into the cage.

Yuji offered Sukuna pity but no autonomy, which is exactly the way Hinin were treated by the religious institutions of old.

"However, Hosokawa argues that even in veneration of hinin as representations of Manjusri, Buddhist monks continue to discriminate against this outcast group and further perpetuate their low position in society. Hosokawa explains that although activity involved in charitable works towards hinin, Eison cared little about the salvation of hinin because he saw outcasts as divine only within the context of the ritual of assembly. Therefore, all charitable works directed at hinin were merely ceremonial. Hosokawa advocates the view that Eison believed hinin lacked ‘nature,’ meaning they were unable to study or practice Buddhism. Essentially, without nature, they had no ability to escape the cycle of re-birth through the study of Buddhism."

Sukuna even thinks of modern sorcerers like the ones of old. Why would he ever want to return to that?

His goals are simple; eat, play, and pass time until his dies. That’s not really evil now is it? But the people attacking him don’t know that. None of them ever stopped to asked because they assume him existing freely will bring evil.

But what does Sukuna do when he’s given a month-long truce a body he completely controls? He does what every minority group does when they are no longer being actively oppresed—he rests. He doesn’t go around killing or tormenting for fun. With his newfound freedom he secludes himself and lounges.

The fight in Shinjuku is essentially a group of well-meaning people from a corrupt institution beating an outcast that was ostracized by it into submission. Albeit for very good reasons.

Why did this fight change his mind?

If Sukuna is essentially reliving past trauma via the Shinjuku fight, why did he decide this group of sorcerers was worth listening to? The simple answer of course is he lost to them. Sukuna believes the strong impose their will and the weak follow suit.

I don’t think that’s quite right. Sukuna used to be weak too. He was a child once. He used to controlled by others stronger than him. By his own logic he should’ve stayed like that, but he trained to get stronger and eventually rebelled.

Since Sukuna is a known liar and hides his feelings under several layers of repression, I’m inclined to believe this statement is also smokescreen. And after reading the Uraume Epilogue I am certain of this. But for now let’s revisit the Shinjuku fight, starting from the battle that made me realize Sukuna is indeed a pathetic sopping wet cat underneath it all—Sukuna vs Gojo.

Sukuna vs Gojo

Something fans picked up on during this fight was how Gojo dogwalked Sukuna when it came to Hand to Hand (H2H) combat. During their fight, Sukuna fails to land a single punch on Gojo’s face. It takes Yuta possessing Gojo’s body and fumbling around in it for Sukuna to finally punch that face. But it’s not just Gojo he sucks at with H2H combat. It’s everyone. Here is a compilation of Sukuna getting hit in the head or face.

This seems to conflict with Sukuna’s ability to learn anything visually. He sees someone do something and he can copy it immediately. This contradiction can be explained by him being Hinin.

Sukuna was considered an untouchable. Educated people were of a higher class and believed unclean things like him were to be avoided at all costs. This means that whatever education Sukuna obtained for himself was always at a distance. Aka watch and copy. And since H2H is mostly taught through body to body contact, Sukuna wasn’t allowed a proper sparing partner outside of the attempts to kill him.

In Part 2, I go over Sukuna’s fraud allegations for his copying of Gojo in particular. This is what lead me to realize that Sukuna spent 6 months plotting to kill a guy he met for 10 seconds. This insane level of pre-planning is also shaped by him being Hinin.

We know for a fact that Sukuna hunts deer/elk and that it’s safe to assume he driven to this because of his Hinin status. If you know anything about hunting, it’s that most of it is playing psychological mind games with creatures that are somehow complete geniuses despite having 2 brain cells. You don’t chase after a deer with a gun, you become obsessed with them. You study every little habit of theirs; when they hunger, what they eat, and where they defecate. Using this information, you set up the bait and wait in hiding for the perfect opportunity to kill them.

This is pretty much what Sukuna does to Gojo. He’s got a hunter’s obsession with him. In Part 4, I explain how this obsession might actually be unhinged courtship, but I don’t lay out why Gojo of all people seemingly means this much to Sukuna. This too can be explained by him being Hinin.

I’ve said it over and over, Gojo and Sukuna are twin flames. They are the strongest, isolated, dehumanized, exploited, self-taught, and really bad at showing affection. Part of this obsession is driven by Sukuna seeing himself in Gojo. He's being ordered around by others weaker than him in the same way Sukuna used to be.

But take note of this “I owe you a debt.” It’s easy to assume he means payback for punching him in the face. However…Gojo did actually do Sukuna a massive favor. He suspended his execution, even if it was primarily to save Yuji.

As I discussed before, Kegare was infectious. You touch something unclean and you become unclean yourself. By laws of Jujutsu Society and by social stigma around Kegare, Sukuna made Yuji equally as impure as himself. And Gojo went screw that, I’m going to look after you. He gave Yuji direct lessons, made sure all his basic needs were met, and treated him like a human. Behind everyone’s backs he hid the final finger, intending to let Yuji live for the duration of his natural life.

To Sukuna, Gojo is someone who would have taken him in and advocated for his humanity under different circumstances. Gojo is someone Sukuna would’ve loved to have as a teacher. And so he copies him. He learns and improves his own sorcery as if Gojo had intentionally taught him.

Through the Shinjuku fight, his experiences within Yuji, and Megumi’s memories, Sukuna gets a taste of what could’ve been. With Megumi in particular, he also gets to see what it’s like to be raised by someone who actually cares. Though not intentional, this is how Gojo teaches Sukuna love. This is why when Sukuna looks at Gojo, he thinks about love.

Sukuna choosing to go with Uraume is him copying Gojo one last time. After seeing that even if you’re isolated, exploited, and miserable, there’s still fulfillment in using your power to make sure someone else doesn’t go through what you did. It may not remove all that pain, but it makes it easier.

And bringing back Kegare’s opposite Hare (晴れ). The kanji used are in the Appare Da (天晴れだ) when Sukuna tells Gojo, “You cleared my skies.” (The Da at the end of this statement means it was pretty heartfelt too.) With this additional context, I think it can be taken to also mean that Gojo made Sukuna feel like he wasn’t impure.

Sukuna vs Yuji

Yuji and Megumi are the ones who ultimately make Sukuna realize that it's worth pursing guardianship regardless of marital status or blood relation. They are the two of Gojo’s students/children that are directly compared to Uraume.

Yuji who is also the same as Sukuna, fills the role of Gojo when he first chooses to look after Megumi. When he prevents Megumi from being sold by his father. Sukuna has seen both versions of this memory.

Since Sukuna is a twin to Wasuke and they are also the same, JJK 265 is Yuji showing Sukuna an entire alternate universe of the normal life he could've lived if he had been seen as human.

And even if he can’t ever be seen as human or live normally, Megumi tells him it’s ok to be improper and cherish someone anyways.

None of these 3 realize how greatly they’ve affected Sukuna. He barely admits to it even in death. But Sukuna had secretly wanted this from the start. The cracks started showing when he first tried to teach Megumi in his special little tsundere shark way.

There's also something to be said about Uraume making it to adulthood in a time where famine was rampant and parents would sell their children into slavery just to eat. Their cursed technique manifested around the age of 6, just like Megumi. The fact they survived means Sukuna was already doing a pretty good job as their guardian.

Other Things this Changes

I'm also looking at Sukuna's fondness towards Jogo in a whole new light. I thought that Jogo wanting nothing of him was the main reason he was favored. But there's more to it that that. It’s that he regards Sukuna’s life as inherently valuable. Jogo believes in a world where Sukuna has the right to exist as he is and how he wants. No one will try to control him or condemn him for something he had no say in.

He also stands out in his devotion to curses of any background. Mahito basically looks like a human, Choso and his brothers are half human, Sukuna is fully human, and Jogo accepts them all no questions asked. He’s willing to fight for people who exist differently than himself.

There's also that added “wanting to be seen as human” element. Jogo’s world is one where Sukuna would finally be seen as human. It’s the same logic that drove Choso to side with the Disaster Curses. He knew how difficult human society would make the lives of his brothers (both of which have 2 faces like conjoined twins), so he chose to fight for a world where that kind of discrimination no longer existed. (Which is why it's really sad he died and no one mourned him properly.)

And yes we can condemn the mass slaughter of humans as the wrong way to go about this. But the core problem is that Jujutsu Society branded them as taboo and in need of extermination or containment. They were driven into a corner and believed violence was the only way out. The only reason Choso was able to change was other sorcerers giving him a chance despite the hurt he caused. Something Sukuna didn't get outside of the offer to be caged.

Am I being too lenient with Sukuna here?

Absolutely. I am extremely biased.

To me at least, the type of "evil" Sukuna is has a lot nuance. It is very significant that someone as strong as him, who could basically do whatever he wanted (theoretically), took one willing servant in a time where slavery was widely practiced. (If you read the linked document, it's kind of up for debate how legal slavery was at the time.) It's also significant that the Heian crimes he was accused of were limited to cannibalism and murder. He's clearly got rules about his evilness and I really like that about him. I wanted to find the logic driving them and I think I've finally struck gold.

This didn't fit anywhere nicely. But consider the following:

"Earthly sins, on the other hand, were those that only affected individuals or forbidden actions, such as rape or cutting living flesh."

Sukuna's CT cuts living flesh. His very CT was considered impure in the Heian. The flames however, are more aligned with purification. It's just a neat little thing that shows Sukuna's duality imo.

He's also really good at archery. And though this is likely because his flame CT is a bow, it probably got good at it to hunt deer/elk on top of temple duties. (Just another way he enjoys corrupting the divine.)

But please remember, the only reason I've done all of this is because of Umineko's...

Without love, it cannot be seen.

[mono-rogue]

Heck.

I was going to just make a funny fight comic, then I realized "wait she has a sister, blitz has a sister too, oh no potential angst" and look where we are now.

Well, no timelapse... but I am working on a side project that is speedrunning toon boom harmony's 21 day free trial, currently about ~3 days in:

I think I'm committing every animation sin known to sinkind... oh well

[silkythewriter]

Vox and alastor with an undeserving to be in hell reader!

Warnings!:non!

Fandom!: Hazbin hotel!

