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fernwehreader · 26 days ago

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Religious Symbolism in Gwynriel's Book

I saw an opinion yesterday about how Gwynriel’s book will include beautiful religious imagery (I believe the original post is from @winterinvelaris), and I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it all day. So, here we are with another overly lengthy ACOTAR analysis, lol.

But I really love this idea and agree that this is likely some of what we’ll encounter in an ACOTAR 5/Gwynriel book, and I’d love to share what’s on my mind as I consider this. [Somewhat related, I have thoughts on this as it connects to SJM’s “Guilty As Sin” instagram story from April 2024 - but I think I’m going to save that for a separate post. 🙂]

So, SJM’s academic minor at Hamilton College was in religious studies, and we know through her writing that she is well-versed when it comes to religion and mythology. We’ve already seen some religious imagery as it pertains to Azriel and Gwyn, and I’m of the mind that we’re going to see this further explored through their novel given the groundwork SJM has laid in addition to her own interest and understanding of religious studies. My thoughts mostly center around Azriel (which is unsurprising given my belief he’ll be the primary lead of the next novel), but I do relate some of this back to Gwyn and the priestesses, too.

What’s in a name?

Azriel’s name (Azrael) alone has religious significance in both Judaism and Islam, known as the Angel of Death. Azrael in Hebrew means “whom God helps.” And, according to an EBSCOhost article (linked at the end):

“He plays a crucial role in facilitating the transition of souls from life to death . . . In Judaism, Azrael is depicted as a formidable angel who carries out God’s orders, sometimes portrayed as a compassionate being who comforts those grieving the loss of a loved one. In Islamic tradition, he . . . is described as one of the four archangels, tasked with separating souls from their bodies at death. . . . Azrael’s role extends beyond just death; he is believed to assist individuals during significant life transitions, providing support and solace to those navigating change.”

OK – so, obviously there is a lot here to unpack and this would be worthy of an analysis post on its own. But clearly our Azriel’s name wasn’t just chosen based on vibes. SJM would have been intentional about this choice many years ago, particularly as a religious studies student. I’m also quite interested in the last part of the above quote and if it may have any relevance to Gwyn and how we find her after the Blood Rite. During the Rite, Gwyn told her sisters she "was tired" of living in the Library and seemed ready to move forward. Yet, at the end of ACOSF, Nesta tells us that Gwyn "returned to living in the library" after the Rite. So, perhaps Azriel and Gwyn may help each other through their healing journeys together, as they "navigate change" during their "significant life transitions."

Azriel’s inner struggles . . . of which there are many.

While I certainly can’t know for sure whether SJM intended for this parallel, Azriel’s sacrificial tendencies stand out to me first and foremost in terms of religious symbolism. He silently bears pain for the good of others, for his family, for his own sense of self-worth, etc. Do I think we are meant to look at Azriel as a Christ-like figure? No, I don’t. But the theme of sacrifice can certainly be rooted in religious ideas and imagery. There is a sense of self-imposed martyrdom that seems to be at the core of Azriel’s inner struggles.

Additionally, a book centered on Azriel would almost certainly include a religious or spiritual exploration of inner transformation and finally confronting difficult emotions and truths within himself – ironic for the character who wields a blade named Truth-Teller. Although we are meant to largely associate the idea of “Truth” with Morrigan, I often think about Azriel instead. His role as spymaster is filled with symbolism. He carries the weight of others' truths – but not his own. He’s a vessel for everyone else’s confessions, and yet he rarely voices his own.

As part of this, we begin to see that Azriel has an ingrained belief that joy, love, and belonging are luxuries afforded to others, not to him. It’s heartbreaking in ACOSF when Cassian and Azriel discuss children after finding out they will soon be uncles. Cassian asks:

“Do you want a child?” “It doesn’t matter what I want.” Distant words – ones that prevented Cassian from prying further.

This reveals the depth of Azriel’s emotional repression and his disconnection – you could argue a denial of his own truth. This does not sound like someone who is being truthful here with either Cassian or with himself. So the next logical question is WHY? Why does it not matter what Azriel wants? This seems to indicate that YES, he does want a child or a family of his own. But he has repressed this notion, this truth – perhaps as part of that self-imposed martyrdom.

Of course, readers are well aware of his 500+ years of longing for Mor. But the conversation above with Cassian pulls back more of the curtain and allows us to glimpse more of Azriel as we’re led into his primary POV novel. He is ripe for a spiritual transformation based on these notions of truth and emotional repression. A religious or spiritual arc for him would address this head-on . . . otherwise, why else would SJM be keying the reader into these glimpses of Azriel? Because we are meant to see how Azriel grows from this. Religious themes of transformation often include steps such as confession, forgiveness, acceptance, and rebirth. Azriel certainly seems like he could benefit from such a journey and needs to work through these steps. And who better to walk beside him on that journey than a literal priestess? 🙂

Gwyn, The Priestesses, and the Library . . . SANCTUARY! FORGIVENESS!

Religious imagery is already present as a natural part of Gwyn’s identity as a priestess – a religious term in and of itself. But, from the moment we meet Gwyn, she allows the reader a closer glimpse of the priestess world. While we already had some exposure to the nature of priestesses in Prythian due to Ianthe and earlier scenes in the House of Wind or with Clotho, Gwyn gives us our firmest understanding yet.

We learn the full extent to which The Library, the space in which Gwyn lives and works (and doesn’t leave!), functions as a holy space. And there is a specific word that keeps popping up in reference to it.

Nesta narrates in ACOSF that the Library:

“was their sanctuary, gifted to them by Rhysand.”

Later, Cassian uses the same terminology:

“A sanctuary for females who’d endured such unspeakable horrors.”

Again, given SJM’s religious studies background, I do find the repeated use of the word “sanctuary” to be intentional instead of phrasing it more casually (“safe space,” for example). So, this tells me that it’s worth examining more closely.

Britannica defines “sanctuary” as a religious term which includes three descriptions:

A sacred place . . . where the divine or sacred was believed to be especially present

Through Gwyn we learn that the priestesses worship The Mother in this space, and we even get to see Gwyn sing at one of these services. The Library is indeed a sacred place for Gwyn where she gets to bask in her love of music, and she is thrilled when she gets to share that experience with Nesta.

Reserved for special religious functions, and a state of purity was required of participants

Hold this thought for now . . . I’m going to come back to this when I do my analysis post on “Guilty As Sin.”

It became a place of asylum for criminals

I want to focus on this last description the most. In this historical context, we often hear the phrase “seeking sanctuary” or “seeking asylum” as it pertains to fugitives or criminals.

While Azriel may not be a criminal in the eyes of the Night Court, he for sure seems to be a male at war with himself. He tortures. He kills. He lies. He bears secrets and pain few others could begin to understand. Although as close readers we understand Azriel on a more nuanced level, through a moral and spiritual lens, he appears to be a contrast to “purity” – and I think it’s safe to argue that Azriel likely also views himself this way (hence, the immense display of self-hatred we see on display when he interacts with Elain and Rhys in his bonus chapter, when he looks at his hands, when he tells Cassian it doesn’t matter if he wants a child, etc.).

So, why do I bring this up? Well, what does Azriel do after those moments with Elain and Rhys in his bonus chapter? He seeks sanctuary. He flees away from his perceived danger and immediately interacts with a literal priestess. The next day, he walks into the Library – the priestesses’ literal sanctuary and place of sacred refuge and worship and talks with the head priestess.

I do find it interesting that we get this exact phrasing regarding Azriel earlier in the series in ACOMAF. Before the Inner Circle goes out to dinner, Feyre notes:

“I assumed Azriel was nearby, seeking sanctuary in the shadows.”

This seems notable to me. In the book where we first meet him, we get this very specific literary allusion to a religious practice. Then, multiple books later, what is the place that SJM is hammering over our heads as a literal sanctuary? The Library!

I think we’d be unwise to discount the important role that the priestesses and/or the physical Library space may serve in Azriel’s book. Not only for the reasons above, but for what Cassian also tells us in ACOSF. When thinking about the Library, Cassian

“wondered if Azriel’s mother had ever considered coming here, or if he’d ever pushed her to.”

Again, my favorite question immediately follows this: SO WHAT? Why bother mentioning this? My money is on the fact that we will not only (finally!) meet Azriel’s mother, but the Library and the priestesses will have some part to play in her introduction . . . and, once more, this is just one more way in which Azriel and Gwyn can find connection with each other and walk together on their healing journeys.

Lastly, relating to all this, there is also the notion that seeking asylum historically in Catholic churches was two-fold: it offered physical protection, but individuals could also choose to seek absolution or confession of sins, which then ultimately led to forgiveness. Azriel seems to carry his burdens and self-loathing like penance, with no hope for absolution. So, I’ll be curious to see how this may play out.

Will Azriel seek forgiveness at all in his book? Is all of this foreshadowing? Of course we won’t know until ACOTAR 5 is released. But I can’t help but wonder how important the literal, physical Library space (and perhaps Clotho) will be to Azriel as he embarks on this spiritual path as part of his story . . . in addition to Gwyn’s role in all of this. Perhaps Gwyn will embody a more symbolic representation of this by becoming Azriel’s place of spiritual asylum and emotional rebirth.

At the end of the day . . .

Ultimately, we will see how much SJM may lean into religious imagery in the next book. But as someone who loves analyzing literature and looking for literary patterns, I find the religious juxtaposition between Azriel and Gwyn to be beautiful, fascinating, and ripe for such rich storytelling and symbolism: the fallen angel/sinner and the priestess. Both come to the table with their unique traumas and wounds to somehow meet in the middle and heal together. I find the possibility of that spiritual connection to be quite exciting and different from other romantic pairings SJM has explored so far. We shall see!

