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yanderes-galore · 1 year

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Romantic Yandere Russell Adler (Cod: Cold War) who gets utterly obsessed with Enemy!Reader who refuses to reciprocate his feelings whenever they meet up at the enemy lines? Or when he decides to meticulously capture her himself and use MK-Ultra on her if Stockholm Syndrome doesn’t work?

He's an underrated character when it comes to fanfics here so I'd love to! First Cold War request so I'm hoping I got Adler/the plot right.

Potential Spoilers for Call of Duty: Cold War

Yandere! Russell Adler with Enemy! Darling

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Female Darling, Obsession, Brainwashing/Mind control, Forced relationship, Violence, Manipulation, Kidnapping, Darling is like Bell, Forced touching mentioned.

This feels an awful lot like a Bell situation....

Especially with the whole MK-Ultra thing you mentioned.

Adler is a morally gray character so he'd have no issues with brainwashing and placing false memories into your head.

Especially if he managed to fall or an enemy.

You were most likely in a similar situation as Bell.

You worked for Perseus and saw Adler as your enemy.

You and Adler have met on the battlefield many times before.

You're enemies... but Adler thought otherwise.

For some reason he fell for you.

Hard, too.

Adler tried to ignore such feelings at first.

He should capture you and interrogate you.

You're an enemy, that is all.

Yet he couldn't help but look into you.

You could be useful... if you just fought for the "right side".

He could care for you if you change sides now!

You never listen.

Your situation is a one-sided enemies to lovers trope.

All it takes is one accident to knock you away from Perseus.

Then... you're in his hands.

Very similar to Bell, they try normal interrogation first.

Adler's feelings intensify when he interrogates you.

You're at his mercy... now you have to listen to him.

Adler can't kill you, he doesn't want to.

If he really has formed feelings for you since the battlefield then he tries to avoid such an outcome.

Adler takes advantage of your restraints when interrogating you.

He traces his hands against you and really tries to push his feelings into view.

Essentially it's like he's using seduction to make you talk.

You can really tell how deranged you make him at this point.

He lightly touches your cheek and holds your hand despite the restraints.

He compliments you, he tells you his thoughts about you.

With how fast he's grown attached to you it comes off as jarring.

Once he realizes he isn't getting info or even reciprocation from you then he turns to other means.

MK-Ultra to be exact.

The idea of that is terrifying.

Adler could implant whatever information and memories he wants in that head of yours.

So, he thinks of something more domestic.

Something straight from his fantasies.

The fabricated life you're given is something along the lines of this;

You are the wife of Russell Adler.

You have been together for years.

You are working with the CIA to help track down Perseus as you and Adler met in the military before marrying.

It's something along the lines of that.

Adler would not mind brainwashing you to love him if you were an enemy.

This way you are no longer a threat and he gets to take care of you.

What a win, right?

Like he wanted, it works.

He plays his act well, too.

When you come off all the drugs, given only your first name, and given a command phrase... Adler is there.

He acts like a concerned husband when you awake and comforts your confusion.

Internally, he's smirking.

He's managed to reprogram you successfully.

It feels nice to have such a beautiful woman all to himself now, despite your past.

For the most part you believe him due to the implanted memories.

You cling to him, you tell him you love him.

You believe every word.

His first kiss with you is not the first to you according to your memories.

Adler indulges every moment with you.

Each kiss holds passion and yearning.

Each hug is tight around you as he buries his face into your neck.

You are his, he's done it!

In every way possible he's made you his.

He loves it when you look at him with adoration... even if it's fabricated.

This whole relationship you two share has been carefully created... it's artificial.

That's fine to Adler.

You'd never know the difference, now you'd always dedicate yourself to him and love him as he's always wanted...

If anyone tries to ruin this for him then Adler doesn't mind a bit more blood on his clothes... that's the job, isn't it?

#yandere call of duty #yandere cod cold war #yandere cod #yandere call of duty cold war #yandere russell adler

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j-nipper-95 · 2 months

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An ask game for writers to procrastinate working on your WIP(s)

Thank you for the tags @artsyunderstudy @iamamythologicalcreature @aristocratic-otter @shrekgogurt @wellbelesbian @theearlgreymage and @ic3-que3n

I am definitely procrastinating on both my WIPs at the moment. Trails is back in limbo, and ASR has taken up permanent residence there recently, and I desperately want to get back to both of them. Here's hoping this will kick start something in my brain! I do love a good Q&A, so let's dive in!

