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kagooleo · 3 months

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so with confidence I present my rarepair...fluffyriceshipping!

they were originally a joke ship (which was my last chance to get out) but they grew on me more and more throughout last year, and months later they've become my favorite pair to draw! their name was the funniest thing to make of them because i got to joke around with their jpn names

the tl:dr of them is that there's a lot of good drama to make of thirty-somethings with the weight of responsibility of their respective cultures on their shoulders, as well as their personal thoughts of the trainers of their respective regions, all this culminating together to be really compelling for me to develop, so I'll ramble a Whole lot more under the cut about them :D!!

ok now that the people that wanted to see more about what i'm crazy about when i'm not online are here you guys better prepare for the worddump lmao

before they meet its postgame and they’re both in their thirties (early to mid), lance post gsc/hgss still upholds his champion position and managing the dragon's den alongside any g-man/undercover rocket work on the side (in workaholic mode), riley post dppt is occasionally battling at the battleground but also holing himself up with patrols on iron island and doing egg research and training his aura (Also in workaholic mode)

i'd say all the work makes byron and roark try to get him a break from all that, convincing him at some point to take a vacation! see the sights my guy you've been workin yourself to the bone

it's canonically shown in hgss that riley does appear as a partner for the battle tower, so at some point he is in johto! the region resonates with his cultural sensibilities so maybe he revisits it again to instead actually relax there.

lance would probably catch his hat flying away when he's visiting elm's lab (a fellow egg researcher) in new bark and riley would have absolutely fell first for him (and i'm a sucker for meet-cutes,,,)

and from there they hit it off! being both skilled trainers in their own right they battle and go out to eat after and talk about their family (clair and the elders, for riley's case his family friends byron and roark), their culture (dragon clans and aura guardians), and then when they talk about their respective trainer kiddos (silver and dawn) something clicks between them (it’s a Really rough snippet but hopefully it’s decent)-

"Do you have any kids? I know the news loves to make up some kind of story about secret love affairs with a random person." the guardian says, awkwardly.

Lance smiles, "Oh, yeah! I have one but he's technically not mine." Riley chokes on his iced tea.

"I'm sorry?" A million thoughts roll through his mind as he processes his words said so matter-of-factly.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, I'm only partly joking."

"E-Elaborate..."

The champion explains the general gist of things as he's met him, Silver, his kid-by-odd-circumstance, was homeless for a while, but was training alongside some other up and coming trainers. Uncovering some Rocket related files, he learns he's the son of the boss of the entire organization, and after some on and off meetings he eventually got him a place to stay at the Dragon's Den, and soon after began living with him at his place when he warmed up to the idea of adoption.

There are times he gets overwhelmed with all that he's been through, and some nights its all too much. But Lance was there with him, stayed with him every step of the way, unlike the one who gave him that abandonment anxiety in the first place.

"He's my kid, not by blood, and maybe not by his family, either. But instead, by his own decision he chose to stay with me. I'd want him to keep the freedom he has now." Lance states, firmly. "And now he's grown up as strong as I believed he could. I'm proud of him, as much as he tends to deny that." Riley senses his draconic aura swell with pride, mixed with a humbling sincerity in his words.

"What about you? Any kids of your own?" the sudden flip of the question surprises the guardian briefly.

"N-Nothing adoptive but…I suppose it's similar, in a way to meeting them as you have."

The guardian's turn, now. Dawn was someone he met when he was training on Iron Island, and also served as a guide to get her through the caverns. When he felt something off in the aura surrounding the area, he eventually learned of Galactic causing the pokemon on the island to feel restless and agitated. With her, they were able to clear the island of their antics and even gifted her a Riolu egg on her journey. From there, he was impressed with how strong she was, and did hear from Cynthia that she raised his present up to evolving her into a Lucario. He couldn't have been happier.

That was the case, until he caught the aftermath of the events of Mt. Coronet.

What Cyrus did, the lengths he'd go to, and dragging the both of them into a mess that could have torn the world apart.

After that, Dawn stayed home for a while. Cynthia put him as a contact for her mom, who was really worried for her. With his aura and her friends, Lucas and Barry, they were a big help for her recovery. And eventually, after a lot of time and work, she became the region's champion. She messages every now and then to him, as processing any trauma is never an easy road, but he realized how lucky she was to have the people she'd met to keep her steady, and knew she'll be alright.

"I...still wish I could've done more for her," Riley says, quieter. "Cynthia told me about what happened in that other world, and it...it was a lot for Dawn, a lot of emotions to help her figure out." he finishes, sheepish.

"…I don't blame you for feeling that way, I wouldn't know what to do in a scenario like that, either." the champion says, unsure too.

"It's amazing, in a way. All these kids going through so much on their own. I'd be proud were it not so scary, realizing how young they are to go through what they have been through."