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*link to EBSCO article

*link to Britannica article

#acotar #acotar 5 #sjmaas #azriel #azriel shadowsinger #gwyneth berdara #gwyn x azriel #gwynriel #pro gwynriel #gwynriel supremacy #pro gwyneth berdara

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puc-puggy · 10 months ago

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really fascinated with deadpool & wolverine less as a movie and more as a corporate response to the growing insecurity in relating to and creating meaningful art. like, never have we been more aware of the impact that the relationship between art and artist is oppressively mediated by Corporation than right now with marvel, whose movies grow continually worse and more forgettable under growing corporate control, and this movie bears the weight of a particularly complicated and contentious merger. what they decided to do about it is just. fascinating. disturbing, but fascinating.

the movie is incredibly aware that it is a Product and seems to have completely sidestepped any attempt at meaningful storyline in lieu of packing as much Content into 2.5 hours as possible. and I mean Content. they broke him up with his girl & separated him from all his meaningful character connections, then sent him through a very funny but disjointed and lackluster plot, putting all the meat in nostalgic character interactions or gratuitous fan-pleaser match-ups that can work as tiktok clips. don't get me wrong, i'm a basic x-men bitch. wolverine is one of my all time favorites, especially early angry fucked up alcoholic logan. i gasped at elektra and straight up screamed when wesley snipes came into frame. I laughed out loud at the list of cocaine slang terms disney apparently has. it was fun! it succeeded in making me not mind that it was barely a movie.

and that's the rub, isn't it? it was barely a movie, and it knows it’s barely a movie. but it still has to connect with its audience somehow. and that, i think, is what's really fascinating. it forges its connection with the audience not by building characters or stakes and giving any of them genuinely grounded emotional arcs but by using a fourth-wall breaking character to commiserate with the audience about the impact of corporate ownership & profit on their relationship and access to the stories we love. while being the impact of corporate consolidation on stories you love.

deadpool makes jokes about his stupid villain and mcguffin machine, but the plot is still motivated by a stupid villain and a mcguffin machine. he jokes about being banned from doing cocaine on screen & does not do cocaine on screen because he can't. the corporation that now owns his IP has deemed it against their values. he jokes about what things "have to happen" in the movie because there is actually a list that they were given. as a friend pointed out, “the climax was exactly as contrived as it needed to be to make it a statement: ‘you see how this barely-fleshed-out villain character is just gonna kinda stand there in front of the macguffin machine for as long as we need her to so that we can have the conversations and tropes and results we want? yeah we're just gonna do that. we're gonna keep cutting back to her just standing there going Mmmmm mwah haha to specifically highlight how dumb it is. On purpose.’”

by embedding it in the plot with a character that breaks the fourth wall, the movie stops being “about” the plot on screen and starts being “about” the collective relationship to the characters, embodied by ryan reynolds, whose personal desire for a good deadpool & wolverine movie motivated by his pure love for deadpool is the mythological origin of the movie, and who was allowed to break character and say as himself to hugh jackman as wolverine “you have no idea how long i’ve been waiting for this.” he’s turned into a sort of avatar of the pure fan, who’s there to love the character and have fun and isn’t too bothered by logistics and legalities. it wants you to feel like deadpool also hates it when stories get shuffled because of corporate stockowners, like this extremely expensive bullshit is his personal protest and he's going to give them a proper sendoff & ryan reynolds was around to hold everyone up to standard. the corporation soothing the audience and fan that people who love the stories are ‘in charge’ enough to create a good time, lowering your standards and expectations of a story to what’s profitable for them to create.

kind of genius.

#deadpool #deadpool and wolverine

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polysucks · 21 days ago

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How do you feel about cats? I desperately wish asoiaf had more of them

I love cats, personally. I got two of them! I also have two dogs! I’m more of a cat person than a dog person, but I love both :3

But, as you know, I’m fuckin insane, so of course I had to use your ask as a platform to talk about how Peepaw Greg uses cat and dog symbolism in the series.

So let’s talk meta about his usage of cat and dog themes in Westeros.

In asoiaf, gpa Greg makes big big use of canine and lupine symbolism—most notably through the Starks and their direwolves—to explore some themes of loyalty, survival, identity, and instinct. The prevalence of dog-adjacent imagery, from the feral wildness of the direwolves to the brutalized obedience of people like Sandor Clegane, speaks to a deeper thematic preoccupation with what it means to belong (hypergeneralized) like. to a family, to a code, to a pack. Wolves and dogs in peepaw’s world are not literally animals, they’re totems of identity and indicative to some degree of fate that becomes perpendicular with the moral and emotional arcs of the characters they shadow.

By contrast, feline imagery like the Lannisters’ cunty lion sigil remains largely heraldic and aesthetic rather than emotionally or thematically embedded. Lions in the series symbolize institutional pride, legacy, and power, but lack the dynamic intimacy of the wolves. They are mythologized apex predators, ya sure ok, but predators in captivity, not the wild. They’ve lost their instincts. Their strength is theatrical. Their claws have become ceremonial.

The Lannisters aren’t predatory like their avatar so to speak. They’re curated. Groomed. Caged in gold and politics and perception. They hiss and bite, but most of them are bound by visage and expectation:

• Tywin is the lion’s roar—but it’s hollow in the end. He dies on the toilet. Womp womp (I laugh errytime)

• Cersei sees herself as a lioness, but she spirals into paranoia and ineffectual tyranny. (Literally just an evil slut. Smooth brain. No thoughts, just vanity. Yas queen go offffffff)

• Jaime begins as the golden lion but is declawed—literally—and only becomes compelling once he sheds that identity. (Smol. Must be protected at all costs.)

• Tyrion, the runt of the litter, understands the lion’s mold enough to break it—and it nearly destroys him. (I mean it kinda does long long term. I love who he becomes in adwd)

The Rains of Castamere goes fuckin HARD and underscores their obsession with legacy through intimidation (BECAUSE OF ONEEEEEEEE TIME. IT WAS ONE TIME. LIKE ITS NOT HARD TO ERADICATE THE ENTIRETY OF 2 HOUSE LINEAGES ESPECIALLY IF THEYRE SWORN UNDER YOU IM SORRY TYWIN BUT THATS NOT the fLEX YOU THINK IT IS im sorry okay back to our regularly scheduled insanity)

— A Storm of Swords, Catelyn VII

— A Storm of Swords, Arya VII

This isn’t a simple cats vs. dogs dichotomy. It’s about what these animals represent. Wolves and hound imagery when used in asoiaf evoke loyalty, instinct, and interdependence. Lions (or generally, feline figures which, I note, are very few) represent arrogance, isolation, and the brittle weight of legacy. Martin privileges the canine because his world favors those who endure—not those who posture. True survival in Westeros depends on bonds, not bloodlines; on pack over pride. (Get it? Bc a ‘pride’ is a pack? A pack of lions? Like the phrase blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb? Get it? Ok I’ll see myself out no need to call security)

While the thematic imbalance may seem skewed toward the wolf, this asymmetry is deliberate!!! The lion isn’t underdeveloped—it’s hollowed. It stands as a symbol of inherited power, not earned strength. Like Famous Disabled Worker Rights Advocate and Cheese Enthusiast Magister Illyrio once said

— A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion I

The lions of Westeros roar from red keeps and golden thrones (toilet thrones, am I right? Huh? Eh?), but they are trapped by politics, legacy, and illusion. Their power is a spectacle maintained through fear, maintained through myth. They ain’t even got the fundage to back it up. Pull up, Cersei. The wolves, by comparison, represent power that is quiet, blood-won, and bone-deep. They do not command; they endure. They are not elevated by institutions, but by instinct.

Each direwolf’s fate mirrors their Stark:

• Lady’s unjust execution reflects Sansa’s theft of innocence and disconnection due to her loss of identity and lack of companionship.

• Grey Wind’s death during the Red Wedding marks Robb’s failure to heed instinct, and his transformation from noble heir to vengeful pretender.

• Nymeria’s independence parallels Arya’s exile and self-determination, leading a pack in the Riverlands as Arya learns to lead her own life beyond names.

• Shaggydog’s ferality reflects Rickon’s descent into chaos without guidance or protection or intervention.

• Summer’s sacrifice anchors Bran’s transformation into something inhuman, but still bound to loyalty and vision.

• Ghost, albino and silent, is Jon’s mirror: othered, introspective, and spectral. A quiet nod, too, to his secret Targaryen bloodline. (Suck my ass it’s canon)

These direwolves are not pets. They’re living metaphors and fragments of soul and fate.

So no—I don’t think the series needs more cats! Their absence is the point. The feline is not underused; it is overestimated, just like the legacy it represents. Lions are only dangerous when the wolves are gone.

And besides—when Martin did give us a Cat, he had her butchered at a wedding and threw her body in a river. He killed her. Then he brought her back. Then he killed her again—socially, narratively, and emotionally.

So… maybe we’re good on cats.

Rip cat you woulda loved the MILF category on pornhub <3

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real-batman-thinker · 4 months ago

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People say that dc stands for disregard canon and haha yes funny but also let’s talk about that. It’s is literally a modern mythology!

(Spoiler: I can love and hate Bruce Wayne and all of your headcanons are actually canon)

The idea of “canon” is actually quite new in terms of human storytelling goes. Especially before we started writing non-religious texts, we have spent centuries we were telling ourselves and our communities the variations of the same stories over and over again.

Our memories aren’t perfect and the stories aren’t being told in a vacuum. This meant that each version shifted to meet the storyteller, story receiver, and the context in which it’s told.

This meant that while there was some nebulous core that all the variants of a story floated around, there was a level of flexibility embedded into the medium.

That’s why, for example, we can see so many different variations of Greek myths all claiming to be the “real truthful version” of the myth. It’s not that alternative versions of the myth were lies or uninformed, it’s just that the myth was too big to be held by any one story.

Similarly, DC comics and their characters have been in public imagination for 100~ years. These stories and characters are MASSIVE. There is no possible way to contain it all in one story, and that wouldn’t be fun or impactful, hence, why they are always resetting things.

It is also helpful to think about collective storytelling and the fact that even specific comic runs are rarely the result of one individual lone wolfing it out.

So if we know that the DC world is too big to be confined to a single story, that those stories are collectively created, AND that stories exist to fill needs – then all our fan speculation here is contributing to the myth of the DC characters!

If there is a need for themes/strengths/moral lessons that speak to the tumblr audience and if the story can fit, and still be identified as being in line enough with the original myth, that it is a part of the mythology (as simple as that)!

And I know there tends to be this weird reverence for commercialized work (and an inverse undervaluing of the importance of fan works), BUT with how long DC has been running it is likely that every person who has been contributing to the comics (at least for the past forty years) was once a fan. It has always been fan-work.

But yeah, as long as you can make a compelling argument for it’s connection to the nebulous story core (and such arguements whether implicit or explicit are necessary for any head canon/interpretation to go viral on this website) then you are joining your ancestors in a long line of contribution to mythology!

Happy myth making :)

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bobbile-blog · 1 year ago

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Okay so I've finally gotten to Jessicalter's Oprec and now feel qualified to talk about Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures. holy shit. This went straight into my list of top Arknights events. Fantastic event, spoilers will be under the cut so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading the event first. It's really good and worth your while.

Anyway, what follows is a scattered mess of thoughts about this event and things that stuck out to me.

First off, plot stuff! I'll probably cover this when I do my next plotline recap post, but what I took away from the end is that Clip Cliff seems to want to make Blacksteel independent, or at least more self-determining than it is now. He seems to be gathering resources and assets like mobile city plates and investing in long-term infrastructure like merc training, so he definitely has a long game he's pushing for. I don't think we know enough go speculate about his goals, but we'll definitely be coming back here again. After all, Tila has an infection monitor in her art, which probably means she's going to be playable at some point in the future.

