#so there was a sense of closure

[lenievi]

bbc les misérables is like showing javert coming home to his empty apartment, being all sad, eating alone, sleeping alone, being unhappy in a montage together with valjean coming back home to cosette but also looking really sad and unhappy

okay

[i-dare-say]

You know what I love about Binghe's character? His role in the story and the way it changes our perception of him through the narrative.

We first meet him as this poor boy and we, just like Shen Qingqiu, get swept by the image of the white lotus. He's a teenager, and we're told that at this age he didn't have any of the darkness that would reign over his life after the Abyss. We're only shown an obedient and sweet Luo Binghe. He is the "young and innocent protagonist".

But we know about his future. Shen Qingqiu tells us so many times that the Abyss will corrupt him irreversebly, that he will come back and take his revenge on the scum villain. The problem is that we see the story through Shen Qingqiu's point of view, he is our protagonist, making Binghe our villain. So we read about the disciple days with the constant thought that this boy will one day become the antagonist.

And see, there's a slight difference between villain and antagonist. A villain is perceived as someone with bad intentions, while an antagonist is just someone who opposes the protagonist.

When Luo Binghe comes back from the Abyss, he is both villain and antagonist. He goes against Shen Qingqiu (antagonist), and the story tells us he wants to kill him like the original PIDW (villain).

Then it's revealed that it may not be exactly like that. First, we're shown that Binghe has romantic feelings for Shen Qingqiu (which, yeah, it's obvious to everyone but him, but still), giving Binghe a new possible role in the story: love interest. This immediately reduces the perceived danger of his actions. It brings him closer, it makes him a safer character.

Yes, there are stories with villainous love interests that do horrible shit, but we're dealing with the most common way narratives treat this type of character: generally, the love interest is good. And so, the moment this role is put upon Luo Binghe by the narrative itself, it also influences the reader.

But Shen Qingqiu, and consequently we, don't lower our guard. Despite being the love interest now, we also know that Luo Binghe has conspired to take down his master and organized the sower plague. He's attacked Huan Hua Palace, killed Gongyi Xiao and many others, putting the blame on Shen Qingqiu. By the end of book 2 he's villain, antagonist and love interest.

But it all gets proven wrong. That almost everything that happened to Shen Qingqiu was not because of Luo Binghe. We discover that there are other villains in the shadows.

The sower plague and the the attack at Huan Hua Palace was caused by Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang. Qiu Haitang's involvement and Shen Qingqiu's imprisonment was one of the Old Palace Master's schemes. All of this destroys Binghe's role as villain and antagonist.

This is the moment Shen Qingqiu decides to trust Binghe, pushing the reader to do the same. Because he's just "love interest" now and by the standard conventions, he's good. We trust him to be. Shen Qingqiu himself starts to project onto him that same image of white lotus. Since our image of Luo Binghe was so bad previously, this makes it jump way higher. It lulls us into this much better perception of his character.

The Old Palace Master was a villain and he died, as villains are often destined to. The only obstacle remains Tianlang-Jun, who doesn't harm Shen Qingqiu because of Zhuzhi-Lang's wishes (not an antagonist), but also wants to merge the realms (villain).

So our protagonist and love interest move toward the action, the big battle against the final boss. The villains get defeated easily and after the truth of what happened to Su Xiyan, Tianlang-Jun gives up his plan. His role as villain ends there. But the story has more antagonists to reveal.

Luo Binghe has never stopped being one. The narrative only hid his real motivations and let him cover himself with the role of love interest. And at this moment, he drops the mask and lets all of his feelings out, everything he didn't tell Shen Qingqiu nor the readers. He becomes the final antagonist, the one we've had since the very beginning.

The thing that saves him is his status as love interest, because no, he's not the only one to blame for what is happening. There's Xin Mo, who has fed on his insecurities and negative feelings, and Shen Qingqiu himself. He is the one who has constantly pushed Binghe to the side, believing himself to do the right thing, first by giving Binghe his death and then by trying to keep him "protected" from his father.

In the end, Luo Binghe wasn't a villain. Shen Qingqiu was, and he dies. But since he's not a real villain, he's allowed to come back.

When everything is over, their story comes to an end. The narrative itself leaves them free, to be whoever they want to be.

[retro-wallflower]

Are you telling me the Hargreaves died like THAT? Diego and Five fighting. Lila heartbroken. Luther not getting any closure on what he wanted. No family or kids and still living in abandoned building owned by his dad. Klaus losing his sobriety, never getting to the point where he feels useful to the family. Viktor not being able to hold down a relationship for God knows why. Ben never becoming part of the umbrellas. Alison's career not going well.