1. 🦈 Tell us the name of your/one of your WIP(s):

I have two WIPs I am actively writing, and one I haven't started on yet, but desperately want to. The Trails We Blaze was my Carry On Through the Ages 2023 fic, and is a The Road to El Dorado!au. Then there's my original novel, A Survivor's Revenge, which I've been writing for far too long and it definitely needs to be published soon!

2. 🍄 Describe your WIP/one of your WIP(s) in the format of "___ + ___ = ___"

Ok, this is much harder than I thought it would be, there's so many elements to each of these WIPs, so bare with me.

Trails: con men in 1920s London find map to Atlantis + WW1 trauma + gang warfare + repressed romantic feelings = friends to lovers action, adventure, and chaos across western Europe that's probably been too intensely researched for the sake of historical accuracy

(Side note: this isn't how I thought I'd use my degrees in history and archaeology, but here we are!)

A Survivor's Revenge: marvel cinematic universe + James Bond = ASR

or - what would happen if Bucky wasn't brainwashed by Hydra and sought revenge on the scientists who experimented on him, was a 14 year old school girl instead of a grown man, and had elemental powers + MI6 super spies and the general aesthetic of a Bond movie = a stab first/ask questions later FMC willing to do whatever it takes to keep her loved ones safe (and I do mean whatever it takes - Lauren hasn't baulked at anything I've thrown at her yet).

3. 🌍 What tags or warnings will one of your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it.

ASR will definitely need some trigger warnings for violence (if only because of Lauren's penchant for it), and if it were being posted to AO3 the series as a whole would probably require a 'main character death' warning. This is your formal warning, no one is safe in my writing.

Trails is rated M, so there's not going to be anything too graphic or explicit, but it does have a PTSD tag, as the fic tackles both Baz and Simon's trauma from living through the First World War, and specifically Baz's claustrophobia. So I would probably warn about the panic attacks and discussion of how Baz became claustrophobic.

4. 🧭 An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)?

Neither of these had alternative titles other than my save names (Spy Novel and SnowBaz fanfic) before I decided on anything. I'm useless at coming up with titles, and I can't really claim full credit for either. A friend from uni came up with A Survivor's Revenge, which is really fitting, as revenge is a major theme in the book. And The Trails We Blaze is a reference to one of the songs from the movie The Road to El Dorado, and was Ashton's suggestion when we were bouncing ideas back and forth last year.

5. ⚠️ Which WIP you're most likely to finish or update next?

Trails will definitely be finished before ASR, purely because ASR is going to be published as a proper book, and I don't have the cash to do this independently, or the publishing deal to do it traditionally. So I know this will take time. But I am currently working on the next chapter of Trails, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can post it.

6. 💾 What is your document of your WIP/a WIP called? (not the stories actual title but what you've saved it as)

I have so many variations of both WIPs it's ridiculous. I swear there's been 100+ iterations of ASR over the years, all with variations on either A Survivor's Revenge/ASR or Spy Novel as their title.

With Trails I have my base document, which is where the rough first draft happens, in Scrivener: the trails we blaze - draft copy. And then I also have my final document in pages, where I fix the formatting ahead of exporting to AO3 (because AO3 hates it when I do it straight from scrivener and gets rid of all my italics!): the trails we blaze upload copy.

7. 🖍 Post any sentence(s) from your WIP.

This is probably one of my favourite exchanges in the first ASR book.

