#this kid's a goddamn prophet | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

probably-impossible · 5 months

Text

Crush

A story about the End of the Wild West; or, the Prophet sees two trains explode on his one-hundred-and-fourth birthday.

(Aka my Activity 1 for the @dollarstrilogyevent that I got way too into hahahaha)

By his own reckoning, Prophet was one-hundred and four years old as of that September in 1896. Perhaps unsurprisingly he had lost most of his hearing, but his vision was still good. He saw the door of his shack swing open, and he struggled to sit up in bed. “I've already found Jesus and I'm not buying anything!”

The face that poked around the door belonged to Fluke Dudley, a young man who worked on the ranch that had sprung up next door. He was just about the only one who visited him anymore. “It's me, Prophet,” he said. “I w- - - - - to - - - - you- -”

“Speak up, boy!”

“I SAID THERE'S SOMEWHERE I'D LIKE TO TAKE YOU TODAY!”

“What? Where's that, then?”

“IT'S A SURPRISE!” Fluke scratched his nose and grinned. “For your birthday. You'll like it, sir, I promise.”

Prophet grumbled but allowed Fluke to lift him into the rickety wheelchair that sat beside his bed. “Don't need remindin’ about no birthday,” he said. “I've had about ten too many of ‘em, I reckon. Wish someone had put me out of my misery back when the goddamn good-for-nothing trains took my hearing!”

“Oh, don't talk like that.”

“I'm a hundred and four years old, I'll talk however I damn well please!”

Fluke rolled him out of the shack, towards one of the ranch's small one-horse wagons. He lifted the old man up onto the seat and stowed the chair in the bed, then jumped up and flicked the reins.

Prophet squinted at the scenery as they rolled slowly alongside the train tracks. “I used to get visits from all sorts of people, you know,” he said. “I used to know everything about everybody in these parts. They'd come from miles around to see me. To get their information.”

Fluke nodded. He'd heard this story before.

“Lawmen, outlaws, drifters,” Prophet continued. “Bounty killers. I've seen them all. But they just don't make men like that anymore. I tell you, boy, things have got too civilized around here.”

“ - - - - ”

“What?”

“I SAID YOU'RE RIGHT!”

“Damn sure I'm right.” Prophet leaned over the side of the wagon to glare down at the tracks. “It's all the fault of those trains! They take all the civilized folk from out east, load ‘em up into their carriage cars with the lacy curtains and little fruity drink trolleys, and send ‘em out here. And soon enough there's so much civilization around a man can't hardly be himself anymore.”

Prophet leaned back and went silent for a while. “I wonder how many of those young men who used to come and see me are still alive,” he said. “They strung up Willie Foster last year, I know that. And Kid Frasier fell off his hoss. That old marshal Colby… whatever happened to him?”

“He got killed in a shootout, you said.”

“Right, right. Davey and Red Kelly done it, and then they run off to Mexico.” He blinked as another wagon passed by them. It was loaded up with people, chatting and laughing. He lost his thought for a moment, then picked it back up again. “Angel Eyes… he's long gone. That retired colonel went back to North Carolina. Now what was that young buck's name… Manco. Fell off the face of the earth, far as I can remember. And worst of all, poor old Cheyenne…”

“Shot in the gut by the president of the railroad company,” Fluke muttered.

“...shot in the gut by the president of the railroad company! Did you ever hear of a worse way to go?!” Prophet sighed. “Somehow I outlived them all. Now I'm the last of a dyin’ breed. They just don't make men like us anymore.”

“No sir,” Fluke said. There were more wagons around now, and people walking along the tracks, too. They all seemed to be going in the same direction. Fluke tipped his hat as they passed by a group of ladies holding parasols.

Prophet looked at him skeptically. “Where exactly are you taking me? There sure are a lot of other people headed this way.”

“You'll find out soon,” Fluke said. “We're almost there.”

“There’s nothin’ wrong with my hair!”

“I SAID WE'RE ALMOST THERE!”

As they kept riding the crowd really started to thicken. They passed by lemonade stands and carnival games, a grandstand with a band, even a circus tent. “Just this once I'm glad I'm deaf,” Prophet muttered. “Who's runnin’ a goddamn county fair along the train tracks?”

Fluke slowly drew the wagon to a stop and pointed up at a large banner that had been hoisted next to a section of the track. It read ‘Crush, Texas. Est. September 15, 1896.’

“The railroad company's putting on a demonstration,” Fluke said, raising his voice even more than usual over the sound of the crowd. “They're gonna take two old steam engines, run ‘em as fast as they can, and crash ‘em right into each other!” He beamed with pride. “How do you like that for a birthday present, sir? You and me are gonna watch two trains smash each other to smithereens!”

Prophet blinked. “...What? The railroad company’s gonna smash their own trains?” he said, puzzled. “What for?”

“They're old engines, I guess,” Fluke said. “No use for ‘em anymore.”

“So they're crashing them? What, with all these people around?”

“It's supposed to be very safe. No chance of the boilers exploding or anything, that's what the man from the railroad said.”

Prophet went quiet for a while. Fluke felt his own excitement start to deflate. He'd been so sure the old man would love to see this. All he ever talked about was how much he hated trains! The whole affair seemed perfectly designed with him in mind. But he didn't look excited. In fact, he seemed a little… sad.

“The railroad company…” he muttered. “Making a whole damn spectacle out of busting up some old trains that aren't good for nothing anymore. And it's perfectly safe. ‘Course it is.”

A ripple of excitement went through the crowd; rumbling could be heard in the distance. Fluke slouched on the bench of the wagon. “...I'm sorry, Prophet. I thought for sure you'd like to see it.”

“Oh, don't look so damn mopey, boy,” Prophet said, gently. “Old bastards like me can't ever be satisfied with nothin’, that's all.”

They sat there in silence for a while. Fluke listened to the rumbling while Prophet watched two black dots appear on either end of the horizon and grow steadily closer.

Eventually the rumbling grew to a roar, and an anticipatory hush fell over the crowd. The ground began to shake. The trains were close enough to their destined meeting place now that Prophet could make out the shape of the engine cars, could see the smoke billowing from their antiquated stacks. For the first time in his life, the sight of the damn things didn't fill him entirely with hatred. They were being put out to pasture, just like him. To make way for newer, better trains. And when it happened it would be a perfectly-designed show, perfectly safe. Perfectly civilized.

The two trains met right beneath the banner. There was a mighty crash, so loud that even Prophet could hear it, and the sound of splintering wood. Then, a moment of total silence.

When the explosion began, time seemed to slow for Prophet. He could see a bright orange light well up within each of the smashed engines, then blossom into two beautiful balls of flame. The light danced in his eyes, and he smiled with glee. The boilers of the old engines had blown up after all. The sight of it was breathtaking.

All this took place within less than a second. As the fire billowed outwards, the force of the explosion sent millions of pieces of metallic debris straight into the gathered crowd. Prophet grinned with ecstasy and thought about how awful this was going to be for the railroad company. Oh, they were going to have hell to pay for this. It was a fiasco. Maybe it would even drive them out of business...! Of all the ways for a man like him to go, this was a fine one. He was grateful the boy had brought him out here, after all.

