#the only difference you have with someone who isnt saved is that you chose to accept God and they didnt. and thats it

[quietwingsinthesky]

Changing the mark of Cain so he received it from Lucifer, not God, was a choice!!! They did not have to do that, it changes nothing really about the actual Mark of Cain storyline!!! AND THEN HE JUST NEVER TALKS WITH LUCIFER ON SCREEN???? EVER????

[iiusia]

the thing i cant get over with calvinism is that like. yes God is sovereign yes God knew the ones who will be His before the beginning of time, but that doesn't necessarily imply predestination. God knowing does not equal Him Specifically Choosing These People To Be Saved. the aspect i get the most hung up on is if you are saying that God has chosen specific people to be saved, then the opposite is also true. you can't say that God chose these specific people to go to heaven without necessarily implying that inversely, God ALSO chose (maybe indirectly, but still) specific people to not be saved. to go to hell. and for me that absolutely does not mesh with the loving God of the Scriptures.

[marvelstars]

Anakin Skywalker & Darth Vader politics

One of the first things that got my attention when I started seeing star wars for the first time, was the way the story flowed so easily between action, politics and warfare and just like every other story of its kind, no hero or group of heros get to shine if their villain isnt something of a challenge for them, physical, moral or political and this is where Vader proves to be such a good antagonist.

Vader is someone who isn´t just strong in the force, he´s physicaly strong, he´s terrifiyng, he´s someone who in a New Hope is a highter up of the Empire and in ESB and ROTJ he´s clearly the second in comand of the Empire, Rogue One shows other Grand Moffs, with the exception of Tarkin, wanting to get his approval to get close to the Emperor and in that way obtain greater political power.

We get a glimpse of Vader´s politics in a New Hope, along with his martial role in the Empire as part of the Order of the Sith/former Jedi and his role as enforcer of the Empire, being one of the few highter ups if not the only one, to engage in open warfare with the rebel alliance.

But it´s on ESB when we get to hear his appeal to Luke towards his main motives, we get a sort of "motives of the wolf" Vader´s pov is to rule the galaxy with his Son to put "Order in the Galaxy" and "Stop the destructive conflict between the rebel alliance and the Empire" this is an actually compelling argument, because since a New Hope we could see Vader didn´t cosider the DS necccesary for the Empire, he defended it because it was part of his role within the Empire and didn´t have the power to overrule the Emperor or Takin on it´s use and creation but it isn´t something Vader himself approves personally and actually looks at it as source for greater trouble within the Empire. He after all called it " A Tecnological terror" this coming from Vader who is himself a cyborg used for bloodshed is a very definitive description. Vader hates the Death Star because he thinks it´s a real abomination, to the galaxy in general and to the force in particular.

So we get a character who´s definitely a villain but whose pov comes from a place of wanting to bring stability to the galaxy, this isn´t a character only interested in power for power sake like Tarkin or The Emperor or who wants more personal power for himself for it´s own sake, he suggests to Luke to take on the Emperor once it became clear the Emperor would not allow Luke to live if he didn´t fell to the darkside and this compliments quite nicely the story when it´s revealed Vader used to be a "good guy" the father of Luke and Leia, a Jedi who believed in peace and justice for the galaxy but whose vision was twisted by the darkside and the Emperor, we know how this story ends, with Vader chosing Luke, his family and justice once again at the cost of his own life and the defeat of the Empire an institution in which Vader/Anakin actually believed so it can´t be said Vader didn´t sacrifice everything he had to save the life of his Son and give the galaxy a chance without the Empire ruling it.

The prequel trilogy presents a very interesting reason to the source of Vader´s political ideology, his history was already interesting if he was just a character interested in politics, who became dissapointed in the Jedi Order, Like Count Dooku but what we find the the PT is even more visceral than that, say what you want about Anakin´s political ideology but as a former slave in a lawless world, ignored by a corrupt republic whose check and balances where only there to keep the status quo in which the interest of the banking clan and the corporations were more important than everybody else and not address the different challenges of the wider galaxy, I could see a young Jedi like Anakin thinking

1.- The System doesn´t work

2.- This system is actively hurting for the people of the republic and for my people in particular.

3.- The republic doesn´t care for the slavery being run on it´s very own underworld, it´s happy to ignore it.

4.- The Jedi Order are the guardians or peace and justice but they are not interested in changing the status quo, they are there to keep it.

Those ideas didn´t came just from Obi-Wan´s discourse over his dislike of politicians or Palpatine´s grooming tactics, those ideas come from the person, the kid who once dreamed to "free all of the slaves" and who grew quickly dissapointed when he learned of the reality far away from his homeworld, just like Padme grew dissapointed in the Republic ignoring the plight of her world but unlike her, Anakin had even less tools to bring to the political debate. As a Jedi he could talk and discuss his beliefs with Padme or Palpatine or even Bail Ordana but he knew neither had any oblitation to give much thought about his ideas, especially when they thought it came from a naive boy unfamiliar with politics, he may have been so but he was certainly familiar with the failures of the republic and it´s consequences.

I can easily see a character like this developing the idea the galaxy needed a stronger force to help put order in the galaxy and while he´s made fun of for thinking this way, I don´t think his idea was Palpatine´s Empire or the "Benevolent Dictatorship" like Vader believed in, Anakin´s idea about someone making people agree most probably came from the way he saw the Jedi Order Operate, with Yoda at it´s head, obviously in the Council they all took votes but Yoda´s influence there when there wasn´t an agreetment was clear and I could see this as Anakin´s vision for the republic, which even has some reflections in the real world, on institutions whose main function is to help open debate when the congress is blocked given it´s disagrements.

Anakin´s tragedy, when it comes to his original political beliefs, comes from the fact that he felt the need to forget his own ideals of freeing slaves, to fit himself into the chosen one the Jedi said they needed, even if they weren´t sure about that prophecy and sometimes put it in doubt and Anakin himself often thought it was just a myth, he broke himself up into different pieces to try to appeal to the people important to him or had expectations on him, he tried to be the Jedi the Order needed in times of war, the teacher Ahsoka needed, he tried to be the friend Palpatine expected, believing he genuinely cared for him, he tried to be a representative of the republic by caring for the well being of people around the galaxy and he did all of this no matter the damage to his mind. He tried to be the husband Padme needed him to become once she became pregnant and their marriage was no longer something that could be hidden so he decided to abandon his Jedi identity to be true to his responsibilities as Padme´s husband and father of their children or at least that was his idea before he had the dream of Padme dying.

So when he has his final breakdown, falls to the darkside and his very vision is twisted by the darkside, Padme no longer recognizes her husband because he effectively isn´t thinking like her husband did, Anakin agreed the Republic needed reform and order but not at the cost of an iron fist like Vader believed. So when he told her he wanted to name her Empress and do everything they always wanted to do, she knew those were not the words of her beloved husband but of a broken man led to madness by all the forces around him and by Palpatine in particular, she saw the signs but didn´t expect it to end like this. I believe this is the reason why Padme and not Obi-Wan understood better what happened to Anakin and hence why she insisted he could be brought back, he just was closer to him, knew him in his home on Tatootine and his closenes with Palpatine.

Padme was right, because while Vader´s mind was certainly twisted by madness and the supernatural influence of the darkside and Palpatine´s grooming, his vision of a galaxy in order came from Anakin´s original innocent/idealistic idea of justice and freedom, of a galaxy that could be more fair than it was before. Vader never truly turned to the darkside despite Palpatine´s best efforts, because there was a part of the person Anakin was that stubornly refused to die and his past and identity were a big part of that. This identity is what Luke calls to life on ROTJ, the identity of the person who believed in compassion as unlimited love, who believed in helping each other to lead to a more fair galaxy.

I enjoy a lot all of Anakin´s and Vader´s relationships, I believe all of them have their charm and bring something to the characters involved but I believe his identity or the importance of his political beliefs in both his fall from grace and his redemption are sorely ignored or worse reduced to a meme or a joke and is such a shame because I don´t think Anakin/Vader´s character and story can be fully understood without bringing this part of the him to the discussion.

[sunbunzie]

Hot Take: Hero would not forgive Sunny and Basil. (MAJOR SPOILERS!)

Last warning for spoilers :3 Also longevity warning. This thing is 1118 words total. lmao. Also if you’re expierencing thoughts about suicide, please reach out. (TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide, A POV of depression, Omori stuff man this game makes me want to sob) The truth about Mari is that Mari didn’t take her own life- Sunny pushed her down the stairs accidentally. Witnessing this, a panicked Basil decides to “help” Sunny by framing Mari’s death as suicide, hanging our dearest Mari on a tree bu a jumprope, making everyone believe she committed suicide. 

Little, innocent Aubrey thought she committed suicide. Our rau of sunshine Kel thought she committed suicide. And Mari’s dear lover, our Hero, thought she committed suicide. 

Lets talk about Hero’s grief for a bit.

-HEROS GRIEF-

As stated by KEL in the game, Hero refused to get out of bed, go to school, eat, and other important things because of Mari’s death. This lasted for about a year.

Kel then continues on to say that he tried to get Hero out of bed one day, saying how everyone misses him and such. Hero responds negatively to this, still stuck in a abyss of depression. The more Kel tried to encourage him, the more and more upset Hero gets, until the point where he snaps at his on brother. 

“He suddenly got up and started screaming and yelling at me about a bunch of stuff. Some of it eas pretty hurtful too..” 

-KEL

We all know, under any other circumstance, Hero would never say anything mean or hurtful to Kel. Even sibling-to-sibling “bullying” doesn’t apply to these two. They care for each other enough to never say anything mean.

But under this circumstance, Mari is gone. Hero loved Mari. And now she was gone. But Hero was still alive. (/ref lmao.) He became so overcome with grief and sadness that he just unpiled it onto young Kel, who was only trying to help. Luckily, after their parents be literal bitches and ignore Kel crying and comfort Hero, Hero comes to his senses and apologizes to Kel over and over. Hero seems to get better after this.

“Eventually, mom and mom ran to our room and rushed over to hug him to calm him down. 

-(cut part because this isnt a kel analysis post. sorry buddy you gotta wait your turn)

“I think that’s when HERO got his senses back, because he ran to me and hugged me right away. 

“Just kept apologizing over and over..

”But.. at least HERO got a lot better after that. He started taking care of himself again..”

BUT OF COURSE we know he really didn’t get better. When Hero joins your party, at first he doesn’t want to go to Mari’s grave. Whenever Sunny tried to go there, Hero stops him by saying he isn’t ready yet.

When we do get there however, its then revealed that Hero never realky visited Mari’s grave. Probably because it hurt to think about her. Every day, every waking moment he was reminded of her, and he couldn’t stop her from leaving him. Four yeare, four years he blamed himself for Mari’s suicide, thinking and forcing himself to believe that it was all his fault because he didn’t see the signs to stop her from leaving…

Except there were no signs.

Mari never chose to leave them.

She never chose to take her life.

She didnt take her own life.

