#theme: moral ambiguity

[hp-fanfic-archive]

facts and memories and anecdotes by flibbertygigget Pairing: Gen Rating: G Word Count: 4k “Run,” Black whispered. “Run. Now.” But Harry couldn’t run. Snape's eyes were awake and distinctly inhuman, and Harry could see the exact moment that the werewolf understood what was happening. In which Snape got bit during The Prank.

[batboopp]

one of my favorite things about selina is the fact that she’s one of the most successful ‘criminals’ in gotham for one very, very important reason-when she commits a crime, she does not leave little bullshit clues or threatens kids or whatever other thing gotham criminals usually do. she gets in there, does what she needs, kicks ass very efficiently if she has too, and she gets the fuck out of there. I think most importantly to mention though is that when she steals, she goes out of her way to donate to charities-predominantly charities helping poc women or just women in general. it makes me think that most DC writers refer to her as a thief rather than a criminal or villain; to be a true gotham criminal, you need to not care about people outside of your mission at all. selina, even though she is far from perfect, loves and cares for others. a tiny part of herself hates her for that. but an even bigger part of her loves how she’ll claw the face off of some asshole that threatened a little girl on one of her crime sprees.

[raayllum]

Is that you?

4x07 / 6x05

[rawliverandgoronspice]

The Dondon Post (or: the bizarre TotK's side content counterpoints to its main quest's immuable binary morality)

Speaking of strange TotK Choices, I think I have one singe post left in me about this game; and it's about the Dondon quest, "The Beast and the Princess".

(and about other stuff too, you'll see, we'll get to them)

More specifically: about how... strange of a thematic point it feebly attemps to make in the larger context of the storyline, and how it seems to be yet another mark of a world that, perhaps, once tried to be more morally complex that it ended up becoming.

Buckle up: it's a long one, and it gets pretty conceptual.

(good gem boys notwhistanding)

The Princess and the Beast

So, a couple of things about the setup. We are investigating potential Princess sightings; but at this point, either because we have already completed a bunch and know the general gib, because we have met a couple of wild Fake Zelda shenanigans, or through the simple fact that we are completing a side quest, we know there's a good chance it won't lead to an actual Zelda information. So when we ask Penn about what is going on and he replies with the ominous "we saw the Princess riding some kind of beast --a frightening one with huge, brutal tusks-- that the princess seemed to control", we get Ideas. Then the sidequest is registered: "The Princess and the Beast".

So. You know me. And if you don't know me, here's what you should know: my brain immediately flared up with the thought there was no way in hell this wasn't some kind of wink towards Ganondorf's renowned boarish beast form, especially given tusks were given so much focus.

My first assumption was: that's a miniboss right? I will get to fight some small boar-like thing that Fake Zelda rides sometimes. Cool! I didn't hold too hard onto my hope that the relationship of Zelda and/or Ganondorf to the natural world, or to each other would be expanded upon, since I had already been burned before, but my interest was piqued.

You have to understand how starved I was for any hint of complexity or mystery or ambiguity at this point. I was extremely eager for the game to throw anything at me that would surprise me, enlighten something pre-established, make the exploration lead to a meaningful discovery or deepening of characters, world or themes (and not just slightly cooler loot, or a bossfight, or a puzzle devoid of emotional context --cohesion and depth is what motivates my play sessions, especially in an open world game that I want to believe is worth losing oneself into). This was about the most intriguing task on my to do list at the moment, and so I plunged in immediately.

After really REALLY misunderstanding what I was supposed to do (I stalked every corner of every forest surrounding the tropical area at night or during blood moons in hope to see something --which was very much the wrong call), I arrived to the other stable, then was guided to the other side of the river where Cima awaits and explains that these creatures are actually a new species discovered by Zelda; that they are gentle and kind and not at all scary ("Dondons aren't beastly, they're adorable!"), and even somehow digest luminous stones into gemstones. They like the company of people and liked Zelda in particular.

I was... I felt two different ways about this conclusion, and I think it's worth to explore both: disappointment and some sort of... "huh!" Hard to describe this emotion otherwise.