Author note!;I THINK TUMBLER ACTUALLY HATES ME (ﾒ﹏ﾒ)(｡•́︿•̀｡)it keeps not letting me edit my drafts, it’s happened like 3 times already this week alone!,…BUT ANYWAY I LOVE THIS IDEA I REALLY HOPE YOY ENJOY!!!!♡´･ᴗ･`♡

Summary!: alastor and Vox x reader WHOs I. Hell for a minor sin/crime

❤️Written by silkythewriter do not steal or repost any other platform please! <3❤️

ఌ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ఌ

“Each time I find myself

Flat on my face

I pick myself up and get back in the race!”

ఌ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ఌ

!📺✨Vox✨📺!

When you first admitted what you did that counted as a “sin” he was flabbergasted! He thought they must’ve made a mistake. All be it one that was in favor since he got to be damned with you. But still!

Out of every monster known to man kind one who’ve committed acts that are despicable. You, one who can barely hurt a damn fly get sent with them?

At first he thought you were genuinely just joking. And he actually laughed! Like audible chuckled before waiting for the actual reason, which never came, and he soon realized you were being serious!

He always questioned why you use to refuse to kill, or at least scare people into respect. But then you explained how you refused to be like the rest of the sinners.

He utterly dumb founded you made it this far without spilling a bit of blood, at least for survival!

He becomes more overprotective as if he wasn’t before, good luck with that!

Cause now he knows your rules, he knows you won’t budge. Nothing would get you to change your mind. So he made sure to keep eyes on you 24/7, you may be nice, but the other sinners in this damned place definitely aren’t. And he knows that from experience

Would neither confirm or deny he put a small tracker in an item you carry every where.

This man has enemy’s as you’ve seen, demons, overlords, rival company’s, it’s a headache an a half for him. Not that he hates protecting you and your values! No never!, but the nerve of the people who think they even have a chance to lay a hand on you.

Gives you the lastest phone from his series, and yes he will text you and blow up ur phone up if he can see you through cameras around the city.

Even if you put it on silent he wouldn’t put behind himself to over load it and just show up on your phone screen.

Sometimes he’s just so confused how you can be so nice, or at worst passive to those who are poking at you. He thinks your a saint, even if you aren’t, an maybe you have a short temper still the way you hold yourself form blowing up is astonishing!

Sometimes he jokes about how if you were to go to Charlie you would be redeemed in a day. And at night sometimes he thinks about it and it scares him to know there’s a possibility for you to go where he will probably never be able to follow you too

He loves you to the depths and the crooks of hell, and he’ll be damned again if he lets anyone hurt you. He sees you as a small soft light in the red cover world, and he will do anything before anyone can put out that light.

He makes sure to keep a good distance between you and Val, a BIG distance.

He’s always on the edge about people around you, how can’t he? He can’t trust all these “disgusting and repulsive” sinners in hell around you. The thought alone cringes him out and stresses him.

He knows to some degree he isn’t exactly better then them sin wise, but he makes sure to do his best for you while infornt of you, he cares about his image, and wouldn’t be afraid to scare someone into discipline. BUT he will tone it down, just for you ♥(⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)♥

He has you under wraps, from the public eye in this case. As much as he’s one to show off his earnings, he loves you a little to much and knows well people will use you as a advantage. He loves to show off but you something just for him behind close doors for now before he can work something out

NOW if the public were to already know, he show off by showing how untouchable you were, demons knew better to approach you seeing as how fast he is to get rid of those stupid enough to try something.

Overall he respects your morals of not wanting to stoop as low as other sinners. But it dose make him more protective of you, your like a rare gem. There’s only a handful of people like you, and even then the numbers decrees daily, so he dose his most to make sure you safe and happy <3

ఌ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ఌ

!🎙️✨Alastor✨🎙️!

Like Vix he humors it at first! Playing around with it before Laughing with his usual staticky voice as he stared at you with his unnerving smile. You guys quite literally stared at each other for a hot minute waiting for the other to say something.

It took you clearing your throat for him to realize you weren’t just trying to get a chuckle outta him.

And for the first time since you met him you caught a hint of confusion, making you explain that it was genuinely what you did.

He quite literally burst out laughing, you, someone who probably did something everyone did once is in this horrid place stuck with the horrid monsters ever! Just for that single act alone.

He will admit he found it a bit amusing how you refused to kill or lay a hand on anyone. Refusing to stoop to other people’s levels. Now that for him is pure gold of entreatment! He’s seen people like you, say the same exact thing then crumble when backed I to a Corner.

But for the first time, for all the decades he’s been damned here, he’s seen you stick to what you’ve stated. You were very much quite a spectacle!

Now finding new amusement, he decided to protect you, cause someone like you were sure to be a one time experience. Aside from loving you of course

Now with your name being accosted with him alone is a shield in if its self. Barely any one approached you, aside from those playing with their afterlives of course.

If you ever feel a looming shadow or presence it’s most likely one of his shadows. Like Vox he is gonna have his eyes on you almost always

Although he loves you he will play around to get a reaction out of you. All for the fun of it!, he knows you cringe when he talks about his cannibalism tendencies he just loves seeing your cute little face scrunch up!

Even though with all of that he is a gentleman and will make sure no one is to bother you.

He’s quite impressed you made it this far without getting killed, I mean of course you have him but if you arrived to hell and didn’t met him immediately he’d be quite impressed and surprised one you both do meet

He indulges himself in the horrible aspects of hell, with no remorse or shame what so ever either. So although he dose respect your wishes he won’t stop or calm down his tendencies.. （；へ：）but on the bright side he’ll make sure your far away or he goes off to other part of the city and do whatever he wishes. But your likely to see on the news either way… (￣▽￣💧

He dose enjoy the more civil and nice talks he has with you though! He finds it nice to take a break from all the crude talk on the street from other sinners and have a nice conversation!

Great listener let me tell you, he’ll happily sit there as you explain your day away! He honestly enjoys hearing you genuinely happy!, although his a chatter box himself but he enjoys listening to you more then anyone or anything else!

Watches you be nice to the most repulsive, and rude demon like it’s nothing. Even when disrespected you find a way to calm down the situation and nicely at that. Of course the demon doesn’t live long once their out of your sight, but still! He’s pleasantly surprised.

He finds it rather weird that your nice just for the sake of being nice but still it’s definitely a nice refresher from all the horrible people down in hell!

You catch his eye rather quickly with how you stick out from others (in a good way! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ) and his eyes end up on you, you mainly have all his attention almost always if he isn’t off doing something!, your his light just live Vox he’ll make sure you’ll shine bright as ever and won’t go out.

Not everyone can catch it but in some rare moments he’ll be seen just staring at you as you happily talk away to Charlie. And for the smallest second you can see his unnerving smile turn into a soft smirk, eyes only on you and his mind filled with only you. This happens on the regular, it’s just he’s quick to cover up so no one sees!

Overall he loves you, even with some differences between your views he’ll still do his best to make you comfortable. Aside from teasing you here and there! But other then that he’ll protect you, your one of kind. And he loves having things no one else can.

ఌ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ఌ

AHHHH HELLOOOOO OH GORSH I MADE IT JUST IN TIME THIS TOOK SO LOBG TO DO CAUSE I KEPT HAVING TO DELETE AND REWRITE ON A NEW DRAFT AUGHHH I HOPE TUMBLR FIXES THIS BUG, BUT ANYWAY TYSM FOR REQUESTING PLEASE COME AGAIN!!!\(^ヮ^)/’

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

We should make a list of every safety hazard in Alchemy class:

EVERYTHING WRONG WITH NRC ALCHEMY:

• Leona’s open toed shoes

• Idia drinking tea out of a beaker

•Lilia’s oversized coat

• Idia, Leona, Vil, & Malleus not tying their hair back (and i guess other students with their hair in their face. I never took chemistry in school so idk fbdiwhwhckxzm)

• Students not wearing their goggles

• CREWEL’S GIANT FLAMMABLE FUR COAT

Oh, I’ve seen more than one post talking about how the various students break lab dress or safety protocols in their initial Labwear art/models so I didn’t know if I should make one of my own?? But here it is, I guess—

(Please note that some of these violations are flexible/up to interpretation, particularly the “needs to pin/tie hair back” list. Generally it’s advised to do this for shoulder length or longer but others will want long bangs out of the way as well.)

Not pinning/tying hair back: Riddle, Deuce, Cater (kind of; his side bangs could be pinned back), Leona, Ruggie (not sure), Azul, Jade, Floyd, Jamil, Vil, Rook, Epel, Idia, Malleus, Lilia (?), Silver

Not fully buttoning lab coat: Ace, Cater, Trey, Leona, Jack, Floyd, Kalim, Jamil, Idia, Lilia, Grim

Not tucking in tie/ribbon or other loose fabric: Riddle, Ace, Cater, Trey, Kalim, Jamil, Epel, Lilia

Not wearing/keeping on safety goggles: Ace, Cater, Leona, Ruggie, Kalim, Epel, Lilia, Grim

Didn’t remove jewelry: Cater, Jack, Jade, Floyd, Kalim

Not wearing fur net: Leona, Jack, Ruggie, Grim

Not fully covering the legs (ankles exposed): Cater, Leona, Ruggie, Kalim

Touching face/clothes/hair with gloves on: Kalim, Jamil, Vil

Improper equipment handling technique: Jade, Floyd

Didn’t remove hat: Rook

Missing close-toed shoes: Leona

Oversized lab coat/sleeves too long: Lilia

Mixing tea in beaker: Idia

Not keeping an eye on the reaction (applicable depending on the experiment): Deuce

Didn’t put away the baton: Silver

Flammable (?): Idia (not sure though since his hair doesn’t actually behave like real fire), Grim (not sure)

So the most frequently committed crime is not keeping their hair back :/

And to compare the number of crimes committed by student (1/2 point granted for debatable sins):

Leona - 6

Kalim - 6

Cater - 5 1/2

Lilia - 4 1/2

Jack - 4

Floyd - 4

Jamil - 4

Idia - 3 1/2

Grim - 3 1/2

Ace - 3

Jade - 3

Epel - 3

Riddle - 2

Trey - 2

Vil - 2

Rook - 2

Silver - 2

Deuce - 2 (or 1 1/2 depending on how you want to judge his lab technique)

Ruggie - 1 1/2

Azul - 1

Malleus - 1

Ortho - 0

Sebek - 0

That makes Kalim and Leona the worst offenders… and brainiacs (like Riddle and Azul), people whose best subjects are Potionology (looking at you, Vil and Jade), and Science Club members (Trey and Rook) are making common mistakes 💀

Sebek is the ONLY student with no errors in his presentation or lab conduct. Ortho technically also has no errors, but he’s a special case and perhaps it’s not fair to compare him to the other students because of his advanced capabilities as an android.

