#analysis: short story

[afterthelambs]

Ushijima-Oikawa parallels with Kageyama-Hinata

To me, Ushijima and Oikawa are like a tragic parallel to Hinata and Kageyama. If Oikawa had gone to Shiratorizawa then he and Ushijima could've had the partnership that Kagehina had. But because he didn't, they will never know what it's like to make the other feel invincible.

Shipping goggles aside, the parallels have to be intentional (haikyuu is too well-written for it to be just a coincidence): Both Ushijima and Kageyama were framed as naturally gifted volleyball monsters. Meanwhile Oikawa and Hinata believed that they were just average (even though the people around them know that they have their own strengths). Ushijima was the one who kept winning against Oikawa, just like how Kageyama was always ahead of Hinata. Both Hinata and Oikawa went abroad to gain experience so they could finally beat their rival. Ushijima and Kageyama are both awkward, intimidating, and ASD-coded while Hinata and Oikawa are framed as easy-going extroverted chatterboxes. These pairs are literally so similar it's crazy. Look at them and tell me it's not intentional

It also makes sense when you consider that their playstyles are also complementary. Kageyama and Hinata were a good match for each other because Hinata needed Kageyama's precision and Kageyama needed someone agile to match his own speed. But Ushijima's only requirement is for the ball to be set high and the right distance from the net so it's easy to hit. And which setter is known for dedicating themselves to their spikers, giving them easy sets? Oikawa. They truly could've been a terrifying duo.

I think Furudate was trying to show what Kageyama and Hinata could've been if they didn't team up. They'd still be strong, sure, but not invincible like they were in Karasuno. (as opposed to the Miya twins, who were supposed to show what they could've been like if they had an equal from the very beginning)

But in the end it all worked out for everyone! They all got to play on the world stage together. Ushijima and Oikawa even had their reconciliation at the all stars match (still waiting on the Oikawa-Kageyama reconciliation please please please 👀). They're all happy so I suppose it isn't actually tragic. I just cant help but wonder what could have been if Ushijima and Oikawa learned what it's like to be each other's greatest ally. Hinata and Kageyama were so lucky to have found each other after all.

[wish-i-were-heather]

"icarus imagined himself to be the stick of a candle, the wings to be the wick, and the sun to be the flame. for a small time, the wick would burn. the candle would be alight, shining brilliantly, lighting up the space for as long as the wick could last. until inevitably, the wick reached its end, the candle burning out. until the wick finally died, reaching the stick of the candle and engulfing that, too, in flames."

[perseruna]

i Adore your fake marriage ice and flame art!! I was wondering, what reference/insp did you use for their outfits??

hello i am SO sorry I'm so late to this unfortunately uni got in the way BUT here's an in depth thread on the costume design of this piece and all the little details and references you might have missed <3

starting off, I wanted it to feel like a wedding picture of two people from different cultures, and they're not only marrying each other but so are their aesthetics. the costumes are very distinctive while also being complementary to each other.

yennefer’s dress is very much Indian sari inspired, while jaskier’s main influence comes from the Detva region of Slovakia. I wanted these costumes to be clearly influenced by traditional clothing while being something they would also wear in universe.

yennefer’s gown while being inspired by traditional saris is also inspired by Yves Saint Laurent and Elsa Schiaparelli take’s on saris as well as this Simone Ashley's look (also the fabric is supposed to be a two-tone taffeta, so I hope that reads well enough)

jaskier's Detva inspired look works so perfectly in universe with his s1 doublets in my opinion. His costume is also inspired by other slavic folk clothing, for example his pants are mostly inspired by the polish mountain style clothing from the Zakopane region.

yennefer's also wearing alta dye on her fingers, which women adorn their fingers with for marriage ceremonies in the Bengali culture. The red dye also matches jaskier's red doublet and the dark blue flowers on jaskier's vest match yennefer's dress. like I mentioned before they're wearing wedding rings with gemstones that match each other's eye color <3 yennefer's wearing bangles, a maangtika and a nath, while jaskier's sporting the single pearl earring that I always draw him in and his other neckless are under his shirt

+ some process from the drawing !! (fun fact the first file that I found on this concept is from may 1st 2023 lmaoo) anyway I really really love it and I'm very proud of it, my fave yenskier piece to date <3

[l0uterstella]

CHARCOAL WHITE: ENGLISH LYRICS

CHACO I know you know my friend's dropped by the dogs CHACO, HANGYON No one sleeps at midnight BADOBARM The untraceable street knights CHACO The fluffy town tone BADOBARM The cold, cold banana and the swinging ghost carrot CHACO, ALL Can't wash charcoal white