"There's only so much you really can do, as an adult. I've realized that fact a long time ago." Lance's aura felt oddly melancholic, as bright and pretty as it may appear. "It's either immediate or slow when things change for them, and sometimes you'll have to make a choice on the spot when the time comes for them to decide what they want to do." It sounds like he’s speaking from experience, but the melancholy makes it appear that he's had some regrets.

“I trust in them to find their own path, eventually. When they’re together, those kids are gonna be alright on their own.”

His reassurance helped, even if only by a small amount.

I should make some kind of master post about them at some point but WAH god I’m so happy I can actually put them together in pokemon masters, they’ve really grown on me and I’ve developed a lot for the both of them in my free time, but yeah this is the rarepair that’s been on my brain for ages now, a gaze into my goo brain 🤪

#kagarts #pokemon gsc #pokemon hgss #pokemon dppt #trainer riley #stat trainer riley #champion lance #lance pokemon #fluffyriceshipping #🌊🍚🐉#yeah I’m establishing the tag for em in emojis. free reign bitches!!!!!#long post #writing a fic is hard but i could write millions of words about these two. the character analysis is compelling #catch me being annoying about them in the coming months #being able to talk about them is so nice bc I was pretty scared before because of some people I used to know #but now I get to be free and awesome without worry and it’s been great! I’ve got a friend who’s encouraged me to talk about them here #and so I shall! to my friend I want to kiss you on your forehead for hearing me out about these two #new year new yaoi new me >:]

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riding-with-the-wild-hunt · 9 months

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i promise promise promise i'm not a freudian but the idea that fëanor hated fingolfin less for his character or even being indis's son and more as a conduit for his anger at finwë is so delicious to me uwugh...míriel cannot be reproached: her absence renders her perfect and inviolate, and given fëanor's intensity around protecting her memory, i think he would see it as a betrayal to be angry or resentful towards her. likewise, finwë also can't be blamed, because fëanor loves him so single-mindedly that it would seem a terrible disloyalty to consider that he could've done anything wrong. of course indis can be hated, but she's fulfilling a role both familially and societally different from finwë's, and freudian projection is neater when things line up. and fingolfin is right there! looking like finwë, acting like finwë, bearing finwë's name etc etc! and to make matters worse, he's also in fëanor's position, so we can stick some good good rival/usurper feelings in there too!

while we're told that fingolfin and fëanor are extremely dissimilar in personality, i think there's significant textual evidence, at least in some respects, to the contrary, (fingolfin's ride-or-die loyalty to fëanor, his willingness to brave an icy wasteland without any preparation, and his charge at morgoth are all actions that parallel what we know of fëanor's character--the attachment to family, the headlong impulsivity, the bitter hatred of melkor). there's very little about fingolfin to attract anger from fëanor, given that his parentage was hardly his fault. but fëanor is angry at finwë for abandoning míriel (who has the dubious honor of obliquely standing in for fëanor too in this instance), and angry at míriel for abandoning him, and fingolfin is right there!!!! and he can be blamed!!! and it's such a relief to finally blame someone that he never stops

#i fear tis not so coherent but (devil emoji devil emoji devil emoji)#brought to you by me #the professor's world #fëanor #the silmarillion #elves elves elves #meta + analysis #every day i wake up + i get on my little soapbox #fingolfin #finwë

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iloveilovei · 1 year

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It's not that we really need (more) proof of the fact that Simon wasn't into Marcus, but it is so obvious when you look at his texts to Marcus.

Simon was not shy with emojis while texting with Wille...

And Marcus showed some emoji game in his texts to Simon...

But Simon's texts to Marcus are suspiciously emoji-less...

What can it meeeeeaaaan....? (😉)

#emoji analysis #useless because it's pretty obvious but still... it had to be done #yayayayay #young royals #wilmon #simon eriksson #prince wilhelm #simon x wille #wille x simon #marcus young royals #simon - marcus

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somethingpersonarelated · 1 year

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Another No More What Ifs Analysis

Okay, so... between wanting to analyze this and Our Light, and the kpop posts that I'll be doing that overlap with this. This blog will turn into Persona Music Analysis hour. Long post. Heavy spoilers for P5R, Proof of Justice, and Mementos Mission. BEGIN!

Let's begin with some context for the song. I think this is crucial to understanding why it is associated with Akechi's character. If you're familiar with this, you can skip to the lyrical analysis! The best analogy is that Beneath the Mask is to Akira as NMWI is to Akechi, in my opinion. Proof of Justice was an OVA released with the P5 anime (in May 2019) a couple months before the release of Persona 5 Royal in Japan (October of the same year). This OVA is centered around the relationship between Akira and Akechi. Specifically, Akira's grieving process as he goes through the places where they used to meet to find clues about the phrase "Proof of Justice" which was written in the Leblanc crossword. The Jazz Jin, as noted by Muhen here, is a place where Akechi would typically go alone. He also notes in confidant rank 4 that it wasn't necessarily a place that he was keeping secret, but that he never brought people around there since it was his personal space to reflect. As we'll examine, the content of the lyrics is too specific to not be related to the story, and there aren't any other characters or themes I could think are as associated with the song as Goro Akechi. Just wanted to clear this up first, as for some it's not entirely clear why the song is specifically Akechi's (since it's not explicitly stated, and the lyrics are hard to catch while you're playing through normally).