I'll get the disappointment out of the way first, because it's the least interesting of the two. While I think the little emotional arc I was taken on was not devoid of interest --I was indeed taken on by the rumor and intrigued by its implications-- I wanted, well. A little bit more. And if the creatures were to be Zelda's pet project, I would have loved for them to be actually terrifying and feisty, and for her to develop an interest for these creatures in particular regardless. It could have been very interesting characterization that veered out of the perfect princess loving the perfect world floundering around her, always bringing her clear, practical benefits from the interaction.

(I have made another post that speaks of my discomfort that Zelda does everything everywhere and everyone loves her for it --I get what they were trying to go for, but it either lacks conflict for me to buy into that dynamic at the scale of several regions, or they went on too hard for my taste, as she is, at once and in the span of a couple of years at most: a schoolteacher, a gardener, an animal researcher, a scholar, a traveler, a military expert, a knower of landscape, a painter, a horse rider, an infrastructure planner, a [...] princess --at some point it begins to sound made up, "Little Father of the people"-esque to rattle the hornet's nest a little bit, especially if it's not shown as either a clearly godly characteristic or, even more necessary imo, a negative trait; another expression of her killing herself at work to compensate for a perceived flaw she's trying to earn forgiveness for, like she did in BotW. But that's another topic, and the clumsiness of her character arc has been well threaded by basically everybody disappointed in the story already.)

But, if I decide to be a little graceful, I'd like to explore my "huh!" emotion, and take it apart a little bit.

I think there's something interesting to have such strong parallels to setting up a story about the relationship between Zelda and Ganondorf ("The Princess and the Beast", like come on guys that's the conflict of over half the series), or at least Zelda and the concept of Evil since Ganondorf pretty much represents it in this game, and then have it go: actually, there was a horrible monster that everyone was afraid of, but Zelda was wise and patient enough to approach it and realize its potential beyond the tusks, what beauty can be brought upon the world if one makes the effort to look for what exists underneath. It says something a bit deeper about the world and about Zelda in particular. It intrigues, at the very least.

Is it a reach? Probably! Is my first interpretation that the quest is actually about "eww you thought Zelda would be interested in *disgusting vile monsters* and not sweet and gentle and human-loving animals that literally shit jewlery when cared for? jokes on you, she never would feel any ounce of sympathy for anything that isn't Good and Deserving" uhhh definitively truer? Probably! But I also don't want to dismiss that the quest made me think about it. If I had completed it earlier, I might have even felt like it was (very clumsy, not gonna lie) setup about the main conflict.

But that's also a good segway into my next section: the arbitrary limitations between the animal and the creature, the monstrous and the human.

And the fact that TotK points directly at it.

A Monstrous Collection

(these two guys are just. doing So Much and being So Valid despite being massive weirdos the game wants us to be slightly repelled by. I, for one, respect the Monster kinning grind and their general Twilight Princess energy.)

So. These two guys. There is so much to say about these two guys. I don't think I have seen the Trans Perspective on Kolton on tumblr, and I would love to get it because. I feel like it's a worthwhile discussion (just, how gender and identity is handled in TotK overall, I feel like it's a very complicated conversation and I have not seen super deep dives and I'd be very interested in hearing more).

Beyond the throughline of voluntary consumption of magical objects to turn into less human creatures being a weirdly prevalent plot point in TotK (Zelda, Kolton and Ganondorf casually transing their entire species for funsies --Ganondorf being particularly relentless with Fake Zelda, mummy/phantom shenanigans, Demon King and then literal dragon), I want to focus on Kilton a little bit.