Next, having looked into this a little on my own, I was interested in some of the previous places Raythean has shown up. Specifically, the ones that stood out were the drones in the Kazimierz Major and arming Silverash's forces in Kjerag, which might be referring to the Tschäggättä. It's not just notable for their apparent level of technology, but also as a faint connecting thread between three separate capitalism plotlines. I don't know if that's going to be meaningful in the future, but I found it interesting enough that I thought I'd bring it up.

Now on to more narrative things. While I love Liskarm and Franka, I do think it was the right choice to give them less screen time in this event. They're both (for the most part) fully-realized characters who understand their own motivations and morals. This is above all else an event about Jessica learning to stand on her own as an adult, so it makes sense that they're more here to support her than they are to play their own roles in the story.

Speaking of said roles, I liked the event's commentary on cops. It pointed out an interesting distinction that I wouldn't really have ever thought of, that between mercenaries and cops. To start: cops exist to protect property, not people. The police exist to protect things and do not have an obligation to err on the side of people over things, and in fact are supposed to do the opposite. This event understands that, and that role os the core of how the bank treats the Blacksteel mercs. CV, however, raises an interesting point that mercenaries are bound by the letter of a contract and not the larger obligation to property cops are, so they can actually raise moral objections and point to their contracts, sort of a Lawful Evil/Lawful Neutral to cops' Neutral Evil. The independence of their position with respect to cops allows for more of an independent morality than you'd get in a cop story and I like that, I think it's a really smart direction to take your writing in.

On a (mostly) separate note, holy shit Arknights is really good at writing cowboy stories. Between this and chapter 9 (and I would argue An Obscure Wanderer), Arknights has repeatedly made it clear that they Do Not Fuck Around with their cowboy stories and I'm surprised I haven't heard more people talking about it. It kinda has everything:

- It takes place in a rural, working-class setting undergoing a larger imminent societal shift that can inform the larger narrative, and deals with a semi-mythologized past that is rapidly disappearing.

- It has a protagonist and an antagonist that serve as foils, both very heavily affected and defined by the (same) violence in their past that they've both had different reactions to. Our protagonist has come to terms with the violence as a tool to maintain order, while our antagonist has used it for personal gain and in some ways lost control of it.

- It's a story about community, and heavily emphasizes local and personal community over larger artificial corporate "community". That's my reading of the recurring motif of the cold btw, warmth represents the close, personal community Davistown used to have and the cold that now pervades it comes from how the bank has systematically dismantled that community.

- And, I'd argue most importantly, it understands the narrative power of a bullet. The Showdown at the end of a cowboy story is powerful because we've spent the entire runtime of our story with these characters, and they are now facing each other down with the intent to end one of their collective two stories. The entire weight of the narrative so far comes to rest on a single moment of tension. It's really hard to gather up the kind of narrative momentum you need to make that hit like it does in CV. For example, it requires a really light hand with actual action in the story, so that it really does feel like it's an even standoff between our protagonist and antagonist. On the other hand, though, you do actually have to establish the relative skill of both parties and actually sell the danger of the moment to the audience. It's really hard to toe the line between tension and actual action in a way that makes for a satisfying resolution, and CV does it extremely well.

Honestly, Arknights just seems really good at getting the vibes of American media right. This is something I noticed in DV and Lonetrail too, and I haven't really been able to put my finger on what it is about them, but the vibes are just really on-point. I want to write more about this at a later point once I actually figure out what it is that I'm feeling, but maybe it's the setting, maybe it's the cast, maybe it's the plot points, maybe it's something in between — it just seems to understand the spirit of period cowboy stories in a way that I can't describe. Good shit.

Finally, I wanna end this with where Jessica is now. The events of CV take place In between the events of Loneterail and Ideal City, so the current "now" of the story is a few months ahead. Jessica left for the frontier along with Woody, Helena, and Miles. They live together in a small new settlement, building the place from the ground up with Woody and Jessica acting as town sherrifs. At the point we're at now, rhe town is fairly well-established and Woody has temporarily left on other business, leaving Jessica the sole sherrif of their new settlement. However, she's risen to her new station, and is growing into a stronger person than she ever was before.

#arknights #come catastrophes or wakes of vultures #jessica the liberated #Arknights thoughts

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thydungeongal · 10 months ago

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It is known that your favorite edition of D&D is B/X, but setting that one and its Basic ilk aside, what is something in each "mainline" edition that you think makes that one shine bright, something it does great like none of the others? Mainline here meaning the original, both AD&Ds, and the three WotC editions (counting 3rd as one edition).

There's a lot to love about each edition of D&D, yeah!

The original game, or 0D&D as a lot of people call it, is truly a weird little mess of rules that regardless laid the groundwork for a lot of things to come, but I think it should be seen as more than just a weird prototype of better things to come. It is ultimately the predecessor to both Basic and Advanced and while those games are very different in terms of play, looking at 0D&D it's easy to see where both games got their ideas and how they decided to iterate on them. But at the end of the day 0D&D still stands apart from the others in the sense that it was an exciting new frontier of play and as such the game's text is also very open to wild adventures. The game openly promotes the idea of adding robots and aliens into the list of monsters, because why not, there's no clear shape of what D&D as a game and genre even looks like yet, so why not let it be whatever you want? It also has lots of procedures in place for creating extremely cool emergent interactions which no other edition since has done! Like, orcs can be encountered with huge caravans of gold! Sometimes orcs are lead by a dragon or a Balrog or an ogre! It's weird and fun!

AD&D 1e is ultimately an evolution of 0D&D, and in many ways it's like 0D&D + its supplements + a bunch of neat tricks learned on the way. Ultimately what sets AD&D 1e apart from the other editions for me is the absolute wealth of procedures in the DMG for helping the DM create and run a world that feels like a living, breathing place! And there's so much guidance for how to start a campaign with small beginnings and then let it expand in scope!

AD&D 2e is actually my second favorite TSR edition in terms of rules text. There's a lot to be said about AD&D 2e being a clear step away from the original playstyle of the Dungeon Game, and it's most apparent in the way the game got rid of procedures for creating your own dungeons and stocking them with treasures, but the actual rules for playing and running the game are probably the clearest AD&D has ever been. I also feel 2e was the era when the greater shape of D&D as the game we know it as today started to form: while a lot of the stuff that we associate D&D with has been there since the beginning, I feel AD&D 2e is when things finally start to take on their ultimate D&Dness, if that makes sense?

D&D 3e I'm extremely fond of because it was actually my first edition of D&D, but beyond that, taken on its own terms, D&D 3e is unparalleled among the D&Ds in terms of how systemic its rules are. D&D 3e was kind of a mess when it came to the quality of its rules and what sorts of outcomes they produced, but I still love the dang thing because the underlying philosophy is extremely ambitious and cool! AD&D 1e is the edition with procedures to help the DM generate the world; AD&D 2e has lots of really cool rules and procedures that almost make the game run itself; D&D 3e has a physics engine that could make the act of play almost feel like an immersive sim! I understand why very few games have attempted to replicate that systemic design of D&D 3e, but I think there's a lot of cool stuff there.

D&D 4e is the most fun the combat minigame of D&D has ever been and it has unironically the coolest worldbuilding of all editions of D&D. I feel we've talked enough about how D&D 4e is actually extremely cool and for attractive people who like tactical combat, so let's focus on the worldbuilding: D&D 4e mixed up the cosmology of D&D in a way that made it feel like something from mythology instead of a neatly laid out world model. Being a B/X fan I of course love it when the implicit cosmic struggle is one of order versus chaos, and D&D 4e pretty much brought that back! All the major conflicts of D&D 4e's cosmology hinge on the conflict between order and chaos, and it actually adds nuance to what could otherwise be an extremely black and white cosmic struggle. The D&D 4e cosmology is messy and mythic and feels like it works on fantasy logic instead of the weird mystic science that ultimately powers the D&D cosmology of other editions.

And finally, D&D 5e. While I am a vocal 5e hater it has less to do with the game itself and more to do with its suffocating effect on the hobby, because as a game it's got a lot of cool design in places. Concentration is a really elegant fix to the game plan of just stacking all your buffs before combat and then wading in. Advantage/Disadvantage does away with the minutiae of adding together a bunch of different bonuses from various sources and does it in a way that is both mathematically satisfying but also really fun in play! Rolling more dice is fun!!! The way critical hits are handled, via just doubling the number of dice rolled and keeping the modifier the same, is great, because you get the "rolling more dice is fun" factor without the doubling of modifiers that had the potential to cause slowdown in D&D 3e. I like the addition of background as a character creation axis alongside class and species!

#thydungeongal answers

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spearminthe · 4 months ago

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Min, they/them • 29 • 🔞 selfship sideblog (follows from @necroromancers)

welcome to my fucked up little wing in the House of Hades, where I talk to the wall about about sexualizing that soggy divorceguy with the lyre

this blog serves as a place for me to loredump and shitpost about my Hades self-insert, but may also act as a general Hades blog since I think about it way too much (and as such, may contain tagged Hades II spoiler discussion)

🌿 my S/I: Minthe — they/them, shade, late twenties (at time of death). former practitioner of funerary rites when living, now employed as House Artisan to the House of Hades

note: no relation to the nymph, Minthe, of Greek mythology; they simply share a namesake and mint-related theming

🎶 my F/O: Orpheus — he/they, shade. acclaimed bard and poet, not-so-acclaimed Underworld rescuer, Court Musician to the House of Hades. AKA Orph, funny little bard

note: Minthe's story revolves around a divergence from mainline game canon where Orpheus and Eurydice are (initially?) unable to reconcile their relationship. while their own "canonical" lore primarily focuses on a monogamous union with Orpheus, Eurydice obviously holds deep significance in his own story and may sometimes feature as a third in their dynamic for funsies (and because she's prebby)

orphydice-only girlies don't worry I still fw you. not too sure how I feel about other yumes who have taken Orph as an F/O yet (not that I imagine there are very many), but I think I lean towards non-sharing unless we're mutuals

no fandom or shipping related discourse whatsoever...if you make being pro or anti a prominent part of your personality, I'm too old and frankly don't wanna deal with it...but also if you partake in shipping content pertaining to incest, minors, or ferals, don't talk to me lmao. if you simply must fit everybody into a neat little box lacking of nuance, just consider me neutral and use your discretion from there. be aware that I reblog prompts/imagines/etc. freely from users of either side, but I do usually try to show favor to ones that don't have use exclusionary language

anyway with all that out of the way let's play dolls eheh

📜 tag directory

a muse's musings — commentary and general yapping

a poet's parables — lore dumps and speculative ideas

the gallery — original art posts/doodles | wip — unfinished works

the collection — other orphinthe posts

the music stand — music themed posts

parcels — answered asks

the surface — photos from the corporeal realm

codex entries — original selfship posts | charon's well — general selfship posts

dear poet darling poet — Orpheus' image collection

like an oaken refuge — Eurydice's image collection

lithe hands and steady branches — orphydice image collection

infernal imagery — general Hades art collection

stygian snapshots — official/in-game images

🌿 | 🎶 | 🍂 — mincore, orphcore, and eurycore themed reblogs

🌿🎶 | 🎶🍂 | 🌿🎶🍂 — ship-specific themed reblogs

underworld denizens — reblogs featuring other users' Hades S/I's or OCs

others' ships — reblogs featuring other users' selfships

others' works — reblogs featuring other users' general art/writing

others' promos — reblogs featuring other users' promotional posts

the following terms may be worth filtering for the sake of streamlining your browsing experience:

nsft, suggestive, tmi, self reblog, polls, hades 2 spoilers

#self ship #selfship #yumeship #oc x canon #selfshipping #self shipping #yume shipping #yumeshipping #yume ship #yume community #self ship community #f/o x s/i #s/i x canon #self insert x canon #yumeblr