The explosion nearly knocked Fluke from the wagon, and he felt a stinging pain in his forearms as he shielded his face. It was all over in only a moment. He could hear groans and shouts from the crowd as he slowly regained his senses. He looked down at his arms; he'd been hit by some shrapnel, but not badly.

He turned quickly towards Prophet, then froze. The old man lay flopped backwards over the wagon bench, unmoving.

A metal bolt had gone straight into his forehead. Even so, there was a satisfied smile on his face.

#based on real historical events btw #man it seems like we're all getting into the feels for this first prompt :')#for a few dollars more #prophet #trains #dollarsfandomevent #fan fiction

30 notes · View notes

3mcwriting · 1 year

Text

Already Gone

Warnings: death, cursing

Fate was cruel.

You knew that better than most.

When, at age 12, you had begun getting struck with prophetic dreams, you had thought you were going crazy.

But you never told anyone.

Who could you tell? Your parents? Your few friends?

As if, they'd all think you were just as crazy as you thought you were.

But when one day your best friend gets hit by a blue sedan with scratches on the left car door, you almost vomit.

Why?

Put simply, you'd dreamt about the occasion three days before it happened. Everything--the slight dent in the bumper, the three long scratches on the left car door, and the man in sunglasses sitting behind the wheel--were the same.

From then on, the dreams had only increased. Or maybe they came with the same frequency as before and you'd only been too in denial and stupid to notice.

Either way, you began paying more attention.

That girl who sat three rows behind you in chemistry? She was going to cheat on the final and still fail.

The boy who always used to get targeted in dodgeball? He was going to marry the boy who had bullied him through elementary.

Your parents?

Well, they weren't going to live past your twenty-first birthday.

Some of the things you saw, you could prevent. With the extra time, knowledge, and awareness, you were able to change a couple things, help a couple people, but that was only as long as fate allowed you to.

Sure, convincing that kid to move his lemonade stand down the street saved it from all the bees that lived in the tree that stood above, but you were unable to do anything when your friend's grandma was diagnosed with cancer. Maybe if you'd known a couple months prior, but you had only found out two days before your friend's family did.

Though you were able to see glimpses of the future, most of the time you were still just as helpless as every other goddamn person in the cruel universe.

Never had that hit you as hard as it did now.

As Natasha shot you with a jolt of electricity from the device at her wrist, her eyes were pleading with you, 'Please, let me do this. Let me save you.'

But the shock of electricity knocked you unconscious for a second. Just long enough for you to see a glimpse of Natasha's broken, still body at the base of the cliff you stood on.

The moment you regained consciousness, you staggered to your feet, desperately trying to reach the woman you loved before she sacrificed her life.

"No, Nat. Don't do this." You grabbed her arm in an attempt to pull her back. Never before had she pulled away from you. But she couldn't let you hold her. Not if she wanted you to live.

But she was selfish.

So she gave herself one last moment with you.

Natasha pressed her lips to yours, pressing against you so she could remember the way you felt. Your arms wrapped around her waist as you deepened the kiss.

You knew what would happen if you let go.

Still, when Natasha pulled away and ran for the cliff, you knew you wouldn't be able to save her. You'd seen her fate.

But fuck fate.

So you ran after her, managing to grasp her arm as she fell.

"What are you doing, (y/n)?" Natasha's voice was desperate.

You grunted, muscles straining as you tried to pull her up. "I'm not going to just- just let you die."

A sad smile spread across Nat's face. "Since when have I ever needed anyone to let me do anything?"

Tears fell down your face, your arms growing weaker. "Please, Nat. We can find another way."

"We both know there's no other way," Natasha's voice was soft. "I love you, (y/n)."

At those words, you tried harder than ever to pull her up. But Nat twisted her arms out of your grasp, kicking off the side of the cliff.

Within moments, she hit the bottom--heart still in her chest and the light gone from her eyes.

She had just killed herself.

And just as always, the only thing you were able to do was watch.

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #marvel angst #marvel x reader #marvel #mcu x reader #mcu

52 notes · View notes

witchofthesouls · 2 years

Text

I get bit often by weird AUs, so NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA (you’re now) BATMOBILE!

… With the deaged Drift, Rodimus, and Megatron scenario.

You had thought you’d seen everything chaotic and absolutely batshit crazy. You’re on a giant spaceship with a crew of giant metal aliens searching for their version of the King Arthur’s Round Table, you had been given a major size increase that would either seen you worshiped or demonized in Earth’s ancient eras, two badass alien geniuses built you a sci-fi suit that would made all the space nerds weep and be the greatest wet dream/most nightmare fuel by Earth's militaries, and you’re the current caretaker of a sort-of-maybe prophet of a slumbering god who’s impulsive frat-boy doing his Best, a genocidal warlord with a heel-turn, and an ass-kicking spiritual guru with a bloody history of a hitman… that all deaged to metal toddlers.

You absolutely, for-sure, had cursed yourself with famous last words and some terrible spirit or god took it upon themselves to amp it up to another level.

Actually you can blame Rung since you, him, and the kids decided to visit a local temple when docked on a mechanical-friendly planet to refuel. It warms your heart that Megatron no longer is frightened by the open sky and Drift can tolerate people milling around them. Watching the kids interact with the icons of the triad deities of warcraft, justice, and hearth made you wish that you could have more time when you and Rung had a discussion on the mythos with a priestess as well as the Uncomfortable Truth of a human, no matter the size, lifespan is a hiccup compared to a Cybertronian..

Realistically, you know you’re on time-limit. All things die eventually, but Cybertronians have a better warranty than the standard human, even a giant one.

You went to bed in your pajamas, kissing the boys good night as they climbed onto the mattress, freshly cleaned and ready for cuddles before nodding off. Drift drooling on his favorite chewtoy in his corner, Roddy wiggled his way to his way to your side with Megs on the opposite.

You wake up, thinking that Megatron had placed your suit’s visor back on your face, but no, it’s your own, very improved vision. You understood that when you turn to look at the kids and immediately see text scroll across your zooming sight, especially as the HUD cheerily pings about Drift’s appointment in the medbay and if you would like to confirm it now.

You’re screaming. The kids are screaming. Drift bolts in a red and white streak for his hardest-to-reach hidey hole. Megatron and Rodimus pushed themselves deep into the closet, knocking down boxes, and scattering your shoes, their toys, and extra office supplies.

In your blind panic, your new vents close off and causes to overheat and crash into stasis in your rushed attempt to comm Ratchet with the communicator on the sidetable..

You wake up in the medbay. Again. Since Ratchet had actually barged his way into your rooms, breaking the door, when he could only hear muffled crying and terrified chirps and squeaks.

Megatron and Rodimus went with the medic with very little prompting, too frightened and subdued at another upheaval.

Ambulon had to fish out Drift with protective gear on his servos and forearm. Even with his own thick plating, the little racecar is still very much like a feral raccoon. Drift can and will attack mecha’s vulnerable parts and knows how to exactly bite down into hidden seams.

Of course, you also freak out because you can’t move since the immobilization assistance was used since they don’t know Mecha-You, only Human-You, and your human self is gone.

This lead to many, many tears, mainly you and quite a few from the kids, and soooo many questions. (Ratchet is too damn tired for these kinds of miracles. Like the fresh Pit is this? This was supposed to be his retirement send-off!)

