#most of his crimes/exploits are just to prove that he can or because he needs to get to the bottom of a mystery

[captainkirkk]

I'm deep in House MD hyperfixation and mentally spinning through AU ideas

Concept: Supervillain/ anti hero House whose wanted by most intelligence agencies in the world but is also besties with famous and beloved superhero Wilson

[liketwoswansinbalance]

In the modern publishing landscape, these days, I think like we do not have many (if any) point-of-view characters with low social motivation for whatever reason.

Sure, there are lots of characters with social anxiety or other perceived or legitimate foibles to overcome, there are many YA villain origin stories, and there are many unpalatable, traditionally "unlikable" men in classics, but disregarding those, who else do we have?

Can the state of openly being alone (and content) rarely be presented as morally-neutral or as the end result of a narrative? Must it always be that either being alone is the starting point, so there's room for "personal growth," or that being alone is seen as "undesirable" and/or an indication that the person alone has a "problem" or something otherwise wrong with them, like a deficit or moral failing that in some kind of karmic way gives them "what they deserve," which is being alone and discontent with it?

Characters with society anxiety, any differences in communication, or other reasons that interfere with forging connections "don't count" because they may still be motivated. Traits such as these only stand in the way of gaining relationships, as plot obstacles. They aren't intrinsically tied to indifference or to low motivation. So, these characters clearly are not experiencing a lack of interest. And they are not the ones rejecting others. Thus, they "don't count" as far as the archetype that I'm looking for goes.

Characters who undergo villain arcs or otherwise negative arcs may want to maintain their relationships or gain them, so some examples are immediately disqualified (hence not having low social motivation), even if they are the type of character most likely to alienate themselves by a story's end, conflicting with what they wanted.

(Unfortunately, Coriolanus Snow, who is quite close to the type of protagonist I'm searching for "doesn't count" because he has some drive to keep people in his life.

Rafal Mistral partially "counts," and is satisfying as a character, but also doesn't count because he temporarily makes "friends" or allies, depending on how you look at his exploits. Yet, despite all this, not having friends isn't exactly framed as a morally-neutral state either, so he is also disqualified by the end. Basically, he does have low social motivation, but his narrative lacks the conditions that would make the natural consequences of that low motivation play out for themselves. He is always surrounded by people, even if he hates every last one of them.

And, generally speaking, the usual, moody-broody, "misunderstood" YA love-interests very easily "don't count" because they have a desire to get closer to their object of affection.

Even Katniss Everdeen, an overall good person, who usually views herself as "unlikable," befriends others, originally for pragmatic, survival purposes. However, she does start with low social motivation, so that's something in her favor.

And yes, I'm aware that we need other people in this world—I would just like to see someone prove that supposed truth wrong once. And perhaps succeed in their world, if that's not too much to ask for.)

Also, are there any instances of characters who progressively alienate themselves from others, in which that progression is not inherently seen as negative? Like, what about non-corrupt misanthropes? Are there few of those in literature? (Maybe—Eleanor Oliphant from literary fiction counts, but something about that book did not appeal me and I didn't finish it.)

Classics guys sort of "count," but I haven't really seen examples of any comparable protagonists today since many authors and readers write and look for "relatability" in blank slate everyman figures oftentimes.

(I'm not done with Crime and Punishment yet, but Raskolnikov is very tentatively looking like a safe bet for a character who may end up alone and who may not be completely malcontent over such a fate, even if I'm expecting tragedy. I'm that not far along, but I also wouldn't mind it too greatly if he died, I suppose.

And even Sherlock Holmes has Watson as his constant, even if he's notoriously asocial! So he "doesn't count" either.

Carol from Main Street also comes close, but still ultimately desires approval from others.

Maybe no one is truly immune to humanity and I should give up on this notion?)

How many pov characters out there are 1) apathetic toward the masses and 2a) either alienate themselves as the plot progresses or 2b) do not make any friends? (I will allow them making friends and consequently losing them though because that still ends in net zero!)

Indeed, this "gap" in protagonists I've been running into lately, especially with coming-of-age arcs and protagonists whose arc is some form of "getting out of their shell," is: why do we (almost?) never see protagonists who just flat-out don't progress in terms of connecting with fellow humans?

Wouldn't having even a handful of those types be reflective of reality? (We as a society are more disconnected than ever, to be fair, despite constantly having access to one another via technology.)

Or I would completely understand it, if it were narratively impractical to have a plot in which a protagonist makes zero friends. Maybe, it's a near-unwritable form for a story?

So, my question is: does anyone have book recommendations, which present a character whose end goal is not to make friends or forge connections (any other ambitions or motivations are fine) and whose state of being friendless both lasts and is regarded as morally-neutral or as not outright evil? Any genre is fine. High fantasy is preferable. I am stumped.

(I also wouldn't mind recommendations of books in which the protagonist is vilified due to being alone, even if that is not my primary query here.)

[my-pjo-stuff]

i think the reason why people who are against authority also hate Luke is because Luke wasn't anti authority, he was anti olympian/ god.

