ilivedx

Latest Posts by ilivedx

Oh my gosh, this is so gorgeous and tragic

Kept seeing this trend and wanted to hop on it so um. Hi lu fandom 👋 first post!

Why does nobody's 'Ghibli-inspired' TTRPG ever look like this?

I’m glad ppl on tiktok are doing ok

ADS THAT SUDDENLY TAKE UP THE WHOLE PAGE

Hey, y'all! I made these today! I release them into the world to support the cause! They're sized for 8.5x11 printer paper. Take 'em. Print 'em. Post 'em EVERYWHERE.

A while back, I did work for the @bloodmoonzine~

like to charge, reblog to cast <3

elon musk did a nazi salute twice at the inauguration, and republicans are defending him.

trump revoked executive order 11246, which prohibited discrimination.

trump put all dei employees on leave to be fired.

trump banned all lgbtq+ flags from being hung in government buildings.

trump rolled back biden’s executive order to lower prescription drug costs for people using medicare and medicaid.

trump rescinded the $35 cap on insulin, and prices are expected to rise to $1500 a month.

trump ordered the national institutes of health to cancel their review panels on cancer research.

trump ended the guidelines to prevent ai misuse. the guidelines prevent many things, but notably it prevents production of ai child pornography.

when sean hannity asked trump about the economy, he said “i don’t care”, after campaigning with the economy as his main talking point.

trump has withdrawn the us from the world health organization.

trump is ordering health agencies to stop reporting on bird flu and halt publications of scientific reports.

trump has pardoned over 1500 people who stormed the capitol on january 6th.

trump changed mount denali back to mount mckinley.

trump signed an executive order to rename the gulf of mexico to gulf of america.

trump shut down cbp one, an app which granted legal entry to 1 million+ immigrants.

trump is allowing ice raids at churches and elementary schools.

trump announced plans to declare a national emergency at the us-mexico border.

trump signed an executive order to expand the use of the death penalty.

trump disbanded the school safety board that works to prevent school shootings. it was comprised of survivors, educators, and gun violence prevention advocates and formed after the school shooting in parkland.

trump withdrew from the paris climate act.

trump revoked all protections for transgender troops in the us military.

trump rescinded executive orders made by biden that benefited and protected women, lgbtq+ people, black americans, hispanic americans, asian americans, native hawaiians, and pacific islanders.

trump is attempting to make it legal to refuse to hire or fire pregnant women.

multiple state legislators are drafting bills to allow the punishment for abortion to be the death penalty.

trump pardoned 23 individuals convicted under the freedom of access to clinic entrances (FACE) act for their anti-abortion activism, including oftentimes violent protests at abortion clinics.

trump signed an executive order allowing deportation of foreign students who they believe express support for hamas or hezbollah.

trump announced that the us government will from here on out only recognize male and female as sexes. intersex is not legally recognized anymore.

trump refused to swear on the bible during his inauguration. (i’ve gotten some comments about this specific point. i didn’t include it because i’m christian, because i’m not. i’m agnostic. i included it because he’s the first president in history to refuse to swear on ANYTHING, bible or not. in the bible it teaches that the only person who cannot touch the bible is the antichrist, yet that on TOP of everything else will never convince his followers that he’s unfit.)

andy ogles drafted a constitutional amendment to allow trump to be president for a third term.

georgia republican congressman mike collins called for the deportation of new jersey born mariann budde, the bishop who urged trump to “have mercy” on the lgbtq+ community and immigrants during a service at the national cathedral.

six states (arizona, idaho, iowa, kansas, mississippi, and north dakota) are planning on challenging obergefell v. hodges, which would end same-sex marriage nationwide. about a dozen more states have representatives who are also considering filing similar resolutions.

amazon revoked protections for lgbtq+ and black employees.

every single republican told us we were overreacting. trump swore he had nothing to do with project 2025 yet continues implementing details outlined in it. not a single person has the right to tell us we’re being dramatic anymore.

hope “cheaper eggs and gas” was worth it.

cuties

I saw a clip on Tiktok but when looking it up on the Google I found no major news organization talking about it. Edit: Someone told me I misconstrued what he ment so I'm just gonna let this sit here and yall can make up yalls own mind 🤷🏾‍♀️

what do you mean elon musk did a nazi salute on live tv at the united states presidential inauguration twice and is now erasing the evidence off the internet by replacing the footage with the crowd cheering instead?

would be a shame if people reblogged this, wouldn’t it?