If you thought that your giant form was big, then you’re goddamn titan now. It’s a bizarre feeling to tilt your head down when you’re speaking to Ratchet now as well as the majority of the Lost Light. With the strength to match as well.

Not only you can easily pick up the kids, all of them, in just one arm, you can easily heft up the mini-bots and throw them. You can fireman carry Ambulon now. Ambulon. As in the mech whose alt-mode is a fucking solid leg of pure metal and little else to support a combat gestalt of equally solid limbs.

It’s a learning curve on many levels. You can’t squeeze or shimmy your way across a horde of mecha, you don’t have hair anymore so it’s off-putting whenever you try to brush it out of the way and it’s none existent, EM fields are a mix of control and instinctiveness, it’s hard for you to level it “appropriately” when the most you can do is go-all-out (which disgruntles a lot of mechs but delights Tailgate) or tamp it completely down (which also disgruntles mechs).

All the kids can now ride on your new frame. Usually Roddy and Drift claims your shoulders while Megatron latches to your back.

One major upside is that the new body comes with a supercomputer brain. Not only your own mind stores all of your music library and podcasts, but you can literally download language primers, cheat-sheets, and instructions into said brain. The downside: Raging headaches from unifying your current life experience with the immediate access of acquired knowledge by a download chip.

It forces you to turn off all the lights, dull your auditory senses, and do a impromptu nap-time with the kids, but the tradeoff is never to be absolutely bamboozled by complicated, multi-paged instruction manuals and picking up dialects ridiculous fast, even when muddling through it.

Language is a different thing. While you can breeze through the Cybertronian scripts (You're not surprised that even advance aliens have the same ridiculous tropes in their steamy romance books. The virginal priest/naive soldier with a horn-dog Prime/High Guardian is really popular And the old classic barbarian/city-dweller trope..)

You already knew that Roddy is an absolute chatterbox, but it still takes you back that the squeaks and shrill notes are real words. Sometimes it’s easier to puzzle out what’s he’s saying with the mash of subglyphs he attached, sometimes you’re still very, very lost. Unfortunately, you don’t have a handy primer for the Nylon dialect, but it seems like Rodimus had a few caretakers from other cities: Iacon, Tarn, and Kalis.

Megatron doesn’t really speak. At least not with full words. The noises he makes are akin to emotionally-charged babble. Ratchet said he’ll expand his vocabulary eventually.

Drift is very basic. Monosyllabic words with bursts of sharp emphasis. Sometimes his hisses are just hisses.

You treat your armor as if it's clothes. You take off the layers of plating inside the comfort of your habsuite. And it’s a lot of plating. Heavy as well due to its density. Apparently, it’s not even the maximum weight of your frame-schematics, so you could load yourself up with all the pretty gadgets you want. In fact- (Brainstorm had to duck, cover, and run at that point since Ratchet threw quite a few wrenches to get the mad scientist out.)

Dark. Everything about your new body is absolutely dark. From helm to pedes to fingertips. Various shades of black. The only things that are visibly bright is your biolights and your newfound optics: white.

Even without the armature, you’re buff. Built like a brick shithouse, is what you are now.

You have no idea where the hell are the weapons systems, especially when you stare at all of the plating. You definitely one or several. And some sort of flight system since Skids had spooked you so bad that you launched yourself to the ceiling to find out that you also have some powerful magnets as well.

Maybe it’s because you can see the shape of your face in the mirror: the familiar smile, the curves of your lips and nose, the outline of your optics. It’s still you.

You also get taught that care and maintenance for adult frames are different from bitlets. Every now and then, adults should strip off their plating for a deep clean and a protoform check. Bitties, with their frames still developing, aren’t able to “take off” their armor since its securely attached to their protoform. It’s removable when they reach the mechling stage (adolescence).

There’s no privacy with your barnacle of a sunflower-miner. But he’s always happy to hop into the shower. Whereas the racecars would splash and roll around on the wet floor, you couldn’t figure out why Megatron would try to drag your clothes into the water. Seeing him happily wiping down one of the chest plates with a cleaning rag, it makes more sense now…

161 notes · View notes

teecupangel · 11 months

Note

Hello my dearest writer. I just wanted you to know I am amused by your creative brain.

So I wanted to ask a senario that ezio (modern au) was kidnapped in his childhood by abstergo and became a templar instead of an assassin. And then desmond, altair and connor(in one team) wanted to bring him back because he is the prophet and an old friend from childhood.

(Sorry for my english friend)

I’m glad you’re enjoying the ideas I’m throwing out in the wilds but, let’s be clear, these ideas come into existence because of wonderful asks and submissions like yours so you guys are the ones feeding my plot bunny who… isn’t even my pet, they just appear in my backyard one day.

Okay, so for the three to count Ezio as their old friend from childhood, that would mean they would have met Ezio a few times. In this case, I propose we give Ezio a very similar childhood to his canon self where he was raised without knowing of his Assassin lineage.

Altaïr, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Desmond are of similar ages (although I kinda like the idea that Altaïr is the oldest by 1 year, Desmond and Ezio are the same age and Ratonhnhaké:ton is a year or two younger) but they were raised as Assassin. They know the whole Assassin vs Templar thing, but they’ve been told to not tell Ezio anything. As far as Ezio knows, he’s just visiting an out-of-the-way place where he can play with three boys near his age (we can add that Federico is there for a monthly sparring or so with the older kids and Ezio thought it was just like a club competition or something?)

Anyway, my initial thought was Ezio getting kidnapped during the Great Purge but, if he’s the same age as Desmond, he’d be 13 by then, and I think we should push for Ezio’s ‘indoctrination’ at an earlier age.

So let’s use Haytham’s age of 10 instead and Abstergo learned of the Auditores’ Assassin lineage by luck (and tenacity). They abduct Ezio while he was in school then made the poor child believe that his family left him when they showed him an empty house as the rest of the Auditores have fled to keep their other children safe. There were actually Assassins stationed near the house, just in case Ezio comes back or if Abstergo comes knocking, but they were killed by Abstergo before bringing Ezio there.

So, in this case, Ezio grows up believing he was abandoned. He would miss his family but also, either believes he hates or pretends to hate them for abandoning him. He would be indoctrinated into thinking the Assassins are killer deluding themselves into thinking they’re saving the world without understanding how their actions have only brought misery and destruction to the world.

Unorganized Notes:

Desmond doesn’t run away because Altaïr and Ratonhnhaké:ton are on the Farm as well. (Although, Altaïr did say that if Desmond was running away, he was running away with him, and they’ll drag Ratonhnhaké:ton with them who just goes “you don’t need to drag me, I’ll come with you guys.”)

Ezio’s kidnapping is the cold water that made Desmond realize that Templars are real, and the three actually spent years believing that Ezio is already dead.

Umar is alive in this one (yey!). He’s Bill’s best friend and is one of the best Assassin in the fields, maybe there are even talks of him becoming the mentor’s successor. Because he’s usually being sent for dangerous missions, he left Altaïr on the Farm and Altaïr is Desmond’s childhood friend who may or may not be Bill’s ward. Of course, when the Great Purge hits, Umar dies (aww) for maximum angst!

