#spare her the suffering

[lesbianfakir]

Watching the madoka movies again and I say this as a huge sayaka fan homura straight up should’ve started killing her

[morallygay]

First tsubeppa now theta speaks in stereotypically exaggerated Female™️ speech i should have never looked at the original japanese version

[soo-won]

Yona and Keishuk as representations of Suwon's feelings and pragmatism.

Disclaimer: Yona, Keishuk and Suwon are obviously their own persons with dozens of more layers than what I talk about in this post. The scenes I use as examples are also about much more than what I use them for here. All of this is just one way I like to read things and I don't claim that the manga is meant to be read that way at all (the contrary honestly). This is just me having fun overanalyzing everything.

Something that has been on my mind since chapter 232 now, is the idea that Yona and Keishuk represent perfectly the duality inside of Suwon. I have loved this trio for all the potential they hold since the castle arc now, and I didn't get as much as I wanted with them at all but this specific page of chapter 232 still makes me "oooooh".

(Long post under the cut. sorry)

I know the important part comes just after with the "You are needed." Suwon-Yona scene, but I think the composition is super interesting here. Yona and Keishuk are having a full conversation, debating over what to do about Mei-nyan, and Suwon doesn't participate at all (he only enters the conversation next page but doesn't say anything on that matter specifically until chapter 233, when he makes his decision). As if quietly listening to both sides and considering all the points they present. Yes saving Mei-nyan is a bother, why should they do so much for one captive? Yes it's also dangerous to let her in enemy hands given the informations she has against Suwon. It's not farfetched to imagine Suwon can agree to both of their statements. Suwon is hidden by the bubbles of their conversation, erasing himself to give room to their discussion. It's as if we were inside Suwon's head and being a spectator of his trains of thoughts, as if Yona and Keishuk were two parts of Suwon's psyche. They're obviously their own independant characters outside of that with their own merits and personality etc ect but I think it's still interesting to read their dynamic this way.

After all, didn't Yona always represent for Suwon his own feelings? And Keishuk the lack of them? Discarding Yona (and Hak, but I think Yona especially represents that) has always been synonym to discarding his feelings. By discarding her, Suwon discards that he is not a 100% impartial human being that loves (and hates) some people more than others, and that he actually cares and cannot always 100% control his heart. The reason he discarded Yona when the coup happened is because his feelings don't matter from that point on and are directly in the way of his goals. And one of the reason he rejected her so much in the castle and kai battle arcs is exactly because she means something special to him and she keeps trying to appeal to Suwon's heart and feelings (by making several references to Yonhi for example, but also simply by being herself and asking Suwon to save the prisoners, etc) and tries to make the situations personal, two things that Suwon forced himself to stop and not do for a plethora of reasons I won't develop here.

(About Yonhi, the manga has made a connection between Yona and Yonhi a few times? One thing is Yonhi's hairpin that Yona also wears on one of the magazine cover, and there are the few mentions Yona makes of her in front of Suwon. I don't think the manga tries to say that Yona=Yonhi at all, but rather that Yona acts as some sort of reminder of her to Suwon? After all, there's close to no one left in the world who knew her, and even less in the castle and around Suwon in contrast to how Suwon grew up and is surrounded by Yuhon's faction and people admiring him. But most people forgot about Yonhi or never thought much of her. So I assume post-diary Yona tries to balance things out a little bit on that aspect, showing that even if people see Suwon as Yuhon's successor, he is also at his core his mother's son and it's sad to pretend he is not.

In parallel, even if not as explicitely as Yona (as I don't remember Keishuk ever mentioning Yuhon in front of Suwon?) Keishuk is one of the many reminder of Yuhon to Suwon. Keishuk definitely isn't Yuhon either, but the way he thinks and his ideology are similar enough. So you could say that Yona and Keishuk are Yonhi and Yuhon's voices in the present.)

In parallel Keishuk represents the exact opposite of listening to your feelings. Keishuk needs analysis posts for him alone, but even though he is obviously not without emotions at all, his place and role by Suwon's side is precisely to present him things as objectively as possible and make the most practical and efficient decisions, leaning towards machiavellianism (and I love him for that <3). Plus, contrary to Suwon, Keishuk doesn't have any emotional attachment for Yona and Hak, so while Suwon can rarely think straight when it's about them, Keishuk can, and is essential. Suwon would have never made it like he's engaged to Yona, he would have never proposed an alliance with her in the first place, nor would he have asked her to support him on the battlefield on his own. Before the alliance, Keishuk also investigated on the DDHHB behind Suwon's back, and tried to kill Yona and Hak several times because he knew they would be/have become a nuisance, while Suwon overlooked what Yona could/does represent because of his feelings.