Seen through his method of trying to dissemble the authoritative power of the gods by overthrowing them with another form of authoritative power. Kronos was no better than the gods - not in myth or pjo - and by trying to take down one government by reinforcing another, similar (if not the same), he is therefore not proving to be anti authority instead just anti god.

Not a great comparison but similarly to when the Russian revolution had overthrown the Tsar due to autocratic rule however then implemented their own autocratic rule in the form of the soviets. This is not solving any issues but rather reinforcing the same structure through a different leadership, there is very little to no chance Kronos would have provided better conditions for the demigods.

that's just my two cents as to why people may be anti authority and anti Luke, (personally i love the titan army) he is simply trading one authority for another which may benefit him (although he was manipulated to believe so). It's his actions that speak the loudest.

Personally I think while this may be the case in a meta light, we have to remember that Luke did not know all this. The Olympians were not just autocratic, they were downright tyrannical. The conditions were at the very bottom for demigods. If you remember up until Rick's retcon for HOO Luke was considered very old by demigodstandarts at the age of 19. They had practically no human rights at all. Luke allied with Kronos because it literally was his only fighting chance for his revolution, aswell as having gotten the promise to get a Golden Age for demigods. As it stands the "authoritarian government" thing was just something that would be there either way, the difference in the two options (to Luke) being "government that actively harms us" VS "government that doesn't". This is absolutely no attack on you or anyone else, but I think we need to remember to see these things from the POVs of the character. We as the audience can always easily say he should have done X or shouldn't have trusted Y based on the info we get- but we need to remember that most characters simply don't have that perspective. Ontop of that Kronos wasn't that much worse than the gods either by comparison. I mean...his main "crime" he's known for is being a tyrant and eating his kids. Zeus has canonically been at least compared to a tyrant one time. He ate Athena's mother in the myth to avoid a prophecy- that's how we got Athena coming from his skull. All things considered the gods and Kronos are round about on the same level on awful. Since you drew the comparison to Russia- the people who revolted against the Tsar did so not with the intent to instate another dictator. They did so because they were being exploited and starved by an upper class. The following tyranny was just something that developed after it in spite of the original idea and goals of the revolution. Luke was anti-establishment IMO who was forced to compromise his original values to some degree to even have a fighting chance.

Basically what I want to say is that while yes, everything you said is true- it's a lot more nuanced and complicated than that. And while it may take some time and thought to get into it- if people want to discuss on the topic they either have to put the work in or just stay out of it.

[la-bruja]

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Fanfiction Reccomendations

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hi im a little insane and i read way too many fics 💖

here are some fics I've enjoyed this week! so far it's mostly batman, danny phantom, and crossovers between those two! haha I need some variety I swear.

everything under the read more because I have fifteen (15) listed! <3 okay thanks for checking out my recs!!

(if the formatting is a little ugly, it's because i did this on the app on my phone <3)

(tumblr (app) is a peice of shit and deleted some of the fics i had on here. aaaaaaaaa) (i will try again next week)

»»———-DPxDC-———-««

Wait, I'm a What? by @atiyasnake

based on a tumblr post

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 31k+ Words. Last Updated June. 5k+ Kudos. Misunderstandings. Ghost King Danny. Accidental Crime Lord Danny. Cryptid Danny. Sentient Gotham.

He kept taking the cash from the assholes (and damn there were a lot of assholes near where he lived) messing with the residents who lived in the area. He kept accepting their offers of food. So because of this new routine that kept him able to afford to rent out his shitty (and possibly illegal) apartment and the hunger pangs sufficiently satisfied, rumors grew.

Like and Survive - Phantom’s Guide to Young Hero Survival by @robinasnyder

based on a tumblr post

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 73k+ Words. Last Updated July. 3k+ Kudos. Youtuber Danny. Ghost King Danny. Adult Danny. Good Parent Clark Kent. Therapist Jasmine Fenton.

Phantom is considered an old timer who deals with a small city and nowhere else. When he begins uploading videos with advice for young heroes, he hopes a few new heroes might avoid some of the pain he went through. He's shocked at just how popular his advice suddenly becomes.

Bus To Nowhere by @precarious-hermit

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 98k+ Words. Last Updated July. 20k+ Kudos. Ghost King Danny. Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton.

After being on the run from his parents and the government for a couple of months, moving from town to town, Danny ends up in Gotham City and decides to risk staying in Batman's territory. He'd take the wrath of Batman over live vivisection via beloved parents or being studied and torn apart by the government. Besides, he's not a meta. Being dead is a medical condition.

The Firstborn Son by @faeriekit

Complete. Two-Shot. 7.5k Words. 1k+ Kudos. Ghost King Danny. The Infinite Realms. Dimension Travel. Accidental Child Acquisition. Child Endangerment. Mind Control. Horror.

Danny Phantom, a somewhat established ruler of the Ghost Zone, has unwittingly acquired a baby.

And. Well. He can't exactly keep it in Pariah's Keep. He's no parent, not to mention the huge problem of how the air and sky destabilize human cellular structure. There has to be a way to prove that the man is safer than the home the baby comes from.

...But the man has his own ward.