Lyrical Analysis

people come and they go some people may stay with you though I am all alone tonight and I kept on asking myself questions

The very first line is one of the easiest to dissect. Goro, since the death of his mother, has had few stable figures in his life, whether it is his parents, family, or friends. This also extends to his line of work as a celebrity detective, as he is kept so busy that there are very few people he sees on a regular basis, at all. He notes in the second confidant rank (if you choose to ask if he has no friends) that he doesn't have people that he chooses to spend time with. [I chose this option on my last play through and remember it but I can't find the dialogue anywhere].

The doubt that grows in this verse comes from the second line. He is taken by surprise that there is someone he is giving thought to for more than a couple seconds at time. Someone he is... to some degree choosing to spend time with even though he is doing it for the mission. At first, to investigate the Phantom Thieves identity to prevent them from interfering in his revenge plot, and then to lure Akira into a death trap. Tying it back to the first line analysis with the third and fourth line, this dissonance has put the first example of his doubt in this song.

Conceited I was at time I never really doubted myself But tonight got me thinking about it all if I am the fool or what not

There is a self-awareness that Goro always has about his personas (in the metaphorical sense). Goro kind of knows that he's arrogant and it was not ever something that bothered him. Even his character flaws will not get in the way of his plan, even if those flaws are just his humanity peeking through. There's a longing in Lyn's delivery of the last two lines here. He's stumped as to why he feels this way and the inner conflict makes him pause more than he is comfortable with.

"If I am the fool or what not." This line, is literally perfect, the double meaning is just ugh! We'll see this idea again near the end of the song, but I want to take an opportunity to talk about it now. For two years, Goro was the only Persona-user he knew, so he had no reason to believe anyone would ever stand a chance against him. Not only is he angered at himself for allowing Akira to get close to him and cause these doubts but he's also questioning what his role was.

I do not regret with my choices I'm rather proud ooh I know I won't change anything because I can only be me so

I had already written parts of this analysis like two months ago but I saw a post written by @vashtijoy here on how Mementos mission has a sneaky reference to this song. So check that out! It's something I never noticed.

Before Shido's palace, there's an acceptance of the circumstances in this line, that he has to do it regardless of what he may think because he has a goal. Throughout the third semester, we see an Akechi that is alive and tried to deal with the consequences of his actions before Maruki took that opportunity away from him. But he does not show remorse for what he did, that it was the only path he could have chosen with the information he knew.

How can I be so sure? at a crossroads I'm afraid too But I can't let fear get the best of me Someone once said burn my dread babe

This verse... this verse makes me wanna cry. I cannot even lie to you. The direct statement that there is fear behind the fact that he doesn't want to kill Akira and the acknowledgement in the last two lines that one of them has to end up dead. That he is also acknowledging that Akira must also be fearful, by playing with fire through continuing to lead the Phantom Thieves. The doubt is consuming him in this verse. The crossroad offers two choices, one where he sacrifices himself for Akira and one where Akira no longer is with him. The reference to Persona 3 really carries the weight here with this theory. I would explain more but I only spoiler tagged for P5R so we move.

Who knows what tomorrow holds? just wanna live my life the way I want what fills up my soul is passionate music that makes me want to sing

The first line, to me, reads that he's given up on allowing himself to think if there's another way to resolve his doubts. That there's another path where neither of them die and that it can't exist. He wants to live freely, which is what he thinks is assured once his revenge plan is complete. In another world, maybe it was one where both of them could be together without this chasing them. The last two lines I don't have a particular opinion about, but I think they add to the fact that Goro has given up entertaining other possibilities.

my story will be starring me just like yours ooh ooh who knows when will it end what matters most is how you bring joy to life so

I think about confidant rank 8. It feels written all over this line, and we come back to an idea that was present with "If I am the fool or what not." I think there's a bit of that 'hatred' that he talks about, that he's resentful that Akira story will end differently than his own. He's waiting for the day to come and resolves by centering himself, that once his goal is achieved, that he will achieve joy for the first time in his life. Refusing to acknowledge that Akira was showing him companionship that brought him happiness for one last time.

The Theme of Doubt

One of the things I have had trouble defining is what the doubt Goro is referring to is, or why the doubt is there. It's one of the things that is left in the air. Speculating here a little more than I usually will try to: the doubt stems from the fact that Goro is enjoying his time with the protagonist and is unsure what that means. In terms of what he is doubting, I'm not sure, I don't think he is referring to his plan, but rather the fact that Akira is caught up in it at all. His resolve to complete his plan never changes, but he wishes he could choose to leave him out of this. This tracks with a line stated by the SIU director which implies that some of the cruel actions carried out by the conspiracy/antisocial force by Akechi are not entirely his idea. He still carries them out without hesitation, but he never thinks of them himself. One of the reasons I wrote out this analysis was to see if there were any opinions on what this part of the song meant since I have trouble wrapping my head around it myself.