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butterfly-ribbon · 5 months ago

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i was thinking about mizuki's gender being listed as unknown again and how everyone else has an explicit mention. people tried to point at that to say she's either not trans OR that she isn't a tgirl (instead a different kind of trans) at some point, but i think that… actively misunderstands the internal intent of the game. like this was done so people wouldn't assume she's a cis girl and i also think there's an active intent in noting that, but not wanting to say "gender = male" bc this would be misgendering (duh) and for a character who's burying so much of her gender struggles bc of how others deny it, i think it makes sense. there's a struggle, i think, in writing and exploring trans narratives that engage with that… question? idk. maybe it would be better if she was just noted as female from the start and i think she's overdue for that especially after ena5, but i also think there's so much nuance in how she's portrayed that i see saying her gender is "?" isn't meant to actually be a declaration of her gender or meant for the reader to question what her gender is.

in many cases, trans girls are already automatically shunted into that expectation of either a fetish or wish fulfillment (which in many ways are the same thing at a certain point) and that's the conceit of her introduction in the main story in terms of how everyone treats her as an exhibition at school - she's fetishistically mythologized and vilified as an Other type of girl, which is something she tries to reclaim by hiding behind the facade of the Mysterious Manic Pixie Dream (Cis) Girl when she's around niigo bc it's the only way she feels like she can be with them without imposing on them or getting close enough to them to the point of having to reveal her secret due to her desire to avoid being hurt. it's wild to me that the consensus in the past about her was that she's anything but a trans girl when the treatment she's subjected to at the school is textbook transmisogyny and this is something we see immediately in the main story.

people are constantly fetishizing her and treating her like an object to be ogled at. she's constantly under the threat of violence. even when she puts so much work into pushing back just through being full of energy and looking "past" it all, they never stop. there's nothing she can do about a society that refuses to recognize her as a person, much like mafuyu can't do anything to change her own mother.

at most she gets told by others that this person is "just not used to her yet". terrible implications all around bc she's made to feel as though people are just putting up with her existence instead of making the effort to understand something that should be simple about who she is, which makes her feel terrible after she's put so much effort into both explaining herself and making herself as palatable as possible?

i think there are some valid criticism to be raised about how marking mizuki as "unknown" and how it might've contributed to people writing her off as "neither a girl nor boy" and the unfortunate parallels with degendering/third sexing therein. if i were to engage in good faith, i'd say the intent is draw attention to mizuki's gender struggles and make the reader interrogate that (and then ideally arriving at the answer being that she's a trans girl), but i still stand by my take that ena5 should've had her refer to herself as a girl explicitly to reclaim the way she was outed previously. it also always felt like the equivalent of mafumom being 'hidden' due to mafuyu's perception of her as a figure of authority rather than a person until kanade saw her for the awful person she is. in this case mizuki's "unknown" is also meant to tie into her own internalized transmisogyny (e.g. referring to herself as an artificial flower in many songs). mizuki herself plays into the degendering she's been subjected to for her entire life in many ways … we know that in the beginning of high school she actually made effort to explain herself to others and they didn't get it? she presumably said that she's a trans girl but she wasn't taken seriously. now she just finds it exhausting to explain anything and she doesn't want to feel like she constantly has to prove that a trans girl is just a type of girl so she's just like "that's me. i do this bc i wanna be me. this is the person i am, why the hell do you think i would do this, why would i dress this way, why would I put up with people like you if it wasn't obvious." i think there's also a lot we can engage with in terms of the presentation of mizuki which is wholly under her own control vs that which is outside of her control... mizuki finds comfort in niigo and connecting with girls over discord bc she can rewrite her life in such a way to as to obscure her own transness like when she narrates her backstory. the fact that the details of her trauma are so carefully hidden carries a strong intent bc it reads as mizuki's renarrativization due to not wanting to get too much into detail about her own trauma? it feels very meta considering mizuki's genre saviness and the fact that most transfeminine narratives tend to indulge in transmisogynistic violence in really voyeuristic ways... we know mizuki had numerous traumatic coming out moments and i think there's so much to read into the ambiguity around this... she's frankly constantly under the treat of SA as well as a trans girl, but i just appreciate that this is something the writing treats respectfully and affords her so much dignity. to be trans in many contexts is to be expected to give over so much of yourself to people who frequently won't care, won't actually understand how much of yourself you're giving over, and will actively rewrite your narrative to define who you are for you based on their own prejudices… and mizuki communicates that well bc she's allowed to be almost wholly in control of her presentation and her narrative.

#project sekai #gamo.txt

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yuseirra · 1 month ago

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I hope this series doesn’t get any more anime adaptations... I really don’t think it’s the kind of work that should be animated.

Since I draw a lot of fanart for this series and talk about it often, some people might think, “Oh, this person must really love and cherish this manga. They must be deeply attached to it.”

However, this is also how I feel about this work at this point in time. I think it lacks responsibility and insight in terms of the many things it handles, and thus, it shouldn't be given the spotlight and attention it'd been given. I don't think it deserves this high-quality anime adaptation, I'm afraid to see the later scenes in this manga get flashy animations and have it move about, even though it will contain my personal favorite arc. I don't have any expectations of this work to handle its subject material respectfully, because, well, look at what happened in the end. Not only is it objectively bad, it's going to hurt people because of how carelessly it handled things, and I don't want it to be spread around in a more approachable form. As much as I like some of the things it offers, I feel It's not a desirable thing to happen.

Of course, there are a few relationships or characters I do like. For example, I genuinely believe the protagonist’s parents were really happy together, and their relationship was very good. I think they were truly happy when they were together. And even if there were some misunderstandings between them, I don’t think either of them did anything particularly bad. That thing revealed at the very end — that’s the real truth. That’s why it was shown that way. It had to be brought up. I knew it would be.

I caught onto that the moment Fatal dropped, and I thought, “Ah, he’s probably not the culprit,” and that’s what drew me in!! I really guessed everything correctly. I figured out the truth before it was revealed.

Here’s the thing: surprisingly, if you look closely at how those two treat each other — their way of thinking, how they respond to one another — it’s all the kind of behavior that comes from truly treasuring someone. When you really analyze it, there’s almost no ill will between them. (Hikaru saying Ai had a cruel side — that’s just a fact. And Fatal is his song, and so, yes, he did say she hurt him <— but even that, from his point of view, is a perfectly understandable thing to say. The emotion behind it is something like: “You did hurt me, but even so, you were the only one who did something for me, even in that way. I really loved you. I miss you so much.” That’s pure, overwhelming love. He wouldn’t have hurt Ai — I’ve said this so many times already.)

So yes, I do like their dynamic and the way some characters were crafted. I can think of a lot of things between them.

And if my interpretation is correct, there were some mythological inspirations behind the setting. If so, that’s fresh, creative, and a sign of the author’s impressive imagination.

But if the author of this work were standing right in front of me, I would directly say, “I think there are more pros than cons if your work didn’t exist.” I’d look them straight in the eyes and say it. I know how cruel those words are. I write stories too, so I understand how precious a work can be to its author.

But it’s because I’ve analyzed and thought about it this much that I can say it.

If I hadn’t read this series, it would’ve spared me a lot of needless pain. I really think it went too far.

And yes, I’m calling it “needless” pain.

I can endure pain when it feels meaningful. I can even view it positively in that case.

But this work doesn’t offer meaningful insight to match the pain it causes.

What I really can’t forgive is the way the events unfold in the story — because I know these kinds of things actually happen in real life. If it were purely a fantasy story, I’d have said, “Ah, this author just enjoys writing stories like this. That’s fair,” and moved on.

But what happened to Ai — something very similar has actually happened in real life, maybe not in Japan, but in other countries. I’ve read about such cases. And I doubt it’s only one isolated incident.

For instance, there was a case where a crazed fan of a film director broke into the director’s home and murdered the family who happened to be there. So when the author incorporated something like that into the story, I thought they would treat it with the seriousness it deserves. I expected meaningful insight into such a tragedy. But instead, the plot just dragged on endlessly about whether the boyfriend was the culprit.

It dragged on and on — debating whether the boyfriend was a scumbag or not, what his true nature was, whether the twins would forgive him or not. And in the very last moment, when the boyfriend says, “I didn’t do anything,” there’s no real argument, no proper rebuttal, just vague nonsense. Then he is killed by the protagonist. Everything just fizzles out.

I understand what’s going on now. I understand what those characters are saying. But that's the very point I think the story should have made clear — it never did. And even if some readers managed to read into it that deeply, I don’t think it’s because the author intentionally led them there. Rather, it's the opposite. This author decides to deliberately hide things and accuse the public of "not caring". That's what they've built to happen. It’s not the reader’s fault at all if they don't have a clue.

At this point, what really frustrates and angers me is that the main characters are all caught up in whether or not to forgive their biological father, treating him like some ultimate enemy…

But from my perspective, the boyfriend was never the culprit in Ai’s case to begin with. So all that revenge stuff they go on and on about is actually completely detached from the real truth and from what the manga should have focused on. There’s no point in debating whether or not to forgive him. If anything, the boyfriend was one of the biggest victims, along with the twins, in the entire incident. He lost everything. He’s broken because of it. He longs to see the person who might have become his wife. He still loves her and misses her terribly.

If this manga wanted to say something about the entertainment industry, it shouldn’t have stayed at that shallow level. It should have addressed things on a social level, not just about “revenge killings by a boyfriend,” but about crimes against celebrities.

(And again — I’m telling you, the boyfriend is not the perpetrator of that incident. That’s what I realized — that “Ah! This story must be about something different!” — and that’s why I kept reading.)