Instead, the one who took her life..

Was her brother, Sunny.

-THE TRUTH-

While we have absolutely no idea what happens after the good ending/any of the endings (well we know Sunny moved and left Basil to pick up the scraps 💀 we’ll save that for another post), since this fandom is so goddamn immersed we do have enough to make a theory about each friend. 

A lot of people say they would all forgive Sunny and Basil eventually, but I think the case is different with Hero. Which is probably what you’re here for actually, so let’s just set the claim:

Hero will NOT be able to forgive Sunny and Basil, and he might never be able to forgive them.

This is because of Hero’s Grief.

Imagine that you loved someone dearly (could be platonic for all you aromantic besties) and they committed suicide. 

Imagine you spent four years blaming yourself, grieving, asking yourself “why” every single day, because there was nothinf you could do to stop them, you didnt see the signs, you thought everything was fine with them, but you were wrong, and you failed them. You’d call yourself the worst lover/best friend to ever exist, beating yourself into a mindset that they never loved you, or if they did, they didnt love you enough to stick around, and that impacted your life so badly that you almost starved yourself and starting saying mean things to your family/those who are trying to help.

Now imagine that..

And then crumple it up and throw it away.

Everything was a lie. You thought they killed themselves, but in the end someone else was responsible for their death. Someone else took their life. Someone else made you believe that they hung themselves and that you failed and that you’re a failure and that you don’t deserve to live while they’re gone.

Sure, the whole thing was an acccident, but either way that grief was all for NOTHING. Ever bad thought, every remark, every meal skipped, every day spent in bed was a waste. You never had anything to blame yourself for. It was never your fault. And the two people reponsible had hidden it for four years.

Hell, screw what I said before about it beibg an accident. The pushing was accidental, but the hanging wasnt. Of course, Basil was a scared kid, but why wasnt the ambulance the first thing in mind? Why did they frame her? Why did Sunny let him do it?

Some people argue that Hero forgave Aubrey for pushing Basil in the lake, but that was different. Yes, they were both impulses of anger, but Basil had time to survive. People were there. You can get water out of people’s lungs. You can’t fix a broken neck. 

And also, Aubrey had more witnesses. She wouldn’t have been able to frame it as anything, because the whole town would probably know about it within a few days (Gossiptown fr💀). If Basil died in the lake, there wouldn’t have been a hidden truth. There wouldnt have been lies. No four years of thinking Basil drowned himself. Because they already knew.

Now I’d suspect if Basil did actually die, the forgiveness wouldnt be so quick. (Someone better make a fanfic of that scenario /nf)

AND SO THE TL;DR IS: Hero would not forgive Sunny and Basil, because what it did to him was too mentally draining, and the lies were too much. No matter how much he would think about how it affected them, he would only ever be able to think about his grief and the consequences.

Again, this is my personal theory, but feel free to peacefully argue with me! Or give more details :0

Thanks for reading all of this, if you did! If y’all want to suggest things for me to analyze just use the asks thingy :3 or get me to talk about headcannons. I love headcannons.

[caramelmochacrow]

i know someone probably did this already but!! i screenshot-ed parts of the story where they talked about surprisingly important stuff when it comes to fic writing for these girls? like. how yoba academy works and how influential miyu, kurumi and miiko's families are.

i'll share it here so people can save the hassle of trying to find this info for their fics!!! (even tho a lot of people have probably read this before me)

extra stuff under the cut: (i ramble how the classes work and other things)

abyssmare's classes are:

neo - vocals class (same class as kyoko)

wero - performing arts class (same class as towa noa and ibuki)

elsie - media and arts class or regular class

sophia - media and arts class or regular class

im not sure on elsie and soap's since michiru hasn't stated what her class is at this point in time, i might learn what it is if i continue catching up w the story.

anyway! notes/how i think the classes work

media and arts (MnA to make my life easier) might have the same amount of education as art schools (since yoba used to be an art school) for the artists while for people like shinobu it must have something to do with learning how the entertainment industry works/how to get yourself to start somewhere in that industry.

shinobu being in the MnA rather than music must imply being in the music classes need you to use an instrument rather than how to compose music. (rei is the only person among the yoba units to play an instrument and is the only person in the music course)

regular course must mean the regular subjects for the students (academics and such) but from what i recall from the past events, area conversations, anime and manga the other classes still indulge in academics somewhat just not as much compared to those in the regular course.

peaky back in middle school must've originally chose the regular course before deciding to take up the MnA courses so it will help w performing/future careers. (kyoko = vocals, shinobu = MnA, yuka = video, esora = design)

esora taking up design implies that she is the one who makes the outfits of peaky and also because she's stage designer and negotiator for what/where their venues will be. (in road to d4fes she did set up a whole event by herself iirc)

lyrilily family/arisugawa/rich girl world notes

hayate and kokoa are rich yes but not AS rich compared to miyu kurumi and miiko. they must be around the same status as haruna's family.

miyu's family is the riches out of the four of them since kokoa specifically used the words 'former zaibatsu' to explain her status.

zaibatsu (literally wealthy clique or rich clan) is an industrial/financial integrated business who has an influence so huge over specific parts of japan's economy in WWII. this means that her family, the sakuradas, were super important back in the day, giving them a very heightened status in the business world.

miiko's father is the head of an international group company, so her connections are all over the world. (this is also the reason she knows so many languages)

kurumi's family is one of japan's biggest companies, it doesnt state it so but it might have a connection with technology or is something else entirely.

haruna's family seems to just have a lot of money or her family came from a very rich bloodline, either way, it seems her parents/family isnt known for anything notable that kokoa would remember compared to the other three. (this must be the reason why she acts so high class compared to the other lyrilily members, to fit in w these girls that have family w big and vast connections in different businesses)

the shimizus (esora's family) must be around the same influence as the sakuradas since yuka stated in the manga that she is super well known even among rich girls.

i guess this counts as me liveblogging huh. sorry.

[bellqmione]

welp the only other thing my peer review said to work on was adding page numbers and i dont.want to go get my physical copy of the story rn sooooo. sasha time.

sasha james. god how i love you. she worked in artifact storage (as opposed to jon and tim in research, and martin in the library). or. artefact. think thats how all the official stuff spells it bc british. this is where the big spooky shit of the institute is. you cant work in artefact storage without at least on some level Knowing that the supernatural is real. shes described as being tall, with long hair and glasses (thats important). she was originally the one gertrude had planned to be the archivist after she died. but, elias chose jon. sasha and tim had talked about it, said it was obviously sexism (well. mostly tim saying its sexism) because sasha is so much more qualified to be the archivist. and she would be, if being qualified for the job on paper was what elias was looking for. but elias didnt want a good archivist, he wanted a good archive. someone he could manipulate into becoming an avatar of the eye and being marked by all 14 fears. but neither of them knew that at the time. on the same tape (in the same conversation), tim joked about jon's skepticism, saying that he'd deny sasha ever existed. and sasha. poor doomed sasha.

sasha. oh sasha.

at the end of season 1, the institute is attacked by jane prentiss. worm wife. im sure youre at least familiar. well, sasha, jon, and martin are all in the airtight room martin has been staying in (after. worm attack left him stuck in his flat for 2 weeks without power or any kind of way to communicate). tim had been out when the worms first attacked, and so is unaware as hes walking into the archives. sasha rushes out to save him. sasha makes her way up to elias to tell him about it, to tell him to try to do something. he says to set off the fire extinguishers manually, as the co2 kills the worms. she did. sasha. at that point. retreated back to artefact storage. theres someone else there. not someone. not someone yet. its something. its been attached to that table for so long, but now that sasha is near... it can attach itself to her. kill her, take her identity and her place. but it doesnt take her face. this sasha looks completely different. of course it does. its Not Sasha. but everyone thinks its sasha. she isnt tall. she doesnt have long hair. she doesnt have glasses. but to everyone, she is sasha james. well. everyone but melanie.

see, melanie met sasha only briefly after giving her statement in season 1. they had a conversation about haunted pubs. a short interaction, but they met. they met long enough for melanie to know, when she gave her second statement in season 2, that the woman everyone was calling sasha was NOT sasha. that lead jon into doing a little... digging. on doppelgangers. and he found things. he found that it was tied to this certain table, one that had been delivered to jon by breekon and hope (who he knew then as two strange delivery men whod been mentioned in multiple statements), one that was currently. in artefact storage. and he finds tapes hidden in "sashas" desk, ones that he thought went missing. ones with sashas real voice on them. see, the notthem can alter digital photos and recordings, but not tapes or polaroids. and so jon does. as any stupid paranoid idiot who hasnt slept in a week would do. he buys an axe and smashes the table. this sets the being loose! yayyyy!! buttt thanks to weird fuckass old man who lives in the secret tunnels under the institute (no im not joking), hes saved. because he can. move around the walls and trap it.

anyway can you imagine your best friend being replaced by something. something that doesnt even have her face, her voice, nothing about her is the same. imagine, even knowing that the thing you know as your friend is the thing that killed her, that face is the only one you know when you think of her. you can never get that memory back. your best friend was taken from you by the same thing as your brother. whoops yeah i didnt mention that. tims brother was also killed by the stranger. this poor man

thTs. fucking DEVASTATINF. HELLO. WHAT THE FUCK

[i-cant-sing]

Yandere obey me demons+ diavolo get competitive decorating a Christmas tree for their darling ☺️ winner get a kiss under mistletoe please

Christmas Tree: Yandere Obey Me Demons

Thanks for requesting! Hope you'll like this. Check out my MASTERLIST for more! :)

Yandere Obey Me Demons:

Its Christmas time. You've been in the Devildom for almost an year, and you considered yourself pretty close to the demon brothers. You guys did a lot of fun activities, on your request only. All the brothers always had something to do, even Leviathan had stuff to do other than playing video games and watching shows. But whenever you suggested to do something, they'd always try to make time for you. How could they say no when you asked them so sweetly?

So you were pleasantly surprised when you suggested that you all decorate the Christmas tree together and all of them refused. Hmm, maybe they're just tired. But then you suggested a competition; you knew the brothers were all to competitive. "The most well decorated tree wins! And the winner gets a-" you were cut off by Asmodeus "kiss from you!" "What? No, I was actually thinking of something like-" you were again interrupted "hmm. This sounds interesting. What are the rules?" "Time limit is 2 hours. Right before dinner, we'll see the best decorated tree. No copying, no stealing. Fair enough?" Lucifer proposed. Everyone agreed, except for you. "What?! 2 hours is way too less!" "(Y/n) we're demons. We have supernatural speed and strength. Now, start the clock." And then they all went away, not knowing that you were actually talking about yourself. How are you gonna manage to get a tree and decorate it all within two hours?

The demons got their trees from the human world fairly quick. They all took their trees to different parts of the castle, all wanting to maintain their secrecy.

Leviathan had decided to make his tree unique by decorating his tree in...Tale of the Seven Lords merchandise? Why not? I mean both of you are big fans of TSL, and its eye-catching.