Goro, in base game and third semester, never shows any form of doubt or regret to the protagonist directly, only brief flickers and implications from dialogue. But this song is layered with it and bashes you in by telling you that it is what he is struggling with most when it comes to executing his plan. It's what nags at me even though I've tried to analyze this song a couple of times on my own.

IN CONCLUSION: I obviously hate goro akechi. (lying is fun)

#shuake #akeshu #akechi goro #akira kurusu #persona 5 spoilers #persona 5 royal #no more what ifs #persona music #persona analysis #i spent way too long writing this #can you tell this is my favorite persona song #p5 meta #thinking emoji

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eldritchmochi · 8 months

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i got a comment on a long fic to the effect of "i wanted to comment on every chapter but i didnt want to spam" and im just like honey no, thats not spam, that pure gold in text form. you dont understand, the handful of times i could track someone reading one of my long fics thru comments over a day or a week or whatever have been the absolute best moments of my LIFE please for the love of god if you find a long fic that makes you want to comment on every chapter, absolutely do it, you will make that author weep with joy

#mochi rambles #mochi fic #theres a lot of posts about this but like #for realz honesty tho #every author loves this #if you're not a dick we will gobble up any and all comments #doesnt matter if its just emojis or deep critical analysis #(tho god i do lov me some meta)#there is nothing better than waking up to a million comment emails because someone binged ur fic

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tachiguin · 1 year

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Analysis of BSD Tanizaki (Character and Theories) in Reference to Real Life Tanizaki Jun’ichirou

By popular demand of (1) person in the comments of a post I’ve made briefly touching on this subject, I have compiled all of my thoughts on the portrayal of Tanizaki Jun’ichirou—and by extension, Naomi—in Bungou Stray Dogs in reference to the works of the real life Tanizaki Jun’ichirou-sensei (who I’ll be calling Tanizaki-sensei to differentiate from his fictional counterpart). Disclaimer that I don’t have the academic background to write as an expert on this subject. I will be citing all of my sources in the text.

Tanizaki-sensei (1886-1965) was an author who was well known for writing about sexual obsession and fetishes, and the exploration of Japanese versus Western culture in his works. His female characters were particularly reputable for having strong personalities (drawing upon the dofuku - “poisonous woman” or femme fatale troupe), and frequently fulfilled the domineering role in sadomasochistic relationships with men. This recurring theme is most likely the basis for Tanizaki and Naomi’s relationship in Bungou Stray Dogs.

In a similar vein, motifs such as dreaming, delusions, and fantasies (oftentimes of the erotic nature) frequently appear in Tanizaki-sensei’s works. This could be the basis for Tanizaki’s illusion projection ability, “Light Snow”, which is named after Tanizaki-sensei’s great novel, Sasameyuki (1948), also known as The Makioka Sisters, the title of the English translation, which was changed due to the nuance of the original title being difficult to convey in English.

Going on a slight tangent here, Tanizaki-sensei also wrote a handful of works depicting blindness, such as A Portrait of Shunkin (1933) and A Blind Man’s Tale (1931). In these works, blindness can be interpreted as a metaphor for blind devotion and obsessive worship of one’s love interest, even to the point of martyrdom. For example, in A Portrait of Shunkin (1933), the character Sasuke destroys his own eyesight for his vain mistress, who did not want to be seen after an incident destroys her beauty. Tanizaki and Naomi’s deep affection for each other is reminiscent of these themes (Tanizaki’s willingness to throw away his morals for Naomi, Naomi taking gunfire in Tanizaki’s place).

Unfortunately, we aren’t given any other concrete pieces of information about Tanizaki or Naomi that can be reliably connected to something in regards to the real life author...

The Unreliable Narrator

Which brings me to my first point in regards to fan theories surrounding Tanizaki and Naomi. I have mentioned in previous posts that Tanizaki’s descriptions of himself oftentimes contradict what we are actually shown (not good for combat, cowardly and average, etc), which means that Tanizaki is an unreliable narrator of his own backstory. To what extent he is unreliable, we can only speculate.

However, the theory that Tanizaki cannot be trusted to tell the truth about himself is supported by the real life counterparts’ use of this narrative device in his works. A journal article by The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature explains that “[Tanizaki-sensei’s stories] are often told by a personified and thus not necessarily reliable narrator,” which is especially evident in both Naomi (1925), a post-hoc account of the protagonist’s marriage, and The Key (1956), two juxtaposed diaries of a married couple.

