#to have people fight kill and die over you

[disco-troy]

I don't feel like people have a nuanced enough view of Kory what she thinks about killing. She's not blindly wanting to murder criminals, nor is she delighted by the actions of murder. She sees murder as a necessity because of her upbringing in the middle of an existential war, and also as a way to regain autonomy on her life. Autonomy is a key theme in many of the people Kory chooses to kill.

The idea of autonomy over the body and her life is extremely important to Kory. This makes sense, Kory spends six years in slavery, her life not her own, and grew up knowing her planet could lose its own autonomy and freedom at any time.

When she was a slave, the few times that she was able to control her life in those times. Her first kill was her kill of what would become her last master, starting the chain of domino that would result in her freedom.

Note her words: "His very touch sickened me". It wasn't just about her imprisonment or her anger, but about her body, her autonomy. She couldn't handle being touched like that anymore, and killed knowing that it would solve nothing, knowing that it would lead to more punishment for her later down the line.

Her next kill allowed her to escape, securing her freedom and her own autonomy.

To escape she must pretend Kory has completely given in to her captors. That she is fine, even happy with the Gordonian touching her. But by doing this she is bringing him close, giving him the illusion of control over herself to secure her own freedom.

She is pretending to be a slave, while affirming to herself that she is still a soldier.

In this way we can see a dichotomy that has ruled Kory's life until now. On one side, you have succumbing to subjugation, which involved a loss of bodily autonomy. On the other side you had her claiming her freedom and her autonomy which comes with the need to kill or be destroyed.

In addition to this, you need to think of the context of Kory's upbringing. Of course Kory is used to killing her enemies. She grew up in a climate of fear in which there was a real possibility of total annihilation. Millions of her people died in the war that eventually lead her to being sold as a slave.

She grew up during a society that could have been destroyed in war, where everyday killing was not a questions but an existential threat. Killing and war was literally the only way for her people to conserve their autonomy.

This disconnect between Dick/Donna and Kory is not because Kory is an alien, but because the Titans are living in a world where they are superheroes and Kory is living in a world where she is a solider. Would a Kory that didn't kill even been able to come out alive from war? From her enslavement? To her its about her autonomy and her independence, she doesn't have the luxury of morals, of thought, of choice.

Later we see Kory not change, but shift. She realizes that killing will never be easier for her again.

This makes sense! her interpretation of killing has changed a lot because she's been exposed to a new environment. On earth she is not facing a literal war, she has real power, she has backup, she doesn't have to fight every second for her freedom and autonomy.

I think this is demonstrated in an incredibly narrative compelling way in Titans (1999) when Kory kills to give another character autonomy over her own body; Adaline Kane. Adaline is about to die, but her blood can still be harvested for Vandal Savage's experiments. She begs for death, instead of living that fate.

Kory gives it to her.

(much like Slade gave Joey in Titans Hunt but this post only has the space for one parallel right now)

When it comes to protecting the greater good, and especially when it comes to bodily autonomy Kory is not only willing to kill, but sees it as her duty.

She's never stopped being a soldier, she's never stopped being the Tamaranian who was forced to kill and see her people die to preserve her home, but more than that, she never stopped being the little girl for whom killing was her only way of reclaiming her autonomy.

[thrashkink-coven]

Okay here’s the hard part.

I think a lot about that guy, so called Jesus, and his philosophy of radical forgiveness and empathy. For a long time I thought that was just a line abusers use to force their victims to forgive them (AND IT IS)

But! I also think about Lucifer and the things he taught me regarding the concept of hell. If I was the ruler of hell and I had to manage all these terrible people, what would I do? Torture them? Give them endless suffering so they feel guilty? Do to them what they did to others so they can understand how bad it feels?

Latinos who voted for Trump, oh you disappoint me, but no, I don’t want you to be deported. Women who voted for Trump, *sigh*, no, I don’t want to see you get an ectopic pregnancy or carry your dead baby. No I do not want all those conservative gays to lose their right to marriage. And no, I don’t even want all of those fucked up fascist nazi racists to die.

It would be SO satisfying to see them get what they deserve, right?

God, I’m so sick of being apart of a species that loves to conquer. We bleed, they win, they bleed, we win. I’m sick of patching wounds. All I see is hellfire.

My friend Taylor Mcnallie is facing fraudulent charges because of an altercation that happened while she was protesting in Calgary. The bitch of a cop who assaulted her not only received no punishment, she got a fucking promotion. I remember during one of Taylor’s speeches someone said something like “I hope she gets arrested and goes to jail,” and Taylor said, “I don’t hope she goes to jail. Jail shouldn’t exist. I just want her to get fired and apologize. That’s all I want.”

Pacifism, true pacifism, like the kind that guy preached about, doesn’t mean laying down and accepting every terrible thing assholes do to you with a smile. It means taking away their ability to harm without harming them yourself. Eliminating the evil without becoming evil. Punching nazis does not make you a nazi, but praying for the death and destruction of people, human beings, because you hate them as much as they hate you? *sigh*

The hardest part about this whole radical empathy thing, is the fact that I cannot even wish harm upon those who want me dead. Isn’t that funny? That literal neo nazi, yeah, I hope he has shelter. Fuck I hope that rapist still eats tonight. I hope he feels shame until the day he dies, but I don’t hope he gets raped in prison. I don’t even want him in prison to be honest, I want him to be cared for, and I want his ability to do harm stripped away.

“Even if he hurts a child?”

God damn it, yes. I can’t add more suffering into the world, even if it is inflicted upon the people I’d love to hate most. I want to take away his power to do evil, I want everyone to know what kind of person he is and the terrible things he does so they can keep themselves safe… and then I want him to be safe.

I want all those terfs to have clean drinking water. I know they hate my guts, ugh, it is what it is. But praying that they experience the pain they’ve caused me, hoping that they die or suffer only makes me more like them.

WHICH SUCKS. This way of thinking is NOT satisfying AT ALL!!! Being vindictive and petty is FUN and it FEELS GOOD!!! That’s why it’s so fucking easy, and that’s why we keep eating each other over and over again.

Having said all of this, we should definitely bring back the guillotine lmao. I’m not saying that we should be super nice to people who are trying to kill us, do fight back. If the people need to kill their oppressors to be free then, hey, I’m not going to tell them they’re wrong for that. This isn’t a “we should all hug and sing kumbaya together! Kindness is always the way!!!” take. If the only way to bring death to the empire is to bring death to its owners, then so be it. Do so in the way that produces the least amount of degradation to your soul.

But wishing natural disasters on Texas, hoping that that racist woman’s parents get deported, out of spite and hatred… what are they doing to you? What are you doing to yourself?

Humanity is disgusting, truly truly abhorrent. I want to be able to look at us and embrace us with acceptance of that. Every single fucking terrible person on this earth deserves liberty, life, and freedom. Even when you spit in my face and hurt the people I love, damn it, I won’t hurt you. I see you as a rabid animal that needs to be sedated and slowly acclimated to compassion. And I will keep trying, even if you never learn. I can’t give up on humanity.

This is the most important and the hardest part. I’m not telling you to forgive, forgiveness is for you. If it doesn’t serve you, don’t forgive. But don’t let people without humanity kill the humanity that exists within you. Don’t let hatred fester in your soul. You’re allowed to be mad, hell, you should be furious. Let that fury keep you warm, but do not become a monster too.

To all you stupid fucking fascist pieces of shit, I hope you get exactly what you deserve. And what you deserve is not death, pain or suffering. It’s self reflection and growth, guilt and humility. As much as I would enjoy seeing you hurt, I refuse to become like you. And damn it I love you, I love every human being on this planet. I love you so much that I cannot become you. I love you so fucking much that I will continue to fight for your rights even when you’re trying to take mine away. and I hate that I love you like this, but I can’t stop.

