I think the younger you are the more likely you are to be certain My Immortal was written as a joke, partially because it’s the progenitor of pretty much all modern Bad Fanfiction Tropes, so when you read it now you think “oh they were trying to use as many bad fanfic tropes as possible, it’s clearly a joke” even though those tropes exist to make fun of My Immortal. My Immortal could have been written as a parody of bad fanfiction but it made such an impact on that subculture that it’s entirely possible that it only seems like a satire because it’s the original thing being satired.
My Immortal could’ve been an intentionally bad fanfic but that’s not a given. The uncertainty comes from the fact that My Immortal was written in a pre-My Immortal world, and the only reason it seems like a parody now is because we already know about My Immortal.
The other reason is “nobody talks like this, nobody writes like this, it has to be someone making a joke” but the thing is, I was a moderator on a fanfic site when My Immortal dropped, and yes, they really really did talk like that. There is not a single line in My Immortal that would’ve been out of place in 2006.
is it possible that my immortal started all these tropes?
They posted it late at night and want people to see it in the daytime
They want others to reblog it
They want more attention for it
THEY WANT OTHERS TO REBLOG IT
They have followers in different timezones and want everyone to get a chance to see it
THEY WANT OTHERS TO REBLOG IT
IF THEY REBLOG IT MULTIPLE TIMES, THEY’RE DOING IT BECAUSE THEY WANT ATTENTION FOR IT AND THEY’RE LIKELY NOT GETTING ENOUGH, SO THEY KEEP REBLOGGING IT IN THE HOPES THEY’LL GET SOME
BE A COOL BRO AND REBLOG
THEY’LL LOVE YOU FOREVER
“Bro why you keep reblogging your own work bro” “BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IS”
Germany had so much renewable
energy on May 8, 2016, that it had
to pay citizens to use electricity. It
was so windy and sunny that turbines
and solar power sources were
supercharged, output exceeded
demand, and prices went negative, so
customers were actually paid to
consume energy. Source
Oh god that’s an accounting nightmare.
and yet american politicians still insist that renewable resources is not as good as petrol based.
that last post reminded me i wanted to make a psa about asgore because a lot of people treat him badly and justify it with “he killed kids”
but like… here’s the thing…
he didn’t?
while asgore was the one to come up with the 100% shit plan of taking human souls, his whole character has to do with cowardice, and how is heart is too soft to really go through with something with that, how he’s just desperate to bring his people hope even if it means hurting people he doesn’t want to hurt.
toriel was the brains behind his whole reign as king, and with her gone, he’s forced to lead in areas he never really has before. he’s forced to improvise under pressure, all while recovering from the grief of losing his own children.
but asgore never actually killed anyone. the various armor and weapons you pick up throughout the game belonged to the children that had fallen long before frisk, the souls that asgore ended up taking. but the items you find, that they’ve left behind? all long before you get to him. the very last soul’s equipment and weapon is found at the hotel MTT, which is a whole core away from him. those children were likely killed by undyne, by the royal guard, by sans. by ALL your faves who you love in favour of king fluffybuns.
asgore waits in his castle for the souls to come to him because he doesn’t have it in his heart to seek out and kill. it’s apparent enough from the way he reacts to seeing frisk up close and in the flesh. everything about his face, his words, his actions, speak of a man who has just realized he’s going to have to take an innocent life. he’s been able to dissociate himself from the situation before, reaping only the spoils when his soldiers bring the souls of what was once living to him. he cannot anymore.
so like. give asgore a break maybe.
I feel like I could see this argument, if it wasn’t for a couple of lines here and there that seriously hint (to me, anyway) at the fact that Asgore has killed at least a couple of the children himself.
Firstly, when Papyrus describes what’s going to happen to you after he captures you:
Though this is obviously Papyrus’ first time encountering a human, if he’s following orders directly from Undyne, I think it’s safe to assume he’s following a pre-established protocol. Dangerous humans might’ve been dealt with on-site once they were found, but I think what usually happens is someone in the Royal Guard is meant to simply capture the human and deliver them directly to Asgore.
This idea is also supported by some dialogue from Undyne during your fight with her:
Undyne IS willing to kill the human for Asgore, yes, but her dialogue explicitly states that other humans have fought (and have been defeated by) Asgore himself. Whether they were delivered to him or the humans managed to find their way all the way to him by themselves, Asgore at the very least met a couple of the humans and took their souls personally.