CHACO Let's get things clear, it's always black and white It's exhausting, isn't it? My gray HANGYON Falling into the hourglass, turning it upside down and deceiving time, the future, and even oneself

CHACO Can't take my sense o' shallow HANGYON Tangled up with weakness CHACO Can't fake it to my shadow BADOBARM It becomes an inseparable shadow CHACO But I'll believe in my charcoal

ALL It was as dazzling as I thought it would be, yet it wasn't enough All there is is my tiny self It'll be painful, but just get over it HANGYON Overcome Soar into the air CHACO Burning until this heart turns gray BADOBARM It's even faster than the wind Heyday, heyday, heyday, heyday, running away

CHACO I know you know my friend's dropped by the dogs CHACO, HANGYON No one sleeps at midnight BADOBARM The untraceable street knights CHACO The fluffy town tone BADOBARM The cold, cold banana and the swinging ghost carrot CHACO, ALL Can't wash charcoal white

HANGYON I knew the field would suit you Bloom as you please, astragalus, no no no BADOBARM Up up up I don't wanna hear any of that Clap clap clap relaying messages, come on The audience cheers in our recognition

CHACO Can't take my sense o' shallow HANGYON Somewhere along the way, he got scared CHACO Can't fake it to my shadow BADOBARM Pretending not to see the feelings

CHACO But I'll believe, yet even so I can't help but fool myself See, it'll never turn white, this charcoal

CHACO Like the first snow or a cotton wool I'll never be as good as you Cover myself in ashes so that I can say I am me Oath to you

ALL It's all the same in someone else's eyes I'm building up walls of my own Break it all down, think about it, go beyond BADOBARM Overcome Wearing a robe of light CHACO Let all these emotions be, as gray as they are HANGYON Rushed by the heat ALL Heyday, heyday, heyday, heyday, running away

[inksandpensblog]

Sorry but I'm still thinking about this: if Chosen really "wasn’t holding back" then Glasses would be dead. He’d either die from the cold or from lack of air or from electrocution.

By the time this moment happens, Chosen's lightning has already shorted out the other three jetskis (and I reiterate, his lightning seems to have only struck the jetskis, not their riders), leaving the other three mercs incapable of reaching him. With that one strike, he turned this encounter from a 4v1 into a 1v1.

Glasses has no backup, here. He's lost the advantage of numbers, the biggest advantage his team had, and he's taking on Chosen alone.

Why do I say that numbers were the team's biggest advantage, when Glasses still has his jetski with its glitch-shots?

Because those aren't much of an advantage if Chosen decides to just tank every single shot and power through the aftereffects regardless.

Whether this was a...smart decision on Chosen's part is up for debate, but the end result is that Chosen has nullified both of Glasses' advantages against him. Glasses never pulls out his toolbar until after he's landed on the ground and disembarked from his ride, most likely because he can't wield it effectively up in midair.

The only reason I can think of for Chosen to do something as foolhardy as not dodging the glitch-shots is because he wanted his landing to be as accurate as possible, so he didn't do anything that would alter his fall-path.

With how big his glacier ends up, he could've aimed in Glasses' general direction and it still would've worked. He didn't have to be accurate.

But no, Chosen gets close enough for a point-blank attack.

So again, if he wasn’t holding back, tell me how Glasses is still alive right now??

He and Glasses are practically nose-to-nose, when Chosen strikes.

He didn't have to miss.

--

I still have to analyze Chosen's behavior in this episode as a whole, and I still have to compare it with his behavior in past episodes; but in this opening scene I am absolutely certain that he was going out of his way to avoid hurting his pursuers. To his own detriment, even.

Just because he “went all-out with his powers” doesn’t mean he wasn’t holding back. I’d even argue that he wouldn’t have had to go all-out with his powers if he’d decided that killing or crippling the mercs was okay.

Because, like I said, he could've ended Glasses right there.

[peawinkls]

why jfabe is NOT!!!! boring and lifeless and proving that wrong, an informational thread discussing their relationship and dynamic, because honestly im getting tired of ppl saying their boring

contains s3 spoilers!

The relationship between JFK and abe from Clone High is something alot of people within the community discussed, especially before s3, being talked about more after s2's finale. Many speculated that the two would remain friends or even become more than that.

Now with season 3 out, we have a lot more things to work out with, specifically episode 3. It's something a lot of people are too afraid to admit, but jfabe/abefk would make the show a lot more interesting, rather than its repeatable joanabe plotline.

So, I'm here to talk about the inner workings of this pair, why their so interesting, and why they work out so much, whether platonic or not. If ur not a fan of jfabe/abefk, or heavily dislike the ship, I'd recommend turning away from this post.