“Just like old times,” Lauren said. “Tell me, did you consciously decide to make my PTSD worse by assigning him to me, or was that a happy accident?” “What’s the diagnosis?” Vanessa asked, ignoring Lauren. “Fractured ribs, minor internal abdominal bleeding, concussion, and three broken fingers. She needs to rest for at least a week,” Todd said. “She has a name,” Lauren muttered. “The internal bleeding is minor for the moment, but won’t be if she doesn’t rest.” “Who’s ‘she’ in this, the cat’s mother? I am here, you know.” “Yes, and whilst I would love to trade witticisms with you, I do actually have a job to do. Part of which involves divulging a diagnosis, and pardon me if I feel certain people in this room are going to be more receptive and actually take my advice when I give it.” Lauren glanced at Vanessa. “Is he always like this?” “Just with patients. And most of the people who work here.” “So, everyone?” Vanessa thought for a moment, then bobbed her head from side to side in a movement that said Pretty much, yeah. “If we’re quite done discussing my conduct, I do actually have other patients who need my attention.” “Poor sods.” “Yes, of course,” Vanessa said, ignoring Lauren’s comments. “Have you got a treatment plan sorted?” “I’m nothing if not professional.” “Did someone switch the definition of ‘sarcastic asshat’ and ‘professional’ in the dictionary when I wasn’t looking?” Todd twisted ever so slightly away from Lauren, instead focusing entirely on Vanessa.

8. ♻️ A scrapped idea for your current WIP.

Initially in ASR Lauren was framed for the murder of a student, alongside releasing the main villain from prison (not a spoiler, it's literally in my synopsis, no worries there!), and afterward she was forced to go on the run. Essentially, it made the heads of MI6 and Lauren's best friends into her enemies for a few chapters of my drafts a couple of years back. I loved this idea, and genuinely want to implement something along these lines again, because it was an interesting position to put the characters in, but I also really love where the plot is taking them currently, so we'll see if it truly ends up remaining scrapped or not.

9. 🤔 What's a story you'd love to write but haven't even started yet?

Another original novel, this time firmly rooted in science fiction (no superhero/light fantasy elements here), where time travel is possible, but the super anxious MC refuses to use his powers to travel back in time because of the side effects of said power. Gay romance, anxiety, angst, all the good stuff!

10. 🤡 How many WIPs are you actively working on?

I'm not too active on either of my WIPs at the moment. Work's been crazy lately, and I flip between feeling super burnt out creatively and being too tired to do much. But Trails and ASR continue to be my most active WIPs.

11. 🛠 Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

In Trails I've hit an intimate scene, and my little ace brain doesn't know how to approach it! Plus, I don't know how far I can stretch the M rating before we enter E territory.

12. ❤️ Not a question, just a second Kudos to send.

All of the kudos to everyone! I wish there was a way to leave it more than once, because seriously, the CO fandom is so unbelievably talented, my God!!

Tagging (sorry if you’ve already done this):

@blackberrysummerblog

@orange-peony

@you-remind-me-of-the-babe

@palimpsessed

#wip tag #q&a #a survivor's revenge #original fiction #the trails we blaze #snowbaz #fanfic

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writinggremlin · 21 days

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Self Intro V. 2.0

Almost done with the updated masterlist let's gooooo poggies babagaboosh!!! In the meantime, here's a little bit about me (again)!

You may call me Gremlin (The Soup Hoarder Keeper works too). My pronouns are she/they, with no preference between them. You can stick with she/her, you can stick with they/them, or you can casually change it every other sentence, I don't care. Hell, if you're feeling extra zesty, you can even change them out mid-sentence too. "She decided that she was going to eat their lunch at the park today." Are you still talking about the same person, or somebody else entirely? Who knows! (Tip: The more cursed you can make it, the more bonus points you can get!) For the minor dni blogs, my current life level is 20. If that's all you've come here for, then have a nice day! My current hobbies include: writing (ofc), daydreaming about what I'm going to write, reading (but not my own writing, that's guaranteed to make me cringe /j), going on walks that are way too long, going on bike rides that are way too long (this was written before The Incident (TM)), going to the library, and... existing?? I guess??? Life is my favorite hobby!! :D!!

Tropes I Enjoy:

Delirium/Half-Conscious/Dazed

Mind Control/Hypnosis/Brainwashing (I guess you could say that I tend to... lose my mind over this stuff!) (No. I'm not getting rid of this pun. You can't make me. Fuck you *runs away*)

Drugged/Spiked

Sick/Fever

Fainting (Get some of that myoclonic jerking in there too and you immediately have my full undivided attention)

Hypoxia (Those hypoxia simulation chambers that are typically used to train pilots. Give. Me.)

