The Muppet Archives

At long last, a nuanced take on S3 Allison. I'm so happy 😭

The growing in popularity theory that Allison's actions in S3 are because she rumored herself to be happy just doesn't sit right with me. I loved her anti-hero arc, adored it actually, but that doesn't mean I also don't find those actions abhorrent. She's made horrible decisions as a person, but as a character, she's as fantastic as she is fascinating.

The idea that Allison went off the rails because she rumored herself is an understandable attempt to reconcile with some of the bad things she's done, and I get that. It sucks when characters you love disappoint you and do something shocking and horrible. But it's a solution that's far too simple and does a complete disservice to her character by cancelling all accountability for her actions and ignoring her depth as a damaged, struggling human being.

Allison has always, always been accustomed to using her power for personal gain. It's how she got what she wanted as a child and later as an adult. Besides rumoring Claire which resulted in her losing custody, she rumored her first husband, Patrick, into loving her, which is no different than what she did to Luther, we just don't see it first hand. To say that her behavior in S3 is only in-character through taking away her own agency by rumoring herself is canonically untrue, and flattens her into something boring and perfect which Allison is anything but.

She's compassionate, she's spiteful. She's gentle, she's cruel. She's understanding, she's selfish. She's put-together, she's a trainwreck. She's a great mom friend, she's the worst enemy you could ever have.

Allison Hargreeves isn't all good or all bad, she's both in varying, shifting shades just like all of the other Hargreeves or any well-written character. She's faceted, incredible, and in a lot of pain. And pain isn't always pretty; often times it's ugly, and occasionally it brings out our very worst.

EXTREME EMERGENCY! Medical fees preventing emergency hysterectomy!!!

Maha @mahafamily1 needs to have an emergency hysterectomy! She recently had a miscarriage, and if she does not have a hysterectomy NOW, she will die!!

The doctor told her EVERY MINUTE OF DELAY DECREASES HER CHANCE OF SURVIVAL!!! Minute-by-minute, we are losing Maha!!!

Because her recent emergency operation had to be paid on credit, and is not yet paid, Maha now needs to pay the full cost of the hysterectomy up-front before the procedure will be done!!! She urgently URGENTLY requires $2000 USD in order to survive!!!

MAHA IS DYING AS I TYPE THIS!!! I am in tears begging you all, do not let medical bureaucracy take such a beautiful soul!!!!

NEED TO RAISE: €1,922 EUR ($2000 USD)!!!

PROGRESS: €0/€1922

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Us To Survive And Evacuate Safely, organized by Ahmed Alhabil

I am physiotherapist Ahmed Khalil Al-Habil from palestine _Gaza I have been… Ahmed Alhabil needs your support for Help Us To Survive A

@90-ghost @nabulsi @sayruq @sar-soor @feluka @neptunerings @wellwaterhysteria @buttercuparry @watermotif @rhubarbspring @butchniqabi @butchfeygele @butchfeygela @dykesbat @dykesymmetry @dykeslexic @dykesbat @dykesbian @lesbianmaxevans @frigidwife @diasdelasombra @cuntylouis @awomanofsorts @brutaliakhoa @beserkerjewel @neechees @kibumkim @feminismwecandoit @gazagfmboost @palhelp @dlxxv-vetted-donations @commissions4aid-international @palipunk-blog @irhabiya @iraqiprincess @self-hating-zionist @antizionisttranslations @antizionistprincess @capacity2 @africant

Is it bad that I laughed when Pouf's wings tore off of his corpse and blew away in the wind? Probably. Do I care? No

Don't skip my story read till the end 😥👇

Cases of Skin Rash are increasing everyday because of bacterial , fungal or viral infections , on the other sides alot of insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and flies, which act as vectors. What we are witnessing in shelter centers and displacement camps from the accumulation of stagnant water and inadequate management of waste and sanitation provides a fertile ground for disease vectors. Every day we see in our Medical point about 50 cases of multi-cause rash. 😥💔

Save our children from this war. Link for donation 👇🔗🍉

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Alaa's and her family evacuate, organized by Alaa Ayad

Alaa Ayad is raising funds to help her family evacuate from Gaza. Currently, Gaza has… Alaa Ayad needs your support for Help Alaa's and h

Verified by Operation Olive Branch line 395 master line

We still very far from the goal. I hope everyone will donate even a little. I am confident that you will stand with me and support me until I reach my goal and remove my family from the danger of war. Share my story. Pin my story to your page. Everything helps.