Asmodeus had started out pretty good. He got a decent sized tree, but the issues started when he began decorating. Its not that he doesn't now how to embellish the tree, he just wasn't doing it, because he got busy staring at his reflection on the ornaments. He started taking pictures of himself, using different coloured ornaments. He'll definitely post it on Devilgram, and send some directly to (Y/n) that are for her eyes only.

Mammon had gotten the tree but he forgot to buy the pretty Christmas ornaments as he was busy buying himself a present. He knew none of his brothers would either lend him some money or give him some spare decorations. So he could either beg the others for some help or he could eliminate the competition. Hmm, he hopes (Y/n) will tend to his injuries and kiss his pain away after he's done with his plan.

Beelzebub brought many decorations for his tree. He wanted the tree to express his personality a bit, so he bought a lot of edible decorations...which turned out to be a problem since he kept on munching on them instead of adorning the tree with them. But he got a hold of himself, assuring himself thar (Y/n) would give them something far more mouthwatering.

Satan was doing a great job actually. The tree was looking beautiful and grand. He can't wait to feel (Y/n)'s velvety soft lips on his. All that was left for him to do was put the star on the top. But then the tree suddenly fell down, the glass ornaments breaking when they came in contact with the floor. Of course, the culprit turned out to be Mammon, who had came to steal borrow some ornaments. But Mammon "accidentally" tripped and pushed the tree. He could see Satan turning red with fury, and he knew none of his other brothers will help him save him from Satan's wrath since they're busy with their trees. So Mammon took that as his cue to run, with Satan hot on his heels, yelling at him all the ways he's going to torture him.

Belphegor had surprisingly put in a good effort on his tree. The tree was decorated in his colours, and he actually had hidden in some very sharp ornaments in there, in case someone wanted to touch the tree without his permission. He hopes that he wins; he doesn't want to reveal his sadistic tendencies to (Y/n) just yet.

Lucifer had truly outdone himself this time. He bought a huge tree, and went all out with the decorations. The tree wasn't overcrowded with the ornaments; instead there was a balance and symmetry. He also went ahead and bought presents for (Y/n) and placed them under the tree. He put the tree in a room and put a special spell on the door that could only be unlocked by him. Lucifer was sure that tonight was going to be the night when you'll realise your feelings for him.

Once it was dinner time, Lucifer went to go look for you. On the way he found his other brothers, who were trying to hold back Satan from killing Mammon. As Lucifer told them to control themselves and behave, you walked in all giddy and happy, with Diavolo behind you smiling. "Hey guys! Are you all done with your trees? Can we go see them?"you asked. As Satan stated to explain what happened with his tree, Lucifer interrupted him "Instead of fighting Mammon, you should've gone back and started again. But you chose to waste your time, Satan. Do not blame others." All the other brothers agreed, leaving Satan no room to argue. You went ahead and rubbed his hand, telling him it was okay. "Maybe next year, Satan." You smiled at him. And just like that, you quelled his anger.

"Lets see mine first (Y/n)! Come on!" Asmodeus said. You all went towards his room where he had kept the tree, only to find ashes in its place. Asmodeus didn't understand what happened. He didn't know which one of his brothers did it. He wanted to say Mammon, but he was busy getting chased by Satan. Suddenly, all of the brothers looked at each other, before going to look for their trees, only to find them all burned to crisp. Lucifer couldn't believe it. How could anyone enter his room when he put a spell-. Oh. He knew who did this. He knew burned all of their trees.

Trying to cheer them up, you told them not to worry as you also had prepared a tree for Christmas. They all gloomily followed you to see your tree. Once they got there, the brothers couldn't believe their eyes. In front of them stood a huge, ginormous tree. It was beautifully embellished. It was breathtaking. "How the hell did you, a human, do this all in 2 hours?!" Mammon asked, baffled. You started explaining, "Well after you guys left, I didn't know where to get a tree in Devildom. So I went to Diavolo for help and told him about the competition. He then not only helped me get the tree and the ornaments, but he also helped me decorate it! Isnt it so pretty guys?"

And just like that all the brothers knew who burned their trees. "Well, I believe we've won the competition. So, do I get my prize (Y/n)?" Diavolo asked, smirking. "B-but that's cheating!" Asmodeus tried to protest, but Diavolo quickly shut him down. "How? It isn't against the rules to help someone. Is it Lucifer?" his sharp eyes turned towards Lucifer who only said no. "Well then, we've won fair and square! (Y/n), wheres my kiss?" Diavolo turned towards you. "Alright, even though we're on the same team." You laughed as you went towards him to give him a peck, only for Diavolo to pull you by the neck and deepen the kiss. All the brothers watched him in jealousy and anger, but no one dared to tell you that he was the one who burned their trees. Not when the future demon king had laid his claim on you.

This is just very light yandere. Hope you guys enjoyed this! Requests are open!

[itstimetotheorize]

little nightmares 2, would the world have been saved if the Black Tower fell?

A couple of weeks after the games release, David Mevrik, the lead narrative designer, sat down in an interview and answered some much needed questions about the little nightmares 2 game. Naturally, in an effort to maintain the mystery of the world, David proceeds to take every question that is thrown at him and gives a bizarre and cryptic answer in return. The only thing that he does confirm directly is the fact that little nightmares 2 take place before little nightmares 1, meaning that little nightmares 2 IS a prequel!

(link to interview)

https://www.gamingbible.co.uk/features/games-little-nightmares-2-ending-explained-writer-confirms-prequel-20210311

Although this one answer helped fans alleviate some major confusion, it still does not give us the answers needed to determine what exactly is going on in the little nightmares world. As the interview ends, David leaves us with his cryptic answers knowing fully well that we will do everything we can to try and decipher them in order to theorize for ourselves what is actually happening in this world of little nightmares. Now, out of al the things he was asked, one question in particular had constantly left my mind wondering and asking, “what did he mean by that?”

The question I am referring to is,  “ Who built the Signal Tower, and what was the inspiration behind it (both in terms of in-game lore and your IRL inspirations)?”

to which David replies, “The world of Little Nightmares doesn't work that way, creatures and places exist for a reason. In the first game, The Maw exists because the hunger exists, and here, The Signal Tower exists because the need for escapism exists. Sure, in the game it beams out The Transmission to everyone's TVs, but it would be trite and wrong to say that it's only about the ubiquity of screens. It's inspired by this idea of the spectacle; this thing that delights you in order to destroy you, that corrupts the way you see the world and blinds you to the true monsters. We have centuries of inspiration for something so foul, you just need a good pair of sunglasses.”

Out of all the details that can be taken from his cryptic answer, there was always one piece that had constantly stood out to me, “ The Maw exists because the hunger exists, and here, The Signal Tower exists because the need for escapism exists. Sure, in the game it beams out The Transmission to everyone's TVs, but it would be trite and wrong to say that it's only about the ubiquity of screens”

Out of all the words displayed within these sentences, David specifically chose “Trite” and “Ubiquity” in his response. Before, many of use were certain that we understood exactly what he meant, but did we really? when you look up the definition of these two words you would come to find that they mean so much more:

Trite- overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness.

Ubiquity- the fact of appearing everywhere or of being very common.

what does this mean exactly? it means that David might have been trying to tell us that just because the tower sends out its transmission to the world, it would be boring and unoriginal to believe that the world is the way it is just because there are a ton of tvs  broadcasting a single transmission. So then, if it truly isnt just about the tower and the tvs then what else could there be...or rather...what else is happening in the world that we don't yet know about?...what even is this world?!...perhaps... we have already been given that answer.

In the school, when mono is trying to solve the chess puzzle, there is something within the room that many of us, at the time, had overlooked and taken for granted. This particular item was something so common that we didn't even think about just how important it truly was within the little nightmares games and its world!, what exactly is this item that I am referring to?...its a region map...of the little nightmares world!

for those who do not know, world maps are often divided up into smaller pieces  to better organize them. The map seen within the school, reveals to us, a piece of the worlds geography! 

For the longest time, many of us had wondered what else was beyond the maw, sure we have seen the nest and the pale city, but this map is the first solid piece of evidence we have come across that tells us just how large the world of little nightmares is. What’s even more interesting is that this map, does not have the signal tower or the thin man drawn over it to symbolize their control/influence over the world!, what does it have drawn over every inch of it?... the all seeing eye!

For years we had suspected that an entity of higher power was present in the little nightmares games and for the longest time many of us had believed that the eyes, which were referenced all over the world, were a hint towards that higher entity. In another interview question, David is even asked, “A lot of fans believe that someone, some unseen threat, has been pulling the strings in the world Little Nightmares. Is this the case... and might we meet them one day?”

To which David replies, “That depends if I'm ever allowed to go out in public again.”

When David answers the question, he talks as if he were in a position where he lacks the free will to make his own simple choices, that he needs the permission of another presence that’s currently watching over him... just who or what is this other presence? well... isn't it obvious...its the eyes! 

Near the end of little nightmares 2, after mono frees six from her monstrous form, fans finally get the chance to meet the entity responsible for all the suffering faced by not just mono and six, but the entire world! As the tower begins to crumble, it reveals to us its true form, a gigantic fleshy mass comprised of giant eyes!

Whats even more surprising is that this giant eye entity may not just be located in the black tower. In Little nightmares 1, as well as the LN1 DLC, we see pictures of a similar eye within a structure/building!. 

However unlike the eye entity within the black tower, the eye seen in portraits on the maw appears to be located within some sort of light house...which ironically enough, if you look up the concept art of the maw, you would come to find that the maw had a lighthouse located atop the small island it carries! 

And I know what you are thinking, “but wait this is concept art, it didn't even make it into the final game”, yes, but the fact that this specific art is still seen REPEATEDLY throughout the maw in little nightmares 1 as well as the DLC, could possibly hint that this eye bearing lighthouse might still exist,  somewhere within the maw! What does this mean exactly? it means that even the maw, a large cruise ship that travels all throughout the oceans of the world, bears within it a large entity similar to the eye entity within the black tower of the pale city! What’s even more insane is that these two very distinct eyes, from two very distinct places, could very well be just two small pieces of a much larger mass watching over the entire world as it feeds upon its residents in one way or another! To be fair, we still dont know what exactly this thing is, let alone how it came to be in the world, but what we do know is that the residents of the world are obsessed with it!

David has always said that the maw exists because hunger exists and that the tower exists because escapism exists, but if each place existed from one corrupt human desire then I wonder... are there other structures like them in the world?, and do these other structures revolve around an entirely different existing human need that has been corrupted by the eye entities hypnotic light/spell ?...maybe...