Keishuk takes the decisions Suwon can't. And I think a part of Suwon is aware of that. Keishuk is like a point of reference and the reason he has Keishuk by his side and lets him do all these things is because he agrees that these actions are sounded and benefit Kouka in some way. Suwon would have never imprisoned Hak himself, but when Keishuk tells him about it, Suwon doesn't object. When in chapter 2 Keishuk tells Suwon to kill Yona, he doesn't object either, and readies himself to do so.

Keishuk is Suwon's speaker. Suwon rarely voices his true thoughts but Keishuk as a proxy often gives us an idea. His personality makes him more snarky and they don't agree on everything, but Suwon knows that Keishuk will always absolutely prioritizes Kouka as a whole over everything else and he can trust that. And that's also why I think Keishuk can represent one part of Suwon's psyche. He is the part of Suwon that shows no remorse for his colder decisions and is resolved to make any sacrifices needed for the sake of his goals. He is the part of Suwon that refuses to let himself be moved by his emotions and unable to make sound decisions because of it, the part of himself that won't prioritize someone only out of love or compassion.

And Yona is you could say the speaker of Suwon's feelings. Take the Hak imprisonment fiasco for example. This is a moment that shows a bit of Keishuk's vulnerability, but if you decide to read every interaction between Keishuk and Yona as some kind of metaphor of Suwon's inner conflict it's also super interesting. Keishuk wants to kill Hak because he is a threat to Suwon's life: simple and straigthforward. Keishuk doesn't love Hak and is still afraid of the danger he represents for Suwon's life at that point and very much doesn't like how Hak tries to get closer to Suwon without his approval. These are points very specific to Keishuk as an individual, related to his backstory and his personality. But this very reactive answer to Hak suddenly getting too close to Suwon is also very befitting of how Suwon feels imo. Suwon doesn't know Hak was here at that point sure, but on a meta level rejecting Hak so extremely the second he gets too close and sees him at a weak point just makes sense. Hak was the very last person Suwon wanted to be seen by this way. And him not objecting to his imprisonment is for me a sign that he is okay with things this way. He doesn't want Hak to get close. It's better like this. If Hak gets close, he can't think straight in more way than one. So let's discard him.

But then Yona enters and stops Keishuk. This scene is meant to show Yona's development and how she is able to protect Hak her own way and how Hak's life is not something she will ever compromise on, things that are distinct to her as an individual as well. But if you see Yona's rise in the castle as the rise of Suwon's closeted feelings, getting harder and harder to repress, it also shows that it got to the point where these feelings directly clash with his usual mindset, that these feelings for Hak have enough power to put a curb on the "discard every piece in your way" ideology.

Suwon is a secretive person who learned to keep most of his thoughts and feelings to himself. He is by nature someone who doesn't react to tragedies the way you would expect him to, looking detached and unconcerned. But what Akayona showed again and again is that by no mean this is equal to him being indifferent and not feeling anything at all. This is just his way of processing and dealing with grief(I'm not gonna go on a tangent on how he can be read as neurodivergent but yeah. he's so real for that). Being openly emotional like Keishuk and Yona is just not who he is as a person, it happens but only rarely, so the two of them are the perfect proxy to show the turmoil going on in Suwon's heart. Whether it's when Suwon is annoyed and angry, or when he's worried about Hak's whereabouts, they're his voice. (Interestingly Keishuk seems to be the only one convinced Hak is dead and thinks as such. Something something Suwon swaying between hoping that Hak is still alive somewhere(like Yona) and giving up on that hope(like Keishuk).)

But Suwon is not Keishuk. And actually a lot of times when Keishuk advises Suwon to kill someone, Suwon compromises to only capturing and imprisoning them or even lets them escape in Yona and Hak's cases. And one of the way I choose to interpret the Kai battle arc like is that it's all about Suwon accepting his own feelings, that even if he agrees with his father's ideology, he is his own person and he can't keep discarding the part of him that cares and loves and worries and feels. He can't keep discarding Yona and Hak. Yes Yona is needed, his own feelings are needed.

And he is not Yona either. That's why he still sees saving Mei-nyan as a nuisance. Suwon is Suwon, and being able to look at things calmly and evalutating the risks and costs of an action over another and making his decisions based on that is still very much a part of him that you can't remove.

He is somewhere between Yona and Keishuk. A King who inherently prioritizes the bigger number over a few individuals, and yet someone who genuinely likes the people around him and can be swayed by his own emotions. He is very much both his parents' child. And he has to learn to reconcile both, without discarding one or the other.