Introduction, the who, the when, the why, the how...and their differences n similarities

So, we all know these two characters. JFK the beloved, Abe the hated. Something that many people picked out of the 2020 clone high fandom. But what if i told you that the beloved and the hated were truly meant to be together from the start?

What we already know is that they are the complete opposite of each other in many ways. JFK is meant to be a parody on 90s jocks from highschool movies and tv shows. Abe is the weak nerd who desperately wants to be cool.

JFK is buff and shorter, Abe is tall and lanky. JFK is a douchebag, Abe is the nicer guy. The list goes on and on. And they even have stuff in common, such as the fear of abandonment and the fear of ruining things.

But one difference i can note is that Abe is way more naive than JFK, JFK is portrayed as empty-headed, but not empty-headed enough to not realize whats going on. Of course, despite the differences, both characters make a really good team.

And this was even evident in s2 ep10, aka the finale, where they both realize that they make a great "duo of bros who'll remain friends for the rest of their lives". Jfabe shippers were FEEDING on this shit back then you have no idea

So with this stuff out of the way, it's time to talk about my favorite episode out of season 3.

Bible Humpers: A Much Needed Praycation

This episode revolves around JFK getting tired of having meaningless sex with girls and partying hard, and decides to seek out a new life when he and Abe discovers the prayer pals club, hosted by Lady Godiva. And at first, Abe is happy to see that JFK is taking on new opportunities.

"Where the slut goes, the wing slut follows."

But eventually, JFK starts straying away from Abe and his friendship, to the point of even FORGETTING about the broniversary that Abe had planned for the both of them (he literally baked a giant cake for him, look at me and tell me thats straight cmon now).

Seeing how Abe had already lost Joan and Gandhi, he didn't wanna lose JFK either, and does everything he can to make him happy and thats so clear. And even at the end of the episode, it's revealed that Abe even respected his choice on ultimately choosing celibacy.

He really does care a bunch for JFK, liking him for who he truly was (compared to JFK's other dates) and respecting his choices. And despite choosing celibacy over Abe, the two still remain close, which really tells you how great their bond is.

So something HAS definitely changed throughout the years, from them hating each others guts to potentially becoming clone highs next couple...which didn't happen, and I'm still petty about it i will admit.

But even if they didn't become canon at the end, you could really tell that some people who worked on this episode wanted them to be a thing, and that's a good enough sign for me that they could hopefully become canon in the next season if we ever get one (still petty though).

Let's circle back to season 1 again. I'm not making a jfabe thread without mentioning Litter Kills: Literally, which is another episode that jfabe shippers fed on. In this episode, JFK's close friend Ponce dies, and he's left to grieve over him.

And in this episode, we see a side of JFK that we never saw before. He starts wondering why the hell he's feeling all of these emotions, because he's a Kennedy, and he's not used to them. But Abe helps him realize that emotions like this are normal.

And even if the two hated each other, Abe apologized to him in the end and finally realized his mistakes. It seemed like Abe disliked him, yet he cares about him. Abe never knew what if felt like, because he hasn't lost a friend close to him.

So he starts berating Cleo for comforting JFK and was even aggressive towards JFK as well, believing that he was only doing all of this just to take Cleo away from him. That was all because he NEVER knew what it was like. But he finally understood.

He was sorry, but he felt like he couldn't do much to help because he didn't experience the same thing. So he just hugged JFK and held him...for a really long time.

But that was just enough for JFK, all he needed was comfort, and Abe chose to do that. So even at the episode, he couldn't help but ask JFK if he was alright. And by the next episode, JFK was already feeling better. All it takes is someone to tell you that its gonna be okay.

So what I'm trying to say is despite their own anxieties, flaws, characteristics, whatever, their PERFECT for each other. I don't like how people label them as "boring", when their so much more deeper than that.

Jfabe/AbeFK is one of my comfort ships for this exact reason. Their lore, dynamic and relationship goes beyond that, i don't ship them just because i think their cute, but because their interesting, and it may seem like im going insane over a white boy ship, but i truly, truly, from the bottom of my heart, love this ship to pieces, and hopefully people can see that through me. Thank you, clone high.

[wildissylupus]

With these new Reaper voice lines, specifically the ones with Mei and Sojourn, seriously hope we get a deeper look at why Reyes joined Talon, cause I highly doubt it was the reason CoV stated (please retcon that short story, I beg you writers). I do think that it was part of it, that Gabe's conversation with Doomfist was a big part on why Reyes joined, but it cannot be the only reason.