As we see a barrage of evil executive orders come in, they are not immediately enforceable and will takes months or years to implement.

That’s still not great, but don’t let these pile up to the point of hopelessness. Take a breath, and look community leaders who will fight it every step of the way.

Yeah okay so like I said in the tags of the last post I’m rising from my tumblr grave to say that the ban on TikTok is symptomatic of a MUCH larger and more terrifying problem. Because yes, on its surface it’s silly dances and asmr and cooking videos and whatever, but in truth and at its core, TikTok single-handedly revolutionized the way 170 million Americans communicated with each other AND the rest of the world. Non-Americans love to point out how America-centric Americans are, but fail to realize that we are purposefully raised in an isolated, insulated environment where we are told from basically day 1 that America Is The Best and not to even bother taking a look around because it’s all downhill from outside of here. TikTok has, for MANY Americans, single-handedly destroyed that notion and allowed them (us!!) to broaden our world-view and realize that actually, things are better in other countries, and it did so in a kind, empathetic, and compassionate way.

And yeah most people wake up to the truth of that on their own as they get older, but holy shit!! The VAST majority of the Americans on TikTok are millennials and gen z (and even some older gen alpha)!! People who are becoming disillusioned with “The American Dream” (said with the HEAVIEST sarcasm) while they’re still school-aged or are just entering young-adulthood!! People who are entering - or TRYING to enter - the American workforce who suddenly have an unfiltered window into non-American lives and are wondering why tf we’re struggling and penny-pinching and toeing the line of poverty while our rich elected officials sit around and fight and argue over everything that actually matters to the citizens they supposedly represent and get richer all the while. THAT is why they’re banning the app, and that fact alone should terrify every single American citizen.

Not to mention the precedent it sets for other social media platforms!! You think some nebulous, unproven, and unfounded “threat to national security” will stop with TikTok?? They’ve already censored Adult Material on tumblr, who’s gonna stop them from coming back and doing it again or getting rid of it altogether for the exact same reason? It’s a blatant act of censorship and a direct attack on the American first amendment right to free speech.

NOTHING radicalized me the way tiktok did. I watched people in my life who were STAUNCH Trump supporters in 2016 AND 2020 wake up to the truth and vote blue for the first time in their lives BECAUSE OF TIKTOK, and did so with al the nuanced understanding that even Democrats are severely failing this country, but are at least better than the alternative. That level of awareness and presence in the average US citizen scares American politicians.

The fact that the vast majority of them - including the ones loudly opposing the ban!! - bought stock in Meta BEFORE the ban was legalized/upheld by the Supreme Court?? That Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk were legally allowed to lobby congress to ban TikTok when BOTH stood to DIRECTLY financially gain from their biggest competitor being banned in the US and are guilty of unethically gathering data and selling it to MULTIPLE third parties?? The fact that Trump is now teasing that he may or may not intervene to save TikTok when he was the one who talked about banning it in the first place AND ALSO OWNS HIS OWN COMPETING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM??

It’s the burning of Alexandria. It’s the loss of a significant chunk of culture. It’s the sharp and sudden loss of contact with the rest of the world for more than half of all American citizens. It’s the loss of $240 BILLION dollars in the GDP when the country is already TRILLIONS of dollars in debt. And on an individualistic level, it’s the loss of millions of small businesses and primary income streams for so many individuals and families who found their primary audience on TikTok. Is the app perfect? HELL no. Are there significant changes needed to make it a safe environment for all users? ABSOLUTELY. But that can also be said of ANY social media platform. TikTok openly fostered connection and communication and creativity and compassion that is completely unique to that platform! It made so many people - myself included!! - feel less alone. I get the feeling I know what the general consensus is about TikTok on this site, but the ban on this app should scare the shit out of everyone.