Going even further, Yona being a proxy of Suwon's feelings fits perfectly the role she has now. She always tries to help the people that Suwon discards for his goals and he used to not let her do so, as a symbol for closing himself off completely, but now he accepts it (with still some reluctance but hey!) and knows he can entrust her with it. I don't think this is inherently a bad thing and it works well with Keishuk as a parallel again, as Suwon always entrusted him with all the logistics and the things he doesn't like to think about. Keishuk also often carries the bad role and direct the negativity at him (on purpose or not) so it doesn't reach Suwon. So like, to each their own role.

TDLR: Yona and Keishuk are like the little angel and devil on Suwon's shoulders respectively telling him to save and kill.

[zimisnotdrifting]

Is Zipbomb strong enough to survive a piano falling on his head?

Idk I don't think about these things

(The tags contain an off topic ramble.)

[maratsbathtub]

so i was talking with my mom (a historian) about the afterlife and how historical figures having to share apartments would be hilarious. And then i brought up the frenchies, and what they would be doing after death.

I present to you, my mom's thoughts on the matter:

They would be running a spa. All of them. Lavoisier and his wife would be running the cafe (are there cafes at spas??? I don't know??? I was too busy dying inside to ask). Fouche runs finances. Robespierre does hairdressing stuff and danton does pedicures. Herault would be the (female?) waitress and fabre is the apothecary?? I guess? (I think my mom meant he runs the front desk) Louis XVI would be the janitor and marie Antoinette takes care of pets.

And i vetoed charlotte corday to ever be there. That was all i got to say.

And napoleon is just there to help

[cantsayidont]

February 1986. As the Crisis on Infinite Earths drew to a close, Earth-1's Wonder Woman finally married Steve Trevor in WONDER WOMAN #329. It was especially remarkable because DC had made repeated attempts since 1968 to write out Steve out of the series for good, only to later reverse course. (He was killed, resurrected, killed again, and then replaced with his counterpart from another Earth!)

This was the final issue of the original WONDER WOMAN series, which had been struggling for some time despite several attempted changes in direction, and Diana's dream would never come true. With a complete reboot of the character already in the works, Earth-1's Wonder Woman would not survive the Crisis, and her entire history would shortly be swept away. The next issue box spake true — nothing would ever be the same again.

[chodzacaparodia]

Dam, I've known for a long time that I'm not made for the world of sports anime, but it turns out to be even more clear when I literally split my lungs out after a short run to catch the bus.

I couldn't even make it through the first episode.

[hua-fei-hua]

*flopped down on a couch w/a glass bottle of apple juice to make it look like i'm drinking beer*

yeah... yeah i'm fine.... just coming to terms w/the fact that i must use javascript in order to achieve my vision w/the neocities...

[rusted-phone-calls]

sophie is independent but not in the way that keefe is independent. understand?

[ink-man-sam]

I'm pretty sure I have borderline personality disorder coupled with obsessive compulsive disorder

I am not doing good and I haven't for the past few years

[somuchstrdst]

march has been a roller coaster, but i saw my favorite band three times, got front row once, and i'm going to see blink-182 for the first time on friday and be with my favorite people all weekend, so it pays off all the bad things that have been happening lately and nothing else matters

[appsa]

URGENT: SLOWING FUNDRAISER!

Recently in an update, Siraj ( @siraj2024 ) has talked of the dearth of space in Gaza. He has described how the occupation has caged Gazans into a narrow strip of land; there is no humanitarian zone that has not been bombed or invaded. Deir al balah was considered one of the last safe zones in gaza- and now that illusion has been destroyed too.

Just a few days ago, Siraj had told us that the violence of the IOF had been only a street away from where he and his family were encamped, and that his extended family were displaced in the aftermath.

It is a claustrophobic, uncertain existence many of us will likely never have to experience.

I will try to keep this as brief as possible. Since Siraj's parents and siblings got displaced and have now become fully dependent on Siraj for funds, his family has been seeing some dire circumstances.

First of all, I need you to understand the kind of pressure Siraj is under right now:

His own family which consists of 5 members

His father’s family also of 5 members

His younger brother’s family of 3

His older sister’s family of 6- she is a doting mother to four children

His younger sister and her own family of 4.

I need you to understand that there are 23 people in total for whom Siraj is the sole provider for at the moment.

Currently all 23 members of Siraj's family forced to share two tents. While the funds did go into procuring a second tent, there is STILL not nearly enough space. The women are suffering from a lack of privacy, and it is dangerous for the children as epidemics are spreading in the camp- Amir, Siraj’s son is already suffering from a severe skin infection. Living in such close quarters with no option of quarantine only puts everyone else (including all Amir's cousins) at risk of infection, at a time where they quite literally cannot afford it with the way medical infrastructure in Gaza is in shambles atm.

With your help, Siraj has successfully raised 50K, but the fundraiser is slowing once again.