Then again...this does beg the question... If the maw sank and if the tower was left to fall, would we have truly ended the nightmarish world that mono and six resided in or would we have simply ended two very small parts of a much larger nightmare occurring in the world? If the eye is truly responsible for all the suffering seen throughout the childrens lives, then what would the children of this world even do to fight the nightmare that they are trapped in ? would they continue to run and hide, hoping that it is enough to help them survive until adult hood?.... or would they need to accept the reality of this world... take the power that’s there...learn to make it their own and become themselves... little nightmares...

  honestly... whos to say.. should these children choose to make these heart wrenching decisions, would they still be viewed by the all seeing eye as victims?... or would they be seen as threats that need to be stopped before they have the chance to cripple the power it has used to feed upon the world it has latched itself onto....... I guess we will just have to wait and see... but hey, that’s just a theory, a little nightmares theory!

[probably-haven]

after binge reading i have come to a new revelation: I’m not a fan of most Xiaoven fanfics

Don’t get me wrong, I love the ship and its one of my favorite to think about.... but most of the fanfiction for the ship just- doesn’t sit right with me for a number of reasons. 

Disclaimer: these are personal opinions from my own taste and are in no way an attack against any authors out there, because frankly fanfic authors are great and not like i could do better lol. As these are personal opinions, I acknowledge here and now that a number of people disagree and that they are under no obligation to change their opinions in any way as it is not and never will be my intention to tell others what they should be thinking That said- read at your own risk if you want- meh, anyway-

time to share some opinions that have been on my mind lately

The biggest reason.... is how they handle Xiao. And I don’t even mean mischaracterization because Xiao is such a complex and yet simultaneously simple character that as long as you’re somewhere in the range of “Xiao vibes” it’s really hard to write him out of character because of his complexities. What I mean is something that i actually completely agree with as being accurate to his character. In nearly every single fanfic I’ve seen, there is some element of idolization that Xiao has for Venti, or for the sake of reference, Barbatos. He tends to think himself beneath Barbatos and/or indebted to him, whether that be because he’s an archon, because he saved him, or simply because of Xiao’s tendency to dehumanize(yes i see the irony in that word usage) himself.  This by itself isn’t an issue but its often how this trait of his is treated.

Imma just list a few ways I’ve seen this be handled within Xiaoven fics. - It isn’t handled, it’s just there and accepted as a part of who he is in the story - It isn’t handled but his trait is treated as source of humor within the story - Venti(and others) roll with it (finding humor in it, just cant change it, encouraging it, making jokes about it, etc.) - Venti takes advantage of it(whether accidentally or purposely) - it’s actually addressed(by Venti or someone else or the narration- can go a number of ways, but just- even a brief reference to the fact that its not a good mindset fits in here) - savior!Venti(Where venti disagrees with it but the way it’s written gives off “god among mortals” vibes- like he’s just being humble and truly is above him in reality) - its the focus of the story  - not directly addressed but shown to be destructive.  - they chose not to not include this in the story’s characterization of Xiao(just saying that this is valid ahead of time) Theres others but i have a lot already.  Note that I tend to read more ‘serious-toned’(idk if that makes sense) fics so that may skew my perception

Now there’s a few that i have issues with on their own- both instances of it not being handled, Venti(and others) rolling with it, Venti takes advantage of it(purposely(and without good intent)), and savior!Venti. Xiao not only has this trait, but he is unfamiliar with what is normal in relationships or emotions as a result of isolation and inexperience. He is also either not aware of or not concerned with what is considered strictly “healthy.” Combining these makes for a rather dangerous combination and just accepting it as “oh he’s just like that, it’s who he is” or making it out to be something funny- It’s not wrong or bad by any means necessarily, and I could still possibly enjoy it to an extent depending on a series of different factors, but its- not as often.  Even in the case where I do enjoy reading it however, I would still feel uncomfortable sharing it with or recommending it to others because in the first instance it feels like normalizing a destructive and dangerous mindset, and in the second case it does the same while simultaneously making a joke of it. It’s the same deal with Venti or other characters rolling with it, but that’s probably gonna be mentioned later too. Not to say that this is a “wrong” way to handle it, that it makes the fic bad, or that authors even are normalizing anything by doing so, just that in my specific instance- not a fan. 

I’ll get to the others when i talk more about Venti, but for now: It’s the focus of the story. I think I saw like... 2? where the story was like- focused on this and why its a problem which- power to them, address those real world problems like a boss- but also i wouldn’t actively seek it out or anything- like, good job, but doing so just leaves it open neutrally for other factors to decide how good a story i think it is. 

not directly addressed but shown to be destructive. You’d think i wouldn’t like this- but frankly in fanfiction not everyone wants to address every character flaw verbally because it can through off story, narration, dialogue, and general flow to do so. This can be with an event, an action, a dialogue, a mere comment, making it actually fit into the it’s actually addressed category except that its- subtle enough to make its own category. plus i live for show not tell- in everything- its a thing. im- very much a fan of when the fics do this but the subtlety is easy to miss and its not common so- 

It’s actually adressed- doesnt have to be a lot- just mention anywhere or imply anywhere that maybe idolizing someone as a god and savior and being in a relationship with them while having little knowledge of standards, emotions, relationships, or healthy behaviors in general- maybe isnt the smartest idea in the word. (”Call me Venti, not Barbatos” by itself is not enough to fit in this category tho as a note)

-

Now lets talk about Venti...

uh.... those who have followed me for awhile will probably already know this but... I have a lot of opinions on Venti and a pretty- “niche(?)” perception of his characterization that isn’t shared by a lot of others- so I don’t actually read as much Venti fanfic in general as you might expect because I often end up disagreeing with how writers portray him, which again, in no way is their characterization wrong, but- “their perceived truth” conflicts with “my perceived truth” and by extent so does the characterization, though neither is any more correct than the other from an objective point of view, if that makes sense... but anyways now that that’s said, moving on before this becomes a philosophy lecture, as fun as that would be for me.  I’ll try to keep my “perceived truth” out of this for the first bit. 

Venti’s response to this: 

He rolls with it: this depends on the mood of the fanfiction. If they dont put a lot of stress on that trait of Xiao’s it totally fine but if the trait seems to be a major part of Xiao’s character, it seems like normalization once more. (more on this later)

he takes advantage of it purposely: if its an AU or something and Venti’s like a villain(i saw a few) then- villain venti isnt my cup of tea but i have no qualms. If they don’t portray Venti in a negative light while having him take advantage however that’s a bit uncomfortable to read for me because it feels like normalizing taking advantage of that mindset as well as the mindset itself. However, i did see a number of instances of Venti using it as leverage for like- self care- which i definitely have no qualms. Xiao: [insert probably destructive idolizing statement about being indebt] Venti: How bout you pay me back by actually sleeping for once smh or other variations are okay and depending on the vibe are actually a really fun dynamic as long as it doesnt turn into romanticizing or normalizing it, y’know?

Venti accidentally taking advantage of it.... I love angst- and in most of these theres a sense of guilt when he realizes- and i just think thats a lovely way of addressing the dangers of such a mindset for both sides. As long as it doesn’t keep repeating to the point of romanticization its totally cool to read in my eyes(not irl ofc). If Venti never realizes he accidentally took or is taking advantage it feels a bit like normalization, and if he does but just- doesn’t care thats- a rip.

savior!Venti...... i- i hate. the story giving off vibes that Xiao’s mindset is technically correct while Venti oh so humbly tells him to treat him as an equal like the wonderful and charitable person he is.... i just- no. of course thats over dramatizing it- I think the main thing that gives it this vibe is when Venti doesn’t seem either concerned, surprised, uncomfortable, or otherwise have a negative feeling towards Xiao’s mindset. Just- it makes the whole thing weird in my eyes when Venti doesnt really seem to have his own reason to oppose the mindset idk- 

-

fact time!

Venti is the god of freedom. His backstory is freeing Mondstadt from a god’s tyrannical reign. His origin is a windsprite, just another breeze bringing changes for the better. His form is a nameless boy who played an instrument and then died, thus failing at his only dream and only ever accomplishing anything because of the help of others. He slept for a thousand years after the archon war to avoid putting Mond under the rule of yet another tyrannical god. He only even became a god because Andrius chose to let him. He wouldn’t have even had that chance if the nameless bard had survived, he’d remain just another wind while his friend ascended to godhood. Venti sacrifices his own power for his people’s freedom. 

now that I’ve laid out a number of canon facts, time for opinions:

Venti has little to no desire to be seen as a god. He thrives in, comes from, and emphasizes a lack of superiority in quite nearly everything. The first Ragnvindir, who canonically turned his back on Venti after Decarabian’s fall, likely did so because one- he anticipated power would corrupt and Venti would soon become just another tyrannical god, two- he suspected Venti used the nameless bard in an attempt to rise to godhood, or three- idk insert other possibilities to acknowledge again that i could totally be wrong.

Look me in the eyes and tell me Venti wouldnt trade godhood for his friend in an instant. His godhood was only granted to him because his friend died and could easily serve to constantly remind him of what could have been and what he lost. Venti takes no enjoyment from being seen as superior and in my opinion, I feel that it could actually make him largely uncomfortable when his divinity and abilities as an archon get involved-

also self promotion for my favorite posts- check out #archon war era venti if thats interesting to you

so anyway Venti rolling with it or making jokes about it just doesn’t sit right with me.- 

-

Okay! enough talking about that mindset!

idk- i have... a few/lot of other gripes and stuff or just things that kinda throw off the vibe for me but that’s the main one plus my general personal pickiness when it come to Venti fanfics- but this has gotten long enough already- 

idk i just felt like rambling about it and i haven’t done a long post in a while so-

again, I love the ship and its actually one of my favorites- just the fanfic isnt my thing..... that doesn’t mean i don’t still love it and come up with a whole ton of brainrot and ideas on it tho lmao

[mcmactictac]

Ramble time!!!! Boy oh by do I have thoughts today!!!

(It’s been a while since I’ve read the books, I plan a re read soon so sorry if everything isn’t totally accurate!)

Why do I never see anyone talking about how low Percy’s self esteem is? I feel like we all make him out to be this cool, know it all guy who is super confident right? But he ISNT. And throughout the series you can see aspects of his mental health shown in different ways, but I find it the most interesting to look at the difference a POV change makes.

We as a reader know that Percy is powerful, but we don’t get a sense of how he comes off to other people until we get Frank and Hazels POV’s in Son of Neptune. Both of them are in awe of this kid, I mean Hazel thinks he’s a GOD IN DISGUISE when she firsts meets him. That’s no small feat, and almost everyone seems to find him incredibly impressive and intimidating too.

But when we get Percy POV’s (I’m talking mostly PJO here but HOO is also applicable) he’s totally humble? This is the kid who beat the god of war as a 12 year old with virtually no training in combat, or of his powers. That’s a HUGE deal. And Percy never really has that big moment where it’s like “woah, I just beat the God of war, that’s a massive deal”. He constantly undermines his own achievements, simply in the lack of acknowledging and appreciating them. It’s just another thing to him, something he did to save others. He’ll literally hold the sky and brush it off like it was nothing. And it seems like it’s nothing, but he consistently does it! The readers don’t notice it as much because we don’t know any different. It reads as just being insanely humble, but there are times when you deserve to step back and appreciate what you accomplished. Percy rarely (if ever) does that, and often just passes it off as luck or a mistake that it worked. Something that worked out by chance, and not a pattern him being successful.