So I will stop you.

- James Baldwin

[bludhavens-finest]

Ok so this is the biggest blog I have so I will be talking about it here, also comics have always been inherently political so it makes sense to talk about here, this will be posted to the rest of my blogs as well

I’m going to tag this with tw’s, if you don’t want to see more shit about the election I get it believe me I do, that’s fine. If you do stay around I’m going to be incredibly blunt about this shit

1. Do not fucking kill yourself. The amount of queer and especially young people I have seen saying that they are going to is astronomical, these people are not worth loosing your life. If you need help, get help, talk to someone, at the end of this post I’ll add numbers/websites

2. If you are disabled like me, and you need something medically whether that be vaccines, surgeries, procedures, mobility aids, medications, or even certain information; get them now while you can. The medical system in America is a bitch to deal with and even harder to get into, most of my appointments take at least three months, but if you can get in and get things done before they switch who’s in office, get it done now.

3. If you are trans and planning to get gender affirming surgery or healthcare in the next few months same goes for you, get the surgeries while you still can and get on meds now, if you get on them now it’s going to be easier to keep the prescription for as long as you can.

4. If you’re a woman or afab, get birth control while you can. Because they are going to get rid of birth control at this point, they’ve already gone after abortions and this is the next step.

5. But queer/feminist/punk media and books while you still can, because yes they can and will ban books they already do it in schools

6. Honestly I would even go so far as to say start buying physical copies of certain bands if you can, because most hardcore and just regular punk bands will probably be less accessible

7. Honestly probably just get a vpn at this point, I know you’ve gotten an ad for one from a YouTuber before, look into the company’s, find one you can afford and like

8. If non-Americans or even just some Americans who are republicans (which if you are fuck off.) think this is an over-exaggeration it’s really not.

America is the only first world country without universal healthcare, most people in this country either die waiting for a doctor, die because of a doctor (medical negligence and malpractice are leading causes of death in America, over a quarter of a million people die a year because of it.), public transit is non-existent, disabled people have been fighting for our rights for decades, women lost the right to control their own bodies after having that right for less then a life span. Many woman were there when roe v wade passed and still alive when it was overturned. Because it all happened in the span of 50 years. The amount of violence in our police departments (that are only getting more and more funding), the lack of education and lack of historically accurate information taught in public schools, the literal fucking constant brainwashing campaigns.

This is all coming from someone who is Afab, a Minor, living in the south, mentally and physically disabled, a lesbian, and trans. Believe me I understand how fucking scared people are.

It is 2024 almost 2025, not 1970. You have access to information and you are entitled to being informed, so inform yourself. Check your own sources, do your own research.

I’m well aware that this all seems fucking dystopian, I know that it seems like there’s no point, but keep yourself safe. If you need a break from seeing all this filter your tags, go outside for a while, get off the internet, play with your pets, talk to friends. Just don’t let yourself sit in this and worry yourself to death, it’s not going to help anyone.

Numbers you can call: 1-866-488-7386 (Trevor project), If you go to their website you can also text if talking isn’t safe, 988 (suicide and crisis line),

[tinfoil-jones]

Gravity Falls: For Your Own Good, Ch. 7

Summary: A few years after moving to Gravity Falls and having his lab built, Stanford Pines happens upon his estranged twin brother, Stanley. He mentally prepared himself to be suffocated by his brothers neediness all over again - what he wasn't prepared for was Stanley walking right past him like he didn't even notice him.

Rating: M for language, violence, and adult implications

Preface: Dialogue only, but some actions will be annotated for clarity. Cross-Posted on AO3 Here

WARNING: TW/ the topic of suicide.

First - Prev - Next

CH.7

“You really need to tidy this place up, Stanford. I know you live by yourself, but that’s no excuse to have papers and books scattered around like a dust devil came through.”

“It’s organized chaos, Fiddleford. I know where everything is.”

“And this pile of unwashed laundry?”

“I’ll get to it. Washing clothes is a waste of time, and I’m a busy man.”

“Uh huh, and this pile of unopened letters on your counter? What are all of these, Stanford?”

“Several of our colleagues started sending me letters en masse.”

“And you didn’t open or read them?”

“I received so many at once, it must have been an invitation for a convention. I wasn't interested in attending one at the time. I’ll get to them eventually.”

“These are dated over a year-.”

“Eventually.”

“You’re stubborn as a mule. At least wash your dishes. You’ve been categorizing your notes for the past hour - what are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to find the definitive event.”

“For Stan?”

“Yes. You said that something extremely traumatic caused the memory loss; if I can identify what event exactly caused this, maybe I can fix this. The problem is, however…”

“Is that you’ve handled the situation in the most extreme way you could think of?”

“No. That isn’t it- and that isn’t true.”

“Mhmmm.”

“The problem is there’s too much.”

“Too much?”

“Trauma. He’s offhandedly mentioned terrible things- even when I met him in town, he had three stab wounds and acted like it was no big deal. And the more we ask, the more we prod, there’s more. The ones we heard were just the ones he was comfortable enough to mention, there has to be worse things he will not or can not speak of. And that thought… scares me, Fiddleford. I knew he wasn’t doing fantastic, but it wasn’t… It wasn’t supposed to be this bad.”

“That’s not your fault Stanford - didn’t you say he left home? It is sad he was too stubborn to ask you or anyone else in your family for help, but I suppose you two have that in common yeah?”

“...”

“I’ll admit that might have been tactless of me- Stanford? What’s- Hey! Hey now, it’s okay! It’s okay- I’m here for you.”

“...Five.”

“What’re you whimpering into your hands, now?”

“Five times. He wrote me a list of people who have tried to kill him in the past. There were thirty names.”

“That’s terrible, but not entirely surprising from what he’s-.”

“He listed himself five times.”

(...)

“How could you be so selfish?”

“I’m a selfish guy, I dunno what you want me to say.”

“Why do you only ever think of yourself?”

“Can’t afford not to. It’s dog eat dog out there, you know.”

“Will you take this seriously?”

“Will you tell me what you’re upset about this time? I can’t read minds, and I’ve known you for four days! Throw me a bone here, PhD.”

“You tried to- to take your own life?”

“Yeah. A couple times. Never succeeded, but that’s the story of my life.”

“Why would you do that? Why would you try something like-”

“Okay I’ve had enough of your judgemental bullshit. I’ve been playing along with your ‘missing twin’ narrative, the least you could do is not fucking go there. I’m a homeless criminal on the run all the time. You tell me why you think I’d want to die sometimes.

Use that big fucking brain of yours for two seconds and think statistics - homeless people kill themselves more than ‘regular’ people, so do prisoners and convicts. You’re both? Oooh boy you’re in for a time. You have to fight to survive all of the time, and sometimes… sometimes you just get so tired, you want to stop fighting you… you just want a break from it all. You want it to just end.”

“Stanley…”

“...”

“...Talk to me. Please. I’m not trying to judge you, I just want to understand.”

"...Let's say I am this mystery twin-"

"You are."

"I'm being hypothetical here, listen. Let's say I am this mystery twin of yours. Specs was saying he didn't even know you had a twin."

"How did-."

"You pressed the mute button, not deafen; I could still hear you. Anyways, your best friend didn't know you had a twin. So to your own best friend you never mentioned 'me' over what, at least 4 years or however long it took you to get a degree? Or in the years that followed? Not even once?

If I'm your twin, I can't have been that important for you to do all of this. I screwed something up, and you don't want me in your life."

"..."

