#like all shows should know themselves as well as my life is murder knows itself

[alexa-crowe]

subjected the parents to some of my mlim episode ideas hehe

[jasontoddiefor]

“Bruce can’t kill! He’s not a cop. He will just beat the shit out of you, arrest you, and hand you over to the cops who he doesn’t even trust. Also he believes in redemption, which is why he utilizes the Gotham prison system despite it never being focused on redemption or rehabilitation and also he continues to utilize Arkham despite it canonically making everyone worse!”

The issue isn’t just that Bruce doesnt kill the mass murderers of Gotham, it’s that his moral stance has no nuance. He doesn’t believe in self defense or defense of others. If bane was killing Damian and Damian killed bane to save himself, Bruce would blame Damian. There’s no room in his ideology, it’s just as extreme and skewed as other characters. AND! He can’t just let it be his own ideology. He has to force it on other people as well

I‘m assuming the second one is from the same anon! If not I’ll still answer in one since they work together

You‘re bringing up multiple interesting points here so I‘m gonna break those down briefly!

Batman‘s (Legal) Authority

He’s a vigilante. He has been enemy of the force for a time. The fact that he’s allowed to operate at all hinges p much only on the fact that he’s going after criminals and Gordon like him. And the moment he goes after criminals that are on the “legal” side of things, he’s public enemy #1. He’s never had any kind of binding legal authority.

Violence used in arrests

Batman is violent. Sometimes it’s on purpose, to show him losing control and going to far, sometimes it’s just “Haha Batman go punch” comic book narration style. But we also see panels of Batman talking people down, not using violence as a first, middle, last and only resort. And my original point about that was that “beaten up” is still better than “dead”.

Reliability of the system

I mean, yeah we know the cops and Arkham suck but what else is he supposed to do besides what he’s already doing, weeding out corrupt cops and funding Arkham? He could start his own private prison but we’ve seen in other comics how much that Does Not Work. I think ultimately, Batman sees himself as an emergency service trying to pick up what the system itself can’t do while trying to fix it himself. Meanwhile, people still have to go somewhere.

Humanity/Morality of Batman

Bruce Wayne is a dick. Very my way or the high way, arrogant, and a man of extremes. He cares about people, about love, but Christ he‘s not a good communicator. He‘s got flaws, his inability to see nuance at times is certainly one of them. But what struck me - especially in Batman: The Knight, which was why I added that panel and cannot stop recommending that comic - was that Bruce defines himself by acting out of love, the want to protect, and the realization that if his mission is to save human life, he cannot take it. No matter how much he might resent a person or think they’d deserve it, if he became the kind of person that would kill for his mission, he’d become someone unrecognizable.

Batman‘s ideology as a frame

This is going to sound very dismissive and I promise I do not mean it that way. Batman is a character that says “we don’t kill, period. If you can’t do that, don’t do the job”. Like, that sounds incredibly offensive, but those are the standards to which he holds himself. I’m the best, I can do it without resorting to taking a life, so if you do the same job I’m doing, you should be just as able. Bruce didn’t really make any of his Robins his side kick, they more or less did that themselves, kicking and screaming, whether. Batman wanted them to be Robin or not. If they wanted to, they could drop out (ofc they don’t actually can bc we’d be left without any comics) but they don’t. So we’re back to Batman saying, “if you wanna do the job, you have to be able to do it this way”. Thus one of the Robins taking a life in self defense doesn’t fly because they’re supposed to be better. Is that particularly rational? Well, no, not necessarily, but that’s what it boils down to. If they had to resort to taking a life to save themselves, they shouldn’t have been in the position I’m the first place, but somewhere away from the fight. He trained himself until he could fight without taking a life and thus everyone else who wants to do the same should learn it as well.

All of these are associated with the whole discussion surrounding Batman killing, and you raise interesting points regarding how Batman operates and the hypocrisies involved. The last two are difficult to discuss particularly because we’re still reading comic book heroes and not actual legal irl batvigilante. I think this is still a step sideways from my original point that Batman’s refusal to kill on principle is a valid stance the character should be allowed to keep, but all of this is interconnected.

[annebrontesrequiem]

1, 16, and 24 for the ask thing

Thanks for the ask!

The character everyone gets wrong

There are a couple of characters I think that this could apply to, but I think the ones that grinds my gears the most is Heathcliff (from Wuthering Heights). Oh Heathcliff...

I really, truly don't understand why people read Heathcliff as a romantic (romantic as in love not as in the romanticism movement) figure. He's, not. He's so much not that if you didn't get the memo in the first part of the book, the second part of the book is just Emily going "look, look at this man. Look at how much he sucks. He's abusive. He's destroying his dead lover's son. He sucks."

This is pretty explicitly saying that Heathcliff sucks. So how are people out here romanticism him as a dark, broody hero (looking at you Stephanie Meyer specifically). Really I think it's cause adaptations cutting out the second half and because most people haven't read Wuthering Heights and only know it through cultural mitosis. But I'm still annoyed about it.

16. You can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

One that I don't think most people actually like is a shoujo protagonist who is just so passive as to decide nothing for themselves. This is especially annoying when the shoujo story itself is a compelling one. Two of my favorite shoujo (one is actually technically shonen but shhh) are like this, and it drives me nuts cause I adore the series themselves.

One I think is pretty popular is the yan-dere archetype. I just don't get it. Like I do get the idea of exploring taboo subjects in fiction, that I get. It's why murder ballads are a thing. It's why Lady Chatterley's Lover and the Red and the Black and the Scarlet Letter and like... Outlander are like that (yes I've read three Outlander novels; the first two are the best). People like the taboo. But like... every yan-dere fic I've read has just made me wish someone would shoot the yan-dere and relieve me of my misery. The only yan-dere done well is in fact not a yan-dere but a subversion of the genre... Shion Sonozaki (my beloved). Like... I don't get it.

24. Topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

God, so many topics. I think out of all of them the one that drives me the most nuts is people who are like "classics suck" or "I only read YA because all other books are problematic". Shoutout to the YA authors who were like "School literature like the Great Gatsby taught me being creepy about the woman I love is okay.

Like... genuinely y'all never read any of these books because what the actual fuck. The Great Gatsby explicitly shows how Gatsby's obsession with Daisy ruins his life. He fucking dies at the end. How is that supporting Gatsby's outlook on life? Nick says that Gatsby turned out alright in the end but Nick is an unreliable narrator and no Gatsby did fucking not.

Now don't get me wrong. This book - and most classics - has very real issues. Fitzgerald's antisemitism is very explicit. He was also, racist and homophobic and this is even more explicit in his other works (especially his short stories). It's important to discuss this when discussing these books, especially in class. Fitzgerald's works are flawed texts, as classics often are. A great deal are fundamentally flawed (holy shit Lovecraft) but they are still influential, and must be acknowledged as such.

And no this is not me saying "haha product of time it's fine". No that's a shitty argument. Brushing off flaws of classics is as bad as condemning all classics for those flaws.

Cause these books do like, mean something. Just because you don't like a book doesn't mean you can claim whatever of what it did, even when your claim directly contradicts the text. And classics should be looked at holistically. You can cherry pick the worst things from a great deal of them. You can also cherry pick them to be perfect and without flaw. And guess what? Both of these approaches are shit from an academic perspective. And from a viewpoint of the world. If you can only exist this way, your world must be so small.

Like, I dislike Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. The misogyny in it is at times so overwhelming that reading it was genuinely difficult. But I cannot sit here and say it has no important qualities. It's one of the most influential novels written by a black man in America. It discusses black nationalism, communism and race, various schools of thought amongst black activists, police brutality, the running of activist groups by white people and how an organization that may say they care about black people ultimately is indifferent towards their suffering. It also discusses the role white women have in upholding racism, in a way different from white men. Ellison's portrayal of women made me deeply uncomfortable, but I cannot in good faith say it's only because of his misogyny (which, to be clear, there's a lot of misogyny). Sometimes the truth is uncomfortable.

Invisible Man is a strange, surrealist, and at points beautiful novel. It's important, it's so important. I am glad that I read it. I don't think I'll ever like it. But I'm glad I read it.

Classics are like that sometimes. Most are imperfect, but I hope that one day our books now will be seen as old, outdated. It means that we will have progressed. Just reading YA because classics are flawed is ridiculous. YA can be good, YA can even be great. But no one should only read YA. If you care about a topic, read about it. Read theory, read nonfiction. Read more. Just read more, and more variety. Widen your world. A narrow lens is always a poor one to experience life.

Anyways, yeah. Classics are important. Their flaws should never be ignored, but neither should their strong suits, why they have survived the test of time. So stop acting like Hugo's misogyny means Les Mis is automatically not worth reading. I promise if you read it you'll find a critique of our worldview so poignant it will be moving. Even if you don't like it. (Which nooo plz don't dislike one of my favorite books lol <3).

Yeah... I think that's it. I rambled so much.

[mxtxfanatic]

I just wanna say you're really good at analysis. I was wondering if you have any tips? I feel like I kinda suck at analyzing whether it's connecting themes or character intentions.

Awww, thank you anon! I happen to have taught intro to Creative Writing courses, so this is right up my alley lol.

I always say that the first step of analysis is connecting with your emotions in how a particular work makes you feel. For instance, let’s say I read a story and I felt bad for the main character. From there, I can then move on to figuring out 1) why I, personally, felt bad for said character, 2) if the creator intended for me to feel bad for this character and how do I know, and potentially 3) if not then why did I feel bad despite the author’s intentions?

Because we as humans are storytellers, we recycle a lot of story beats and themes. This is not a bad thing, just a neutral fact. This allows us to make social commentary by either driving home certain points like societal morals or who we in society should look up to or disparage, and it also allows us to challenge the ideals society upholds since we would all be inundated with then through various stories. Now this is very general, but obviously these ideals may change in some ways from society to society and throughout history, and when we get into genres, the ideas expressed there will also naturally have their own specific commentary and commonalities. If I’m in the romance genre, I’m looking for what x society has to say about romantic love, how permanent/fleeting it is, and how that society defines it. If I’m in the scifi genre, I’m looking for social commentary on the future and how our current day trajectory will affect it.

Ok, so now let’s be specific: let’s discuss Wei Wuxian in mdzs. He is the protagonist, and we know this because the narrative mostly follows him. However, the POV is not in 1st person; why? Well, mdzs is a novel about gossip and mob mentality, how victors can rewrite truth to paint themselves as heroes and deny their wrongdoings. How do we know this? The story repeatedly tells us about what people say, then it shows us their actions that don’t align. Why is the story not in 1st person? Because then we would be left with wwx’s character bias and be unable to verify what others have done through a neutral narrator. Without a 3rd person perspective, we would not know what Jiang Cheng had been up to for the last 13 years as fact, but we do know this in the story because we see it from multiple character’s thoughts, his included. Without the 3rd person, we would be left in the dark about what really happened with Qin Su and some of the more intricate parts of Jin Guangyao’s villainy, since it only happens with the two present.

Now let’s bring feelings into it: I personally like Wei Wuxian because I think he is a charming, good person. I like underdog characters who come out on top in the end. Does the story support this? Well, we are shown multiple scenes where wwx in his first life is surrounded by people pre-ssc, and in his second, the juniors all flock to him before and after his identity is discovered. So him being charming is supported by the writing, itself. How about him being a good person? Well, we start off the story finding out that he’s a mass murdering villain who finally gets his due after attempting to kill off the other clans with his evil cultivation. However, this beginning narrative is undermined by:

1) being told almost immediately upon meeting the “hero who ended wwx,” Jiang Cheng, that jc is actually a mass murderer who imprisons and tortures people. Later, we find the other clans are also corrupt and willing to participate in and turn the other way in the face of actual evil. So not “heroes”

2) being told and shown that the people under wwx’s protection were not disciples but actually the powerless remnants of a fallen clan that were forced into a labor camp for sharing a surname with an already deposed tyrant

3) being told and shown that what the cultivation clans were actually after in murdering wwx was his cultivation tool so that they can oppress the other clans. Wwx’s death was necessary because he refused to conform to this corruption.

So is my feeling that wwx is a good guy justified by the narrative? Yes it is.

This is, of course, a very, very simplified crash course on analysis that takes me a semester to drive home with my students. It also takes a lot of practice in 1) learning how to recognize and state your feelings on a work (even “I don’t know” is an opening for parts 2 and 3 of an analysis: “what don’t you know?” “where are you confused?” “is this intentional?”) 2) not judging your opinions harshly i.e. thinking that everyone else is “sooooo much smarter” than you and discounting your ideas before they even fully form, and 3) learning to discuss these ideas with others in honest discourse, being open to learning something new and being mistaken in equal turns without shame or judgement.

I still miss things when I analyze, and that’s why I love discussion, because I learn something new. I also notice things people I discuss with miss, so I get to impart something that others may appreciate. We’re not infallible, but the goal should be to grow and create community around something, not be stuck and stagnant in our individual thinking. And also, have fun!