They all died in miserable mediocrity in a dull timeline. After a lifetime of hardships, trying to save worlds (in their own assholy way). I wouldn't mind if they went for this so much if there was the story to back it up. I can't fathom why they would leave these characters like that.

It's so unsatisfying to us because it's so unsatisfying to the characters for no point. It doesn't make sense. I don't see whatever narrative final arc they were going for with this final timeline - it doesn't seem to say or mean anything. They didn't need a perfectly happy ending or anything. They just needed some closure.

[uncanny-tranny]

Something I realized (which was obvious to me subconsciously) is that... The family that vehemently didn't accept me when I first came out but now do accept me are still the same family that I am most unwilling to be open about things I feel protective over.

I remember that my dad reacted so poorly, not to my coming out, but to my transition specifically that my therapist was the one to ask if I wanted to put it on my file that I wanted nothing to ever be shared with him about my health after I broke down multiple times due to my anxiety that I would never transition. While there are and were protections for me, I was incredibly fearful at the time because I was a minor, and I was so worried that he would have prevented my transition that I couldn't have said for certain what (if any) lengths he would have gone to to prevent that.

He's grown a lot as a person, and made some commendable strides. But he didn't find out from me when I medically transitioned the second I turned eighteen, and I think that's among the things that truly made him realize the scope of the issue.

I'm not here to guilt trip parents, guardians, or other members responsible for the care of the children or teens or young adults in their care.... but this is a cautionary tale. You aren't saving the people in your care when you do this, you simply reinforce an idea that you will never care for them, never want them as they are, would rather them be shoved away.

When you give people reasons to be secretive, they will behave secretively. When you give people reasons to doubt their safety around you, they will become sneaky, defensive, and withdrawn. When you give people reasons to doubt that you value their life, they will believe that you don't care if they live or not.

[livegastrodonreaction]

I kind of wish project Sekai explored more how healing is absolutely not linear. especially with characters like Haruka and Shizuku and Mafuyu etc

[seaofreverie]

A (very random) observation

[forbiddentaako]

more monochrome practice I suppose

[moonshynecybin]

#GODDD he got no closure. you knowww his control freak ass is like. if we could simply talk it out i could put it to bed. <-- is that why vale won't give him the closure he needs? Vale knows Marc will fully move on from him once they talk and his controlling self can't have marc not being haunted by his ghost.

NEITHER OF THEM HAVE CLOSURE ! IT RULES ! fr they both have publicly been like yeah. it is a deep wound inside me that i think about way too often... still making public statements about it entirely without duress and of their own volition VERY recently. a narrative they could let die but it simply means too much to them. and in lots of ways it’s a way to be close. to relate to each other. to be singular in each other’s imaginings and in the eyes of the world. gone girl voice i’m the cunt you married. like vale has lost other titles badly! marc has pissed other people off! but it’s different with each other… and they categorically and eternally find themselves unable to let each other go. it’s literally a way for them to stay together.

[cowardlybean]

Could I have a matsuo or minegishi in these trying times

local fruity esper doesn’t know how to use skincare

[epsiiwash]

sometimes i think about how much potential there was to explore the dynamics between tucker, epsilon, and wash in the show proper and im disappointed all over again

one of my biggest gripes has got to be how… quickly tucker breezes past certain things, i guess? i know rvb has less than stellar writing for the most part but like. we get no genuine reaction from tucker after he’s told about alpha’s death/torture in pfl. what’s worse is that he only finds out right when epsilon shows up, who immediately takes up church’s name and replaces him as if nothing even happened.

i’ve always felt like there should’ve been some resentment on tucker’s end? epsilon and alpha are not the same, the only memories he has of blood gulch are the ones that he heard from caboose. so not only did tucker never get to say goodbye to the church he knew but he also didn’t really get a chance to process his death before epsilon showed up. and then there’s just everything that happened afterward with epsilon and carolina lashing out at the reds and blues, epsilon leaving to find tex in the memory unit, and leaving again in season 11… we got that one scene between tucker and epsilon in season 12 but it just. it wasn’t enough imo.

and not only that but. tucker should’ve resented washington too, even more than he did in season 11. it just seems to me like all of the characters completely forgot that washington is the reason the church from blood gulch is gone. and again, zero reaction from tucker. like you aren’t pissed that this guy you just met is the one who got your best friend killed? the guy who is the reason you never got to say goodbye to him? the guy who also attacked your friends, and tried to take epsilon to hargrove to save his own skin?

dont even get me started on the lack of any interactions between wash and epsilon. maybe i read too much into it but ive been rewatching the show and i can’t help but feel like there could’ve been so much more

[cosettegf]

i love the penumbra podcast and i love second citadel and i really enjoyed listening to the finale but i feel. weird about the way this show treats its female characters???

