#wrote all of this at a late hour

[teatitty]

One of the more interesting things about Iruka is that he's one of our only adult characters who saw the fox attack up close. We're shown in chapter... 500 something that Kurenai, Gai, Kakashi and Asuma were already locked outside the barrier when the attack happened and were protesting this fact, trying to get in to help but Kurenai's dad told them that they weren't allowed to because they are the future of the village, confirming he [and everyone else helping out] knew he was likely going to die when he went back in

But Iruka wasn't outside of the barrier when the attack happened. He was inside, with his parents, and saw the destruction up close and personal. He was standing there with them when they were bruised and bloodied and only got away because they had a fellow shinobi yoink him off to safety

Most fics tend to have Kakashi in his ANBU gear involved with this attack but canonically he was just as helpless as everyone else and wasn't anywhere near the centre of all that death and destruction. Iruka knows Kurama in a way that Kakashi just doesn't -- it's like when you watch a Godzilla movie and there's people who see Godzilla's wrath from a distance but they don't have nearly the same level of trauma, PTSD or fear as the one's who were there up close when he went nuts

And yet. And yet! Iruka bears no ill feelings towards Naruto at all. Sure yeah the anime has a flashback scene where he initially struggles and gets advice from Kakashi but that's only in the anime - in the manga, there was no such scene at all and he got over any and all struggles largely by himself which is why him and Mizuki being this sort of parallel to one another is so interesting to me!

Iruka was willing to move past it to help Naruto but Mizuki could never fully let go of his anger and hatred towards the thing that killed his family

I have no real point for this post outside of the fact that I wish this angle of Iruka was explored more in fics, instead of 9/10 changing the canon to have Kakashi as his ANBU saviour. Those are cool and I like them but there is just something so juicy about how much their experiences of that event differ just for the fact that Kakashi and company were outside the barrier from the start and Iruka was not

He would have crazy PTSD fuelled nightmares I think :)

[sexynetra]

