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Okay so I didn’t write my Crime and Punishment Ch. 4 notes yesterday. But I DID absorb another chapter. Thoughts below~

I was unsure how Raskolnikov was gonna react to the letter from the last chapter so I was TOTALLY backhanded by “over my dead body.” Honestly had me kinda in shock at first…but after we got more of his thoughts I completely understand why he doesn’t want Dunya to marry the other dude (I’m too tired to look up his name rn). I didn’t catch how sus it was that the guy paid for their luggage but made the ladies leg it by cart and third class for their journey, and it’s a nice bit of humanity from Raskolnikov to see him so indignant that they would sacrifice Dunya’s happiness for his gain. Also interesting to see the mention of Marmeladov’s daughter and the comparison between her situation and Dunya’s - I figured that would come back again, although I didn’t expect so soon.

But MAN if Raskolnikov was starting to make me think he was a decent person this chapter he sure did shatter that by the end. It was gratifying to see him going so viciously to the defense of that poor drunk girl in the street and calling out her would-be assaulter - but then he turns around and tries to get the kind policeman who stepped in to help not to bother, and goes on a mental diatribe about how the girl deserves what’s coming to her??? It’s like he has a good nature buried inside himself that he’s actively fighting against - he does kind and thoughtful things for people who are doing poorly and then switches almost Jekyll and Hyde style into this spiteful, haughty man determined to believe that it’s their fault they’re in dire straits and that they deserve it. I am so curious as to what on earth made him this way - I can imagine poverty played a part but it feels like there’s more to the picture.

Also the descriptions of Raskolnikov’s attitude towards socialization never fail to make me chuckle. Barely made friends in college because he was so locked in? That’s too real man stop being relatable

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another one (part 1-2)

sequel bonus :

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MMZX Infection AU | What's up with the Big Four?

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MMZX Infection AU | Conscientious Objector

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MMZX Infection AU | Terror of the Deep

@unintentional-edgelord you know what to do 😈

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Crime and Punishment Ch. 3 (Probably my last chapter for the day)

I don’t have a goofy zinger for this one but it was very interesting - as always, summary/thoughts under the cut

I was actually really surprised to see that Raskolnikov has a positive relationship with his mother. He’s been such a bitter and isolated person in general that I guess I assumed his relationship with his family would be no different, but he’s genuinely moved to tears by the letter from her and the way he can barely wait to read the letter, but needs privacy to read it, really shows how important and personal it is to him.

The contents of the letter itself are a very interesting contrast to the tale of woe we got from the drunkard last chapter. While Marmeladov described the fallout of his poor choices without ever meaningfully taking responsibility, Raskolnikov’s sister Dunya is a noble woman who ultimately comes out on top after the man who hired her as governess confesses to trying to woo her and his wife shares the letter she wrote reproaching him, thus clearing her name, making her a sought-after hire, and drawing the suit of Luzhin. Raskolnikov’s mother and Dunya are so selfless and love him so much - it was genuinely so touching to hear that Dunya felt putting Raskolnikov in a favorable position would be more than reason enough to accept Luzhin’s hand in marriage.

Raskolnikov’s mother is very optimistic in so many ways (Dunya and Luzhin will be able to make each other happy despite their sudden and unemotional engagement, Raskolnikov will be able to work in Luzhin’s law firm, the whole family will be reunited in Petrograd). I’m interested to see whether this optimism is misplaced. I’m also very interested to see what Raskolnikov’s real reaction to this information is - we got that glimpse at the end of the chapter of him smiling weirdly and his mind being in turmoil, but Dostoyevsky isn’t sharing with us yet what’s happening under the hood, which I really enjoy…

Also some new little insights regarding Raskolnikov’s situation this chapter. He doesn’t even have a bed or blankets, and he hasn’t been eating because he hasn’t been paying rent. He was teaching but it didn’t pay enough, and apparently he was studying law but he couldn’t afford university, so his mother was actually sending him some money so he could support himself.

It’s super ironic to me that Raskolnikov was hating on the old lady from the first chapter for being a widow when that’s what his mother is too. Many questions, still waiting for answers…

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Oh man okay Crime and Punishment Ch. 2 - Raskolnikov steps into a drinking den for the first time in his life and a drunk guy instantly walks up, tells him he looks smart, and proceeds to trauma dump his entire life story on him. Semyon "I saw you from across the bar and liked your vibe" Marmeladov

More serious thoughts under the cut so as not to clog up people's feeds~

Talk about a depressing life story! It kind of reminded me of the horrible experience I had reading Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. The narration was very effective. The heartbreak I felt when Marmeladov's daughter meekly asked if she should sell her jewels, to which his wife scoffed that they weren't much anyway, only for the two women to spend the night in each other's arms after Sonia comes quietly back with money...I didn't know what a "yellow ticket" was at first so that was the moment I realized Marmeladov basically drank his daughter into prostitution. And then the excitement of the family when Marmeladov actually gets a job and holds down a paycheck, only for him to steal the money, drink it all away, and then beg off the last few (roubles? kopeks? I'm still learning the currency) from his own daughter, who gives it to him without a word...