Crewel has a few violations himself, most notably the flammable fur coat. Though we don’t get a formal reasoning for why this is, I like to headcanon that Crewel’s coat, while being a lab safety hazard irl, is enchanted to be protective. (I wrote about it here!) Why? Because I don’t think Crewel is willing to compromise on fashion, but he’s also not dumb enough to walk into a lab like lookin’ like that. Reinforcing clothing with magic is also something we know is possible and a actually see Crewel doing for the students in Endless Halloween Night, so he definitely has the capabilities for it.

[lemonhemlock]

THANK YOU I AGREE WITH YOUR AEMOND POST 1 MILLION %. Some of the replies are so frustrating, all you were doing is discussing the writers' decisions this season regarding Aemond, and how simplistic it would be for Aemond's motivations to betray Aegon to be based on the brothel scene. You put into words everything wrong with Aemond's arc this season and I tremendously agree! I feel that the writers are flip-flopping with Aemond and Aegon's relationship, first they were enemies as children, then Aemond lost his eye and they seemed to be on the same page, then AEGON'S SON WAS VICIOUSLY BRUTALLY MURDERED AND AEMOND IS (besides showing no character evolution driven remorse to speak of) BACK TO HATING AEGON AGAIN?! THAT'S HIS BROTHER. HIS NEPHEW. HIS SISTER'S KID. Aemond had zero fucks to give!

The fandom's reaction to Aemond has been so embarrassing! Why is he not held accountable for ANYTHING. EVER. I defended Aemond all through S1 and will always defend him from TB but HE'S A GROWN MAN NOW. He just doesn't show empathy for Aegon after Jahaerys' death, your brother is grieving and he swears Aegon is his King and he's his hitman and he will always serve his ass. IF THEY HAVE AEMOND MURDER AEGON BECAUSE HE TEASED HIM IN A BROTHEL WHAT EVEN IS THIS. Really bad writing. Really cringe too.

So don't worry there are some of us who whole heartedly agree with you and don't coddle Aemond a grown man, with the same standards season after season and hold him accountable for the sin of hoping he grows as a character even if he is heading for a darker turn.

thank you so much, anon, for this unexpected reply, as i'm hanging out at the airport with not much to do 😅

yeah, i think that, ON PAPER, aemond turning on his brother as a result of years of bullying is believable, sure, BUT. the bullying truly needs to be horrific to explain away the urge to commit basically three of the most grievous crimes in westeros: kingslaying, kinslaying and usurpation. like. no one takes those things lightly. and, i'm sorry, but teasing just doesn't cut it. i think that a lot of people may be kind of projecting their own personal grievances with school bullies onto aemond, which is natural to an extent, but they have to step back a little and realise that being rude or hurtful to someone just doesn't, in any way, merit a reaction so disproportionate that it amounts to soul-drenching crimes

in that regard, last season i was 100% on aemond's side as well, because, well, MUTILATION might warrant such an escalation in violence. compared to all that pent-up anger aemond felt for luke, the aegond rivalry is just not really well done. it COULD have been, but, without having seen ep 4, it feels very milquetoast and, most of all, unearned.

honestly, i think gwen emphasized really well the fact that we're in a fandom obsessed with their headcanons and brainrot, to the extent that it becomes difficult to separate the backstory one has created for some character with what has actually appeared on screen. what we've seen so far has only been mockery, and i get that, when you're a kid, it's very difficult to go through, but we are talking about murdering your sibling here. i mean, no, i don't think "it makes perfect sense". ALSO. pointing that out doesn't mean you're invalidating the trauma of bullying victims, let us please separate people's real experiences from fictional experiences, which 1. are fake and 2. can be improperly presented in media, which is what we are critiquing in the first place

on a final note, i have had people on my post clinging to this idea that, just because the writers had aemond say (in the most bored tone in existence) that he regrets "the business with luke" (or however the hell he phrases it) means that the writers want to communicate to us that he feels sorry over jaehaerys. please. they must either be aliens that are just now learning about human emotion OR they want to relay that aemond isn't really all that bothered fundamentally. his reaction is basically the stoned out version of this gif!

but, anyway, as dumb as aemond's reasons are or aren't, what ultimately brings the whole rivalry down is that they really didn't invest in creating any dramatic tension between these two. think of the scene at storm's end, it's the literal version of "you could have cut the tension in the room with a knife" and it's only a few minutes long. so it can be done. they just don't care OR, because of this stupid trend of reducing the number of episodes in a season, aegond was just one of those things that hit the cutting room floor. so we can all blame capitalism for rook's rest. 😅

[felice-jaganshi]

His Pet

Alastor X OC

Chapter 5

“But what?” He sat across from her, resting his chin on his folded hands.

“I… have a secret, and it might upset you if you found out.” She looked down, placing her tail in her lap again and playing with the fur.

“Oh? My sweet little fox has a secret? How out of character.” He sounded delighted to hear this. “Well, no better time to get it out in the open than now.” 

“I'm not so sure about that. I wanted to wait till you got the chance to know me better before revealing it. So you'd like me more and see me as useful to keep around.”

He placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head up, “look at me, darling. You've already certainly proved your worth to me. You may have saved my life with that healing you did earlier today. And I like you plenty, as well as I like anyone anyways. You're on par with Nifty for my affections.” He gave her a soft smile and his eyes were full of warmth. “Now please dear, what secrets do you keep from me?”

She knew he was playing her right now, but… what did she really have to lose other than the ignorance act? Maybe he'd be more willing to make the deal she wanted with him if she did tell him? Worth a shot. She let out a long sigh.

“Okay, just… please try to not get mad? And believe that I had no ill intentions whatsoever.” Now she had more than just his curiosity, she was so certain he'd be mad!

“Remember how I said I got kicked out of heaven for overhearing something I shouldn't have? Well, I left out a few details… like where I was at the time.” Alastor took back his hand, waiting for her to get to the point.

“So there's a place in heaven I heard a rumor about. It's called the Hall of Souls. It's like a giant library with books on everyone's lives, angels and sinners. And I… kinda broke in.”

“My my, such a little rule breaker! What happened to your ‘only sin being stupidity’?” He was teasing now, this sounded interesting, but also not anything he'd be mad about yet.

“W-well, it was for research! I was working on a murder mystery story, so I wanted to research serial killers. And I did find the category on them.”

Ah! Now it was falling into place.

“Uh oh, did you find a file on me, dear? Now that's quite the invasion of privacy.” He tisked at her, shaking his head softly.

“Yes, I read it. Several times actually… I kept coming back to it week after week, and I guess I kind of developed a crush on you through reading it. Sorry if that's creepy… there were notes in there too, from someone else. But I couldn't figure out what they were trying to learn from your book though…”

His eye did twitch at the “crush” remark, but he kept himself under control, letting her finish.

“I didn't recognize you immediately, but the way you spoke and acted towards me when you found me felt so familiar, I took the risk that it was you. And I'm so glad it was. And I think I figured out what those notes were trying to say about you.” 

“One second, you've given me a lot to process already.” He thought for a second on what she had said. “So you read a book about me, a serial killer, over and over and develop romantic feelings for me?”

“Well, yeah it sounds bad when you put it that way. But the bits with your Mom were really sweet. And you killed other killers, right? You had a moral justification! And I figured out, that's what the other person's notes were! They cross-referenced your victims and they all ended up having committed horrific crimes as well! You killing them saved others lives!” She stood up and looked at him with a passionate expression. “Their notes pointed out that you shouldn't have been punished with hell! You belong in heaven!”

His ears laid flat on his skull, “N-now now, Zariah, sit back down. You're getting overzealous, I absolutely belong in hell.” He used his shadow to gently pull her back into sitting in her chair.

“But why? Why you and not others who killed for good purposes too? There are plenty of people who have killed that ended up in both directions. Did you know no one in heaven actually knows what gets you up there?! It could be a total coin flip!”

“That's quite a theory. But, let's keep it to ourselves. We don't need the mass hysteria that could be caused until we know how to use it to our advantage.”

Her ears perked up at the use of “we” and “our”.

“Alastor, can we make another deal? One where I give you my soul completely. I already know what I want to ask for.” She decided to be bold while she had him here! He felt unsteady suddenly, she was the one offering her soul? 

“Well, I'll certainly listen to your offer. But expect a counter offer if you ask too much.” She better not ask him to be her husband or something ridiculous!

“I want you to take care of me. Act as my guardian and keep me safe and healthy. I just want you to guarantee you'll never hurt me and you'll keep me safe. In exchange, you'll have my eternal loyalty, love, and soul.”

He was surprised, “I don't normally ask this, but… why? Why are you offering your eternal soul so readily? It's a bit…” There had to be a downside, another leash on him of some sort!

“Alastor.” Her voice became stern, “I wish to take care of you in whatever way I can, as minimal as my usefulness is. And all I want is to be cared for like you would a beloved pet. Are my conditions really that hard to believe? This was all I wanted when alive as well, just someone to help me get by on a daily basis, to help me survive in a shitty world that's on fire! What would be so little to you, would be everything to me.”

He couldn't stand the sad, broken look in his angel's eyes. Yes, his angel. He sighed and closed his eyes before holding out his hand, “alright, you have a point. I accept acting as your guardian and caretaker in exchange for your soul.”

She took his hand quickly before he could second guess, and smiled as the wind whipped around again. 

“Oh, you're stuck with me forever now.” She grinned wide, and it was in that moment he realized he fucked up. 

That cunning little witch! She had thrown him off his groove with an information overload, and struck with her false innocence act! That's what he gets for underestimating women, he supposed. Twice, twice he let this happen! Now he was on her leash too! Just how would she abuse this power over him?!

Alastor glared at her, grinding his teeth in his ceaseless smile. “My dear… what exactly did you just do?” 

