#liveblogging fate

[arimiadev]

so the steam/switch versions of fate/stay night released today and it's uh. quite a feat to make a visual novel this buggy

[foxstens]

fate/unlimited codes’ ost is still great

[arthursfuckinghat]

"I was gonna say you're like a son to me.. but you're more than that."

"It ain't that complicated!"

How quickly that shoulder pat of comfort turned into a condescending one.

[happycattail]

I have so many thoughts about Orym admitting that he is pressuring Imogen to dive deeper in. Just like how he nodded to Launda to kill Bor'Dor. He's not just the "nice guy" of the Bells Hells. He's also Orym of the Air Ashair. Someone who was raised to be a soldier. Someone who was raised to not only protect but to defend. And now he's a soldier in the middle of a potential war. He's going to keep pushing them to make harder and harder decisions if it means it helps them win. Even at high risk to themselves. I can't wait to see more conflict that will eventually come of this.

[waffliesinyoface]

me: haha, what if transgirl shirou, that would be a fun canon divergence

fate:

me: hm. hmm. how interesting, emiya shirou~.

[t-u-i-t-c]

"You'll triumph someday, as long as you never yield. I'll take you on any time." "You never fail to piss me off, Geats."

[eerna]

TotK is the most romantic stuff ever. except when it isn't. yes the game is about Link's journey to finally catch Zelda's hand and save her. yes she turned into an immortal dragon for 10000 years and forgot every single thing about her entire existence EXCEPT that she had to protect and save him. but we're gonna pretend it isn't happening <3<3<3 why are you surprised he no longer lives in Hateno <3<3<3<3 why did you expect any kind of a reaction from him upon learning the tragic sacrifice she'd made for Hyrule <3<3<3<3<3<3

[luckthebard]

Omg Braius is a *tragedy* bard? PERFECT

[completeoveranalysis]

[1]

xxxHolic Chapter 89

OH IT'S GORGEOUS?

Now featuring Spider Lily, with some Spider Lily, with an extra helping of Spider Lily!

What could it all mean?

Except, you know, Death! Endings! Rebirth! Et cetera!

I am not an expert in the symbol but it’s Yuuko Ichihara so what could be more fitting than that?

I also just love the gentle posing of it all. Watanuki draped sideways and vulnerable, his neck exposed and his head turned the other way - but sheltered by Yuuko, held in place by the gentlest touch of her fingers on his forehead. It’s beautiful and speaks of the protection and careful shelter she’s provided for him all this time, especially now that we know just how vulnerable he was to Evil Wolverine without us ever knowing. But this is Yuuko after all, so of course she could pull that off with effortless grace and a sly look directly at the camera at the same time.

Also the COLOURS?

The contrasting yellow-orange and purple-blue of each of their kimonos? Matching the same colours as Watanuki's eyes?? But near their hands their different coloured lillies flow into each other as if they were one and the same? Or two halves of the same thing? Or the end of one being the start of the other?

Paint my entire wall with this I want to stare at it forever.

[zeebreezin]

In order to celebrate Shaw’s 500th (!!!) Knifegate blade, he has been awarded with one (1) day off to go do something fun. I mean he’s spent so much time cooped up working with the whole Midnighter international spy craft thing, or working to catalogue languages Benthic, like, the man’s earned a day off! Something lightheaded, easy going, and definitely in no way related to his day job(s).

…like this! I’m sure he’ll have a great, completely relaxing time.

[blueskittlesart]

this. this is killing me. this is a constant with him. failure and redemption. he could not save her the first time but this time he is stronger and he is better and he is not alone. no mistake is too drastic to be fixed. no wound is too deep to be healed. you could not reach her then but your arm is not burnt and broken anymore. you can reach her now. THIS GAMEEEEEEEE

[r-18g]

fate/hollow ataraxia is a good game.