Kilton is genuinely the only NPC in the game willing to acknowledge the inherent personhood that monsters have (the game does showcase them picking up fruits, mourning their boss if you kill them, being cutesy and happy to identify you as one of their own if you wear the appropriate mask --and that's not even getting into creatures like the Lynels, who seem to really edge on the limit of being a conscious creature with a system of honor and property and many other things). He does encourage us to think of monsters as more than a species whose only worth lie in how fun it is to eradicate them; even more, gameplay-wise, he does give us a reason to interact with them in other ways than just our sword with his museum. He does encourage us to see that beauty for ourselves and then select what we think is coolest/most intimidating/cutest/eight billion ganondorfs in every pose imaginable

The fact that Ganondorf is considered a monster was a great win for this feature in particular, and is very funny, but it's also... A lot, if we dig at it a little more than warranted. Beyond all of the Implications and all of the things of representation and political conflict and values already discussed ad nauseum: when did he stop being considered a human? What does that mean about the flimsiness of what is a monster and what is a creature and what is an animal and what is a person and what is even a hylian, as sheikahs got absorbed into the definition in this game? Especially with the stones taken into account, how profound changes in nature are a huge part of the plot (even when reversed and ultimately pretty meaningless): how easy it is, to make that slip? Who decides when that slip has been made? What is acceptable to hurt without remorse? What is beautiful and worth preserving? What is both at once? What is neither?

And again, in a classic Zelda conundrum (appreciative(?)): who the fuck gets to decide that, when, and why?

The Bargainers and the Horned God

(major shoutout to these big guys for being the sole and only providers of actual depth to the Depths, and for looking cool as heck)

So. Let's move the conversation to the Depths.

Conceptually: what an interesting idea!! And so well executed (initially)!! A mirror world to the surface, dark and hushed and full of unknown creatures; haunted by gloom and sickness and the unknown. Not a first in the series, far from it: from ALTTP to ALBW, and even taking the Twilight world of TP into account, this idea of a Dark World acting as a deforming mirror to Hyrule and revealing many interesting aspects as we get to explore both is always a very interesting take on corruption and envy and fear/weakness and/or some sense of darkness looming under the perfect exterior. I'd argue even the Lens of Truth of both OoT and MM's serve a similar function, both gameplay-wise, but also in terms of theme: not everything is as it seems. In the world of Light, darkness must hide itself; but darkness also possess its own beauty, its own hardships, and will stare back at you without blinking if you go seek for it. It's, in my opinion, one of the series' most compelling conversation about the cyclical nature of fate, the coldness of godhood, and how small one feels in the face of a universe that is more complicated than it initially appears --which is why Courage must be invoked to push forward regardless.

The Depth's otherworldly ambiance is truy wonderful, whether in the plays of light and shadows, the creatures native to the environment we meet there (wish we met more!), the soundtrack, the strange aquatic/primordial plants, the fact that the dragons visit this place and connect them to the outside --invoking ideas of balance and interconnectivity, that the tree branches look like veins. The coliseums, the mines, the zonai facilities and the prisons do seem to poke at many things about what the relationship to the past was to this place; was it ever truly a place? Did it look like this back then? Why was it buried? Why did it come back? But in spite of it all, I think the Depths struggle overall to question or reveal anything about the surface that we couldn't already assume going in (that the only thing congealing there is Ganondorf's gloom, his lonely domain of Wrongness, only shared by Kohga and the yiga --the only naysayers of Goodness and Light, contemptful and blinded by self-importance and rage). The zonite is mined by gloomy monsters --why, what for?-- so any notion of greed and over-expansion that could have been associated to the zonai is now reabsorbed into Ganondorf's general evilness, since it needs to be reminded he is everything and anything bad with the world: darkness and conquest and greed and capitalism and pollution and bad weather and sickness and darkness and violence and war and death and betrayal and fakeness and lies and patriarchy and exploitation. No matter that he never does a single thing with zonite in the game; rather set up elements of conflict that never go anywhere than, for a second, let the foundations of absolute goodness and absolute evil risk becoming shaky --and you coming to this unwelcoming dark place that hates you, killing the miners and taking their resources for yourself is, on the other holy, royal fur-covered hand, utterly legitimate. The resources were once Rauru's after all, were they not?

And this is what I would say, except... except for the dead. The fallen warriors, the poes, and, most important of all: the Bargainer statues.