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY

Remembered my beloved @thecollectionsof wrote the worlds best hanahaki fic and remembered that I've wanted to write one since they published that masterpiece............ and here we are

~~~~~~

Marcia brushed past her into the lobby before twirling on her heels to face Anetra again, brown eyes glimmering like topaz under the dim fluorescent lights. “Picture Beyoncé. Then picture Megan Thee Stallion. Then combine those images. This woman was like–a hundred times hotter than that.” Marcia was gesticulating wildly with her free hand as she spoke. Normally, Anetra would find her dramatics endearing, would be teasing her for being incapable of speaking without her whole body getting involved. Instead, she felt frozen, the glimmer in her stomach suddenly starting to feel a lot more insidious.

“That feels sacrilegious to say,” Anetra spoke after a moment, trying to recover.

[littlespoonevan]

seeing the way some people on the internet desperately try to find the character who was In The Right or the real victim™ in morally ambiguous stories is soooo wild to me lmao what do you mean you're trying to argue which of the main characters in challengers is most at fault???? they're literally all in the wrong and all in the right at different points in the movie. that's the point!!!!! that's why every scene between them is like a tennis match!!!!! because the person with the upperhand is constantly changing!!!! what do you mean you're watching interview with the vampire and trying to decide which of the lying, manipulative vampires who have done terrible things is the Worst Liar????? the point is they're all lying!!!! at different times and about different things!!!! is it manipulation???? is it misremembering???? who knows that's what makes it interesting!!!!! like i totally get that when you're watching sitcoms or teen dramas or whatever being annoyed at or even hating a character is usually an unintended consequence of sloppy writing or a half-assed storyline. but in stories that are supposed to make you have complicated feelings about a character i'm just like askjdfhashd how are you arguing about this instead of just watching in pure fascination as the characters interact??????????? are you not having the time of your Life watching the plot unfolds????? let the story seduce you, my love, it's okay there's no pop quiz at the end

[tenebris-lux]

(Heavy-duty Spoilers for Hadestown ahead.)

The original Hades/Persephone myth wasn’t a sweet love story between the light and dark. It was a case of kidnapping and forced marriage and a grieving mother not knowing what happened to her baby. And the result is how it affects humans: the cycle of life and death and the seasons.

Because of the contrast between the type of environment Persephone is from and the one Hades is from, they make a pretty picture to look at. So the modern retellings have the relationship between Persephone and Hades be more mutual, usually like they eloped or something.

I’ll admit, it has some appeal to me too; I enjoy the game Hades, and I’ve enjoyed some digital art of the true-love premise.

That said, my favorite modern version that I’ve seen so far is Hadestown. The idea behind that is that they fell in love, but due to their personalities, they don’t always work well together. Persephone needs periods of separation from Hades. And for a while it works, but as time goes on and they get older, Hades’ insecurities start getting the better of him and he gets more demanding of her time. And she still does love him so she stays with him … but it’s not good for her emotionally. The environment is stifling and depressing to her. She starts numbing herself with liquor and drugs to pass the time, and then goes on extreme binges when she’s away from home. And Hades continues to worry about her no longer loving him, not realizing that his efforts to keep her close just widens the rift between them. He makes changes to his realm to bring some of the overworld conditions to the underworld, but he can only do it through the filter of his own understanding, and it makes the environment … weird. “Unnatural” as she puts it.

There are themes in Hadestown about trust vs doubt, optimism vs pessimism, hope vs cynicism. Orpheus and Eurydice are a fresh couple falling in love with optimistic hopes ahead of them (Eurydice is already somewhat cynical, but she wants to believe things can be better). Hades and Persephone used to be like that when they were young (in this story), but time and life and experience has turned them cynical. They’d even forgotten how they originally felt about each other. “The honeymoon is over,” as some say.

In the end, they’re reminded vividly of how they used to be and are willing to at least try again. They make no promises, no guarantees (because life has none), but they’re willing to make the effort. Specifically, the dialogue between them goes like this:

PERSEPHONE: “Think they’ll make it?”

HADES: “I don’t know.”

PERSEPHONE: “Hades, you let them go.”

HADES: “… I let them try.”

PERSEPHONE: “And how about you and I? Are we going to try again?”

HADES: “… It’s time for Spring. We’ll try again next Fall.”

PERSEPHONE: “Wait for me.”

HADES: “I will.”

As we know, things don’t work out with Orpheus and Eurydice … but Spring does come again, which indicates things aren’t strictly hopeless. Earlier in the play, Eurydice said, “I haven’t seen a Spring or Fall since … I can’t recall.” “It’s either blazing hot or freezing cold.” Yet there it is. And one could say that the relationship between Persephone and Hades had a winter period and it’s starting to bloom again. Which is a theme with them.

