#quicksilverlightning

[5:33 AM]-- included for context

SLAMS MY 80K MILTONIAN THESIS FIC ON THE TABLE

*charlie day voice* can we talk about the inherent tragedy of Volo's character, mike?

I've been dying to talk about the inherent tragedy of volo's character

It enamores and vexes me

Because if we take everything at face value, this is a man --

(who ive actually begun to headcanon as being like 19 or 20?? This is post-highschool god complex behavior)

-- who was so, so sure he could fix things, and so, so burdened by the weight of a dead culture. I've read at least one "take it easy on cogita" take (judgment | forgiveness i think) and entirely agree

In fact, the most charitable read of the source text i can manage is that the celestica left hisui and became a diaspora. The heaviest take likely parallels real-world "this entire culture disappeared" reasons that other people have spoken on better than i can

And volo is still there, in Hisui, the only one who KNOWS about arceus and giratina? certainly among the people we meet in-game

Possibly even Arceus' only?? worshipper? And still, he goes unanswered

So he seeks out the opposite (and this is where my thesis comes from; if giratina=antimatter that in no way implies an evil nature and if there's one thing i know about lines like "it is said it was banished for its violent nature" its that i dont fkin trust em)

He is Answered by giratina, and decides this is how he will make himself heard

And the tragedy, the soul-crushingness of it, is that being heard/seen/understood is a deeply, deeply neurodivergent trait; the finger-wagging, the affected smiles/masking, the "pragmatism" of resetting everything and remaking the rules so they'll make sense, so they'll be fair --

This man, in the only way he knows how, CARES. He wants so deeply for things to be made right, both for himself/his people and for everyone around himself he can't bring himself to blame

And then he just LEAVES

my first fic was predicated on "no actually im arresting you, hogtying you and redeeming you because we're too alike to withstand losing you"

i just--

fuck it, im coming back to tag @fl0werseller and @moody-boobs and @shmothman and @franstastic-ideas

First commission! Highest-order thanks to @quicksilverlightning for inviting me to create this for her fic, Translating Forgotten Tongues.

Find her on Ao3 or tumblr, and read!! that!! fic!!

I was absolutely captivated by her prose (and poetry!!) and had to really narrow down what scene to craft around. Saying that I of course have to share the poetry that was illustrated along the left and right sides, as well as the scene that inspired me:

you are a tangled garden; sharp with nettles, soft with loamy earth; waiting to blossom.

Excerpt from Chapter 3: Whenever Your Ready

"These people, whoever they were, wanted these poems to survive. They put them somewhere safe, somewhere they would weather the passing of time. Why would they do such a thing, if not to ensure the light of day once again shines on their story?"

He lets the question sit in the air. Outside, the rain patters against the rocky cliffs as Akari thinks on his statement.

"Is that what you're doing? You bring back their stories?" Thunder rumbles overhead. Volo surveys her carefully.

"They're my stories too."

————————

Thank you again, Silver!

Commissions are still open, click here for the breakdown!