The Bargainers are, in-universe, godly creatures guiding the fallen to a place of final respite, regardless of moral alignment. The poes are all, fundamentally, cleansed of judgement: they are lost souls whose past reality does not matter anymore, and all deserve that peace regardless. In spite of the heavy paradise/hell parallels drawn in that game, with Rauru/Zelda/Sonia as the guardians of Light where Ganondorf gets to become a Devil-like figure, it is confirmed here that no such thing exists when you actually die in this universe.

It almost feels as if the fabric of Hyrule itself, in a brief moment that refuses to elaborate on its own point, goes: "yeah, whatever is happening here between Light and Darkness, it doesn't actually matter. This conflict is futile and doesn't understand the real nature of being alive, dead, a god, a person, a monster, an animal. The truth lies elsewhere --but you will never be told what it is."

It's: wild.

One of the game's most striking traits of narrative brilliance in my opinion --to the point where I'm wondering whether it's there on purpose or was effectively an oversight since every other aspect of reality breaks its own back trying to reassure us that everything is at its correct place, receiving the appropriate treatment by the universe in a way that is never to be questioned.

Another case of that ambiguity being allowed to exist without being immediately crushed and repressed is the case of the Horned God (interesting parallel to Ganon's actual horns that he develops in this game in case the hellish parallels weren't clear enough already): a demon Hylia sealed into stone and pushed far from humans in a clear case of questionable behavior since, while the Horned God isn't exactly nice, does propose a different philosophy you are not punished for exploring; and yet, a proposal that has seen itself persecuted in a very real sense by the goddess of absolute goodness, patron of hylians, Zelda, and many more. Pushed away from view.

Interesting.

And Yet, Light Must Prevail

Okay, so, after all of this, we're left to ask... What the fuck is up with morality in Tears of the Kingdom?!

What do we trust? These half-breaths in the occasional sidequests that Light and Darkness is just the wrong frame of reference, that nature cannot be this simple, is ever-shifting and can be recalled or reaffirmed by arbitrary forces, and might even not matter at all in the universe's fabric, despite having so much of its lore soaking in the dychotomy? Or... everything else about the game, this insistence that Good must not only be assumed as whatever tradition the kingdom has passed down for thousands upon thousands of years, but remain utterly unquestioned the entire time? That Bad is without cause, graceless and unworthy of investment?

Are the Bargainer's statues the only thing worth listening to, that morality is a fable the living tells themselves --or should we be moved when Darkness destroys Light, when Light suffers to preserve itself and the world --but not when the Other is rightfully slain?

Was Kilton correct to see beauty in the monstrous? Was Kolton onto something when he let go of his previous form because there is no clear distinction between what should receive an arrow to the face and what shouldn't? Or should we rather focus on Zelda losing her human form as a beautiful and tragic sacrifice --but something that never actually altered her nature as a hylian, the descendant of a lineage of Good Kings meant to rule forever?

Is the Dondon good because it always was, or was it worth Zelda's love in spite of the fear it initially provoked?

Either way, at the end of the game, evil is slain. Ganondorf is, not killed, but --like his angry BotW boar counterpart-- destroyed, as monsters tend to be. He explodes over the lands of Hyrule, freed from Darkness; freed from everything wrong, since the foreign menace that embodied it all was wiped out in one fateful sweep of a holy blade cradled in sacrificial love. Nothing wrong remains. The Sages reaffirm their vows to protect the kingdom forward, and a very human --hylian-- Zelda smiles: Hyrule now forever and ever basked in eternal Light.

[antianakin]

It's really depressing that the only real Jedi centric and Jedi positive show in existence is written for preschoolers, while many of the more "adult" shows are edgy and about morally ambiguous or straight-up evil characters. As if lessons about being kind and selfless are somehow not important or relevant to adults just as much if not more than they are to children.

It feels like characters who are unambiguously good are seen as only enjoyable by the very young and adult viewers will only actually appreciate characters who are cruel and selfish (and the requisite "tragic backstory" that always goes with it to help excuse their cruel and selfish choices).

It's just really sad and disappointing.