Hm. Danny can exploit this. What's an assessment without a little test?

Amity In The Ghost Zone by @ghostboybrainrot

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 7k+ Words. Last Updated March. 1k+ Kudos. Good Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton.

The city doesn't return on its own after Pariah Dark is defeated. Without knowing how to get the whole city back to the living world, Danny tries to evacuate the residents but most Amity Parkers don't really want to leave. Some people do, but many decide to stay. After all, Amity Park is their home, and the idea of having to start over somewhere new isn't very appealing. So the town, for the most part, continues on like normal.

Holding Me Now In Hand by @disillusioneddanny

Completed. Multi-Chaptered. 67k+ Words. 4k+ Kudos. Death Defying. Dick/Danny. Ghost King Danny. Teacher Danny. Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton. Miscommunication. Identity Reveal.

After Tim Drake tells his family about his new insane chemistry teacher, Dick Grayson decides to do some investigation himself.

What he wasn't expecting was to instantly fall in love with the chaotic science teacher.

Our Empty Graves by @nabtime

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 63k+ Words. Last Updated July. 3k+ Kudos. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Dead On Main. Jason/Danny. Slowburn. Bad Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton. Hazmat AU. Mute Danny. Hurt/Comfort.

They say that Red Hood has a loyal mutt. The man rules his territory in Crime Alley with an iron fist and a guard dog at his side. No one's ever heard him speak. Anyone who's ever seen him says he looks like an experiment gone wrong, that Hood picked him up somewhere unspeakable. They say he'll do anything Red Hood asks of him and he'll do it well. Rival gangs say he's vicious, that he'd sooner rip your throat out than let you go.

death echoes by @redskyeatnight

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 38k+ Words. Last Updated June. 9k+ Kudos. Account Locked. Ghost King Danny. BAMF Danny. Creepy Danny.

Cold air on the back of his neck. Skeletal fingertips skittering up his spine, barely there and yet pressing so hard they would surely leave indents. A sound like an iceberg cracking apart echoing in his ears and through his head, pain following in its wake.

His throat went cold, his tongue suddenly numb.

And for a second - just a second - he smelled nothing but the stench of death.

"Oh My God, I'm Becoming My Father." by @fanfiction-artist-prototype

Incomplete. Three-Shot. 22k+ Words. Last Updated June. 1k+ Kudos. Account Locked. Misunderstandings. Angst and Hurt/Comfort. Blood and Injury. Accidental Child Acquisition. Implied/Reference Underage Prostitution. Protective Jason Todd.

Dani needs money, there's only so long her human body can last without food, and she lost the credit card Sam gave her when she crash-landed in Gotham city bay. So, she decides she's going to go the one guy she knows exists in Gotham that will help a kid down on their luck no questions asked - Red Hood.

Last time she'd seen Danny, he'd told her that there were rumours the Red Hood was undead, so he was the safest option for a halfa like her.

Hatred At First Sight by Sagoberattare

based on a tumblr post

Complete. One-Shot. 1k Words. 4k+ Kudos. SoulHate AU. Danny Phantom is a Little Shit.

Until the Joker looked at the skrunky kid in a ratty hoodie that looked like he could be a Wayne adoptee. And they both froze for a good minute.

And like some kind of demented switch got flipped the kid snarled and (still with his hands tied behind his back mind you) launched himself at the Joker.

Back to the World, In the End by @akela-nakamura

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 9k+ Words. Last Updated June. 800 Kudos. Halfa Jason Todd. Heavy Angst. Supernatural illnesses. Jason Todd is Not Okay. Eventual Comfort.

Jason's been sick for weeks and nothing he does seems to help. He's not ready for his confrontation with the Bat. He's not ready for his plans to fall apart when they've barely begun.

But his illness isn't stopping. One warm Gotham night, he hits a metaphorical wall.

Nightwing finds Red Hood on a rooftop. It's been a long night, but it might be looking up. After all, finally capturing the Red Hood will make Gotham that much safer.

Inquisitive by @oliveofvanders

Completed. One-Shot. 1k+ Words. 2k+ Kudos. Journalist Danny. Danny is a Little Shit. Damien Wayne Loves Animals. Crack Treated Seriously.

Damian has a very specific way of dealing with reporters – show them the animals, that usually scares them off.

Danny, however, has seen weirder shit in his lifetime.

Like Betta Fish Do by @clockwayswrites

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 48k+ Words. Last Updated July. Updates Bi-Weekly. 7k+ Kudos. Dead On Main. Jason/Danny. Ghost King Danny. Halfa Jason. Canon-Typical Violence. Jason Todd Needs a Hug. Danny Fenton Needs a Hug. Lazarus Side Effects. Identity Reveal.

Danny had ended up trespassing in Jason's haunt. He didn't mean to. Total accident, he swears. (He blames Johnny.) So he bought the other halfa a basket of bathbombs and chocolate as a 'sorry, please don't disembowel me' gift. It was the proper thing to do, alright?

Everything was going to be just fine.

Then things got a little out of hand.