[charrfie]

GIVE ME THE ELLIE LORE RRAAAAAGG🫵🫵🫵

OHHH BOY OKAY WHERE DO I START WITH THIS. HEADS UP THIS IS GOING TO BE SO LONG EVEN IF IM JUST SUMMARIZING THE BASIC SET UP!!! Also the plot is pretty heavy on violence but for the sake of this ask I'll try to skirt around the details

I suppose before I start explaining the details surrounding Elle I should talk about the actual overarching story itself! It's a story of reflection, mostly. Something I put together (with my boyfriend who made the other main character in the story, Tilly!) that contains a lot of the feelings I was never able to make sense of/reconcile with as a kid. Obviously it's done in a super over-the-top kind of way but I feel like it still works pretty well for its purpose. A lot of the metaphors and plot points are actually INTENTIONALLY inflated bc I wanted to encompass any weird middle schooler's love for edge and cringe (... my love for those things haven't changed either, admittedly <3). It's about young sapphic love and finding family in friends rather than in blood, it's about how fucked up middle school is, it's about transness and identity. It's about growing up too fast. There's a lot more to be said about the themes of it but these are the most prominent I feel.

As for the plot itself, I'll only explain the opening of it or else we'll be here all day. What you need to know is: Elle is a pretty fucked up kid. Often bullied for being The Weird Girl in middle school and with a mom who doesn't really care about her (would classify it as neglectful like "you do your thing I'll do mine" rather than abusive though ig neglect is a kind of abuse), she's left to face the world on her own. And of course this leads to things like unrestricted internet access as a child (should mention it takes place roughly in 2008/2009 so this kind of stuff is in full swing), morbid curiosities not really having a reason to fade, etc. There's quite a bit that happens in between her early life and the catalyst of what sets the plot in motion, like how she loses one of her eyes and whatnot, but I'll skip that part for now considering it's a little upsetting? Anyways, one day she meets a girl named Miriam. Miriam is a sweetheart and an A+ student... as well as the first person to give Elle a second of their time. Over the following weeks, a friendship starts to bloom between them. The friendship, however, comes to a close much too soon when a very paranoid Elle fucks up and makes a split second decision that gets Miriam killed. Its completely motivated by fear and self preservation, so of course she instantly regrets it. None of the potential witnesses around her figure she had anything to do with it. She's just a little girl after all. But there's one person who saw what she did. Staring at Elle from a distance with knowing in her eyes. Tilly. And it just so happens that Tilly is also kind of a fucked up Weird Girl! Who goes to Elle's school! Of course she does. Elle heads to school over the following days expecting to be called a murderer, arrested, or killed herself after being exposed by Tilly but... this doesn't happen...? Tilly tells no one. Rather, the students at school show Elle pity, thinking she was a victim. And yet Elle feels Tilly's eyes bearing holes into the back of her head all throughout class. Elle suspects this is a threatening thing, but instead, Tilly soon expresses an interest in Elle that likely also stems from her own morbid curiosity (however Elle can't fucking stand her for quite a while). Over time the two find themselves bonding somehow! Elle finds comfort in Tilly's similar struggles to her own, finds someone who pays attention to her for once with no possibility of hurting her. Tilly finds a home in Elle that her broken family can't provide for her. It sounds very unhealthy considering the context behind their meeting but it's genuinely very helpful for both of them, and sooner or later they find themselves dating ^_^ !! This, uh..... doesn't stop them from getting into worse trouble down the line though............

I have a much longer version of this written out but this is a lot already so maybe another time? Sorry if this sounds rushed!! Its a lot of info I'm trying to stuff in here at once so a lot of the more nuanced and slow-moving topics dealt with in the story may seem a little awkwardly phrased here

Now despite literally everything I've said about Elle and Tilly, they're both big babies and I love them a lot. They're very sweet just ignore the violence okay? Here's some art of them together my bf (@nervigg) did!! Same one I used as my pfp! Girlfriends :^]

[littlethingwithfeathers]

8, 25, 46, 54 please? Not to be greedy but...😁

Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story? Middle. Hands down. Middle chapters of trilogies are almost always my favorite... and usually when I'm writing, the first few scenes I start imagining are usually somewhere in the middle. It'll be an important scene that's the crux of the fic without being like... the climax or a major conflict. Something really crunchy that is the seed of all the other action in the fic. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on? Hmm. I mean, I'm like any writer and I love to have eyeballs on my work, and love interaction/response to said writing even more. So... I could cheat and say all of it, because that would certainly be true. But I also know that because I'm a fandom hermit, I definitely don't like... put myself out there to get eyes on my writing. I kinda just come down off Mount Fic with my story chiseled on a tablet, throw it into the ocean and then flee back to my cave. I could probably... I dunno... advertise myself better? But... that means I have to be social and I sometimes really struggle with online interactions. Is it possible to have social anxiety for online communication? Questions for later... But anyway. That said... Here's some fics I'd love to see more views/response to. "We Might Be Exactly Like We Were" MCU Steve/Bucky. Explicit. Post-Winter Soldier, Pre-Civil War alternate story. I was in a dark place when I wrote this, and I actually feel like I wrote my way out of it. The fic itself starts dark, but ends more optimistic and I'm just... really proud of how accurately I got my feelings on the page. There's a lot of sadness... both about my life and also the direction the canon went with these characters. But I tried to bring the joy that I wished for at the end. And as big as the fandom for Stucky is, I wish it had gotten more eyeballs. I'm really proud of it. "Crawling Down the Avenue" The Newsroom Sloan/Don. Explicit. Spoilers for... Season 2 I think? When I came back to fic writing after about a decade of hiatus, I started off writing fic for the show The Newsroom. It's great. Everyone should watch at least the first couple of seasons. Honestly... I probably don't wish for more engagement so much as just that the show still existed and had a bigger audience. But anyway, here it is. I really had fun writing this and loved this pairing. "Widow's Walk" NBC Hannibal, Hannigram. Explicit. Check the tags. Spoilers for the end of Hannibal. I was really pleased by the murder mystery I crafted here... though I could probably do better if I went back to give it a rewrite. Thank you for the excuse to shamelessly plug my stuff. <3 How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc) Oof. I honestly don't know. Probably character/emotion-driven. I actually asked @kaminaduck. He says that I tend to focus on characters' relationships to themselves as well as others... lots of asking about who they are and what that means to others and the wider world. Lots of self-determination... I tend to not be very action focused. It's a lot of time in the characters' heads. I also tend to write very percussively. I like for my writing to have poetry and rhythm, especially for dialogue or inner monologues. And there is some creative use of punctuation. And I also love me some pretentious vocabulary. It's just who I am as a person. I like words with texture and crunch. My therapist says she learns a new word from me every session. There's a reason I found a lot of success in the Hannibal fandom. XD What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

It's usually finding that flint-on-tinder moment. I'm mulling and thinking and thinking and mulling and I know that there's something amazing buried around in the canon and then suddenly... the lightning strikes. The neurons connect. And now there's an idea. I've found some sort of connection or idea that gives a whole new dimension to a relationship or character or event and that's what really drives me. Other really good moments are when I have sketched out some of the important scenes and I get to the part where I can link them together. Like... for instance, when I was writing "Girl in the Garden" I wrote all of Natasha's scenes "inside the Soulstone" first. Not completely but just a few lines to capture what I wanted that scene to be... and it was always so satisfying to connect them as I'd get to them while writing in chronological order (which is how I write 90% of the time).

Thank you for the questions, sweet friend! Much love!

[garbagequeer]

i see your Nationalposting and as a fellow Longtime National Fan I would greatly like to know your favorite Old National songs/lyrics <3

hi!! im not sure what's considered Old the national so i'll go with anything before high violet and i'll leave out the ones that feel like obvious common favorites (about today, slow show, mr november and fake empire all of which i love). and i'll order them by album because i wrote my answer and now it's annoying me that it's in a random order

from the national:

i love the lines on bitters and absolute that go "if i were a spy in the world inside your head / would i be your wife in a better life you led" i think because it builds a good rhythm by using rhymes not only between lines but also inside the same line (wife and life, if i and spy) and a little alliteration by using 4 W words in so little space. it gets stuck in my head so much because it's so catchy phonetically

i'll also say 29 years which feels like cheating bc it couples with slow show but i love the imagery of this song and also the sound of the feedback and guitar in the background is so beautiful (i read somewhere they made it by stroking the cords with a fork but idk how true that is. if true i <3 getting weird with guitars)

THE PERFECT SONG. they really made a perfect song about not finding the perfect song. i love the "shallow minded adult tricks but i know there's a river in me" line and the general theme of this song. no notes it's the perfect song fr i cant talk about this one

from sad songs for dirty lovers:

murder me rachel (love the ribbons imagery and if anyone knows any other songs that uses that id love to know about them... send ribbon songs for my ribbon songs collection please. so far i've got this one, describe by perfume genius and sober by lorde)

lucky you because i love a pathetic ass state of mind forever

it never happened because it is perfect for a somewhat sad walk around the neighborhood and i love the line "now nobody's funny / no god, they took our fashion week" in part because of the twist of mentioning fashion week which is always a little funny when describing all these horrible things that get them depressed (feeling very old, nothing being funny, no god) and the "what to my wondering eyes should appear [dramatic pause] ...nothing" because it is equally funny while serious too. i also love how it changes sound halfway through i love a song with parts.

from alligator:

i adore the menacing lyrics to city middle about having money and ideas and being worked up and drunk/high and wanting to "gator around the warm beds of beginners" and the vague and hazy images of these people pissing in a sink or confessing things. and i like how it builds to being louder as it progresses following the story from the menacing beginning where it seems these people are going to do some damage to other people over this calmer melody to a more anxious melody/repetitive lyrics where instead we find them to be doing damage to themselves. normal binge drinker experience

i love the general frantic desperate energy of abel and the lines "you turn me good and god-fearing / tell me what am i supposed to do with that" and "i see water on the bridge / well, you better hold my hand through this". i love the general conflicting feelings in this song. i should live in salt's crazy older brother

from boxer:

green gloves <<<333 i think they were crazy for this one it's probably my favorite song about friendship ever

i love the line from apartment story about how the stereo "sings to itself of its long lost loves" i think it's a really fun device but also works perfectly in context to depict the sway certain things like art or beauty have over our perception of our lives and how we use these things as covers and crutches to deal with the mundane dissatisfaction of working life. i also like how first he seems more dismissive of the stereo which is just doing "whatever it does", which to me shows the distancing tired adults have to these artistic or beautiful things due to the reality of their lives and a certain level of cynicism. I also really like the first verse with the couple getting ready to go out and the little lines that indicate frustration with this ritual ("i try and try to pin your flowers on", "i can tie my tie all by myself" for offering a similar contrast between appearances and feelings

i'd love to hear someone else's thoughts on favorite songs and lyrics from the national btw so you can send you favorites if you want :^)

[astroboyanalysis]

2. The Hot Dog Corps

I've always thought this was one of many Astro Boy stories that would lend itself very well to a more serious and adult remake, (a la Pluto) but this one with a distinct horror vibe. You know. On account of the body horror.

Atom (smiling serenely): wow Mr. Tezuka you're getting really angry can we change the subject

Anyway obviously he makes a good point here. Could talk for a while about cultural double standards especially when animals like dogs and cats are involved. But like, this is an explicitly sympathetic story to the dog and animal testing is a thing we do. So I feel like it should have been allowed to show but I do understand different countries have different standards surrounding what is deemed "appropriate" for children to think about and see. America's just very strange in general to be honest.

Wow that's awesome Mr Ban. I do not want to dog sit for you ever btw.

First really funny gag so far imo. You go Kenichi have a dog treat.

Okay this is interesting to me and probably no one else. Tezuka put little gags in like this if he thought it was getting too serious, which is fine and normal - but it's been less than a page since the last gag. People say we have short attention spans now (and we do) but entertainment has basically always vied for your attention and had to constantly jump around and dance and say LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! DON'T LOOK AWAY!

anyway I love you hyoutan-tsugi don't listen to him

Ban confirmed in debt (joking. or am i)

normal way to act yeah. Fuck up this guy's car and probably kill him with fire and then drown him and also steal his dog and be like. Tee hee hee... stupid idiot... hee hee...

Smiling his angelic little smile like "Did you break the law and endanger others mister teacher?"

God hes just so cute. There's gonna be a lot of "ohhhhhhg my god.... ghgh,h,..... oghgh h look a him...." probably. but ohghghghggggg g loook at hi

Excellent use of class time man

Now's probably a great time to mention you'll notice a heavy focus on like school and child development and stuff in my analysis - I'm a student teacher in Elementary! So I think about this kind of thing a lot and it sticks out to me as a result. Anyway.

Great gag. There's some good ones in this story.

Okay because I'm reading it physically but using an online version for images, most online versions stop abruptly right around here so I don't have good pictures. I'm sorry in advance for the wonky pictures I took.

Idk grand duchess it kind of seems like your fault because you decided to kidnap dogs instead of just having someone train them for you at your bigass winter palace or whatever the hell.

I love how evil things are here. You just dont get cartoonishly evil villains nowadays (because I don't watch kids TV all that much I suppose. But also there's a general trend toward movies and shows without cartoonishly evil villains that I've noticed which is interesting. Suits reality a little better since most people won't be like YOU SEE! I'VE DONE IT SO I CAN KILL AND MURDER! MUAHAHAHA! when you ask them about their motivations in doing something.)

HOLY SHIT THERE WERE PEOPLE IN THE SHIP THEY BLEW UP I get that this is the point but I don't think I ever noticed that before lmao.

Oh hes so cute.....

This is strange as their minds are dog minds and therefore they probably shouldn't have robotic movements. A keen observer like Atom should be able to recognize that they're not all that organized when compared with robotic timing.