But the manga didn’t do that. It didn’t clarify anything. It just ended, without saying anything for sure. And I can’t forgive that.

This manga, to be honest, doesn’t handle anything properly. It makes no clear statements. It’s irresponsible. It’s cruel. It’s horrifying. And it’s irresponsible.

To take real-life events — ones that have actually happened — and handle them so shallowly in a story that’s not even full fantasy… I think that’s deeply disrespectful.

And it didn’t have to be that way. If you dig deep, there are hidden layers. But the fact that it’s left this vague and this careless — that’s what puzzles me most. And if I’m being really honest, I can’t help but think maybe the author just wanted to show off. Like they were saying, “This is how the masses are,” from a smug, detached point of view. That thought keeps bothering me.

The story hides things away, blames the public, and ends on a cynical note like, “You all don’t really care, right?” And the reasoning behind that, I think, is just the author’s personal philosophy. It’s how they see people. That people don’t care. That people are cruel. That people like to tear others down and watch from the sidelines. That people aren’t interested in the truth. And sure, there’s some truth to that view. But it’s not exactly a balanced perspective. If you want to tell that kind of story, you should provide real-life examples or evidence to back up why you believe that. But this story is really lacking in that regard.

At its core, the author just seems to have a warped view of the world. I don’t know why they think this way — maybe they’ve experienced something themselves. But personally, I don’t think it’s a healthy or righteous worldview. And if you’re going to spread that kind of worldview through your manga, you should also present the insights or lessons to go with it. But this work doesn’t do that.

The creators know the real truth behind the story. And I know it too. I think I understand now what’s actually happening in this story. What really happened with the incidents in the plot. I felt that'd be important to make a proper judgment about this work, so I really, really tried.

That’s why I kept analyzing it so hard. Now that it’s been about half a year since it ended, I think I’ve figured it out.

But even the protagonists themselves don’t seem to care about that "truth" at all. Do they even know whether their dad is truly the culprit or not? Are they really aware of how everything played out while treating him like their mortal enemy? They didn't know how their parents actually dated. Nothing about that incident is brought clear within the entire series. And Hikaru himself later explains what's happened. His testimony makes perfect sense, I don't think there's any other way to properly explain how things played out besides the one he testified to near the end, like how he met Ryosuke and how he came to trust them, and how he would have reacted to Ai after the phone call and all that. I don’t think the twins actually know anything about their father. None of the characters in the story seems to truly know Kamiki.

Anyway, to create an anime is to amplify a story—giving it a voice, breathing life into it, and making it more accessible. But I say this firmly: there are countless other works far more deserving of that platform. If anyone's to receive an adaptation, I hope it's those works, not this one. Honestly, even the fact that it got a second season already feels like more than it deserves. I truly wish it hadn't. I wish it would just fade into obscurity, becoming significantly less accessible than it is now.

Because… for all the gravity of the themes it touches on, it fails to say anything with clarity. And that—shouldn’t be the case. The author gives off the impression of caring about some subjects, but when you look closely, it doesn't really feel like they are. They just say things like “this is bad,” “I hate that,” or “this is awful,” over and over—without offering anything beyond that. And even those statements are vague. What really seems to matter to the author is not conveying the seriousness of these issues, but keeping things wrapped in mystery and ambiguity and that's what they put more weight on.

Even as I say all this, I’ve drawn a lot of fanart for this piece... and contributed in my own way to the visibility of this work... I wouldn't recommend people to read this piece. I just want to bring out how sweet those two characters I like would and could have been because I do see those things in them. I think they are really the way I depict them as, after having analyzed them very thoroughly.

Of course, there are parts I like. The character designs are honestly well done.

But if you ask me whether the story or message of this work deserves to be spread widely—I don’t think it does.

Personally, I have no expectations. The way it ended, and the way it tried to convey its message—it didn’t say anything clearly, and watching it was a painful, almost horrific experience.

Many readers, I think, couldn’t fully grasp what happened, and that's what the author intended to happen.

From what I can tell, there are probably a great number of people who think Kamiki is just a bad guy, should be killed off, and Aqua should live happily with the girls. And I just can’t agree with that.

That’s why I don’t think this is something that should be adapted into an anime. Logically, the way the plot unfolds does make sense. The ending itself fits this story. Changing that would make the whole thing fall apart. So the plot, as is, should probably be left alone. But the issue, I think, is that the story never clearly states what it wants to say.

Aqua… he probably was fated to die. And Kamiki, if we’re talking about fate, was probably always meant to drown.

The one who wasn’t supposed to die, in terms of fate, was actually Ai. Everything spiraled out of control because she died. I get the feeling that Hikaru kept moving forward with this aching belief of “Ai should’ve lived—and I should’ve been the one to die instead.” Haha… No, really, it feels like Ai was the one who wasn’t meant to die.

They want to turn this into an anime? With this kind of content? That’s why I think—it really shouldn’t happen.

What exactly do they intend to do with this adaptation?

I just… I’d like to see Kamiki receive at least a somewhat fair evaluation. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. If this story is going to be portrayed through the medium of animation, then I think there are bound to be compromises—places where things get altered. And I don’t agree with anything that justifies or rationalizes what Aqua is doing, or makes his actions seem like the righteous path. Even if Aqua was just fulfilling a mission—like, okay, maybe you could argue it was inevitable or unavoidable—I still don’t think that makes it the right thing to do.

And on that front, I have no expectations either. I’ve tried, really, to bring in some insight, but the manga is just too malicious in tone. And honestly, I feel like that was intentional. I kept failing, kept getting frustrated. I tried to get people to view things objectively, to judge fairly—but the work itself is so one-sided that no matter what I say, it just doesn't get across. It’s exhausting. So now I’ve given up. I can’t bring myself to face this story again in an animated form. It's going to happen all over again. It’s too painful, this feeling that no matter what I say, it won’t reach out.

I don’t have any faith that this work will say anything with responsibility or clarity. I really, truly hope it doesn’t get an anime.

If this were a personal indie project, I think it would’ve been brilliant—refreshing, unique, even wonderful.

But a story with this kind of impact? I don’t think it should be in that position. If it’s going to reach that level of recognition, then it needs to carry a level of responsibility that matches. At the very least, it should have had a mature rating. But no—this is a series that gets stationery, merchandise, shelf space at bookstores. Even if we were to dissect it and find that, in the end, it was trying to say something meaningful… if the surface-level delivery is this horrific, then it’s just poor communication.

I don’t think there are that many people who’ve tried as hard as I have to analyze the author’s intentions or uncover what’s behind it all. And even I have to say: “For all it wanted to say, it was too cruel—and in the end, it didn’t actually say that much.” But I still believe that just a little more… and it could have. It could have said something.

The authors—they’re adults, right? I assume they have enough thought and philosophy developed by now. So if this is all they’ve chosen to put out, then maybe… maybe they meant to do it this way? Didn’t they?

It’s not the cruelty in itself that’s the problem. I’ve read works with far more graphic expression than this.

But I’ve never read something that felt so irresponsible in the way it inflicted pain.

I don’t think the creators are thoughtless people. I think it’s more accurate to say they chose not to go further. That they could have done more—but didn’t, for a reason.

If this work hadn’t become popular, I wouldn’t even have thought this hard about it. I would’ve just said, “Oh, this exists,” and moved on.

Another thing—but this story really is… so twisted.

If you read the mythology around Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess she’s based on—she’s bright, lively, bold, full of initiative, a little quirky, but utterly lovable.

She’s a goddess of entertainment, of joy and laughter.

And to take a goddess like that and create Ai from her… well, I do love Ai. She’s my favorite character in the story. But what I feel while reading this is—like I said before—this author creates characters, and then twists something in them. That twist usually takes the form of emotional repression, of being unable to open up, of suffering alone in silence.

Every major character in this story has that quality. Without exception. It’s honestly made me wonder if the author assumes that everyone must be like that—if they think that kind of suffering is universal, so they build every character around it.

Even the ending feels that way. Like the message is: People don’t really understand each other’s pain anyway. No one really cares about the truth.

I can’t help but wonder what happened to the author, for them to think this way.

To take a character modeled after such a bright, proactive, loving goddess—and turn her into someone who suffers in silence, shrinks back, and can’t speak confidently about love. I really believe that if Ai hadn’t been abused, her personality would have been very similar to Ame-no-Uzume’s. And I think that side of her—her real self—did come out when she was with Kamiki. Because her actions show it. She’s quite bold when it comes to him. She steps forward, takes initiative, protects him. She buys him meals, stands up for him, takes his hand, leads the way, speaks freely. The two of them would’ve had such a sweet relationship. And it fits the original myth too—the two of them are a loving married couple in the source material.

Even with Kamiki, I really do feel like his true personality is kind and gentle. So I was left wondering, How could someone like this be suspected of hurting Ai? The more I saw of him, the more I felt: He really, truly loved her. And the kind of person he is—I just couldn’t see him doing something cruel to someone he loved that much. It scared me. I was terrified that maybe he had hurt her after all. But I kept interpreting and drawing fanart from the angle that—he didn’t. That he couldn’t have. Because what he showed, once he was more fully brought to light, made me believe in him.

The god this character is based on... is truly powerful and a benevolent deity. And he has a loving relationship with his wife.

He’s a guardian deity who wards off misfortune, and if you look at his role in mythology, you’d say he’s gentlemanly and composed. Together with his wife, they bless people’s love. His role is to ensure people live safely, to guide them by amplifying the good in them. He’s a warm, gentle god.

He seems to have a very good relationship with his wife, and there’s really nothing twisted between them. Depending on how you interpret it, you could say he fell in love with her and gave up many things, maybe even died for her... but even that’s just speculation.

Even in Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix, there are characters inspired by these deities. There’s one modeled after Ame-no-Uzume who falls in love with her husband at first sight and does everything she can to save his life. And it really felt like the husband deeply cherished her, too. He ends up dying, yes, but there wasn’t anything particularly dark between them—they were just a beautiful couple.

So taking that god, turning him into someone accused of killing his wife, driving him insane—I mean, I actually like stories like this when they’re done well. The idea is intriguing. But the problem is, they leave it all vague until the very end, and that just feels twisted to me. I think that’s what makes it “interesting” for them. If this were just a simple reimagining of mythology, I wouldn’t be this upset.

But someone died. His lover was murdered, and he went mad. Shouldn’t we at least be told what really happened? But no, instead, the story puts the protagonist front and center and condemns him to the end. Are we even sure the protagonist knows the full truth? Because honestly—sorry, I keep saying this over and over—but I care a lot about psychology. And I’m convinced that most of what the protagonist says about him is just wrong. On the other hand, more than 90% of what Kamiki says is probably true. Watching those final chapters just made me feel so lost. Like, what’s the basis for what the protagonist is saying? Where is it coming from?