Just about anything that involves a Whumpee's mind going blank, numb, and quiet. That is the feral soup.)

Lab Whump (Still a little tricky to write, but we're improving)

Starvation/Restrictive Eating Disorders (I feel that it is important to note that this blog is not centered around this topic, and that I support and encourage recovery from such an ordeal. If you are recovering then first off, I am proud of you, second, please be careful browsing my blog and following me, as I may post triggering content from time to time. I will be sure to tag appropriately, but I still advise that caution be used here. Feel free to block me if need be. Thank you.)

Pushed to the limit, and then some. Doesn't matter who's pushing who.

Tropes I Don't So Much Enjoy:

I don't really have anything in terms of triggers, but there are still some topics that I don't exactly feel comfortable reading and writing.

Sexual Non-Con (I just feel squeamish reading it. Gives the heebie jeebies)

Oddly Specific/Unorthodox Gore (Yanking teeth, scooping eyeballs, pulling out entire finger/toe nails, etc. Anything along those lines also heebies my jeebies)

I tend to stay away from kink in general, especially in sickfic and emeto. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with kink stuff, I have no qualms about it existing. I'll support you guys from the sidelines, and even maybe rb a kink fic if it hits the right notes. But overall, kink just isn't really my thing; it's not really what I come here for, y'know? YKINMKATO 👍 (thumbs up)

Well, now that I've made you read this far, it's time for me to hit you with the juicy juice. I have OCs. I have many OCs. You might've already noticed this, but if you didn't, now you know. I also have a couple different original realms/dimensions too. One is a cluster of floating islands in the void, and the other is a liminal space. No-- not that liminal space -- though the Backrooms is a cannon place here -- but this liminal space doesn't have an uncanny feeling about it at all, sorry to disappoint. It's a liminal space in the fact that it's a space between universes; a nexus, a bridge, a crossroads. Which universes does it connect to? Well... I don't want to spill everything right off the bat here! Guess you'll just have to wait and see for yourself. Anygay, I will be writing with these characters and occasionally use those settings, but be aware that any plot and development will most likely be shown through blurbs and bits, and not a central series. Well, at least for now. There might be a thing or two currently in the works teehee.

Check out my OC Information post for more information regarding the gang! (Currently bare bones scaffolding. You'll probably learn more about them from checking their post tags, which are linked in the info post. I infodump in the tags a lot lmao)

If you have any questions about the characters, the universe, or even for me myself, feel free to send in an ask!! Asking me to infodump is fully welcomed and wanted here, I swear my day will be made. So don't be shy, I don't bite! Kage and Ember probably would though, so be sure to wear your padded gloves around those two.

And I think that's about it! I can't wait to show you all my favorite pathetic lil wet fucks! Hopefully you'll become just as excited about them as I've been! Until then, I'll be seeing you around! Thanks for reading all of this, and I hope you have a lovely day/night/life! Stay safe!!

#whump #whumpblr #whump community #whump tropes #whump blog #whumper

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kotokos-cafe · 3 years

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@urweirduncle You requested this! ;D

Slight Su1c1d3 trigger warning for Junko's part!

~ Mod Kotoko

Celeste, Junko, And Mukuro With An Ultimate Poet S/O

Celeste loves your talent a whole bunch!

She loves that it's such a refined and gothic talent to have.

It reminds her of the famous Victorian poets, like Mary Elizabeth Coleridge and the Brönte Sisters.

Even if you don't right those sorts of poems, that won't stop her from noticing the resemblance.

She won't approach you first to see your poems, but will absolutely listen if you decide to show her.

Celeste appreciates that a lot. She knows it takes a lot to show someone your poetry like that, and she's very grateful to have that sort of trust from you.

"The way you're able to string words together so beautifully and weave them into a work of art all your own is truly magnificent, S/O. It's beautiful, Darling. Thank you for sharing."

She's going to give honest but gentle feedback, not biased on her own preferences. For example, if she notices you overuse a word, she'll point it out and suggest synonyms.

She always makes sure to praise your writing, and refuses to allow you to think insecure thoughts about it. Her wonderful S/O isn't going to be feeling inadequate on her watch!

Celestia will also spoil you with lots of poetry merch! Doki Doki Literature Club! merch, stationary sets, and anything else that makes you happy.