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s mother is an Assassin, but he’s staying with his grandfather on the Farm as his mother goes to the field a lot. Maybe partner Kaniehtí:io with Desmond’s mother for field missions to give us a reason why Ratonhnhaké:ton and Desmond got close in the first place? Or, if you’d like, Edward is the cousin of William Miles’ grandfather, so they’re ‘distantly’ related. (Haytham either being an Assassin, dead ala Tyranny of King Washington, or still a goddamn Templar in this one is up to you)

They learn Ezio is alive because he starts appearing on cameras and public after he officially became a Templar. He was raised by Vidic and goes by Ezio Vidic instead.

Ezio and Cross don’t really see eye to eye. Ezio thinks Cross is too reckless and should get more medical aid and tests before being cleared for duty. Cross thinks Ezio acts too ‘nice’ and Cross is the only one who calls Ezio out and tells him straight that he knows Ezio still haven’t let go of his past.

Berg joins the Order for the same reason as the canon but, instead of being Cross’ equal/sorta-lackey, he becomes Ezio’s second-in-command. He is secretly ordered to kill Ezio if Ezio ever shows any hints of returning to the Assassins.

I think in this scenario, we should not add the Animus because that would complicate things too much (also, Ezio would be a descendant of Renaissance!Ezio and putting him into the Animus would mean that Abstergo would have access to the Apple sooner)

In this scenario, let’s make the ‘Prophet’ a title which means that Ezio alone can open a specific door that houses the most powerful Isu artifact (your call if that’s true, or it’s actually the final door to the Grand Temple, and we’re gonna kill Desmond again XD).

Abstergo doesn’t have the location, but they have the Prophet. The Assassins have the location but not the Prophet, so both sides want Ezio.

His three childhood friends just want their friend back.

(What about the other Auditores? I think it would really push the plot if Ezio actually shoots Federico, whether he doesn’t know it was Federico or he deliberately did it to show where his loyalty stands, Federico survives because Ezio miss his vital organs. Whether on purpose or not, they can’t be sure)

I have to admit, this scenario reminds me of an idea I have (which I was thinking of writing for Halloween… if time permits… probably won’t, idk) of a Canon Divergence AU where Ezio was raised by Berg and joined the Order and became part of Sigma Team. He knows he’s adopted, but he doesn’t know who his birth parents are, all he knows is that Berg adopted him when he was born.

Anyway, Sigma Team gets called in for an urgent mission because a secret Abstergo facility in Fairport, New York (which was pretending to be just a plastic surgery clinic) lost all communication and the entire place went dark.

The last camera footage they saw was two men entering the facility, they wore hoods but facial recognition from cameras providing other angles confirmed they are two known terrorists code-named ‘Altair’ and ‘Connor’.

And Abstergo knows what they’re there to get…

In the deepest part of the facility sleeps ‘Sample 17’.

(So the main idea is: Ezio is trying to take down Altaïr and Ratonhnhaké:ton while the two are trying to find ‘Sample 17’. And… uuhhh… it’s meant to be of more on the body horror side… kinda like… Dead Space type of body horror because ‘things are not as they seem’)

(Your English is fine, dear friend :))

#templar!ezio #yum yum #modern day childhood friends au #ask and answer #assassin's creed #ezio auditore #desmond miles #altaïr ibn la'ahad #ratonhnhaké:ton #connor kenway #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed #daniel cross #juhani otso berg

18 notes · View notes

hextechmaturgy · 2 years

Text

my thoughts on pathologic classic

finally finished the game all the way through, so here are my (not at all concise) thoughts

beware of spoilers and A LOT OF TEXT

NOTE: I do know quite a bit about pathologic 2, but seeing as I haven't played that game yet, I'll try to keep my ideas here separate and only focus on what I got from playing the classic version

Bachelor:

By far my favorite character, and if you say I'm biased cause we have similar degrees, you are absolutely right, but that's not why I love him. I got into pathologic by watching all the video essays I think everyone else watches, so coming into it I had a very specific idea of what Daniil would be like - rude, condescending, heartless, "the prickly prick who will bury us all" - and while I can definitely see where some of those are coming from sort of, after 80+ hours of playing this goddamn game I can safely say: Daniil is a good person who does good things and the hate he gets is largely undeserved. I'm a Daniil Dankovsky TRUTHER.

He's kind! He's surprisingly good with kids; when he does snap at them and threaten to put them in timeout or to call their parents, it's usually because they're breaking his quarantine rules and that's a REALLY BAD IDEA (after 2020, I feel we can all relate to that frustration). In one instance, Capella asks him to look for a kid in an infected district and, upon finding him, Daniil tells him to run off and leave testing the disease to him, earning a shmowder from the kid but also getting the plague. This is a side quest, it's up to you to decide if getting infected is worth the shmowder or not, but the fact of the matter is, Daniil doesn't have to care about this kid, he doesn't have to do this quest, but (at least in my save) he does. Forgetting about the kids though, Daniil is just a genuinely helpful guy. He's a fucking lifesaver when you're playing as the Haruspex, he clears your name completely on day 1 when he really doesn't have to. The two go on to collaborate pretty much until the end. When Daniil's solution begins to diverge from Artemy's, he explains that no, killing the polyhedron won't help Artemy actually, it's the only way to ensure Aglaya is sacrificed, which is the only way Artemy will be accepted by the kin, which he knows is important to him, it's his inheritance! Time and time again, Daniil gives it his all to protect the people of the town. He talks Peter down from suicide, he can try to do the same with Rubin, he kills a bunch of men to protect Andrey, at some point he has a mission to reunite a daughter with her father and he only fails that mission because Artemy kills her (because you asked him for an infected heart and Artemy chose hers). His best efforts are constantly thwarted or misunderstood. I'm not saying he's a saint, he still has plenty of awful dialogue lines to choose from, but? MAN, I've been a health professional during a pandemic, I understand frustration, the pure fucking rage felt at the people who don't quarantine or believe vaccines will help, the hatred that rises in your gut when you watch as politicians take advantage of the situation. I was only a student back then! Imagine being 1 out of FOUR (4!!) people who can do something!

Daniil's condescension is another one of those things where... I see it, but I don't. Yes, his latin is tacky and he does have lines calling people dumb as shit compared to him, a genius mastermind, but one thing that we have to take into account is that Daniil is, by all accounts, a genius mastermind. The mysticism of the town goes completely over his head (it's SO fucking funny to me that Daniil has 0 knowledge that the Rat Prophet even exists), but this is because it's not something one can easily prove 1) it exists and 2) can be repeated and reproduced, both of which are VERY important in scientific experimentation. Meanwhile, in the Capital, Daniil is a famous scientist known for his experiments surrounding death; he's so good he's earned himself a following, and if the rumors on the street are to be believed, Daniil has even successfully brought someone back from the dead! I think he gets to flex his smarts, maybe. He doesn't need to be rude about it, sure, but it's not like the people would respect him if he didn't flex it. He's told from the start that he just doesn't get it, will never get it, "you're smart but you're not" type of conversation time and time again, since he's not attuned to ~miracles~ like some of the others are. Again, as an atheist myself, I can see why that would get frustrating. There is also an instance where Daniil "mansplains" antibodies to Artemy? Artemy, a fellow doctor sort of, can reply with something along the lines of "don't make fun of me" and Daniil's response is a genuine "i wasn't making fun of you, i was only explaining a concept". To the fellow mentally ill person reading this, ain't that the most relatable thing ever? Talking about something you're passionate about with a person that you like, wanting to make sure they understand the concept because you love it and understand it, but just coming off as obnoxious?