I personally like to believe he doesn’t notice or brag about any of these things because of his low self confidence. Objectively, beating a god is an incredibly impressive thing, that Percy would praise in other people, but when it’s HIMSELF it doesn’t matter. That’s what his expectations for himself are. It isn’t an achievement but more of a “congrats, you didnt screw up this time. Don’t know how you pulled that off”. It’s more of being excited/surprised you didn’t fail, instead of celebrating the achievement.

Battle of the Labyrinth. There’s a lot going on there. Literally most of the main characters in this book have a crush on him. Annabeth, Rachel, Calypso, and Nico all express interest in him, some more clearly than others. And for the most part? They are NOT subtle. Even though readers only have Percy’s POV, it’s still blatantly obvious to us that Annabeth, Rachel and Calypso all have feelings for him. So why doesn’t Percy recognize it? I mean you could argue that he is unobservant, but we see everything narrated through his eyes. Which means he sees and processes everything we know. He is totally aware of the signs of people flirting with him, but he just cant comprehend the fact that someone could be showing interest in him and doesn’t even consider the possibility. Most of the time his reaction is genuine surprise when he realizes someone has feelings for him. He can’t wrap his head around that idea without being explicitly told. I feel like this relates into confidence again because despite all the signs being there, he automatically assumes that he’s misreading them. He basically doesn’t view himself of someone worthy of having a crush on.

People with ADHD also have a tendency to have way lower self confidence: Since they are constantly told they’re doing something wrong, or misbehaving, or corrected on something they can’t control, it can be really challenging to not feel like a failure, or think something is wrong with you: Not meeting up to neurotypical standards can be incredibly challenging, and can make people feel bad about themselves when they don’t meet those standards. People with ADHD often receive so much external criticism, and If you don’t realize what you have it can potentially be even harder, since you are constantly trying to match a neurotypical level, and not understanding why it’s so much harder to reach. That negative talk you hear so often around you gets internalized into your own narrative, and makes you more critical of yourself as well. I’m sure having an abusive parent only made this worse. The way Gabe talks to Percy and about Percy sets him up as this problem child who doesn’t deserve anything. Sally is amazing, and I love her, but she can’t magically undo the negative impact all of that commentary from Gabe, teachers, and peers has had on Percy’s view of himself.

It’s also interesting when you look at HOO, when everyone is comparing Percy and Jason, and who could win in a fight. Everyone has their thoughts and opinions, and it’s something Jason thinks about a lot. Jason and Percy view this “rivalry” in a really different way. Jason has been raised to be the best, he is a strong and capable warrior who is pretty confident in himself once he starts to remember who he is. Jason worked his way up and earned his position as a leader, it was something he wanted and chose to be. He is confident in himself, and just wants to prove to others that he is strong and capable, a leader worthy of putting trust in. Percy on the other hand was forced into a leadership role. He was forced to take his first quest and he had no choice in being the child of the prophecy. He doesn’t even really want to be, I think he would have been perfectly happy if it was Thalia’s problem instead. He adapted and learned, but he still doesn’t see himself as a leader. He feels as fake as he did as a young kid, having no idea what he was doing. Faking it all and hoping that no one would notice the doubt he hides from them.

Just because Percy doesn’t see himself in a “negative” light, does not mean he doesn’t have severe mental health issues. Since it’s a children’s series, obviously a lot of it is glossed over or lies more in the subtext, but I wish it was something the fanbase acknowledged more because its so interesting!!

[littlx-songbxrd]

In defense of Thomas Lightwood

An analysis

Tw. Death, Grief

We're all well aware of the letter game, and how passive agressive Thomas has been towards Alastair after the engagement party. Most people cant understand why he's so mad over rumors he already knew had been spread, and are pretty dissapointed by all the angst caused by a situation that could easily be solved by communication. Well I have a different perspective of the engagement scene, something that would explain much better why Thomas is so over the edge over this situation. Why he refuses to let Alastair apologize, and why he "has been WANTING (key word WATING" to hate him"

Thomas Lightwood hasnt been allowed to grieve. That is a fact. In the book, he decides that he needs to jump into action, that he needs to do something to prevents others from suffering the same fate his sister had. Thomas Lightwood in page never allowed himself to stop for a moment and ackwnoladge his situation. Ackwnoladge the fact his world had been turned inside out, because in his mind he couldnt grieve as long as there were others hurting. Its both a very noble thing to do, but its also a way to avoid the reality hes facing. To tricky himself out of his grieve

Grieve manifest in so many different ways, but Thomas chose to simply escape it. He threw himself so hard into finding the antidote, and then into saving christopher (Which is a fact all on its own that he literallt had his sisyer die and his cousin almost die back to back) He found ways to keep busy, to keep ignoring. But even if he ignored them, he still had them. Which is so much more painful.

Lets go back to some key components of Thomas character. Thomas is kind, to a fault. He likes to see the best in people, the best in situations. A thing that has led him to be reduced to only his kindness within his close circle. He was also very sickly when younger, to the point of smuthering. In chog, one of the key points to his arc is that he wants to break away from those stereotype he was placed. Thomas wants to be seen as more than nice, more than some cute kid, more than someone they have to protect. A lot of what he does in canon goes back to him wanting to be seen as more than what he thinks hes seen as.

And althought a great arc, it really creates tension when Thomas is in a place where he NEEDS to let himself be taken care of. For him to grieve properly, he needs to allow himself to be vulnurable. He needs to accept the love and concern of those around him, let himself be protected again even if its for a little while. A thing Thomas refuses to let himself be since he doesnt want to be vulnerable around the people he cares about. Because he fears being vulnerable will just make them go back to their old ways, and hes scared of it. He doesnt want to be protected, so in his mind he doesnt need to be

So he doesnt need to grieve

He just needs time to get over it, and he thinks that by continuing on like everything is normal he'll adventually get to it. Without anyones help

But again, this doesnt mean his grieve isnt there

It just means hes avoiding it as hard as he can, making the feelings manifest in ways Thomas wont be able to recognize. Because in his mind, hes fine. In his mind Thomas Lightwood is completley fine, so theres no explanation for his feelings.

Now lets take a look at the ball scene, knowing that his level of emotion is close to the edge, because there are so many feelings he hasnt sorted through. Hes, again, trying to distract his grieve. He must have already not being doung good, seeing as Barbara was to be engaged soon enough to oliver. Most likely she had been talking about it, and now to be at his best friends engagement party without her. His first party without her sneaking off with Oliver, nust have been hard. He tries to have a good time, and then Alastair comes. A person hes been getting close to, a person he might even consider a friend

Then Mathew says the secret, and Thomas asks him to stop. If you notice there is a gap between Mathew saying the secret and Thomas snapping at Alastair. Thomas emotions were all over the place, it was a hard time, a hard moment , and all he wanted was a decent fun evening. Maybe even a distraction from the silence at home where his sisters laughter use to be. Instead Mathew brings back years old rumor, and for a moment. Its too much for Thomas. He snaps after almost a few weeks of holding everything in.

Him snapping at Alastair has nothing to do with the rumor itself, him snapping has to do that Thomas cant deal with his emotions anymore. The rumor mathew brought back not only sent him memories of of a bad time in his family, it must have sent memories of her too. In that moment it was too much to bare for Thomas, and he snapped at Alastairs expense.

From the way Thomas behaves in the few snippets we have, and how he is handleling his grieve. I'm willing to say Thomas isnt even really angry at Alastair at all. Yes he's upset he did that, but in a way, hes using Alastair as a way to get rid of his feelings. He feels so hurt, but hes not grieving. So in his head Alastair is causing the pain, and he hates him. Hes in so much pain right now and hating Alastair is a way to get it out of his system. No one bats an eye if he hates Alastair, it makes SENSE for him to hate Alastair

Thomas needs to grieve, but hes not allowing himself the vulnerability that comes to grieve. So his unbalanced emotions lie in his hatred for Alastair. A hatred we know (thanks to the snippets) he himself DOES NOT understand. He blames it on mathew, he blames it on his parents. Thomas doesnt understand where his hatred comes, he just know he is hurt and assumes its on Alastairs behalf.

He doesnt want to believe that he feels abandoned, that his sister died and christopher almsot died. And there was a good period of time it fell only on him to make sure he didnt loose a cousin after and his sister. He doesnt want to deal with the vulnerability that he misses her, doesnt want to deal with the fact it terrified him to not be able to save christopher.

And because Alastairs actions sent him over the edge, all that pain he doesnt want to sort out he has placed on him.

Thomas Lightwood doesnt hate Alastair Carstairs because of the rumor. Thomas Lightwood hates Alastair because he doesnt know who else to blame for his emotions without realizing he misses his sister.

Tagging @doitforthecarstairs cause I promised

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket,Se03, Ep 9 (part 1)

“ppl & feelings can’t be bound down”~

What an ep for my girl tohru! She completed her growth thanks to kyo’s rejection. really, It was so hard, cruel, understandable but above all so necessary for her to reach a logical realistic conclusion that “I can love/want things from the bottom of my heart, but at the end I can’t force or bound them to me, I won’t regret loving/wanting them, but I’ll move forward regardless, no more standing still”.

-The fear of being alone:

Aren’t we all? We’re scared to face the word after breaking bonds, changing, not getting what we want, having to start over. Such feelings run deeper into us all. Both tohru & akito were scared to face the word without the old comfortable bond that they got used to:

Tohru realized today, that she cant keep talking to a cold photo, can’t live according to her mom’s expectations, to fulfill her mom’s wishes, can’t narrate her daily life to her mom & fill her life with other ppl’s own issues to distract her self from facing her own loneliness & from looking deeper into what should she do with her life. As she fell in love with kyo, tohru started talking to him! forgetting to inform her mom abt her life’s details, thinking abt what will she do “after graduation?”. As kyo asked in se02, ep2. Graduating highschool is ur mom’s wish, What would u wanna do after?” Tohru didnt have a response of “an after”cuz her mom wasnt there to tell her! Tohru has to choose “the after” herself!!!! “The after” was being with kyo & starting life together! figuring what to do next together! She no longer alone! she found her most precious person!

Except: he cant be with her. Again tohru is scared. What to do now! she wanted a bond but is forced to leave it. Loving kyo was stage 1 to be free from her grief. Moving forward without kyo is stage 2 to learn not to repeat the painful journey again! She didnt let go of her mom & kyo easily. It was hard, scary but she must do it. You must respect their wishes & move on. As scared as she is, there will be sadness & happiness ahead.

Akito realized she cant keep an empty box, cant keep fulfilling her dad’s wishes to “be loved & special” cant bound the zodiacs to her for good. They may love her or not, it doesn't matter, if they wish to leave for whatever reason, she cant force them to stay.

