#the case study of vanitas and/or A Series of Unfortunate Events

[friedwizardwhispers]

It always bothers me when I see people say "the mxtx main characters are unreliable narrators" because....well... they are not the narrators of their stories. They are the main point of views and there is a difference. If they were the narrators the text would be them talking to us, the audience about theirs stories which is not what's happening and we would only get theirs point of view which is very much not the case.

We have Luo Binghe's point of view at least two times that I can remember of the top of head without looking it up (right before the abyss and right after the skinner) in svsss we also have Feng Xin at least once in tgcf and Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling in mdzs (and maybe more).

The narrators of said stories is an omniscient third person who is mostly sticking to the protagonists' point of view but can sometimes jump to some other to help the story flow better and give different perspective

[smalltownfae]

Series Update:

Completed:

Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb

First Law by Joe Abercrombie

Shattered Sea by Joe Abercrombie

The Queen’s Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (except short stories)

Howl’s Moving Castle trilogy by Diana Wynne Jones

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

The Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Xenogenesis/Lilith’s Brood trilogy by Octavia E. Butler

Earthseed by Octavia E. Butler

Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

Wildwood by Juliet Marillier

O Ceptro de Aerzis by Inês Botelho

St. Clare’s by Enid Blyton

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino

Petshop of Horrors: Tokyo by Matsuri Akino

Goodnight Punpun by Asano Inio

Azumanga Daioh by Kiyohiko Azuma

Our Dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

Demon Diary by Kara

Life by Suenobu Keiko

Pandora Hearts by Jun Mochizuki

Kaze to Ki no Uta (The Poem of Wind and Trees) by Keiko Takemiya

Pluto by Naoki Urasawa

Monster by Naoki Urasawa

20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa

Yuureitou by Taro Nogizaka

Ibitsu by Haruto Ryo

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

Butsu Zone by Hiroyuki Takei

Shaman King by Hiroyuki Takei

Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa

Doubt by Yoshiki Tonogai

Locke & Key by Joe Hill

Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch (waiting)

The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo (waiting)

Iron Widow by Ziran Jay Zhao (waiting)

In progress:

Nightrunner by Lynn Flewelling

Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

Discworld by Terry Pratchett

The Chronicles of Tornor by Elizabeth A. Lynn

Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin

Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin

Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore

Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Radiant Emperor by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnet

Alexander the Great by Mary Renault

Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie

Miss Marple by Agatha Christie

Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones

Riverside by Ellen Kushner

The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

Montague Siblings by Mackenzi Lee

Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Riddle-Master by Patricia A. McKillip

The Winnowing Flame by Jen Williams

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

Tensorate by Neon Yang

Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma

The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki

DNF:

The Cemeteries of Amalo by Katherine Addison

Eagle and Jaguar by Isabel Allende

The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan

The Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft

Monk & Robot by Becky Chambers

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

Rizzoli & Isles by Tess Gerritsen

Fairy Oak by Elisabetta Gnone

New Hercule Poirot Mysteries by Sophie Hannah

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

The Brown Sisters by Talia Hibbert

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence

Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence

Kenzie & Gennaro by Denis Lehane

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

London Highwaymen by Cat Sebastian

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

The Lion Hunters by Elizabeth Wein

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

Monster by Marjorie Liu

Fables by Bill Willingham

The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai

[madfictionland]

Master Xehanort - NOT a flawless mastermind!

I’m always having trouble to understand people in KH ‘discourse’. They have every right to hate the series for many different reasons, please be my guest, but they usually do it with this silly argument that it’s so damn lame and impossible for Master Xehanort to plan all of this and predict so many variables... But I’m like... he didn’t, really... so what’s your problem even...

Sure, Xehanort kind of takes the credit for everything that happened (in DDD) and makes it sound like everything went ‘according to plan,’ but I thought that’s just what villains do, you know? Despite some setbacks, especially *when their other splintered selfs still achieve results that ultimately lead to his final goals*, it is actually fair to claim the credit. In the end it turned out perfectly well and Master Xehanort learnt a big deal of things. And knowledge is extremely important in his line of business. In the end, he WAS too eager regarding creation of his own pure light and darkness which wasn’t the right way.