…….. And because I love Hadestown so much, I’m expanding on it. Hades and Persephone deciding to try again is a big thing with the play. We’re told at the beginning that the story we’re about to be told is a tragedy. And it is. In this version, Eurydice broke up with Orpheus due to insecurity and doubt. His show of devotion convinced her to try again, but then he had doubts—doubting her, doubting himself, doubting everyone else … and they couldn’t make it work because of it.

It ends in tragedy.

“But we sing it anyway,” as the narrator puts it. “Because here’s the thing: to know how it ends, and still begin to sing it again. As if it might turn out this time.” We see the way the couple meet again, but this time there’s a tiny detail that’s changed. The flower that Orpheus made for Eurydice was already blooming when she walked in. And we also see that Spring has returned. So “hope springs eternal” is another theme. So long as you continue trying, the story isn’t a forgone conclusion. There might be a period of dysfunction, but it’s not inevitable. Maybe things won’t work out in the end. Try again. Maybe they will.

Honestly, Hadestown is a pretty genius play, IMO. Aside from those themes, it links the cynicism and insecurity with the ways that people can be taken advantage of when they’re vulnerable. With the seasons out of whack, the routines of people’s lives are thrown off and things are more uncertain. Hades then recruits the desperate to come to Hadestown with the promise of secure conditions. However, it’s a trap—their lives become dedicated to unending projects that will “protect” them from … those not in their “desired” position. There’s a song that shows how they get brainwashed into cyclical thinking that they’re fortunate. The jobs are themed to fit in with industry and capitalism (mines, factories, warehouses). Hades profits off the work everyone puts in, and preaches to them���and makes them repeat—how fortunate they are to have the jobs in this exclusive place (you need a ticket to get there). The secluded Hadestown becomes unnaturally hot and bright all year round, and people eventually lose the memory of anything else besides the jobs they have to do to survive; as far as they know, this is the best way, the only way. Persephone also profits similarly by running a speakeasy, which has tastes of all the elements one can’t find anywhere else in Hadestown. But just tastes—they’re all temporary to the never-ending grind of the daily life.

The environment of what Hadestown has become—for it’s hinted that it wasn’t always like this—and the disruption of the harmony between Hades and Persephone allude to climate change and global warming.

When the play starts, Orpheus comes off as very naive and optimistic, which Eurydice—a young woman who survives by continuing to change location when things start going south—finds skeptical. I mean, he says he can heal the world with a song. But despite her doubts she starts to believe him—he played some of the song, and a flower bloomed from nothing—and she has a sweet and hopeful romance with him. Unfortunately, winter comes sooner and harsher than expected, and resources become scarce. She doubts her future; she loves him, but doesn’t see how she can survive by staying with him. So when she’s given the offer for security and the promise of never being hungry again in Hadestown, she takes it. During this, Orpheus was focused on trying to finish that magic song, so he hadn’t noticed her insecurities and starving condition. He immediate goes after her to Hadestown without a ticket, walking an incredibly long way alone and braving guards and guard dogs.

Eurydice becomes disillusioned pretty quickly in Hadestown that it was the better option, but it already has started draining her of the will to find other options or go back…. And then Orpheus shows up. However, he learned then that Eurydice agreed to spend the rest of her life in Hadestown; she had gone willingly. Being an outsider, Hades has the locals beat the crap out of him … and these two elements finally gives Orpheus some of the doubt that leads people to give up. He considers just going home without her … but then he gets angry, given how the conditions are dictated and enforced by those in power.

The people of Hadestown rally behind him and that gets the attention of Persephone and Hades. Persephone is moved by the dedication Orpheus has for Eurydice, and their love for each other reminds her of how she used to be with Hades. Hades needed to be reminded more vividly and have it spelled out for him how his current state of mind is toxic to himself as well as everyone else; he’s letting his insecurities get the better of him and he’s making it everyone else’s problem, while not really becoming happier himself. He’s shown the comparison of who he is now with who he used to be and how he used to feel. He becomes conflicted. He wants to believe and hope again, but … the doubt is still there. He’s still afraid to let go of anything. So he bargains. Orpheus can leave and Eurydice will follow him. But he wants to see that trust and optimism demonstrated. If Orpheus can trust himself and Eurydice, they can go forward. But if he looks back, she returns to Hadestown. See, Hades still doesn’t want to give anything up. The whole town has their eyes on this couple and they all want to leave and try for a different life; this would bring down his empire. But if he demands Eurydice stays, he’s giving up on renewing what it was like to feel hopeful and young again, and his problems with his marriage continue. Thus the compromise. And he knows how separating the loving couple will leave room for doubts to come in. It happened to him, after all, while he was separated from his wife. And it happened when Eurydice was separated from Orpheus earlier.