"Aren't supposed to be able to" just indicates to me that it's a limitation imposed by creators to align themselves with the laws of robotics and avoid getting in trouble, which I would think would also mean people could make robots that can kill and there's really no reason they wouldn't be able to do that. That said it would be very strange for the story if robots really could be used as weapons as easily as they can in real life. But unless you categorize a machine and a robot differently based on their AI and self determination, I would think it is easier for a robot to kill humans as they don't have to take it into account at all if they aren't programmed to.

That said, in the world of Astro Boy, the laws of robotics are absolute and people do not really break them. They just do an insane workaround loophole like. I dunno. Putting dog brains and nervous systems into robot bodies. Shit like that. I suppose if they were laws that could be broken, that would be really interesting though. It would be like something the United Nations has agreed on so a country caught doing something against it would be refused trade and that kind of thing. So they'd have to be sneaky.

I'm getting off topic.

Okay so there are human workers in the fortress, but all the guard members are cyborgs.

(Annoying guy voice) BUT I THOUGHT HE ONLY LISTENED TO BAN!!!!!!

strong contender for funniest panel so far

REALLY good way to show 2 days have passed this is awesome

To be honest it makes sense to me that a traumatic surgery and event like having your nervous system and brain stripped out and put into a new shape and new environment and shit would make you forget most things. Really sad.

actually devastating im not kidding

Ok yea sure. Literally why though. Atom you do it because you're the main character I guess. This is where I really appreciate Pluto's realism in that Atom is used more as a figurehead and symbol of peace than like. a functionally useful substitute for specialized jobs.

Then again because he's recalling where it was in the next panels, it's possible this is more a result of not having functional and immediate satellite imaging at the time this comic was being written, so you would need someone who knew where they were going to lead you there.

This would indicate to me that there is a temperature Atom's circuitry is not able to function at due to it being too low, but Space is colder than this so I think that is not the case (or we can say it's not the case that space is cold in this universe). Anyway it's slightly less horrifying than him potentially being trapped in ice and aware of the passage of time and fully cognizant so I do see why Tezuka did this.

Also he's shapes.

(The rest of this post will be continued in a reblog as you can only have 30 images per post)

[collymore]

The evil elimination of inconvenient truths through murderously contrived accidents!

By Stanley Collymore Accidents are a general factor of life not particularly welcomed but usually psychologically put up with all the same. But although some accidents may unquestionably occasionally literally resemble each other, quite unquestionably, no two accidents crucially, ever happen in normally, the same circumstances or distinctly with the very identical modus operandi. Essentially then, the undoubtedly in situ and British monarchical family not effectively that endowed distinctively by any means with naturally self-evident intellectual acumen will evidently have to be distinctly exceedingly crazy although odiously spurred on by self-centred and basically self-serving lunatics of the likes of Camilla Parker Bowles; Katie Middleton and William Windsor in tandem with their plethora of quite severely, as well as rather intellectually challenged, highly moronic and distinctly toxically verminous discernibly fawning plebeian scum, to very stupidly plan the callous killing of Harry Meghan and their two children. The killers of Princess Diana, notwithstanding the actual realization that some of the principal participants in that horrid murder are themselves now thankfully dead, distinctively want for Harry, and particularly Meghan and her children, to effectively be obviously too out of the way, to simply unquestionably in the circumstances literally maintain their distinctively, white supremacy and really evilly, KKK philosophy in This, the 21st Century. A presence, tarnishing as they actually literally see it their irrefutably supposedly immaculately pure bloodline with clearly exotic variants, as Rachel Johnson asininely but succinctly though actually ironically, on her part, put it when Harry distinctly began openly courting Meghan. Significantly and quite blatantly obvious for Rachel Johnson and Sarah Vine's literally social climbing sort to easily in no likely conceivable way ever regard the kind of things that Harry was keenly doing with this new, naturally serious and crucially a huge shock and horror experience for these white Karens, undeniably African American partner, Meghan Markle that fittingly, this duo of noxiously pathetic, and narcissistic scum weren't pleased with and openly showed it. Essentially too the quite deeply brainwashed and unquestionably generally distinctively ingrained also quite characteristically and excessively fervent in their rather   sickeningly so obsessively attendant monarchical brownnosing, devotedly not just irrefutably, unilaterally to the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Mountbatten, re alias Windsor Klan; but similarly too their racially perceived all-white and not a solitary Nigger or actual Asian in sight, in their basically delusional but clearly divinely validated Britain. (C) Stanley V. Collymore 9 July 2023. Author's Remarks: Enforcedly born British my natural, instinctive, permanently cultural and moral ethos is unquestionably Barbadian and will undoubtedly always remain so. Indelibly inherent in this is the unalterable precept inculcated in me from birth that we Barbadians should never fear anyone, anything and most significantly so, not Death. Not only because it’s inevitable and to do so is an absolutely pointless exercise but likewise a wholly meaningless endeavour as well. But additionally as Bajans: a terminology we affectionately employ requite to ourselves, we’re intelligent enough mature to sensibly know that Death itself is just the gateway to other things and a comprehensively different world much better for some but worst for others and wholly dependent on the type of life one has consciously lead during their mortal existence, from the earthly one we’re existing in when Death eventually and inescapably for that chosen person makes its liberating presence. However, as I look around me and specifically outside our Barbadian Nation and its global Diaspora, I laughably see, specifically within Britain and its global genocidal kin ensconced arbitrarily in the countries of indigenous peoples whom they’ve barbarically disposed of what’s lawfully and morally theirs, yet asininely and delusionally wanting for Britain to remain an all-white entity; that the British mind-set still adamantly clinging on to the Medieval and Dark Ages concept that its fine to wantonly dispose murderously of those whom you envy, delusionally fear or churlishly simply want to be rid of, because you discernibly and equally idiotically dislike them and usually so for no really sensible reason other than that you can do so; and moreover have the financial, influential or powerful means to do so attendant with the sycophants all too ready to do your bidding. In which case I suggest that you just remember the Barbadian concept; you too will ultimately die – no ifs or buts about that! And essaying to murder Meghan Markle and her two children conceived to her legitimate husband because they’re perceived by those of you living patently and obsessively in your malevolent but asinine state of denial and self-evidently racist, white Caucasian and ludicrously white supremacist echo chamber cuts no ice with me or those who think like I do. Those who now rather ostensibly and similarly ostentatiously think that they’ve won the major prize and now rule the roost in Britain; glorying self-indulgently in their murder of Diana Spencer and Dale “Kanga” Tyron, should seriously think of trying to pull off a similar murderous stunt again. So I’ll simply advise you arrogant and lowlife morons in spite of the opulence and vainglorious privileges that you live in at the taxpayers and Transatlantic Slavery victims expense that you think hard and seriously on that one, and don’t place any bets on your murders of Diana and Dale Tyron ever happening to Meghan Markle and her children; as this is one fucking time that three times won’t be your lucky number but rather more propitiously a case of three strikes and you’re out!

[daughterofwonderandmisery]

main: @existential-dinosaur

Fact blog: @radfem-posts-i-ref

avatar: https://www.deviantart.com/anivi/art/Sanguis-481516973

header: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/black-dragon-coin

My views, in case those matter and you're too lazy to scroll:

Gender critical - gender roles are a social construct, and nobody should be obligated to follow them. Not following gender roles does not mean you need to be medicated or change in any way: it means literally nothing.

Anti self ID - you should never be able to change your sex on either your birth certificate or your driver's license, unless it was genuinely marked down incorrectly.

Anti coerced respect / coerced speech - unless your speach is a threat of violence, the state should not compel you to change it. This includes the right to misgender people, and insult people. The state is not your mommy and it's not the state's job to protect you from having your feelings hurt.

Kink critical - "do you think, when he's alone and he's fantasizing about rape, his fantasy includes the part where you say yes first?" and "kinksters and abusive men hit women for the same reason: they like hitting women."

Fully against porn, pro banning porn - when you see a video online, how do you know everyone in it: 1) consented to all actions being done, 2) consented to be filmed, 3) consented (and continue to consent) to having it posted online? How do you know they're 18+? The answer is, you don't. And it's impossible to prove. It's impossible to have an ethical commercial porn site.

Anti prostitution, pro Nordic model - consent cannot be purchased. Prostituted women are usually victims, and criminalizing them simply makes it harder for them to escape the industry. Sex buyers are privileged, and should go to jail for exploiting impoverished women.

Anti surrogacy - you should never be able to pay to use someone's organs.

Pro gay (same sex) marriage - I don't care what you want to call it, marriage is currently an institution run by the state. As long as the state provides material benefits to married people, gays should be able to obtain those benefits as well.

Against prison abolition - simply letting murderers roam the streets is a stupid fucking idea

Pro 2A / pro gun - I'd rather protect myself with a gun than have to rely on some sexist government pigs to do it for me. That's assuming they even protect me, instead of showing up two hours late and then shooting me.

Pharmaceuticals critical - critical and suspicious of any and all medication, including vaccinations. When doctors have a financial incentive to push drugs on you, they no longer have your health as their top priority. This shit also contributes to the rise of the trans movement: a lot of pharma shills are making bank off of trans people's cosmetic surgeries and life-long consumerism.

Pro animal agriculture - humans have been eating meat for millenia. Locally grown meat is actually better for the environment than vegetables that have to be shipped across the world. Leather lasts for generations and doesn't release microplastics into the environment. Plants can feel pain just like animals can, you just don't feel bad for them because they don't have faces.

Pro saturated fat, anti seed oil - the idea that saturated fat (eg animal fat) is bad for you is a scam entirely created by the AHA, who are themselves entirely funded by the industrial ag businesses creating seed oils. Seed oils release aldehydes and are extremely bad for you, and go rancid on your shelves.

Natalism neutral - I don't believe having kids is either a morally good or a morally bad act, in and of itself. If you have the finances and time to support a child, I don't think you're either "greedy" or a "bad feminist" for having a child.

Pro choice - I don't agree that consent to sex is consent to a child, or consent to a fetus to use my organs. I believe my right to choose what happens to my organs is more important than any life. This also includes the right to abort a child based on any feature, including disability or sex.

Pro Marijuana full recreational legalization - it smells like shit and smokers are super fucking annoying, but it's less dangerous than alcohol and it makes no sense to be jailing people for it.

Addiction is a disease, pro decrim of addiction - I don't think harder drugs like heroine should be sold in stores, but criminalizing drugs makes it harder for addicts to break the cycle. Addicts should be given clean areas and sterile needles, and counceling.

Pro work from home and four day work weeks - if you work an office job, it can almost certainly be done from home. Wfh has been shown to be better for people's lives. Same with four day work week. And neither have detrimental effects on productivity. Offices are an outdated concept.

Religion is not INHERENTLY evil or culty - while there do exist subsections within many religions that are harmful, religion itself is not inherently harmful. There's nothing inherently bad about holding non-falsifiable beliefs, and everyone (even atheists) hold at least one non-falsifiable belief.

Politics is the new religion - most atheists have just replaced the meaning they normally would find in religion with politics. Politics is substantially more culty than most religions at this point. People make their political label a core part of their identity, and literally excommunicate each other over it.

Islam should be eradicated - Islam is an inherently harmful religion, in every form it is practiced. Its holy book has child marriage and sex slavery. It is so rotten to its core that there is no changes that will make it acceptable, and everyone who CHOOSES to practice it is responsible for continuing to spread these harmful practices.

-- > https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Child_Marriage_in_the_Qur%27an

-- > https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Qur%27an,_Hadith_and_Scholars:Slavery

Pro hormonal birth control - pill birth control is a class one carcinogenic, and birth control in general should be treated with the same suspicion as any other pharmaceutical, but it should still be legal. The most effective way to prevent pregnancy while still engaging in PIV sex is hormonal birth control, and thus people should have access to it.

Electric cars and batteries are NOT going to save the environment - lithium (the main component of electric batteries) is EXTREMELY bad for the environment to mine, and these batteries only last five to ten years. And you can't have solar or wind energy without batteries. So solar/wind aren't better for the environment, they're just changing where the harm is happening.

Atomic power is the future - atomic power is much, much safer than people believe. Spent nuclear power rods can be disposed of safely.

Pro shooting pedophiles - the penalty for sexually abusing a minor should be death.

Pro shooting people who make porn of content aimed at children - see bronies.

Pro shooting people who make or consume porn of children, whether real or animated - your lolis still make you a fucking pedophile.

There's no such thing as a secular version of any religion - this is more personal because I am extremely Buddhist, and seeing all the white western "secular Buddhists" annoys me. If you take the non-falsifiable, spiritual, beliefs out of a religion, it is no longer that religion. If you remove the concept of rebirth from Buddhism, you are no longer a Buddhist.

Coporations benefit from your misery, and are incentivized to keep you hungry - this ties into "consoomerism", but essentially coporations want to keep you hungry so you keep buying useless shit from them, hoping it will make you happy.

Money can't buy happiness, only security - also related to the above point. Money absolutely can buy security, and security will remove a lot of stress from your life. But once you are secure (in food, in housing, medically) money will no longer make you any happier.

.

Against state mandated dress codes past "cover your genitals" - the state should not force me to wear a hijab, nor should it prevent me from doing so. Additionally, the state should not force anyone to wear shirts. Private businesses should be welcome to enforce whatever dress code they desire. As long as someone's genitals aren't visible, that's as much as the state should care.

Watching live action porn is cheating on your partner - if it would be cheating for your partner to sit in someone's pushes and jerk off to watching people have sex through a window, it's cheating when it happens through a screen.