“Hm? Oh, nothing you need to worry about. So long as you keep your end of our deal.” She calmed down her grin to a soft smile. “Let's just say, this became a much more mutual deal than you're used to. I got everything I could ever want or need out of it, and you got everything you could of me out of it.” She got up from the chair with a stretch and a yawn. “I should go to my own room to rest for the night. I'll see you tomorrow Al! Love you, sleep well.” She smiled and left the room. He felt sick to his stomach, fuck. Fuck. FUCK! 

[6okuto]

Hi.

I saw that you did like a pt 2 for Ais... Could you do a part 2 for Kuras

Only if you have time for that!

KURAS HCS 2

gn!reader | hellaur !! i absolutely can. meow

HIS WHITE OUTFIT. man... you get your clothes dirty and bro knows exactly how to get the stains out and offers to do your laundry/teach you if you don't know how.

you ask to stick around the clinic to help out and he does a mini tour and gives you some easy tasks. he appreciates your company and rarely says no without some external factor

if you got him a keychain or trinket he'd put it somewhere he'd see it often. maybe fidget with while he's working or researching something. especially if it's like,, a pen or notebook. make sure it's good quality and he'll be using them regularly!

you know when you have Home Remedies that you have no research to back up but work for you ? kuras has to watch and respect the fact that it worked...in whatever way....but also really wants you to try the actual medicine he has. he's a doctor. please

kuras is probably The one in the cast to go to if you want to be held accountable for something. as in like, not spending more than x amount of money or studying for x amount of time. he's a mischievous guy but if you want someone to inevitably support your bad life/financial decisions maybe choose someone else

^ tbf mhin is probably also a decent choice methinks

type of guy to learn you like a book or relate to a song or character or whatever then take the time to check it out and analyze it himself. if you ever gave him an annotated novel he'd read every single note and even tell you his favourites + his own thoughts

you tell him about your favourite characters and why you like them and he's like Hm. interesting. ?! what's interesting. what deep trauma and personal history did you just dissect

bruh....kuras as a professor. the brown trench coat and glasses walking around campus in autumn Omggg

okayy cafe + library/book store date where you pick each other's drinks and books and people watch

washing his hair like,, showering/bathing together but taking care of his hair in general. smth smth nonsexual intimacy smth smth him relaxing against you and offering to do the same/something in return smth smth

i like to think he'd have a nice singing voice. like you're helping out at the clinic and you hear him humming something he heard and you're like !! woah.

sitting in silence together. yippee! you break the silence with a random thought or question and it takes him a second to process but gives a decent answer. asks about the train of thought that led you there if it's especially out of the blue

^ it's sort of soft + smooth..? like Hello There Tenor....slay that white winter hymnal. sorry that's always the first song i remember from choir

vry good if you're being indecisive about something small. like where to eat. may somehow convince you to get something that wasn't even an option at first based on what you seem to be craving

ok. actually plot related . like fine red spring studio. kuras can commit crimes and atrocities 🙄! his scam was just the beginning and he keeps up a front where that's some of the worst he'll do. when he's finally caught we're going to have to make a choice where we're afraid or choose to help him (whatever that means to you)

our faces when kuras projects his probable self hatred and belief that sins can only he repaid through suffering onto others which is what the horrible things he'll do is centered around 😂 haha that'd be crazy

anyway. whatever. as always assume i'm wrong. i'm just a girl

@lost-lonnie @respitable @mitskiologist

[danggirlronpa]

Hey mind telling me what the story behind Kiyo’s sister is? I’m kind of clueless and only heard one story of the whole thing😅

This got decently long, so I've put it under a cut. I'll add it to the FAQ tomorrow as well, since it's come up a few times!

I will also request that this post not be reblogged to hate blogs or blogs specifically dedicated to "bad" or "disliked" content. As someone who has been harassed as a result of content being circulated in those circles, it makes me very panicked and anxious to see my work on similar blogs. If you do so, I will need to block you for my own mental stability.

In V3 chapter three, Korekiyo admits to mass murder and takes on the guise of his sister to do so. As a result of being nearly beaten to death at one point, Korekiyo created a tulpa of his dead sister (who we'll call by her popular fan name, Miyadera, from here on). He believed Miyadera wanted him to murder 100 girls, and claimed that they were once lovers.

In general, fans seem to take Korekiyo's claims at face value. Which is...weird, considering how obviously the whole thing is a "mentally ill delusional sexually deviant serial killer" trope played completely straight. And that his worldview includes things like "I should kill people so my dead sister has friends." But let's set that aside, and say that, for the sake of explaining the popular fandom viewpoint, Korekiyo is a reliable narrator.

So in chapter 3, when he is on the brink of being cornered, Korekiyo begins to switch between his own identity and the identity of his sister's tulpa. These are the only potential looks we have into Miyadera's personality. To give you the gist, here are all of the quotes while Korekiyo takes on his sister's guise that are listed on the Wiki.

(Please note that the "Apologize" is directed at another student who challenges Korekiyo.)

I'm going to be honest. I have reread this a LOT trying to figure out what everyone else is apparently seeing here that I am not. At worst, this reads to me as a slightly stern etiquette teacher. But the popular fandom perception is that this dialogue implies that Miyadera was manipulating and abusing Korekiyo. I could not honestly tell you WHY people believe this, but they do.

And people ran with that. They ran with that so hard. Every sin Korekiyo commits is pinned down as being Miyadera's fault, and Korekiyo is absolved of his crimes as a result of being an abuse victim. It's similar to the effect you often see in the way people discuss Junko and Mukuro, except that Mukuro does not invoke nearly as much sympathy on a larger level, even though Junko's mockery and subsequent murder of her sister are explicit canon.

Now, to be clear: I don't buy into this. I think this is an extremely generous reading of Korekiyo's character, and that it removed his agency and the horror of his crimes to make him more sympathetic (particularly for shipping purposes - if you glance through the Miyadera tag, you see a LOT of Korekiyo/Rantaro fics with Miyadera as the evil abuser Rantaro must rescue Korekiyo from). I also think that people give too much credit to the canonicity of Miyadera's "possession" when it isn't clear, even in the universe of the game itself, whether Miyadera is actually a tulpa or if it's an identity that resulted from Korekiyo's trauma, like Syo/Jack.

But on its own, I don't care about it THAT much. People have headcanons I disagree with all the time. I don't really like a lot of people's thoughts about Nagito's backstory, either, but I don't think about it very often, and I certainly don't care enough to get mad about it. The problem is...

People are very, VERY violent about Miyadera.

I'm going to ask you to reread the quotes from Miyadera as a reminder of literally everything we know about her personality. And then I'll ask you to read this post.

This...is, in fact, despite all odds, the predominate opinion on Miyadera. If you go into her character tags, there are an endless number of posts like these, daydreaming about doing violence on her person, murdering her, torturing her, etc.

As a Grandparent (25, the age of spinsterhood), this sets off some alarm bells. This is how people used to treat female characters who got in the way of their favorite ships, like Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. Now, that is popularly understood to have been a result of misogyny. It is horrifying to see that it has survived.

Fantasizing about committing excessive violence against a woman...is misogyny. Making up crimes a woman did not canonically commit as an excuse to justify fantasizing about violence against her is misogyny. It is one thing to dislike a character based on headcanons. It is a totally separate matter to participate in and encourage this level of vitrol solely to make a male character more sympathetic.

To clarify: I do not think that misogyny is the sole reason for this interpretation. By nature, Danganronpa appeals to teenagers, who tend to fall into this type of fandom-wide trap more easily. But it is, in fact, more concerning to normalize this sort of thought process among teens and young people. And so I am very defensive of Miyadera's actual character as a result.

[impishtubist]

i, in fact, a remus lover. a remus defender is you will. however all of my WIP fics that are my favourite (yes i have favourites of my own works shush) have just, shitty remus. which. is because shitty remus is the remus to love! i excuse his wrongs because well, i let the marauders commit any imaginable crimes. however i will admit.

remus lupin grovelling on his knees in order to get sirius to forgive him? perfection.

like yes. remus lupin was undoubtedly depressed for twelve years that his best friends were dead and the love of his life committed a heinous crime. is it reasonable for him to simply,,, not know where harry was for twelve years? also yes. for all he knew harry could’ve been in some random orphanage. however, he outta have known harry would’ve,,, ended up in hogwarts in ‘91. He could’ve written McGonagall or Dumbledore (ew) even and ask to set up a correspondence with harry during his time at hogwarts! or he could’ve done that fancy little trick where the owl finds the person the letter is addressed to! is it possible that vernon or petunia would’ve then burned those letters? yes! but at least then he tried. like actually tried. and side note, he definitely was concerned about raising someone as a werewolf (seen through him trying to abandon Tonks)

and third year! he got,,, fairly close to harry in POA, not like sirius and harry but in a fairly good manner. their relationship showed they were somewhat close! even if it wasn’t exactly. however to immediately cease contact with him? no excuse. he knew where harry was. he knew how to get in contact with him. he was in the OOTP where harry’s godfather was so he could get in contact through that. like yes is it weird for an ex professor to randomly get in touch with you despite not being attached to the hip? absolutely! however remus was sirius’s lover??? was his boyfriend for years? or at least best friends with sirius! he was harry’s uncle at some point! he was uncle moony at some point! it wouldn’t have been weird! harry would’ve loved it.

although the cherry on top of the cake is him, attacking harry. i say attacking loosely, it was a curse/jinx and he left, but still. he had abandoned his wife and child (or was tonks just pregnant at this point? i’m unsure!) due to his reasonable fear of hurting teddy with his lycanthropy (not reasonable enough to just abandon them imo, if he didn’t wanna be a dad he could’ve gotten condoms!) and tried to join harry’s horcrux hunt and his immediate response to being called a coward is to just,,, hex a seventeen year old??

so yes. remus lupin is allowed to commit sims and i love it! i love when the marauders r lowkey shitty and toxic. however he ought to grovel at least once.

yeah alright I'll allow this ask to come through 🤣 I don't believe Remus is allowed any sins but I DO agree he is toxic and he ought to grovel, and that like. 90% of his actions re: Sirius and Harry are inexcusable. Especially Harry. But you are a Remus enjoyer and I respect that. I hope you have a great time writing about him. And I will continue to call him a shitty, shitty person who needs to grovel and beg and work for Sirius and Harry to forgive him.

Remus on his knees for Sirius? Begging and pleading? Yes please give it to me. This was very entertaining to read, thank you for brightening my inbox tonight.