"I don’t know what you're trying to prove here- if you’re going through some guilt or pity or whatever. I'm just some drifter! I don’t have anything, and I don’t have anyone. You shouldn't be wasting your time like this. I'm not worth any of the time or effort you’ve put into this. Even if I was who you think I am. Because that guy? That guy fucked up so badly you didn't think about him for ten years. And I'm just as big of a fuck up."

"Is that... is that what you think about yourself?"

"Stanford, that's all that I know about myself."

*Ford abruptly opens the barred door and walks through the forcefield into the cell*

"Woah woah, I'm not looking for a fight-."

*Ford hugs him, Stan just stands there*

"I wish you called, reached out to me, I-. I wish I reached out."

“...He probably wishes he reached out, too.”

To be continued...

[lillypad-monopoly]

Wild Life Episode 3 Thoughts

Sorry I don't have very good commentary this week. I was really busy and then life happened so I watched these POVs over the course of 6 days and didn't always take live notes.

The snail gimmick is iconic! Another amazing wildcard and a good Grian reference as well as being memey!

Someone joked about them being soulbound to the snails and I'm praying for the return of a soulbond Wildcard so hard right now

I'm genuinely concerned Skizz and Jimmy won't make it to episode 5. I hope we get some more passive wildcards coming up or this is going to be a pretty short series (also I would like them to get some stuff done)

Grian freezing the game is the lore event ever. Watcher powers are real but also he's clearly fighting back against their agenda more this season (once again such angst potential here RE: Grian knowing the wildcards ahead of time)

Ren digging all those holes looking for their horse is literally the definition of insanity and it's hilarious

Martyn and Etho interacting is always interesting both because the anime skin boys are hanging out together and because they have literally opposite playstyles. Martyn is crazy reckless and Etho is soo careful.

WHY DO REN AND MARTYN HAVE A DOUBLE BED

I really want to know all the snail names, since not everybody died this ep

I love that we're kind of going back to "suggestions" again, what with Tango killing Skizz and Martyn making snails invisible just for kicks. It feels like 3L and it's so fun.

I was so excited for Bdubs angst hour only for him to change his mind and not feel bad about anything after all

Etho's monologue 😂. The reason the go for you early is because they see you as a threat, not because they think you're not tough OMG.

Etho don't die to a creeper in the life series challenge impossible

Watching PICS build a base was actually so refreshing. I love the snail gimmick very much but it was nice to watch a POV where they were actually doing some classic life series stuff

Scott predicting violence for the next ep is...concerning lol. I don't know what he's seeing that I'm not, but outside of wild card stuff it doesn't really feel like we're at that point just yet

Actually I wouldn't put it past Tango to go wild. I'm just not sure the other Tuff Guys will follow him

I will be quoting "He's coming and he has only violence in his heart" from now on thank you Scott

Joel saying they have no enemies is so funny. The reason you don't have any enemies is cause everyone is too scared to cross you 😂.

Gem being excited about her snail while everyone else panics is iconic I love her

Joel giving Skizz a PVP lesson is so funny because Skizz *can* PVP from what I recall (I haven't seen a lot of Skizz so I could be wrong here)

Jimmy blowing up the car in front of Joel, Gem and Etho is the definition of "history doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes"

Lizzie I love you but you need to turn down something on your texture pack because everything is so bright

Bdubs manufacturing Tuff Guy behavior killed me. All of the Tuff Guys are such wet cats I love them <3

I've never watched Empires, but the bit where Jimmy gets blown up by a creeper has such powerful older sister/younger brother energy that I think I might have to headcanon them as siblings now

Scar and Lizzie being in the caves for the introduction of the snails and trying to figure out what's going on feels like a horror movie premise. People mysteriously dying to snail related stuff, and then a mob that's not in the game shows up and looks similar to the other person you're with and is following you around...

Team Bam/The Bamboozlers are as chaotic and struggling as hard as I expected. I don't actually want Lizzie to loose her teammates because I want everybody in until the last session, but it would be really funny if she did.

[rita-repulsa-ke]

Death and the Scarlet Witch

"She tried to wreck my life, destroy my family, literally murder me after she thought she'd stolen my power," Wanda says, using her fingers to count off all of Agatha's crimes. "She also tormented me with my past and lied to me. A lot."

That does, Rio has to admit, sound like the woman she loves. Especially the lying part. She can't keep a smile off her face.

This probably makes slightly more sense if you've read Scarlet. Rio goes to visit the Scarlet Witch, during the time Wanda is hanging out in that cabin at the end of Wandavision studying the Darkhold.

This one has warnings for lots of mentions of death, small-d, and also Rio is not always very nice. She is, however, very romantic over Agatha.

Death is everywhere. She is on a Road that doesn’t exist and, in that same second, she is next to the hospital bed of a young man, both of them ignoring the flurry of activity around them as nurses and doctors try valiantly to save a life that has already passed into her hands.

“I wasn’t ready,” he says.

“Most people aren’t,” Death replies. “How was what you had?”

He thinks about it, then gives her a tentative smile. “It was pretty good?"

She offers him her hand. “Sometimes, that’s the best you get.”

In the same blink of an eye, she sits on wet pavement next to woman staring at a mess of twisted metal.

“I wasn’t ready,” the stranger says.

Rio keeps her sigh internal. “Most people—“

An elderly woman in a nursing home. A child swimming where they shouldn’t have been. A man killed in a fight gone wrong.

Death is everywhere she needs to be.

And simultaneously, she is at a cabin in a beautiful, remote wilderness, a cabin that radiates an achingly familiar dark power.

She pushes open the door, startles a woman making herself a cup of tea, and has to hastily deflect the bolt of red energy flung toward her.

It isn't a very good deflection and in her head, she can hear Agatha murmuring, you’re so sloppy. You have so much power, but your technique—

Yes, Ags, I know. Shush now.

“Hi,” Death says. “I’m Rio.”

The woman stares at her, then gives a short, mirthless laugh. “I know who you are,” she says. “You have followed me all my life.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Rio says.

She can’t help but notice that Wanda is beautiful.

Not like that. No one is beautiful like Agatha, frustrating, gorgeous monster that she is. No, Wanda Maximoff is beautiful like an apocalypse. She is the end of any number of worlds, the potential for a sea of corpses the likes of which even Rio has never seen.

It does amuse Rio to imagine how jealous Agatha would be, though, were she here. She always hates when Rio is looking at anyone but her.

Rio never is, of course. Not really.

“What do you want?” Wanda asks, snapping her back to this moment alongside a million others. “Is it—is it my time?”

She sounds so hopeful.

"No," Rio admits. "I wanted to talk."

She isn't sure what she wants, not really. Revenge, maybe, but why should she? Agatha doesn't deserve her fury, would scorn her protection.

Rio wants to protect her anyway.

Still, there are rules. She can't simply take Wanda. And she's made enough exceptions for Agatha already.

Wanda's laugh turns softer and simultaneously more hollow. "To talk. Death wants to talk to me. Why not? I feel at this point we should be good friends, you and I." She sits in a chair that wasn't there a moment ago, and Rio is coming to the interesting realization that Wanda is not entirely well.

Agatha had told her once that the Darkhold broke weak minds. She'd told her that while throwing bolts of dark magic at Rio and crowing over her success in having mastered the Book of the Damned, of course, but the point still stands.

"Lots of people die," Rio says. "You aren't special."

"Aren't I? Aren't I special? The Scarlet Witch," she says the words with too much emphasis, drags her voice over the sounds. "There's a whole chapter on me in the Darkhold, did you know? If that is not special, I don't know what is." She laughs again and there has never been a more humorless sound.

"Riiiight," Rio says. She's starting to think she doesn't need to enact revenge, she can sit back and let the universe take its course.

Feels a little passive, though.

"What more can you take from me?" Wanda asks. "What more can I lose?"