Currently Siraj is at 50.8k / 82k

To help his family, He needs to raise 55K by monday i.e the next 2 DAYS.

Vetted and appears #219 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's list of vetted fundraisers

If you need further incentive to donate:

Art raffle - 24th aug is the last day of the raffle so PLEASE participate!!!

Enamel pin raffle

People offering digital commissions here and here

In case you wish to donate to his gfm with paypal, or are having any trouble donating in general, PLEASE DM @malcriada who is a trusted friend of siraj and will make sure to donate to the fundraiser on your behalf and send you proof of donation.

Please share and donate anything you can spare!

Siraj has a heavy burden on his shoulders at the moment, the least we can do is try to ease it as much as we can.

[relevant-url-incoming]

the true miracle of me creating a roleswap au is that I so far only have the one. We shall see how long that lasts.

It starts out when Kit is a child, not yet a Jedi padawan but familiar with the basics of the Force and already bound at the hip to Kaojacol. I imagine that, although this is more a "those weird young people/new money" type of trend, there may well be people in the Empire who do the sci-fi equivalent of shady transracial adoptions - here is a kid they can say they saved by raising them in traditions that would never be their own, in this case an alien being "saved" by human "parents", but even better than that for them is that they can send Kit off to Korriban soon after that, gaining all the clout of a child among the Sith without having to contend with actually taking care of said child or losing their blood child to such training. Kit doesn't know if he's glad or not to be free of the people who kidnapped him, because Korriban feels like more of the same but with more Force lightning, but he knows anger intimately at a much earlier age than in my main canon. His anxiety is still there, and still drives him, but he doesn't have the same downward spiral because there's nowhere to spiral to.

It also starts out when Tavansa and Sarrant's mother goes against their father's wishes by sending Tavansa away, into the Republic, so she can train as a Jedi where it's safe rather than in the abusive lifestyle of the Sith. Tavansa's empathy and delight in the small joys of life are never corrupted by the anger and violence of the Sith, though she's always afraid to lose herself for the sake of others. Sarrant, not being Force-sensitive, stays with his mother when she leaves their father, but learns early the value of freedom. He becomes a boutny hunter as an adult, the better to make his own rules and create his own family. He doesn't shy away from attacking Jedi, but always in the back of his mind he's afraid that someday he'll face his sister again on opposite ends of a weapon.

It also starts when Kaoja's best friend vanishes overnight, and she throws herself into combat training, becoming a Jedi Knight. Losing the person she loves like a piece of her own heart hardens her and makes her reckless; as a padawan she nearly dies trying to infiltrate Korriban on her own, certain that her childhood friend is alive and there. She doesn't find him, not for years, but her path takes her into the heart of the Empire and she decides that if she can't bring her best friend back she can at least destroy the system that took him away.

But maybe it starts when Rig is pulled from slavery by an Imperial Agent who thinks he can be manipulated, molded into a weapon who thinks he has the power but never will. Rig is happy to be the loose cannon they set sliding whenever they please, knowing that the Empire depends on what he does, and happier still when his actions reveal cracks in Intelligence or the Empire itself. He doesn't feel any particular loyalty to his bosses, but he does love knowing how much they need him.

I know it doesn't start when Ven and Nalyan come through time, still separated and still convinced they're alone. Nalyan is just on the other side of the wall from a briefing Kaoja attends, a briefing so secret that his being there makes the soldiers who find him think he must be a spy until he lies and says he got lost on his way to his first day as a soldier - a job he's never wanted, that reminds him of the worst day of his life every time he sees trooper armour. Ven is among slaves on Korriban, and almost immediately stages a revolt and escape. She is caught, but she's satisfied with what she's done, until the Sith tell her she won't die. She'll be a slave herself, one who'll have to watch her fellow slaves die any time she steps out of line - and when that gets too much, and she tries to use the Force she never touches to change the balance of power, she catches the eye of Darth Zash herself, sending her down the last path she ever wanted.

It ends with Exchei, one of the slaves Ven saves, stealing a broken-down ship and running away to become a no-name criminal in the Outer Rim. She has no purpose, no intentions, no training in the Force she learned to hide a long time ago - but she's free and happy and she builds a crew full of people she cares for, and she'd take that over power any day.

[daydreamerdrew]

still not completely sold on Jimmy Jupiter dying like that, but Sharon Carter talking about how “every kid loves Captain America” in the context of him being her boyfriend that she’s desperate not to lose, as she herself was a fan of Captain America as a kid, compels me

[newtbingo]

I wonder how an interaction between the two of them would go...

[yoohyeon]

My aunt was so annoying asking my parents to go to THEIR house this weekend that they really decided to go and leave me alone here 😐