Marmeladov is so insistent on telling Raskolnikov his tale - never excusing himself, like it's a confession, a burden he needs to get off of his soul - and then he ends the tale insisting that when the day of reckoning comes even "human swine" like him will receive grace and redemption - all while romanticizing the thought of himself being crucified, and insisting that he takes pleasure in his wife abusing him...he will not stop doing the very thing that has caused his family so much pain, so he craves punishment and shame to "atone," it seems. It's very sad, and very fascinating. Dostoyevsky sure didn't waste any time cutting straight into the human condition, lol.

And Raskolnikov is already such a fascinating character to me. We got some glimmers of decency from him in this chapter: his horror at the horrible plans he was premeditating last chapter (at least before he washes his conscience away with alcohol), him bringing Marmeladov home, him leaving the last of his money on the sill for Marmeladov's family...but he's definitely at war with himself, and every time he does something selfless he internally takes it back with disgust. He literally refers to Marmeladov and his family as "human scum" and decides that their plight isn't really worth pitying because they're "used to it." Bold words from a man established to be well in the hole monetarily.

I definitely wonder why Raskolnikov decided to hear Marmeladov out...maybe he didn't have a choice. It does make me laugh every time someone goes to talk to Raskolnikov and he's like "oh ew human interaction" LMAO

All-in-all, very interested to see where the story goes and whether the purpose of this particular chapter was to introduce characters that will be relevant later OR to establish themes that will come further into play, or both.

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I’m a lil curious what’s up with the Landmark Au cause it sounds pretty interesting and cool!!

The monster designs are really fucking cool holy shit…

HIIII THANKS FOR ASKING!!!!! im placing this under a readmore for politeness

LANDMARK is an old webcomic series i made in 2015! its world is currently being rewritten a decade later because i have cooler ideas now. the new look is kind of sci-fi / fantasy and indigenous futurism. ESSENTIALLY a fantasy world with solarpunk cities and robotic monsters.

the earth is populated with 5 sapient species: - humans - you know the drill - standards - fully mechanical robots - primals - robots with natural armor like clay, stone, fabric, and pelts - ringers - evolved robots with organic, meaty insides and artificial outsides. slight shapeshifters (side note, im on the fence about the name. its been the same since 2015 but im not ready to change it) - kazmic - organic, electric creatures born from lightning that need to live inside a machine or they'll fizzle out. most often inside machines or bodies specially designed for them. also naturally parasitic to ringers

the species dont live in harmony, but there is a huge overlap in larger communities. ringers arent barred from humanoid society, but they arent always accommodated for, especially if they're over the size of a bus.

where the X au fits in, the maverick hunters are called rangers and they are kind of like the monster hunters in the universe. all ringers have the sapience of humans, BUT a majority will act like monsters. rangers are sent out to reason with ringers causing problems like pollution, destruction, or disease. if they won't cooperate they're forced to drive the ringer out of the area!

zero is the only high-ranking ringer on the team, there ARE ringers who are rangers but he doesnt see them often, they also are more monster shaped than he is. he doesnt feel connected to monsters because he was raised as a human, AND he doesnt feel connected to humans because he knows he isn't one.

x is a human with a cybernetic arm, i havent fleshed him out much yet. axl is a kazmic and usually lives inside an ATV if he isn't in his body. i havent decided if sigma is a human or a standard, but thatll totally depend on how i feel about his interactions with zero.

other notes on this AU- the rebellion army are almost entirely ringers or primals, redips is a kazmic but is disguised as a standard. his "god redips" form is his true form overtaking the tower he operates from and turning the entire thing into his body.

some designs! most of this is in the old style, i havent started working on the new style yet.

zero and master x, god x, harpuia leviathan, axl, zero and axl epsilon, god redips

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MMZX Infection AU | Legion visit doesn't go as planned

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hello my name is Rodion Raskolnikov and I hate my stupid baka life

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Crime and Punishment Ch. 1 so far: Raskolnikov is in debt and hates everybody. He’s proud and self-conscious and miserable. He’s dressed like trash but also apparently he’s a total hottie. A guy on the street calls him German hat guy and he beats himself up for being so stupid and conspicuous. He visits this old lady, whom he hates for being neat and a widow. Raskolnikov hates everybody.

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You are challenged by trainer Vent and Aile!

Aile team

Vent team

i'm not good at competitive games so don't come up at me about how suckass these team are >:D

Still, i should have set up their teams around a specific field effect, idk why, Vent is the only one who give me the vibe of Starlight Arena

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OKay @dumpsterfirepropaganda mentioned a ZX AU with Model Ws being like, a zombie-style infection and OF COURSE I had to brainstorm up a Model O variant over on the ZX Discord. So here's the summary lol.

