#red army family

[high-voltage-rat]

Actually I'm still thinking about it. Another interesting way in which RvB is anti-war is the way that the Director fills the role of a villain and antagonist (especially in the Recollections trilogy, where he's a faceless villain we never see but is responsible for everything that happens).

In his memos to the Chairman, the Director emphasizes his sense of duty and obligation to the military- he becomes irate for the first time when he feels that it's being implied that he was derelict in his duty... or that the work he did out of that duty is being criticized for being against the military's interests. He also talks about Allison's death in a way I find... interesting.

"You see; I never had the chance to serve in battle. Nor did fate provide me the opportunity to sacrifice myself for humanity as it did for so many others in the Great War. Someone extremely dear to me was lost very early in my life. My mind has always plagued me with the question: If the choice had been placed in my hands, could I have saved her? [...] But, given the events of these past few weeks, I feel confident that had I been given the chance, I would have made those sacrifices myself... Had I only the chance."

The idea of sacrifice is central to the way he talks about his wife's loss, to the way he talks about the war in general. He talks of sacrifice with a sense of veneration- that it's something he aspires to do, that he longs for. There's a few ways we can interpret "I would have made those sacrifices myself"...

-That in Allison's place, he thinks he would have laid down his life too.

-That if given the chance, he would have given his life to save hers.

But most interestingly...

-That he would have sacrificed Allison's life for the continued survival of humanity, if that was what duty called for.

...And personally, I think all 3 are true.

In most war media, the Director's perspective on sacrifice is very common. Sacrifice is glorious and heroic- to die in battle is an honour- and it's the only way to ensure the group you serve survives. This is a tool of propaganda- nobody wants to go to war just for the sake of it, you have to give them a reason that the risk of dying or being permanently disabled isn't just acceptable, but desirable. Beyond that, most people don't want to do things they think are immoral- you have to convince them it's important, a necessary lesser evil. You teach them to sacrifice their morals, too.

The way they train soldiers to follow orders and to kill, is to convince them that they, and the people around them, and the people they care about, will all die if they don't. It's drilled into your head from day one. It's the way they ensure their commanding officers won't shy away from sending their men off to die. The message is constant- sacrifice is your duty, and duty ensures your people's survival.

In the Director's eyes, the damage Project Freelancer caused was his sacrifice. He never got the opportunity to sacrifice himself during the war- so he sacrificed others, as military brass do. The Freelancers- including his daughter. The countless sim troopers. Any people he considered "collateral damage" on missions. And when the opportunity to do so presented itself, he sacrificed a copy of himself- Alpha- and he sacrificed a copy of Allison- Tex.

The very thing that derailed his life- the loss of his wife- he made it happen again. He put her copy in dangerous situations, let her exist in the position of constant repeated failure, created the circumstances that would eventually lead to her death. He put their daughter in deadly situations that nearly killed her repeatedly, provided her with impossible expectations leading to self-destructive behaviours in the name of duty, implanted her with two AI knowing they could cause her permanent harm. He was confident he "would have made those sacrifices himself" because he did.

The Director is the embodiment of the military war machine. As an antagonist, he is a warning against buying into the glorification of sacrifice. He's a condemnation of the idea that one should be willing to do anything to win a war- that duty to the military is the thing that ensures survival... All the messages that are pushed to ensure recruitment and obedience of soldiers.

He's a reminder that swallowing the propaganda leads to you doing terrible things... and in the end, you're a broken man left mourning the losses that you suffered even as you repeated them, convinced that it was all necessary.

[evilelitest2]

Hot take: The Romanov children were not threats, the white army was. If they had won and the kids were dead, they simply would’ve crowned a distant cousin instead. The royal house of sweden was founded by some random guy in napoleon’s army. There have been other times when thrones have been offered to foreign princes. Military might ensures power, legitimacy comes later.

I

Honestly the WHite Army's response to the kids being killed was "Thank god, we don't have to deal with the Monarchists". By the time the Romanovs were killed, the Whites weren't even the Monarchist faction any more (though they had a lot of monarchists within them) they were more the "Right wing psuedo autocracy" by that point. Honest to god Monarchism wasn't really a big movement by the time the Romanovs were killed, Tsar Nicholas was such a disaster of a ruler that nobody really wanted to be associated with him. The Reds probably would have accomplished more by just letting the whites take the kids, the whites would then have to decide what to do with them which would have likely ended in disaster.

Executing Nicholas and Alexandria I am sympathetic towards, both of them were monsters who did terrible things, but I can't really support the murder of the children, though I can acknowlege that Nicholas killed many more children.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Examining Goku's Claims About Villains at the End of the Cell Saga

I have never liked Goku's reasoning for staying dead at the end of the Cell games. I still think the reasoning was superficial and hurt Gohan and his family more than necessary. But I want to go over each of the DB and DBZ villains that I can recall and validate Goku's claims because I am curious. This may not be 100% accurate since it has been a while since I watched the series.