Yeah, I'm trying to figure that out too, she thinks. "I'm not here to take," she lies. If Agatha can do it, so can she.

"…Do you understand grief? Can you?" Wanda asks without prelude, and now Rio isn't sure this broken woman, sitting in a chair that doesn't exist, is talking to her at all.

She's also starting to notice a very interesting similarity between that chair and a certain Road she's currently walking, a Road she always knew wasn't real.

"I do understand grief,” she says, no lies this time. There is something she grieves more deeply than she'd ever thought possible.

Wanda is still talking, still mostly to herself. "I had a husband. I had children. I had everything I ever wanted."

"The ones you made with magic?" It had taken her some time to find Agatha—she isn't sure how long, she's never been good with time—to find the strange little town and the stranger situation her beloved had gotten herself into this time. But find and save her she did, unsticking her from that miserable curse.

Not that Agatha had appreciated Rio sweeping in to save her. She never does.

Still, she remembers Agatha screaming herself awake, sobbing in Rio’s arms, and she does hope there is something more she can take from the Scarlet Witch.

Wanda nods in listless agreement, that family, the fake magic ones.

How fake is suddenly a very interesting question.

"Hey, I want to ask you something," Rio says.

Wanda only nods again, staring vacantly into the past with the expression of a woman who has not fully lived in the present for some time.

"When you broke the spell, you also broke a woman's mind and left her in that place, imagining she was someone else. Someone even more annoying. Why'd you do it, Wanda?"

Now Wanda's attention snaps to her, rivulets of scarlet magic racing up her neck and down her arms, and oh, she is dangerous, all that power with so little control. Rio can picture Agatha's sneer.

"Agatha," Wanda hisses the name. "Is that who you're here to ask me about? Death has come all this way to ask me about Agatha Harkness?"

"That's the one," Rio agrees.

"She tried to wreck my life, destroy my family, literally murder me after she thought she'd stolen my power," Wanda says, using her fingers to count off all of Agatha's crimes. "She also tormented me with my past and lied to me. A lot."

That does, Rio has to admit, sound like the woman she loves. Especially the lying part. She can't keep a smile off her face. "Still. Aren't you supposed to be the good guy?"

"Not that good, I guess," Wanda says, and now even more of her attention is focused on this conversation. Though much like Rio, some part of her always lives elsewhere.

Motorcycle accident. Liver failure. A bad heart. Death deals with all of them without taking her eyes off the Scarlet Witch.

"Agatha did also break you out of your weird sitcom project," Rio points out. "Made you realize that what you were doing was hurting people. Did you know, I wonder? What you were doing to them? Did you know and try to ignore it, in order to keep everything you wanted?"

Wanda comes to her feet, surges like a wave, staggers like a corpse. Her teeth bare with fury, her eyes leak pain. "Of course I didn't! Are you just here to torment me?! Do you think that I don't have nightmares about what I did to those people? Do you know what I lost to make it right?"

Wow, she's dramatic.

"She only did it because she wanted my power. I was in her head. That woman has never done a single kind thing for anyone in her life, not without getting something in return," Wanda continues and Rio can't hold back her laughter, high-pitched, shrill giggles that contain a note of unfettered delight.

"You've got that right," she agrees, and ugh, she wants Agatha, Agatha smiling, Agatha laughing, Agatha complaining about things not happening fast enough, Agatha kissing her—

Agatha whirling her around with a crown of flowers in her hair, her expression that of someone being tortured on the rack. Agatha, laughing too loudly, cheeks flushed with cheap beer, toasting to them both. Agatha, explaining some ritual in intricate detail while she inscribes runes, talking to Rio mostly to keep herself on track.

Agatha, in their bed, lit by the fireplace behind her, head on her hand, looking at Rio like she hasn't in centuries. "I've missed you," she admits, with a sly smile. "I've been thinking. You and I always made a great team. What do you say we get the band back together?"

This isn't right. This isn't how it happened.

"Can you forgive me?" Rio asks anyway, hating how desperate she sounds.

Somewhere a man falls from the top of a building, several stories too high for survival to be a possibility and lives anyway.

"Of course I can," Agatha says. "I love you."

Hah, as if. Even during their best times, Agatha never would have said it so easily. But her hand is on Rio's cheek, and she's so warm, she feels so real. It would be so easy to lean forward and kiss her.

There’s something important she's forgetting.

An ICU has a quiet night, no deaths even among their most critical patients.

"Rio, kiss me," Agatha prompts, and the smile on her lips is so close to being right, a taunting, teasing, tormenting expression. "My love, come to bed."

This is what she wants, isn't it? This is what she's always wanted, Agatha, gentled a little, sweeter, softer, but still the woman she loves.

No, she thinks, this isn’t what I want. I want the real thing. I want the jagged edges, I want the cruelty and the manipulation and the way she screws up her face before she says anything even slightly romantic. I want the way she makes big, sweeping gestures to prove her own power, the way she kisses me like she owns me, the way she sings silly, made up songs to herself when she thinks no one is listening and how she can never sit still, not even for a minute—

I want my Agatha.

A girl falls from her bike, in front of a car and—

Death roars back into the world.

Now it’s Rio’s turn to stagger, as reality reasserts itself. "...You got into my head," she says, and she's still so shocked that she's not even angry about it, only impressed. "Congratulations, no one has ever done that before, not even Ags."

No wonder Agatha went after Wanda. Enough power to, however briefly, divert Death. And suddenly, she's very glad that Agatha, who at least claims to hate her, did not succeed in gaining that power, no matter how much Rio loves her.

"You love her," Wanda murmurs. "You really—kind of creepily—love her."

Rio throws her head back and laughs, a shrill, sharp sound, the squeal of tires on the road, the scream of witnesses. "I do," she admits. "I really, really do."

"I could see you, for a moment. The whole of you," Wanda continues. "All the places you are. All those people. So many, all the time. I don’t know how you stand it." She sags suddenly, leans her weight against the much more real counter. "…Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"When I die, will I see them again? My boys and Vis?"

"Yes," Death says, with absolute certainty. "You'll see them again."

Wanda sinks to the floor, pulls her knees to her chest and shakes with relief, tears rolling silently down her cheeks. "That's all. That's all I needed to know."

"Not yet, though. It isn't your time. You still have things to do," Rio says. "Because you know what, Wanda?"

Wanda only stares up at her, face slick with tears.

"You're right. Death will follow you all your life. In fact, I think we'll be seeing each other again very soon," Rio says, letting her mask drop, and she can see her own skinless reflection in Wanda's widening eyes. "You and me? We are going to have so much fun."

Then, as Wanda starts to form a question, Death is gone. After all, how could she take Wanda now? There is still so much the Scarlet Witch can give her, so many bodies.

Besides, it would be breaking the rules.

But it turns out that there is something of Wanda's she can take. Something waiting for her on a Road that doesn't exist, something she's overlooked, something Agatha, manipulative as always, has been hiding in plain sight.

Rio will make certain that Wanda sees her boys again.

She leaves the cabin, but remains everywhere else.

Somewhere a girl sobs on her shoulder and Death pats her back with practiced movements, perfected over millennia. In that same blink of an eye, she holds an old woman's hand, kisses an old man's cheek, listens patiently to a priest perform his own last rites and guides a protection witch beyond the veil.

Then she steps back onto the Road, hands behind her head, whistling to herself. She's going to go find Agatha. She's already annoyed by all that has been kept from her, and she has no doubt it will be a fight, one where her beloved will probably say something manipulative, cruel or both.

Still, even knowing all of that, she can’t wait to see the real thing.

Want to read something sad? Try Nicky

Want to read something fluffy? Try Flirting

Want to read more Rio thinking about Agatha? Try the thief

[holidayinhell]

Interview

CWs: references to noncon, violence

1. Would you rather - Rope or Chains?

R: Rope.