Except now that the zodiacs are leaving, what does she have to live for? who will be with her? she isnt good with strangers? she never met anyone who wasnt forced to obey her & be grateful for her. Strangers cant be forced to love her! what will she do now? stretch you hand for a greeting. Tohru told her, make a friend, they might refuse you, but hey might accept u too, I’ll make it easy, Hi, I;m tohru, whats ur name?

The power of true love: ( reality vs fiction)

In fairy tales, the princess fix the prince. the prince save the princess. The prince kiss the princess, she wakes up & they be happy ever after. Except real life has no prince & princess, You cant always be saved, you cant always save others, pure intense true love cant always be the answer!

Yuki was first when tohru needed physical saving. he saved her twice! Yuki’s nickname in school ”the prince”. Yuki is always cool, thoughtful & kind. Yuki always knew what to say & do! he deserves tohru’s romantic love more than kyo, right? But “ppl & feelings can’t be bound down”~ . Yuki didn't feel this way towards tohru, granted no one (excepts kakeru) knows the reason why he loves her fondly (she’s his mom figure). The official” prince isnt the one for her. Real life isn’t a fairy tale. Yuki has someone who sees he isn’t cool, perfect or a prince “ granted no one knows abt machi, yet! ) XD

In tohru monologue: she didnt think abt saving, that's not why she loves kyo. She stated normal, silly, mundane things! a shy smile, awkward kindness & the likes. Stuff ppl love abt each other in real life. You dont say, I love my husband cuz he saved me from a burning building in the 7th floor! lol. But fiction is so full of this. Princes saving princesses.

Tohru didnt fix kyo, too! as much as her love helped him greatly to find hope, the best writing choice is that tohru’s love also brought despair to kyo! To him, she’s the symbol of hope, peace & comfort! she’s also, the symbol of despair, torment & unease! EPIC! The kyo who’s stuck in the past cant be with her, the kyo who will move beyond trauma, abuse & broken soul will be with her. The duality is all on kyo’s shoulder: what will he choose? Can he choose in his state now?

In fairy tales the princess wakes up after the kiss. In real life, we don't. Tohru didn’t. Regardless if she fainted during or after the kiss. The kiss fixed nothing. Kyo’s despair in seeing near-dead tohru in a not-so-subtle mimic to his nightmare, has manifested itself into the sweetest kiss upon seeing her conscious & talking. Kyo isnt good with words, his actions are his words. When he’s scared, sad, in trauma: running away. when he’s  fond of her, grateful for her existence: head knock, head pats, hand holding & a kiss. Still the kiss fixed nothing. Kyo is still traumatized more than ever now. Tohru still feels rejected “even if I’m not with you, plz live”.

Talking fixes everything. It didn’t here, kyo & tohru talked & showed their most vulnerable side to the other, but still didn’t meet half ways, regardless of all the love. That’s cuz they keep missing each other’s best timing. Kyo is stuck in the past while tohru has moved forward. even if in her mind she’s the one who stood & he moved. this shows they aren’t on the same wave yet. Before meeting each other again, kyo must learn from his mistake like tohru did. He must face his ultimate demon: his dad. The one who created the current broken kyo.

Rebelling against parents: ( sign of growth & freedom of choice):

Rebelling against parents  is a sign of a desire to choose one’s path, decide one’s own future. Away to express an oppressed desire.

Yuki rebelled against his mom in se02. he told her I’m not going to the college you chose. I’ll chose my path. I’m not staying away from Ayame. My bro is good in my book. I chose who I want to be with. He told her what he needed, turned his back & moved forward.

Tohru rebelled against her mom today. told her I’m not wasting myself doing only what you I think you’ll approve off. You might bot forhet kyo, thats ur choice, But I DO. I love him even if you might not approve of him, Even if he rejected me, my feelings wont change, but I’ll move forward from the grief & pain. mother. She told her what he needed, turned his back & moved forward.

Kyo WILL rebelled against his disgusting dad. He MUST. It is his turn now. He’ll tell him I’m not wasting myself being locked in a cage. I have a future! I’m not a monster. I am LOVED! I might not 100% sure why I’m loved, but the truth cant be hidden. I have ppl who love me! cheer for me! I want to live! enough of death! mom & kyoko died, tohru nearly did, but I’m not gonna die! I’m not killing ME! I’‘ll do what MOM didnt do! I’ll do what YOU couldn't do! I’ll live! He’ll tell him what he needed, turned his back & moved forward.  I cant wait! I’m in tears just thinking abt it! Kyo was punished enough! time for happiness!

Side Notes:

While I’m impressed with tohru’s growth, as they did her justice in this ep, this doesn’t erase that the buildup for tohru’s own journey & trauma was mediocre. There is a reason ppl commented ” omg tohru, you can love your mom AND kyo!. ” Grief is illogical, long process & it sucks that we weren’t allowed to experience tohru’s grief & her mom’s role in tohru’s abandonment issues. Huge lost opportunity that a good conclusion ep cant erase! but like tohru, I’m moving on ~

The path of growth for kyo will start by rejecting the demon: his dad. No. other. option. Hold abusers accountable for their crimes. Stop their madness. Tell them off.

We know kyo is baka! that’s his trade mark, the endearing baka! a lot of characters in the show think so! I love it, but I’m craving baka-yuki! XD! really, yuki is cool, level-headed & smart, but let him be baka too! this only shows up in tiny microscopic doses, but they’re my fave doses of yuki! it humanizes the “perfect prince”, the “gifted high status rat”! Thus him not seeing kyo running the other side, is my fave look on him! XD.

I appreciate that kyo & yuki put their differences aside when they’re with tohru. You cant tell yuki is hella pissed off with kyo, but he restrained himself. His gaze while full of anger is also full of sympathy as he heard/saw kyo’s panic upon the thought of loosing tohru. He understand they both only mean the best for each other, but also tried they both keep missing each other & not meeting half way! Also, yuki being the only one in the hospital is realistic & endearing. No need for them all to be there & yuki lives with her & is so close to her.

kyo not being the hospital is fantastic! thank you writer-San! why would kyo go to the hospital after thinking his nightmare came true? kyoko /his mom warned him, you’ll hurt another person.. he did.. he didn't cause her fall... but caused her sadness & hurt.

Momiji’s reprimanding gaze is my fave look on him! Also, the best response to what akito did. Akito isnt used to such judgemental gaze. Kureno grabbed her cheeks, gently told her you shouldn't do that, the old maid told her you are right, Dr. Hatori erased her mistakes from ppl heads & bodies, shigure being either cold or kissing her ass, coxing her to yet torment another zodiac in his grand scheme to break the curse as happened in the beach arc.

You bet hana & arisa will be there next ep! Arisa will meet kureno & akito for sure. To path the way for their romance as seen in the ED.

Shigure’s “remorse” is a whole can of worms. Playing with ppl’s hearts & feelings to gain someone’s affection is no laughing matter. Each time blood is shed, he contributed somehow. he didnt force anyone to hurt the other, but he played with matches & never got hurt.

Shigure must be glad akito stabbed kureno. Not cuz he’s sadistic or bad person. He isn’t, but cuz akito stabbing kureno is akito cutting her bond with him. Go shigure, your girl removed her lover with blood. Kureno is punished for sleeping with ur girl by blood! so, when is ur punishment for sleeping with ur lover’s mom? none? ok.

The animation is good. They didnt villinize akito by drawing extra manic features like se02. Kyo’s broken & tormented face once again epicly drawn. However, akito’s slaps on tohru’s face were comedic, unnecessary & such bad taste! Stop using violence for extra drama, furuba!

Also, tohru, I love you, I understand you are broken but charging at a person, who has a history of violence & physical abuse & holding a knife, is stupid. No other description. I’m glad she didnt accidentally kill you in her initial rage.

Everything akito’s redemption, kureno & shigure are part 2 in my review.

[logically-asexual]

im so annoyed about this whole remus and logan thing i can’t stop thinking about it. so a long ramble under the cut.

i finally am being able to put into words what bothers me about logan’s character development, particularly him vs the dark sides.

first of all, virgil. virgil had a whole season for his development that was kind of natural and credible. he is a nuisance in different ways, thomas recognizes he has anxiety and looks for ways to cope, which logan learns to bring up later, then virgil keeps causing trouble but makes some good points sometimes, then thomas decides to accept him for the good he brings and they all manage better. all this happens within episodes that aren’t always about anxiety. they SHOW us how the sides’ perception of him and his character have changed through the stories, instead of lecturing us about it.

with janus they kind of attempted the same thing but with a speedrun of three episodes that crammed everything together with little plot. in fact the plot is just an excuse to make every single step of janus’s developement happen, and this progress with janus is the center of the episodes. at least there is some plot, but its not as natural, we don’t see thomas struggle with him casually, we don’t see logan or patton learning information about how to deal with him. its not how a normal person would go through this. but we do see different stages of his acceptance and we see all the sides learning new things about janus gradually.

but then with remus they just pressed literally everything in one video and all the learning thomas would have to do about him and dealing with him that he did with virgil in an entire year happens in?? 40 minutes? because he (logan) somehow already knew everything and he just had to remind himself (patton and virgil) of it?

that’s how i see the dark sides’ development (?). now logan.

with virgil you could assume logan took note of what Lilly said in that first video, then logan and had thomas research about it and find strategies to later use them when they were necessary. as if Taking on Anxiety was a first step with learner’s wheels and then My Negative Thinking was thomas being able to repeat the process on his own. it makes sense. first someone teaches you and then you do it independently. you can believe there was a learning process with Logan’s help right there, beginning with Logan (and thomas) not knowing something and then researching (between videos), understanding it, to finally accepting it.

after the debate logan was still neutral about virgil, and was pushed to reflect more about his role until he disappeared, to finally come to the realization of why he was necessary, by remembering a small fact he learned while researching strategies (the yerkes dodson curve). that one isnt a streategy, so makes sense that logan just saved the info and didnt completely internalize it until it became useful. thomas learned what he was told to and then used it when the situation required it.

but with janus and remus thomas has to figure it all out on his own. except he doesn’t, because Logan already knew everything. he already knows what the dark sides represent, every single thing they encompass, he knows what the studies say about the problems they cause, he has understood, accepted, and internalized everything before the videos even start!! and then its only him telling the rest of the sides what he already learned on his own? he learned all this with the rest not being present or without it causing any emotion whatsoever? how can logan memorize all this stuff if thomas used to be indifferent towards it? you learn through connection with your emotions. it mAKES NO SENSE that logan knows all this.

also logan is defensive and gets frustrated easily. thats essential to his character. and you could see he was annoyed and bothered by anxiety in the first season. anxiety got in his way sometimes so logan also didn’t want him around at the beginning.  WHEn did logan have this development of suddently not caring at all what the dark sides do? not caring at all how remus affects thomas’s productivity while when roman does it he goes into screaming matches and even throwing stuff!!. it is stated that he does have feelings no matter how much he denies it, , then why doesn’t he feel anything At. All. when confronted by remus? why is he so calm around him? when did he learn to deal with him?

even worse: logan went through a whole arc of accepting virgil, just like the rest of them, but he still can’t even deal with Roman and Patton with whom he interacts literally every video?? he is so affected by them everytime they do something irrational, gets angry, and starts yelling about what does and doesn’t make sense. he says he doesn’t have this problem with remus because his ideas shouldn’t have an impact on thomas if they don’t let them. but when and how did he learn this? how does he know intrusive thoughts are different from other thoughts thomas has that he, as logic, doesn’t like?

logan said in the video its bad to try too hard to make sense of remus’s contributions. that sounds like something LOGIC would do. try too hard to make sense of him until (with experience and research) he realizes it is impossible and gets them nowhere, and also would end up hurting thomas more in the long run. then why can’t we see this development? how does he JUST. KNOW? how does he know before the duke is introduced what will and wont hurt thomas if this is the first time ever that thomas is hurt by him?

i can stay here complaining all day honestly. there’s so much logan as rational thinking, reason, logic, of a person (who doesn’t have any experience with therapy or believe in it, apparently) could have gone through while learning about dark sides of your personality. they dont have to show it on camera if they think they already showed enough of this process for virgil! but somehow imply that this development happened, and not just have logan suddenly be this perfect all knowing  entity that knows exactly what to do before it happens. i think logan lecturing them about intrusive thoughts for 20 minutes was a lazy decision, no matter how much work it took to write those dialogues. its lazy because it doesn’t fit with the storytelling style they chose to make Sanders Sides with, but they didn’t take the time to figure out a way to make it fit.

im going off again.again i can do this all day. but im going to stop now. sigh.