But then again, I’m sure a lot of people think Aqua did the right thing, right? I’m not even sure I can bring myself to watch that part when it’s adapted. They’ll animate that scene again, won’t they? I think this author is being completely irresponsible. Surely they know what kind of story they’re telling, but at the same time, I can’t shake the feeling that they’re just sitting there thinking, “Well, people only believe what they can see. No one really cares about the truth.” All while treating their subject matter without the weight or respect it deserves.

And the more the protagonist blames Kamiki, the more the focus on people like Ryosuke or Nino—the ones who actually did things—gets lost. The more the responsibility gets spread out. But I’m telling you: I don’t think that’s the real truth at all! The protagonist keeps insisting that they acted under Kamiki’s orders... but one of the things that frustrated me so much while reading was that.

Because honestly, there are already people who believe Ryosuke and Nino weren’t really at fault—that they only ended up doing what they did because of Kamiki. And I’m sure that number is only going to grow. I find it so suffocating that I don’t even check the reactions to this manga anymore. But it’s not the readers’ fault—it’s the way the story is told that leads people to think that way. When I saw people say “Aqua is a hero”, I gave up all hope. At that point, this story isn’t about insight into the entertainment industry or the crimes within it. It’s just echoing the author’s cynical belief that “People don’t care about the truth”, and that message lacks real substance.

Kamiki lost Ai and went mad. Everything he does revolves around collecting Ai’s light and trying to get closer to her. She died, and he couldn’t take it. He just wanted to feel her again. If Ai had lived, he wouldn’t have spiraled so far out like that.

Honestly, just like in that flashback in chapter 160, he’d be the type to show up holding a bouquet with a smile, saying “Ai called me up about the kids! She told me to come see them. I’m so happy.” But then... maybe Ryosuke manipulated him or got to Ai’s address first and killed her. And just like with how he reacted to Yura or Airi’s death—he probably spiraled into “It’s my fault. It’s my fault...” and eventually started thinking, “I’ll bring Ai back no matter what.” That’s when he snapped. Even his songs say that!! Mephisto and Fatal's his song guys, I've been calling this out since the moment Fatal dropped!! This is seriously the story they’re telling!! But... I don’t think many people see it that way.

Why don’t they? Because the author believes people don’t care about the truth!! And that belief overshadows whatever insight this story could have had about the entertainment industry.

Let me get to the point.

This work... Even if it has unique or brilliant moments, I don’t think it should’ve gotten this much attention. I think it’s harmful, actually. Because the author shows very little self-reflection in how they deal with the themes. They’re not handling it with responsibility.

And I do believe the author knows exactly what they’re doing. But what they’re doing is... off.

They’re holding a blade and swinging it in a really strange direction. I feel like if they just adjusted their aim a little, this could be a really good story. But I can’t understand why they’re doing it this way. I’ve tried. It’s hard to wrap my head around.

If this were a purely original story from the author’s imagination, I might not care as much. But it’s not. It’s wearing the mask of a story about a social area. And if that’s the case—then no, I’m not okay with it becoming more accessible and widespread.

When the anime comes out, the visuals will be sparkly and cool, sure. But is this really the kind of story that should be wrapped up in that kind of packaging and broadcast to the world? I’m not so sure. I really hope that doesn’t happen.

Honestly, I think the anime staff do know the full story. I’ve said this more than once—but they wouldn’t be making a season 3 if they didn’t know.

To be honest, I think the anime songs are doing a much better job of conveying the truth of this story than the manga itself. Those songs could only have been written by someone who knows the real truth behind the scenes.

But even then, shouldn’t these themes be handled with real care? Are they doing that? Is it really okay to support this series, to amplify it, to help it spread even further?

This story wounds people. A lot. And it doesn’t really say anything clear in return. It never addresses the seriousness of what it’s dealing with.

But at the same time... I also think this story can’t just be rewritten. That’s the thing. You can’t change the plot of what it is either, if they do, it actually doesn't work with the buildup and the implications it has.

To add, going with “Kamiki was really the villain all along”—that’s the one thing they absolutely shouldn’t do. And yet, I feel like a lot of people want exactly that...

I can’t bear to watch that play out again...

It’s horrible. Disturbingly so. I don’t even know if we can call it “creative freedom” anymore—it just feels disrespectful to the audience. It was frustrating and exhausting to read.

That’s how I feel.

I really wish another story had gotten this level of anime treatment instead.

#oshi no ko #oshi no theories #hikaai #long post #oshi no ko spoilers #hikaru kamiki #ai hoshino #they're going to make one anyway but I had to let this out #this work is disrespectful and irresponsible and I hope the artists are aware what they created are that way #<I thought a lot before having brought myself to come forth to that conclusion and it's really depressing and saddening #I don't want to say this but I feel I have to #they need to take responsibility for what they created and have chosen to display to their audience- honestly I get angry #still angry still after months...#spoilers

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zahri-melitor · 3 months ago

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New(ish) Comics 27 March 2025

Absolute Wonder Woman #5: I think the things I’ve really enjoyed about this opening story is the way it grapples with how it wants to portray the Greek mythology around Diana and how kind it shows Diana to be. I also really enjoyed that in this issue we finally get to one of the tension points I’ve been waiting to see addressed: how being Diana’s mother has changed Circe’s character, and how it has not. Our lasso here being θυσία (Sacrifice), a lasso of transformation…and one where the bearer cannot control the transformation? The mythology of this, the balance of power and powerlessness, the commentary on the nature of change in and of itself. And of course Diana’s absolute kindness meaning that her personal choice for how to defeat the Tetracide with the lasso means not to change it, but to change herself?

Ugh this run is so good, I love what Kelly Thompson is doing. I also want to acknowledge how incredible Hayden Sherman’s art has been for this whole story in terms of creating vibe and setting, because it’s really made things stand out, both in terms of art style and in terms of colour use. Every time we saw Diana’s pale eyes shining off the page it felt like she was looking straight into your soul.

Black Canary: Best of the Best #5: I think this is the issue where I acknowledge that unfortunately we have another entry on the list of ‘look I probably can’t recommend this run to people wanting to find out about Black Canary’. Which is not unexpected, because as I’ve said plenty of times, Black Canary solos are cursed. In the scale of Black Canary solos is this still worth reading? I think so, but I’m very much grading on the Dinah solo curve, which does not actually resemble a normal person’s approach to choosing comics.

Things I liked: wigs! The differentiation between the Dinahs’ early costumes! The early flashbacks in this month!

I don’t think the familial relationship we have here is pure post-Crisis, but instead feels like a further attempt to try and meld the n52 calls into the greater whole. Which personally isn’t the approach I would have taken, but I can see the angle of approach. (Also I think King fundamentally wants the conflict, and what is talking about both Dinahs without addressing the fact they’ve always had different expectations of and for the other?)

Still buying all of it though. We get like…one Dinah mini or maxi every decade or so, and this is still a whole comic of Dinah and I am committed to supporting my girl because if I don’t buy stuff she’s in they won’t put her in things. Plus it continues to feel way more faithful and Dinah-like than 2015 was.

Detective Comics #1094: is this pretty much exactly the comic I would expect Tom Taylor to write? Yes. Do I think we need a pretty light Batman run right now where I know everything’s going to turn out just fine, where Bruce clearly loves and wants to protect his children, where various Batfam are being called on to perform to their core competencies? Also yes. Do I expect the commentary on childhood incarceration in this story to go any deeper and to end up in anything more than “this causes systemic problems and changes the direction of young people’s lives”? No but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with retreading the basic statistics here, because it’s an ongoing problem.

Like yes it’s also very very funny that Harvey Bullock is getting used as a mouthpiece for raise the age/dangers of institutionalisation discussions, because of the way Bullock’s been portrayed many times over the years as a reasonably corrupt and comfortable cop, but it’s not like Bullock hasn’t also had other runs where he’s centred as a hero and important viewpoint character into the police. They just sit very, very, very uneasily against each other.

The Flash #18: I think what I want to point out here is that it is nice to see Jai getting centre stage in this arc, especially after so much of Adams’ run was particularly focused on Irey over him. I am a bit cut up about how Skartaris is getting used as set dressing in terms of a number of significant plot changes in respect of the world, but I’m realistic this is a Flash book not a Warlord book, and the vibes are decent; it’s just the bit of me that wants to shriek “you’ve done WHAT to Shamballah?” etc.

Green Arrow #21: We’re still running with the combined Erin Brockovich and Flint vibes with this story, I see. I’m enjoying the way this is interrogating Ollie’s past, but as a story it still feels really, really isolated.

The Warlord #90: this week in Skartaris we are getting back to basics! We not only have Travis and Tara head off on an adventure together (I know!) where Tara ends up having to save Travis (shades of 1st Issue Special), but we also have editor text box references back to comics that came out 60 issues earlier. Look at us specifically visiting and using earlier material! We’re dealing with the consequences of Travis showing up, thinking he’d fixed one problem, only to find when he left he’d created a second one. Look at this commentary, I’m proud of you my silly conspiracy theory land title.

The art is gorgeous, thank you Rich Buckler, I really enjoyed all your dinosaurs and what I am sure is a small herd of Eohippus.

Also Jennifer finally hauls Joshua out of trouble in the second plot and demonstrates her powers as a sorceress again. Thank goodness, can you all now rejoin with Travis so he can meet Joshua properly in about 10 issues? Ta.

#z canon read throughs #newish comics #wednesday spoilers

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youcouldmakealife · 1 year ago

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SOTM: Lourdes Family, David; family traditons

For the prompt: Jake's sisters slowly warming up to David

The problem with Nat and David, Allie decides early on, is that they’re too alike. Not in most ways, really — she doesn’t think they’d agree on much when it comes to their taste in media, or hobbies, or any of that, and she’s sure they’d both be surprised if she said they were similar at all.

But Allie knows Nat better than she knows herself, probably, and she’s made an attempt at getting to know David, because she knows how important it is to Jake, and some of the things that make Natalie Nat to her seem to be pretty similar to the things that make David David.

They’re both quiet, but it’s not shyness with either of them, though it can seem like it unless you know them. As often as not, Nat’s quiet because silently dismantling whatever’s being said in her head, about to spring it on whatever poor unsuspecting person just claimed they ‘could care less’ or called a pterodactyl a dinosaur or something that matters to nobody but Nat.

Though mostly she doesn’t actually say it to them — unless they’re family, she corrects Allie all the time, and poor Jakey doesn’t stand a chance — she’s saying it as an aside to Allie, or recalling it later ,‘my co-worker thought Babylon was a mythological place, and when I said 'oh yeah, like Bethlehem?' he said 'yeah, exactly!'’ or ‘If I hear someone use literally when they mean figuratively one more time, Allie, I swear I'm going to snap’.