Daniil is GAY AS HELL. Those videos don't prepare you for how gay this man is. I started getting into the fandom telling myself "wow people ship these two huh, I can't imagine why" and then I played the fucking thing and you can't not ship them. It's not even subtext at this point, this is how Daniil introduces himself to Artemy:

He has two women thirsting over him (I don't know if Maria's feelings are genuine of if the Mistress magic within her just recognizes that he's her path to victory) and he barely reacts to them inviting him to their bed or saying "I love you" to his face. He can flirt back, but I feel like Daniil is just a charming guy as it is, he's from the Capital, he was friends with Andrey so you KNOW he did drugs in university and he has to know about the orgies already. He does care about Eva, but who wouldn't? In the runs you don't control him he often refers to her as "my Eva", but I always read it as platonic I'll be honest. Her death hits him hard, she's a sweetheart who only ever tried to help him, she housed him barely knowing who he was for fuck's sake, and Daniil's last conversation with her in the Cathedral shows he feels awful because he thinks she did it for him. I like to think that Daniil took a liking to Eva's kind and free spirit and often looked to her for comfort. Do I think he was in love with her? Absolutely not <3

Finally, let's talk about his ending, shall we? I feel like this is often used to demonstrate just how heartless Daniil is, and I will admit that, to me, his ending felt weirdly cruel and sudden while I was playing him. Hilariously, though, when I was playing as Artemy and spoke to Daniil about his solution, I thought Daniil had way better reasons to keep the polyhedron when I wasn't controlling him, and he explains his views better too. Daniil sees that the town is basically destroyed already, so many have died, so many more are infected and will soon die, they have a panacea but lack the materials with which to make enough to go around. The tower is aseptic, children have managed to live in it for the entirety of the plague without getting sick; it would be the perfect isolation ward for the survivors, a controlled space where they would be able to be vaccinated and monitored. Daniil does show frustration with the town, I think he even has some less than kind lines calling it backwards and doomed, but when his mind is clear and he's just talking about his plan, he says that he wouldn't mind saving the town, but he knows Block has to shoot something, and the polyhedron is worth preserving. I feel like his reasons are mostly empirical, a real science man's choice, but I'm also not one of those people who believes that Daniil represents hard, cold logic. The only reason he's searching for a way to defeat death is because he wants humans to die on their own terms, at peace. He follows facts but he interprets them with the mind of a bright eyed idealist. He writes the most dramatic letters in the world. He wears his heart of his sleeve! By the end of the game, he has seen evidence that the Kains are as magical as they claim to be. Maria's prophecies have come true, and he's literally spoken to the spirits of Nina and Simon. He sees the marvel of architecture that his twin friends managed to build, he admires it for what it is even without the mysticism on top, but then he actually learns that the mysticism is real, and he's naturally enthralled by it. Going into the polyhedron, hearing that music and seeing those lights, watching the kids play without a worry or care in the world. The future could be immortality and comfort, peace equal to that of a child who doesn't know pain, wouldn't that be wonderful? Adding to the mix the fact that he feels used by Aglaya (gonna be real here chief, either she played me super well or I was just not paying enough attention cause no matter which protagonist I was, I only ever loved Aglaya, this one is on him xoxo), while knowing she will die only if the town falls + knowing Artemy needs her dead or his prophecy won't be realized and his people won't accept him....... When talking to Clara about her ending, all she says is that she can't explain her miracle, a miracle requires faith, and yeah! If you were to meet God and he told you exactly how or why he stayed silent and hidden from you all your life, believing God exists and has power over the world would become fact, not a belief. There are too many "what ifs" in Clara's ending, at the cost of blood sacrifice one might add. Idk, I hate to see the town die and I do still think this ending is a bit cruel, but I get it. Daniil would think keeping the Polyhedron alive is the best choice, I can't fault him for it.

Side note, I would like to add that, although Daniil doesn't understand magic, as I've mentioned, he is the first person to defend it when he finds proof for it, and this doesn't just apply to the Kains. He admits he was wrong about the people and practices of the Steppe; they do work, he doesn't know how, but they are very much real and they do absolutely work, Artemy even gives him a panacea, a cure for the epidemic made from ancient, sacred blood. How can he go on claiming they're dumb superstitions? When you play as the Changeling, Daniil doesn't believe what he's heard about you at first, good or bad, but then he witness one of your miracles and from that point forth he's on your side. He defends her from Aglaya, once again rectifying the reputation of a perceived scoundrel simply because he can and he thinks they deserve it.

Haruspex:

This man makes me feral, I want to hug him so bad. His casual playfulness gets to me, the fact that his bound are children means that he often has to deal with them, and he really is good with them. A lot is said about his first mission being a testament to how hard the game and, indeed, his whole run is: one of your bound, a kid, asks you to kill another kid for betraying him or whatever. The reward is a shmowder, a cure to the plague, but you obviously lose reputation for going through with it. And see, if making this decision really was as crucial as some people make it out to be, I would get it, but it's really not. Letting the kid leave with his life means you don't get a shmowder, sure, but that doesn't matter cause you're playing the guy who invents the fucking cure. Notkin, the kid who "hired" you, thanks you for letting him live because he no longer felt so angry he wanted him dead once you left his hideout. TO ADD EVEN MORE REASONS TO WHY YOU SHOULD BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING, that kid you let escape comes back on day 9 and helps you get the Bachelor out of prison, no questions asked. Saving that kid and getting rep for it is so much more important than getting a single cure, especially because, if you're role-playing as Artemy in that moment, he probably doesn't even know what the shmowders do. Don't make your life harder. Play Artemy as the nice, moral man he is, protect the kid, protect all the children of the town, and you'll be rewarded with their friendship and all the things they can do for you. Murky alone provides the ingredients you need to make 2 fucking cures, and the price you pay for that is "go on a nice stroll through the steppe looking for her missing doll".

Related to my last point, Artemy will only really be hunted down by the masses for his crimes if he goes around town killing innocent people for no reason. You don't need to do that!!! If you must kill (and I do understand you kinda do in order to make your awesome potions), killing criminals at night raises reputation and, surprise bro, they also have organs: steal 'em, cook 'em, thrive. Artemy is portrayed as a brutish, scary man who will spill blood, and just like how it is with Daniil, this is all true in places. Despite what his model in 2 might suggest, I always envision him as a tall, large and imposing figure, the giant with the heart of gold archetype and all. People in the streets see that man, they hear about his crimes and his alleged crimes and they think the worst of him. I do believe part of the confusion also comes from the racist views of the people of the town, who go on and on about how freaky the worms and the brides are. Artemy's prophecy that he will spill blood is true for his ending, that's how he gains access to the ingredients he needs to make the cures, but it's also just a part of his occupation. Not to be a filthy solasmancer on main, but there's a character I really like in dragon age who says "the healer has the bloodiest hands" and to me that's Artemy in a nutshell. Daniil is more scientist than doctor imo, he deals with antigens and antibodies, proteins seen only through a microscope, a modern invention. He injects his solution with aseptic, hypodermic needles, and it seems to me that he mostly dealt with corpses in his previous job. Artemy's role in his society requires him to get his hands dirty to make sure that whoever is still living but hurting can recuperate and go on living. I think both positions are admirable and, to me, Artemy's is downright beautiful. As the devs have said, his story is about love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HIS ENDING FUCKED ME UP, MAN. I really spent the entire game thinking I would go for his designated solution no matter what. Nothing else made sense to me, I was looking forward to seeing how Daniil would explain his side to convince Artemy into choosing ANYTHING over the town, his town. Then I found out about Oyun who told me about Aglaya, Daniil told me that, if Artemy destroyed the polyhedron, the ancient blood would indeed flow, but the kin would not allow him to use it because, by choosing to not take his sacrifice when he needed to, he would not be accepted by them. Aglaya x Artemy is the only romance with the protagonists that I'm willing to believe, besides Daniil x Artemy ofc. Aglaya is enamored by Artemy (or possibly manipulating him because) she sees how he lives his life independent of the Powers That Bed. So what if my decisions are preordained? They're helping the ones I love. She's hoping his independence will rub off on her, and indeed his ending is the only way she lives. If you care about Aglaya, which I certainly do, choosing an ending as Artemy is torture.