W: Chains, dear god, chains any day. Ropes fucking burn.

2. If Whumpee had multiple Whumpers, who is their favourite? For Whumpers, which Whumpee was your favourite?

R: Yeah, I’ve got a favorite. A couple years back I had a Whumpee who fought me at every turn. He'd throw his food at me, cuss me out, and try to attack me. One time he scratched absolute shit outta my arms. Anyways, I got tired of his shitty attitude and decided to kill him. I didn't keep it a secret, I told him he was gonna die. But when I went in to do it, he changed completely. No more screaming, no spark in his eye. He got quiet. Heh, he got all lovey dovey with me even. You know, lots of people say they’ll do anything if only you’ll spare their life. I never did cash in on that promise, but on this Whumpee, I put it to the fucking test. Heh. He let me do whatever I wanted to him. Depraved, horrible things, that would make the most degenerate man blush. Heh, and even though he was crying through most of it, he still pretended to like everything I did to him. And god. You should’ve seen his eyes when I told him I was still gonna kill him. That look. I think about it still.

W: I can’t. glances over at Whumper. Next question please.

3: In your opinion, what is the best way to train a pet?

R: Humans are fickle fucking beasts. You have to break down someone’s pride in order to train them. I start off with food deprivation, that usually helps me gauge what kind of fight I’m in for.

W: Positive reinforcement has always worked for me… I’ve only ever had a pet bearded dragon though…

4: Broken ribs or bullet wound? 

R: Both.

W: These questions are uncomfortable to answer. But, uh, bullet wound I guess… assuming it didn’t graze any organs.

5: Preferred type of gag? 

R: I like a fabric gag. Or a simple piece of duct tape. Sometimes they come off and I get to squeeze a little scream out of Whumpee, and then I put a fresh one right back on. I kinda like the cycle of it.

W: I don’t have a preference… none? I guess the metal bit one isn't the worst of them. It hurts my teeth but at least I can still kinda breathe.

6: Burned or stabbed?

R: Stabbed.

W: Stabbed, I guess?

7: Favourite stress position? 

R: An old-fashioned hogtie. I guess I’m unimaginative but I don’t get too crazy into the BDSM shit. Who has the patience for that?

W: Uhh.. just, handcuffs behind my back? Something comfortable.

8: Have you given or received any Brands? What do they signify?

R: Heh. No. Never been branded. I certainly have had my fun branding Whumpee though.

W: I… have two… Uhm. One on my chest that, thank Christ, is almost all the way healed. It said, uh, swine. The other one is on my back, it’s a lot worse. I don’t know what it says but I can feel it so it’s uh, it’s here to stay, I guess.

R: It says Nice Try. Remember?

W: Not really.

R: From your second half-hearted escape attempt. Didn't realize you forgot. But I did hit you pretty fucking hard that night.

9: Broken arm or broken leg? 

R: Leg.

W: Arm. A million times, arm.

10: How did you get here? Why are you the way that you are?

R: I live here. Far as I know, I’ve always been like this? I don’t see a problem with it. We’re all free to do as we like, so that’s what I fucking do.

W: I dunno. I, I was outside, it was dark and I think it was raining…yeah… heading home from the bar. I didn’t drink that much. I didn’t live that far, either, so the rain wasn’t a problem. I remember falling down and then… I woke up here. And I’ve been here ever since.

11: What is your biggest regret?

R: I wish this Whumpee could’ve learned a thing or two from my defiant Whumpee in the second question you asked. I wanna get my dick sucked like that every fucking night.

W: One time I made it to the steps. Almost to the top, nearly all the way out. The door was unlocked and cracked open a little, I thought I could make a run for it and—

R: —I was waiting for you at the top.

12: Is there a line you won’t cross? For Whumpee, what do you most fear Whumper might do?

R: A line I wouldn’t cross? Uhhh…. No. No, I don’t think so. I’ll cross any fucking line. turns to Whumpee, grinning. So what are you afraid of, Whumpee?

W: I, um. Does he really have to be here when I answer these questions?

R: Tell them, Whumpee.

W: Can I whisper it to you? (he’s already done so much to me, so fucking much… it’s dumb but I don’t want him to shave my head.)

R: smirks. You know I heard that.

13: What lessons have you taken away from your experience?

R: Everything has been the same old, same old for me. Guess this Whumpee’s lasted longer than the rest of ‘em. He’s coming up on a year soon. Kind of impressive he’s stuck around this long and hasn’t given me a reason to kill him yet.

W: I don’t know. I do what I’m told so I can eat. I take it day by day. I guess the lesson I’ve learned is that abandoning pride is the only way to survive…

14: Whip or cane?

R: Whip.

W: Yeah. Whip.

R: Didn’t expect you to say that. Noted.

15: Drugged or coherent?

R: Depends on the situation. Drugging them is useful for transport but I don’t much like it when they’re too dazed to understand what’s happening. Sometimes they fall asleep, too.

W: Drug me any fucking day. I don’t care. I’ll take whatever you have.

16: What are your true, honest feelings about each other? Is there some part of you that cares for the other at all?

R: Sometimes I like to touch him. He’s warm and it’s funny when he tries to squirm away. Plus I like it when he begs me to stop. But do I care about him? …eh. Sure, sorta. He’s my plaything.

W: Erm. Thanks, I guess. For me… Whumper is the reason I’m here. I guess I’m appreciative for the food… but he does hurt me. A lot. Constantly.

R: You're very welcome.

17: What is your favourite thing about the other? A personality trait, a physical feature, anything

R: He’s got pretty hair. A kind of pretty face, too. Yeah, almost like a girl. Heh. And he makes good sounds when he’s screaming.

W: Ah. Fuck. I really don’t know how to answer this…

R: Come on. What’s your favorite part?

W: Um. Well, I'll say this: Whumper is smart. Scary smart. I don’t think anyone would ever imagine how smart. I don’t know. I don’t. It’s… terrifying.

18: Do you have relationships outside of each other? Friends, family - if yes, do they know about Whumpee? Do they care?

R: Yes, yes, and no.

W: I have a half sister in, uh, Arkansas. We’re not close, obviously… used to have friends I guess, but it’s been a long time since I saw them…

19: What other hobbies do/did you have?

R: Video games. 

W: I used to play saxophone. A lifetime ago.

20: For Whumper, is there any chance you’ll let Whumpee go? For Whumpee, have you ever thought about life after you’re free?

R: No. Sorry. Realistically, it doesn’t make sense to ‘let him go.’

W: I, uh, I used to think about it. I don't anymore… like he said.. realistically it doesn’t make any sense.

R: Mm. Good answer, Whumpee.

------------------------

this interview uses the questions from Character Ask Game post by @inhurtandincomfort !! thanks homie!

[imnotaman]

Nightmare

Penelope woke up in a strange place, a room in pitch black, she was about to grab her sword when she realized it wasn't beside her where she always left it. A voice called behind her

"Have you forgotten the lessons I taught you?"

Him. How had he gotten to her?

she looked behind her back and got into her fighting stance, protecting both hands, glow and behold; there he was

"Ares!"

"Have you forgotten to turn off your heart? This is not you."

Why was he saying this. Did he just want to haunt her with the fact he'll never be her Mentor again? Why did he have to be like this.

Ares glitched, he seemed to be shifting onto another form. There were 2 options; either Penelope's dreams decided to be Extra Bitchy to her that day, or ARES decided to be Extra Bitchy to her that day.

"I see you changing from how i've designed you."

The walls began to shift, growing, shrinking, anything you could think the room would change to that.

"Have you forgotten your Purpose? Let me remind you."