Businesses should be required to provide equal amounts of paternity and maternity leave - men need just as much time with their child as women do, and this makes it so businesses are less likely to avoid hiring women to avoid paying maternity leave.

Tax fraud should be legal for people who make below the median income in the US, and people who make below the median income should never be subject to audits by the IRS.

Against all cosmetic surgery other than reconstructive - the problem is that you have a different version of yourself in your head from reality. You need to accept yourself, not chase an impossible idea of perfection. This includes "gender" transition. We don't treat anorexia by letting people starve to death.

Eventually I'll come back and add sources for these claims. I'm willing to discuss any of these over dms.

[aronarchy]

ok so I finished watching The Fall a few months (you can find my earlier ramble abt it somewhere on my blog, also tagged #the fall tv) tho I’ve been too low on spoons to finish writing this out properly until now

I’m remembering better now about how I first got into it--the Hannibal subreddit or the Killing Eve subreddit where TF was recommended as ~same genre fascinating serial killer + detective very obsessed with each other deep psychological things~ and at the time I was still very much into a terminally-shipping-brained phrase so I think for the first half of the show while I was watching I just mostly turned off analysis in favor of thinking “this is interesting/hot”/“the main characters are attracted to each other”/“when will get together” (which looking back I can’t really relate to at all anymore but idk)

I’m much more comfortable now in identifying the overall political leaning of the show as radical feminist. It’s not even about the somewhat-possibly-slightly-creator-endorsed misandrist personal feelings of the main character (Stella) which are mentioned/implied a few times, or the few bioessentialist jokes(?) made once or twice, but the overall plot itself. Radfems don’t like hearing this, but radical feminism has major parallels/overlaps with mainstream liberal feminism in their ideas & logical flow & philosophical roots (i.e. both offshoots & enablers of conservative patriarchy, relying on immaterialism/essentialism). Here it was mainly the complete utter lack of intersectionality, the iffy depiction of some misogynistic violence (particularly the attribution to essential traits), and the lack of solutions to misogynistic violence that would involve actually changing currently existing power structures.

The Fall does extremely well in introducing multiple feminist points (impacts of patriarchal culture in the workplace, mostly refusing to validate victim-blaming, etc.; does well showing the institutional barriers Stella faces in her job, how she cannot have control of her own work decisions because of how the power is structured, regardless of what she does, and injustices she experiences are baked into how it was built). It also does well in portraying assaults and murders with sexual motives which did not contain sexual acts (as in acts which are sexual in and of themselves by mechanical components) as no less severe/“actually bad” than outright more obviously sexual assaults. But when getting to the more difficult bits, it falters. (I wouldn’t say its perspective is bad per se, just limited.)

Had some disconnected thoughts wrt its depictions of patriarchal power imbalances and abuse stemming from there (i.e. Paul being a therapist and exploiting that to take advantage of his sexual assault victim without her knowing, arguably an antipsych point if you have a lot of faith in the show directors’ scope of knowledge/background).

As the show progresses, we learn more and more about Paul’s Fascinatingly Abnormal Unique Dark Psychology and his Tragic Backstory. His assaults are always presented as ritualistic, mysterious, incomprehensible, so far out of the norm that they could not actually occur in real life, deviant, thrilling, a spectacle. Because The Fall, while trying to introduce progressive political feminist messages in an area which hasn’t had much like it before, also at the same time still tries to cater to the crime-drama fandom (and, like all serial-killer stories before it, to satisfy the audience’s hunger for drama and bloodlust and fascinating monsters to analyze and pick apart).

So on one hand you see it promoting the concept that all acts of misogynistic violence exist on an escalating continuum, all attributable to various cultural factors of the patriarchy; how normal cis male entitlement/culturally ingrained beliefs about men’s right to women’s autonomy (i.e. James Tyler), domestic violence (i.e. Liz’s story), casual(-but-still-severe-and-should-be-taken-seriously) sexual harassment (i.e. Jim @ Stella), and general misogynistic biases and discrimination (i.e. the constant hurdles Stella has to go through in a very male-dominated workplace) are. Arguably it even touches on the therapist-patient power imbalance leading to abuse. That any man (of the privileged demographics the show chose to depict) is capable of such beliefs and actions, including the drastic ones usually deemed “abnormal” and “would never happen to me/come from someone like him” (i.e. Stella telling Anderson about how many women she knew were afraid of men because they might kill them whereas men told her they were afraid of women because they might laugh at them), including normal everyday men you know. That to fight sexual violence we have to fight patriarchal culture.

Yet The Fall abandons this principle when it comes to Paul, and general discussions and speculations about the possible perpetrator of his crimes before they knew his identity. A man who commits the Actually Severe Extreme murders must have fascinating abnormalities in order to be capable of wanting to do so/doing so. Must have a laundry list of kinks and paraphilias and fictional/artistic/pornographic interests, must fantasize hard about it 24/7 since the age of twelve, must have overpowering ✨urges✨ to do it that he finally acts on only because he failed to resist their temptation, much have a tragic childhood backstory of extreme trauma that led to him developing such feelings and dramatically nihilistic misanthropic views, a Very Fascinating Mysterious Philosophy that surrounding women become closer to him with by learning. Must select his victims based on how sexually attractive they are to him, how well they fit his preferred physical “type” because of course it has to all be pretty and palatable (and white).  He must be “sociopathic” and “narcissistic” and “lack empathy/love/caring for women” and overall inhuman, impossible to understand. Stella might’ve made one comment to Jim about Paul’s actions fitting the expected results of patriarchal socialization and material conditions, sure, but that doesn’t particularly match up with the rest of the show’s attempted depiction.

We know there are harmful stereotypes about male CSA survivors supposedly being so much more likely to “continue the cycle of abuse” and CSA perpetrators only being able to want to commit CSA because they must’ve been abused themselves too. This, as per the rest of normative society’s view on CSA, once again, flattens the issue of sexual violence prevention into “uwu let’s ~help~ these poor uwu sad pitiful abused lost souls so they don’t Repeat The Cycle society failed perpetrators by not helping them before they did it because CSA perpetration is just a mental health issue uwu.” Constant complaints even from MC & everyone endorsed by MC about Paul’s “deviance,” that his acts and thoughts and feelings are bad because they’re “deviant” and “abnormal,” implying they were right to call kink practices Wrong because they’re Weird and everyone opposing was just manipulated into believing sexual assault is ok and holds mystical value (i.e. Katie). Iffy conclusions to be drawn from his replies during Stella’s interrogation regarding Olivia (is he a Real Misogynist or not? he’s certainly an adultist--see how he treated Katie and what he constantly said to her about her age and “immaturity” to pressure her into doing what he wanted--fundamentals of his beliefs remain the same even if it’s someone he would personally care about, IRL they don’t tend to be able to compartmentalize as well. Were his femicides motivated by misogyny or were they just coincidental results of his biology which just happened to give him a sex drive oriented toward women?)

I do admit it hit a bit hard when the psych essentially offered Paul the familiar para therapy (practicing distinguishing thought from intent/action, we can treat you & reduce your impulses & offending etc). But unfortunately it also plays into the whole narrative of “all biastophiles experience horrible uncontrollable urges and need help to not offend all offenders just needed ‘biasto therapy’ help to prevent them from offending.” And that several points of his character were Very Relatable (to me), but so were several points of Stella’s, and I know many real people who do not fit any of the show’s predicted profiles of biastophiles or rapists/sexual abusers. And (I’m not sure if this was intentional or not), but the arc of the show from there shows precisely what is wrong with that proposal: he can simply choose to not use those offered tools if he doesn’t feel like it; even if he knows “how” to not be violent, he just doesn’t want to.

No one’s dissecting the possible neurotypes or paraphilias or even sexual attractions at all of James Tyler, or Jim Burns, or any of the other misogynistic harassers/assaulters/abusers (or misogynists in general) depicted in the show, no, reserve the ~fascination~ just for the man who was a walking stranger-danger archetype, trying to built a cohesive “profile” of A Sexual Predator in the way all cops & adjacents/extensions thereof do, that Profile always leaving out themselves as possible violent actors, or just in general people the predator has direct legitimized authority over as possible victims (in this case, his wife and kids).

I’m also unsure if audience was intended to view the psych ward’s practices as violent/abusive, the police’s interrogations & prisons’ practices as violent/abusive (I read them that way, but given how much libs internalize shit I wouldn’t be surprised if the directors and/or most viewers genuinely thought all of that was okay). In particular the treatment of women who weren’t even perpetrators of much in particular experienced the worst violence from the cops (Sally Ann being held for an extended period of time and aggressively interrogated on flimsy pretexts but it was totally fine because the cops used the information to win in the end /s; and particularly, the treatment of Katie).

Katie’s horrendous treatment rhymed w/how general misogyny and adultism and the criminalization of survivors operate broadly: the erasing of any possible nuance, villainizing her, cops stalking her for days/weeks on end while she was at home doing her business (but it was justified because it led to them winning in the end!!! /s), being interrogated harshly & aggressively, being forced to live with a parent she was uncomfortable with by the court, being locked up for her actions which resulted from years of mental health difficulties as she had a shit home life and being continuously manipulated, threatened, and assaulted by a violent serial sexual predator for months on end.

Instead of simply cutting off her incentive by getting rid of her abuser, they go for her, arrest her, and Anderson has the audacity to say she’s “right to kick out at authority [because she’s At That Age]” while being a literal fucking cop interrogating her and clearly not holding to that principle in any meaningful material way, then she gets locked up and still with no one to help her deconstruct what Paul indoctrinated her with or just teach her a general idea of consent and ability to feel self-worth which she needed and didn’t get (because locking up the dangerous juvenile crazies is just so much easier and less risky, right? /s), and the story ends with Stella’s selfishness & need for a Fascinating Chase and Closure (though she wasn’t even a victim of his) in the form of Official Proceedings Which Must Occur Because [essentialism + I’m white so I say so] (which led to further murders & assaults which could’ve otherwise been prevented and much more pain for Katie, policing is incredibly inefficient and does very little for survivors in practice) and Katie remaining trapped in a fucking prison without any way out or any possibility of getting out in the foreseeable future or any aid. Once again adultist paternalism & misogyny centering her as the one to lay blame/fault on, the horrific and detrimental consequences of grooming being exploited to push further state authoritarian agendas instead of the other way around.

The show was excellent, sure, but also if it attempted to decenter ~fascination~ and ~psychological tension~ in favor of less establishment-shilling and more realistic views of misogynistic violence and particularly showed more than one nonwhite person throughout the entire show, particularly the misogynistic violence faced by women and girls on the margins, then it would be forced to acknowledge that in real life the most horrific and Severe and Extreme and frequent and hidden and unaddressed sexual assaults & abuses & femicides are perpetrated by the cishet white men with the most social/political/economic power (i.e. politicians & the rich (none of whose existences were even hinted at throughout the entire story), the very cops the story holds up as worthy moral well-intentioned winners enacting justice, etc) and that the vast majority of victims are not strangers to the perpetrators but the women and girls in their lives whom they have direct legitimized authority over i.e. wives, children, patients, suspects, prisoners, that the brunt of the violence happens by them to them first and decreasing in scale and severity (on average) as you go down the chain (rather than the other way around, stranger danger being the worst and most violent/likely to result in death and acquaintance/authorities’ assault being the mildest thus we can reasonably maintain the cops’ authority to combat the stranger danger Where It’s Actually Needed).

[astaroth1357]

Demon Brothers React to MC Getting Kidnapped by Lesser Demons.

Watch out for minor first half spoilers!!

Lucifer

Kicking himself because he has to find out through Mammon that the MC is missing and he didn’t notice their absence himself.

The second the alarm gets raised he gets into a state somewhere between coldly rational and extraordinarily furious. 

Definitely still level-headed enough to rally and organize his brothers for a search party but there's nothing but seething rage just rolling off of him the entire time. Probably-could-have-made-another-Satan type rage.

How well he keeps his composure will be based entirely on how long the MC is MIA. The first hour or so will be mostly put together but past that he'll start to slowly unravel as the panic takes hold.

At one point he even gets snippy with Diavolo over the phone and that's when you KNOW that he's reaching meltdown mode.

If he's the first to find the MC, his #1 priority is to get them away from whatever scum grabbed them and take them to the closest safe place he can find. He'd scoop them up so fast they won't even know where he came from, just whoosh! How'd I get on this roof??

Only once they're out of harm’s way will he circle back and deal with their kidnappers personally. You better be sure any damage done to his human will be reflected a thousandfold back onto their attackers. Probably coming back to the MC with some blood on him and is not going to care.

Relieved to have the MC back but restricts them from going out alone after a certain time now for their own good. If they need something that badly, they can come to him.

Also strings Mammon up by his toes that night for losing them in the first place.

"By the time Cerberus gets to you, I'll be sure you're only my table scraps…"

Mammon

The first to notice that the MC was being oddly quiet (thank their father for his text spamming habit) then found their stuff scattered and abandoned at RAD.

Told Lucifer right away and, oh boy, he is a mess: talking a mile a minute, punctuating his sentences with expletives, on the verge of tears, whole nine yards.

He left his human alone for what?? Like five minutes, if even, to go to the library and get themselves kidnapped?! What kind of guardian is he?!?

Already searching the place top-to-bottom without being told where to go or what to do.