Sadly … the doubt wins out. Orpheus had become cynical from his experience in Hadestown. He had finished his song, and it led to hope for the world’s future, but now his future is uncertain. He failed Eurydice before, he might fail again. He’s more aware of some of the ugliness out there. (One could also interpret it as her having left him, so why would he trust her implicitly this time?) So, even though Eurydice, who has had experience with that, is willing to try again … Orpheus’ trust fails, and he looks back.

One might think this wouldn’t bode well for the whole future, that everything in the world hinged on that one look. But the idea is to TRY AGAIN. Hades still had doubts, had wanted to see the trust demonstrated … but was still willing to try again with his wife. Spring still returned. People who had given up their lives for Hadestown were still willing to try again, despite the risks. Orpheus had been discouraged when he learned Eurydice left him, but he was still willing to try again, and that led to the whole town protesting against the ruling class. And, on the more meta level, we repeat stories that we know end sad, and sometimes hope something will change. Just like this one. And from there we get variations.

Keep trying. Things may get better. Even if they get worse again, so long as you keep trying, nothing is determined. There’s always a chance.

[thesaltwateremu]

So so so.. I’ve been learning faroe’s song on piano and becoming absolutely insufferable because of it. And. So. There’s a cello part written into the score

and that got me thinking (at 1am when I couldn’t fall asleep ofc) why?? Obviously the actual score for faroe’s song was written by harlan but canonically it was written by Arthur. So why did Arthur choose to include a cello part?

we know that only arthur and faroe know about the song so I don’t think someone arthur knows plays cello. Maybe it was written in honor of someone who died?? Like maybe Bella or Arthur’s parents played cello and he wrote a cello part into the song in their memory. Or maybe he plays cello and intended to one day play the song as a duet with faroe??

[soloavengers]

An attempt to analyze two essential parallel DD2 scenes, heavy spoiler warning.

The Dragon speaking in the coronation scene where you speak to Pathfinder has my head hurting, let me compare the two coronation scenes. Don’t expect answers, just thoughts, theories and more questions.

The Dragon:

The Dragon again:

(hey Syllie should’ve taken off the mask!) They aren’t the exact same and I love that, because it’s implying the Arisen did demonstrate their will. Suppose it was by killing the Dragon, then why is the Dragon speaking? Is the bond reserving after death, or did it not die?

The Dragon:

Pathfinder’s parallel:

This was my favorite. I like how they speak.

In the first scene the Dragon basically assigns us to find out the truth, (and change fate.) Pathfinder tries to tell us the truth, and make us believe it.

Then very much offers us the chance to, cast aside our heart and our life both, by giving us the chance to use the Godsbane. I love the moment that follows, the flight was basically our chance to do just that, the way the Dragon says: “It’s too late.” when we arrive. It’s too late for us to use the Godsbane.

I feel like I don’t need to go deeper than this, I feel like this is a very surface level analysis but I don’t care if the things I’ve written down and noticed are very obvious, I enjoy writing my thoughts.

One interesting thing is I don’t notice the Dragon in the first scene ever mentioning our charge, which Pathfinder mentions, the lack of parallels there is something.

It sure mentions it in Melve. OUGH.

Okay, back to the coronation scene (No.2)

A lot of people question what the fuck do they mean by “or through the eyes of another…” I’ve reached an answer I’m way too confident about, and it’s that in case you fail (wake up in the shack,) time turns back to pre-Unmoored World, the another would be the Arisen which failed.

The fucked up thing is, I keep doubting the idea that this was all Pathfinder’s plot, that Pathfinder has a Seneschal like duty and so it was all apart of the test, the dogma 2.0, if you will. Can’t be sure, of anything. Least of all if the Dragon speaking was really the Dragon.

Is Pathfinder a being with an agenda against the Arisen so they push them away from their True fate, gets them attached to the world only to wreck it before their very eyes because they dared listen to the Dragon pretty much begging them to end the Cycle?

I love the messiness of this, I love the ambiguity, the room for us to decide if the first coronation scene truly happened or not. However, it hurts my head and I’d love to learn the truth even more, thank you.

The two scenes could be for the sake of creating a loop, it could be that, your Arisen from the very beginning has already failed.

Failed, turned back in time. But Pathfinder cannot ignore them, so they get to remember, a little. Like the first coronation scene is the second but twisted in memory. The Dragon speaking in the second scene… To make the Arisen think of it and consider the Godsbane? That’s the bit that bothers me the most I think, the bit that had me comparing the scenes. I hope I missed something that would give me an epiphany. Until then, this was all I have to say <3

[hellafluff]

Currently obsessively thinking about a silent hill from Mary's perspective. Starting in the hospital, the nurses replaced with doctors, faces blacked out except for white shiny gnashing teeth. She only has in her pockets a note written on hotel stationary that says I'm Sorry.