Since Tanizaki-sensei tended to employ biased narrators in his stories, Tanizaki being an unreliable narrator of his own story would be a clever nod to his real life counterpart.

Moving on, the theory that Tanizaki may be lying about himself opens a world of possibilities regarding what the truth actually is. One popular fan theory is that Naomi is actually an illusory ability construct created by Tanizaki’s ability “Light Snow”.

Sculpting the Ideal Woman

Another recurring theme in Tanizaki-sensei’s works is a character’s desire to “shape” a woman into their vision for what that woman should be. This takes a variety of forms: in The Tattooer (1910), the protagonist “[desires] to create a masterpiece on the skin of a beautiful woman”, thus transforming her into a “real beauty”. In Aguri (1922) the protagonist dreams that “he would adorn [her] with jewels and silks. He would strip off that shapeless, unbecoming kimono... and then dress her in Western clothes”. The desire to make a woman more “Western” is also apparent with the protagonist Joji’s intent in Naomi (1925), the book that BSD Naomi is named after.

However, I must caution that BSD Naomi is actually quite different from how the character of Naomi is in the original novel; BSD Naomi is kinder to the people around her, and isn’t portrayed as selfish or manipulative. The two Naomis’ do share their penchant for mischief, and their bold, tomboyish personalities, as well as their surprising intelligence and aptitude for planning.

Back to the main topic: other BSD fans have pointed out that this theme of “making Naomi” in the novel supports the theory that BSD Naomi was created by Tanizaki’s ability. Considering that this pygmalion-like desire also appears in many other stories written by Tanizaki-sensei, the connection makes sense. Notably a role reversal between the “sculptor” and the “sculpture” always takes place in such stories.

Losing Control

In Tanizaki-sensei’s stories, female characters who are transformed to fit a man’s ideal are rarely subservient by the end of the narrative. Instead, the change oftentimes pushes them into a more dominant role, where they are the ones doing the controlling, rather than being controlled. In Naomi (1925), the protagonist narrates that “I forgot my innocent notion of "training" her: I was the one being dragged along, and by the time I realized what was happening, there was nothing I could do about it.” As the alternate title, A Fool’s Love, may suggest, by the end of the book Naomi has made a fool out of the protagonist, having “made careful plans and lured [him] on”, ultimately ending up in a position of power.

This could be indicative of Naomi’s own autonomy as an ability construct: we see her arguing with Tanizaki and defying his instruction, possessing talent and knowledge that Tanizaki does not have, and making decisions independent of Tanizaki’s will. For all intents and purposes, Naomi is no different than a human being.

Of course, whether or not this theory will prove correct is a different matter. It should be noted that one variation of this theory speculates that Naomi did exist as a real person, but died in middle school. Unable to cope with the loss, Tanizaki unconsciously created an illusion in her image. This idea is reminiscent of A Portrait of Shunkin (1933), where it is said that in the years after Sasuke’s mistress and lover passed away, “he created a Shunkin quite remote from the actual woman, yet more and more vivid in his mind.” The character Sasuke was said to exaggerate his mistress’ talents to the point that his accounts of her were unreliable, and her passing contributed to his over imagination of her likeliness.

Secret Relationships

Another theory I have seen circulating the fandom is that Naomi and Tanizaki lied about their relationship, telling others that they are siblings in order to cover up their romance. In Naomi (1925), a similar ruse is hatched by the character Naomi, who goes behind her husband Joji’s back and sleeps with other men. Joji discovers this subterfuge from the character Hamada, who confesses, “I didn't know about you at all. Miss Naomi...said you were her cousin.” As such, Tanizaki and Naomi may similarly be lying about the nature of their relationship, which would be a nod to the original novel.

Of course, though I am partial to this theory, since I would be sad if Naomi turned out to be an illusion, I cannot with any confidence claim that it is more likely than the other theory I mentioned regarding her, or any other theories that might be circulating.

Return from the West

Moving on from theories involving Naomi, evidence that supports the theory that Tanizaki will change allegiances from the Armed Detective Agency to the Port Mafia can also be found with his real life counterpart. As I touched on a bit before, Tanizaki-sensei wrote about and was influenced by Western culture and traditions. However, after Tanizaki-sensei moved from Yokohama to the Kansai region in 1926, his fascination dwindled, and he completed works such as Some Prefer Nettles (1929), which “[presented] subtly and effectively the great transformation in Tanizaki's life from a worshiper of the West to a believer in the value of the Japanese heritage” as explained by Donald Keene in “Five Modern Japanese Novelists”.

One such work that compared Western and Japanese culture is “In Praise of Shadows” (1933), which associated shadows with traditional Japanese aesthetics, and light with the West. In the essay, he writes “If light is scarce then light is scarce; we will immerse ourselves in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty.” In Bungou Stray Dogs, darkness and shadows are associated with the Port Mafia, while the light is associated with living morally upright. As such, Tanizaki-sensei’s shift from his fascination with the West (the light) to finding beauty in the darkness (Japanese traditions) could be paralleled in his fictional counterpart switching sides as well.