It's best if you don't ask where the money is coming from. She is the Ultimate Gambler, after all. Her luck with gambling outweighs even that of Makoto Naegi's.

Point is, Celeste loves to spoil her partners, and since you're the Ultimate Poet, her best course of action is through writing utensils and supplies that assist you with your talent!

She'll stop if you ask her to, but she'll be kinda disappointed about it!

She says it's like fate that she won you! The gothic, royal-looking princess and her adorable little poet, singing sonatas at her.

She reads Shakespeare, if you can't tell, with Romeo and Juliet being her favorite, since it reminds her of you.

Poor Mukuro basically has no sense of self, so expect her to ask you if she should like it first.

"S/O, I-I know I'm stupid, so how do I feel about this? Do I like it?"

You ended up crying and telling her that she can feel however she wants about your poetry, and that you wouldn't hurt her for not sharing your opinions like Junko did to her.

From that moment on, she tried to be more open about her opinions about your writing, usually very good, but still quite afraid to express constructive criticism.

Poor Mukuro. :(

You wrapped her in your arms and reminded her that she's safe with you and she's allowed to have negative opinions, too.

Mukuro did her best to start giving you constructive criticism, but it's always coupled with an apology for having those feelings or asking you not to hurt her.

It'll take awhile to get her out of that habit, but she will, eventually, and she loves you so much.

She also is one to help you write poems! She'll do those fun games with you.

For example, she gives you a word, and you write a poem based off of it. With enough pushing, she may even join you and write a poem with you!

She absolutely learns to master whatever style you write, whether that be haikus, rhyming couplets, stanzas, or whatever it is you write in your spare time!

She's always the type to ask for tips to improve her writing, stating that she wants to learn from the best of the best, and be like the person she loves.

Mukuro has always been conditioned to believe that she needs to be someone else (Junko), so oftentimes, she'll either try to write like Junko would or write in your style to impress you.

If you tell her that she's perfect as just Mukuro Ikusaba, she will be in tears, mark my words.

But she loves you nonetheless, regardless of your talent, and strives to be like you.

Junko, at first, only liked you because she found you interesting because your poems brought her despair. It doesn't matter if you write about sunshine and unicorns or death and destruction of the world, your poems gave her despair, for whatever reason.

She was curious if you'd be willing to help her and use your poems to brainwash the class a year under hers into her loyal servants of despair.

Of course, you agreed. Your girlfriend had done nothing but loved and supported you, and if all she asked in return was that you use your talent to aid in her goals, you were willing to do so.

Junko tasks you with writing the most despair-inducing poems you possibly can, doing the same thing as Mukuro, and giving you words to base your poems off of. She'd ask that your poems praise despair and diminish hope, promising that she'd convert you to be just like her soon.

You were in love with her, truly, so you agreed. You did want to be with Junko forever, and if a life of despair was what it took for that to happen, you were completely willing. You knew you'd enjoy it soon, anyway.

So you helped her to brainwash Mikan, and Sonia, and Kazuichi, and Teruteru, and Gundham, and Peko, and Fuyuhiko, and everyone else that would soon become the Remnants Of Despair, and even her own sister, Mukuro.

You were in a world of pure despair as Junko manipulated everyone to do her bidding, which you ruled alongside your queen as the Remnants wreaked havoc in the streets.

Eventually, the time came for your reward, as Junko brainwashed you into despair, as well.

You two spread despair with your poetry, with Junko trying her hand at it, as well. That was often a date or some quality time between the two of you.

Except now, your poems all revolved around your genuine love for despair, as well as your love for Junko, which always makes her very happy.

She always insisted you would be happier in despair, and you were! You were grateful to her for converting you, and making the Ultimate Poet fall to despair.

You were her second-in-command, the one behind all her schemes and made them possible, usually with your creativity with words, which made you an excellent speech-maker. You were often the motivational speaker.

But alas, all good things must come to an end, and Junko eventually perished in the line of duty of gifting despair to others.

So what did you do? You followed your beloved queen to the grave, of course.

You would be together forever.