[lune1004]

I love your post that has lines from different media pieces that fit Itafushi really well and I was wondering if you’ve read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Because I cannot stop comparing Achilles and Patroclus with Megumi and Itadori.

“The never-ending ache of love and sorrow. Perhaps in some other life I could have refused. But not in this one. He would sail to Troy and I would follow, even into death.”

“A surety rose in me, lodged in my throat. I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me.”

And my favorite: “Name one hero who was happy…You can’t” “I can’t” “I know. They never let you be famous and happy. I’ll tell you a secret.” “Tell me.” “I’m going to be the first. Swear it.” “Why me?” “Because you’re the reason. Swear it.” “I swear it.” “I feel like I could eat the world raw.”

Also how Patroclus and Achilles are compared to the moon and sun by fans and so are Megumi and Itadori. Achilles death being prophesy and Itadori basically a dead man walking.

HI!!

thank u for thinking / appreciating so! i love pretty words and i just love doing itfs parallels to it, bc whats better than putting / imagining ur otp in those kinds of settings am i right!

yes! i do read tsoa!! makes me insane just thinking about it. listen. where should i even begin. at first, i was thinking megumi as achilles, simply bc he’s from a renowned clan, simply bc he was the one who said to patroclus when they heard about possibly joining the trojan war, “if you have to go, you know i will go with you.” and the fact that achilles only ever looks at patroclus, he does not care about anyone else. when patroclus died, red is all he sees. with patroclus gone, he does not care about the war anymore. it is only hector that he seeks. and that kind of violent rage, i can see that it can(?) stem out of megumi. and how he tried to fight sukuna to bring yuuji back in ep 5.

but after contemplating it much further, ur right as well. yuuji is achilles, and megumi patroclus. the violent devotion patroclus has for achilles mirrors what megumi has for yuuji. and the fact that yuuji, the boy that megumi loves, is on borrowed time too. when patroclus heard about the prophecy, about how achilles would die by the end, he was so grief-stricken and tried to stop him from danger etc and it reminds me, of how yuuji swallowed the first finger and megumi was all, “pls save him. its my personal feelings.” and on the first meeting too. like how big of an impact that was. its crazy to even think about it.

you have the big quotes that i equate with them as per the book! but also here’s my other favorites:

1) “[...] and i thought of how many nights i had lain awake in this room loving him in silence.”

2) “when he died, all things swift and beautiful and bright would be buried with him.”

3) “how much longer will he live?” “why? would u prepare urself for it? try to stop it?” “yes, if i can. please. please tell me.”

4) “in the huge hall, his beauty shone like a flame, vital and bright, drawing my eyes against my will.”

5) “and perhaps, it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another one is gone.”

6) “i would not care. whatever u became. it would not matter to me. we would be together.”

7) “do not let it be so. do not leave me here without him.”

the one theme i absolutely adore about itafushi is: the act of choosing. and how again, it mirrors achilles and patroclus. if patroclus cowers against thetis, he would leave achilles be. but he is afraid still, and he loves achilles fiercely, still. and how megumi knows now that sukuna might do sth to him, might harm him, but he still wants to stay beside yuuji, knowing any possible implications that it will bring. despite the catastrophe happened in shibuya, he chose to stay with yuuji, still. he chose yuuji, still. megumi knows and megumi trusts that yuuji himself wont ever hurt him. and can you even love someone u dont trust? megumi, megumi doesnt have to be a healer like shoko to heal / soothe yuuji’s heart, he does it anyway. i was so glad that after their reunion (chap 143 onwards), yuuji was himself again. megumi has a big impact on yuuji as much as yuuji on megumi. and thats just so lovely, isnt it?

[yellowbluemoonshine]

There is always the idea that villains need to be punished for what they did but... when you see someone like Shigaraki, what could be more of a punishment than what he suffered? And more than that, how could the society jugde him when they are for a big part responsable of what he has become? When Shigaraki says that he can't forgive anyone, I can't help but agree: how could he forgive when nobody recognise they have wronged him, when they don't admit he is THEIR victim?

Definitely agreed, anon.

First, this role is literally forced on him by people around him.

Even when he was 5 years old, he wasnt allowed to be the person he wants to be. He wanted to be a hero but his father punished him for it.

After his family’s tragic death, he became a tool of manipulative, selfish man. AFO literally groomed him to be force of destruction, he made him believe that this is the only way for him.

AFO literally punished Shigaraki when he cried and hold his feelings (calling him pathetic to make him feel guilty for being a disappointing is also punihsment too) and praised him when he killed people.

Then, every hero and villain he met dehumanized him again and again. For everyone, Shigaraki is someone who enjoys from destruction, empty, cruel guy, he is not even a person. Again and again, Shigaraki is not allowed to be his own person.

Heroes dont listen to him cause Shigaraki has to be bad guy so that heroes can be good guys. If Shigaraki is monster, they can justify their violence. This is how villains are treated in society. And Shigaraki is one of the biggest examples of it. Even though, heroes have many proofs to believe that Shigaraki is victim.

Everyone around Shigaraki already decided the role Shigaraki play for him, his life, his narrative is always controlled by others. He himself even believes that he is monster cause everyone around him says so.

Not only this role forced on him but also his biggest motivation and desire literally relate to what happened to him.

Shigaraki’s biggest motivation is comes from his pain, death of his family, like how he will never feel okay. This is why he is doing what he is doing cause he literally have no idea how to handle his pain.

Shigaraki’s life is full of pain. He was traumatized againd and again. He was groomed in very unstable and dangerous environment. Treated as monster that needs to be destroyed. When he finally a little far away from his abuser AFO, he still did what he wants him to do and eventually came back to him to surgery, he almost loose his humanity and his will.

And Shigaraki’s biggest desire is freedom cause his life and his choices taken away from him. Shigaraki again and again chose freedom cause he doesnt want the role everyone forced on him. He feels trapped and full of anger cause he is completely not okay with his current life.

Shigaraki is trapped in cycle of abuse.

Step 1;

He holds his negative feelings inside of him, until he reaches his breaking point. He hold himself cause he hasnt taught how to handle those emotions healthy way.

Step 2;

He reaches his breaking point and lashing his feeling out to other people. Killing them, harming them, destroy things etc. He is lashing out cause thats how he has been taught. After lashing out, he somehow reliefs a little and feel empty.

Step 3;

After remember what he did to others, he feels exteremely guilty and starts punishing himself. He is harming himself, thats the way of Shigaraki punishing himself. Punishment is always part of Shigaraki’s character.

Step 4;

Harming himself eventually led him to feel unfair and he starts to feel angry again, he hold those feelings so basically we returned back to step 1, again.

Shigaraki is literally trapped with this cycle and cant get rid of it. This is why he almost always contracting with himself.

First, someone/something hurts him and Shigaraki fights back,

he fights back to get rid of this cycle cause he wants this pain to be over. He wants freedom thats why he rejects giving his will to AFO, this is why he get rid of hands.

But eventually, he still thanking AFO, doing what he wants

and taking hands with him again cause he doesnt believe he deserves freedom.

Basically, Shigaraki wants freedom, he wants to be saved but he cant fight for his freedom cause he himself believes he doesnt deserves to be saved, to feel okay. This is the biggest proof of that he feels exteremly guilty from what he did/does.

He literally escapes from cage to another cage, in this picture.

Shigaraki is trying to escape from his cage but he doesnt believe he deserves to feel good, this is why he turns back to the cage. Thats the reason he accept the surgery of Ujiko. So basically, his mindset is already like a prison and it harms him a lot. And as long as he believes he doesnt deserve anytihng good, he cant get out that prison. But Shigaraki feels guilty, this is why he believes that. Shigaraki doesnt even see himself as victim cause noone else does.

This is why Shigaraki cant get out of this cycle, this prison and this is why it so important that someone reaching out to him. He is a victim, a person and he needs to be seen as like that by someone.

And Shigaraki’s story is all about how different his life would be, if only someone reach out to him. Again and again, theme of his story is there were people who could’ve helped him but they still didnt do anything for him. Shigaraki can be saved but everyone already believes that he is irredemable, they wont even try to reach out to him.

How can Shigaraki forgive those people when they constantly turned a blind eye to him?

Even when Shigaraki show his true face to them, trying to talk and reach out to them, they still ignored him. Shigaraki is trying to explain himself to heroes cause he still waits for heroes to save him in his deep.

The biggest proof of that there is a hope for Shigaraki is that despite his background, the way he treats league and he tries to break this cycle. The way Shigaraki treats his comprades literally turned league to found family for people like them. Shigaraki was raised to destroy but he is the reason that people in league are slowly healing from their trauma. He also fight against the unfair society that let them fall at first place.

Shigaraki is blowback of society. Though, AFO would kidnap Shigaraki anyway but he is still failure of heroes. If Allmight didnt make society ignorance, people wouldnt ignore Shigaraki. If society was designed to rehabilite villains, then they would understand his victim and try to reach out to him. They could’ve do that easily in USJ arc. If Nana never abandoned his son or Gran Torino and Allmight tried to check him out, AFO wouldnt capture Tenko. etc etc etc. Society and heroes failed Shigaraki and let him fall from the cracks of society

 If Shigaraki is victim of society, heroes, then, society,heroes should take responsibilty for the victims, not just destroying them.