To all the trans people who see this tonight, no matter what happens, we will survive. Trans people will still be here 4 years from now and 10 years from now and 100 years from now and tomorrow. We have always existed and we always will. The world cannot unlearn about us; we are too public, too loud, too beloved, too present. Ill be here tomorrow. Please stay here with me.

I am Mahmoud's wife. Unfortunately, I wanted to inform you that my husband Mahmoud was injured in the head, which caused a skull fracture that descended onto the nerves of the brain and affected the nerves of speech, hearing, and sight.

Mahmoud's condition is very critical and he must go abroad for treatment. He was injured 3 days ago and underwent surgery to clean his head. The doctors are telling us that he needs to undergo a major operation to remove the shrapnel or fix it to the skull bone so that no nerves in the brain are cut off.

Please donate and share this post widely so that we can get my husband out and receive treatment abroad.

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Mahmoud for a better live, organized by Mahmoud Qassas

Hello, my name is Mahmoud and I am raising money for my family in Gaza who are lo… Mahmoud Qassas needs your support for Help Mahmoud

Our goal was survival, but now survival defines our existence! 🇵🇸🍉

Please don’t rush through this text, read it carefully:

We are living in extremely harsh conditions, where our tent has been severely damaged and no longer provides the necessary protection.

The cost of building a new tent right now is about 1000 euros, and it is an essential shelter for our family, which is suffering from difficult living conditions.

We also face a severe shortage of food, especially basic items like flour, which has now reached 100 euros. Securing daily food would help improve these conditions.

My brother Samer is suffering from the absence of essential medications for stabilizing his health, and their cost is extremely high.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has supported my campaign and contributed to alleviating my family’s suffering during these tough times.

The art you see is by the talented artist @ardentblooms , who offers custom commissions in exchange for donations to support my family. Your support means so much to us and shows that art can be a true way to make a difference.

Campaign Link

My campaign is verified by:

@dlxxv-vetted-donations & @a-shade-of-blue vetted

@gazavetters , my number on the list is (#75)

paliliberation, my number on the list is (#171)

Our important links are here

Your support could be a lifeline for our family in these difficult circumstances. 🙏💜

Lucy in Chapter 118: an Analysis 🫧

Hooo boy

Chapter one-eighteen. Where do I even 𝓫𝓮𝓰𝓲𝓷?

Unlike a lot of folks in this fandom (all more imaginative than I could ever hope to be), I had basically no solid predictions for this chapter (or… any chapter thus far, really, and I've been following the manga religiously since 103, so… yeah, there's a reason I'm a BSD analyst, not theorist, lmao). Needless to say, 118 is heartbreak and bombshells galore: Tanizaki and Kenji’s Ame-no-Gozen-ing, the possibility that all of those “Jun'ichirō and Naomi aren't really siblings” theories were just proven dead right, the protagonist and main villain finally meeting because it's about damn time – so on and so forth.

But because a) the fanbase is already abuzz with talk about those things + no doubt in the process of doing them analytical justice, and b) I'm annoying, I’ve decided to dissect the ever-loving hell out of the chapter’s three most innocuous pages: this interaction between Kyōka Izumi and Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Inhales

MY GIRLS ARE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) 

Does a little jig 🎶

Sorry, had to get that out of my system

No, but seriously. Kyōka has been absent since chapter 91. Three whole years; definitely too long for a character of her importance. Lucy, meanwhile, has been out of the picture since chapter 81. That’s four whole years. So in other words, two significant female characters, sidelined for ages, are back. That’s kind of huge, IMO.

Of course, we have a vague idea of what they’ve been up to. Anne's Room has been shown more than once serving as the ADA’s safe haven and base of operations, and so per the rules of AOAR, Lucy must be nearby if not inside herself. Kyōka we see in silhouette form in Anne's Room in chapter 92. But this is the first time in a hot minute we've seen either of them in the flesh, let alone gotten dialogue out of them. I nearly choked on my cereal when I turned the page and saw their faces, lol.