I wish Artemy had stronger ties to the town. His father is dead when the game starts and all of the kids he's put in charge of are strangers. He does have an old friend there, Rubin, but he mostly contacts him through letters telling him he's out to kill him, and if I'm remembering correctly, later they meet once so Rubin can apologize and then he never comes back? My memory is bad, but that feels right. Anyway, the kin do seem to remember him, they do certainly recognize his name if not, but they don't respect him until Artemy proves himself to them. I won't get into pathologic 2, I said I wouldn't, but I know this alienation was tweaked in that game and I'm glad for him. Having Grief and Lara as extra childhood friends only adds to Artemy's connection with the town and the people living in it. Wanting to keep his childhood friends safe, who are all bound to Clara, would give him even more reasons to agonize over his ending. Imagine if, after falling down Oyun's hole (oops!) and speaking to the Changeling, Artemy had to choose one of those three women to die knowing one of his oldest friends was among them! Delicious drama, I say.

Oh yeah, Artemy is also gay as shit. I'm sorry, but if a stranger from the big city came to me and asked me for a still beating infected heart which I might have to lose reputation to get, I would at least think to tell them "maybe" if not "go fuck yourself". I won't go into this ship again, but the way they're both always so willing to help each other, even though it would be easier not to.........

Changeling:

Getting into this game, I had quite a bit of information on Daniil and Artemy, but very little on Clara. I knew the basics: she's the plague, but she isn't! She has a twin but she doesn't! How is that possible? Fuck you! That being said, I was probably looking forward to her route the most because I felt like this was the character I had the most to learn about, and I was right. Clara deserves more love, her character is truly incredible. But.... where to start, oh my god................

Okay, so Clara is the personification of the plague, we learn this super early on; in the Haruspex route, she asks Artemy to talk to the Rat Prophet about who she is and what her purpose is. Artemy can be nice and tell her she's a holy healer who can only do good, or he can tell her the truth, which terrifies her. She is spit by the Earth (wakes up in a hole with no memories) and arrives in town on the day the plague starts. While Daniil and Artemy have to pay everyday for updated maps showing the different infected districts, Clara sees her "twin" in dreams who tells her where she'll go next, so she always just Knows where the plague's spreading. She has to convince her mirror self to leave an infected district to prevent it from staying infected until the end of the game. It's obvious that she holds power over the plague, the how is what gets most people. How can she both have and not have a twin? How is she a deadly disease but also a holy healer? The answer, in the end, is quite simple. Clara is the personification of the plague, but she is also a bright 13 year old girl with an imagination. In this world we're invited to play in, which is actually the invention of two very traumatized children and, beyond that, a group of indie game developers with a passion for what they do, having an avid imagination is what makes Clara unique, it's the source of all her magic and goodness, even if it cannot completely erase her wickedness. Clara believes she can heal people and find a solution that doesn't require Block to shoot anything, and in doing so, those options become real. When Clara said she had a twin sister, she spoke another Clara into being. It's truly fascinating and also tragic, I think, to tell the story of a young girl who believes she can cure all of Humanity's ailments, not realizing (or perhaps living in denial of the fact) she's the reason those ailments exist in the first place.

I'm gonna break the mold a bit and talk about her ending already, because I feel like it flows well coming from that last point. Clara's ending, the miracle that keeps both the polyhedron and the town, can only be achieved by keeping her bound alive and healthy until the end of the game, which is harder as Clara than it is as the other two. With Daniil and Artemy, if you manage your time correctly, you will keep all your bound healthy, but Clara's daily missions require her to meet her bound and learn how awful they are (well, some of them) and then she has to lie about their true nature to those who could punish them for it, just as Clara lies about herself. She detests trickery, but if we ourselves are to suffer deception, our hands are no longer tied. When you know the truth about something, you are compelled to form a just opinion on it, but if you are lied to or deceived in some way, any decision you make may yet be forgiven because you just didn't know all the facts. Clara lives in make believe land in the most figurative but also literal sense possible. The sins of her bound don't hit her as hard because they have been deceived into believing they're real people, so she's inclined to forgive them, especially cause she's certain they can still be useful to her. In many ways, Clara is lying to herself about her true nature so she can navigate the world without concerns. Lying to her dad about the "goodness" of her bound and taking the reputation loss because of it is kind of poetic; her dad made the wrong choice by believing her and not arresting those people, but he's been freed from his crimes by her lies. Later, when Clara turns to her bound and asks them to make the ultimate sacrifice to power the miracle, they go in peace. Most say they're glad they get to die like "a real human" with a blood like Simon's.

Clara's route is really fun, but later on it does get as repetitive as everyone says, you can tell she was rushed. The missions "find your sister and banish her" and "find the bachelor and the haruspex so they won't kill each other" do get annoying, especially because they don't even have different dialogue prompts and every time you get into one of those houses to talk to them you just get the shit beat out of you, or you get the plague. There's also like... NO mention of Eva's death in her route? She's alive in the Haruspex's so I though she would be too in the Changeling's or, if she did die, I thought there would be a really cool conversation between them, seeing as the Changeling sends Daniil a letter taunting him with Eva's suicide. But no, Eva just stops showing up at her house and that's it. Huge waste of potential there. I also don't get why some of her bound are those people? Anna Angel, Bad Grief and Aspity are the fucking most in this game, so those I get. Oyun is out to kill the Burakhs, so yeah I read him on the bad vibes scale too. Katerina is a failed Mistress who only ever gave me bad instructions, so I GUESS she counts, and Alexander is a cop so fuck him too. I could make a case for Rubin? Kind of? But for Lara and Yulia, I am truly out of ideas. Clara's bound is made up of all these complex liars and cheats, corrupt politicians and the like, and then there's the lady who's too nice to shoot even her father's murderer and the math lesbian who....????? I'm gonna be real here, I never know what the fuck Yulia is talking about, I could not tell you if I like her or not because I simply do not understand what her purpose is. She's a fatalist who believes in the predetermination of fate and, as far as I can tell, that's it. Cool look, though.

I love that she gets to meet the Powers That Be twice and that they're spooked she got to them earlier than the other two. I also like the detail that this whole Clara dichotomy exists because the kids can't decide between one another if she should save or kill everyone.