»»———-Batman-———-««

Send To All by @cairoscene

Completed. One-Shot. 3k Words. 5k+ Kudos. Emails. Epistolary. Poison Ivy Adjacent.

I, _____________, hereby acknowledge that this form represents my wishes should I contract phytoaphrodisiac-induced delirium (hereafter referred to as “PAID”) during engagements with or while apprehending Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley (“Poison Ivy”).

»»———-Danny Phantom-———-««

and they were roommates by @captainbrookeworm

Completed. One-Shot. 9k+ Words. 400 Kudos. ChatFic. Humor. Memes. Crack. Crack Treated Seriously. Post-Canon. Identity Reveal.

Mr. Lancer’s English Class Group Chat

Wes Weston: FINALLY

Wes Weston: INDISPUTABLE PROOF

Tucker Foley: For the last time the moon landing was NOT faked!!!!

》 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。 。° 。。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。 。°《

[zephyr-rat]

Green Giant Character Insights: Dr. Amber Vespice

(Recommended that you read Part 6 or part 11 of the Green Giant Saga (the Twitch/Zac series I'm working on) for the full context)

One of the major themes of The Green Giant Saga is heroism: what does it take to do substantial good for your community. Another theme is the need to prove yourself to the world, to prove that you are necessary and that you should be accepted. This is embodied in the main characters: To Zac in his desire to be a hero of Zaun and to Twitch in his desire to be a great king to Zac and his future kingdom. These themes are also embodied by the antagonist.

The best way to describe Chirean scientist Amber Vespice is MCU Peter Parker but the millionaire that she’s working for is an evil capitalist willingly exploiting her. She’s a new lead scientist on the Zaunite Amorphous Combatant project that wants to make the world a better place and believes that the best way to improve Zaun is through its capitalistic systems. After all, when the Chirean’s original home in the sumps was overrun with chemical waste, chem baron Takeda offered her family places to stay and jobs to make a living out of. She wants to make Zaun better, starting with using the Zaunite Amorphous Combatant project to clean up the sumps of its garbage and mutants. However, by staying loyal to the system, she has to enable exploitation and hierarchical systems. She has to ignore the factory workers campaigning for better conditions because how else would she get her lab equipment? She has to stay within Takeda’s demands and deadlines if she wants to keep her funding. But it will be worth it right? This is for the greater good. Isn’t this progress?

Green Giant Saga is deeply invested in systemic problems that can’t just be solved with a good guy punching the bad guy; Zac could only do so much for people like Justine, the sumpsnipe who’s about to grow out of the orphanage system and is desperate to make a living, or the criminals of the Blight Fault who were freed to the same city that trapped them into doing those crimes. A huge part of these systemic issues is internalization: why do people justify the current systems as is. In this regard, Amber justifies it through the language of scientific progress and heroism. This is how geniuses formed Piltover-Zaun. It must be the most efficient way to do the greatest good. She might not have powers like the famed Atomic Man in the comic books, but this is how she could be a hero.

Yet as a new scientist, she is pressured to prove herself through this project. In Takeda’s character introduction, when he doesn’t get what he wants, he tells her that “she didn’t care enough” and that he would find someone to replace her. When she talks to Singed, he regards her with annoyance, saying that he has done multiple things for the chem barons and their city, what has she done? This gets her to do desperate things to prove that she can do good, but it’s by measurements defined by people like Singed and Takeda.

(art by OrlandoFox)

This makes her a great parallel to Zac who is currently going on a journey to define his heroism outside the bounds of his parents, but she also ends up being a parallel to Twitch through her relationship to Zac. As much as Amber talks about wanting Zac as a partner, she treats Zac as someone lesser, someone who clearly doesn’t know the city’s systems as much as she does. She doesn’t hear him out when he speaks for Twitch, the Blight Fault, or even his own wants. Sometimes, she even calls him a monster who doesn’t care about Zaun. Similar to how Takeda told her that she didn’t care enough about her cause. Just like Takeda and Singed, she is trying to define the measurements of heroism on Zac. One could say, she wants to own Zac like a sidekick, a loyal subject, a weapon. Twitch, upon “creating” Zac, also saw him as a loyal lessor that should listen to everything he says. Twitch also tried to dictate what Zac should do with his powers. 

Through this, Amber makes an interesting antagonistic foil to both of the main characters, allowing their growth to shine brighter. She is also a very fascinating character in her own right with challenging arcs and themes through her struggles within the system of Piltover-Zaun and Takeda. Zaun doesn’t really have a young scientist who is still working within Zaun’s corrupt systems. This opens the door for very interesting interactions, specifically to other Zaunite scientists like Ekko, Viktor, or Singed. As a Chirean, she gets to also showcase a different aspect of Zaun that’s rarely explored in the current lore that resonates with me as a Vietnamese-American: forced displacement and political loyalties. I hope to explore more of her character in the future, but I believe that the latest story “Green Giant Strikes Back” did give a really good taste of the interesting character she could be.

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If you want to read more of Zac and Twitch’s adventures in Zaun. Check out the entire saga!