He actually ends up a strange inverse of Lucifer. While Lucifer will start panicking more over time, Mammon will start panicking less as his fear escalates to all out anger. Give it a few hours and he’s not even going to be able to keep his demon form under control anymore.

You know this boy is legging it across the entire Devildom himself waving around some kind of hand-drawn "Have You Seen This Human?" flyer looking for any leads at all.

If he were to find the MC first, his first action would probably be to plant his foot right in the face of whoever took them. Hard. Then repeat until their skull’s a caved-in mess on floor. No mercy this time, just pure protective rage.

Following the fight, you'd think he was just reunited with his lost puppy. Lots of crying, hugging, and blubbering out apologies even when the rest of his brothers show up.

Would pretty much be glued to the MC's hip for at least a week afterward and makes more of a point to hang off of them in public now. They're his human after all, can't have anyone else getting the idea of pulling a stunt like that again.

"MC!! What'd ya go runnin' off for?? We're goin' home after I take out this trash, got it!!"

Leviathan 

Wouldn't really want to believe it at first because it just feels too unreal, like, the same thing happened to Henry in Episode 86 of TSL when he was kidnapped by enemies of the Lord of Fools and it was up to his true friend to track him down…

Suddenly remembers that Henry was also tortured while he was taken and that really sets in the panic.

Unsure of how to help at first because he knows he's just a useless shut-in but Belphie of all people is the one to remind him that he does have one big advantage over his brothers: a fucking navy.

In an act of surprising backbone, he more or less demands a full fleet of ships from Diavolo and (honestly to his shock) he gets exactly that to comb the Devil’s Sea while looking for MC. Lotan even helps out!

If he were to be the first to find the MC (presuming they are indeed on a boat or something cause 🤷‍♀️) those kidnappers really shouldn't have challenged the third strongest brother in his natural element, eh? Those who aren't automatically lashed in the face or flung overboard by his tail get hung by the leg over the edge of the ship for Lotan to pick off one by one.

Sails back to shore with MC booming with pride that he of all people finally got to be their hero! Will literally be so happy if MC ever brings it up again, doesn't matter how much time has passed.

Things would settle back to normal pretty quickly after that, but he now checks up on the MC a lot more often and will even leave his room for them if they need to go somewhere and don't want to go alone. Can't have this turning into a rerun, you know?

"You hurt my only friend… So drown."

Satan

One guess how the Avatar of Wrath took the news. It's not swimmingly.

Unless your definition of "swimmingly" is a murderous rampage of toppling furniture, breaking windows, and swearing to curse right about anything that moves, in which case aptly put. 

He gets stuck in an anger-induced tantrum for a bit before finally getting snapped back into coherent thought by Belphie and putting those mystery novels of his to good use. Smart boi takes second to Lucifer himself in the search, suggesting good locations for his brothers scout based on what clues they have to go on.

Of course, he's not content to just to call orders from the sidelines and is out searching himself like he's on the goddamn warpath. Doors? Who needs doors? If anything the hole I made in your wall is more efficient.

Should he be the first to find the MC he would coolly and methodically subdue any kidnapper he can get his hands on, release his human, and bring them home as soon as possible. They've been through quite enough today and don't need to see anything he's got planned for the bastards later.

But the second that Diavolo puts them in the castle dungeon, you best bet that Henry 1.0 is going to the LEAST of their worries. Who's ever wanted to play a life or death game of hide and seek with a giant snake and the incarnation of Wrath itself? First one caught gets the "quick" death! Any volunteers?

Might give the MC a mild scolding for going out when they shouldn't have but otherwise is just happy to see them back and safe. May act extra soft towards them for a couple days, just until the nerves of the situation finally wear off.

"Don't mistake this for mercy. I assure you, I don't know the meaning of the word."

Asmodeus

Highkey freaking out, like, almost as hysterical as Mammon when he hears the news. 

Being the Avatar of Lust, he of course knows there's a whole lot of creeps out there in the world and he is utterly terrified that his poor MC has fallen victim to one at that moment.

For once, all thoughts of himself and his looks are out the window. What? It's past 2am and MC is still gone? I can stay up another hour! Dry shampoo and a washcloth counts as a shower, right? Who the fuck cares, where's MC?? Somebody find them already!!

Pools his contact list with Satan's and starts reaching out across the whole Devildom asking for people to be on the lookout and offer tips. Also begs Solomon to use his magic to help in the search (which he's more than happy to do anyway because he cares about the MC too)

If he were to find MC first it'd be one of those rare cases where he'd be seen really truly enraged. No cute banter, no playful flirting, just telling those worthless scum-vats exactly where they belong and exactly how he's going to put them there. Is it any surprise that he's also madsick with a whip?

Crazy relieved that MC is free, but now it's on them to help him clean up and get back to his prettiest self. I mean, he worried himself half to death while they were gone! All this dirt and sweat going to take three, no four, bathes to fully clean off!! Best hop to it~♡

"Touch them one more time and I'm going to set fire to whatever landfill trash like you crawls out of!!"

Beelzebub

It can't be happening. It honestly can't be happening. First he loses Lilith and now MC?? He can't lose two. He. Can't. Lose. Two.

Pretty much the mantra going through his head as he tears the Devildom apart with his bare hands. 

It's 1000x worse than how he gets when he's hungry because at least then he might stop when he finally gets fed. Now it's either find MC or wait until he collapses from exhaustion and hope he doesn’t leave the whole realm a smoldering crater before he gets that far.

There's no reasoning with him either, the best the brothers can do is steer him in a direction and let him loose.

If he found MC first he probably wouldn't even realize it for a bit, he'd just keep attacking whatever or whoever is in front of him on his path of blind destruction. It'd take the MC literally flinging themselves at him or throwing their arms around him to snap him out of it but then it's back to sweetheart Beel.

Hugs ensue. Really tight hugs. Probably a few tears and apologies too (even if it’s not really his fault at all). 

Woe to anyone who tries going for the MC once he’s sure he has them because they WILL be broken then eaten. He’ll encourage his human not to look, but some things just have to be done.

Would absolutely carry MC back home and refuse to put them down until the others force him to. The floor may as well be lava planning on taking them away from him too.

Wouldn't care as much about personal vengeance as his brothers as long as MC is safe. He'll trust that his family will more than punish the kidnappers (though chances are he already took a chunk or two out of a few of them during his rampage anyway).

Protective instincts up by 100 after this, though Belphie usually steps in and eases him back a bit when he's about to get suffocating. MC never travels without a buddy now, ever. He just can't risk it.

"MC, I-I'm sorry… I just couldn’t lose you too…"

Belphegor

Keeps the coolest head of all the brothers on the outside, but there's a cold fury building up in those eyes.

Pretty much takes charge of whipping everyone back into gear with a combination stinging remarks and heavy duty guilt tripping. May not be the nicest method, but it's effective. 

"Asmo, grow a freaking spine and do something useful for a change! Mammon, this your fault to start with so you ought to be breaking your ass to find them! Satan, watching you is getting embarrassing, pull yourself together and think like you're good at it!"

His harshest criticisms get saved for Lucifer (big shock) but he only dishes them out when he sees his older brother really losing his grip or teetering on losing hope. If the “mighty firstborn” can’t keep it together then why should they even listen to him in the first place?

When he's not administering "motivation," he's keeping tabs on Beel's progression through the Devildom and trying to minimize the damage there. He's the only one that can get through to him long enough to change his course if necessary.

If he were to find the MC first, well, unlike Satan he doesn't have the forethought to save the torture for later. It's happening right here, right now, and you better bet that being the last born doesn't stop him from being a force to be reckoned with.

Waits with the MC for his brothers to catch up to them and deal with any stragglers. May cuddle with them and look like he's trying to take a nap in the meantime, but in truth he's still very alert, on edge, and ready to absolutely wreck shit if anything gets too close to them.

Though it doesn't look like his lazy ass goes through the same protective streak as his brothers, he's a lot quicker to try and convince the MC to stay home now. No out and about=less chance of getting nabbed. Plus he keeps his favorite pillow, win-win. 😏

"What about your worthless lives makes you think you deserve my mercy??"

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

Hey, you once mentioned something about Tom Riddle being a little suicidal. Your new post reminded of that and I wonder why you think that. It’s the complete opposite of what the books want you to think.

Alright, it’s time, let’s do this.

My standard disclaimer whenever we venture into the dark pit that is my thoughts on Tom Riddle: I’m going to say a lot of controversial stuff that fandom generally doesn’t agree with, I will say so much of this shit that I simply do not have time to explain it all, I expect 99% of you to disagree with me and the other 1% to be so horrifyingly offended that I dare to contemplate a world in which Tom isn’t always an overly competent psychopath that they leave me notes telling me to take this trash out of their character tags.

We good? Alright.

So, when I say a little suicidal, I mean that he is suicidal.

Not on the level that he’s going to kill himself tomorrow, or even has plans to kill himself, but in that he makes very strange decisions for someone who desperately wants to live.

And yes, I realize I speak blasphemy given that Tom Riddle’s entire m.o. is supposed to be his crippling fear of death.

Oh man, this one’s going to be so long.

So, my reasoning comes down to a few things:

The location of the horcruxes and the nature of their protections.

The events of Deathly Hallows and Tom’s final actions in the novel

The nature of horcruxes and what it means to not only be able to create one but what it does to you (caveat that I am going to headcanon hard here and speak utter blasphemy)

So, let’s start in order this time, because I think the first two are actually far easier for me to explain.

The Location and Nature of the Horcrux Protections and the Trouble with Backdoors in Security

So, first, the horcruxes are all conveniently located in Great Britain. Not even just in Great Britain, all in places that Albus Dumbledore and later Harry Potter can track down with relative ease, all fairly close to each other.

Now, part of this is undoubtedly attributable to Tom’s overly romantic nature. 

Yes, Tom Riddle is a giant romantic, though not necessarily in the traditional sense everyone thinks of. The film “Patton” and its treatment of Patton comes to mind. Tom Riddle is a man enamored by a sense of greatness, of being remembered in this world rather than fading into oblivion, by the significance of places and times in history not only of the world but of himself. He creates an entire, grand, persona for himself because to live an ordinary life for him is to be worthy of nothing.

So, given that, of course Tom places the horcruxes in sentimental locations that have personal meaning to him.

However, it also makes them perilously easy to find and collect.

By itself, this wouldn’t spark my notice.

The ability to destroy horcruxes are not easy to come by. There’s only one basilisk and it’s by chance/Lucius fucking up that Harry gains access to the necessary basilisk venom. Using Fyendfire is an incredibly dangerous thing to do and just as likely to blow up you and the next three towns over as it is to destroy a horcrux. And if there are other means of destroying a horcrux they’re just as hard to come by or just as dangerous.

It’s not quite throwing it into the fires of Mt. Doom from which it was forged but it’s pretty damn close.

So, really, without JKR’s convenient Deus Ex Machina giving both him and Dumbledore the means to actually destroy these things, Tom Riddle’s horcruxes are pretty damn safe no matter where we put them. As we see from the locket, which Regulus manages to collect but Kreacher cannot destroy even after several decades.

However, what does spark my notice, is that the horcruxes can be collected by someone other than Tom Riddle when it appears as if they were never intended to be. What do I mean by this?

From what we see, there’s no benefit to Tom if the original horcruxes are found by anyone. He doesn’t seek them out to restore his original body, they’re just anchor points that should be hidden at all costs. So, he’ll never need a Death Eater to go collect them for him should he be indisposed (indeed, to do so would require a tremendous amount of trust in people he has very little trust in). 

So, why hide them in such a way that others can access them? There are canon based options which would have prevented anyone else from reaching them. Given the existence of age lines, I imagine Tom Riddle could make some arbitrary barrier keyed only to himself. There are mokeskin pouches, such as the one Harry is given in the seventh book, which we know can only be accessed by whoever they’re keyed to. There’s the Fidelius Charm which, true requires a secret keeper which Tom would be very meh on, but options exist.

Tom Riddle could wipe the locations of his horcruxes off the face of the map. He chooses not to. Which leads me to believe that, at least on some unconscious level, he wants the horcruxes to be found.

Then we have the protections.

Specifically, I’m thinking of the locket here.

Yes, the protections are very formidable, but they’re also goddamn weird. 

Rather than make the horcrux simply inaccessible, kill all those intruding, instead the intruder has to go through a very “Saw” like puzzle in which they drown themselves in despair until they finally get the locket, at which point they likely suicide by zombie.

More, there’s no hint that there’s any other way to retrieve the locket. 

Backdoors in security are a very bad idea. What they do is weaken the security as a whole and, if you can take a short cut is, it means that someone who is clever enough and motivated enough can to. Dumbledore is both clever and motivated enough, and I imagine if there was a way to get the horcrux that involved not doing this ridiculous task he would have done it.

More, we’d be back to the land of Tom making sure only he can access the horcrux by requiring a password, keying it to his magical signature, or something so that no one else could get it.

Which means, that’s right, if Tom wants to get the locket he’s drinking the goddamn despair juice just like the rest of us.

What kind of a person would do any of this?

I’ve gone over this before, but I don’t think Tom Riddle’s crazy. Rather, in this case, I think he’s driven by an unbelievable amount of nihilist rage and is also quite depressed.

Tom goes to collect his horcrux, “Ah, it’s time to remember what a miserable life I’ve led and the sheer awfulness of my own existence. Good, I was starting to feel a little too happy. Let’s see if I get eaten by my undead, vengeful, victims today.” 