One thing I forgot to say in the section about her ending: I love the implication that her ending will only reach peak effectiveness if the healers learn to work together. Clara will transform the blood of those who volunteer to die "like Simon"; this blood is what will allow Artemy to make the cures to all of those who get infected; this blood is also what allowed Daniil and Rubin to make a vaccine that can prevent the disease from coming back for as long as they can. Note: Awesome world building detail, adding in that Simon's blood was old and that was why it could only be used to make vaccines, not panaceas. It makes me think about how older folk tend to hold wisdom of past generations that allow the younger ones to avoid unnecessary pain (Daniil is older than the other two healers, not by a lot but still....... curious). This suggest that, when catastrophe does hit, the younger folks can return the favor by protecting them to the best of their ability, and then, when the bad days pass, we can look to the children and recognize that the future we build afterwards is for them. Allowing humans to exist within a loving community is Clara's miracle. It's so fucking nice to be alive, you guys.

anyway play pathologic, it's not as hard as it seems, and if it is just cheat, i won't tell anyone

#pathologic #don't look at me i have many thoughts so i'm dumping them here #edit: I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT IN THE CHANGELING ROUTE IT'S IMPLIED THAT DANIIL AND ARTEMY FOUGHT EACH OTHER IN THE RING NEAR THE TERMITARY #clearly none of them won. how fucking funny is that #i'm having plague thoughts (BEWARE)

92 notes · View notes

aura-bug · 8 months

Note

favorite yo-kai from each tribe?

Brave: Either Asura or Hovernyan, I fucking love Asura's designs/origins (<- nerd) and I am just VERY attached to hovernyan bc ykw2 is my favorite game

Tough: Toadal Dude. no contest. "surfer dude war general who is also a frog" is the funniest possible combination of character traits you could come up with. AND his name is TOADAL DUDE? thats peak. amazing. wonderful. Robonyan is very close in 2nd though

Mysterious: oughhhhh mysterious is one of those tribes where it's hard to pick a favorite bc there's so many I like 😭 if you held me to gunpoint and forced to me choose just one, though, I'd probably say Tengu. Neat design, I'm a folklore nerd, and he's just one of the guys I got weirdly attached to for no reason. idk. I liked his anime episode with Tenguriginal a lot omg

Charming: ouGGGGGHHHHHH another hard tribe,,,,, probably either Whirlweasel or Princess Pearl. Whirlweasel's anime episode was so fucking cute ??? like??? it had no right to be that adorable. what. also their design is just very gender

Princess Pearl bc I'm a sucker for all of ykw3's added legendaries asdfgh,, I like her little fish guy and the story of Otohime/Urashima Taro is just very iconic

Heartful: Predictabull. I can't explain this one. I just think he's a silly little guy. his folkloric origins are also very cool I like the kudan/other prophetic yokai a lot

Shady: Either Hidabat or Wobblewok. Hidabat's entire existence is just so insanely funny to me. Imagine allowing some loser recluse to live in your closet bc they're scared of the outdoors, then you slowly start finding out they're actually some sort of multi-millionaire that can just casually call up limousines and buy out entire houses and get in touch with extremely famous people n shit. headcanon: hidabat mines bitcoin

also wobblewok is just one of my favorite yo-kai in GENERAL. friend form AND boss form. people have died trying to confine this thing to the depths of hell and it looks like a big chocolate pudding cup with a dopey face. and its named WOBBLEWOK. thats a name that people were so afraid of that they DARED not to speak it out loud. WOBBLEWOK. its so silly I cant

I love its name I love its design I loved its goofy anime episode I love the way it goes "hiiiiii :)" when you fight it in blasters. everything abt wobblewok is perfect to me

Eerie: Arachnia!! Arachnia!!!!!!! also sort of Arachnus but I love Arachnia so goddamn much. I've talked at her before so I'll spare all the details but I want to *holds gently in hands* her. if you add a tsuchigumo/jorogumo character to your franchise they're basically guaranteed to be my favorite

Also Arachnus bc the donut war plot line is so fucking goofy I love it. It's one of the reasons why I'm biased towards 2. I was a bony spirits kid 💔

Slippery: OURGHHHHHHHHGHGH,,,,,,, dude this is the hardest,,,,,, there's so many slippery tribe yokai that I love to deathhhh 😭

Noko is so cute... I'm biased towards Venoct bc dragons...... I'm biased towards Draggie/Dragon Lord/Azure Dragon bc dragons.......... I'm biased towards Draaagin bc dragons................... I'm biased towards Mython bC DRAGONS.............................. I'M BIASED TOWARDS WHYVERN KING BC DRAGONS...................................... ARE YOU SENSING A PATTERN HERE

oh also whisper ig

If I HADDDDDD to choose, I guess I'd go with Whyvern King. Out of all the other dragons he has my favorite origins, being based on Nanda Ryuo, the most powerful of the 8 great dragon kings from folklore. and I was WAITING for SOMEONE to make that "nanda = why" pun eventually

Wicked: Unfairy, my favorite little piece of shit rat. their medallium entry literally calls them a pain in the ass. they're so goofy. sorry to all the unkeen fans out there ily all but UNFAIRY should've been the face of the wicked yokai. UNFAIRY shouldve been the main poster child for psychic specters. unfairy shouldve come in plushie form and I shouldve been able to bulk buy hundreds of them. I think it'd be funnier to have this little shit's face plastered on everything like some sort of parasite that'd be soooo funny

Enma: Lucas. "But aura, he's-" I don't care. Lucas.

#yo kai watch #yokai watch #yo-kai watch #long post #oh also idk if it counts but my favorite boss yokai is dr maddiman #“sad pathetic wet beast man who is also a mad scientist that lost their mind” is one of my favorite character tropes #ask :)

13 notes · View notes

what-shitfuckery-is-this-ew · 29 days

Note

(tw abuse) The super strict sheikh at my super strict messed up muslim school: Before getting mad at your kids bc 'I've told them so many times and they didn't listen!" you should remember how many times you've disobeyed god and he didn't punish you.

The sheikh at my other school: God will hold parents accountable for how they treat their kids (and how they make their kids feel. He very specifically made a point of that and said 'I didn't mean to make them feel that way' isn't an excuse) and harsh parenting alienates people from the Deen.

The literal Prophet (pbuh): led with kindness and not fear

The literal Prophet (pbuh): encouraged forgiveness whenever possible

The literal Prophet (pbuh): always treated kids kindly and played with them and didn't yell at them

The literal Prophet (pbuh): was kind to a kid making fun of the athan and gave him the opportunity to become a mu-athin

The literal Prophet (pbuh): told people to be kind to kids

The literal Prophet (pbuh): disapproved of parents who didn't show physical affection to kids

The literal Prophet (pbuh): waited as a girl got on his back during sujood

The literal Prophet (pbuh): taught people to take the easier way

The literal Prophet (pbuh): taught people to be nice when teaching others

The literal Prophet (pbuh): taught people to try to encourage good without reprimanding or making people feel shame

The hadith everyone keeps on citing about respect to elders: those who don't show mercy to those younger than us are not good (convenient how everyone forgets the second half 😒)

Another hadith: The sound of playing children is good

Another hadith: Forcing people to do things is bad

Muslim parents: Allah gave us the right to abuse our kids, and we told our kids so many times and yelling/beating is the only thing that works, and Allah will think us verbally abusing our kids is good parenting and reward us on yawm-al-qiyamah, and we should never forgive our kids for their mistakes, and we should take the strictest path, and it's only our kid's fault they feel bad bc of our abuse, yelling and beating is the only way to make our kids understand, we can totally threaten to send our kids away, making our kids feel helpless is good parenting, it's our kid's fault only that they're protesting and feeling angry about this, if you don't accept our abuse you're not a good muslim bc the prophet said do the closest thing to worshiping your parents that Islam allows, etc.

it's actually horrible. They always use the goddamn excuse that God said to treat your parents with respect, but they don't ever acknowledge that every single Islamic command is trumped by your safety and survival. More so, standing up to your abusive parents isn't disrespect.