Ao3 Series

Main Tumblr Page

[frost-eyed-autumn]

While Neo takes her time to compose a response, Chuuya has to resist fiddling with his own face-down phone and check for any more responses from Mori. He trusts though that his Boss will know that silence means he's working, just as he's sure Mori will trust that Chuuya will ensure the most optimal outcome he can manage on his own before further involving his Boss in the negotiation.

And so far, he considers the negotiation to be going well, all things considered. There's a certain earnestness to the exchange on both sides that seems to lend well to progress. Arguably, such a kind of exchange plays greatest to his strengths, even if he's just as capable of deceiving when the situation calls for it.

The sentiment of not wanting to join because of a history of backstabbing, exhaustion of being double-crossed, is something he can sympathize well enough with. He knows he's going to have to check himself not to let that be a weak point she exploits against whatever his best interests are, but it doesn't hurt to extend some understanding so long as what she says is an honest angle.

"The Port Mafia are no strangers to mutually beneficial business partnerships or contracts with third parties, so I don't see it being a problem."

And whether she realizes it or not, swearing her services to him specifically is a contingency that he would prefer anyway, and likely so would Mori. Whether she officially became a mafioso, or just a contracted mercenary, she was someone they'd want to keep in their sights and deal with if she proved to be a threat. Few in the organization were as equipped for dealing with the kind of danger she might pose as he was, for better or worse.

She had certain things going for her, at least, comparative to his own reception. As far as he could tell, she didn't have any pre-existing bias against them. She wasn't anyone he knew as belonging to an enemy organization either, much less the leader of one, or had an iron grip on territory the mafia wanted as its own. If he could rise from where he had started to Mori's second-in-command, he doubted there would be trouble so long as she didn't make a move to double-cross them first.

A small hum of question follows her gesture before he scrolls down to the last bit, and while he's not sure he's going to take her word on that just yet, he makes no point to call the declaration into question.

"Something we agree on," he says simply, handing it back to her across the table and lacing his fingers in his lap. "Before this partnership is officiated, I'm still going to need what you've stolen back. It's not as if you're going to be able to get the true value of those gems as they are anyway. They're still hot and without any authentication paperwork, so the moment you try to peddle them as they are, the merchants will undersell you and the authorities will be on your trail with a warrant for your arrest well before you can ever get rid of them all. In exchange, you'll be provided with a comfortable place to stay and a fraction of their worth to start, enough to cover any needed basic living expenses. It'll be your own guaranteed living space so long as you agree to work with me when I need you and you'll receive a fair cut, under the table, for any jobs you complete. So long as those jobs are completed under my direction and to the benefit of my organization, you'll receive representation from the Port Mafia's lawyers against any charges the police try to rack up against you in the event you're identified for any crimes you commit on our behalf, instead of some shitty court-appointed ones who are only there as an obligatory judicial technicality and gain nothing by keeping you out of prison. How does that sound?"

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐎 𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐓 distracts her from letting her sullen pout at his refusal of her drink settle visibly on her face. Shrugging, she takes the drink and downs it instead, and then caps the bottle. Her fingers return to the glass, and her gloves tap against it in muted little clink noises as she considers the extent of what he's said. And a few things she thinks he probably left out on purpose, just so she'd think about wanting to ask him.

Maybe it shouldn't surprise her that powers are so heavily regulated here- but they hadn't really been, in Remnant. There had been no real way to manage it. So hearing that there were apparently multiple avenues from which concerns about her autonomy may arise is... concerning to say the least. That it's actually bad enough that he feels the need to warn her about it, despite actively trying to leash her like the rest might, means it's a serious enough concern that it warrants being weighed against the thought of letting him do so.

How disgusting.

Pulling her scroll back toward her, it takes her a little longer than before to put her thoughts into words. For once, she's glad she can at least use text for this much- the idea of trying to convey all of it with only gestures and body language was...daunting to say the least. As it stands, she has to read over and adjust her phrasing several times, mouth twisting to the side in a thoughtful pursing of lips as she does. While she's always been quick on her feet when it came to getting herself out of trouble, she wasn't always the best at using her words well when she needed to. This time, given everything at hand, she can't afford to mess it up.

There probably won't be any (more) second chances if she does.

Not from him, and not from The Blacksmith either.

I'm not going to pretend I'm a good person. Or that I ever have been. Whenever I've hurt people though, it's always been for a reason. Killing people for other people's petty grudges or needless greed hasn't ever been my thing. But I never planned to come here and start rescuing kittens or saving orphans either.

No, she's always been too selfish for that kind of thing. Any seeming good deeds done on her part have always been with the end goal of them benefiting her in the long run.

Still, I appreciate the warning. I'm guessing it also means that even if I hide, somehow, some way, they'll find a way to track me. And when they do, I'll end up being someone's lackey no matter how much I don't want to.

A sigh then, thumb slipping under her bangs to rub at her temple. If it's not megalomaniacs, it's the government's good little soldiers. Maybe it's more like home here than she'd thought.