The Events of Deathly Hallows and Tom Riddle’s Death

I think Tom Riddle’s final death in the books was suicide.

Tom takes over the Wizarding World, finally, and it’s as miserable as ever.

He’s trapped in this sham, barely functional, probably very painful body. His Death Eaters are completely out of control and for all that he wanted society to burn it’s now burning and no one’s even learned anything from this. Children in Hogwarts are being routinely tortured and have now staged a rebellion in which he’s having to slaughter them (I have reasons to believe that this is not what Tom Riddle wanted, at all, but that’s best saved for another post), and then he learns his horcruxes have all been destroyed without him even noticing.

There’s so little left of him, he has accomplished nothing, and there’s Harry Potter back from the dead yet again, gloating at him that love conquers all and Tom Riddle will never understand.

And Harry’s right, Tom Riddle will never understand, the world is meaningless and flat to him now and he finally understand that there’s no point to it. I think Tom Riddle decides he’s done. He’s just done.

He enters in a duel with Harry Potter knowing the weird nature of their wands. Now, it can be assumed he used the Elder Wand, but we know they get locked in Priori Incatatum , and that makes no damn sense with the Elder Wand (well, wandlore in general is silly, but I’m working with what JKR gave me here). So I choose to take JKR at her somewhat established canon and say that, no matter what Harry thought, Voldemort was using his original wand.

He throws out the killing curse, despite having now witnessed Harry resurrecting twice to this thing, and within two seconds it rebounds and kills him.

Voldemort’s death is a lot like this scene from the recent, terrible, 2020 live action Mulan (10/10 do not recommend).  Now, we’re supposed to think that this scene is the witch saving Mulan’s life and thus showing her hope for the next generation. In actuality, the witch literally flies into an arrow she could have easily deflected from Mulan’s path. It’s a suicide that Mulan is too stupid to notice.

Tom chooses suicide in the most ridiculous, flamboyant, and easily written off manner one can and no one even notices. Instead Harry crows that he has personally defeated Voldemort, with the power of love no less, HUZZAH!

And the castle parties.

The Nature of Horcruxes

I almost don’t want to include this because it’s so... well, I’m really drifting far from canon and fandom now.

However, with horcruxes, there’s always an overriding question of why Tom is able to make so many when we don’t see anyone else with these things around (especially as it’s clear that murder doesn’t simply happen for those that now have horcruxes).

Usually, you have fic authors just sort of shrug and go, “Well, he’s that evil, I guess.” Sometimes you have them go, “No one else is crazy enough to keep going, and that’s why Voldemort’s cuckoo bananas.” 

One very good explanation I’ve seen is that it’s because most people, when they murder, feel remorse immediately. The soul split happens, but they’re haunted by the murder for the rest of their life, and thus the horcrux isn’t made. Voldemort, feeling nothing when he kills anyone, is thus able to make them even for when he’s only indirectly associated with the death in question.

However, to me that never really jived philosophically.

Mostly, I simply cannot imagine that tearing apart your very soul is an act of indifference. Here’s how I see it: to do something like that to yourself, you must care, you must care beyond all imagine and human endurance. Your soul literally cannot abide it and saws itself in half, purging what you cannot stand about yourself the most. 

The remorse part is, yes, remorse for the act and the victim but more to the point it is the ability to forgive and reaccept the worst part of yourself. That part of yourself that you purged and destroyed, which is nearly impossible to do and might very well destroy the fabric of who you are). 

In other words, while creating a horcrux is an abominable act of hatred, it is also one of profound self-hatred.

Tom Riddle loathes himself so much that he is able to do this over and over and over again. 

As Tom Riddle goes on he makes himself into less and less and less of himself until he probably doesn’t even know who he is anymore. He just knows, whatever is left of him, he loathes that too. 

And then, of course, he gives up, runs into the nearest flying arrow, and dies.

TL;DR: Tom Riddle’s is a miserable existence that ended in a miserable if unintentionally hilarious manner

[writingtoforgetreality]

Stockholm Syndrome (Helmut Zemo x Reader)

[Marvel-Masterlist]

Summary: During the fight with the Dora Milaje in his safe-house, Zemo made an exit. But not alone. For inexplicable reasons, he dragged you along. Probably because he wanted to mess with Sam & Bucky. Would the Baron kill you? Or worse?

Words: 4,083

Warnings: language, angst, fluff (?), kidnapping, spoilers for TFATWS, (Let’s put the angsty shit in this part & the fun stuff in the second one.), (Y/E/C) = your eye color, REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

The fight in front of you held your entire attention. Eyes focused on moving bodies, kicking, punching their way through. While you were not inexperienced when it came to battling, you preferred holding back. Bruises were not necessarily your favorite. Not these kind of bruises at least. All your ears could make out was the grunting radiating from the combat. Hence why the movements behind you stayed inconspicuous. Only when a cloth pressed against your nose & you had no choice but to breathe in, did you notice the jeopardy of the situation. Darkness enveloped you. The last thing you perceived was a dark silhouette picking you up. As much as you wanted to fight back, to defend yourself, it was impossible. All strength had dissipated. Whatever was happening, you hoped you would wake up again. This could not be how you died. You would not die.

Pain woke you up. But you were not hurt. At least that was what you remembered. Then it came to you. Someone had kidnapped you. If your eyes did not open soon, you would regret it later. Heavy eyelids slowly opened. Though it took many attempts to keep them that way. You scanned the room. There were no windows, no light which would have made that task easier. It took a few minutes to adjust to the obscureness. And once you did, you found yourself as perplexed as before. No restraints were obstructing your motions. Technically, you could up & leave. But it was never that simple, was it? The door was opposite of you. Your muscles were still sore. The act of standing up & waltzing over seemed like too much effort for you. The bleakness of the wall your back rested against was a more welcomed sensation. Your knees scooted closer to your chest. Arms raking around them, you hugged yourself. Hoping it would bring you a bit of comfort. Your brain failed to work properly. Because you were stumped. Who could have possibly seized you? Walker was busy getting his ass kicked. Lemar imitated his partner, pretty much. Sam ordered Bucky to help out & went into the battle right after. And Zemo was… Yeah, where the hell was Zemo during all of that? If you recalled correctly, he held a drink in his hand. Like you, he kept away from the fight. And then? You were aware that the Baron was not a saint. Neither were you. But you did not believe he would pull something like that. Then again, it was Zemo. Nobody knew his next step. Nobody but himself. Your foot tapped a rhythm on the cold, grey pavement. Usually, when your anxiety acted up, you distracted yourself. Fiddling with your hands or bouncing your legs. Something you could focus on that was not life threatening to your mind. The unknown beat managed to calm you down the slightest. Whoever held you hostage would be back soon. Your gut feeling told you so much.

Maybe you dosed off again. Because your body flinched when a creak reached your ears. Quickly, you looked around for possible threats. The only thing that had changed was the door sitting ajar. Only a diminutive gap. It was noticeable due to the light illuminating the room. There was no piece of furniture which meant that nobody lived here. It resembled a cell. But even cells had a bed, a chair. Something. The room turned dim again but only for a second. A shadow, you figured. Your captivator was here. So close, in fact, goosebumps erupted. A chill ran down your spine. This single interaction could modify your imprisonment. You still needed time to consider a successful escape plan. Which meant that you needed to observe the person keeping you here. Movies displayed such situations more than once. It was manageable. If they decided to show themselves & reveal their identity. Your eyes fell to the boots first. Black or a dark brown that was not detectable due to the lack of brightness. Next were the pants. Black again. The end of a coat came into view. Dark grey, almost anthracite. Your thoughts instantly went to one person. You could be mistaken. He was not the only one with a coat like that. Your gaze flickered up to his hands. The leather gloves were proof enough. Your (Y/E/C) eyes locked onto his brown ones. There was no shock written over your features. After all, deep down, you awaited this sight to be met with. As much as you wanted to withhold it, your eyes rolled & the sigh that left your lips was one of pure exhaustion. Zemo never made a secret out of it. His dislike for you started off the moment he first laid his eyes on you. From then on, it only seemed to increase steadily. You were a simple person. If someone treated you like shit, you returned that favor with pleasure & ten times worse.

“You are awake.” he stated the obvious after his frame entered through the doorway.

“Pretty sure I’m still dreaming.” you replied sarcastically, your elbows propping onto your knees. A smirk formed at the corners of his mouth. Whatever you said, it was the wrong thing.

“You dream about being locked inside a small cell? And I make an appearance as well? This does sound problematic, (Y/N). Nothing I would not be able to help you with.” he enjoyed this. Disgust made itself shown onto your face.

“Yeah? How could you possibly help me with that?” it took you a second to fully realize what you said. Immediately, you corrected yourself. “You know what? I don’t even wanna know.” your head rested in your hands, slightly embarrassed by turning this conversation awkward. Maybe it would have been more convenient if you just kept quiet. Zemo chuckled shortly but did not comment on it again.

“I assume you wonder why you are here.” the Baron observed your small frame on the floor. It was easy to recognize how uncomfortable you were.

“Your assumption might be correct.” your head tilted upwards, trying to hide the fear. Burying it deep down. You needed to think clearly so you could escape him.

“Would you like me to declare your purpose?” he questioned, eyebrows raising.

“Enlighten me, Baron.” you wasted no time with your reply. Maybe you imagined it but you could have sworn that his muscles tensed up when you called him by his title. You were the weaker one here so you kept your jokes at bay.

“I have no desire to get involved with the Wakandans. A getaway is more enjoyable with a suitable associate.” his hands gestured & you fathomed the seriousness behind his words.

“Oh, so that’s what I am now? An associate? Could’ve sworn I was your enemy. Improvement, I guess.” you focused on a lighter spot that interrupted the evenly dark color of the cement wall.

“I never declared you my enemy. That is solely your imagination.” Zemo stared at you but you would not give him the satisfaction of holding eye contact with him. He did not deserve it.

“I prefer my imagination then.” you stated & earned another chuckle from the Baron.

“Our departure is soon.” he let you know & left you alone once again. Great, so he did have a plan for you. But it did not seem like he wanted to murder you brutally. Basically, you could do nothing. The lock of the door clicked. No way out of this room. And your cellphone was no longer with you. He probably removed it from you while you were unconscious.

The drug Zemo had you breathe in really affected you. Tiredness rushed through you still. Falling asleep once again was inevitable. A steady, loud noise stirred you from your slumber. When your eyes opened, the chair you were seated in felt familiar. Your surroundings were not new to you. It was Zemo’s private jet. No sight of him. No sight of Sam & Bucky. The only company was the engine of the small plane, creating a ringing in your ears. Surprisingly, you were well rested. Your sleep schedule was messed up. On a good day, you slept for three hours. On a normal day, though, you were lucky if the dreamland even invited you in. Did that mean that you should thank Zemo? For drugging you? Your gratitude could stay inside, for now. It was kind of embarrassing to admit that you had enough rest because of him stunning you. All it would do was feeding his ego. He had enough of that already. Would it be clever to hop out of a plane that was thousands of feet in the air? A clever suicide mission, maybe. Zemo would not harm you. If he truly wanted to, you would be a ghost already. Where was he anyway? Certainly, he would not leave your side after kidnapping you. A look down your lap confirmed what you had feared. The trembling of your hands was noticeable. Almost worse than usual. If push came to shove, you could defend yourself perfectly fine. The Baron did not strike you as a fighter type of guy. Sure, he could handle a gun. In reality, the one thing he could really handle was his alcohol. If you had been in a cell for almost ten years, you would not be able to cope with this world either. Now that you were thinking about it...when was Zemo not drinking? Ever since you guys had teamed up, he had taken every chance to get some liquor into his system.

“How are you feeling?” a voice startled you. The cause of it was your dear captivator. His strut brought him over to you, taking a seat right opposite of you. Plopping down onto the soft cushion with a sigh, he intertwined his fingers in front of his chest. His chin rested on the back of them. The intensity with which he eyed you was unsettling. Your body curled together, shifting away from his rigid glance. The man in front of you frowned. Never before had you behaved that way. Usually, you were sarcastic, humorous. Your current state was uncommon. The fight or flight instinct kicked in. If you played by his rules, the cards were on your side. So the only natural thing was to answer him.

“Okay.” it was short but the tone held much meaning.

“Okay is not good.” he mumbled quietly, though you could still make out his words. The clouds outside of the window you were sitting next to looked like cotton. Smooth, soft. Perfect if you wanted to jump in. The sunset colored the sky in various, bright hues. A phenomenon. That was something that had always fascinated you. “Astonishing, is it not?” the silence broke when he spoke up yet again. You nodded, still gazing outside.

“We will arrive soon.” another voice joined you. The startle from your side could not be stopped. You hated how jumpy you were. Especially during such a situation. The strong, independent woman you usually were was gone. Right now, you were like a little girl, awaiting punishment for misbehavior. Apparently, the Baron was a mind reader because he soothed your worries immediately.

“You did nothing wrong, if that is one of your concerns.” he started. His eyes then flickered to the other man on the private jet. “Thank you, Oeznik.” small smiles were exchanged between the two of them. The assistant disappeared through a door again. Zemo being the only company left.

“Where are we going?” you had to know.

“Somewhere safe. Where nobody can locate me.” as his eyes met yours, he finished. “Us.” your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. His explanation was not helpful at all. You were still left in the dark. Your destination was unknown but he assured you that you would be safe. Zemo would never lie about something so significant. This bugging feeling was still present. If he did not tell you more about the location, maybe he could elucidate this.