Moreover, although I am far from informed enough to speak confidently on this subject, I’d be amiss not to mention this meta written by bsd-bibliophile, which explains how the Port Mafia authors were faithful to the styles of traditional Japanese literature, whereas Armed Detective Agency authors were influenced by Western writing. Coincidentally, or perhaps intentionally, the comparison of Japanese versus Western traditions is the subject matter of “In Praise of Shadows” (1933), as I explained above; it would be a very clever reference to Tanizaki-sensei’s shifting interest if the theory that Tanizaki will switch sides ends up being correct.

In Conclusion

Despite knowing very little of Tanizaki’s backstory, and having limited on screen appearances of him in the story, much of what is established about Tanizaki can be traced back to his real life counterpart. We can also attempt to reverse engineer the character Tanizaki by making conjectures about his backstory and future character development based on what we know about Tanizaki-sensei. The theories that Naomi is an illusion, Tanizaki and Naomi are not real siblings, and that Tanizaki will switch sides are all supported by themes, motifs, and narratives that frequently appeared in Tanizaki-sensei’s writing. As such, I am very excited to see which theories will prove true, and how Asagiri-sensei will execute them in Bungou Stray Dogs going forward.

credits: bsd-bibliophile is a great resource for PDFs and ePubs of the works mentioned here, manga caps were scanned and translated by Easy Going Scans or Dazai Scans, highlighted passage in second visual is from the official Light Novel 3, left image in third visual is the first edition cover of Naomi novel

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd naomi #bsd tanizaki #tanizaki junichirou #tanizaki naomi #bsd theory #bsd meta #bsd analysis #min i'll never write an essay of my own free will lu #clown emoji #i think i should get an extra lit credit just for writing this

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pigeoninabowl69 · 6 months

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Thermodynamic lawyer thing

So i haven't seen much people talking about thermodynamic lawyer's themes (except the bozos who think Will's an ableist cuz of the autistic baby in a ceiling fan, crying)

So the song mentions a woman that were on a relationship (maybe platonic, maybe romantic idk) with TL's protagonist (from now on im referring thermodynamic lawyer as TL)

And just to say at least she's the definition of a DOUCHEBAG

according to the song she's an extreme asshole and blames it on *checks notes* ah yes, mental illness how classic

so basically she's like the typical jerk you would find on COD lobbies:

-type of person to ruin the fun (or if the song was literal then just give spoilers to everyone)

-can't accept losing on anything, and even worse, getting aggresive when told they're in the wrong

and blah blah

The last part when it says ''so all that i see absolute entropy as the chemical bonds fall apart'' is def a metaphor on how the relationship is pure chaos and their chemistry is becoming more notorious to be nule

so they break up

The protagonist has some issues after the break-up, not because the actual separation but because the girl was sooo shitty she left him with some psychological damage

and even tho he's left ''broken'', he's happy they broke up and i mean, who's not?

now, the last LAST part of TL (in the OG version) just says repeatedly ''(kill yourself) YOU CAN GO FUCKING DIE'' and even tho it's pretty aggressive and direct the remake was kinda more uhh how do i say this

here's the quote:

''YOU CAN GO FUCKING DIE (get cancer!)''

''GO FUCKING DIE (Get AIDS and...)''

''KILL YOURSELF AND GO DIE (kill yourself!)''

like man, she must be REALLY shitty

anywho

just thought the song was trashing non-existent person how's just a douchie but it wasn't until i read all the lyrics it was trashing a maybe maybe not existent person who's a DOUCHEBAG

#thermodynamic lawyer #will wood #will wood and the tapeworms #song analysis #i feel so nerd emoji right now #and its probably because everyone knows this fact #but i just realized today because i can't make-up words if the music is too heavy (by this i mean a lot of instruments)#and since i love music charged with instruments #it makes sense

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shanofarcadia · 1 year

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i’m not one to tear down a successful queen ever, but there are moments throughout 3below where aja genuinely needed to get off the screen and let krel actually exist as one of the co-protagonists of the show, and allow me to drop some helpful examples:

the fight with halcon (1x07)

not saying that aja should be erased from this completely, but something that always pissed me off about this is that instead of letting krel help and fight alongside aja, he just gets knocked unconscious. which, okay, sure, stun him for a second like halcon did to varvatos, but when he comes to he can help! but then when he DOES wake up, he’s… instantly knocked out again, like literally instantly. what the fuck. not to mention, when halcon first attacks, it’s on krel (and ricky) alone (one of the rare moments that krel’s part of something without aja involved), so you’d think they’d give krel some stake in the final fight against halcon. and i’m not saying he needed to be the one to get the dramatic final blow on her either, in fact i love how varvatos just wakes up and one-shot blasts her to pieces in the sky. i’m just saying i think krel should’ve been an active part of the fight.