The new voice lines show that Reaper does care to an extent about certain Overwatch members, his interaction with Sojourn showing a level of care that no other characters have been shown, even if it's bare minimum, and his interaction with Mei being somewhat of a warning to her rather then his usual bitter threats (at least that's how I read it). It shows a more complicated reasoning then what we have been shown in the past.

Honestly I would love it if it was revealed that during that year away from Talon Reyes actually decided to check up on what became of Overwatch, what became of the members he was close to. Him being furious to see how the world and other parts of Overwatch treated members after the explosion, Cassidy being forced back into a life of crime, Angela being prevented from helping people because of her connection to Overwatch, him and Gerard being villainized by the UN and public despite them doing so much good, despite Blackwatch being a main reason Overwatch had the information it did.

Please, as much as I make fun of Reaper for being an idiot, he's not that stupid, there needs to more to his reasoning then just one conversation and a typical want for revenge for an event Overwatch didn't cause. Him feeling like all the sacrifices he made were for nothing, that Overwatch and the world threw it all away and forgot it, he sacrificed his body, his life, all for it to mean nothing. If he felt like that, if they showed that he felt like everything he did with Overwatch was for nothing, showed valid evidence as to why he thought that, then it would give Reaper the complexity that CoV failed to give him, and what his new voice lines are succeeding in giving him.

[onecinder]

The meaning behind soup in Brokeback Mountain

Okay after rewatching the soup scenes like 10 times and reading old forum posts I just really need to talk about this. (Said forum: https://ennisjack.com/forum/index.php?topic=812.0)

Prophetic soup - it foreshadowed the ending

Ennis outwardly said he’s alright with beans but Jack bitches about the beans and so Ennis relents. This reveals so much: one, Jack might be dealt a crappy hand but he won’t just lie back and accept it, and two, Ennis really wants to please Jack. (Or rather, Ennis is drawn in by his natural desire (aka gayness) — Jack in this case is the natural desire. So by going with Soup, he’s giving in to that.)

Jack may bitch about things but unlike normal complaining, he actually does something about it. He told Ennis quite firmly, ‘no more beans’. Even though soup is so much harder to pack. Jack will still take the risk.

This is important because it ties into what the story explores — like, chances are, if they had actually chosen beans instead of soup, the food wouldn’t all be ruined from a small fall after the bear scared the mules away. But because the soup wasn’t packaged as well, it was ruined. If only they had chosen the easier option, it would have surely led to the food’s survival. This is literally an analogy of Ennis and Jack’s situation — Jack won’t accept the hand that’s dealt to him so he chooses the harder path (loving Ennis and pursuing a proper life with him, no more sneaking around) but obviously that led to his death (well, the circumstances are intentionally ambiguous but you get the point.) But this soup and bean situation definitely foreshadowed the unfortunate ending.

It's a euphemism

See this quote of Ennis’s: “I never eat soup.” The Basque said this in response, with a raised eyebrow: “It’s too early in the summer to be sick of beans.” Could ‘soup’ be a euphemism for something else? Just for the sake of this analysis I’ll define euphemism: a euphemism is basically a gentler, more proper way of saying something nasty — in this case, ‘soup’ could be a euphemism for homosexuality. Ennis says is pretty harshly, too, or maybe he’s just trying to convince himself — he could be saying, “I’m not queer.” YET HE ORDERS THE SOUP ANYWAY. BECAUSE JACK WANTS IT AND LET’S BE HONEST, HE WANTS IT TOO, EVERYONE’S SICK OF BEANS, it’s just that he can let it slide while Jack will NOT.

Soup and beans are really the only thing on the menu. They just have to deal with that. But it's 'too early in the summer' and at the end of the summer they return to their 'normal diet' aka heteronormativity. Women on the menu, not men. (Forgive that wording)

Ennis's care

Okay, now onto the most obvious thing it's trying to imply.

It's just Ennis showing his care for Jack. Jack is always the one making the moves and trying to further their relationship because he's:

Not traumatised by the hate crimes against gay people that Ennis saw as a child, and

His personality makes him less afraid of the consequences of being openly queer than Ennis. His desire to be his true self is also probably stronger than Ennis -- we see him not just try to pursue a life with Ennis but also attempt to do it with other men after he saw Ennis wasn't going to budge (which is another example of him not accepting the crappy hand life deals him while Ennis just settles for it every time -- "if you can't fix it, you gotta stand it")

But Ennis shows his care much more subtly. For example, being willing to take soup for Jack and 'taking the blame' when the trader chides him for choosing the hard option by saying that he was the one who was tired of beans.