[yhwhrulz]

Today's Daily Encounter Monday, February 12, 2024

Love For A Lifetime: The Best Support

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.1

Were you ever told, "If you tell a lie you'll be struck down with lightning"? Did you ever wonder where that came from? It's actually Biblical. In Acts chapter 5 we find the story of Ananias and Sapphira; a couple eager to be known for their generous giving. Instead, they are remembered for their emphatic end. The church members had decided to sell their goods to meet the needs of the poor. Some sold their land and received great gestures of appreciation for their generosity. Ananias and Sapphira, wanting some of that praise, decided that they, too, would also sell their land to show how generous they were. However, they were a little doubtful that God would provide their needs. They decided together that they would, indeed, sell, but they would say that they sold for less than they actually did and keep some of the money from the sale for themselves. It was their money to do so as they pleased, but it was their deception that led to their demise.

Ananias arrived at the church first, but the Holy Spirit had already alerted the disciples to these secret events. When he approached the leaders with the money, Peter confronted him and questioned his motives, emphasizing that the One they had lied to was God. Verse 5 says that upon hearing these words, Ananias fell down, dead! A few hours later, Sapphira came along, unaware of her husband's calamity. Upon being questioned, she repeated her late husband's last words. As Peter called her out for being in cahoots with her husband, she too, took her last breath! Ok, maybe not by lightning, but struck down nevertheless!

Your spouse is your "partner in life", not your "partner in crime"! We were designed to complement each other and be each other's greatest support. In marriage, we have a built-in accountability partner and we must be willing to confront and rebuke each other — in love and in a gentle and humble manner. We are called to "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other as Christ forgave you" (Eph. 4:32). Had Sapphira suggested to her husband "let's just tell them the truth", they might have reaped the blessings of their generosity and possibly some guidance on how to give whole-heartedly. They had the potential to be each other's greatest support, but choosing to go along with the lie cost them both their lives. When we deal with the sin in our lives, we become more like Jesus. And loving like Jesus produces Love…for a lifetime.

Suggested Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, by now we are very much aware of what pleases you and of the things that highly displease you. Our actions, attitudes, and ultimately our decisions are reflections of the one we serve. I want my life to please you Lord, and I want my marriage to glorify you. Help us to seek your wisdom even in the simplest choices so that your love will be magnified in our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Proverbs 27:17 (ESV).

Today's Encounter was written by: Veronica B. NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.

Daily Encounter is published at no charge by ACTS International, a non-profit organization, and made possible through the donations of interested friends. Donations can be sent at: http://www.actscom.com

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When copying or forwarding include the following: "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2005-2023 ACTS International

[katie-the-bug]

First of all, "...because I guess Hell was the most important place for the class I read it in." Yes. Just, yes.

Second of all, YES, you would have a better time reading The Inferno now that you're not in an environment where Hell and Damnation and Eternal Suffering are all treated as Very Real Things That Will Happen To You.

And, if you can parse through the language and the cultural references (bet you a nickel there's multiple annotated translations for free online), you'll find other funny stuff. Such as:

Why is he meeting his favorite author in Hell of all places? Because his favorite author is in Hell - well, Hell Lite, but still. And why is Vergil in Hell? Because he lived before Jesus and never managed to invent Christianity from first principles or whatever it is you had to do to not go to Hell for the crime of having existed before Jesus.

His favorite author, it turns out, is a fan of him too.

It's worth noting that Dante was kicked out of his hometown of Florence some time before he wrote The Inferno. Several of the people responsible for this, as well as assorted other political opponents and other People Dante Didn't Like, are all in Hell, and Dante gets to harass them.

Dante places Achilles, of Trojan War fame, in horny jail the 2nd Circle of Hell. Now, Dante didn't have access to the Iliad like we do today, but "funny in hindsight" is still funny. This is the guy whose rage is referenced in the first line of the Iliad AND who has been shipped with another man since antiquity. He does NOT belong there.

On that note, Hell is full of all kinds of creatures from Greek mythology. I don't recall there being an explanation for why this is, so we're just left to assume that things like giants and centaurs are historical fact in the Danteverse.

Half of everybody Dante meets has some connection to Florence and he ends up discussing politics with them. Discussing politics. In Hell. The brainrot is real...

Diversity win! The one person in Hell who Dante actually liked is gay!

Thieves are condemned to turn into lizards and back for all eternity. I don't see what's so bad about being a lizard but I guess Dante did.

Odysseus is in Hell for basically everything he's famous for. [EPIC: The Musical joke pending, please be patient.]

Somewhere in the lower circles of Hell is a hole full of Popes, and every time a new one comes down (which is implied to be pretty frequently) they just cram him in there headfirst.

In the Danteverse, it's possible to commit a sin so bad that you go to Hell immediately and a demon pilots your body until its natural death, which is a) metal as hell and b) heresy.

The lowest circles of Hell are in fact frozen over, which means that a lot of people should be held to a lot of rash promises.

I've probably forgotten more stuff but it's been a while since I was in high school.

I’ve been thinking about Dante’s Inferno and it’s such a funny concept. Guy writes about meeting his favorite author but they go on a tour of Hell. Why that? Why a tour through Hell?

You get to meet your favorite author, yay! But Hell would be pretty distracting.

If I got to meet and spend time with a favorite author we’d hang out in a park or something.

I remember that there’s one about Heaven and whatever happens in Purgatory too but I never read those because I guess Hell was the most important place for the class I read it in.

I guess this is the time to admit that I thought the concept was interesting but don’t remember enjoying it. Spending half a semester or so talking about pain and suffering in hell wasn’t fun. But maybe it would be better reading it outside of catholic school, and now that I’m no longer Catholic?

[sumeru-academy]

Orchid’s evening.

synopsis: you help lady ningguang get dressed.

character(s): ningguang.

warning(s): a lot of (non-sexual) touching and intimacy.

note(s): female reader, no use of y/n, think of her dark blue orchid’s evening gown, no beta we die like my genshin wife.

happy birthday to the woman i redownloaded genshin for but don’t even have built anymore </3.

⎯⎯mod alice 🦋

“I’m here as requested, my lady.” 

Nimble and quiet was your voice as you tiptoed passed the sliding screens. You felt shy against the dim lighting, like you were a little voice walking into a swallowing ocean. 

Standing by the entrance, you closed the screen behind you and awaited her next order. 

To step in her private chambers seemed almost blasphemous, as if sin swathed your entire body for committing such a heinous crime. You trained your eyes anywhere but the light at the far end of the room, where a single candle flickered haphazardly on her vanity. 

Because that was where she dressed—Lady Ningguang, with her back turned to you. And you felt death served on a platter if you dared to feast your eyes. 

“Come closer,” she shortly beckoned. The firmness of her voice was a reigning kind of thunderstorm, one whose velvety nature did not hesitate to consume you, yet whose command did not fail to strike fear. 

“Yes, my lady.” 

Truly, the bite at the back of your throat was painfully obvious in the way that your voice tripped on itself, and you internally dreaded the idea of actually tripping. Lady Ningguang was no God, but she might as well be, and your nervousness knew no bounds. You could not help but feel as if you were approaching a deity, and even as one of her simple secretaries you still found her so magnificent. 

“I need a little help,” she told you quite simply. “It won’t be long.”

Was she as nervous as you are? Surely not—this was only a simple request from her, though you didn’t even know what it was yet. In all her grace, she stood from her seat at the vanity, and it was only then did you finally look at her. 

Bare backed, her dress wrapped loose around her as the bottom laid unzipped—she stood with the zipper handle hanging right off her lower back. You gulped, and it wasn’t like your eyes could train away after seeing your lady in such an indecent state; Especially here, all alone with you in her private chambers where you felt dirty for even glancing. 

“Zip it for me, please?” was all she asked. “I can’t seem to do it.”

She turned to you not once, only keeping her back towards you. To be faced with a part of her so bare felt like seeing a God in her most vulnerable state, though you cursed yourself for thinking that way. 

You were only called here to help fix her dress, that was all. 

Nothing more. 

“Of course, my lady.” 

Your hands reached forward, and you almost found yourself stumbling. You were quite awkwardly far from her—farther than an arm’s reach. It took all your pride just to take that single step closer to her figure. Had this been a different setting—different than this dim, empty room, or this close, almost ill-mannered proximity—then maybe you wouldn’t be choking on your own tongue. 

And yet she stayed as still as a statue, even when your timid fingers parted her waterfalls of hair that cascaded down her back. It felt exactly as you imagined, akin to the rich softness of silk flowers. You weren’t surprised there, but you still felt cautious when you draped her hair over either shoulder. 

Your fingers brushed against one of her shoulders as you set her hair down; And it could’ve been a conniver’s trick of light, but she lightly shivered. Perhaps it was your touch, or your breath against her back, or perhaps it didn’t even happen at all. 

But when your fingers pressed against her lower back to grasp the zipper of her midnight dress, she audibly sighed. The richness of her voice sounded amplified in this deafening silence, as if she breathed right next to your ear. 

Still, it was a fleeting moment nevertheless, and you zipped it up until the end, where it stopped right below her waist. Your nimble fingers worked to secure the little hook-and-wire closure atop the zipper, and you silently hoped she couldn’t feel how much your hands were trembling. 

“Are you finished?” 

The hook missed the loop. You were too far to see it. 

“Ah, sorry. Just one second.” Did your voice really sound as shaky as you heard it? 

You took another step closer, your face practically hovering over the top of her backside now, close to brushing the sapphire gems that draped down the center. But it was easier to see the hook now, and you hastily secured it before embarrassing yourself again. 

“Done.”

She turned around immediately—before your hands had even fully left the fabric. And then she faced the round mirror of her vanity, staring at her reflection. You were in there as well—right next to her, actually—but she didn’t seem to mind as her eyes judged the way the gown hugged her figure.

Your lady was beyond beautiful, really. Even behind these closed doors in which the public eye could not access, she was still such a sight to behold. Your mind couldn’t help but wonder how pretty she would blend in with Liyue’s night sky. In her normal attire, she was the Harbor’s bright sun. And in her evening gown, she was a brilliant collision of all the stars in Teyvat. 

“How does it look?” she asked towards your reflection through the mirror. 

“Sublime.” And stunning, and elegant, and magnificent, and noble, and divine, and—

You could barely catch your breath. 