And Shigaraki isnt just blowback of society, his actions also waking people up. Story made it clear, society is not good the way it is and heroes dont even try to change it. Yeah, destruction isnt really solution and murder is bad but at least, Shigaraki’s actions will change things. Society wil start to change for better cause Shigaraki, the shadow of society is calling them out.

And again;

if society is the one who is responsible for Shigaraki became who he is, then how they can have a right to not forgive him?

(Though, Deku doesnt really know things here but hope, he will eventually understand.)

The one who made a choice wasnt really Shigaraki, it was people around him. First, he was outcasted and became their victim. Then, they forced a role for him. When he played his role, they punished him for it. Shigaraki was put in an impossible sitution and he was expected to handle that sitution. Who is the one really at fault here?

Everyone blames Shigaraki cause thats easiest way. Even though, Shigaraki didnt have much choices in his life but somehow its still his fault and the ones who could’ve helped him, the one who can help him chose to not help have a right to not forgive him.

So basically;

1-

Society and heroes already failed Shigaraki and directly responsible from his fall. There is something they could do, there is something they still can do about Shigaraki but they constantly choosing to dehumanize him.

2-

Shigaraki constantly fights against the people who dehumanize him for his humanity. At least, he is doing his best cause he doesnt want to stay like this.

3-

He is trying to change things to break this broken cycle, both for himself and in his deep, society can be better place for people like him, victims, outcasts.

3-

There is no point of killing Shigaraki since society creates its own villains, then they would create another Shigaraki anyway.

4-

Shigaraki already feels exteremely guilty from what he does. (This is the reason he is so suicidal cause he sees no worth about his life.)

5-

Shigaraki’ s life is full of pain and trauma. He is already treated as monster in his current sitution.

So whats the point of killing him or sending him the place like Tartarus? When society is the one responsible for him the way he is? When he already feels guilty? When he already live his life like a prisoner? When he already have a life full of pain and treated as thing? There is literally no point here.

So what i am hoping is in the end;

He should live cause he deserves to healing and living his life as an invidual. He should be in a place more like mental hospital cause he has severe mental illness and he definitely needs help. He also needs/deserves to live in healthy environment so he can finally heal. Even in the end, if he stays in prison, prison should be pretty human place. It would be better, if he is with with league cause those people are healing when they are together.

Though, i still hate the idea of him being in prison, even though he killed many people cause his life is already like a prison but i dont know author would do that.

Also, i also believe that more than Shigaraki, society is the one that owes him apology, not really other way around. Since he is their victim. Though he is really kind and forgiving person in deep, he might forgive them but i dont want what happenned to him to be ignored so i truly hope heroes, society, story pays him well cause its just so sad and unfair. He deserves better.

Also, i truly believe Shigaraki can help Deku and heroes a lot about outcasts since he can reach out to people who wasnt saved by heroes. So if they work together, Deku can be a hero who saves everyone and Shigaraki’s dream of becoming hero can happen since he is helping outcasts. Also this can be another a way of paying his crimes too.

Shigaraki would willing to do this cause all he wants is better society, just like Deku, in his deep. And also his biggest desire is to be an invidual. To be the person who he wants to be. He still wants to be a hero cause in his deep, he cares about greater good too.

Shigaraki is always a character who is meant to be saved and there is a reason that he is parallel with Deku. I hope he also gets the happy ending he truly deserves. We will see. It kinda became messy post cause i am kinda tired. Well, just my opinions, :))).

[bottlecaprabbitgames]

how did you guys start learning how to use the code for cog? I’ve been trying for like two years but keep giving up because i can’t understand how it works LOL im more of a writer and don’t know a single thing about code -a (just gonna mark my asks LOL)

Well, Faye learned it first, then taught me! It's not that hard, it just takes some getting used to; I recommend using smth like Notepad++ to write in and color code different bits of code. I'll give a guide here for anyone who wants to try it or in case smth here helps you get it! I'll leave yall like pictures of examples of things after I word it all out.

Some main things to remember:

You have two files that HAVE to have specific names. Startup, where all your created permanent variables go (+ some more things, I'll get into those later, plus any additional content you want), has to be named startup.txt always. The files that holds your stat "pages" also has a specific name; choicescript_stats.txt has to always be its name.

In your startup file, you have multiple things: variables you created that will be used multiple times over multiple files; your scene list, where you put all your scenes and list them in sequential order; your name as the author; your game title; yhe copyright wording; and, during your time using dashingdon, the code string to make saves work. You can also have more in it of course, but those are the main things.

You will be indenting a LOT. A single indent is either 4 spaces with ur spacebar or your tab key. You can ONLY choose one or the other, do NOT EVER mix spaces and tabs, it'll break things. Choose one n stick with it.

Coding in CS is pretty simple once you learn it. There isn't a whole lot of commands due to it being more simplified to be more beginner friendly, so lets get into those.

Creating a variable. In your startup file, all you have to do to make a variable you want to use is *create variablename, plus whether it's a numerical, has a string of text, or is true/false. examples: Numerical would be *create variable 0; string would be *create variable ""; and true/false *create variable false (or replace false w true if you want it to be true up till smth turns it false).

Using the variable. There's a LOT of ways to use a variable. Like, a shit ton. Let's start w smth like the name variable a lot of people use! So, let's say you've written a choice up to set player name (I'll show you how to format a choice in a bit). Under your choice options, you can then use *set name "name" and to use it in text, you simply do ${name}! If you let someone choose their name (which I'll also show you how to do), you can do *set name "$!{name}" to make sure it's always capitalized! (Only need to do this when players pick their own names, when you use *set name "name" you can capitalize it inside the "").

Using the variable #2. For doing *if statements (commands that let you dictate different things, like say a scene will only play if a certain variable is true or false, a choice is only avaliable if the player meets a certain criteria, etc), it's pretty simple. You just for true/false: *if (variable) for if it's true (you need the parenthesis for this one) and *if (not(variable)) for false. For a string, *if (variable = "whatever you've got it set to") or *if (variable != "whatever you've put") <this one is for if the variable doesnt equal that. For numerical: *if (variable = 0) (or whatever number u got), *if (variable <= 0) (for if the variable is equal to or less than the number), *if (variable >= 0) (if variable is more or equal to number), *if (variable > 0) (variable more than 0), and *if (variable < 0) (variable less than number). Outside of using the *if statement to open or close off a choice, you always indent under it once until the content only available for it is done.

Using the variable #3: Setting variables. Okay so, what you set your variables to and how you do will effect how you can set up stats eventually, which we'll get into. Your variables you created as numerical values can be set two ways: with just adding/minusing numbers (which you HAVE to be careful with and keep track of; cs does NOT work with negative numbers) or percentages (like in the stats you see as Cautious or Careful). Basically: *set variable +3 (for normal numbers), or *set variable %+3 (for percentages). Percentages are safest when you plan on having a stat be able to be negated a lot, but it also makes it harder to figure out how it's going to increase/decrease. I personally prefer the regular numbers for like counting how many options someone can use before they're kicked out of a choice branch, or when you use a counter for relationship points.

Making a choice. Alright, so, choices. The bread and butter of interactive fiction. There are two types of choices inside of CS: *choice choices and *fake_choice choices. You will mostly use *fake_choice choices as *choice ones are reserved ONLY for when you're jumping the player to a different scene/path/etc. *fake_choice choices can also do this, but they also can be used for literally anything: setting variables like appearance, name, etc; dialogue; stat changes (like in TWC when you chose which stat to build); etc etc. To set up a choice you go to a fresh line in your coding word processor, then for a fake choice: *fake_choice (on the first line). Hit enter, indent once, and now you can make your choices! all you do is #(choice stuff here) (with no ()). Then, under your choice if it has content, you indent twice before starting. You also have to indent twice each time you start a new paragraph in the content. Each time you make a new choice, you simply indent once and use # before the choice's stuff. Once you're done with the choices, go to a new line under the choices section and dont indent to continue.

Making a choice #2: *choice choices. Okay, so *choice choices are made the same, EXCEPT you only use them to send the player elsewhere. So, follow the same setup as a *fake_choice (except with *choice instead, ofc), but the "content" will be generally a *goto_scene scenename (you port the player to a completely new file, called a "scene) or a *goto labelname (keeps the player in the current file, but allows you to show different versions of a scene or of a section of your chapter to the player, plus you can make them all eventually meet up again). I generally say use a standard *goto versus a *goto_scene unless you want to change so much you NEED to use different files.

*goto labelname and labels. Basically, labels are your friends. They're really nice and make it to where you can make different scenes with choices without making you have huge indented craziness under a choice. Also, it lets you make a choice where the player can select MULTIPLE options. All you need to do is *goto labelname , then somewhere down the file put *label labelname and all the content you want under it. After you're done and you have a spot you want everything to meet up at, you can do another *goto labelname , go down the file, and do *label labelname again! Sounds WAY more complicated than it is, trust me.

Ending a scene. So, you've come to the end of your chapter. You're ready to move players to the next one, but how do you do that? *finish is all you need! At the end of your file, all you gotta do *finish (and you can put some words as a transition following it, like when you move to the next page)! That's it, the game will move to the next available scene! If there isn't one, your player will get that scene that asks if you want to play again.

Next Page. In case you aren't aware, all you need to "change" a page is *page_break (any words you want in transition without these ().)

Stat Page Shenanigans. Now, I hate stat pages. With a fuckin passion. It's the thing I leave last and pretend it doesn't exist until I absolutely have to make it. Making "pages" in your stats page isnt too bad; all you do is a *choice with choices that lead to labels where each thing falls. Remember, each label needs it's own *choice too so the player can navigate to other "pages". To make stat bars and stuff isn't too bad ig... I just hate doing it. all you gotta do is *stat_chart, then indent each stat bar/counter under it. it'll put them all next to each other, too. There's multiple stat types: opposed_pair variable (and you can indent under it and put the words you want an opposed pair to show); for a numerical counter, you need a numerical variable, then *stat_chart and indented under it is text variable Variableword(s); and for a percentage bar, you need a variable that you've been setting with %s, then under a *stat_chart you put percent variable variablenameorword.

This is a lot of just the basics; if y'all want me to go into like... more SPECIFIC things that you don't get or more complicated manuevers lemme know in the ask box, I'll be glad to help u! Now, photos:

Startup page shenanigans. You have the copyright wording (which I broke into *comment s mainly bc it kept bugging otherwise), the *title which sets your title, *author which sets the author, and *scene_list plus subsequent "scenes" or files that hold new chapters/portions of the game.

Different types of variables created. Ones like sarcasm and mercy are set at 50 to start because I use them as opposed pairs like Sarcastic/Genuine and Merciful/Wrathful. You can also name a variable anything you want.

Here we go, a screenshot with a LOT going on. Firstly, a *fake_choice choice. A *page_break. And a *choice choice + one of the labels it jumped to.

Two examples of *if statements and choices, plus how they work together.

Some stat charts.

Some of this was taken from WCA, hope you don't mind! It's the one open in my word processor so I used it for some things while others I typed up myself. I hope this helps you some and anyone else!!