Also, how willing he was to switch over to be the one monitoring the sheep up there in the mountains instead of jack.

Buuut these last few points are pretty obvious to anyone who watches so i'm not going to elaborate more on that, I just needed to get this out of my system.

Complainers never win

I really love how the soup is just an analogy for their life situation. And Jack's always complaining, yes, but he wants to DO something about it. For example, he is the one who his son's school hates because he 'complains too much' (his words) and that's why it's always Lureen who has to call. He acknowledges this himself.

He is the one who brings up worries about his son's possible dyslexia (in the short story, not in the movie) and pushing for a better tutor, medication, anything that might help Bobby live a better life.

So, yes. He's a big complainer. But instead of being a brat, in reality he's just identifying problems and trying to sort them out. That's just the type of guy he is.

...And look where that got him. It really says something about the story. That's why I think the ending suited them perfectly even though it was so, so painful and I and many other fans would definitely feel better if it was happier.

[academic-vampire]

I’m writing an essay about Poe’s short story, “The Black Cat”—mainly the fact that it is told from a prison cell as a sort of confession. And as I was writing my essay, I realized how obsolete the reader is to the story.

That instantly reminded me of Camus’ book, The Fall, as the reader is not crucial to the narrator. The narrator does not require a reader.

In both stories, the narrator simply attempts to justify themselves to themselves, not to the reader. In a way, both stories are an attempt at self-exculpation, and I find it fascinating.

[maretriarch]

hs2 is so extremely nothing its defenders will be like you can't judge it as a continuation of homestuck, its own thing!! which i would agree if hs2 wanted or tried to be anything else than meta homestuck commentary which truthfully we need like an 8th hole in the head. homestuck is already its own meta commentary. This Could Have Been An Email two paragraph twitter thread. it has no interest in really telling a story or new events or new action new anything all it wants is to painfully toddle from character to character then sit down and monologue directly at the camera about the characters motivations in homestuck proper. thats crazy. thats the blu-ray bonus reel not a story

[letters-adressed-to-the-fire]

three times Taylor presented us the same character in ttpd and we didn’t notice (or maybe you did)

So, what if I told you I found a connection between who’s afraid of little old me, the albatross and Cassandra?

As most of you have been doing, I’ve been listening to ttpd nonstop, but while I was reading some of the lyrics, I found a very interesting connection I wanted to share with you.

In this post, I’m gonna introduce you to the character of “the monster”. But to start this analysis, I decided to construct our protagonist through a short story first:

“Once upon a time, there was a monster. Well, she wasn’t always a monster. In fact, she was once tame and gentle, living a life that was far removed from the terrifying existence she now endures. But once she started to become something people weren’t ready to embrace, she turned into a threat in the eyes of everyone else. It was the harsh and unforgiving world around her that transformed our protagonist from a harmless creature into a being that others now fear and despise.

That's why society has decided to lock her in a cell. The “monster” is now incapacitated enough, so she can’t defend herself anymore. They stripped her of her power, taking out her defenses and leaving her vulnerable.

“I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean "Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth"” (taken from "who's afraid of little old me")

After enough time had passed, our protagonist decided to accept the hardest of truths. She was never gonna convince her cagers that she was anything but the dangerous creature they think they’re protecting their people from.

“I was in my tower weaving nightmares Twisting all my smiles into snarls” (taken from "Cassandra")

The monster started calling herself a monster. She has come to accept this identity society has bestowed upon her: she wasn’t born as a monster but was taught to be one. Society's cruelty and rejection have finally forced her to become something she never wanted to be.

“You caged me and then you called me crazy I am what I am 'cause you trained me” (taken from "who's afraid of little old me")

Yes, her monstrous label stems from society's refusal to accept something about her—something that she now knows was right all along. But even if somehow the truth finds its way out (that it will), the damage has already been done. Her cell had already been filled with snakes countless times.

“So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?” (taken from "Cassandra")

Our story ends with our monster finally finding a way to haunt those who wronged her and remind them of their cruelty. And she had to do nothing. When the deception died, everyone saw what had always been there.

“Locked me up in towers But I'd visit in your dreams And they tried to warn you about me” (taken from "The albatross")

---

Her transformation into a monster was not just a physical or mental change, but a profound shift in how she saw herself and how others saw her. Society created her monstrous persona through their fear and rejection, but in the end, she embraced it as her own.

This character of the monster, therefore, is not inherently evil or malicious. Instead, she is a product of her environment, shaped by the cruelty and misunderstanding of those around her.