Trump is calling for TikTok to be 50% US government owned

#tiktok #DonaldTrump

Telecaster B-boy

wind waker

Original: BV1yUSEYdEc9（bilibili）

bgm: Eu Sento Gabu

（I tried to translate all the sentences in the video, but I found that I had no idea how to translate certain proper nouns. So I gave up.）

It is said that LU is doomed to be a wild history from the beginning of its setting.

But as we all know, because the gameplay is more important than the story, the official has not paid much attention to the timeline. In short, the authorities have also done, and the authorities are also historians. (?)

Where can find someone who loves not only Arknights but also LU.(´╥ω╥ ')

Ok ok so Time and Winds relationship

If you look at their progression of interactions through the comic, their relationship has a very distinct storyline/character arc and it's really really cool ok

So starting at the beginning (their first and early interactions).

Time likes Wind (I mean who doesn't) they have the hero connection, and there's a lot for Time to see himself in him.

Time doesn't underestimate Wind like some of the others, he knows perfectly well what's it's like to be a young hero (way too young like geez) and still be perfectly capable.

And then everyone splits up. They enter their new timeline/era thing through the portal and they separate into groups to try and find information, and Time and Wind go together. (why is that? Maybe Wind went with who he knew wouldn't underestimate him, and maybe Time wanted to get to know him a little more. Many possibilities.)

With the group split they end up fighting a bunch of monsters (of course). And the scene after the battle is just... Time takes Wind’s sword and compliments it, the art is so soft, it's just... it's the start of them have a really caring connection

ALSO- TIME QUOTING SHADE TO WIND TIME QUOTING SHADE TO WIND

Look of a hero, discipline with the blade... those were phrases used in twilight princess by Hero's Shade (Time's skeleton ghost thingy?) when he’s teaching Twilight how to fight and become the hero he needs to be. And the fact that Time is quoting that to be Wind's mentor and guide him as a young hero is so cool. (So. Cool.)

And at the end, after the battle, Wind asks him that question, “I was wondering... about your original journey” And Time actually answers Wind's question. He tells him about his journey, and this starts a whole new chapter in their relationship. Because guess who went into detective mode? Wind.

He starts theorizing, and actually tries to get a chance to bring it up at first (“speaking of history-”), but eventually finds (makes) a moment to explain his findings.

And Time's skeptical, of course he is.

There's a few reasons why, but here's the main one: Twilight. In this scene where Wind is explaining why he believes he is the hero after Time, his descendant, Twilight, makes two appearances.

But Twilight is not part of the conversation. He's sitting a distance away, and we have no indication that he even knows they’re talking. Yet Time still looks over to him, because Twilight is his descendant. He KNOWS Twilight is his successor, but in this conversation they puzzle out a bit more of the timeline split.

And Time realizes... he has two hero's that came after him. Twilight in the main path, the one that Time previously believed was the only timeline, but there's actually more...

And at the end of that section, Time’s a little overwhelmed (who wouldn't be when you're figuring out you broke the flow of time...)

But, this is the start of Time and Wind’s relationship with Time knowing Wind's one of his successors

Yet even though he's overwhelmed, he touches Wind and acknowledges the facts he's puzzled out (and it's so so sweet)

Buuuuuut this starts a whole new chapter in their relationship. For the section where they’re puzzling out the timeline, and the next, look at their faces. You can see it in those conversations, they're uncertain. Time is trying to reshape his understanding of the world (he’s shaken and looks pretty tired, probably because he found out he left a whole timeline without a hero whoopsies)- but he also cares about Wind and wants to be there for him as well. And Wind looks very nervous around Time. He's excited that he knows he's the hero he heard about before him, but he's nervous about getting closer to him like he wants to.

Then Time goes into detective mode.

And there’s one thing Time really starts wondering: how the hell did Wind’s hyrule get flooded? It was not, in fact, a giant ocean when he left that timeline. So he asks, and Wind answers, but they don’t really start timeline talk with the rest of the group yet.

And I would like to point out that apparently Time and Wind have like. Half the brain cells of the entire group. Because we see literally no one else (at this point) has had whole sections where they’re puzzling out the timeline, but these two are over here obsessing over it lol.

After they have those talks about timelines and kingdoms, they don’t have all the answers yet, but what they have established is this: in Wind’s timeline, he is Time’s successor, and they both want to be close because of that.