[windsfavored]

old  modernverse  was  ren  becoming  a  streamer  as  an  allegory  for  followers  of  a  social  media  personality  being  akin  to  followers  of  a  god  —  with  a  deconstruction  of  both  parasocial  relationships  and  relying  on  the  attention  of  anonymous  strangers  to  fulfill  one's  need  for  validation.  (  even  at  the  cost  of  personal  comfort,  privacy  and  reducing  oneself  to  a  product.  )

new  modernverse  is  just  ❝  mom  didn't  love  me  so  i  invested  in  bitcoin  ❞  with  a  side  of  that  awkward  moment  when  the  criminals  you  agree  to  work  for  turn  out  to  actually  be  criminals  doing  criminal  things  and  faking  your  own  death  is  easier  than  handing  in  a  resignation  notice.

[ssaalexblake]

also feel like bunches of the anti 13 crap that happens is both just secretly annoyed that the show is at most a tacky YA sci-fi show that's actually a children's show in a trench coat that is yes, Trying to scare the kiddies and make them hide behind the sofa and have nightmares (I legit remember hiding behind the sofa from a classic who rerun as a kid lol) but also isn't Blatantly talking out super complex social issues with masses of nuance but instead often states the sanitised moral of the hour very blatantly, and then leaves the more nuanced moments left openly unaddressed for older viewers to see in the same way kids animations put in jokes that to a 7 year old are harmless, but to a 27 year old are kind of dirty yet retain plausible deniability. ofc this wasn't a crime Before, but 13 was expected to mother the audience in every way that dt and co you know. Weren't expected to do.

Anyway yeah bottom line is this show is a kids show in a trench coat and while the people being weird about Animated kids shows by expecting them to be Super Nuanced to pander to adults get called on it more often bc cartoons are More generally assumed to be kid media, adult fans of live action media aimed at kids Don't get called out for being weird about something that is not aimed at their developmental level Nearly as much.

Like, they were not going to up and say that Tecteun killed that kid a bunch of times to research regeneration simply because small children do in fact watch this show and are Meant to and that is, objectively, too much. It's fine though. The older people watching can grasp this quite easily (or at least, the show assumes they can, even if that assumption turned out to be erroneous in far too many cases). The point is. The lack of open clarification is not a Flaw, it is a Feature in making the media appropriate to its target audience.

There are many shows that aim to entertain adult audiences only. Those will probably be more up your street if you want open and complicated nuance that is discussed on screen. dw absolutely caters to its older audience as well, but it is meant for All audiences and that means you have to make room for the children who have as much right to be watching as everybody else.

[ppriesttess]

He's a ten but he's a torturer😔

[screamingeyepress]

Ever felt the pull of a shadowy city street? Noir fiction wraps readers in mystery and moral complexity. Check out this piece to learn why these tales still captivate:

Unmasking the Secrets of Noir and Hardboiled Fiction

By Lothar Tuppan

It’s Noirvember! Time to enjoy all things Film Noir, Roman Noir, Chocolat Noir, and Pinot Noir. Silly as that last sentence was, it does make plain that the French word “noir” just translates into English as “black.” So what exactly is “noir” in relation to cinematic (“Film Noir”) and literary (“Roman Noir”) fiction? What is its relationship with the, often associated, term “Hardboiled,” and what is its connections and relationship to Existentialism, Nihilism, and Philosophical Pessimism? This short essay is just a very brief introduction to a, surprisingly, complex topic. Whole books have been written on the subject (see bibliography below for some examples) and I encourage those who find the topic as fascinating as I do to pick them up.