I already told you I'm not joining any groups or organizations or gang or whatever you want to call it. Being backstabbed has been too much of an occupational hazard these past couple of years, and I'm over it. But. If you want to, for example, do something like put me on retainer or consider me as, let's say, a contractor... Then I might be willing to consider. But it has to be you, red. For now, at least. Depending on how things go, then maybe I'll think about offering my services to other people in your little organization.

Sitting back, her hands fold atop the table politely, and she gestures for him to scroll a little further, a smug little tilt to one corner of her mouth.

Just so you know though... if I was going to kill you, I'd at least let you know. Sneaking around for everything else is fine... but killing is personal. You should at least look people in the eye when you do it.

[goldsrc-hl1]

Weiss arrested Jacques for helping watts and hacking an election, his mistreatment of his workers was entirely legal, what happened to Adam was at the very practically legal, where even if it was a crime on paper the perpetrator faced no punishment, and what happened to Ilia’s parents was 100% legal, the SDC’s lack of safety precautions is common knowledge but the humans in power do nothing about it because they profit from it as well

And if proving racist ideals wrong worked, marrow would’ve been respected by atlas and his team, but his amity arena bio and his attitude in general shows us that the racist humans of atlas basically seeing him as “one of the good ones” even after he dedicated his life to the atlas military, racist humans STILL don’t respect him,

There is no way the Faunus can act that will make their oppressors not want to oppress them, there’s nothing they can do to,prove they’re not “inferior”to the humans who view them as such because they’ve done nothing to prove they are,

And for the most part weiss was meant to be in the wrong for her racist statement, and given what happened to ilia parents? Whatever the white fang did that made her dad upset was totally justified, because fuck him and every one of the dipshits who,supports him, Jacques, his cronies, and the atlas council have ilia’s parents blood on their hands, and the blood of many many more Faunus

You really need to forget he idea of respectability politics, it is not about getting you’re oppressors to like you, racism is systemic and is a lot more then just people “not liking the Faunus”

"Weiss arrested Jacques for helping watts and hacking an election, his mistreatment of his workers was entirely legal, what happened to Adam was at the very practically legal, where even if it was a crime on paper the perpetrator faced no punishment, and what happened to Ilia’s parents was 100% legal, the SDC’s lack of safety precautions is common knowledge but the humans in power do nothing about it because they profit from it as well"

All of that is legal. That's Atlesian society for you. My point still stands though, Weiss herself is showing that not all humans are like Jacques.

"And if proving racist ideals wrong worked, marrow would’ve been respected by atlas and his team, but his amity arena bio and his attitude in general shows us that the racist humans of atlas basically seeing him as “one of the good ones” even after he dedicated his life to the atlas military, racist humans STILL don’t respect him,"

Racism takes time to heal, don't expect to see it instantly. Additionally, Atlas is for the most part cut off from information from Mistral, so news of Ghira taking down Adam likely hasn't even reached them.

"There is no way the Faunus can act that will make their oppressors not want to oppress them, there’s nothing they can do to,prove they’re not “inferior”to the humans who view them as such because they’ve done nothing to prove they are,"

Adam is giving them the justification to say that Faunus are inferior. Take away that justification, and their arguments become weaker. This doesn't affect the people at the top, because they don't care about Faunus actually being inferior, they'll exploit everyone no matter what, but the regular people will come to realize that their justification is invalid.

"And for the most part weiss was meant to be in the wrong for her racist statement, and given what happened to ilia parents? Whatever the white fang did that made her dad upset was totally justified, because fuck him and every one of the dipshits who,supports him, Jacques, his cronies, and the atlas council have ilia’s parents blood on their hands, and the blood of many many more Faunus"

100% agree. SDC treats Faunus like slaves, Faunus retaliate. Weiss didn't deserve her father's abuse obviously.

"You really need to forget he idea of respectability politics, it is not about getting you’re oppressors to like you, racism is systemic and is a lot more then just people “not liking the Faunus”"

I am well aware, but the more people that come to respect the Faunus, the more resistance to systemic racism there is. That is a good thing.

[jellogram]

Review of the A&E JonBenet Ramsey documentary on Hulu and general case discussion below the cut.

First of all it's always nice when a true crime doc isn't shy about criticizing the police and discussing how they might have been blinded by a need to close the case. And the general harassment the family has gone through isn't fair, because I don't believe in harassing anyone involved in a crime regardless of their role in it. The media and the police both immediately decided the family killed their daughter in cold blood and they were made to suffer as if this was fact, and that was fucked up.

That said.

I don't like how the doc takes the DNA of an unknown male as evidence that the family is innocent. All that proves is that the stupid theory about the brother killing JonBenet likely isn't true, but there was never anything to suggest that anyway. The doc refutes some falsehoods, like the letter being definitely written by Patsy Ramsey, but it ultimately doesn't do enough to explain why the family should be exonerated.

There's a big difference between proving they didn't outright commit the murder themselves, and proving they weren't somehow complicit in what happened.

Because the story the doc tells doesn't make sense — if we take that DNA as the exoneration of the parents, the remaining details still don't fit together.

They're implying that someone broke into house, took JonBenet from her bed and dragged her into the basement, strangled and assaulted her, killed her, and then left without any signs of forced entry, without disturbing any part of the house at all, and without waking anyone, went over to a notepad and wrote a ransom note for the return of JonBenet, and then left, never to be heard from again.