I hope every person who grew up in an abusive Muslim household knows they are loved. You are not a horrible person for having a complex relationship with your parents. You are allowed to say no, to yell, to cry, to be angry and be sad. You're enough.

#toxic parents #muslim #child abuse #islamblr #my post #my asks #muslimblr #islamic #islam #quran #hadith #sunnah #islampost

5 notes · View notes

arcplaysgames · 1 year

Text

These kids have a very high opinion of canvassing for information, which as far as data collection goes is about on par with opening a random manhole and inspecting the walls for the scrawlings of subterranean prophets. But we do what we must to hit story flags.

People are completely cracking up about the fog. Which, in a world that has now experienced COVID is dryly humorous. Yeah, Junes and CVS are working with Verizon to beam the virus into us via the 5G towers, uh huh.

There's a recurring thing with Chie that's very amusing, that she keeps accidentally saying the quiet part out loud, like the writers are trying to keep a lot of these elements subtextual and inferred but just in case, they also have Chie say things outright.

Also, I hate to swerve into more Thoughts On Yosuke again but it's really interesting how much he respects Naoto. I think.... [stand by, checking my mental footage] Yeah, Yosuke encourages Kanji to flirt with her and tries to wingman for them

(which, if both Naoto and Kanji are queer and Yosuke isn't, the dynamic is so funny to me) (i don't think yosuke is cishet but ask me about that later)

by Yosuke is pretty adamant about not... aiming his Horny Comphet Bullshit in his direction? I think Yosuke called Naoto cute once in passing and otherwise defers to him in moments like this for guidance and intelligence and actionable insight. I'm not going to go so far to say that Yosuke sees Naoto most as their nebulous non-girl gender...... uh

except. Shit. I think I am saying that. Oh my god. Yes, from what I have seen in P4G as of 12/06, Yosuke respects Naoto's gender the most.

At some point i need someone to ask me about Yosuke Hanamura because I could be here all fucking day analyzing this dude. He's not by any means my favorite character in P4G but.... I think he might be the most interesting one. In that way, he's like Yukari, a character that sometimes makes me uncomfortable or annoyed but has the most depth and most shit going on.

ANYWAY. Yosuke respects Naoto more than I do frankly because sometimes Naoto makes me go "DUDE WHAT."

Yosuke, Naoto, and Reverie go outside and I get to pick the killer and this wasn't even a question to me.

BUT THEN, SOMETHING INTRIGUING HAPPENS.

OOH LA LA

NOTE TO SELF: SAVE SLOT 1, DON'T OVERWRITE.

Should I explore that before or after getting a standard ending? I am so tempted to just go and do it immediately, but I dunno if I should save it as a little treat later.

ANYWAY yes obviously it's Adachi. I know it, you know it, but what has killed me is the Why/How of it.

................... holy shit i fucking remember that. oh my god. i feel like Yukiko just shoved a key into my brain and unlocked something, YEAH IT WAS MENTIONED LIKE FUCKING ONCE THAT YAMANO WAS STAYING AT THE AMAGI INN AND THERE WAS POLICE PRESENCE, oh my god.

Saki is easy, she was questioned about the body, that could have easily been Adachi (I think Adachi mentions idly in a cutscene with just him and Dojima that Saki didn't know much, establishing that they probably talked)

I always thought there was nothing behind those eyes. Now we know it's not that. He's just put up mirrors in there. Goddamn fucking bitch in sheep's clothing.

if adachi has ever given even 30% to anything in his life, I'll be stunned. There is some level of swanning gracefully and heedlessly through life to him. He's one of those guys that you can blindfold him and ask him to walk through a minefield and he'll be fine. His SPECIAL stats favor Luck.

Which is the build I also tend to go for but we ain't talkin' about that today!

Anyway, you get the options to ask him about Yamano ("idk i don't remember it's all hazy lmao") and Saki ("uhhh yeah she saw a dead body, so we questioned her") and then the warning letters

Kanji, I need you to do me a favor, big guy. I need you to sprint directly to the Yasoinaba PD, punch whoever you need to get through, and find that fucking letter STAT. Like, seriously, anyone you want, punch 'em.

whoopsie-daisy!

Naoto I hope you have a LIST

/sucks on teeth

Man. I missed that one. I caught the moment when Adachi lied about the Namatame-Saki thing but not that. They're right, they literally weren't attempted murders, they were short-term missing persons cases. goddammit.

Okay Naoto I'll give you that one.

Adachi bolts, and he's gone.

SLAMS FISTS ON TABLE

WHY DO ADACHI, REVERIE, AND NAMATAME HAVE THIS POWER? Does Adachi have a fucking persona? Where did this ability come from! At the start it was like Reverie was a patient zero giving other people their persona, but turns out people just HAVE this power!

Boy but it sure is Interesting that the game implies there's an ending where you, what, you don't turn Adachi in? Where you help him? Reverie and Adachi are inversions of each other in a lot of ways. The magic trick moment really seeds the idea and it's a fucking compelling concept.

'Cause... how to explain. Like, the MC of the game seems...

I just played P3P, right? I can tell you things about FeMC, like concrete stuff. She's bubbly and a little manic and is fast the become chummy with people, she's got a very sharp sense of humor, she doesn't mind looking like an idiot for a joke, and she is Weird. Everyone finds her just a little weird. She's like if the popular girl in your school also collected skulls and did taxidermy. It's nothing bad but everyone knows she's Odd.

In P4G, the MC is a blank to me. There are some fun Chaos Options in the game but otherwise there is a deficit to personality to most of the possible responses, and it seems like Reverie's dominant character trait is "really calm." Which works really well for a person who is supposed to be the "Wild Card" character, who can stand in for anything and anyone.

Adachi, as the Jester, feels like an interesting inversion of that. He's good at everything he does, he's self-professed to be very smart and did really well in school (even if he resented it) but rather than acting like a skeleton key to the people around him, he's... the lock. He's this void of connection. Boundless potential and nothing for it to catch on.

My friend Tree nudged me earlier today about if I figured out who else JYB voices in the game, and I was like "oh yeah, the MC. I dunno if that's relevant?" Because it could have been as simple as resource conservation-- why hire another VA when you can have one of them do some voice lines for a mostly-unvoiced MC? But now, okay, I see it. Why it might be significant.

GAH I'M BABBLING! WHO CARES, TEDDIE'S IN THE NEXT BIT AND THAT'S WAY MORE IMPORTANT. BRB.

#p4 #persona liveblog

22 notes · View notes