[doomed-era]

one of my favorite parts of loz past the snes era is the idea of people being put into roles they ultimately can't fill or resisting their expected role and it tragically being forced upon them— essentially living people emulating an ancient fairytale against their will or even what's healthy for them personally

[hp-fanfic-archive]

Art Heist, Baby! by otrtbs Pairing: Regulus/James Rating: M Word Count: 219k Podfic available here Read by: peaceinpanem Length: 25+ hours When James Potter answers a mysterious ad in his local coffee shop, the last thing he expects is to be thrown into a world of white collar crime, but how can he resist when the mastermind behind the operation has dark hair and brooding eyes and promises wealth beyond James' wildest imagination? He would do anything for that boy named after a star, including stealing millions of dollars of fine art.

find the full podfic library here

[tricoufamily]

on one hand i am kinda sad i'm not gonna get to do sylvie's crazy vampire story bc i feel like we've finally reached a point on simblr where you could have a main character like her with no problems. my biggest fear back then was people would hate her bc she's really mean and morally ambiguous

anyway this is to say do you guys remember that phase of simblr where you couldn't depict anything but the most wholesome, moral characters who talk like they're in therapy 24/7 doing absolutely no wrong or you got non stop anons asking why you condone murder what was that LMFAOOOOOOOOO

[raayllum]

even Callum and Rayla having their moments of trust in 6x05 ("That's crazy Rayla, look at it" "I know it in my heart, you have to trust me" and his nod/support) and even from previous seasons ("It means I trust her, unconditionally") versus Soren and Viren's relationship breakdown ultimately coming down to feeling Unsafe and the lying, and Soren mandating (for his own safety now even though Viren has changed) that "Everything you're saying to me is just some kind of lie! I'm not going to let you manipulate me again!"

[fluxedbuds]

o boy new life series cant wait to Stop Watching As Soon As Someone Permadies

[blueheartbookclub]

Dubliners: A Captivating Exploration of Ordinary Lives

James Joyce's "Dubliners" is a collection of short stories that offers readers a poignant and vivid portrait of life in early 20th-century Dublin. Published in 1914, this seminal work of modernist literature is renowned for its richly detailed character studies, evocative prose, and incisive exploration of the human condition.

At the heart of "Dubliners" is Joyce's keen observation of the everyday lives of the people of Dublin, capturing the hopes, dreams, and disappointments of ordinary individuals with precision and empathy. From the working-class neighborhoods to the middle-class suburbs, Joyce paints a multifaceted picture of Dublin society, revealing the complexities and contradictions that lie beneath its surface.

One of the most striking aspects of "Dubliners" is Joyce's mastery of the short story form, as he skillfully crafts each narrative with economy and precision. From the atmospheric opening story, "The Sisters," to the haunting conclusion of "The Dead," Joyce's stories are united by a common theme of epiphany, as characters grapple with moments of revelation and self-realization that illuminate the hidden truths of their lives.

Moreover, "Dubliners" is celebrated for its richly drawn characters, who range from the disillusioned alcoholic in "Counterparts" to the young boy experiencing his first crush in "Araby." Through his vividly depicted characters and their inner lives, Joyce offers readers a window into the social, cultural, and psychological forces that shape their experiences and interactions.

In addition to its exploration of individual lives, "Dubliners" also serves as a poignant meditation on the broader themes of Irish identity, colonialism, and the search for meaning in a changing world. Joyce's portrayal of Dublin as a city caught between tradition and modernity reflects the broader tensions of Irish society in the early 20th century, as it grapples with its colonial past and uncertain future.

In conclusion, "Dubliners" by James Joyce is a timeless masterpiece of modernist literature that continues to captivate readers with its vivid depiction of Dublin life, richly drawn characters, and profound exploration of the human condition. Through its evocative prose and incisive insights, "Dubliners" offers readers a deeply moving and thought-provoking journey into the heart of Dublin and the lives of its inhabitants. With its enduring relevance and universal appeal, "Dubliners" remains a testament to the enduring power of Joyce's vision and storytelling prowess.

James Joyce's "Dubliners" is available in Amazon in paperback 15.99$ and hardcover 22.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 312

Language: English

Rating: 9/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[specialagentartemis]

LMAO I take back every nice thought I had about the portrayal of archaeology in Travelling Light, the archaeologist and the anthropologist are complicit in the black market smuggling and sale of artifacts and this is portrayed as more or less fine because they’re not sacred texts or anything they’re just “stuff”