She was somewhere else now. The Cyclops cave. Why the hell was Ares doing this to her. Soldiers were managing to run away, one of many was right behind her

"Circe." She looked as beautiful as the day she'd lost her. It took so long to realize the Cyclops was about to club at Circe, and she was blissfully unaware.

Penelope screamed out her name, any kind of warning! But it was too late

"600 Lives to take"

2 more people hit.

"600 lives I'll break"

4 in a single hit.

"And when I kill you then my deed is over."

Hit.

"You're dying here and now."

Hit.

"Escape is not allowed."

Hit.

"You won't live through this day so die."

Hit.

"Die."

The scenery changed, causing a sense of Nausia in Penelope, she couldn't see much as she was trying not to Puke. All she could hear were the sounds of the ocean and the wind in her hair

"And now it is finally time to say goodbye today you die~"

No.

"Unless, of course, you apologise."

Please.

"For my son's pain and all his cries"

Penelope looked up, maybe this time it could be different. Maybe Ares would be merciful enough to show what could have happened instead

"Amphitrite, we meant no harm," she began, her voice shaking. "we only hurt him to disarm him! We took no pleasure in his pain. We only wanted to escape~"

Ctimene was beside her, holding her shoulder as if she knew what was coming.

"The line between. Naiveté and Hopefulness is almost invisible"

FUCK.

"So close your heart"

There had to be a way to save them

"The world is dark."

There had... there had to!

"And ruthlessness is mercy--"

Fuck.

"Die."

The scene shifted again. She was in the Underworld.

"Waiting...."

Why. Why did he want her to suffer!?

"Waiting..."

Penelope turned, she knew who that was

"...Dad." it wasn't a question. Not this time at least. Her father's face began to shift

"Waiting... Penelope when you come home I'll be waiting..."

A tear couldn't help but fall down Penelope's eyes, at that point she had just started crying.

"Even if you're the last thing I see I'll be-"

"I-I'm right here Dad! Can't you see me? I'm"

"Waiting..."

A ghasp escaped her lips, why did Ares want this. "I took too lo-"

"--you on the brink of death"

Tireseas.

"I see you draw your final breath. I see a man who gets to make it home alive."

Penelope could only whisper what the Prophet said, "But it's no longer me..."

Penelope felt numb, she could only cry and beg with the same words she had spoken all those years ago

"This can't be... we've suffered and sailed through the toughest of Hells! Now you tell us our efforts for nothing!?"

The Prophet continued, "I see your Palace covered in red... Faces of Women who long thought you dead." She got closer to the Prophet, angry. She was so close home. It was all worthless!?

"I see your man with a girl who is haunting." Who. Who was it!? She got even closer to Tireseas "a girl with a trail of bodies..."

She grabbed him by the neck in anger

"WHO!?"

The scene changed, a boat. Directly inside of a cave, eyes glowing, 6 torches behind Penelope, she only had a single order.

"ROW FOR YOUR LIVES"

"DROWN IN YOUR SORROWS AND FEARS"

One.

"CHOKE ON YOUR BLOOD AND YOUR TEARS"

Two.

"BLEED TILL YOU'VE RUN OUT OF YEARS"

Three.

"WE MUST DO WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE"

I know.

"GIVE UP YOUR HONOR AND FAITH"

Four.

"LIVE UP YOUR LIFE AS A WRAITH"

Five.

"DIE IN THE BLOOD WHERE YOU BATHE"

Six.

"WE MUST DO WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE"

The figure appeared in front of Penelope, this never happened the last time Penelope want through this, Scylla's eyes grew red. Ares was in control of this.

"We are the same you and. I~"

"Choose."

Thunder appeared behind her. No. Please. ARES

"Someone's gonna die today and you have got the final say~ choose."

Penelope looked up at Zeus, praying to both him and Ares

"Please don't make me do this. D-Don't make me do this."

She didn't hear anything for a while, until Ctimene's voice caught her off guard

"Captain?"

Penelope looked up at her friend, she ran to hug Ctimene, which seemed to catch her by suprise

"I have to see them."

"B-but we'll die."

"...I know."

And with that the scene changed with a shock of Thunder, this was a different place, she was in a Palace. Ithaca? Why was she there

"Cause I'm stuck with your stories..."

That voice. She knew it all too well after the last to days.

"But no clue who you are"

Telemachus?"

"And no idea if you're dead or just too far~"

"TELEMACHUS!?"

Penelope fell down, cowering like a pathetic child. This was how she gave up.

"Somebody tell me."

The voice of the child she never met.

"Come and give me a sign"

Her real child.

"If I fight those monsters is it you I'll find?"

A monster. That's all she was. 600 men who died under her command. A monster to both Man and God. Why. Why couldn't she move

"I still intend to make it so you don't Lower your Guard"

Ares.

"Don't forget that you're a warrior, do not tear yourself apart"

ARES.

"You are a warrior of the heart"

Penelope stood up, ready to tackle him at any moment, she ran as quickly as Possible and landed a punch, he didn't even flinch.

"Don't disappoint me"

She really had nobody. Her friends were all dead, Amphitrite would probably drown all of Ithaca, and the people she cared about weren't even from her universe

Solana would never actually care. Telemachus only likes her because him own mom's a γιος της σκύλας. And Odysseus is in her own place so she'd never see him.

It was worthless.

She was worthless

And the she woke up in the tent she set up in the tress, just outside the barrier of Ithaca.

[ladyravenjadethe2nd]

Hisoka's sexual interests are both better and worse then we thought.

A lot of people are caught up in oh he draws the line at bestiality, but not pedophilia, but I think we need to focus on the fact that Hisoka is straight up calling fighting to the death sex.

No foreplay, not build up that makes him horny, fighting and killing someone is the definition of sex to Hisoka and that changes everything.

First of all if his end goal is to murder someone and not do anything with anyone's genitals then while he may get hard over it or even off to it we would not consider him having sex with that person by fighting them to the death.

By our definition of sex Hisoka is not a pedo because he doesn't want to actually do anything we consider sexual to kids or possibly anyone else. I want you to think about that for a min. If fighting plus killing equals sex for him he might have no interest in real sex at all. The most horny dude on the planet might not actually be down to literally fuck anyone strong that moves.

He could not even get off to it and just enjoy being horny and not letting himself cum. This fucking clown man could actually be super chaste by common meaning of the word sex. Virginity is not impossible. Let that sink in.

Even if he does cum if I came whenever I shake someone's hand they didn't have sex with me when I shook their hand. That's a me problem. If it happens when I shake a kid's hand that's weird and gross and horrifying, but I don't think that's sexual assault? Although if it was done on purpose it may be something else? Hell of a weird thing to think about. I don't know what you would call it.

So for someone that has been certain from the beginning that Hisoka cannonly wanted to stick his dick into little boys this is pretty mind blowing, but....but the thing is.

Hisoka does think he's a pedo.

If fighting a strong animal to the death is bestiality for him and fighting lots of people to the death at once is an orgy then fighting a child to the death is pedophilia by his own definition.

Assuming hear me out here that Hunter X Hunter has an age of consent in that world at all or that it's anywhere close to ours. I know gross idea. No one likes it, but it would track.

Mito allows 12 year Gon to get on a boat by himself to take a dangerous test that could kill him. The whole island loves it. No one says he's just a kid. Certainly no that's illegal children must have adult supervision or even a school is mandatory. She doesn't want him to go, but there are no laws that would make him stay. At least on whale island so let's look at the exam.

Captain, crew, and passengers think it's weird a kid is taking the exam so young, but no one is concerned about laws or what not.

Exam officials are just like here's your number. No parent's permission or signing a waver at all. No one in the exam is concerned. Moving on to the next place Haven's area is the same.