And then Time just like!! Adopts Wind :)

With all this build up and conversations, we now see Time and Wind spending so much more time together.

In the group they start ending up walking near each other more often, and they start fighting closer together in battles a bit more

But it’s not one sided- we see Time keeping an eye on and watching out for Wind during battle, as well as Wind defending Time when a skeleton was like. Falling on them. And they’re just working and fighting for each other and it’s awesome.

And it’s cool because through the storyline we see the progression: Time’s the hero dad for everybody, but then he and Wind fight together, and start talking about their journeys to each other, then puzzling out the timeline, then acknowledging that Wind is a successor to Time, and asking questions, and then we see them get so much closer throughout the storyline.

(And Time is still so close to Twilight obviously, he’s his descendant and they have such a special bond but then he’s also developed this unique relationship with Wind too and it’s great)

And so it’s just evolved into a really sweet relationship because Wind looks up to Time, and Time is kind of his mentor, but at the same time he respects Wind’s strength.

And the fact that in the first place Time was willing to tell Wind about his journey simply because he asked, leading to all these discussions and getting closer… well. They care for each other, and it shows.

:)

zelda gives ganon diabetes but in the jojo's bizarre adventure style

Description and a bit more info under the cut. 

A series of green, blue, and red graphics using a nice sans serif font and a Zelda display serif font with white and gold as accents. 

First picture. 2024 Linked Universe Fandom AO3 Wrapped, presented by Mina, @zarvasace. (That's me!) 

As a fandom, we wrote 2,273 fics in 2024

That's over 6 a day every day this year! 

In smaller text below: Counting only fics tagged with “Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda)” on AO3. Counting all fics last updated from Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024. Data pulled by hand on Jan 1, 2024 at ~2:00 AM GMT-7. 

Next picture. Our favorite tags this year were:

1, Hurt/Comfort with 432 tags

2, Fluff with 352 tags

3, Angst with 335 tags 

4, Not Beta Read with 260 tags. Here there is also a brief exchange in two handwriting styles. One arrow points to this tag with the remark, “perfectionists, much?” Another cursive hand replies “Be nice.” to which the first says, “no”

5, Legend-centric with 251 tags

At the bottom of this image is a piece of parchment. The scratchier handwriting says, “Ha, I'm the favorite. Take that.” and the curlier handwriting replies “Not so fast, Ledge… we aren't done yet.”

Next picture. Favorite tags continued:

6, Blood and Injury with 230 tags

7, Wild-centric with 204 tags 

8, Whump with 215 tags 

9, Emotional Hurt/Comfort with 181 tags

10, Good Older Sibling Warriors with 163 tags. Legend's handwriting says “Din give me strength—” to that. 

Section break, and a bit more: An average of 7.46% fics every month were tagged Whump. Except October, which saw a spike to 29.5%.

Next picture. Our favorite Links. This info is presented in a table, with names on the left and number of tags on the right, organized from most to least. 

Warriors, 1408 (his handwriting says: HA!! I won something!)

Legend, 1398 (his handwriting says: BY TEN.)

Twilight, 1371

Time, 1323

Wild, 1217

Hyrule, 1151

Wind, 1143

Sky, 1137

Four, 1027

At the bottom is another piece of parchment. Legend says: “JUST TEN.” Warriors says: “Jealous?” Legend replies: “I don't know if being the favorite is a good thing.”

Next picture. Our favorite secondary characters were Malon (176 tags) and Racio (160 tags)

Section break. and the most popular pairings were Malon/Time (161 tags), Legend/Racio (89 tags*), Sky/Sun (66 tags).

At the bottom is the asterisk footnote: it's no secret that our fandom tags are a little wonky sometimes. This number adds together the works tagged “Legend (Linked Universe)/Ravio” and “Link/Ravio” where the work was also tagged “Linked Universe,” assuming that people would only tag one. 

Next picture. 2024’s longest fic was: This is an Adjuration by @not-freyja (linked below). 

Editor’s note: linked here!

With a total of 312,547 words. That's almost 971 a day! 

Began July 14, 2023, Finished May 30, 2024. 

Screenshot of the tag summary from AO3, showing a Mature rating, Gen, an archive warning, and complete. 