The specific vocabulary she uses to describe this character (such as “tame”, “snarl”, “took out her teeth”, “caged”, etc.) is what makes it clear that she’s expecting everyone to picture the idea of a “monster” (or what is considered a monster by the people she’s referencing in these three songs). In a way, she’s trying to convey the feeling of being dehumanized by people’s opinions. Yes, she literally calls herself a monster, but it’s an obvious metaphor for how society strips those who are different of their humanity, reducing them to something less than human, something to be feared and controlled. Taylor is trying to remind us how social pressure and prejudices can transform the innocent into the feared and the gentle into the dangerous. She takes the figure of the monster and makes her stand as a symbol of resilience and survival, a testament to the strength it takes to endure and adapt in a world that seeks to cage and define you.

[ayasenisan1713]

I want to talk about a few misconceptions on Kim Dokja. Some people describe him as 'a person who is loved but doesn’t realize it' or 'someone with low self-esteem', but I think it’s wrong. Even Lee Hahkyun (ORV side story protagonist) only said that Kim Dokja was a 'person who loves stories more than anyone else'.

I’ll explain why I think it’s wrong. First, Kim Dokja may have had a low self-esteem as a child (which led to a suicide attempt) due to bullying after the incident with his parents, but after that he grew up. People mature and in the end he simply became used to being isolated and staying alone. He’s an introverted person who feels uncomfortable with talking to Yoo Sangah at the beginning, but it isn’t related to self-esteem.

In his thoughts, for example, you can’t find any trace of the 'I’m worthless', 'I’m useless', 'I should die', 'I only make people uncomfortable when I’m there' of people with a low self confidence in stories. On the contrary, he even seems very confident that he’s the one who can help Yoo Jonghyuk survive the scenarios.

So let me clear up one thing: Kim Dokja didn’t sacrifice himself because of low self-esteem or self-confidence, he doesn’t find his life less important than others. It can be seen in how he makes plans to survive since the beginning of the scenarios. Even accumulating companions at the start of the apocalypse was because 'I know a certain sunfish who did this and didn’t survive' ('this' being trying to survive alone, I don’t remember the original quote). He thinks that he 'knows this world more than anyone else', and he is the only one who can help Yoo Jonghyuk see the end of the scenarios. He doesn’t wonder 'why me' or thinks that he can’t do it. He also doesn’t care that much about others’ gazes since he even goes as far as scamming people in broad daylight and provoking the regressor. He doesn’t think 'Yoo Jonghyuk hates me' in self pity but instead curses the regressor’s personality.

In short, Kim Dokja wants to survive and feels confident about himself. I’d even say that he actually doesn’t care about others’ gazes since the apocalypse doesn’t feel real to him (because of the fourth wall), and is very indifferent about the current situation (death of strangers on the subway, etc…). Speaking of indifference, I’ll now talk about why Kim Dokja sacrificed himself.

Due to his childhood, and even his suicide attempt (because when you seriously consider suicide and attempt it, you don’t view life in the same way and can easily fall back into these tendencies), Kim Dokja somewhat lost his 'survival instincts' and the notion of the importance of life. He doesn’t fear death compared to people who feel very scared faced with a life-threatening situation (but he’s still trying his best to survive the apocalypse).

So, to him, 'sacrificing himself' when he has many lives isn’t scary since he knows he will still live, it’s only a means to complete the scenario and doesn’t mean anything. And objectively, it’s right, it doesn’t matter because he’ll survive, and the only problem is that others will be traumatized because they’re scared they will lose him—but he needs to complete the scenario anyway so he has to do it whether they’re okay with it or not.

Now, about him sacrificing himself in a situation where he won’t survive… Well, everyone should have read stories about people sacrificing themselves for their companions. It’s not that his life is less important than theirs, it’s that his companions became important to him. He was lonely in his childhood so they may be his first friends, he has also read the story of Yoo Jonghyuk trying to survive for 10 years… I think these are enough arguments for him to become very attached to them and want them to absolutely survive. He cares too much; even though his death will sadden them, his companions living is more important.

And finally, the ending. Kim Dokja never said he wasn’t important to them or that they didn’t love him. It’s just that, no matter how much he cares about them, he loves stories. He has been reading all his life. Moreover, he has to dream about the universes to let them continue to exist. That’s why, even though he knows it is selfish, he chose to continue dreaming about stories of his companions instead of staying with them. And it’s precisely because he knew how much they loved him, how much his death traumatized them every time, that he left a part of himself with them instead of simply leaving them. Kim Dokja left for himself just enough to remain himself (51%) and gave them all the rest of his being (49%). But that being was still Kim Dokja, not mere memories of the past, so in a way he chose both options—stories and his companions. He didn’t even make a choice, it’s just that he gave 1% more of himself to the stories to not become completely divided (because, if someone is divided into 50/50, who is the real one?) and because he preferred their stories slightly more than going through them (because he’s supposed to be introverted, if you’ve forgotten).