The last thing is a bit of a personal interpretation, nothing very concrete, but I think it’s fair to add anyway. You read Asgore’s reaction to meeting Frisk as,
it’s apparent enough from the way he reacts to seeing frisk up close and in the flesh. everything about his face, his words, his actions, speak of a man who has just realized he’s going to have to take an innocent life. he’s been able to dissociate himself from the situation before, reaping only the spoils when his soldiers bring the souls of what was once living to him. he cannot anymore.
I can kind of see why you might’ve gotten that impression, but personally, I kind of got the complete opposite idea! He’s very surprised, yes, but the way he talks and acts after he gets over his shock at seeing Frisk…
These don’t strike me as the words of a man who is forced to face the consequences of his own shitty decision for the very first time; the words of a man who realizes that he finally has to take the life of an innocent child, and there’s no way around that. It sounds, to me, like he just kind of… knows it’s something that has to be done. Or, he thinks it has to be done this way. I think he’s long since accepted what’s going to happen next.
And I feel like a lot of Asgore’s dialogue here is just as much him trying to comfort himself as he is trying to comfort Frisk.
Yeah Asgore… and who’s really the one in the dentist’s chair?
All of this feels scripted and stale to me. It feels practiced… Streamlined. It feels like Asgore has done this before, and he knows the least painful way to get the job done is to just get right to things - like ripping off a bandaid.
As far as your other, smaller points go:
the various armor and weapons you pick up throughout the game belonged to the children that had fallen long before frisk, the souls that asgore ended up taking. but the items you find, that they’ve left behind? all long before you get to him. the very last soul’s equipment and weapon is found at the hotel MTT, which is a whole core away from him. those children were likely killed by undyne, by the royal guard, by sans. by ALL your faves who you love in favour of king fluffybuns
I think plenty of this is up in the air to interpret, especially the exact details of how/when/where the previous human souls were captured or killed, but I’d like to make the argument that just because you find their items in a certain place doesn’t mean that’s where they died.
Frisk has been running around down here picking up and dropping whatever they so please. Who is to say the other children didn’t pick up or discard certain things on their journey, too? Perhaps on accident, or maybe on purpose… There are plenty of reasons why they might’ve lost or gotten rid of things.
And you gotta remember that there have been years between each child falling down. Who is to say the items didn’t simply get shuffled around in the garbage or by monsters. I mean, you find the ballet shoes and tutu in the same ‘area’, but in very different spots. Catty and Bratty say they found the toy gun in the garbage, which is all the way back in Waterfall. Things get moved and displaced.
Lastly, you suggest Sans might’ve captured or killed one or more of the humans, and I’d have to disagree? If only because Papyrus has never seen a human himself, so I feel like their involvement in all this is a relatively new development. It’s hard to tell exactly, because Sans isn’t transparent with details, but I think it’s fair to say he and Papyrus probably appeared in Snowdin between human appearances (with Frisk being the first since).
I certainly hope this doesn’t come off as bitter or angry or anything! This is all coming from someone who really likes Asgore! Despite everything he has done - all the choices he has made and people he has hurt - I still adore the big guy. But I think… ahh, I hope this doesn’t come off wrong, but I think it’s unfair to overlook or take away an aspect of his character that is so huge.
Asgore made bad choices. He had to take responsibility for those choices. Asgore might be something of a coward, yes, but he is first and foremost a figure of hope, and he is fiercely Determined to be a good king to his subjects and keep their dreams alive. Asgore would never, ever forego responsibility if it meant betraying or ‘using’ any of the monsters under his rule. I can absolutely see your argument, that Asgore reaped the spoils of the Royal Guard’s work for him and never really got his own hands dirty, but I don’t think Asgore would sink so low as that. Not killing someone yourself doesn’t mean you’re not doing an awful thing, nor does having someone else do the deed absolve you of any blame.
Asgore is great, but… He made a mistake. A big mistake. But he is who knows how old… and he understood the consequences of his actions. Though he didn’t like them, he accepted them. He did what he thought was right for his people, all the monsters who love him, and whom he loved just as much if not more.
To truly appreciate a character, you have to take all the good and the bad, and understand how everything helps make them a more interesting, dynamic, and lovable person. Asgore is the King Under the Mountain; Asgore is the King of all monsters; Asgore is Mr. Dad Guy, and he is Mr. Fluffybuns; Asgore is the one who condoned the murder of six human children and probably took their lives himself.
And Asgore is the one who had coffins built for them - custom made and engraved with their names - so he could respectfully put their bodies to rest when it was over.
I am Silver Tongue, I am an artist. I have many characters and you can check out my art in the art tag. I occasionally practice witchcraft though I don't do anything too complicated. I am girl 2 and don't know what else to put here.