Dragonball Villains

Pilaf - He wanted the dragonballs to rule the world. His quest had nothing to do with Goku. Bulma had more to do with the world domination attempt since she was the one actively looking for dragon balls. X

Red Ribbon Army - This army also was not a response to Goku. They were taking over the world and gathering the balls too. Goku kind of fell into the conflict. X

King Piccolo - Pilaf is the moron who released him. Maybe fear of Goku encouraged Pilaf's idea that he needed help to rule the world but I still would not blame King Piccolo on Goku. X

Piccolo Jr. - King Piccolo created Piccolo Jr. as a last-ditch attempt when Goku defeated him. King Piccolo, I believe, launched the egg away from the battle so it's not like Goku had an opportunity to destroy the egg. But let's say Goku is responsible for Piccolo Jr. Y

1/4 is Goku's fault

Dragonball Z Villains

Raditz - He came to Earth looking for his brother. Y

Vegeta & Nappa - They came to Earth because of the dragonballs. They don't seem to care much for Raditz so I am not sure they would visit Earth to seek revenge. X

Frieza - He came to Earth because Goku did not kill him off. So Frieza coming to Earth is 100% Goku's fault. Y

Androids - Dr Gero made the androids as revenge against Goku. Goku defeated the Red Ribbon army as a kid so you can't blame him for not being thorough. But still, the androids were due to Goku. Y

(Extra) Buu - It's a nasty coincidence that the Buu fiasco happened when Goku came back. Goku was the catalyst but ultimately it's not Goku's fault. It's mainly Vegeta's fault. And the Supreme Kai's fault for being so incompetent. X

3/5 is Goku's fault

Total: 4/9 is Goku's fault

So around half of the villains in Dragonball and DBZ are Goku's fault. And that was worth missing 7 years with his family?? What crap.

It's ironic. Goku hardly attracts villains when he is peacefully minding his own business with his family. And most of the villains that came to Earth that Goku was responsible for were due to Goku not finishing the job. Of course, you have outliers like Raditz. But if Goku did not seek out problems and eliminated villains without prejudice, everything would be fine for the most part. I am tired of people justifying Goku goofing off in the otherworld and leaving his family in the dust. These are the same people who defend Goku flying off into the sunset with Uub in peacetime, once again leaving his family hanging.

I love Father!Goku but only up till the Cell saga and dbz fanfiction. The Cell games took my rose-colored glasses off when it came to Goku's fatherhood.

[purplecladmerchant]

"I sure can do something quick and fun since @boxonthenile bothered on asking me for some-"

[harrisonbrainrot]

I want him to cuff me.

[jupiterfallz]

BTS (bangtan) x Batfam crossover

Dick, retelling a story about a girl he was flirting with: She said, she said, she said she’s from Hawaii. How you say cute in Japanese? Kawaii

Roy: duuuuude

Jason: *face palming in the background*

[itsagrimm]

Something tells me that König did not have a usual childhood not just because of anxiety.

He entered military service with 17, which requires parental permission. Many kids in the german speaking countries still go to school when 17. König's parents being okay with their kid not pursuing education, which is highly socially expected of young people in all german-speaking countries, but instead actively allowing him to join the army, is extremely unusual.

Also, the military does not have the same social standing in Austria or Germany as let's say in the USA. It is not a very common thing people do here - especially minors.

Like, did his parents want him gone? Or did they actually felt like that was the best choice for their son because of circumstances unknown to us? Or did 17-year-old-König convince his parents AND the enlist officer to allow him to join the army somehow, giving an anxiety plagued teen a gun? And what kind of environment would allow that?

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

thinking about nora again

[alexjcrowley]

I have far too few hours of sleep but I am having a sliiight mental breakdown over Ferrari winning yesterday. It was so beautiful it still hurts.

[t4tdanvis]

my medieval fantasy au is so funny bc like. dante is over here with the most basic "prince wants to be a knight and disguises himself" + "prince falls in love with a knight" story ever and genes just like. ok this is gonna sound insane but u know the guy who tried to rob me. hes uh. well hes half fae. and im not talking hot elf twink. im talking he can pop his head off and has a sword made of bone

[sinnbaddie]

Just saw someone say Gotham Knights Jay is better than Arkham Knights Jay. Praying for you y’all really said because he goes to therapy and knows how to cook he’s better so embarrassing and boring and tasteless

[death-rebirth-senshi]

Everyone is also like, so certain as to why Radahn sealed the stars and yet no two people agree on why and it's so funny.

I do think the theory that he was attempting to keep his own fate in stasis is potentially interesting though. It's said he learned gravity magic so he wouldn't have to abandon his horse, and it's at the end of his gravity magic lessons with the Onyx Lords that he says "Now I can challenge the stars" so...

[corpiote]

I was thinking abt duck curry which turned my mind to Edgar. Do you think he would ever forgive me if I ate it in front of him?🤔

[isaacathom]

me, holding my primary ttrpg oc in my hands: im giving you so mcuh family trauma :)

[makingcontact]

Uncovering the Refugee Experience & Healing Through Storytelling (Encore)

Wilson Dairy Restaurant (Left), Helen Zia as a baby with mom (Right). Credit: Photo copyright Helen Zia used with permission. This week’s Making Contact episode is about two strong women who survived historic trauma, and the stories they later told their families.  We start with the story of Katie Wilson. Born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Kiev, Ukraine, she grew up safe and comfortable – until…

[khazrablood]

I love how clueless USAmericans are of the destruction upon populations they have funded while blissfully ignorant in their little bubbles. And now they have the gall to threaten these same lives of deportation that their beloved politicians signed off on destroying these countries. Or the moment that anyone even looks at their degenerates wrong that they put on a pedastal as psyops bc of how fucking detached from reality they are.

None of these immigrants and marginalized populations owe you anything when you threaten them like this.

So are you like a government psyop or something? Your hate for Harris just comes off as love for Trump.

No, I'm a simple Afghan who saw his country being destroyed TWICE by your governments as was the case with many other countries in the global south. If nothing was done to stop that, why would I suddenly trust your asses now? I don't trust Yanks to ever make a good decision, because you're all perpetually bound by your false dichtomy.

For what reason could I be harboring this much hatred for your pigsty of a democracy, anon?