I see you two unaccompanied minors would like to enter into a tournament where you might die! Right this way please! They aren't hiding it. This is a big city and if Gon died on live TV to Hisoka no one would get sued.

Child endangerment laws don't exist. If a 12 year old can sign up to die why would there be laws about them not being allowed to jump on adult dick?

Also Hisoka says very sexual things about the children in front of people that do not treat him like the scum of the earth for it. Like there are deeply evil people that would lose their shit at a mild suggestion that someone wants to fuck kids.

You think Bisky didn't notice how he stared at the boys on greed island? The kids she felt motherly towards? Didn't bother her at all.

I mean I don't think it's wildly accepted to fuck kids, but I don't know if it's illegal there. Most people see or hear him being creepy and act like he said he likes pineapple on pizza. Everyone could hear him talk in his fight with Gon. No one was calling him out on saying he's hard in front of the child.

Does Meteor city where Hisoka is from have any laws at all? Baby's are dumped off there. As insanely dark as it is at least some kids are gonna picked up for sex work.

The reason I bring this up is that Hisoka says he's normal and while he is a lair he was talking to himself and he's normally self aware. If pedos are a thing there then I think he would consider himself one and therefore I don't think he would use the word normal.

At the very least I think the age of consent might be terribly low or Hisoka was so used to seeing kids fucked in his hometown that he thinks it's normal, but again he doesn't actually want to fuck them, but he thinks killing is fucking so......ARUGH!

Don't get me started on his thing with Illumi. Are they fucking??? Clearly Hisoka thinks their relationship is going to lead to his kind of sex. We don't know how they met so they could have started out as fighting to the death and it was a tie so he thinks they are lovers?

Does someone have to die for it to be sex for Hisoka. Like if someone is fighting of their life and he spares them for later is that foreplay or a blow job?

Does Hisoka think he's done the nasty with Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika?

If Chrollo had used the spider members to cheat with his fight with Hisoka (I don't think he did) making it more then one on one without his permission does that mean Hisoka would consider himself gangraped since the rules of the sex changed?

Lots of things to consider here. Personally I have a fanfic that I was very proud of him being in character that I need to make serval changes too. I thought killing animals if he couldn't kill people would help with him control bloodlust, but I've misunderstood him in a big way.

How does everyone think this changes their view of Hisoka if it does at all and do you think that if Hisoka is a pedo with his own way of thinking then he should be considered one regardless of the exact actions he's taking towards children?

Also what is up with everyone's weird reaction when Hisoka doesn't hide that he's getting turned on by children? Are the laws super different or does no one think he would actually fuck a kid? Like what's going on with that? Is Togashi just blind at how most people see pedos?

[katerinaaqu]

I have already mentioned the chnges to my initial reblog. Literally the most iconic parts are changed, Circe, Sirens, Charybdis Skylla Phaeakes etc. I have analyzed those in my original comment to this streak: Lotus Eaters are not a tribe of friendly people are some sort of creature, Polyphemus doesn't eat them and mock the laws of Xenia, apparently he has a reason or excuse to do what he does, Odysseus doesn't reveal his name because he was seccluded in a cave and he as not only exhausted and furious after watching the cyclops eat his men one by one and feel proud for his achievement, in Epic he reveals it out of spite because Athena triggers him (he had no Athena with him in the Odyssey). He doesn't stay a month in Aeolia, he doesnt stay a year with Circe. He doesn't need to sell himself to Circe apparently a tear jerking story was enough (Hermes tells him he has no chance of refusing her bed and Circe didn't need to seduce him to kill him in the Odyssey she was a complicated persona). He doesn't get a single piece of information from Tiresias on how to move and how to break his curse, he doesn;t speak to the spirits of the underworld including his mother who tels him that she didn't die WHILE waiting but she died BECAUSE she was waiting for him and there is a difference) Odysseus doesn't hear the sirens. In the Odyssey we have literally the most iconic scene ever where he ties himself on the mast and hears their song and his men row for dear life till they get out of there in Epic for some reason we have had whatever that scene was where they kill them. In Epic he doesn't gear up to protect his men from Skylla, he sends them to death himself. In the Odyssey he clearly tries to protect them. His men don't spend weeks in hunger to slaughter the cattle of Helios, their doeath doesnt come as a hubris result but again Zeus written like a jerk again that makes Odysseus choose. Odysseus didn't escape Charybdis hanging from the fig tree for dear life BEFORE Ogygia and of course whatever the hell we ot to the last saga. Telemachus was treated equally poorly. Telemachus in the Odyssey had no problem fighting. His problem was that the suitors were abusing the laws of Xenia and he couldn't send them away. Athena doesnt make him do some fist fight she encourages him to travel and find information on his father and of course God Games is just nope. No god had problem letting Odysseus go and Zeus least of all. In fact he mentions how fond he is of Odysseus and that he couldn't help him because his hands were tied so far due to his hubris against Poseidon.

-Ah here we go again! The classic I get all the time! When I say I dislike this or that trope then I get the question "so you are against retellings?" literally the question "you dislike abstract art? You must be against modern art in general!" that is literally not how it works! I dislike the specific type of "retellings" that use nothing of the original material or that they screw it over. And on occasion like or dislike comes to what vibes with you. No you absolutely didn't get that right no. In fact I have seen many beautiful retellings and one of them was like 90% accurate to the Odyssey and it was a masterpiece. Prince Of Egypt is a classical example. It is a loose adaptation, doesn't follow the bible to the T and yet it respects the story and the culture and didn't make Moses...slaughter the men of the Pharaoh himself or whatever! The iconic scene of the parting of the sea was respected. I myself am literally writing retellings. My style though is mostly following the sources or combining them.

-That is very nice of you and I hope it helps but yes using material such as this as substitute to studies is just stupid indeed.

-Ella the Enchanted is a classical example on how one can create an original story while based on a tale. Even if the character is even nsinuating the name of Cinderella is still not the same story! Just like Brother Where Art Thou is an original story heavily inspired by the Odyssey but is not Odyssey. Also omitting cruel details to make a story kid-friendly is differentthan changing the most crucial part of the plot. What Epic did with the Sirens for example is the equivalent of..dunno making Cinderell lose her other shoe too and make her wear a hat instead! Like taking an iconic moment from a story and turn it to something else. Humans do love to see that sure. But not all do. Like I said I love for example the classical movie "The King and I" or what was the name. Thaiwan people hated it. It is a matter of perspective. I cannot blame them for not liking the movie!

Oh yes it crossed the line waaaay too long ago.

-I agree. That is the reason it is so popular indeed. What I mean is that more often whatnot this exploitation made the stories unrecognizable and they completely disregard what they were about at times.

-Again...exactly but what we got is not a retelling! What we got was an original story without original characters! Which is not what a retelling is! A retelling doesn;t go "screw your plot" it takes creative liberties that do not harm the story otherwirse is not a retelling it is simply notthe same story Again....I didn't say that he NEEDED to respect 100% I said he had no reason to pic this if he was going to screw the plot. And again I honestly don't care what the thought is in this case like I said I am personally disappointed a lot with how Odyssey is treated. Or how the word "retelling" is understood for that matter. And again I didn't like the result. I beieve that is valid for me to say And again that is my probem that I see disporportionately these type of "adaptations" over actual respective adaptation to material and AGAIN I didn;t say he has no right to do what he did. He absolutely does. I am only explaining why I dislike it

-AGAIN That is my problem! Because is not how the story was! Again I think his trip would have served much more the video game logic! Whatever we got there was a brush off and completely rushed piece to me. And Teemachus was not wondering about his father that he wanted to be legendary like him. The kid was even wondering if Odysseus was really his father at that point! Totally different feeling totally different objective. And that is my problem with the word retelling nowadays. Retelling means "i tell the same story in my own words" not "i have other plans than to follow the key parts of the plot"

And to answer to your other note as well because I got a bit disoriented getting bombarded with separate parts of reblogs;

-Exacty. He could have named his character literally anything he wanted and make an original story and still reference to the Odyssey. At least that would make more sense in my brain.