“And your opinion on an eye look?” she questioned again. This time, however, she sat back down on the seat of her vanity, looking up at your standing figure through the mirror’s reflection. It was only then that you realized she applied no makeup on her eyes quite yet. “I feel I should deviate from my usual soft smoke or classic bar style.”

You mused, “Perhaps one with a more dropped flick?”

“I’ve never attempted anything so bold.” 

“It may produce a more simple yet elegant look.”

“Then try it on me.”

Your conversation rang so loud in your head; And it seems like no matter how quiet you tried to speak, it still felt like you were screaming blasphemy in holy grounds. 

Perhaps this was due to your close proximity in only one side of the empty room, but even as you both finished speaking, each shift and movement made was amplified by tenfold against your eardrums. And though you were only spending a few seconds selecting an eye color for her, it felt like you were wasting hours of her time. 

Finally, your hand landed on a dark blue tone before you fumbled to pick up a small brush. 

Without command, your lady tilted her head up at your standing figure, closing her eyes as you bent down nearer to her. She looked so perfectly unreal this close, though you feared she could feel your soft breathing against her face. 

Swallowing both your fear and your pride, you reached out a hand to gently cup one of her cheeks, securing her head in your hold. Her skin was so soft against you, and it felt like you were tainting pure gold with your nervous touch. And yet she showed no signs of hatred or disgust, even remaining patiently still as you pressed the brush against the corner of her eye. 

Slowly, you moved the brush along the bottom of her eyelid, the shiny blue leaving its trail along its wake. Your heart was beating so heavily against your chest. You could only pray that its hammering beats weren’t loud enough for her to hear. 

Your fingers tilted the brush to wing the line, and then you switched to the other eye. 

It was quickly over before it even started. And though it was just a simple moment, you were ready to back off and sigh in heavy relief from such tension. This closeness was getting to your head. 

Before daring to open her eyes, she asked, “Is it dry?” 

Ah, right. Liquid gleam. 

“Not quite. Allow me to just…” 

She slightly gasped when both your hands held her cheeks once again, this time positioning her to face upwards. You lowered your own head closer to hers, lips forming until— 

Her hands quickly raced up to grasp your wrists once she felt you blow against one of her closed eyelids. Your gaze was focused down on her eyeliner, which was slowly being dried by your blowing. She squeezed your wrists very slightly as you moved towards her other eye, repeating the same, gentle process. 

Thump. Thump.

And when you finally backed away, your warm hands leaving her lonely face, you told her:

“Open.” 

You immediately fell for her etherealness. 

She was like the starry night sky—one that was drowned out by Liyue Harbor’s city lights. She was a hidden gem only you were bestowed the honor of seeing this way, as if blessed with the grandeurs of divinity. 

Lady Ningguang was a work of art, and you felt like you had crossed that velvet rope just to view her up close. 

“Thank you.” 

You snapped out of your little daze, only now realizing how close you were still standing to her. But before you could back away, you felt her hand press against your cheek, and something quickly pecked against your lips. It only lasted less than a few seconds, before your lady stood up to leave. 

“Join me outside later this evening, will you? I’d like to spend my birthday with you.”

[proheromidoriyashouto]

Jaskier who is losing his eye sight because someone cursed him to stop eyeing their wife and ope guess he can’t see anybody now, and wants a sight hound but he kept putting it off because acknowledging it would make it real but he’s reached the point of no return and for all that he is a rising star at Oxenfurt University he is from a rich family, naive, and easy to trick so a mage sells him a straight up barghest they bred like noble ladies breed lapdogs except this is a chaos beast. a post-conjunction freak. a vaguely dog shaped crime against nature.

and it LOVES Jaskier. just LOVES all the smooches and scritches from this man who does not smell of fear or intent to harm. LOVES roasted mutton bone dinner treats for being a “good girl”. LOVES snuggling with a guy who can’t tell its not a hairless dog but actually A Problem For City Living. and all it has to do is keep the hand that feeds it happy, by doing tasks, and safe, mostly from himself.

it is smarter than any actual dog due to mage intervention in its domestication so it understands this trade off is pretty sweet. cats have got this “adopt a two-leg idiot thing” right.

and the University keeps trying to hire Witchers to deal with it, but they have to meet Jaskier, and Jaskier LOVES his big cuddly dog and LOVES the idea of Big Strong Monster Hunters coming to talk. and the Witchers are just like “That’s a monster, young man.“ and Jaskier says, “She’s my puppy and I have enough money to make you go away.”

and the Witchers initially think this is a threat, but Jaskier just writes them a bank note for REDONKULOUS amounts of coin to fuck off and let me live please and since it hasn’t hurt anyone or even growled at the Witchers themselves and with Witchers being so dirt fucking poor most of them just fuck right off and live it up a little bit, only noting in their journals to keep an ear out for this kid in the future with no idea how that’s going to come to pass

some Witchers even try the old come-back-in-a-different-get-up-trick to try and get more money off this clearly rich sucker, but Jaskier remembers the sound of their voices and, as fascinated by Witchers as he is, brings up things they’ve told him and is just generally a good host and kind person to them so they feel bad trying to scam the blind kid and leave before having an existential crisis about it

until the Wolves hear about it. and they have too much moral backbone to just let it go. this college idiot may think that throwing around his family money is enough to get his way but they are going to disabuse him of this notion before people start dying or the beast begins spreading its’ affliction to actual dogs.

they send Geralt. which is a mistake. because he agrees to allow Jaskier to come with him to find and identify the mage that sold him the barghest and just leads to twenty years of shenaniganry because they. can. not. find. this snakeoil sales man.

except Jaskier thinks he’s just been traveling with his two very best friends in the whole wide world, writing songs depicting Witchers as heroes and the best of men, being guided by a post-Conjunction monster the entire time.

it isn’t until someone points out the obvious solution of trying to cure Jaskier’s curse instead, rendering the need for a sight hound moot to begin with, that things begin to fall to pieces.

Jaskier begins to feel like he’s losing Geralt. wonders if Geralt ever saw him as the friend that Jaskier felt they had become or if he’s just been a contract the Witcher has humored the entire time. which is not helped by the events of the King Niedamir’s Mountain.

and then someone commits the cardinal sin of pointing out that Jaskier’s “Seeing Eye Dog“ has no eyes itself. it’s been “seeing” for him and his non-functioning eyes out of its non-existent eyes for their entire acquaintance.

Jaskier remains in complete denial about it even after being granted his sight again. “Her eyes are just closed. You wouldn’t get it, she’s pedigree, Geralt. Of course she doesn’t resemble any mutt off the street. She has papers.”

[lemonadecandy]

Meeting Zhongli [Part 8]

Game: Genshin Impact

About: Zhongli x fem!reader

Note 1: The premise is that 'you' get transported into the game and journey through Teyvat along with the traveler. This is a reinterpretation of the Liyue Archon Quests. Hope you enjoy~

Words: ~1.7k

Battle fatigue…”, Zhongli started as I moved away from his arms after having gained some semblance of stability. “It is a common illness among soldiers. After having experienced trauma at the battlefield some are never able to get over it, even in the entirety of their lives.”

I sniffled as I wiped all the tears away from my face, “Oh.”

“I was not aware that you had experienced that sort of history…”, he glanced at me as he trailed off.

I let out a dry chuckle, “I had never expected to experience such an incident either.” We had been seated near a tree, away from the bloodied camp. The corpses had all but disappeared into thin air, it was a strange phenomenon that occurred in this world, erasing every trace of my crime, as if it hadn’t even happened. I curled up my limbs in fright of my mind as I tried to put the whole incident behind me.

The geo archon sighed beside me as he continued, “Those… creatures of the abyss, they are monsters that bring harm. Do not torment yourself for only doing what is right.”

“Monsters, yes… yes, I understand.”, I spoke in a mumble as I looked up in front of me.

Zhongli didn’t say anything further and we just sat in awkward silence for a few moments. The wind rustled through the Sandbearer tree we were leaning against, a few of the golden leaves falling down due to the force. I extended my right hand to catch one of them in my palm. On closer inspection it looked like the leaves were almost transparent, there seemed something… strangely fleeting about them. “Pretty…”, I let out in an inaudible whisper.

Somehow managing to catch my words, Zhongli responded, “These trees are very common in Liyue, hence their beauty is hardly appreciated. But if admired carefully, they have something truly mystical about them.”

I smiled at his attempt to bring comfort to me as I played around with the leaf in my hand, “They might just be my favorite… they don’t stand out even one bit among the more exotic varieties, but they can still be so remarkable with how they enhance the beauty of the entire area.”, I started. “I imagine a field full of silk flowers wouldn’t look that pleasing.”

Zhongli chuckled at my statement. “I suppose that’s true.”

Smiling along with him I continued, “If I imagine myself to be like these Sandbearer trees… ordinary yet impressive… I feel a sense of solace.”

“Only a few comprehend the joy of finding beauty in the ordinary… I understand what you mean.”, the geo archon seemed to be reminiscing about something himself.

“…” The feeling of vulnerability in my heart hadn’t vanished yet, but I also felt unusually at ease. “It was some time ago… was it a human or a hilichurl… I do not know.”

“Did it attack you first?”, Zhongli turned to face me.

“Yes.”, I continued to look away.

“Then you only did what you could, you did not have a choice.”, he replied nonchalantly.

Feeling a prick of guilt, I explained, “… I did. It was trying to run away.”

To my surprise, the geo archon only sighed, “There is a certain ‘code’ followed by the brave warriors of the Millelith. If one raises their weapon intending to fight, they have declared that they are ready to be killed.”

My eyes widened in confusion as I looked at him. There was only empathy in his expressions as if trying to convince me that I truly didn’t do anything wrong. Never once had I entertained the thought that my actions were actually in the right, to me I had only committed a grave sin. And just like yesterday, Zhongli once again lightly patted my head with tenderness. Do I believe him? Do I believe that I didn’t do anything wrong? Turning my head back the other way, I sullenly whispered, “But it still… hurts.”

“This karma is a weight we must all bear, it will be a burden on you forever and you can never relieve yourself of it. But it is necessary to accept it if you wish to survive. The best you can do is to still hold on to your morals and beliefs and continue to move forward.”, there was melancholy in his voice as Zhongli spoke. The weight of the actions committed over numerous millennia shone in his words. “Great sacrifices need to be made if peace is to be achieved.” That’s right… Rex Lapis… he has killed far more beings than a single hillichurl. Some of who were probably innocent as well. I smirked as the realization that the person sitting next to me was a veteran warrior hit me. To him, my concerns must seem childish. But I somehow feel consoled by hearing these words from someone like him. I feel acknowledged.