#fluff 🌸#angst 🥀#🎀 Mod Kotoko 🎀#Junko Enoshima #Mukuro Ikusaba #Celestia Ludenberg #tw: suicide implications #tw: death #🍬 order accepted! 🍬#🎂 here you are! 🎂

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shizekarnstein · 5 years

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Zeke is determinated to save his brother from the shackles of Grisha's poisonous influence. If Eren is refusing to go along with their dream the only reason is more than obvious: their wretched father has brainwashed him and only Zeke himself is able to free him of that burden. Only once he manages to undo the damage will the two of them stand together as brothers and put an end, once and for all, to the cursed fate of the eldian people.

Xaver stoods in his mind as Zeke's personal saviour. From his pov he was his real father: a father who listened and played with him, an adult with whom he felt safe and comfortable. The person who finally opened his eyes to the monstruos nature of his birth parents characters, and encouraged him to turned them over to the marlean authorities instead of joining them in utopia.

Zeke has never questioned his mentor's motives or the type of person he was. He only saw one side of him: the loving man who had his best interest in mind. To this day he never pondered over the fact that this very man basically turned him into the executioner of his own parents and how terrible is to put that burden on a child. How cruel and manipulative is to tell a seven years old that his own parents never loved him.

Claiming that Grisha has brainwashed and mistreat Eren as he did with Zeke himself all those years ago, refusing to even consider the possibility that he could have been a better parent to Eren, and not even listening to Eren's thoughts on the matter, he goes ahead and brings their foreheads together. To show his brother the truth.

But forcing your ideals and pov into another person is no different from what both his parents and Xaver did to him. So I have to ask: by using the FT powers to force his own convictions onto Eren, at the end, is he really that different from those he claims to loathe? Who is really trying to brainwash Eren at this point?

The brothers enter Grisha's memories and witness how this man interacted and raised his younger son.

This quest objetive is to reveal the true face of Grisha and all his wrongdoings. But along the way I can't help but wonder if what Zeke was really looking for, on an unconciouss level, was seeing their father again. Zeke was conditionated and encouraged by Xaver to hate and despise his father, but little Zeke loved him more than anything. He tried to put up with all the things he and Dina asked of him. Even when he thought those things were wrong and put him in danger, he did soldier on. What really brought him to a breaking point was not only his parents neglect, but the possiblity of all of them together being shipped off to paradise. For someone who to this day is still craving affection as a starved animal, I have no doubts that even if he convinced himself of hating him, a part of him is still that little boy who adored him. In order to move forward he had to believe his father was a monster.

When confronted with the reality that Grisha really seemed to care for his new wife and son, his bitterness and denial are palpable. He's jelous bc some part of him still wished he could have had something like that. Eren himself is going along this painful trip down memory lane, having to endure witnessing all those dear and simpler days with a deep sense of longing.

But no matter how hard he searchs, nothing seems to match Zeke's expectations. He's desesperatly trying to find the instances when Grisha acted as a selfish man who puts his own ideals ahead of the safety of his family. The months pass and all he can find are wholesome family moments. They get to see how Eren was clearly loved and doted upon, how his father spent countless hours playing with him, taking him on walks, witnessing his very first steps. The tranquil family dinners where no talk of politics or revolution ever graced the table.

Even then Zeke keeps searching for the devious facet that he knows must exit. Grisha infiltrated the walls to locate the FT and restaure the Eldian Empire. His new family is an accessory, just like his previous one.

Eren himself is done with this futile quest. Unlike Zeke, he knows the two sides of the story. He knows his father's faults, even believed for a time the worst of him when Rod Reiss triggered the memories of the chapel massacre. He has come to terms with the fact his father was a flawed man who payed dearly for his dreams and came to repent and love his new family in all the ways he couldn't with his former one. Eren knows all about his guilt, about his sins and regrets. About how much he cherished him and his mother, and how he never forgot about Dina and Zeke.

But what good does it do to argue with someone who's utterly convinced of his own truth? Trying to force his biased version on Eren is nonsense and Eren is very aware of this fact. Of course father is a demon, isn't that what you want to hear? We can move on and euthanize our own people next now that I know your true Zeke. What an evil man! Forcing your vission onto others without giving a damn about their own side of the story or experiences is such a wonderful and foolproof plan. Can't you see how the brainwashing is coming undone thanks to you showing me all these things? It's useless to try to talk with someone who doesn't listen.