the battle of the bands (1x12)

this one’s not really as major, but it only slightly annoys me because i’ve always felt like most people were cheering because of aja’s vocals/dancing rather than krel’s music (save for eli and seamus who directly compliment him, they’re real ones) especially when krel literally has to clarify that HE’S the main act when someone in the audience cheers for aja. again, not the biggest deal, just a silly music competition, but it feels weird for the show to frame it as krel’s major legacy moment when moments earlier he was still being sidelined by people in favor of his sister.

rescuing varvatos (2x02)

this is by far the one that pisses me off the most. as we see in both 1x12 and 2x01, krel is VISIBLY more emotional and affected by varvatos’ betrayal being revealed. to the point where tears ROLL down his face, and he ALMOST EXECUTES varvatos on the spot, and his emotion in the season 2 premiere coming out in apathetic anger, but then we see him curl up and break into more tears when finally confronting his feelings on what happened. it’s literally HIS IDEA to go to the moon to save varvatos anyway. only, when the plan gets enacted, it’s… aja who gets to free varvatos from his cell. so where’s krel? playing dress up in the space tavern’s main room and getting hot-potatoed between dozens of bounty hunters. this makes me unbelievably upset. you show that krel is massively more affected by the events than aja is, but then he’s not even granted the courtesy of the 1-on-1 that aja and varvatos get as she frees him? say what you want about anything else i’ve mentioned, but this is a moment that 110% should’ve belonged to krel and not aja. also the fact that krel doesn’t even really speak directly to varvatos for the remainder of the episode once he’s freed. if anything, they kind of just gloss over krel’s internal conflict of being angry at him vs wanting to rescue him, another flaw in the usage of krel as a character.

also keep in mind that this is in no way meant to come across as anti-aja or anything like that, especially when she’s my 2nd favorite protagonist and 3below is my favorite show in the trilogy by a long shot. i mainly am just trying to criticize the show’s handling of its one and only dark-skinned protagonist and how him going severely underused in his own show and look at things through nuance, because there were plenty of moments krel could’ve been a part of things where he wasn’t, and it sucks that in both canon and fan spaces he goes so criminally underlooked. this has just been my two cents. this is longest tumblr post i’ve made in a while actually.

#tales of arcadia #3below #krel tarron #toa #aja tarron #toa analysis #show analysis #i think i’m very smart sometimes #nerd emoji #🤓🤓🤓

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agirlprince · 1 year

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Spinning Roses: The Cycle of Abuse in Revolutionary Girl Utena

This may not be the most comprehensive meta but my best friend and I were talking about the show and it got me thinking about cyclic abuse, abusive patterns, and how this applies to Akio and Anthy primarily. General RGU trigger warnings and major spoilers lay beneath the cut so be cautious!

The first question: What's interesting is later (I think the beginning of s2) Anthy makes a throwaway line on how akio has become like her father.... AND IT'S NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN Really made me think if he was good as a prince.... He's really more like a "king" now right? As the head of the school??

Akio as a King: Akio is a king now and maybe he stopped being able to be a prince when he became an adult because a prince is a boy (not looking at how nobility really works but looking at it from a fairytale perspective) which is extra interesting because when he met Utena and gave her the ring he was not yet a man and in the eternal flashback he kept being shown as different ages...of boyhood. Not as he is now.

Akio’s position as chairman solidified him as king - ruling with an iron fist but he's chasing the memory of prince hood (of boyhood) and forcing these boys into a "princely" role with the duels and then destroying them and they all lose their chance at princehood when he shows them adulthood (the trauma sex car) they're truly out of the game at that point. He shows them adulthood and the all have a final duel and lose.

(Side Note): It's also interesting that Juri is a duelist as a girl of her own merit but she's a lesbian and thus can occupy a prince role. Nanami is only a duelist as an extension of her brother until the end when she ditches the second sword and fights on her own merit. But I digress because this could be its whole own separate post.

Second Question: But then what does it mean for Anthy what was happening what'd he do??? Was it worse than first thought?? Was she inherited?? Why'd they have her in that little dress

Anthy and Dios - The Trouble With Princehood: So what does Akio’s eventual King status and Anthy’s role as the Rose Bride mean for the children they used to be? Let’s look at some relevant threads from the anime:

Anthy as a "witch" - she wanted her brother to herself, right? She wanted him to be her prince.