“Thank you.”, I smiled, trying to muster as much of my gratitude as I could in my expressions.

Smiling back at me, he retracted his hand after giving me a final pat on my head. Embarrassed, I raised my hands to my head as I looked away. “It seems like I always make a mess of myself when I am in front of you.”

Zhongli bent forward trying to peek at my face as he chuckled, “I hope it is because you are able to find at least an inkling of comfort in my words.”

My face probably flushed even more as I replied, “Certainly… I do.”

Feeling somewhat relaxed I stretched my limbs. The fear wasn’t gone by any measure, but I had regained my motivation to some degree at least. I gathered a few more of the Sandbearer leaves in my hand, trying to arrange them by size. Interrupting the silence, this time Zhongli spoke out, “Guizhong… they were surely closer than mere partners.”

Shocked by the sudden change in topic and the content of his words I gasped, “Huh?”

“What they shared was a deep bond of respect and admiration. Sadly, there never came a time where they could act upon and refine their affections for each other.”, Zhongli was leaning against the bark of the tree with his eyes closed.

“So… do you mean…” Trying to comprehend his words, I didn’t respond for a while. Wait a minute… admiration means ‘love’ right? He did mention ‘affection’ as well, which I’m pretty sure means love. If that’s so, is he admitting to what I think he is?! Trying to contain my bewilderment I asked, “Was he truly in love with her?”

“….”, he didn’t reply making me impatient but before I said anything else he opened his eyes. “Perhaps… but before he realized the true depth of his feelings, it had already been… too late.”

“She died…?”, I proposed, but he only responded with a nod. “That is…” There was a myriad of emotions in Zhongli’s eyes, some that I couldn't even begin to understand. He must have really loved her a lot.

“She had been put down by Rex Lapis himself… the one she adored so… and the one who unknowingly returned those sentiments as well.”, he continued. But it seemed like he was talking more to himself than me. Unwittingly I placed my hand on his shoulder. Zhongli looked pitiable once more. I had never truly experienced romantic love in my life, for I had been brought here before I could even live out that aspect of my life. But I could still greatly feel the pain of his unrequited love in my heart as well. Seriously… even an all-powerful being like him can be so easily affected by something so trivial. Zhongli didn’t even realize that my hand was on his shoulder, or maybe he just didn’t mind it. Honestly, as payback, I kinda wanted to pat his head too, but I don’t think I want to find out how kindly he would take to that action.

“Great sacrifices… is this what you meant…?”, I asked remembering his words from a few moments ago. Still, being in love… and having to take down who was probably your best friend are two very different things.

Perhaps unable to speak further upon the topic he remained silent. “It was probably best him than anyone else if I had to go down by somebody’s hand… I would be glad for it to be the one I loved.”, I tried to cheer him up. But he continued with the solemn expression on his face. “Rex Lapis must have been so terribly devastated, but he still took up the responsibility. The God of Dust must have been a truly special person to him. Even towards the end, she seemed like she wanted Morax to only be happy. Otherwise, why would she tell him to stop trying to open the dumbbell? And I am sure she must be very proud of how Liyue has grown!”, I rambled on, trying to say anything appropriate that came to my mind.

Zhongli broke into a chuckle at my helpless attempts. Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, but this works as well. I smiled along, but when he didn’t stop for a while I narrowed my eyes a little offended by how I was being mocked which only made him laugh harder. “I merely wanted to comfort you, but instead you’ve done so for me, it’s as if—“, he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

“What happen?”, I asked slightly taken aback.

“Nothing.”, he shook his head.

I smirked at his reaction as I got up. We should get the work done now. Noticing the Guili Assembly once more, I spoke, “A love so great… despite the pain, it must have felt amazing right?”

“Mhm, she truly meant the world to me.”, the geo archon replied from behind me as he stood up as well.

“You must miss her immensely…” I slowly started making my way towards the statue of the seven.

“…Yes, strangely I still find myself thinking about her every other day.”, he spoke as he opened his pocket dimension to retrieve the cleaning supplies once more.

“That’s just how love is.”, I casually remarked.

But then instead of his usual composed replies, he called out to me with a strange tone, “Y/n…”

“Hmm?”, I turned around in wonder. Zhongli stood with his spear pointed to my neck, there was hostility in his eyes.

Banner Image art by: Twitter @plus_Q_

Part 9:

[chaos0pikachu]

I’m not gonna get into the text of the series b/c  @rejectedfables​ and  @labyrynth​ got that clearly down pat but some cultural history here:

And also – we don’t know everything about MDZS’s setting – but in irl historical China, male consorts were totally a thing, and it was fine. People might be shitty about you being sex-work adjacent, but it was less homophobic than a lot of other cultures.

so like, MXTX isn’t writing historical fiction, she’s writing fantasy fiction that has more modern day values interwoven into the narrative. We know that homosexuality isn’t 100% accepted by cultivation society because LWJ is scared and frightened and hyper repressing his attraction towards WWX. Self-acceptance of one’s sexuality is a recurring theme in both SVSSS and MDZS. MXTX is writing her story from the modern day POV of a Chinese woman where until 1997 where sodomy was illegal and considered “hooliganism”. Where gay content was banned on weibo until 2018, a decision that was reversed in 2021 unfortunately. I also thoroughly recommend this video essay on Leslie Cheung who did a ton for the queer community in Hong Kong and China and suffered an insane amount of homophobic harassment and bigotry in his career in the 80s and 90s (he committed suicide in the early 00s). 

There’s also the general history of debates around Confucianism where not having children is one of the greatest sins against filial piety. Which is why, historically, you could have a relationship with a man or woman, but you had to also be married to someone of the opposite sex to continue the ancestral family line. The truth is probably somewhere more in the middle where Emperors could have male concubines but they also HAD to have children too. And they couldn’t legally marry their male partners. 

Given all that historical and cultural context, it’s simply not a black and white issue of “back in the day China was 100% accepting of the gays and that’s what MXTX is basing her story off of”. Because it seems very unlikely given the meta-text and the canonical text that’s what she’s channeling in her work. Cultivation novels are not historical fiction in the same way like, The Other Boylan Girl is. For more on that and the general history and development of Wuxia and Xianxia (cultivation) tropes I recommend this essay. 

And also, in the US, definitely ACAB. But I think that’s because of bad policy and deep cultural problems. I’m not a prison abolitionist. Some people just are going to exploit others at every opportunity, and we need to use force and punishment to minimize that.

Prison abolition doesn’t advocate for the eradication of all prisons. It advocates for reform, reduction of police force, redistribution of government spending towards over policing (police do not need fucking tanks), the eradication of racist and classist laws and police policies, addressing community problems that contribute to crime, and investing in housing, education, jobs, and health. 

For anyone interested I implore you to read this article from The Marshall Project that speaks with prison abolitionists. Please also note that while yes, we should lock the Ted Bundy’s of the world up as they can not be reformed, most people in prisons are in their for petty crimes. According to the statistics by the Federal Bureau of Prisons official government website, as of April 2023 the crime that most inmates were incarnated for was drug offenses at a staggering 66,236 people. You can actually see how drug offenses skew the chart: 

And in far to many states you can get charged with a drug felony for carrying weed. This is what prison abolitionists are fighting against. 

Finally, definitely ACAB in China too. Or are we all forgetting how horrifically police treated Hong Kong protesters only two years ago? Here have another article on it. You can also watch this video by Hasan Minhaj about the governments censorship and how police enforce those laws. This isn’t a “China bad” take, governments in general are typically run by people who first and foremost abuse the power given to them by the state and the people. The US isn’t exempt from this either as much as we like to pretend we are. Police ultimately, are enforcers of the state, even more so than the military because police directly enforce the day-to-day government mandated status quo. They’re the first on the line when dealing with citizens. 

So yeah, ACAB for all cops, including NMJ’s busted ass who couldn’t understand oppression b/c he had absolutely no frame of reference to which to understand it growing up as a privileged noble who’s violence was given the gold star by the society around him. All because he had the right family background and name and status. 

@kuntya​ tags on this post

I FEEL like you’re trying to wrap your head around the post, rather than flat out disagreeing with it. Here’s my recommended thinking points to help you out:

“He doesn’t have to obey his father or stay with the Jin Sect”

Jin Guangyao lives in a society wherein filial piety and filial respect/devotion is paramount. He is expected to be devoted to his parents and do as they say, and he will be publicly reviled if he doesn’t. Could he have simply never connected with his father? Sure, but he had no way of knowing how bad it would go, and once he DID connect it was too late to back out. (I’ll elaborate on this point later)

Jin Guangyao loved his mother, and her living AND dying wish was for him to be recognized by his father. Devotion to his mother’s wishes drives his devotion to his father. 

Jin Guangyao lives in a society that HATES HIM because of his mother’s profession, no matter what he does. If they hate him when he’s doing everything “appropriately” they would treat him even worse if he openly broke the rules of society.

Jin Guangyao spends his entire life feeling (and BEING) unsafe because of how people view him due to his mother’s profession. His actions, which would have been understood as necessary and good were any member of the gentry to have performed them, are questioned and condemned because they were his. 

When I say he spent his whole life being unsafe, I mean it. He went from the absolute bottom of society to the absolute top, and was NEVER safe. The entire society turned on him and he was literally killed WHILE he was holding the highest position in society. He feels unsafe, AND HE’S NOT WRONG.

Being Jin Guangshan’s son DID give him a modicum of protection that he didn’t otherwise have. It put him in a position to be abused by Madam Jin, and be reviled by people who knew his background, but it also offered him SOME protections he didn’t otherwise have. He is ONLY afforded these protections while following his father’s orders and displaying appropriate filial devotion. By the time he has been recognized as his father’s son, it is too late to escape the dangerous parts of this, but any wrong move would have revoked the protections. 

“He could just go be Lan Xichen’s live in boyfriend”

Even if you just mean “he could have just joined the Lan sect and Lan Xichen would have taken care of him”, please revisit the filial piety points, and additionally consider that after a certain point, Jin Guangyao knew damning secrets about Jin Guangshan. JGS would have reasonably considered JGY going to the Lan sect to be a threat, and might have retaliated against either JGY or even the Lan sect itself.