So then, pray tell, what does this long-awaited appearance in the flesh entail? Well…

Lucy and Kyōka:

Right off the bat, Lucy and Kyōka are seen in Anne’s Room (where they’ve ostensibly been this entire time), standing in front of the Exit Door (i.e., the door opposite the prison, which – unless linked to a surface in the real world – will cause those who leave through it to experience amnesia. Not relevant to the scene, just thought I’d give a quick refresher.) The exit is blocked by rubble; the airport, as well as the surrounding buildings, have all been devastated. How to leave Anne's Room at this point is anyone’s guess.

Kyōka suggests Lucy deactivate her ability, but Lucy shuts her down, pointing out that they'll be flattened by rubble if she does. In response, Kyōka does her signature knife-unsheathing and insists, rather ominously, that they'll just have to take a gamble then. Lucy grabs her wrist and tells her to stop, and when Kyōka asks her why, she replies solemnly: “Because… if you died… it would crush him,” this followed by a picture of Atsushi’s smiling face.

YES. YES. YES.

Now THIS is what I love about Lucy and Kyōka’s dynamic. 

In essence, they're rivals. Thing is, they're not your generic “two girls fighting over the same guy” rivals. Kyōka’s feelings toward Atsushi aren’t even romantically-coded. Their shared love for Atsushi doesn’t divide them; it unites them. After all, following the Guild Aftermath arc, the “rivalry” aspect of their relationship has had almost nothing to do with him, instead revolving around their clashing personalities.

There, they were only at each other’s throats because Kyōka didn’t like how Lucy, still angry about the Moby Dick, was treating Atsushi, and Lucy didn’t like how Kyōka was standing in the way of her talking things through with him. But once a much-needed heart-to-heart was had between Atsushi and Lucy and the latter turned over a new leaf, there was no longer any reason for her and Kyōka to bicker. Kyōka didn’t have the full context of Lucy’s actions, and was thus within her rights to assume she couldn’t be trusted, but Lucy proved that she could be when she led them to the right boat.

Later on, Lucy showcased that she didn't resent Kyōka when she advocated for her, forcing Atsushi to leave her to her thoughts upon learning the truth of her parents' deaths.

The next chapter, Kyōka calls Lucy’s coffee mediocre, but Lucy herself admits that she isn’t much of a barista, and so the comment is more Kyōka not mincing words than actively trying to be rude. Moreover, Lucy is offended at first, but then concedes without any real hostility.

In the Cannibalism arc, Kyōka is shown bowing politely to Lucy while enlisting her help, even if she is just following Atsushi's lead (and later does the same for Mushitarō).

Fast forward to the Sky Casino arc, Kyōka is miffed by Lucy’s hot-and-cold behavior around Atsushi, but that’s not exactly unique to her...

... and besides, they agree without resistance to work together. In chapter 81 (i.e., the last we saw of Lucy until now), the Agency reunites and Lucy encourages Kyōka to join in on the celebration. Perhaps most notable is chapter 78, wherein the two are lumped into the same category by Ango. He recognizes them both as people who would choose Atsushi over the good of the world, and this nearly drives him to kill them on the spot for fear of what their loyalty could turn into.

In this latest chapter, however, it’s underscored that, while Lucy and Kyōka may be the same in their care for Atsushi on the surface, they’re still – at the end of the day – foil characters. 

Both are orphans. Both were taken in – and subsequently exploited – by criminal organizations for their abilities. Both found their place in the story by virtue of meeting Atsushi. Both are undyingly loyal to Atsushi because of what he’s done for them. That’s about where their similarities end.

Kyōka was introduced as a remorseful killer seeking atonement by death. Atsushi managed to save her (twice, for that matter) in the conventional hero way, cementing himself as her savior and playing into the reckless heroism by which he determines his worth.

Lucy, on the other hand, was introduced as a bitter villain who believed she was justified in lashing out. Atsushi tried, but he couldn’t save her in the conventional hero way. Only his vulnerability managed to get through to her, and if anything, Lucy saved him. This utterly subverted the unhealthy philosophy by which Atsushi had begun to define both himself and his relationships.