Absoltey not. I would argue that is less than 50% at this point. And no technically it is called "Disney's Cinderella" to assume they are not retelling the Brother Grimm version and Brother Grimm is also only one of the versions. Arguably the original cincerella is a story coming from Hellenistic Egypt. But again ironically Cinderella was much more accurate to the OG material and they did not change the most iconic parts like the pumpkin careiage the midnight trick and the slipper fit despite the liberties they got the same as I said with Prince of Egypt and the bible. And I will ay it one more time; likes and dislikes often have to do with what vibes to me. Most Disney movies vibed to me one way or another (and I still speak on the things they did right and what they do wrong in comparison to their OG material). Epic didn't

If it is just a matter of expectations to you then that is valid. To me is not that simple and again if I see something that is p to mess such an iconic thing like the Odyssey, especially something so beloved to me, I have to believe that the changes are generic to the story and that they give me the twist without harming the story or that the story is altered in such a way that is vibing to me in general. That absolutely didn't happen in the Epic case

I'll take your word for that. Not fond of the remakes of the films much

Absolutely and I said that from the very beginning. I was clearly talking to people that share similar ideas with me and we discuss our opinions. It always would end up to the "agree to disagree" thing. But yes to that last part we absolutely agree and even loyal fans of the musical iked out to that.

New Epic saga and it's horrible... to give you an idea, Odysseus fought Poseidon, stole his trident and made him beg for mercy

hmmm a god begging a mortal for mercy is not exactly on par with Greek religion and stories. How did that scene made it into the final version?

[whereispearlescentmoon]

Ok, so starting with Jimmy, my thoughts are mainly based on the animatic and less of Jimmy as a character. Essentially I view him as the person who tries to die in order to save the ones he cares about, and he does over and over again. (I view him as doing this in order to show the inevitability of death each season to try to get his allies to not be complacent in the games) But the part that I think is interesting that no one seems to talk about, is that he fails every time. In third life, his death caused Scott to die trying to avenge him, in Last Life, Martyn died trying to make a deal with a watcher to save him, Double Life doesn't work as well, but you could say that his death caused Tango to die of grief. Then in limited life, Jimmy dies in the exact way that Grian is going to die, but his warning is completely useless and Grian dies in the exact same ways anyways. (I headcanon that this made him finally realize that his deaths were meaningless and the "curse" ends). My thoughts on Pearl started later and kind of build off these thoughts with Jimmy (also kind of based on the posts bigb enthusiast and mapleejay made on nosy neighbors canary in a coal mine). Pearl in Limited Life and Secret Life is desperately trying to be the "canary", using her death in order to save her allies and let them win. In limited life she does this literally with BigB, repeatedly giving him her time. However, she fails as a canary, she outlives the coal miner. Then in Secret Life she has new allies and makes the same promise to them, that she will do anything to get them to win. But then again they all die before her. But then there's scar. Pearl desperately clings to the idea that Scar can be the one that she saves with her death, she makes him an honorary mounder, and then tries to sacrifice herself to him before the final fight but he refuses. Then they win the fight and are the only two left. (next part is mainly headcanony) So then Pearl is left here in the same position Scott was, able to finally sacrifice herself to let her ally win. But Scar doesn't give her time, he immediately betrays her, because he was never a mounder, that was just Pearl desperately needing someone to save. And so she is killed by Scar unable to save anyone

You and I have completely different interpretations of what a canary is (partially why I don't generally vibe with canary Jimmy), and also who Life!Jimmy is, but this is really cool!

For me, Jimmy isn't a canary because, and I'm not saying this to be mean but it's true, his deaths are kind of meaningless. Or maybe not meaningless, but they don't teach anyone anything other than people are going to start perma-dying. This may be a deep pull, but if you watch RPDR or Survivor, there's always a moment when the first person has gone home and someone says, like, "Well it's gotten real now" because even if you know someone has to go first, it's still a hard thing.

Jimmy isn't dying on purpose, and his deaths are ultimately meaningless once the actual blood bath starts and people start killing each other vs his deaths which are accidents or to mobs. Maybe crow is a better bird for him honestly, or raven. A bad omen. The tragedy of Life!Jimmy is that, well, he just keeps getting screwed over by small mistakes that kill him. Letting go of shift for a second or looking an enderman in the eye or not choosing the right path to avoid a warden. He's the universe's punching bag.

Pearl is very specifically a canary in Wild Life because her deaths are warnings. Don't shift near edges because the hit boxes are wonky and you'll fall, don't try to put a shield up because you'll eat your weapon, the snails can instamine blocks and leap over one block gaps. She's not dying on purpose, but her deaths are meaningful. She will be useful, in life or death. She must be. I don't really see Canary!Pearl for the other life series. Yes, she sacrifices herself to give BigB time, but if that's canary criteria, so are Skizz and Scott.

I also don't necessarily see what Scar did as a betrayal. There's two of them left, only one can win. Pearl expressed repeatedly that she didn't want to win, she wanted one of the other Mounders to win. By making Scar a last minute honorary Mounder, she has a duty to lose to him. Yes, she technically didn't sacrifice herself, but I don't think she was fighting to win. Someone who's fighting to win doesn't tell their opponent about the zombie behind them. They don't ignore the golden apple in their hot bar. Hell, she only even got one hit in on Gem because she wanted to step away and let Scar beat Gem himself.

[cosmic-gemstone]

O Lady Oracle, guide our hand

Deliver us from darkness,

Where do we follow the strand?

Bless’d Lady Oracle, guide us true

To Victory to Glory

Through your eyes of celestial hue

Lady Oracle, why do you weep?

What horrors have you seen?

Within the Rift so deep?

[ccbatman]

actually so sick how they made steph into a martyr for everything wrong with gotham when she lived her whole life trying to prove that she was everything right

[azlovesem]

Im down to duel anyone on earth who streps up. Youre a dchlep thats what i call you. An idiot. You wanna duel Azriel tou monkey fucking loser? Ill kill you ill kill anyone as you can plainly see. There is no off limits for me ill kill anyone on earth in a duel. Its twenty paces each. So get a good shooter turn and then you fie monoey. Over developed ape. Thos is my planet i wanna duel to prove it to snyone. Who is gane? Dana? Dip shit? Vlont Eastwood ill lay anyone glat? Baby seals? Joe Rogan? Idiot boi? Rappers Rockers wanha fightvJesus. Lets do this. Youbwanna fight me his bodyguard the lethal Azriel???? Then ho back to the drawing board. Come up with actusl solutions not nazi policivies that will be impossible to inplement. Dont embarass your stipid asses any more. Youre fools. Rvennif you eon dome lottery fuck. Ill dump yiur asshole people in a ditch face down. Now you see what those russians have been doing. They die!!!!

Emma's legs = Perfection

[worstloki]

zionists don't realise it but saying 'this is the most jewish thing ever!' and 'people hate when jews do something clever' and and reporting it as 'innovative methods which carried out a precise military operation' and joking about ongoing attacks using everyday technology to injure thousands of civilians is not. good

[frogaroundandfindout]

You remember when dick was in space (for the first time with the new teen titans) because komand’r took Kory back and they needed to save her? And you remember how he understood it was a war they were fighting and that they needed to do what they had to in order to survive it? And how when Gar told him he needed to control Kory, dick wondered if he even should try to stop her from killing her sister? And how he literally killed to save her (there’s some deniability but he’s literally hitting them with lasers described as deadly right in the head)? I do.