The Model O strain was accidentally created when Vent and Aile, desperate for a cure, tried to see if Model O/Omega would be able to override the control and/or mutations of Model W. Vent/Aile just wanted to find a way to counteract the W virus, and Prairie's situation made them desperate so they went YOLO mode and unleashed a small model W infected into Area N and/or threw a model O at one because they knew Omega was the source of the original maverick virus. And they were hoping so hard that there would be an immunity there, or a poison-fights-cancer-first sort of thing (like radiation treatment, only with ancient maverick). But they only partly succeeded. Because yes Omega was technically immune (pissed off at them for throwing a model W at him though) and the O strain does indeed override the W virus… but it just makes things WORSE instead of better.

The O-strain infected retain more of their concious and soul instead of being completely consumed like the W-strain victims, but it also powers them up and makes them unpredictable and violent. (Model O & W double megamerge basically. Eff that.) Due to the nature of Area N, the O-strain has been imprisoned successfully, so far, in Area N... barely. Vent/Aile are secretly sitting with their metaphorical thumbs in the dam/dike and praying to whatever gods will listen that their mistake stays sealed away.

…what's worse is that you get the combined effect of Omega's control and the infectiousness of the W virus. OMEGA CAN CONTROL THE INFECTED. And possibly the only reason he hasn't controlled the infected en masse so far is that he's still sealed un Area N and Vent/Aile are ABSOLUTELY KEEPING IT THAT WAY.

It's known that Model W hosts often gain unwieldy or mobility-reducing mutations as their disease progresses. Omega strain hosts do not do this. Unlike W strains all of their mutations are often streamlined and deadly, almost seeming to have a purpose. They are "antisocial" compared to W hosts; they do not seek other infected victims in their end days to join together for an Ouroboros. Instead they seek to gain mass through violence, gaining mass solely for themselves… AKA they are much more independant. W-strain hosts get a homing instinct to beds to amalgamate. O-strain uses that homing instinct to gorge itself and make itself more powerful, and they will cannibalize W-strain hosts if the opportunity arises. …And, like, anything else within range too probably XD

In short... Where W's are bulky, intimidating tanks that can take a lot of damage but are slow as hell, O's are fast and vicious fuckers.

This sort of data is mostly conjecture and one or two cases. Thankfully Omega/O strains have been kept mostly contained. Only one O strain host accidentally breached the containment of Area N. It was NOT a fun experience.

If there's one saving grace, its that O-strain is much less contagious… or maybe the infected just kills any possible hosts too quickly…?

PS; no one even knew that the O host escapee was a different strain from other infected. Aile/Vent hunted that sucker down ASAP. It was just a terrifying outlier that thankfully never repeated, as far as most people (including the Masters of Legion) know.

Probably O strain hosts have red instead of white for some body parts and drip gooey black ichor. For the Aesthetic (tm).

Omega himself has long gone mad due to isolation and Weil's previous machinations, so combined with the virus he's become a monstrous foe not to be tangled with. He can mutate seemingly at will.

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MMZX Infection AU | Public Service Announcement

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MMZX Infection AU | Preventative measures aboard the Grande Nuage

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Got my hands on a scanner this weekend and so I can finally start posting my doodles from the MMZXA Infection AU we concocted in @tyrantchimera's MMZX-centric Discord server - props to @delightful-69 for coming up with the original idea and bringing it to life in awesome and terrifying ways!

The gist: In this universe, Model W behaves like a mechanical parasite, physically infecting and mutating Reploids (and Humanoids, to a much more limited degree) until they physically become Model Ws themselves. Grey is exposed to a Model W shortly after he and Ashe receive Model A, and it's a race against the clock to find a cure before he's totally assimilated. Megamerging seems to slow the process down a bit...

...but Ashe and Grey are desperate for a more permanent solution, because they've seen first-hand what happens when the infection is allowed to progress unchecked...

[dumpsterfirepropaganda]

Got my hands on a scanner this weekend and so I can finally start posting my doodles from the MMZXA Infection AU we concocted in @tyrantchimera's MMZX-centric Discord server - props to @delightful-69 for coming up with the original idea and bringing it to life in awesome and terrifying ways!

The gist: In this universe, Model W behaves like a mechanical parasite, physically infecting and mutating Reploids (and Humanoids, to a much more limited degree) until they physically become Model Ws themselves. Grey is exposed to a Model W shortly after he and Ashe receive Model A, and it's a race against the clock to find a cure before he's totally assimilated. Megamerging seems to slow the process down a bit...

...but Ashe and Grey are desperate for a more permanent solution, because they've seen first-hand what happens when the infection is allowed to progress unchecked...

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