Jin Guangyao grew up watching sex workers be mistreated by the people they relied on, and was then repeatedly mistreated by people HE relied on (his superior officers, his father, his father’s wife, etc.). Relying on others for safety does not feel safe to Jin Guangyao, because historically it has not been. 

And if you DO mean literally being with Lan Xichen romantically/sexually: Jin Guangyao lives in a society that is broadly homophobic, so even if he WANTED to be a “stay at home boyfriend” that would have probably messed up Lan Xichen’s life/position AS WELL as his own, and Lan Xichen’s happiness matters a lot to him.

Jin Guangyao was trapped in a traumatizing marriage – he WANTED to marry her right up until learning The Bad Information, but at that point if he’d backed out he’d have been condemning her to his own mother’s fate of being an unwed mother reviled by society AT BEST, so he just never told anyone or touched her again and swallowed how awful the situation was. He took that all on himself and told NO ONE. But he also loathed his father’s infidelity, and therefore may have resisted seeking his own happiness because it would have been unfair to both his wife (none of it was her fault) and any potential lover he might take. 

Also having an affair with Lan Xichen would potentially cause the same “JGS sees this as a threat” situation mentioned above, while he lived. 

The heads of two sects being romantically entangled can cause Political Problems. JGY already has so much trouble having anything he suggests or supports be taken seriously, and LXC is one of his best allies – that would no longer be true if people could just say “Well, LXC is only agreeing with you because you’re fucking” as an easy way to dismiss anything they agree on.

Also, like… the guy has ambitions? He doesn’t WANT to be a house husband, he wants to IMPROVE SOCIETY, and that’s very cool and sexy of him actually? 

Saying essentially “Why didn’t he just settle for being a secret boytoy for a sect leader” is giving me extremely “Why didn’t he just become his mom? Why would he ever think he had any right to his father’s power? How dare he try to better his own life or anyone else’s” vibes. Please ponder this.

“Nie Mingjue is a cop and that makes him a moral authority” (yikes)

If laws are inconsistently enforced, then they are not about fairness or justice, they’re about enforcing classism. Also all cops are bastards, etc. so jot that down 

I’m being a tad facetious, yes, but also like… cops are NOT inherently morally upstanding, cops enforce oppression and cause terror, and if you are using them in a moral debate as pinnacles of virtue or beacons of morality then you are standing on a platform of crumbling sand.

Calling Nie Mingjue a cop IS big brained though, you’re absolutely right about that, he absolutely IS a cop, and Baxia is a metaphorical gun, welcome to my ted talk–

Nie Mingjue truly believes that his own actions are righteous while Jin Guangyao’s are criminal. This despite Jin Guangyao’s “crimes” being 1) calculated self defense after extensive mistreatment and 2) being a spy in a way that allowed him to win the war for everyone. 

(in the novel, by the way, he kills Wen Rouhan TO SAVE Nie Mingjue, and NMJ still manages to climb on a high horse about it because he doesn’t seem to understand how “being undercover” works. So chew on that.)

NMJ says “killing enemies on the battlefield doesn’t count” and JGY says “why not” and NMJ says “because I said so” because he’s a COP (again, being facetious, but the whole point is, they just have different perspectives on morality but only NMJ’s is given any credibility by society because society loves his cop ass, and hates JGY no matter what he does)

There’s something really interesting to explore about how NMJ’s WHOLE ISSUE is not really “you committed crimes” but rather “I have been faced with the reality that I CANNOT TELL when you’re being genuine vs duplicitous, and therefore I HAVE to ALWAYS assume that you are lying, because I will never know for sure, and what if I’m wrong–” and therefore THERE IS NOTHING Jin Guangyao can do that will EVER make ANYTHING right with NMJ. And that has nothing to do with his actual actions being criminal. 

Nie Mingjue gets to commit as many crimes and/or kill as many people as he wants, and he will always see it as justifiable because he understands why he did it, and that makes it okay. He doesn’t understand why Jin Guangyao does what he does, and that makes JGY’s actions unjustifiable to NMJ.

The things NMJ condemns JGY for were 1) killing his superior officer, who NMJ sent him to against his wishes and who was mistreating him and repeatedly sending him on suicide missions. JGY did this as calculated self defense. 2) being SNEAKY about killing that guy and not TURNING HIMSELF IN after. Calculated self defense would be dumb if you get executed right after. NMJ wouldn’t have been executed for this crime so he doesn’t get it, but JGY absolutely would have and knows it. 3) killing soldiers on Wen Rouhan’s orders while undercover. 4) Saying mean shit about NMJ’s dad while undercover. 5) Encouraging Huaisang to pursue art when NMJ only wanted him AT THE GUN RANGE at saber training. 6) Not letting NMJ kill Xue Yang, which would have been against JGS’s orders (and therefore would have BEEN a crime).

3,4 5, and 6 are, um. Legal? Like, those are all understandable even legally. 

1 and 2 are understandable morally, if you’re not a privileged classist cop.

Additional Thoughts

The reason the audience is biased towards Nie Mingjue’s perspective is because Wei Wuxian is biased towards Nie Mingjue’s perspective. We see everything that happened through a spell called EMPATHY, which 1) we’re told in canon is a risky and overwhelming spell that is not recommended. and 2) Whenever Wei Wuxian does uses Empathy, he ends up 10000% agreeing with the person he has EMPATHIZED with. We are shown Nie Mingjue’s perspective, which IS BIASED, via the spell that might as well be called BIAS. But even GIVEN that, by the end of the book Wei Wuxian himself thinks “Oh wow, what’s happening to Jin Guangyao right now (being turned into a villain for other’s moral convenience, then dying for it) is exactly what happened to me, this sucks”

Also: yes, Nie Mingjue is absolutely abusing him. In the Villainous Friends extra it’s implied that Jin Guangyao often has bruises, and the two culprits are Madam Jin and Nie Mingjue. Nie Mingjue is CONSTANTLY threatening his life, AND kicks him down a very long flight of stairs. These are not government approved punishments for convicted crimes (a situation that may or may not be morally right but would at least be legal), they’re one sworn brother violently taking out his anger and distrust on another in a longstanding abusive relationship. Jin Guangyao WAS NOT arrested. He was not “arrested by a cop” he was just being abused by someone who felt morally righteous in performing said abuse. Nie Mingjue ABSOLUTELY IS “~abusing~” him, as well as ABUSING him (no ~~s necessary).

If a cop spends YEARS threatening to murder an ex undercover agent, in private while off duty, because he doesn’t like what said undercover agent had to do while undercover, routinely physically assaulting him, and no one does anything to protect said undercover agent despite everyone knowing what’s going on– at some point self defense DOES become appropriate. I’d personally say Jin Guanyao waited LONGER than he needed to to reach that point.

Hope this helps, ACAB, also I love your icon. Fuck yeah psyduck 

[sketching-shark]

Why do people hate the Tang Monk so much why are we shaming a human character for being human? Also isn't he also repenting for his crime against the Buddha like that the point of his character that he isn't perfect .

I think it's mainly because of all the monkey torture times that Tang Sanzag instigates, and probably also because of a number of his holider-than-thou moments & the fact that he doesn't really seem to change that much for the better throughout the course of the journey. People should feel free to chime in if I'm getting it wrong, but I think a lot of this has resulted in an understanding of the og classic monk as a person who was more a hindrance than a help for the journey because he always thinks he's in the right no matter how many times it gets everyone into trouble.

HOWEVER, I feel I do need to agree with you anon in that the monk should be given a little bit of a break in terms of current pilgrim shaming because well there are actually a number of very good reasons why he would act the way he does, with Sun Wukong attempting to murder him not long after they met being one that comes to mind immediately. I feel like it also can't be forgotten that Tang Sanzang's childhood and early youth were pretty tragic and traumatic as well, what with his father being murdered before he was even born & then his mother sending his newborn self floating down a river after biting off his little toe so she could recognize him afterwards because if she didn't then the bandit chief that she was forced to marry would have surely killed him (hence why the monk who found him named him River Float). And then after all of that and after an eighteen-year-old Tang Sanzang finally brought the bandit chief to justice his mom ended up committing suicide.

And OF COURSE we can't leave out the fact that the Tang monk's three pilgrims are extremely dangerous yaoguai, with Sun Wukong once being a powerful warlord who challenged all of heaven & didn't care at all about humans, Zhu Bajie having killed and eaten a multitude of humans, and Sha Wujing having done the same with it also being implied that he ate numerous past incarnations of Tang Sanzang himself. As I've said before, that sort of thing would ensure that anyone would probably spend a good chunk of their time traveling with such companions also crying and falling of their dragon horse (another being that tried to eat him). And it's not just the pilgrims, but the entire journey is based around instances of other yaoguai trying to devour or rape Tang Sanzang, which I would be willing to bet would make him extremely paranoid and add to his tendency to lash out, especially if he knew he was aiming his fear and frustration at a "safe" target (namely Sun Wukong, who can't do anything against the monk without getting a vicious headache & who lives with the fear of what might happen to himself and his beloved monkeys if he doesn't complete the journey).

Finally, while it is true that Tang Sanzang is a reincarnation of Golden Cicada (the second disciple of Buddha who was condemned to reincarnate ten times for having disrespected Buddha) I do think it is crucial to note that unlike figures such as Zhu Bajie (who was also condemned to reincarnate for his crimes against heaven but who retained all his memories of who he was in that past life), Tang Sanzang has absolutely no memory of these past incarnations. If anything he's very proud and pleased to have been chosen by Guanyin and the Tang Emperor to undertake the arduous journey to the west, rather than seeing it as something he needs to do to atone for past sins. Of course Xiyouji makes it clear that Tang Sanzang is far from a perfect person, but the reader knowing something of his past lives vs. what he himself knows does introduce an interesting theological questions as to whether the beings of earth could be said to genuinely be atoning for past wrongs if they have no memory, let alone any understanding, of what they messed up the last time around. I need to note that I really don't have a firm grasp on how the Buddhist and/or Daoist and/or Confucianist sense of reincarnation works, but if anyone who knows more than I wants to give some more information on atonement vs. punishment vs. privilege as understood through the philosophy of reincarnation please do so!