His companions didn’t understand this, that he didn’t only choose them, so they didn’t treat 49% of Kim Dokja as Kim Dokja when 49% was still Kim Dokja (just with less memories and an alter ego out there also watching their stories).

The point is, Kim Dokja’s behavior wasn’t due to lack of self-confidence or because he doesn’t know that he is loved.

He knows he is loved but doesn’t really take it into account because the more he accepts that others love him, the more he is conscious that his plans to complete the scenarios (sacrificing himself being the most-efficient way) hurt them greatly, so he turns a blind eye to it to not have to face the fact that he puts them through mental torture every time and hurts his loved ones. He is aware that they love him more than anything in the world, he knows it but he doesn’t want to admit that it’s the case (to avoid the guilt). So it’s not taken into account, sacrificing himself is still the most efficient way and he’ll come back to them anyway (or at least they will live).

Kim Dokja loves them, he knows they love him, but he is selfish (and he also knows it) and also wanted to continue watching these stories that mesmerized him and changed his life (when he was a mere office worker living monotonously every day) and saved him (after his suicide attempt), this story that made him choose to continue living through ten more years until the apocalypse happened.

[firestorm09890]

Hell Screen

narrator: Yoshihide was an artist that everyone hated and who was an awful person, but his daughter was kind and sweet and everyone loved her so we all kinda tolerated her dad

Yoshihide: I would do anything for my daughter, Yuzuki. I can't paint something unless I've seen it with my eyes.

Yuzuki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety

Lord Horikawa: You've painted some nice art for me. I'll do literally any favor for you now.

Yoshihide: Can you release my daughter from your service

Lord Horikawa: no. fuck you

narrator: he wasn't in love with her or anything, he just felt bad that Yoshihide was her only family.

Lord Horikawa: Also I'm commissioning a massive scene of the Buddhist Hell, artist who can't paint something without having seen it

Yoshihide: ok

[various agonies of Yoshihide's apprentices]

[psychological agonies of Yoshihide also]

Yuzuki: [is seen growing unhappier and more stressed as the days go by]

narrator: people are saying Lord Horikawa's forcing himself upon her. this is false because he is too cool. this is Yoshihide's fault

[incident in which the narrator encounters Yuzuki fleeing from what was clearly assault]

narrator: yeah

Yoshihide: I'm almost done with the painting. I just need to see a maiden burn in a carriage so I can paint it

Lord Horikawa: okay [puts Yuzuki in a carriage and burns it]

narrator: stop saying it's because she didn't reciprocate his love it was clearly to punish Yoshihide for being so fucked up. I know this is true because Lord Horikawa said so

-- End --

[ohgaylor]

combat, I'm ready for combat. I say I don't want that, but what if I do? → so yeah, it's a war, it's the goddamn fight of my life, and you started it → this is a state of grace, this is the worthwhile fight → this ultraviolet morning light below tells me this love is worth the fight → sit with you in the trenches → and I'll never let you go ‘cause I know this is a fight that someday we're gonna win → and you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars, and why I've spent my whole life trying to put it into words → tonight, we’ll stand, get off our knees, fight for what we’ve worked for all these years and the battle was long, it’s the fight of our lives but we’ll stand up champions tonight → the worst was over, my hand was the one you reached for all throughout the Great War, always remember uh-huh, we're burned for better I vowed I would always be yours ‘cause we survived the Great War → threw out our cloaks and our daggers because it's morning now → when I dropped my sword, I threw it in the bushes and knocked on your door, and we live in peace but if someone comes at us, this time, I'm ready

[santacoppelia]

I just finished reading Neverwhere, and I’m about to fall into an intertextuality rabbit hole through Neil Gaiman’s tropes, themes and phrases.

Don’t wait me up, children. This is going to take some time.

I’ll just say that I've just read about an angel living in a trendy district with antique shops and places to eat, who is named after a place, who drinks a very fancy wine… And he is a perfect bastard who loves old music. If you haven’t read or listened to Neverwhere, you don’t need any more spoilers.

No. Not a single thought in my head, really. I won’t spoil anything more. I guess that I’ll spend part of my “birthday holiday” writing this (and reading some more stuff, obviously).

[descendant-of-truth]

The amount of unexplored concepts in Zi-o is driving me insane but I can only tackle one thing per post so let's talk about Sougo for a minute

As someone who immediately clocked Sougo as having something off about him (to the point where I wrote day-one fanfiction about it), I was really expecting there to be a few episodes where we just. sat down and unpacked all of it. We didn't get that, but the crumbs we did get only solidify my opinion that Sougo is a really compelling character when you take the time to think about him.