Escaping and meeting a young man, cute and a lil awkward, who says you look a lot like his girlfriend Maria, and shes missing too? Can we look for her together?

Hes... sweet, a bit quiet. He gets very close to Mary often, pushes her boundaries, but this is all weird and strange and maybe hes just scared. When she mentions it, however, he makes a rude remark abt Just Wanting To Help Her but backs off.

They get seperated when the Red Pyramid Thing, unchanged in this version, comes and attacks them both, but chooses to persue him.

Laura is still there, and when Mary and her meet they cling together. She talks about an awful, ugly man she met earlier, and to watch out for him. She helps guide Mary through a maze like area before the Other World sets in and separates them.

The monsters in Mary's Silent Hill are almost all larger then her, and many masculine in appearance. They attack her head, try and choke her. Certain ones cough and gasp, arms thrashing wildly and thrashing on the floor when knocked down. Some seems to have exposed, black lungs that stutter to breathe. If Angela and Eddie are the same in this version, then their boss fights remain the same. The Abstract Daddy just as horrifying to Mary as it is to Angela.

Every reunion with the man, hes different. Less nice, more haunted looking. He starts to call her Maria, and barely acknowledges her if she corrects him. Following his advice leads to darker and more dangerous areas. The Red Pyramid keeps coming and chasing him away, but shes always collateral damage when that happens.

Eventually, she makes it to the hotel. Hes waiting for her in the hotel room, haggard, almost unrecognizable from the man he was when they first met. He has a monologue about how she's been sick, and hes been trying his best to be there for her. She doesnt understand, she doesnt know him, shes NOT Maria! She never will be. She starts coughing.

He makes to leave but at the last second turns, and hes a monster now. Large, fleshy, imposing, always trying to suffocate her under thick hands. Upon his defeat, two Red Pyramids arrive and stab at the dying thing over and over until finally impaling themselves.

There are different endings still. She remembers her disease, and her murder, in most of them. In the best ending she leaves the town with Laura, likely still ill, but alive again. In one of the worst, she wakes up in the trunk of a car, as water begins seeping in.

[nicoscheer]

When he’s lying there with his dog in his arms 🥹

[carcarrot]

dream time

[halfelven]

love random not even logged in readers just dropping their 'constructive criticism' on your 100k+ story that you're putting online entirely for free. this is just a rant btw

"You obviously have a great talent and I think you should work on honing it some. As much as I’ve enjoyed the story, there are a few things that stand out that you might consider looking at. I feel like the story isn’t sure what it wants to be at times; is it character driven or plot driven? It doesn’t flow smoothly because sometimes we have these wonderful character vignettes, like Illumi and Kalluto on a road trip or Kite/Leorio/Gon/Killua in an apartment where plot doesn’t really feel important, followed by what feels like heavily plot driven beats, like Kalluto and the spiders. In addition, it contributes to confusion because sometimes we see established characterization turned on its head. Especially the weird way everyone all of a sudden just sort of was OK with Kalluto being a spider and then working with Illumi when they just went to all that trouble to escape him? It all kind of feels forced and not natural. You know?

Anyway, I’ll definitely keep reading and look forward to seeing what happens."

first: love you trying to sound legitimate with your "in addition" like this is some kind of writer's workshop. second: in what way would I, the writer, think that an incomplete part of my story in which the reader does not yet know most of the main motivations (they are only hinted at so far) feels forced and not natural when I know what's happening, where it is going (and where I haven't had other readers comment with confusion about that part)

and moving on. don't do this. also like i said this is a wip in and no, no one is cool with Kalluto being a spider and no they're not cool working with Illumi, really. it was already established that some of them /have/ been working with Illumi before this~ he's someone that they know. like have you never been in a seriously dangerous situation that you just have to get through before you get back to what you want?*** also at this point Chrollo's real motive hasn't been entirely revealed.

Killua keeps changing his mind about what he's doing because he's a scared kid whose self-hatred is destroying him from the inside out. the POV is so tight that I have to keep dropping reminders that what is stated in the narrative is often not true! Illumi's POV, for example, keeps showing Killua as really loving him and being happy he's around but struggling with a desire for freedom, while with Killua's POV he's terrified of Illumi most of the time. like how is that not obviously a distorted POV where you can't trust the narrator?

"where plot doesn’t really feel important, followed by what feels like heavily plot driven beats"

this part is especially irritating because it's like yeah that's how I want to write it? this isn't a published novel. I don't have to commit to making sure every scene is important to the plot. I can spend time writing a full scene about someone drinking a glass of water and then 13 chapters in a row that are for moving the plot forward. I didn't even tag it as a novel... I did tag it for unreliable narration and I keep getting annoyed that people keep ignoring that.