She’s quiet, and sometimes she seems checked out, but she’s always paying attention to what everyone else is saying. Allie’s learned it’s the same with David — she’ll mention something and then nine months later David will have gotten her a Christmas present based on her offhand comment. Or he’ll ask if she wants the same drink as last time, last time being like, six months ago. Allie doesn’t know if he’s got that kind of memory for everybody, or if it’s just because she’s Jake’s sister, and he’s still trying to impress all of them, but, well — consider her impressed, she guesses.

But also, she’s pretty sure he’s also picking up on the mistakes everybody else makes, except instead of ‘Allie, let me tell you the misspelled bumper sticker I saw today’, she isn’t hearing shit from him. She doesn’t think Jake is either, at least if the people making mistakes are them. And they probably are. Allie has no illusions that she makes no mistakes: if she did, Nat would have beaten that belief out of her by now.

“He thinks he’s better than us,” Nat complained once, and Allie pressed her lips together very tightly, and she didn’t say a thing, and frankly, she thinks she deserves a medal for that.

As similar as David can be to Nat, he’s absolutely nothing like Jake. If Allie was asked to list their similarities, it’d be like — ‘very athletic white dudes around the same age’, and then a bunch of hockey specific things. Beyond that, she’s got nothing. It isn’t just their personalities — they have completely different taste in everything. Different priorities, outside of similar career ones. Some overlapping friends, but Allie just attributes that to Jake being able to make friends with a table leg if he wants to. They could not be less alike.

Allie’s never been a big believer in the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing, but honestly, maybe she should be: mom and dad are a pretty good example of it, and Jake and David seem to bring out the best in each other.

It took Allie a little while to come to terms with them getting back together, but she can’t deny that Jake seems to grow when he’s around David. Maturity wise, but he also just seems to stand up straighter, like just being around David makes him more alert, or aware, or maybe even self-confident, though that’s never been something he's lacked.

It probably isn’t just David he’s like that with — Allie hasn’t seen him around the Panthers too much, but he is the captain, after all — but either way, it’s a nice thing to see Jake grown up.

He’s still the baby to her, will probably always be the baby to her — anyone she put in pigtails and pulled around in a little red wagon while telling everyone to look at her pretty little dolly is going to be a baby to her forever, let’s face it — but for all that he’s been taller than her since he was twelve, he felt like a kid to her the whole way to the show, and for awhile after. He doesn’t feel like a kid anymore. Baby, sure, he's always going to be that, but not a kid.

If anything, David feels more like one. Not that he’s childish, or immature, or whatever, because Allie suspects he wasn’t even childish when he was an actual child. Maybe more someone suddenly immersed in a foreign culture — he doesn’t know where he’s supposed to be, what he’s supposed to do, what the hell is up with the wishbone thing.

She’s seen Jake explain things to him, the traditions she thought everyone did, and the traditions that are very Lourdes specific, the way mom gives extra mashed potatoes if you're a suck up, and how if people don’t take turns opening presents it turns into a free-for-all, and how nobody actually eats the cranberry sauce.

When Jake isn’t there to do it — rare, but the dude does need bathroom breaks — Allie figures it’s no skin off her nose to do it instead, and she even overhears Nat doing it once, though she might have just been venting about someone saying dumb shit again. She does love to do that.

The important thing is that he keeps showing up, even though he’s uncomfortable every single time — though maybe Allie’s imagining it, but she thinks he’s reached the ‘almost comfortable’ stage this Christmas, like, maybe feeling a little awkward, but no more than anyone else would, spending Christmas with his boyfriend’s family. Maybe more than someone typically would if they’ve been doing it every year, but Allie knows they can be a lot, that most people have trouble keeping up with the rapid back and forth — even Jake gets left behind sometimes, then pouty when they start tease him about it.

David was a wide-eyed spectator, the first few times he saw that. Jake told Allie later that he didn’t hear the fondness in it, just the mockery, got defensive on Jake’s behalf. Allie doesn’t know how he’s survived locker rooms for so long — their love language is basically just mockery and punching each other in sensitive places, at least judging by Jake and his teammates back in the day. Probably now too. She’s met Cody Gallagher, unfortunately.

He takes it better now though, even joined in yesterday when everyone was shit-talking Jake’s recent stab at growing facial hair, while Jake tried and failed to defend himself through giggles. On the one hand, Allie’s just glad it isn’t a mustache, but on the other hand, maybe he’d do a better job with that. This morning, Jake comes down to breakfast clean-shaven. Allie isn’t delusional: he didn’t shave it because his sisters gave him shit. That was all David.

“High five,” Allie says when David joins them downstairs, and she’s half expecting a quizzical look, maybe even the ‘what the hell are the Lourdes talking about now’ one that surfaces sometimes, but instead she gets a tiny smile and a high five.

“I’m sitting right here, guys,” Jake says, but once again, he’s laughing.

#fic snippet #SOTM #david chapman #jake lourdes #allie lourdes #nat lourdes

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missionkitty · 6 months ago

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seeing the olympians from the underworld

this might turn into a bit of a rambling essay, so bear with me--i've been doing a lot of thinking about zagreus' interactions with the olympian gods and melinoë's interactions with them. i did a little bit of rambling on the official hades 2 discord, but i want to let myself wander through these ideas a little more freely on here.

i will be talking openly about all available spoilers in the hades 2 early access and for hades 1, so be ye warned.

so essentially. i am. becoming very very invested in how we are seeing so many examples of the olympians' wrath and pettiness as we take melinoë through the underworld and olympus, especially as i've been doing the surface path to get better against prometheus and just hearing all the stuff he's been saying before and after every fight.

(did you know that prometheus says he keeps his wounds open to remind him of his anger and rage against the gods? and also says...that aetos, the eagle, appreciates it?--the implication being that he still lets aetos eat his liver? yum! friendship!)

with zagreus, we saw shades of this pettiness and vindictiveness with the trials of the gods and especially learning about the circumstances of persephone ending up in the underworld. and of course you get hades talking about how cruel and short-sighted the olympians could be, but until a certain point you wouldn't be blamed for taking what he says with a grain of salt because hades can be such a curmudgeon.

however, we don't see much of their dealings with mortals since zagreus is bound to the underworld and unable to be above ground for too long. we get little flashes here and there of what mortal life is like from the shades milling about the house of hades, but ultimately the story is of the dysfunction of the relationship surrounding olympus, hades and his house, persephone, and zagreus.

but now? with the gates of the underworld burst open and erebus overrun and overgrown, so many of the other people, figures, and shades we meet as melinoë have been punished or cursed or affected (derogatory) by the olympian gods in some way or another…just off the top of my head:

arachne, heracles, and prometheus are the big three for now (echo could also be included, but as far as i've seen, it hasn't been explicitly stated what happened to her--however if you're familiar with greek mythology, she is another casualty of that trademark olympian vindictiveness from a certain queen of the gods)

to perhaps underline this common thread of punishment...retaliation, even, it's all started with chronos seeking revenge on the gods who cut him into pieces and spread him across tartarus. (not to say that he...may not have deserved being deposed as such. but let me pull on that thread another day.)

and this "resurrection" of chronos opens the scope of what melinoë is allowed to see of her olympian relatives as compared to what zagreus is able to discover.

like. i really want to see zag and the house of hades safe and with mel, but i also really want to see what a reckoning for the olympians would look like if that's the case.

with hades 2 being in early access and the next update likely not coming for some time, i'm sure specific beats and details will change once the game is fully released, but i like this idea of the olympic gods having to actually, truly face consequences for their very mortal moments of anger and retaliation against whatever perceived slights or threats they've encountered.

mel is in such an interesting place, in terms of her character and the trajectory of her life and where a character arc would go, and the way prometheus keeps calling her "agent of change"…she's, understandably, got a big stake in stopping chronos--but it's also kind of put her in a spot to see the ugliest and most vindictive parts of olympus.

she's close friends with arachne. she's met heracles and seen where he stands as a demigod in the eyes of the olympic gods. she knows the tales of prometheus stealing fire from olympus (and apparently delivering reason personally from athena) to give to mortalkind, even at risk of his own near-eternal mutilation.

i must wonder what she would think of learning the truth of how zeus kidnapped and "gave" persephone to hades as he was sent to become lord of the underworld. of the risk of impending war that accompanied zagreus endlessly working to escape from the underworld and deceiving the olympians to find his mother.

(don't get me started about the connection between dora and prometheus...that's a whole other can of worms. or box. or. jar.)

at the moment, i can see a very fraught emotional journey for mel ahead, especially once we reach the final surface biome and boss. however, as it stands with the path ending after prometheus, she doesn't really have the time or desire to do much more than save and defend the family she knows she has.

which, at the moment, is in the underworld--hades shackled in adamant chains, her mother and brother and the rest of the house of hades frozen in a single moment of time.

and atop olympus--trying to drive back chronos' forces.

the fact that she's been trained for so long to be the titan-killer, the person who's supposed to unseat chronos from the underworld, has painfully and sharply formed her views of anyone who places themselves in opposition to her quest. it wasn't lost on me just how much she disparages prometheus and chronos for being titans, yet being raised and loved by hecate and selene--titans themselves.

hecate even calls her out on it, that their titan-hood does not predetermine their loyalties (as her mentor was the one she was disparaging titans to!! like, girl, the lack of self-awareness!!) but mel's response to it felt...inspiringly disaffected, to me.

melinoë has had her views shaped by her hatred of chronos for so long that it's going to take something pretty significant to tip her mental scales. i...don't think it'll be pretty, if she's turned to face that olympic reckoning. it won't be great for chronos, no matter what. but i also think the olympians owe the mortals penitence. i think they owe the cthonic gods some penitence too.

(sorry, side note. can we talk about how a significant amount of olympus just assumed...after EVERYTHING zagreus and persephone went through, that they just suddenly decided to go no-contact or something? like. especially zagreus? just suddenly not sending messages anymore? mr. talkative family man himself? anyway.)

wishful thinking on my part, i want zagreus to play a role in helping mel recalibrate. or maybe he encourages mel to find the answers for herself, much like he had to. to decide for herself what she wants to do.

ahh, anyway. i think that's all of my thoughts for now. do you have anything to add? anything i might have missed? i haven't been keeping screenshots or records of the lines i've heard until very recently--i do plan on starting a fresh file when v1.0 drops, to experience everything all over again. i'll likely revisit this once we get the whole story and see if i was anywhere close.

for now, i guess i'll just leave you with this line from prometheus:

"...If you could see what I've foreseen, you'd not believe it anyhow."

maybe it's a reference to early access being likely to change before full access.

or maybe...the world will be irrevocably transformed by the "agent of change" and what she will see.