On a surface level, Sougo is… very normal, I think. He's a cheerful guy, he's polite, he has a definite silly streak to him. He's kinda awkward, he fumbles around with Sento's catchphrase and struggles with his schoolwork. Like any good-natured protagonist, he has a drive to protect others and has no problem inconveniencing himself a bit to help someone out. These are all true things about him.

Sougo is also very good at manipulating people. And he does it by using his usual mannerisms to his advantage.

Take the episodes with Kuroto for instance. Sougo gets on Kuroto's side effortlessly by looking bright-eyed and enthusiastic about working with him, and this is completely believable to us as viewers because Sougo is always this enthusiastic. It's even relevant to his goal to become king - of course he would want to study under an actual king to get experience!

What makes this interesting is that it's only half true. Sougo isn't faking his enthusiasm, but he is faking his motivation. He doesn't want to work with Kuroto because he thinks he's cool, he wants to work with him because he wants to confirm if he's terrible first, and then take notes on how to not be terrible in the future.

And this is what makes him so good at manipulation: he knows how to channel his behaviors in such a way that he always seems genuine. Of course, it probably helps that he's often only half-faking anyway, which makes it even more convincing.

He's also usually using this skill for a good cause, but when armed with the knowledge that he became evil in the original timeline, it suddenly puts him in a different light; one where you can go "oh, so that's where he's keeping all his supervillain potential."

He displays this cunning side to him in a lot of smaller instances - using Woz's dedication to him as a means to summon him at any time, getting Geiz and Tsukuyomi to hang out with him under the pretense of their mission to keep him from turning evil, so on and so forth.

They sneak this part of him into the script all the time, and the only person to really bring it up is, interestingly enough, his mirror world self.

This scene makes me go nuts because it perfectly displays Sougo's inner conflict that he's usually really good at keeping under wraps. Though admittedly, they also make it a little unclear as to whether he was actually trying to manipulate anyone or just feels like he did anyway... but I think I've got it mostly figured out.

What's happening here, as I understand it, is that Sougo does genuinely want to save Geiz, but there is a small part of him that wants the power that comes with the Ryuga watch, too. And he does not like that part.

He knows that he's manipulated people before, and so when he notices having a second motivation here beyond his more idealistic one, he feels like he's manipulating people again. Making Tsukuyomi think that he's actually a good person when he just prompted Geiz to go sacrifice himself - he harbors a surprising amount of guilt.

And that's another key thing about Sougo that I haven't talked about yet: he hides things constantly.

Like, for example, why he wants to become king in the first place.

This is a lie. Sougo wants to become king because of a recurring dream depicting the most traumatic event of his life, where his only solace is someone telling him that he can save the world if he becomes a king.

But he insists in multiple episodes that it's just "something he's always known." He treats it very casually, despite it dramatically affecting his life plans.

Sougo treats most things with the same smiley nonchalance, honestly, in a way that can make him feel sort of detached from reality at times. But he takes things more seriously than it seems, and it's clear that he harbors a very deep sense of loneliness in him as well. Geiz and Tsukuyomi being his first real friends is one of the driving forces of the narrative, after all.

He also just drops lines like this sometimes that make me go crazy like hey has anyone checked on this guy emotionally during the entire show, I am Concerned

Like!! he says this about the possibility of him being the only person to not survive the final battle, and I know this isn't the first time he's expressed a similar sentiment and it's kind of a tradition for the protagonists of these shows to be like this but. god. and he says it while smiling

(You might be noticing a theme with Sougo and smiling through pain and you would be absolutely correct to do so)

I guess what I'm getting at with this whole post is that the appeal of Sougo's character, to me, is that he's just as much a silly, awkward guy with loads of enthusiasm as he is a cunning, clever person who knows how to lie to get the outcome he wants. He's both very cheerful and very sad on the inside, and none of these things are treated like they're in conflict with each other.

Sougo himself said it best:

And I dunno, I just think that's a really cool way to write your main hero who's working against his destiny to become evil. Or just any character in general. I both completely believe him as a hero and also never quite got rid of that "off" feeling that made me compelled to write about him when the show first started.

Zi-o as a show missed a lot of opportunities to explore things deeper, and Sougo is definitely included in that, but it never failed to keep me interested in him as a character because something about his specific combination of personality traits makes him very compelling to watch.

(He also makes the other writing flaws that much more frustrating because he's way too good of a character for these scripts)