[incesthemes]

as i've rewatched seasons 1 and 2 of supernatural i've been pondering and hypothesizing reasons why john was so adamant on not letting sam know about his destiny. why he was so intent on keeping this secret, why he didn't want sam knowing about monsters, why his role in their hunts appeared to be research-oriented and thus away from the action. my perspective on ignorance and censorship is that it enables further harm, so if john were going to effectively protect sam, it would stand to reason that sam should have a comprehensive understanding of his destiny and what he's up against: give him the tools to fight.

this is obviously not the route john went, so then i have to question why that is—what about censorship was so appealing to him that he thought it not only the best way to keep sam safe, but perhaps even the only way to keep him safe, based on how he begged even dean to keep sam's fate a secret from him in his final words?

so i got to thinking. namely, about the fact that azazel wants sam to be hunting: he killed jessica with the intent to drag him back into the life, which implies that if sam is hunting, he is going down the path azazel wants him to go—he's following his destiny. this aligns with the everpresent theme throughout season 1 that hunting is a monstrous lifestyle, that hunting turns people into monsters. if sam is destined to become a monster, then hunting is the most sure-fire way to get him there.

if azazel wants sam to hunt, then john would need to take the logical opposition and keep sam out of hunting—so, he wouldn't tell sam about monsters until he has to, he'd give sam more passive roles once sam is participating in hunts, he'd train sam in self-defense but not explain why. and importantly, he wouldn't talk about mary, who is the root cause of this lifestyle, the impetus for their revenge quest, more than he has to. if the goal is to keep sam as far away from hunting as possible, and if john is someone who thinks ignorance keeps someone safe, then this more or less explains most of how sam was raised: on the fringes of the family, excluded and sheltered.

but weirdly enough, it wasn't until i was reading east of eden the other night that i finally understood the perspective being presented: late in the novel, the character lee says "when the first innocence is gone, you can't stop."

it made me remember that sam picks. he is a character who wants to understand the world around him and his place in it. if something is bothering him, he turns it over in his head until it consumes him. dean places doubt in sam's head in 2x10 and it obliterates him by 2x11. he's convinced he's going to become some horrible monster because he never stops thinking and trying to figure things out. when his memory is wiped in 4x17 and normal guy sam wesson finds out his coworker is the guy from his weird dreams, he pursues him relentlessly until they're back hunting. when he discovers the wall death put in his mind to keep his hell trauma out in season 6, he pushes and can't stop until it starts crumbling around him. he's intelligent and clever and he wants to know everything. and when he doesn't know, he picks.

and the only way to stop a person like that from picking is to not let them know that there's something to pick at in the first place. that's what the quote from east of eden means: once you catch wind of something, you want to pursue it until you're satisfied. curiosity kills the cat.

and what john is up against is fate itself. something that isn't supposed to be messed with, something that's supposed to be unavoidable. so trying to thwart it is tricky business. he has to be careful.

i think working under that logic his response makes sense, even if it wound up being a self-fulfilling prophecy anyway—sam was always going to find out, and sam was always going to pick. there was nothing john could do in the end to stop it, and trying to keep sam ignorant only made him that much more desperate to know. but that's the great tragedy of it all: john was given an impossible choice, and he's a deeply flawed character. he did what he thought was best, and it only made things worse.

i like this interpretation because it ties all of john's choices together really well; it explains a lot about his character and gives a nuanced and rather reasonable explanation for why he did what he did: a dad who wants the best for his kid does what he believes will set him up on the path to success. when the first innocence is gone, you can't stop—so john does his damnedest to keep sam innocent, even to his dying breath.

the problem comes down to that someone's damnedest isn't always good enough, and that sometimes someone's damnedest ends up benefiting the enemy instead.

[arthursfuckinghat]

"I got it.. beatin' a man.. to death.. for a few bucks"

[pieofdeath]

K2 got into Hudol when did that happen 😭

[waffliesinyoface]

ALERT:

incredibly cute saber