But it seems like people don’t even live in a logical world anymore (once they decided they don’t like the direction the series took) and they need everything explained by characters for some reason, like a lenghty lecture from Master Xehanort perhaps... with admission after admission about where his initial plans went wrong and how exactly (which is ludicrous to expect even).

Here is a quick look at things he DID NOT predict/planned for:

1. He never planned to be defeated by Aqua and for amnesia Terranort to be created.

2. He never planned for amnesia-esque (thus less efficient) Ansem and Xemnas.

3. He never planned for the exact timing of DDD meeting and his recompletion. His words about how ‘it’s been decided’ are to be taken with a grain of salt, naturally, since Nomura’s concept of time is tricky and *kind of* fixed (since it does happen... it’s ALL been decided already, apparently). And Master Xehanort himself, despite his ambitions and discoveries, seems to be a strong proponent of ‘fate’ which corresponds with that rule of time. He took interest in Ventus because he felt like it was destiny, after all, and there are more instances of such thinking behind Xehanort.

4. He never planned for Ansem and Xemnas to be defeated since he never planned for their creation in the first place.

Now, it doesn’t mean his plans begun and ended in BBS. BBS focuses exclusively on his ambitions and schemes sorrounding Ventus and Terra but there was clearly more behind the man. Including vast knowledge about the lore, nature of the world, hearts and darkness. He did study everything about a keyblade and keyblade war which is a messed-up subject in and of itself, with so many things unclear and hopefully to be explained in KH3. Pure light and darkness? X-blade shuttered into 20 pieces? 7 pure hearts? Hearts born from darkness? Keyblade War connected to Kingdom Hearts? Door to Darkness connected to Kingdom Hearts? Maybe they’re all just legends, hence so many different stories and unclear answers? or at least that’s an explanation they can go with, so it’ll make sense. In any case, all of them crucial info for Xehanort and something to keep in mind when scheming!

See... there are so many things that it’s actually hard to get your priorities straight. I actually know this feeling pretty well when it comes to personal life or fandom activities!

So what did he plan or what were his ideas, logically?

1. Whatever his destination... Norting other people along the way seemed like a great idea (the first experiment being Braig/Vanitas most likely). But what he wanted for his original self was a perfect young vessel such as Ven or Terra, a keyblade wielder.

2. Looking for ways to forge the x-blade/make Kingdom Hearts manifest itself he already learnt of the 20 pieces of it and 7 lights. Whether there is an actual utilization behind number 13... or maybe he thought it was edgy and cool which would be character-accurate if you ask me... the idea behind 13 versions of himself working in perfect unison towards their shared goal was easily hatched. If only the Nortification technike proved to be working... possibilities were endless.

3. Maleficent seemed like a perfect candidate to be set on a path towards 7 princesses. Something crucial and what could come in handy - regarding the Door to Darkness or even the x-blade.

4. He did know how to time travel so he certainly had such an option in mind and taking into account his established, natural curiosity with the world... and with extremes such as darkness/keyblade war... not surprising he would be willing to test it and utilize it. However, it required to abondon his body which he wasn’t going to do just yet. Plus: it would be a very experimental endevour and he had better things to do. (But do you know who did think it was a great idea and felt compelled to initiate it, despite his other ambitions? Ansem Seeker of Darkness, the most brazen and insane version of Xehanort. The premise was literally about gathering 13 “seekers” of darkness so makes sense considering his own strong obsessions.)

5. Knowing that he has many different things to explore (because he has barely even scratched the surface), other than his main goal... he probably did plan to split himself into a heartless and nobody, eventually. He never really got a chance to do it and have his two halfs cooperate in perfect union (which was clearly not the case with Ansem and Xemnas). We’re to assume that amnesia Xehanort, at some point, did remember this original idea of MX, and acted accordingly.

Master Xehanort was an explorer and ambitious darkness wielder. I’m sure there was no shortage of original ideas, pathways and new, potential plans. But in the end, he had Ventus and his main attention and hopes were to exploit him to forge the x-blade. In his eagerness, that’s what he put most of his energy into during BBS. He never really realized or even initiated most of those other plans and ideas. Well... at least not on his own...