Since then, Lucy has been trying at every turn to get Atsushi to see himself as more than just a hero. She reprimands him for his reckless heroism when she sees it. She stops him from inserting himself into other people’s plights uninvited. She confronts him when he fails to understand his relationships beyond the framework of hero and savior. Kyōka, meanwhile, has been doing more or less the opposite: she’s passively allowed Atsushi to keep playing the perpetual hero, and this wouldn’t be the first time she’s taken on his credo of self-sacrifice herself.

All of this in mind, the girls’ thought processes in this chapter are perfectly in line for them: Kyōka tries to push forward without care for what could happen to her, whereas Lucy emphasizes self-preservation.

One might perceive Lucy replying the way she does to Kyōka’s question as callous, but I don’t really think so. She isn’t saying “the only reason you shouldn’t risk your life is because it would make Atsushi sad." She’s applying her philosophy of person > hero to Atsushi and Kyōka both at the same time. She's encouraging Kyōka to be more than just a hero by telling her to think of how it would affect Atsushi as a person if she died.

If Lucy is good at anything, it’s communicating what she wants from people in a way that she knows will get through to them. She did this with Atsushi on the Moby Dick when she bluffed about waiting on his salvation, knowing he would be more motivated to stay alive himself if he thought there was someone counting on him to save them. The same applies in this scenario. She communicates with Kyōka in a way that highlights the reason they get along; the reason they’re both here in the first place. And if the way Kyōka re-sheathes her knife without a word is any indication, it works.

Lucy knows that she and Atsushi are close, but she knows that Kyōka and Atsushi are closer. Losing her would be the last straw for him. She recognizes their relationship as something beyond hero and savior – something precious. This is nothing out-of-character for her; on the contrary, it’s in keeping with who she’s been all along. All that’s different now is she’s acknowledging it out loud.

Lucy and Atsushi:

When Lucy pictures Atsushi in her mind’s eye, she sees the spirit that would undoubtedly be broken if he were to lose Kyōka. This in and of itself is heartbreaking, but when you consider the greater implications, well…

In the Sky Casino arc, a huge breakthrough was made in Atsushi and Lucy’s relationship. Her elusive “impossible” debt to him was finally repaid, though not in the way you'd expect.

At the time, all Lucy felt she could give in return for Atsushi’s turning her life around was conventional heroism – or in other words, many a close call and many a trip to Anne’s Room. This conventional heroism was a worthless currency in her mind; it wasn’t the kind that saved her, after all. But on the other hand, the vulnerability she so valued in its stead she wasn’t capable of giving; where she came from, being vulnerable was a death sentence, after all.

Because of this, how she could ever come close to repaying Atsushi’s ultimate favor was a mystery unto itself. All she knew was that she had to do it one way or another, and that’s where her most glaring flaw – her quid-pro-quo mindset – came into play, eventually driving her so far as to override her own philosophy and embody the reckless hero she so discouraged Atsushi from being.

But when Atsushi saved her from Nathaniel – thereby repaying her for her acts of service as he’d promised so many times he would – she realized that, just as her care for Atsushi doesn’t depend on his being a hero, Atsushi's care for her doesn’t depend on her being vulnerable. The illusion was shattered.

From this point forward, Lucy is no longer helping Atsushi out of a sense of indebtedness. She's doing it because she wants to – because she genuinely cares. Not the artificial care that comes with repaying a debt, but the kind she showcases when she stays by Atsushi’s side after he faints, pressing a cold towel to his face. The kind that involves refusing to hurt Atsushi in any way, even to jog potentially vital memories.

Lucy considering what Kyōka’s death would do to Atsushi’s psyche is a perfect continuation of this new leaf she’s turned over, but it also goes to show that her shared arc with Atsushi is far from finished.

Lucy’s development has always been structured rather uniquely. Each arc she’s appeared in has worked either to establish or address her current most glaring flaw, more often than not in unexpected ways. Her appearance in the first half of the Guild arc established her villainous façade as just that – a façade – by having it crumble as she realized the kind of person she was up against in Atsushi. The second half addressed her unhealthy attachment to the Guild by having Atsushi dissuade her from villainy via empathy. The Guild Aftermath arc added the finishing touch to all of this – the last little push needed to propel Lucy into her new role – by addressing her and Atsushi’s “promise” on the Moby Dick. The Cannibalism arc subtly established her quid-pro-quo mindset, which the Sky Casino arc would then go on to address.