“Why me? Why, out of everyone, did you kidnap me?” slight anger was behind your eyes but one could only notice if they looked precisely. The Baron’s head tilted. In amusement, you guessed. His forming smile held a hint of another emotion you could not quite identify.

“Kidnapping is such a harsh word, don’t you think?” was it mockery you could hear? “I believe there is no need for us to repeat our previous conversation. I told you why you’re here.” he stood up from his seat, dragging his body to the very end of the plane. There, he picked up two small glasses. The liquid of the half empty bottle of scotch poured a good amount in both of them. Evidently, one for him & one for you. His hand stretched out towards you & he offered you the drink. You eyed it suspiciously. While you were not one for drinking alcohol, maybe it would assist to calm your nerves. In the end, you reached for it, touching his hand in the process. The skin contact sent an unintended chill down your spine. Goosebumps were forming. The pit of your stomach felt odd. Never before had you experienced such a sensation. Though, & you had to admit that, it was everything but unpleasant. Your body language spoke louder than you would have liked. And it did not go unnoticed by the man in front of you. To avoid an awkward tension, he decided against commenting on your body’s reaction.

The first sip made you wince. A burning sensation washed down your throat. The Baron handled his alcohol way better than you did, that much was obvious. Unfortunately, the liquor did not numb your anxiety right away. The effect was awaited but luck was not on your side. Would it be rude to ask for another drink? The downside was not realizing how strong it was. If you got wasted then Zemo could take advantage of your state. Depended on how he defined taking advantage of you. The conversation that had died down for a while was resurrected. This time, it was you. This shocked not only you but also him.

“I don’t like you.” you stated monotonously.

“I am aware.” he chuckled, taking a sip of his drink.

“You don’t like me either.” one of your eyebrows raised.

“An incorrect assumption.” his hands gestured to emphasize his words. You rolled your eyes, throwing your arms up in frustration.

“A freaking obvious fact.” you breathed out, falling back into your chair. The softness caressed you tenderly. A hum left you & your previous desperation was replaced by some sort of relaxation. Why did your emotions change so quickly? One moment, you were scared. The next, you were furious. Then, you untightened. All in the presence of the man who had kidnapped you.

“What is going through your mind right now?” seemed like he was eager to talk to you. Comfortable silence with Baron Zemo was not possible. It was either awkward or not quiet at all. Your head snapped into his direction. He was deep in thought. Occupied with whatever his mind came up with.

“I-I don’t know.” you were being honest. Spending more time with him meant no lies. At least not about such things. The next question came naturally. “What about you?” one corner of his lips lifted slightly. The first step in the right direction. Deep down, Zemo was aware that you did not exactly hate him. Liking him would be too far but at least, you tolerated him. Accepted his presence.

“I am quite fond of bringing you with me. Sam & James are irritating. Helpful but irritating. You are a delight to be around.” he confessed & you had the urge to call him out on his ridiculous behavior.

“Sounds fake but alright…” your annoyance was audible.

“I beg your pardon?” he abandoned his glass, placing it on the small table nearby. Elbows propped onto his knees & his upper body leaned forward, closer to you. But not close enough to make you feel uncomfortable.

“Ever since we met, we’ve been arguing non-stop. This is the first normal conversation between us.” your fingers pointed to him & then to you, signaling what you were talking about.

“Arguments are not an indicator for antipathy.” Zemo explained.

“Oh, they’re not?” the sarcasm was more than obvious. “What then?”

“They are concealing true emotions, burying your urges deep within.” casually spoken, as if he had prepared this exact speech multiple times before.

“My urges?” you questioned, making fun of his statement.

“Indeed.” he wore a winning smile & you hated the effect it had on you.

“Sure.” you chuckled, shaking your head in disbelief. “My only urge is to punch yo-“ both of your heads turned into the direction of Oeznik who unknowingly interrupted your conversation.

“We’re here.” he claimed, nodding briefly, & left you alone again. By the way his face changed, he looked like he was sorry for bothering the two of you. Truthfully, you were glad that he joined you because without him, you would have said something regrettable.

Paris. He dragged you to France. If your situation were any different, you would have felt excited to be here. Before you exited the private jet, Zemo threatened you. If you had the glorious idea to speak up before you arrived at your destination, you would regret it later. Basically, you thought he would kill you. Of course you had no clue that the Baron would never hurt you in any way. After all, you were a victim of his kidnapping. Whether he called it that or not. The small alleyways were decorated with narrow buildings sitting next to each other. The cobblestone street underlined the atmosphere perfectly. Eyes wide, you were overwhelmed by the impression of the beauty of the sweet town. When one of his hands reached for yours, you did not even flinch back. Because, if you were honest, it felt good. Your intertwined fingers brought you warmth. A feeling that spread out through your entire body. Sparks, almost like the beginning of a firework, started forming. The sun shone brightly. Your eyes closed contently. Hence why you did not notice Zemo watching your every move. He reminisced your features closely. The sunlight brought out the beauty of you in a way that was worth remembering. Your body sensed something. It was in your nature when someone stared at you. Carefully, your eyes opened, showing the (Y/E/C) colors that glowed almost mysteriously in the light. Warm brown ones locked onto yours. The two of you exchanged an honest, almost shy smile.

“What?” your head tilted to the side, observing his face. Looking for a sign. Any sign. But Zemo was a clandestine guy. It was almost impossible to look through him. Something inside you took that as a challenge. Maybe you could make his walls come crashing down. Maybe you were the one to change him. Wait. Why were your thoughts running down that road? He was the person to take you away from your friends. The sympathy that started building up was wrong. That much you knew. Resisting felt like a tough task. What did he say during the flight? Something about pushing down your urges. This was the first time you understood the meaning.

If you thought the town was pretty then the apartment you entered was stunning. It was on the top floor. Spacious, furnished in a minimalist way. Overly white, accentuated with colorful artwork. Special pieces to complete the look of it. It screamed expensive. The process of taking everything in took a few minutes. It was overstraining. In the best way possible. You should screw down your excitement. After all, you were part of an incredibly dangerous situation. But you let his touch linger on your skin. Just for a fraction longer. If you really wanted to, you could have retreated. Something told you that Zemo would not have forced you to hold onto him. That thought alone calmed you down a little further. Technically, he was not a stranger. Throughout the missions you had performed together, with Sam & Bucky, you two had become acquainted with. You were associates, apparently. And associates were not supposed to fear one another. Then again, associates would not kidnap each other. Your body was overthrown with mixed signals. Unknown what was wrong & what was right. Your friends would probably describe you as insane, reckless. Maybe you were. Maybe the last few weeks had formed you into a different type of person. That type who sympathized with a criminal. With a criminal who broke out of a high security jail. Since when had criminals become your type? And why were you starting to think in a very friendly, almost amorous way? Looked like you really were insane.

Who would have thought the Baron to be an excellent chef? Definitely not you. But here he was, preparing a meal for you. This was actually pretty sweet of him. His body behind the stove & his eyes focused on the task. It was a sight for sore eyes. Only, of course, if he were not Zemo you were referring to. While he cooked, you set the table. He assured you that you did not have to but it felt like the right thing to do. It was the least you could do. What were you even saying? He kidnapped you, for God’s sake. Your body, your emotions, should be damned.

“Is this something you do often?” Zemo’s question caught you off guard. For a moment, you halted in your tracks. Cutlery was being put down. A deep breath left your mouth.

“What?” your bewildered expression made him chuckle. Funny to watch your perplexity.

“Living in your head more than in the present.” his proclamation cut through the tension.

“I…um, haven’t realized that, actually.” you answered awkwardly. Your hand raised to the back of your head, resting behind your ear.

“You do. When spending time with Sam & James. And now. It is quite entertaining.” he eyed you closely. It made you slightly uncomfortable.

“Why?” your curiosity got the best of you. That was nothing new. Even before he brought you here, your nosiness was on of your more obvious characteristics.

“Because the light in your eyes shifts. You are more at ease. Not to forget your smile…” Zemo trailed off at the end of his sentence, voice a little softer than usual.

“What about my smile?” you really were curious. Would it be in your favor or not? There was only one way to figure that out.

“It differs from when you are actively engaged in a conversation. The corners of your mouth lift in a softer way. No hesitation or restriction.” he finished, his sparkling brown eyes meeting yours. Due to the embarrassment, you could not keep eye contact. So you averted your gaze, facing the almost empty plate in front of you.

“You talk like you’ve known me forever.” your whispers were almost missed. The tone so quiet, even your racing heart was louder.

“I am simply skilled at reading people. You facilitate that process, actually.” every single word he spoke made so much sense that it almost did not make sense anymore. There was no other way to describe it.

“I do? How?” your constant short questions were amusing to him. On one hand, you wanted to distance yourself from him as much as possible. On the other hand, you inquired every single time he finished talking.

“I assume it is because you do not fear opening up to me & letting me in.” people who did not know your history would have believed you two had been friends for years. By the way he discerned the small, almost unnoticeable details about you. Details you did not even know existed in the first place.

“You assume an awful lot, Baron.” you teased, eyes moving to his face gingerly.

“Tell me I’m wrong.” but you could not. Because it would have been a lie. A smirk made its way onto his face when you did not give him a reply. Unintentionally, you mimicked his expression. He had you. Right here, he had you. And he was not the only one aware of the shift in the situation. You were just as deep in it as he was. It was a game with fire. Who would get burned in the end?

~to be continued~

Published (04/28/2021) by Cathy

Tags: @yallgotkik, @noavengers, @lieutenantn, @birdieofloxley, @aisling1985, @trelaney, @hiddlestoner-cumberbitch, @msmarvelsmain, @friday18eo, @crackerjackharkness, @waiting-for-motivation, @obsessedwithfandomsx, @friday18eo, @bibliophilewednesday, @princess-yuna, @trenton007, @pedropascallovebot, @your-lovers-heart, @stressedoutsteph (thanks for your support <3)

[akwardlyuncool]

Gully (20219) - Review

TW/CW: Trigger Warnings are vital to those who need them, so even though they can feel too revealing at times, it is better to air on the side of caution. That being said, here they are:

Underage alcohol and drug abuse.

Police Brutality

Suicidal-Ideation

Sexual Assault of a minor.

PS: I did not know Amber Herd was in this movie prior to watching it, but I figured I’d let y’all know in case you didn’t feel comfortable consuming anything she’s apart of.

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This is what happens when you have three teenage boys, who have seen and been through some really horrific things and decide to take the chaotic nature of their violent video games out into the real world. 

I had heard nothing about this movie prior to watching it. It had just showed up on my Hulu one day and I thought it looked good, so I saved it for later viewing. See I was going to watch Love Don’t Cost A Thing, but I remembered Gully being a thing and decided to watch something new. Part of me thinks I should have just stuck with the romantic comedy because 40 minutes into this movie I had to full on stop cause my anxiety was on such high alert. It was so much, seemingly very fast, and my body did not like it all too well.

Part of Gully is set in simulation, meaning that several scenes border between real life and a video game. The video game is like Grand Theft Auto, but of the boys “minds.” The movie is primarily set in real life, but often pulls up these graphic video game scenes I think to break up the real world violence that is taking place. That being said, the movie is hella violent regardless of if it’s a Sim or an actual human. This is where I feel the movie gets very messy, a little confusing and overall just too much. Visually there was a lot happening on screen pretty frequently as the major violence was taking place and for me that didn’t sit well. I guess I just needed some breathing room as those things were happening.

With how much brutality was shown in the film, I was often bracing myself for certain characters to, for lack of nicer words, be murdered. You just never knew which way things were going to go. There’s also a lot of trauma being worked through and mental disabilities to navigate and it’s always a guessing game for how people are going to react at any given moment when dealing with those things.

Although the movie itself was very erratic and confusing at times, the cast did a really good job with what they were given. Very high quality performances in that regard. Yes I did cry! If you watch this movie and you don’t cry or at least get a tightness in your chest, we did not see the same movie. I know a lot of people really didn’t like it, depending on where I saw the commentary from, but that doesn’t mean you are immune to heavy ish, especially when they are happening to teenagers. 

So I’ll say this, if you are emotionally tired of seeing Black youth being brutalized, even in a fictional setting and even if they are sometimes being brutal themselves, (product of their environment) give this one a pass. You do not have to sit through all that trauma because someone on Twitter was talking about how it’s a “must see.” Now if you feel you can handle it, than I suggest watching it with self-care practices in place. Not everybody is gonna need all that, but being prepared doesn’t hurt. I didn’t completely hate the movie, but I can see why people did and think they have some great points. Either way, if you do decide to put this one on, be kind to yourself.

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Bonus Thoughts  (SPOILERS INCLUDED.)

Question: What happened to Jesse’s mother?

I feel like the movie is based on his presumed abduction, but they never say what happened to his mother. Like how does he just end up in this dudes place for a good chunk of his life? Or is Jesse just living on his own and Mr. Charlie, is just popping in to check on him every once in a while? Maybe the answer was told in the movie and I just missed it, but that is why I think the movie fails in a lot of ways.