But just as Young Xehanort’s heart led him to explore the outside world (which may actually be due to fixed ‘time paradox’) in the same way different versions of Xehanort felt compelled to put into motion different fragments of his plans and ideas. Destiny and fate, the strange feeling and exploration of the unknown and darkness, something that drives Xehanort forward, very similar to how Sora is guided by his heart and in contrast to it. His younger self captures it perfectly and even though his older self (+ other incarnations) act and maybe even feel like they are in control of everything they do to achieve their own goals... at their core they’re still guided by this basic premise:

Both the irony and fascinating factor behind Xehanort. Whenever he is delayed or his plans go not as planned... all these events may still contribute to the final outcome. In the end, he was destined to end up there. So in essence, all went according to plan and his ambitions continue to progress. All of this while the old man Xehanort, his ‘original’ self... sleeps in sort of limbo state.

Now what one needs to understand to even begin to comprehend what Nomura was going for here (which most people don’t care about and it’s actually understandable, all things considered) is that Xehanort exists across many different layers of self and even planes of existence/reality (as a force of darkness or a more spiritual force in his own and Terra’s body).

There is NO ONE PERFECT MASTERPLAN.

What we have here is basically:

- Xehanort’s plan put into motion in BBS - which failed to achieve his master goal (although he did Norted Braig and maybe Vanitas).

- Apprentice Xehanort does his research and formulates some of the plans and ambitions that are later passed on to Ansem Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas, along with Apprentice Xehanort’s history and sense of self (he is aided by Nort!Braig in hopes that Master Xehanort will eventually regain his complete memory and sense of self).

- Apprentice Xehanort - being Xehanort - gets obsessed with the darkness and hearts very quickly and achieves a certain mastery. Some of it may be his heart guiding him, despite amnesia. Some of it may be actual memories resurfacing. That leads to him being able to summon his keyblade and extract his heart, though his identity is still pretty twisted and memories incomplete (calls himself Ansem, just like he did in the reports). This twisted sense of self continues into Xemnas/Ansem.

- Ansem pursues his own ambitions and curiosity regarding Kingdom Hearts, Door to Darkness and Darkness. He makes good use of Maleficent (earlier set on a path by MX) and, recalling some of his original Destiny Island’s past, tries to posses Riku (similarities between the two are just too big and you can see why Ansem was so stubborn about Riku’s body).

- Xemnas aspires to become one with Kingdom Hearts of released hearts and achieve eternity, at his highest “tragic villain” moments being influenced by more humane aspects of Apprentice Xehanort and possibly Terra (”Unfortunately, I don’t remember joy”). But beyond that, he is still Xehanort and everything that the man entails, for the most part...

Most of Apprentice/Ansem/Xemnas’es plans, knowledge and ambitions came from MX’s memories that they were able to access OR - what’s more likely - they were simply influenced by them, at first unknowingly. Furthermore, at the peak of their power - especially Xemnas and Ansem - they may recall a great deal of their past and true purpose. But it doesn’t mean they cooperate in perfect unison - because they don’t really know everything, miss important pieces of the puzzle (like keyblade war, for example) and remain their unique, unstable beings, with their own share of drama and goals. Which is why they have self preservation insticts and desire to succeed at their own goals (that wouldn’t be the case if there wasn’t any amnesia factor involved... with their sense of self being 100% Xehanort). But EVEN THEN... there is a catch. They share Xehanort’s core feature - which is this compulsive instint to follow *fate* whenever it presents itself and explore the unknown without fear nor care for one’s safety. Plus, due to different factors, they are far less stable in the sanity department! THAT’S WHY:

- Driven by some of MX’s memories (Point 2 and 4 of MX’s ideas) Ansem explores time travel and meets his younger self whom he directs on the path towards 13 Seekers of Darkness, a ‘crazy’ fail-safe which is actually a part of fixed time paradox...