The only way any of that makes sense is if the family knew someone was in the house and didn't intervene, which leads me to my theory.

As many have suggested, this was most likely a targeted attack based on JonBenet's publicity. So we have parents who've entered their child in the inherently exploitative and sexualizing industry of child beauty pageants, and a daughter who is quite successful and well-known for this. We have an unidentified male who was sexually assaulting JonBenet, and we have a situation where the parents simply had to know this man was in the house with her.

I think you can guess where I'm going with this.

I think they knew the man was alone with her. I don't know if they knew what he was doing with her, but I think they allowed him into the house to interact with her alone. I think it went badly and he killed her. But the parents knew if they pursued the killer they'd be exposed for having allowed him into the house, and possibly pimping their daughter out, depending on how dark you think their original plan was. They might have just meant to let him get a photo with her or something, I don't know, and I certainly wouldn't level these accusations at all if I had any kind of platform, but it's the only thing that makes sense to me.

I don't think the family murdered her, I don't think they killed her by accident, but I do think they know what happened. And even if you think the killer could have somehow snuck in and out of the house undetected, I believe the ransom note completely ruins that theory.

I find it painfully obvious that they wrote the note. They wrote $118,000 specifically to match John's Christmas bonus, because they thought it might lead the cops to suspect that was the motivation. Because it makes absolutely no sense for the killer to have left a note when they'd already killed the girl, left her body in their house, and made a clean getaway.

It makes no sense for him to demand only that much when they lived in a fancy house, it makes no sense that he wouldn't have also stolen anything if money was his goal, it makes no sense to imply that a simple Christmas bonus would have been the motivation when JonBenet was high profile, sexualized, and sexually assaulted. Clearly she was the target.

In conclusion: I think this doc does a good job explaining how the media firestorm around the case was harmful, and how cops can be blinded to other possibilities once they get a hunch. I think it's good that something shows the parents' perspective, given that no one knows anything for sure and 99% of case coverage is against them.

I do however think it goes too hard trying to defend the family and ends up doing exactly what they criticize the cops for: becoming so deadset on their narrative that they become blinded to the evidence right in front of them.

[sparrowhero]

could u do a hawks, dabi, and shigaraki x weird! reader hcs? like reader sometimes says the most out of pocket shit and they have a interesting background already involved in crime b4 they met them?

oh this is right up my alley. alright, here we go!

Weird!Reader HCs-- Hawks, Shigaraki, Dabi under cut

Hawks

Depending on the severity and legality of said weird shit, he either thinks it's funny or is a little bit concerned. It's usually the former, but if you're a rehabilitated (or at least, trying to rehabilitate yourself), he's going to be the angel on your shoulder saying "Maybe we shouldn't light that guy's house on fire, babe. Even if nobody could prove it"

If it's more mundane out of pocket shit, like "I used to eat bugs out of the dirt and pretend I was Timon and Pumba from Lion King", he's more likely to be like "Word, I used to pretend I was Simba." While he's also a very naturally serious guy in his work, being able to be genuinely carefree and silly helps relax him.

He's so used to being able to read people and calculate their reactions and intentions, so not being able to predict whatever the fuck may come out of your mouth next is a real treat for him. Keeps things fresh and exciting in a world where so many things can bore him. He's also just kind of a hype man for his significant other anyways so he's just as much the type to be like "Ain't that cute?" whenever you say something that most other people would kind of raise their eyebrow about.

It would be hypocritical of him to judge you for your past, but he really won't tolerate that shit now. He secretly finds it a little hot that you used to be 'bad' but the less he knows about the serious things you may or may not have done, the better. He cannot defend you if they find a body in your apartment, sweetheart, no matter how much you make those eyes.

Shigaraki

Plays the straight man perfectly to your funny guy. He always has a smartass remark or raised eyebrow when you say something, but also plays along completely seriously every single time without fail.

"Would you still love me if I was a worm?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Shigaraki thinks for a moment. "...I'd at least get you some kind of dirt bowl to live in until you turned back."

He likes to bounce potential ideas off of you because of your experiences. You can say some weird shit, but more often than not, you can find the exploitable loopholes in "traditional" thinking. That's a skill one needs when trying to completely overthrow and restructure society. Even in your weirdness, most of your suggestions have more basis than some of the other opinions in the league. Besides, you make him laugh. That's a rare skill around there. He never admits it, just turns around and you can see his shoulders shake a little bit.

You cannot be trusted around Toga and Twice because the three of you will somehow create the most intricate inside jokes that make sense to nobody but the three of you. It's nice that you all get along, though. He won't participate but he does sit close by so he can hear you laugh and enjoy yourself.

Dabi

Takes everything you say in stride. He's around weirdos at the League all day anyways, one more by his side can't hurt-- besides, a little strangeness is far from a crime. There are worse things you can say or do. Sometimes he raises an eyebrow or ignores if it's really an inappropriate or unreasonable/feasible response for the situation, but that's rare.