But then both Eren and Zeke learned that they didn't even knew all there was to know about Grisha and how far he had evolved from his younger self.

He gave up on his old dream. He learned from his faults. When faced with the choice between his mission and his loved ones, this time he made the right choice. He was able to cast away his old self and previous mistakes and return to his family, finally deciding what was really more precious to him and clinging to this choice.

Humans change and grow. But without taking the time to sit down and listen to other people we are unable to trully grasp who they really are as persons. We allow our own missconceptions and prejudices to blind us to the facts. What Zeke is experiencing now is a total subversion of what he was convinced was an absolute fact. But in order to allow himself to consider this possiblity, he had to witness it with his own eyes. Ignorance itself is a formidable enemy after all. That is the brothers motto, but the only one living by those words was Eren.

All the doubts Zeke still harboured and his last sanity rope was the utter conviction that his father never loved him. Mister Xaver told him so. It has to be true. Even if he changed in regards to his other son, Grisha never cared for Zeke. He was nothing more to him than a tool, a royal blood vessel that would help him to make his dream come true. Grisha found happiness with his new family, merrily forgetting all about his past one and the hell he put them through. Listening to Grisha utter "I'm sorry, Zeke" has began to utterly shatter this view.

While Zeke was blabbing, Eren noted how his father still gazed and kept close his only memento of Dina and Zeke. He never forgot about them. How could he?

Kruger himself said that anyone can become a god or a devil, all it takes is for someone to believe in it. For Zeke and Rod Reiss Grisha Jaeger was a monster who gladly crushed children and anything that stood on his way. Marley and Willy Tybur convinced the whole world that Eren Jaeger is a demon hellbent on destroying everything in his path. We as readers were convinced that the Beast Titan was a devil who utterly lacked even an ounce of human compassion. Xaver appears to Zeke as a wonderful person; we as readers know better than to believe such a thing of someone who installed the idea in a child that his parents hated him and forced him to tarnish his hands with their blood. Just going by the flashes we saw this chapter about Grisha, an uninformed party would conclude that he was a good man with not a single fault to his name. To trully grasp others we need to get rid of our bias and missconceptions and learn to actually listen and see for ourselves what's true and what isn't. That has always been a theme in SnK. Zeke's journey isn't different.

Now both brothers experienced radically differnet sides of Grisha. Just bc he came to regret his previous actions and worked to better himself as a man, spouse and father doesn't mean all is forgiven. Zeke has the right to still resent him and the way he treated him. But he can only make that choice freely once he knows for certain all there is to his father's story. And the journey has only started.

I find intriguing how at the beginning it was Zeke who command the pace of their journey and kept selecting to continue. Now that his convictions have been shaken, and not Eren's, is Eren himself who seems to be in charge of the itinerary.

If inside paths realm the stronger mental will is the one who prevails, then the outcome of this little journey is very much on Eren's favour.

What's Zeke going to do? It's there a way to make him give up on his dream too? Or is he still fully convinced of the true of Xaver words? Memories of the previous shifter have a degree of influence on the current one. If Zeke can say with security that Eren was being controlled by their father, then how deep is the real hold of Xaver in all of this? Is this really only Zeke's dream? Xaver shared this dream with him when he still lived, and the two of them agreed to make it a reality. Even now he remains a dear person and highly respectable in Zeke's mind and heart. At the end I don't think it trully matters if his hold on Zeke is being reinforced by his memories living in him. The only one who can decide what to do is Zeke. Time may be infinite inside paths realm, but even so the clock is still ticking.

This chapter was monumental and has so many things to comment upon. I plan to do another post pondering over something I've been wondering for a long time: can shifters actually sense when someone down the line is witnessing/reviving some of their memories? Going by Frieda and Grisha this chapter, my tentative answer is yes. Hint: Grisha sees Zeke in front of him, but there was someone else behind Grisha who had the same view as him, and that someone would later be the vessel that holds all of Grisha's memories.

#snk #snk spoilers #snk 120 #snk meta #part three i guess #eren jaeger #zeke jaeger #grisha jaeger #snk analysis

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