Significant tags: Time Travel, the Chain as Family, Time Loop, Multiversal Time Travel, Temporal War Crimes, Chain Meets Chain, Chronically Ill Sky, Four Splits Into the Colors, Fairy Hyrule, Hyrule Has a Blood Curse. 

At the bottom, Legend’s writing says: “That sounds like a lot of time travel…”

Next four pictures are a set titled Fandom Trends by month. Each month has, in order, a Popular Link, Popular Duos, Popular Genre, and Unique Tags, along with occasional handwritten commentary. 

January: Twilight. Twilight & Wild. Hurt/Comfort. Crack, Soft Legend. Commentary: Warriors says “aww.” and Legend responds “I'm going to poison your milk.” 

February: Warriors. Twilight & Wild, Twilight & Warriors, Legend & Warriors. Angst. Febuwhump 2024. 

March: Twilight. Twilight & Wild, Time & Twilight. Fluff. One Shot, Linked Universe Discord Server’s 5th Birthday Gift Exchange.

April: Legend. Twilight & Wild, Twilight and Warriors. (Commentary from Legend: “wow Twi”) Fluff. Humor, Canon-Typical Violence.

May: Twilight, Warriors. Hyrule & Legend, Twilight & Wild. (Commentary from Legend, circling Hyrule’s name: “Finally some good taste.”) Fluff. Other Additional Tags to be Added. 

June: Twilight. Twilight & Wild, Time & Warriors. Hurt/Comfort. June of Doom 2024, Sky-centric, Twilight-centric. (Commentary from Warriors: “Wait, doom?! Oh, there's Sky”)

Editor's note: congratulations to @somer-writes who singlehandedly got June of Doom in the top 10 tags of June. :)

July: Warriors. Hyrule & Legend, Time & Twilight. Hurt/Comfort. Twilight-centric. (Commentary from Legend: “leave some for the rest of us”)

August: Legend. Hyrule & Legend, Legend & Warriors, Time & Twilight. Hurt/Comfort. Crack, Fluff and Angst. (Commentary from Warriors: “I'm concerned.”)

September: Legend. Time & Twilight, Twilight & Wild. Hurt/Comfort. Sicktember 2024, Legend Has a Bad Time. (Commentary from Legend: “Excuse me?!” Warriors says: “I suppose your immune system is awful now.” Legend responds with: “ha ha.”)

October: Warriors. Time & Twilight, Time & Warriors. Hurt/Comfort. Whumptober 2024, Warriors Has a Bad Time. (Commentary from Warriors: “oh no…” To which Legend responds: “HAHAHAHAH”) 

November: Warriors. Time & Warriors, Hyrule & Legend. Fluff. Crack, Good Older Sibling Warriors.

December: Legend. Hyrule & Legend, Twilight & Wild, Warriors & Wind. Hurt/Comfort. Families of Choice. 

Parchment at the bottom has Warriors saying, “That's a nice note to end on.” Legend responds, “Not so bad I guess.” 

Thanks for coming along with me on this fun stats journey! It's been a privilege to add to this fandom. 

I thought about adding a section for ratings or prevalence of Gen fics, but I think you can guess that we’re a Gen- and Teen-heavy fandom. You can see my raw data and some more charts over on the Google sheet right at this link. Ha, link. :) 

That was long. Keeping this short. Not sure about this one. Thank you to @/runecatwrites for this [Click] analysis post as it was pretty helpful for the Wild and Wars dialogue (though I think the analysis is better).

The man turned and offered a small smile, like Shishou never did. 

Read here!

Happy birthday, Chrissy. And a biiig thank you to you and @kikaiz for makin this crazy story. i’m love it very much.

My views on Gon's rage scene!! 🤓🫶

Let's get this out of the way first— is Gon a selfish monster?

Let me show some nuance in his rage scene and tunnel vision onto Pitou, how he hurt Killua, and his threats on an innocent girl.

Even while filled with rage to the point of almost losing himself and dealing a killing blow to Morel at that phase of his life, he was still worried about Palm's safety and one of the first to realize the inherent danger Knuckle and Meleoron were in on that staircase and the possibility of Youpi not having an oppenent.

He still had the wit and the care for his comrades.