Anthy became a "witch" as a child after she "locked her brother up for herself"

Remember the shadow girls play when the dad says "come keep my daughter company she's lonely and it's Christmas Eve" there's only one kind of company he would be keeping a girl in the middle of the night which is fucked up on its own because he WAS still a child

Akio says to Anthy at one point, "Why must you continue to torture me?” which is very telling in terms of where he lays blame and is a potential hint as to why he labels her (unfairly) as a witch

If you're not a princess you're a witch and princesses are pure, right? And princesses only ever go to bed with their prince (and typically this would be when she's a queen)

In RGU our characters are reflections of either Anthy, Utena, or Akio

If we take the swords as a metaphor for eternal suffering and pain and sacrificing your own innocence and purity not literally swords…

Then the theory is that Dios was also probably being sexually abused (parallels to Touga and Touga is Akio in our cycle format) and Anthy having always been observant probably witnessed this and came to the thought process that if she wanted to be her brother's princess she would need to sleep with him. She sacrificed her innocence and her purity to "make her brother love her" and take her away from all other princesses to save HIM from the abuse, right?

He was probably selling himself to support them and to protect Anthy from the abuse the same way Touga did for Nanami) and Anthy interfered with that to protect HIM but that made her a witch (a succubus, a siren, a Lolita).

Alternatively Anthy sacrificed herself to the mob for her brother...instead of having sex with him she may have sacrificed herself to the CLIENTS of the prince because he was too sick/hurt to do so. Which....a thousand swords, right? I'm not saying a literal 1,000 but I am saying that sacrifice was probably the most traumatic thing anyone has ever been through. She's scared of crowds. Their faces blend together. This really doesn’t imply anything good.

Not to say that's ALL Dios did. I'm sure he did work for whomever. Build things, run errands, do chores for a little bit of pay etc. I'm sure he was chivalrous and valiant and made young girls feel special and maybe saved a couple from a bad fall or saved someone's life (he was protecting his sister, young girls probably reminded him of Anthy) and got a princely reputation...but what do adult men do to princes that they're resentful of because they lost that in their adulthood? The same thing Akio does to Touga, and Saionji and countless others. And it's implied he is used to selling his body (the chairman's wife) to get what he wants. Touga is again a parallel here.

Regardless, Dios agonized over it and hated her for it and abused her because of it but she's trapped, right? Because now she's a witch. And because now she’s ruined and nobody will ever love her. And she "did this to herself" even though she was a small girl and didn't understand adult behaviors or what she was doing but she's smart enough to know that she made this decision (and takes the blame for it even when it was not her fault) and that she has no choice now but to live with it.

She "ruined the prince" she "tempted him to do something taboo and unprincely" etc OR she ruined herself and his image of her and now must be punished for it because he feels so incredibly guilty and she’s his outlet for that. He blames her because he can’t live with himself if he sees it as his fault.

(Side Note): With regards to the dress, I think it was was symbolic of her "selling herself" to Dios and others; it's VERY likely that after they had sex and/or the mob situation he started selling her off to adults as well. It was clear they were poor. And she's "ruined" now. The dress is red for a reason.

This is what makes Anthy the Rose Bride. The spoils to the winner. A possession, an object, a “heartless doll”. She accepts her place because she is trapped by her sacrifice and her pain and her prince is dead and now there is nobody to save her. Kings rule, they don’t save.

She is disillusioned and jaded and I’m constant agony but that’s not to say that she doesn’t understand the game now, because she does. And she tries to save people from it. I stand by that the tricks on Nanami (while hilarious and often deserved) they were meant to teach her a valuable lesson and to guide her away from the path that Anthy took that she is blindly following. And it works.

This is why Nanami says "I'm not like you!" to Anthy. Because Nanami said no. She said she didn't want her brother that way. That was never what she wanted. At most she had a child-like crush on him based on admiration and adoration that would have faded over time if he treated her nicely and normally and she continued socializing with her peers because it is NOT abnormal for little girls to idolize their fathers or brothers and little girls to declare they will marry their brothers/fathers one day because all they know is that marriage = love. They don't have a proper understanding of romantic or sexual love as children, and they shouldn’t. It is an adult’s job to appropriately guide a child’s love and affection not abuse it.

Something Eternal: Dios showed Utena something eternal...right? Anthy's eternal suffering. He showed her being repeatedly stabbed with swords...which throughout the history of literature has almost ALWAYS represented penetration. She probably witnessed Anthy being raped, actually, and Dios showed her this "an innocent girl, a princess" to show her what happens to little girls who are witches.

Except that Utena just saw a little girl being hurt and vowed to become a prince that would save her and she DOES she becomes a prince who is willing to save a "witch" and loves her regardless of what she's had to do to survive, which is all Anthy needed. Someone to believe she was worth loving. Someone to validate her personhood and her agency. All girls are like the Rose Bride - but none of us want to be.

Abuse is a cycle; most abusers were abused children themselves. Dios is the abused child. Akio is the abusive adult. Dios is the prince. Akio is the King. The morning star. Lucifer. The fallen Angel. He has tasted the fruit of knowledge (adulthood) and he has forced the fruit on others. The roses keep spinning.

#revolutionary girl utena #rgu #utena #anthy himemiya #utena tenjou #akio ohtori #shoujo kakumei utena #meta #rgu analysis #my bestie literally sent me gun emojis for writing this and making it sadder

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