#hades 2 #hades ii #hades game #hades supergiant #hades 2 spoilers #hades ii spoilers #hades spoilers #missionkitty analyzes

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garmanarnarr · 1 year ago

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Rickorty Week Day 4: Mythological Creatures

vampire morty | 2k words | Rated M for blood drinking and sexual content

@rickortyweek

Morty’s getting pretty good at asking for it.

“H-hey, Rick?”

Rick doesn’t look over from the TV, which is currently playing a rerun of a JoJo Siwa political documentary in a universe where she’s the president of the United States. It’s a miniseries, a retrospective, and they’ve been powering through episodes all night. Everyone went to bed long ago; Mom, Dad, and Summer had started to give Morty a wide berth after ten PM. But he doesn’t mind not sleeping, now, because Rick doesn’t sleep either. Only in fits and starts. Sometimes over his work bench, face mashed into mechanical junk, or passed out on the couch. He snores, but only when he’s really drunk– not that Morty’s watching.

“Um,” Morty says, picking at a thread on the couch cushion.

“What?” Rick sounds too distant to be annoyed, just flat and tired.

“M’ getting kinda, you know.”

“What?”

“Hungry?” Morty’s voice cracks on the last part.

Jojo screams something excitedly on the TV, pointing at a diplomat from another country and waving. Her facial rhinestones match her power suit.

Rick’s still watching, glazed eyes flashing in the TV’s glow. “Her foreign policy sucked,” he mutters.

“I’m hungry, Rick.”

“Want me to order some fucking sugar chicken, then?” Rick asks, finally swiveling to actually look at Morty. “Huh, Morty? Want some Panda Express?”

Morty’s throat feels so dry it crackles. He thinks of the pool of sunlight that’ll be creeping towards them through the glass patio doors when the sun rises in a few hours, ready to burn him. His vision blurs a little and he gives a painful swallow.

“Y-y-you know what I mean, Rick,” he whispers. It isn’t fair that Rick always plays him like this when he’s fucked Morty up in the first place. Experiment gone sour, vampirism— Morty had to pick that term up– spreading too aggressively to be cut out, too deeply to pull the plug and hop to a clone. He rests his hand on the couch next to Rick’s leg. Not touching it, but just, you know, next to it. He can feel the heat of Rick’s body beside his own like he’s sitting near a radiator. Throbbing is such a weird word, but that’s the only way to describe it. Rick is throbbing with heat. Morty runs his tongue over the stubs of his teeth.

“You know, my blood is probably some of the nastiest shit you could put inside you,” Rick’s saying. “Got yeeears of k-lax and alcohol abuse in here. And some other stuff. I think one of Unity’s non-humanoid bodies might have had–”

“I don’t care. E-everything else tastes like ass and I don’t want to drink it.” Morty makes a face, saying that out loud, but it’s true. The bags of O-positive Rick had pulled out of his lab freezer after he’d just turned Morty had tasted like the equivalent of soggy pizza cardboard. Real pizza– all normal food– also tastes terrible. Animal blood has a funky, earthy smell and a worse flavor, when he’d tried it. And he isn’t about to make anyone else let him drink their blood.

Rick made his own bed. He can lie in it.

Rick watches his face for a moment, expression unreadable. Then he sighs, and rolls up his sleeve.

“Not on the couch, you little moron. Or, you wanna g-get b-blood everywhere?”

“I won’t get it everywhere,” Morty whines. He did the first time, when they fed in the garage, but he’s neater about it, now. He’d been so new, then, and dying for it, ready to rip Rick’s veins right open, ready to swim inside him to make the pain of his thirst go away. Now, after two weeks of feedings, he doesn’t waste a drop.

Rick tries to stand, but Morty catches his wrist. He’s taken aback at his own strength; that’s still a surprising perk. He keeps accidentally breaking doorknobs off of classrooms in school. Denting his locker door when he closes it with a slam so loud it echoes through the hallways. Shattering glasses. Jerking his own dick too hard and too fast by accident.

Rick pauses, looking down at him. He seems like he’s weighing making his grandson let go with words or by force. But Morty doesn’t let go. He can feel the throbbing of Rick’s blood now, pulse pressed against the circle of his fingers. His stomach twists with a tortured sounding gurgle.

“Please,” he says.

“Alright. Jesus,” Rick says, sitting back down with a roll of his eyes, yanking his wrist out Morty’s grasp quickly enough to break his hold. “Just a second, A-A-Augustus Gloop.”

He reaches into the breast pocket of his lab coat and pulls out a little packet, which he rips open with his teeth. Morty’s chest thuds because it looked kind of like a condom. He probably shouldn’t have thought that. Rick unfolds the moist towelette inside and uses it to briskly swab the inner part of his forearm. The pale stretch of it gleams up under the light of the ad that’s playing on TV, riddled with blue and green veins, skin going translucent with age. Morty’s mouth waters.

“You– you just carry a swab with you?” he asks, licking back drool. It’s a genuine question. Did Rick want to– was he just waiting around for Morty to—

“More for my benefit than yours. Human mouths are one of the diEUUGHrtiest parts of our bodies, Morty.”

“That doesn’t seem true, but okay,” Morty says.

“I’m not fucking with you. Humans are filthy.”

Rick throws the used wipe over the back of the couch, then pats the space beside him, like they’re going to cozy up and watch more TV together, easy as anything. Morty crawls over.

Rick offering his skinny-ass forearm to him like this in the middle of the house is insane. They usually feed in the garage, sitting clinically in separate foldable chairs, lights flipped on. It’s dark in the living room, and it should be hard to see—should leave Morty fumbling and awkward, unable to function—but it doesn’t. Morty’s different, now. Darkness is easy. This close, he can sense all the sweet spots where the most blood flows in Rick’s body and where to land the best bite; he would have liked it a lot better if Rick let him feed at his neck, or at the top of his thighs, or even near his armpits, he thinks, but he’ll take what Rick will give him.

“Don’t– don’t rip my fuckin’ arm off here, Morty, I need it.” They’re so close together that Rick’s voice is quieter than normal. Maybe he’s a little scared. Morty likes that; the idea of being able to scare Rick, a bit, for once.

“I won’t,” Morty says with a lisp. His pointy canine teeth are getting longer in his mouth and making it hard to talk. Carefully, he takes Rick’s offered arm into his hands. His left one, the one with less cybernetic shit in it, flesh and blood around a hollow titanium bone that sheathes a grappling device. He smells kind of bad but also kind of good, like he always does, like alcohol sweats and a familiar old man powderiness. Morty darts his tongue across his lower lip. Rick’s chest is rising and falling gently, calmly, as he waits for Morty to start.

“M’ just– don’t mind me, Morty, just watching TV, here. Just gonna finish this show, or whatever.”

Rick claims he’s a god-robot-monster all the time— won’t shut up about it. But it turns out he’s still human, Morty thinks, a little vindictively, as he bites down. At least, still human enough to feed him.

As he adjusts his bite to get the blood flowing, pressing against the smooth, hairless slip of Rick’s forearm with his tongue, he wonders if this was why people like wine. He’d always hated it, and spat out the mouthful of Mom’s that he’d snuck when he was ten and she was on the phone, because it was nasty, but maybe there’s something more appealing to it than he thought. An age and bitterness, in a good way, the kind that gives it a lot of different and interesting flavors at once. That’s what Rick’s blood tastes like. It tastes really fucking good.

The TV’s making more sounds, but Morty can’t hear them anymore. He’s way too busy gulping Rick’s blood. Distantly, as if it were happening to someone else, he realizes he’s getting hard. Vaguely, he tries to direct his thoughts towards Jessica, but it’s tricky, considering he’s touching Rick and smelling Rick and drinking from Rick’s body. That Rick’s delicious blood is filling his mouth and sliding down his throat with every swallow.

The flow stutters, so he pressed up all along his grandpa’s side to get a better angle. For a second, his dick brushes against Rick’s leg, hot and obvious. He tenses. Rick doesn’t say anything, though, just keeps sitting there quietly, so he relaxes again. Whatever, if Rick doesn’t care, he doesn’t care, and everything feels good. This is so fucking good. It feels right. He keeps feeding, actively sucking, now, because the flow is starting to taper off, blood only coming in hot spurts when he coaxes it out. He rocks his hips, a little, getting some friction on his dick, because he’s so warm and full, and that feels good, too—

“—orty. Morty, that’s enough. Stop.”

Morty doesn’t stop. He swirles his tongue needily around the bite marks, pleasure unfurling up from his stomach and over his whole body, from his scalp to the bottom of his feet. Feeding from his grandpa like this is euphoric.

“M-Morty, stop.”

A hand pushes him back, roughly. It could be anyone’s hand. Morty is longer tethered to earth, fully. Suddenly, Morty’s laying on the floor by the coffee table, panting, ass sore from falling on it. His chin’s covered in own spit. His cheeks are flushed. There’s a definite tent pitched in his jeans, and everything is cold with the lack of a body to be pressed up against. When he looks up, Rick seems pale, even by his own standards, and his hair’s wilder, too. He’s blinking kind of a lot, staring down at Morty with fury on his face despite his heavy eyelids. He looks like he’s having trouble staying awake.

“You– you don’t know how lucky you are that my cybernetic enhancements will start injecting substitute into my bloodstream if I lose more than a quart of blood, Morty,” he says in a low, deadly voice. Morty hears the edge of a wheeze in it. “A quaAAAUGhrt. Do you know how much that is? You fucking, you fucking numbskull braindead idiot?”

“No?”

“That’s what I— that’s what I thought,” Rick says, getting unsteadily to his feet with the help of the couch arm. “I’ll be in the garage. Don’t follow me.”

Morty watches as his grandpa woozily makes his way out of the living room. He’s actually a little worried Rick’s going to pass out, or crash into something, but he doesn’t. He’s gone. Morty rubs the back of his hand across his mouth, and when he looks at it in the TV’s half-light, it’s smeared dark with Rick’s blood.

“S-sorry,” he says, late.

–

Morty climbs upstairs to his room even though it’s more like roleplaying someone that needs to sleep than an actual need. He lays down on top of his covers next to his closet that’s now full of hats and sunglasses and UV-protective long sleeve shirts, above a kitchen filled with food he can’t eat, and a hallway mirror he can no longer see his own reflection in.

He lays there quietly and waits, full-stomached, giving Rick a little privacy. Some time to cool off. If Rick noticed Morty’s hardon, he didn’t comment on it.

But Morty had seen where Rick’s blood went, while he was feeding.

He could sense it, the thick coursing of it, even in the dark.

#rickortyweek2024 #rickorty #rickmorty #my writing #my god these ficlets just keep getting longer and longer SORRY GUYS #i could talk about accidental vampire morty all day #and the accidental thrall he's made out of Rick #but then again #thats sort of how it's always been huh #vampire Morty #tense changed btw

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