Another great subversion of the tropes usually involved in these dynamics is that, despite Lucy being the closest thing to Atsushi’s “love interest,” only he’s managed to bolster her development – not the other way around. This isn’t for lack of trying, of course; Lucy tries. But Atsushi is a tough nut to crack. The fact that she’s still, nearly 15 chapters later, trying to steer Atsushi away from heroism and toward personhood – albeit indirectly – is testament to this.

If she could reach him now, she’d no doubt be trying even still. She’d be conveying to him that none of his friends’ deaths so far has been his fault – that he can’t be expected to carry the burden of hero to all when the world is going to hell in a handbasket. But she can’t reach him. She’s trapped, and so is Kyōka. Thus is the cruel irony.

Anne's Room:

Anne of Abyssal Red has played a key role in pretty much everything plot-related up to this point. To that end, it’s only appropriate that its owner finally appearing alongside it would grant it extra significance.

Lucy’s last line in this chapter is as follows: “So the enemy… even took this into account.” She’s right: Fyodor had countermeasures against her ability. That said, I don’t think this is attributable solely to Fyodor being, well… Fyodor.

AOAR is in the same ballpark narrative-wise as, say, For The Tainted Sorrow in that it’s overpowered to the point of detriment. It’s Lucy’s playground; the product of an imagination run wild due to crippling loneliness. This in and of itself is scary. An ability having rules that malleable is automatically dangerous, as it means that, while its wielder can bend and exploit said rules, so can an enemy. In both major fights Lucy has been a part of, the rules of Anne’s Room being molded to favor her opponent has spelled either victory or loss on her end: Atsushi used the prison room loophole against her, and she indirectly used the transportation loophole against Nathaniel. Hell, her capture by the Guild following her betrayal was thanks to the loophole that, while Anne couldn’t be defeated, she could be restrained.

So basically, for as powerful as AOAR is, underneath that power lies a shaky foundation. Power doesn’t always mean stability, and this is underscored by the fact that, at the end of the day, Anne is only infallible in terms of strength; she could only do so much to alleviate Lucy’s loneliness growing up (which is honestly a pretty clever mirror to her conflict of strength vs. vulnerability with Atsushi).

With Anne’s Room nullified by Fyodor, Lucy has truly nothing at her disposal. She's not physically strong (she’s 165 cm and weighs 44 kg, so… yeah ˙◠˙), and while by no means stupid, she doesn’t say repeatedly in this chapter that she doesn’t know what to do next for no reason. Anne’s Room is all she’s ever had. While at the orphanage, it was her only comfort. While in the Guild, it was her only value. With Atsushi, it was all she had to offer in return for his ultimate favor.

This, I feel, could be the establishing point for the next portion of her arc. She could strive to find a way out of the rubble, working together with Kyōka, and in the process learn to break away from her ability as what defines her role in all of this. One thing's for sure: something has to be done sooner or later – otherwise, they'll starve.

I dunno, maybe that’s wishful thinking given how much is already going on. But either way, I’ll hope against hope that this isn’t some one-off return, because Lucy has proven time and time again that she has a lot to offer to the story, both plot-wise and thematically.

Thanks for reading :)

some warmth for atsushi because he has suffered enough

It's with a heavy but hopeful heart that I watch Palestinian families fundraiser on here, slowly accumulating the precious little money to go around that they need to survive. However, not everyone is so lucky. A lot of Palestinians that have not had that kind of luck, that did not get early verification, that did not get massive platforms behind them from large bloggers, have approached me in my inbox, asking me kindly to do what I can for them. It kills me that I have so little to give myself, but I've seen this platform collectively raise enough to change someone's life. I've made a list of Palestinian fundraisers that are extremely low on funds, in the hope that drawing attention to people who have not been lucky at all can help turn that luck around. I know most of us can't possibly give enough to get all of these families safe in one go. But please, reblog this list. Pick one or two fundraisers, give what you can, and then keep track of it. Slowly, collectively, we can make a difference in these people's lives. Share and donate as much as you can. https://docs.google.com/document/d/178EGDFKkHlh3y4TMVX82kqgITHsqtoMdNccI2f_94Os/edit?usp=sharing