And when Knuckle came on screen while Gon was actively seething in front of Pitou, he still made an effort to let Knuckle know that Pouf was a liar.

So we saw two little scenes where Gon showed that despite his rage and goal, he still put time aside to help his comrades. In the middle of all the anger, all the guilt, and the bloodthirst— he didn't forget his bros.

We already know he did wrong things. Threatening Komugi was very shocking, but as I've mentioned in my Gon character study— it was a moment of anger, confused morals and desperation to keep the monster in control.

With that out the way, let's get to the main course... How he hurt Killua.

Killua wants to be relied on, no matter the cost. He wants this to be like the volleyball match where Gon could only rely on him regardless of how much pain it could cause Killua— he wants them to go down in flames together, a "lover's suicide" as the original Japanese text says.

He wants to be proven to once more that Gon needs him and no one else, that he can't go alone. Killua needs to feel important that way, he needs to feel worthwhile, that he can do something for his best friend to help him the way no one else can.

Gon going off on his own like that broke that source of comfort and self worth Killua had created in Gon needing him.

And if anything, I think it was very important for Killua's character.

It was incredibly important for Killua to be pushed away at that moment, to not be allowed to sacrifice himself, and in turn get the time to rethink what he needs and wants to do with his life and his views on friendship.

And having to clean up an impossible mess after him put into perspective just how important Killua is, and that's why he was so adament on being the one to save Gon.

It's honestly such an interesting scene— It's not like Killua suddenly did a 180, but something this severe and seeing Gon's immature side and flaws on display more had a huge hand in his character development.

That's Killua's side, what about Gon's? We know both of them love each other dearly, and while Killua wished to go down with him, Gon wanted to be the one to carry that burden. Alone.

"I killed him."

Even though Killua was there too, and blamed himself as well. Gon didn't consider him responsible at all despite him running away as well, and Killua saying so.

And Gon comforts Killua, and himself.

As much as Killua sees Gon as the light, Gon sees him as the voice of reason. His awesome, smart friend who does no wrong— both have each other on a pedestal.

Though blinded by confusion and rage during the fight, he undervalued Killua's judgment, but still listened enough to wait for Pitou to finish healing Komugi.

And I also believe Gon was saving up his rage for that moment.

It was his battle, because it's his fault. Killua has no business because not only did Kite not hold as much importance to him, but because he had no fault in the matter— Killua didn't need to sacrifice himself again.

So, while Killua was willing to die alongside his friend and carry the burden together, Gon wanted to be the only one sacrificing himself and carrying that burden. He said so in the Yorknew city arc, and he proved it in the CAA.

He loves Killua, and it even shows in his harsher and cruel words.

I hope this made sense 🙏

Destroy the myth that libraries are no longer relevant. If you use your library, please reblog.

There seems to be a consensus that Gon wasted his life/potential for meaningless revenge, but was it? I keep wondering if CA was HxH equivalent of the Kobayshi Maru (Aka the Trolley Problem). Pitou was, of all the RG, probably the most capable in terms of balanced nen users. What would’ve happened if Gon had listened to reason? And let adults handle it? Or let Killua accompany him? Not used a nen contract? How many additional casualties would there have been? Was it really meaningless sacrifice?

Hi anon! Thanks for the ask! I don't know if you're the same anon from before, but this is another great question!

I think Gon's choices in the CA arc are tragic, which is different from saying they are meaningless.

*It's a tragedy that a thirteen-year-old kid felt so guilty for "causing" an adult mentor's death that he could come to the conclusion "I'm OK if it all ends after this" (the wording on his nen contract) because he wanted revenge on Pitou / to punish himself so badly.

*It's a tragedy that his best friend (Killua) could sense that he would probably do something gonzo and, in the worst case scenario, it would be a "double suicide" (indicating he did know Gon might throw his life away) AND YET even knowing this, he didn't feel it was his place to step in and stop it.

*It's a tragedy that Netero, Morel and Knov all knew that Gon was revenge-crazed and emotional, but they were so desperate for manpower (in the moment) that they didn't look too hard at his motives, or try too hard to stop him from coming along

*And it's a tragedy that Gon (and Killua) had the most potential for nen of anyone Wing had ever taught, but Gon used all of that potential up at once - although as Ging says, he should have died, so he should actually be happy about the outcome.