- Xemnas is actively working towards Nortification project which is the true main goal and premise behind the Organization and their many detours/experiments all along.

- After being visited by Young Xehanort (at some point prior to their respective failures) - they join him without hesitation and serve under the new organiztion and their recompleted self in the future. We are to assume that Young Xehanort (who observed everything through time travel) educated them, hence they know all about their failures and events they missed.

Now, all of those big plans happen simultaneously and, for the most part, independently from one another. It’s not a single master plan but when you have so many versions of yourself somewhere out there... the odds are really in your favor. And that’s not even thanks to Master Xehanort being an efficient mastermind villain (which he is only to some extent) but due to his enormous drive to pursue Kingdom Hearts and study the dark unknown around him. Which is true for all versions of Xenahort, especially those strongly associated with his original self and not influenced by 'lesser’ traits of vessel personas (Braig’s light attitude, for example, since, as a Nort, he is kind of impatient for the final destination but NOT curious enough to dedicate himself fully to all the research and detours).

So even if his BBS plan failed and main variables shift all the time - in the end Master Xehanort remains on top. Not thanks to him, really, but kind of thanks to him. And guess what? Once he returns and recomplates himself... he actually feels like he’s been doing all these things and he gets to keep all knowlegde gathered in the process. Despite setbacks, fate has clearly been in his favor and he emraces it.

Master Xehanort is NOT a perfect chess master, directly responsible for everything that’s happened in the world of KH. But he IS an efficient short-term strategist with many ideas (as we saw in BBS) who, despite his grand goal of becoming god-like, is both driven by and strongly intertwined with fate. Sure, there are many confusing elements to it and time travel in particular wasn’t explained too well, but all things considered - MX not being such a flawless mastermind is why I still love this villain!

[agdistis-sanctified]

Ten Songs

Tagged by @xblackrequiemx ! I’m feeling dangerous, so I'm using my biggest, “main” youtube playlist, which has thousands of songs on it, including some I probably stopped liking over the years. So who knows what I’ll be caught with. ;D [Edit: Skipping one called “Fish Heads” because I don’t want it there and can’t remember for the life of me why I put it there years ago?!]

Rules: Put your music player on shuffle. Write down the first ten songs to pop up.

Portishead - Machine Gun | I dig this song so much. I imagine it with a story I haven’t written yet about a cult of “jesters” fighting over who becomes god. After one is betrayed by another and left for dead, he goes on a journey to get revenge, but really it’s about abortion.

Roar - Katy Perry | It’s nice enough.

Space Lion - Cowboy Bebop | This series is so nostalgic to me even though it wasn’t that many years ago I watched it. I’m not sure exactly how to describe the way this track makes me feel. Melancholy but at home, a little lost, but profoundly happy?

The Glorious Ones - Tree63 | It’s Christian worship music, but it’s easy to imagine it with other things. I’ve used it for story inspiration before.

My Demons - Starset | It’s because everyone and their dog made Tokyo Ghoul AMVs to this.

Leech Boy - Crywank | This one’s on my playlist because I imagine it with a character in my main novel. The big one that I actually work on. The character I imagine it with is a young king currently possessed by the “God of Dependence.”

Only If - Enya | Enya is my favorite artist I’ve known the longest. Not necessarily my top favorite, but always at least *a* favorite since I was like 8.

I Didn’t Understand - Elliot Smith | No comment, nice song. I think I got it from an 8tracks playlist for some character I love.

The Letter That Never Came - A Series of Unfortunate Events OST | The movie, not the series. Good music, bittersweet. I imagine it with a scene in my novel where a character is about to do something that will get her killed, and she’s saying goodbye to someone, but that someone is unconscious. When they wake up, she’ll probably already be dead. So she has to go die alone, and they don’t get a goodbye.

President - IAMX | Right now I imagine it with Charlatan from The Case Study of Vanitas! I love IAMX.

These ten songs are shockingly low energy for how high energy most of my playlist is. If someone complains about my music, it’s usually about it being so high-energy and dramatic. “Exhausting,” even.

Tagging @redeemed-in-hell , @shions-heart , and @puppymintmocha !