The knowledge of the abuse happened shortly before I had to stop watching and was the main reason I needed to take a break. Like several others, I wondered why this story was being told. There’s someone who’s going to feel connected to this story in ways that absolutely break my being, but is knowing that someone out there might feel that connection really enough for them to say let tell it? I’m not so sure it is. I didn’t hate the movie, but I always wonder when it comes to abuse stories, that are set in fiction, why and where it comes from. These opinions also come from not knowing anything about the story or the writers or anyone involved in that side of things.

Another Question: Where are the cops?

I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way. Like I mentioned earlier, there is so much violence and crime in this movie and the police never feel like they’re actually around, until way after the fact, even though sirens are blasting all the time. Maybe that was just to show the lack of adequate response times by police in Black neighborhoods, but it was still wild to see.  

Another thought real quick... Calvin had some mental disabilities going on with him for sure, but he was also dealing with a lot of trauma that was partially, in my opinion, unchecked, which I feel contributed to his violent behavior in a lot of ways. That being said, it hurt me the he was murdered. Regardless of what he did, I just wanted him to hopefully the better in life.

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Mia Deserved Better: An Analysis of RE8's Themes/Symbolism

Foreword: I would like to thank @lepusrufus for posting about both Mia and Miranda, and at one point directly saying that Mia deserved better, which is a large part of what caused me to start examining her role in the canon story. Now, I will say that this post, like some of my previous explorations of Village (such as my attempt to determine Donna's age), will not be the best organized. My ADHD makes such things rather difficult for me. However, I have tried more than usual, and have broken up this "essay" into several distinct sections. Still, I am worried that my thoughts will not be as concise or coherent as they were inside my head.

Under read-more for length and spoilers for RE8: Village.

Introduction:

Village is, inarguably, about parenthood. Is it a horror game? Yes. Is it also science fiction? Also yes. But is it still, at its core, a story, and therefore contains imagery, symbolism, and themes? Yes. Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with Mia deserving better. My proposal is as follows: While Village is overall about parenthood, it is more about motherhood than fatherhood. Furthermore, Mia's background + actions from the previous game tie her story directly with Mother Miranda's, making their potential interactions massively important to the story... and could have served the theme beautifully. The missed potential in her involvement in the story is honestly a little bit absurd.

Now, let's examine each of the Four Lords + their sections, as the beginning of analyzing the game's theme.

Lady Dimitrescu + Castle:

Ah, perhaps the clearest (albeit unimportant) bits of theme within the whole game. We are immediately presented with another parent, with three daughters she loves very, very much. Initially they work as a team to capture Ethan, easily overpowering him. When they do split up, each still has dialogue regarding their family members. Each of the daughters expresses a desire to be like their mother/make their mother proud. Lady Dimitrescu herself gets very upset every time one of her daughters perishes, and delivers some important dialogue about this in her final confrontation with Ethan.

To paraphrase, Lady D says that Ethan has done something unforgiveable, caused damage that can never heal, and deserves to die before his daughter. That last part is interesting, in the sense that Lady D seems to believe that outlasting your own child is a fate so terrible that she would not wish it upon anyone, including the person who killed her daughters.

Throughout her dialogue and actions, Lady D serves as an important figure of a living mother. What do I mean by that? Well, the only other mothers we see in game are Mia and Miranda. The former doesn't show up until almost the end of the game (seeing as the "Mia" at the start is not actually the real Mia), while the latter does not have a living child, and her behavior has (presumably) changed quite a bit since that loss. As Ethan goes through Castle Dimitrescu, he watches (he causes) Lady D to go through what Miranda did all those decades ago. When we see her loss, when we experience her loss, it is something we connect with, even comparing it (as Lady D does) to Ethan's loss of Rose.

For the more visual side of symbolism, we can turn to Lady Dimitrescu herself. She is very tall, is visibly older than the majority of the Village cast, and has a fairly classic (old-school) motherly look. Everything about her reinforces her position as an example of a mother, especially when she's with her daughters and becomes such a strong figure of protection. Her height allows her to seem the caretaker for her children, even though they are scary/intimidating in their own right.

Donna Beneviento + Waterfall House:

Yes, the baby/fetus/monstrosity is part of this. No, it is not the only bit of thematic work in this section of the game.

To begin, you can find out that Donna is officially the adopted daughter of Mother Miranda. Her birth parents are dead, implied to be from especially tragic causes (more than is the norm when it comes to "orphan making"), and she has suffered greatly from it. We see that she has been seemingly neglected by Miranda, and is incredibly isolated. The tragedy of her loss, along with the consequences presented by it, are something to keep in mind further down the road, when we inevitably deal with Ethan's own death.

One of the consequences of the environment Donna was raised in is, arguably, her reliance on Angie. While interpretations of their exact relationship (aka how much control Donna actually has at any given point) vary, the two very clearly have something akin to a mother/daughter vibe. Alternatively an older sister/younger sister sort of thing. This shows in the way that Donna holds/carries Angie, as well as the contrast in their demeanors. Moreso, the fact that Donna gave a part of herself to create Angie is almost enough to make the symbolism nonnegotiable.

We also see that Donna has a strong understanding of family/family dynamics, through the way that she uses her powers to manipulate Ethan. She dissects his connections to Mia and Rose, taunts him with the lengths he's willing to go to save his child, then shows him a grotesque version of parenthood: The aforementioned fetus monster. Does the monster represent Ethan's fears, or Donna's?

What if the monster is how Donna sees herself, in some way, perhaps thinking that it's her fault her parents died? Bit of a stretch, but it's not a keystone of my theory, so I'm just throwing it out there. We could, however, go a step further and ask ourselves if Donna has noticed the way Miranda neglects her, and the fetus monster is how Donna thinks Miranda sees her. A baby, true, but grotesque, so terribly imperfect compared to her "real daughter" (Eva, obvs).

Regardless, the monster presents an ugly side of parenthood. It shows us the blood, the hunger (with the way it repeatedly attempts to swallow Ethan whole), the wailing. If Lady D shows us the love of parenthood, the bond, Donna in turn shows us the hate, the misery. Everything that one must endure to reap the rewards of family.

Lastly, we get one last bit of symbolism with Donna's death: We play a game with Angie. A childhood classic, hide and seek. Ethan chases her down repeatedly, stabbing away, seemingly only hurting the doll. But what happens when he kills Angie? It turns out that he killed Donna. You kill the child, you kill the parent. A reinforcement of the connection that comes with parenthood, along with another notch in Ethan's family-murdering belt (not saying that he's the "true antagonist" or anything, just keeping track for one of my later points).

Moreau + The Reservoir

Let's get the worst possibility out of the way: Moreau, weakest and sickest of the four lords, lives in a reservoir, where he is relatively safe. To defeat him, you have to drain the water, forcing him onto dry(ish) land. Paired with the main ideas of his section (which I will detail after this nightmare), one could theorize that he's meant to represent birth itself. Again, he's safe in his ("womb") water, and becomes vulnerable when he leaves (like a fragile newborn). Kinda gross, in my opinion, and also not a strong enough connection for me to care much about. It was merely an interesting (albeit horrifying) enough thought that I felt it warranted sharing.

Moving on to the big stuff with Moreau: He's a baby. Evidence: Whiny, has difficulty moving around, struggles to adapt to his growth, throws up a bunch, loves his mother very much, cries for his mother when he's in trouble, etc. Although Mother Miranda does not care for him, he clearly cares for her, and plays yet another role of an abandoned child (like Donna). Without Miranda there to protect him, he perishes terribly, crying out for someone who does not care to answer.

Hearing him cry out for Miranda, over and over, only for her to continue ignoring him is a key piece in the build-up to our confrontation between Ethan and Miranda. The game, in many ways, centers around the comparison between the two. In my humble opinion, Mia should have been involved in this comparison, as opposed to supplying the solution to the result of said comparison. Yes, I know that was a lot of words that don't mean much yet, but trust me, I'm getting there.

Heisenberg + The Factory

Ironically, of the four lords, Heisenberg is the most similar to Mother Miranda. In his massive factory, he is alone except for his numerous experiments, the results of decades of playing God. In comparison to Ethan + Mia, Heisenberg represents artificial parentage, or more accurately, the artificial creation of "life". While the others Lords also performed experiments, they used living subjects. Heisenberg instead chose to use corpses, which he then "brought back to life" with cybernetics + his powers, a somewhat futuristic version of Dr. Frankenstein.

Together, Miranda and him show a rotten side of parenthood (whereas Donna + Moreau showed us the uglier side of the children themselves). To put it simply, they are bad parents. They throw their "children"/experiments into the fray, uncaring, using them as pawns for their own greater gain. The most important part of this is that Heisenberg offers to "help" Ethan: By using Rose as a weapon. In his act of refusal, Ethan demonstrates one of several important distinctions between himself and Mother Miranda. Where she is willing to use her "children" (read: lives that she is responsible for) as tools, he is not.

Miscellaneous Symbolism/Imagery:

The old hag is one of my favorite parts of Village. She's seemingly nuts, has a crazy old lady laugh, wears bones that make soothing bone noises when she moves, and she draws lots of symbols in the dirt. If you look closely (I can provide screenshots if anyone desires, but it will take a bit of work to get them onto my computer), she's drawing one of the most iconic images in the titular village: The winged unborn. This symbol acts as the key you build up after every fight with a Lord, understandably called the Unborn Key (which turns into the Winged Unborn Key). Whether this counts as foreshadowing towards the hag's identity reveal is technically irrelevant, but I like to think it does.

In essence, you build up the key, this depiction of an infant, to progress in the game. The more wings it gains, the closer you are to your goal of rescuing your child.

The cadou itself is very clearly fetus-shaped. Furthermore, the only place within the human body that we know it ever gets implanted is in the "tummy" (thanks Moreau), aka roughly where someone's womb is/would be. Every infected person we see presumably had the Cadou implanted there (though I think it would be interesting if implanting it in different spots caused different mutations. of course, that is a discussion for another day). To become immortal, you have to "bear" a "child". Does it get more direct than that?

Mother Miranda gained her immortality in part for her grief at the loss of her child. She embodied the despair that Lady D spoke of, becoming an eternal source of anguish. Just as the loss of a child is a wound that lasts forever, so too would Miranda last forever (well, until Ethan comes along).

Mia is a loving mother, who puts up with the BSAA making her move across the world, deals with the complications of having a mold husband and mold baby, and has proved herself (see her section in RE7) to be an immense badass. Previously I had forgotten that, and even embarrassed myself in the comments of another person's post by implying she wasn't a tough, ass-kicking machine. Y'all remember feral Mia? People talk about "poor Ethan's arms", but sometimes we forget that Mia was one of the people who did a number on them. Furthermore, she's one of the only living people (from outside the village) to have any connections (pun intended) to Mother Miranda. They worked together, although possibly not directly, on Evelyn. If anyone in Village has a chance of really understanding Miranda's plight, or knowing the truth behind it, it would be Mia. Yet we don't see them interact a single time. Which leads me to the next section...

Conclusion On Theme + Missed Potential:

Okay, okay, so it's pretty obvious at this point that, as previously stated, the game's theme is parenthood. Every section has its symbolism, the story is very obviously about a man trying to rescue his daughter, etc, etc, but what's the point? Is there a lesson, or a more focused interpretation of the central theme? Let's take one last step back, and focus on something I've mentioned a few times now: The comparison between Ethan and Mother Miranda.

Recurring dialogue from Ethan, Alcina, and Mother Miranda all point towards the developers acknowledging that the characters are similar, but there's nowhere near as much conversation about it as I would like. Several times we have the antagonists ask Ethan how he's so willing to kill someone else's child, or prevent them from (essentially) doing what he's doing (aka saving his daughter). While Ethan responds with a mix of "well you started it" and "aghhh fuck-a-you, bitch", there's a much more solid, unspoken difference: Mother Miranda sends her underlings to kill, so that she may revive her daughter. Ethan kills (read: does the work himself) to get his daughter. The difference is much bigger, and more important, at the end of the game, when we realize just how far it goes. Ethan dies to save his daughter. Time and time again Mother Miranda has killed others for her work, but in the end she is stopped when someone willingly dies to stop her.

Where does Mia come in? Mia, the badass mother, the one who once worked alongside Mother Miranda, should have been the nail in the coffin. She is the one who survives, who lives on to raise Rose, she is the silent solution to Ethan's sacrifice. Miranda, you fool, what could you have accomplished if you had held onto your makeshift family? Through Mia (and Chris, to a lesser degree), his "loss" becomes a victory. There's a certain poetic justice that comes with Rose's full family being instrumental in saving her, when Miranda so readily spurned her own family.

Mia could have had an actual conversation with Miranda, their history giving the latter a reason to actually listen. I'm not saying that Miranda would have changed her mind/plans, but the conversation would have been a well-needed contrast to Ethan's "arggg what the fuck is happening, I only have two reactions to things. agg fuck you". Additionally, I feel that Mia (who was captured and had to endure who-knows-what) deserves the opportunity to be the one who points out Miranda's mistakes, who delivers the final "fuck you" to her. More than that, she's the one at the end who can say that hey, maybe she can understand some of what Miranda did. Was there anything her and Ethan wouldn't have done to save Rose? As much as Ethan is a foil to Miranda, Mia could (and should) have played a similar role.

When so much of the story and symbolism revolves around Miranda's experience as a mother, it only would have been fair to shine a light on her equivalent. Her better.

There's more I wanted to say/feel like I didn't properly get across, and I might add more to this at some point, but it's 5:40 AM right now, and I'm starting to feel like my brain is slowing down, so... Feel free to reblog/comment and add your own thoughts!