So I think when people say "meaningless" what they're really talking about is that sense of tragedy - both the tragedy that Gon almost lost his life, and the tragedy that he was willing to go that far in the first place. It's more the sense of how much was lost than that it was lost for no reason, probably along with the fact that Kite like... was alive... the whole time....

But meaningless is something different, because just as you said, what Gon did really was necessary to stop the ants. You know? The way the story is written, the RG and Meruem are so powerful that it's kind of implied that stopping them will need a miracle - all the pieces need to fall into place just so. What Gon did is a part of the puzzle so, therefore, what Gon did was necessary, and without him there they wouldn't have succeeded.

(Or maybe they would have, but that would have needed another, different kind of miracle - or maybe for Netero to be less selfish and set off that bomb sooner!)

There are two kinds of tragedy, by the way: in classic tragedy, like for instance in Greek tragedies, the tragedy is that the outcome couldn't have been any different from what it was. Because of Gon's reckless nature, because of how the story has been progressing so far where he's done increasingly more reckless things and never had to really deal with the consequences, therefore this final reckless decision was inevitable and that's tragic.

Or, in the more modern version of a tragedy, the tragedy is that things could have gone differently. Gon didn't have to give up his life to stop Pitou, he could have been stopped much earlier. And I've written about this before, but the point where this could have happened wasn't once the palace invasion team was already in East Gorteau, split up to sneak in.

Instead it would have been about a month earlier, when Gon and Killua first escape from Pitou.... Because on the one hand, Netero, Morel and Knov decided that Gon and Killua were old enough for the mission; and on the other hand, they didn't take Killua's account of the RG's power level seriously enough to call in more serious backup, when they still had the chance.

So I think the tragedy, the "meaninglessness," really happens there.

But, on the other hand - I mean, who really would have had the power to stop Pitou anyway? Gon after the nen contract is as powerful as any Hunter in the association. Who can even say if, after calling in the supposed "serious" backup, things would have gone any differently?

Actually it's even darker if you think about it - Knov and Morel essentially agree to let Gon and Killua come along because they underestimate the enemy, the same reason Kite let them come along.

But Netero knows Killua a lot better, and I don't think he disbelieves Killua at all. I think he knows the other reason the invasion team is small - to keep extra people from being caught in the blast if he has to use the rose bomb, in case the plan to use Zeno's power to separate the king and the RGs doesn't come off correctly.

I think he's swayed by Gon's determination - and Killua's, by extension - and he takes the Hunter approach of letting Hunters decide for themselves what they're Hunting, without stepping in to coddle or regulate. (HxH is a bit libertarian like that, in its outlook). And he does that knowing full well they could be blasted to smithereens. That's why in election arc, there's so much talk about reforming the Hunter Association to be less in Netero's (crazy) image.

But anyway, getting back to your question... no, I don't think what Gon did was meaningless at all. "Revenge has meaning, but you won't feel better after you get it" is a slightly different meaning from "revenge is meaningless" and "revenge is meaningless" is a cliche anyway, which isn't really how the writing in HxH works.

I wonder... does this blog have enough reach in the fandom that we could try and finally put a stop to people tagging unrelated AUs as LU.

The correct term to use is "Links meet AU" and the reason the mistagging hurts is because:

A) It dismisses the creativity of the work. Its a lot like saying someone's original character looks like a fictional character you know. It may be a small unintended insult but it can be demoralising and make them not wish to share their art anymore.

B) It connects all AUs of this type to Jojo, the creator of LU. That comic was not the first links meet au by a long shot. YES her work inspired many of us to start our own imagines of the same base concept, but that does not make them Linked Universe. It's like claiming someone inspired by spider-man deciding to explore the superhero genre is just making more spider-man.

Yes this may be a small issue, but I've been working on this webcomic since 2020 and still get those demoralising tags. I've been silently baring it long enough. Even worse is seeing how it hurts fellow creators in the fandom.

I don't like asking this but... Please spread this post and if you'd like: add your own experiences below. Maybe we can change things around here.

🤣🤣🤣 oh my God! That was hilarious

Reblog if you've ever cried over the death of a fictional character