[blobbei-art]

More Des! Some angst and my incredibly self indulgent headcanon that Emmy and Descole end up getting along really well because of their connection to Bronev, Targent and also having betrayed Layton. They’re such an untapped dynamic and I love them a lot together

[seance]

I do remember bits of our life. She smelled like embers. From keeping those measly fires alive for the long nights. I remember my hunger. And her stomach growling twice as loud as mine. She used her magic to create elaborate meals that we couldn't afford. I would have done anything to make her smile. And yet... the day she left me, she was sick. She needed water, so I went to get her some. And when I came back, she was gone. I called for her. But she was gone. She loved you the best she could. To save you, she had to let you go. This can't have been the only choice. It wasn't. It's simply the one she made. And now you have your own impossible decision. I won't abandon Ciri. Even if it costs me my life.

[iceinherheart-kissonherlips]

you'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you  🎶

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

my sad usagi ending hc

So, a while ago, I had this idea that Usagi was actually the kid who owned the pet parrot on the bus that was burned by Jodio. I decided to take it a step further and make myself sad by coming up with this headcanon on what happens when Usagi dies.

Usagi's father had a pet parrot all his life and it was a rather old yet friendly bird that Usagi grew up helping take care of. When Usagi's father died, Usagi decided to start taking care of the bird rather than have his mom give it away.

In a way, this bird was the remaining physical connection Usagi had with his father. Unable to openly mourn for him for his mother's sake, Usagi would spend hours taking care of this bird and finding comfort in its presence as a way to cope with losing his dad. When he began high school and became worried about whether he would be bullied or not fit in, Usagi would sneak his bird into school so he wouldn't feel alone. The students eventually caught on and they started to hang out with Usagi in hopes of hanging out with his pet bird. Usagi became well-liked, which helped him avoid bullies, and he would often sneak his bird to school for his own emotional support.

When the bus caught fire and the students on it were ultimately evacuated after the flames were extinguished, the bird somehow escaped amiss the chaos. Usagi woke up in the hospital soon after and the first thing he asked was where his bird went. The firemen were sympathetic and the police tried to gently tell him the bird perished, but Usagi refused to believe that his bird died in the flames. He swore he saw the bird still alive on the bus when the flames mysteriously extinguished before he blacked out. His mother tried to persuade him in getting a new bird but Usagi refused to get one as a replacement. For a while, he made lost-and-found papers, he asked his "friends" to help find his bird, and he even waited in the front of his house hoping the bird would fly back home. But, the bird never came back. Usagi tries to hide it but he has an overwhelming amount of guilt because he lost the one thing his father used to cherish while he was alive.

Cut to some time in The JOJOLands. Usagi, through spending time with Team Jodio, learns to find closure with his dad's death. However, he isn't able to start anew because he now finds himself dying. He sacrificed his life to save Team Jodio and allow them to escape their enemies, but he was now about to die in the thick of a jungle without anyone able to save him. It would be a while before a wild animal, a passing tourist, or local would find his body and declare him dead. He doesn't know how to feel about all of this besides the pain his body feels as it become weaker and his eyes become heavier. That's when he suddenly hears a familiar yet weary chirp come closer and closer.

His bird finally came back. Years of living in the wild and old age has left it seemingly unrecognizable, yet Usagi knew based on how the bird weakly landed on Usagi's chest and caressed itself against his face was the parrot he lost years ago. The bird itself was trying to apologize about disappearing for so long but grateful to find its owner's son. It too was about to die due to natural causes and Usagi felt it start to move less with each breath. Both of them knew that the two only had so much time before they died. But, both were also happy to at least see each other one last time. Usagi, despite the unbearable pain he had just felt a while ago, died peacefully smiling, knowing that his wish was finally granted.

And that wish... was to see his dad again.

[death-of-the-endless]

“...It’s like uh gender isn’t something you can pick and choose uh far as Gods are concernced.” “Well, that’s something the Gods can take and stuff up their sacred recta. I know what I am.”

Wanda Mann in The Sandman: A Game of You (1993)