"I feel like the story isn’t sure what it wants to be at times; is it character driven or plot driven?"

it's both??? it's neither??? it's a fanfic??? why do I keep getting comments lately where people are expecting me to adhere to like fucking publishing standards. this keeps up and I will write a chapter which is entirely about a minor character drinking a glass of water. watch me. I'll write one about phinks drinking a glass of water and you'll like it*

"Overall, the story is good and presented a compelling alternative to CA. Look, each fan has their own opinion on CA and I know I didn’t like it. I think it was a product of what Togashi was going through as he began to experience health issues and then finding himself right back where he said he wasn’t going to be mentally after he ended his earlier manga. We can never know for sure, but it certainly had a “watch it all burn vibe” to it near the end. I honestly believe he wanted it to end with the finality of Gon’s suicide as a capstone statement, but was probably convinced to go a different route, which kinda of left a jarring feel in the narrative and culminated in a rather unsatisfying end to Gon and Killua’s journey. Despite that, I am very reluctant to read fics where the events of CA are erased or grossly modified and honestly yours is really the first long AU/alternate timeline I’ve enjoyed"

okay first of all, I love the CA arc. but I had to split a point off where Kite was going to survive. why do you have to leave this whole paragraph about how you think Togashi was or wasn't going to go with the CA on my fanfic? I didn't even write this as 'oh look at my alternative to CA bc I hated CA' I don't really look forward to hearing comments about how random people didn't like so and so aspect of the story that I'm basing my story off of. I've never written fanfic for a story that I didn't like (except for some things that I don't have published I wrote at a request for friends for a fandom they were into that I wasn't really) and yeah I've wanted to 'fix' aspects (like tolkien's treatment of women for example) but I am not looking for your 'this is what I hated about the source material' comments on my stories

tired of getting comments with little 'oh I didn't like your style at first but now I do' or 'here's how to fix your story!' unsolicited advice from people who aren't better writers than me (I don't even want it from people who would be better writers than me on stuff I'm just doing for fun and for free)

when did stuff like this become normal? at least don't be a coward and be not logged in so you can't even get a response notification. like girl they aren't cool with it! why do you think everyone is on guard standing around like they're in a fucking hostage situation? how do you see such wildly different interpretations from different character's POVs and think it's not intentional? what part about Kite watching Killua like a fucking hawk makes you think he's going to let Illumi take him after this?

like if you've never had to smile and pretend to be cool with your abuser (pretend to love them) or someone who was threatening you to keep someone else safe then good for you! it fucking sucks! also don't know how to explain to you what a child who is growing up in an extremely isolated abusive situation goes through (though I keep writing about it in this story you should catch on...) but it's a million back and forths with emotion and feelings--especially if their abuser does (to in some way or to some degree) love them. and it is often blaming themselves. I'm not letting my years of studying human psychology and child development go to waste here**

is this story perfect? no but I'm not gonna hire an editor for a fanfic. and everyone's interpretations of characters will be different. especially with child characters who are going through huge changes in the world around them and their personal lives. part of the appeal of fanfiction is 'who would they become if this happened instead?' *sorry I keep writing about starving and not having clean drinking water but I will never stop because that's what I grew up with and it's hell. also phinks drinking water would be compelling since I assume he'd have harder access to clean drinking water

**hunter x hunter is also one of the only stories I have encountered with characters who have backgrounds as fucked up as mine and Togashi's interest in human psychology really stands out.

***like good for you but that was most of my life and you sometimes just have to shut up and get through it. and no I will not put my notes in the right order bc I'm not being paid enough****

****I'm being paid nothing

[callixton]

maybe instead of going to sleep i’ll just rewatch rogue. genuinely viable solution

[munch-mumbles]

ive been a little upset about it all night so i need to write out all the things that happened at work today and are bugging me so i can TRY to get it out of my head and actually RELAX bc i just keep pacing in circles around it instead of just accepting it and moving on

[liminalweirdo]

.

[daz4i]

sometimes i will be having violent suicidal thoughts and i won't even be too panicked or saddened by them. it's more like "god. this again? shut the fuck up. i already know all that. we think about this multiple times a day. can you calm down? i need to sleep."

[whenthegoldrays]

✨

[hedonicghosts]

hi, it's 3am (almost) and i'm drafting a script(?) for a comic we'll probably never do because it's entirely too personal. how is everyone over here?