Unlike Hawks or Shigaraki, he's going to play along with you more than the other two. Like...maybe you SHOULD kill that guy. You might have a point. You have an uncanny habit of saying exactly what he was thinking or wants to hear, which earns points with him.

More of the type to have discussions with you based on the weird shit you say. He likes to know why you say certain things, the conclusions that brought you there, things like that. He likes to pick apart your brain to figure out just how it 'ticks' and why he can't get enough of it.

One of his favorite things to do is just watch you while you go off on one of your tangents. He doesn't always have something to say, so he just listens and absorbs whatever it is that you have going on. Sometimes it's your past (a wild ride, definitely), sometimes it's just wherever the conversation leads you. Doesn't judge you on what you may have had to do or experience to get where you are, the important thing is you're with him now for a truly important purpose.

[thevindicativevordan]

On Steel

Given he's made his second live action appearance in 20 years, I thought now was a good time to talk about one of my favorite top 5 Superfamily members: John Henry Irons a.k.a. Steel.

Don't get me wrong, his niece Natasha Irons is cool as well, but John is by far my favorite holder of the mantle, and it all goes back to Reign of the Supermen, to no one's surprise I'm sure. Reign was one of the first Superman stories I read, along with Morrison JLA, and I was enchanted by the exploits of the four replacement Supermen. As a kid I liked Steel the most, the Eradicator was too murderous, the Cyborg looked creepy (I totally thought he was going to be evil because he looked like a Terminator), and the Superboy was kind of cool but also an easily manipulated idiot. Steel was the only one who felt to me like he was really trying to *be* Superman in terms of how he acted. He was working to save people because it was the right thing to do, he refused to kill, he wasn't in the hero business for money or glory. Plus he wore a badass suit of power armor and smashed bad guys with a hammer, which was the coolest way to fight crime ever to my young mind, and a great way to summarize what makes Steel so great.

The Appeal of Steel

Steel is SuperIron Man with a warhammer. At his most basic level, even if you know nothing else about the character, he looks cool. He's got the iconography of Superman, the cape, the S-shield, even has some metallic trunks in a few depictions, while also drawing on what makes Iron Man so cool: the power armor that lets you do anything you can imagine, that lets a normal human play on Superman's level. He's clearly a genius to have been able to build the armor, so you get a member of the Superfamily who is more well known for their brains than their powers, which makes him a useful addition for that alone.

But his strengths as a character in terms of what he brings to the table go far deeper than just the surface. Irons has an interesting background as a weapons designer, something that held true for both his Post Crisis and his New 52 incarnations. While similar to Tony Stark, Irons was not the CEO or head of the groups he worked for, so his realization of the horror he's enabled is moreso that of a cog in the machine rebelling, rather than the top man forced to reconcile with the privileged existence they've led (he's more similar to Milestone's Hardware in terms of background). Yet that he did build weapons at one point shows that Irons morals weren't always up to par, which gives him room for growth and change in a way the other Superfamily members typically aren't allowed.

Steel is also a great example of how Superman inspires the DCU's citizens. We hear a lot about how "important" Superman is, how "inspirational" he is to other heroes and the citizens he protects, and as a huge Superman fanboy myself, this can sometimes come off as masturbatory. Irons is a good way to explore the human perspective on Superman, and actually show how people are inspired by Supes. Irons builds his suit because of how much Superman means to Metropolis, himself, and to the world, and Irons wants to make sure that doesn't die with Clark. He embodies Superman's attributes better than Clark's clone during Reign! He shows that what makes Superman Superman isn't the powers or the alien heritage, it's the compassion and the desire to help your fellow man. That's something any human can embody and practice in their day to day lives, and Irons proves that.

Finally it needs to be said: Irons also brings diversity to the Superfamily. Clark, Jon, Kara, Kon, and Karen (if you consider Power Girl part of the Superfamily) are all white. John, Natasha, and Kenan aren't, which means they bring storytelling opportunities that others can't be used to tell. They get to share in the Superman mantle and explore what that means. I must admit that I am a little worried as to what will happen to Steel in a world where they're potentially making Clark black on the film side, but Superman & Lois reintroducing Irons to the general audience will hopefully ensure that he sticks around.

His Romance with Lana Lang

Christopher Priest once wrote about his approach to the character:

"For all the wonderful notices we've gotten for BLACK PANTHER, I actually think STEEL was better, funnier, and more wryly cynical. And nobody noticed. I mean nobody read this book, not even the bosses at DC, which is, I suppose, how we got away with this, our mean-spirited de-construction of the Superman mythos."

With that in mind I wanted to talk about how much I loved the New 52 hooking Irons and Lang up.

The man who tried to fill in for Superman, and primarily sees Clark through his legendary image and heroic career, dating the woman who was Superman's first love and who primarily views Superman through the memories of her childhood best friend and boyfriend Clark Kent is fucking brilliant. Both John and Lana are incredibly similar in multiple aspects, so I totally buy why they'd be interested in each other, but also different enough that you can see where there'd be some natural tension and drama in their relationship. While not "mean-spirited" I totally think a Priest style deconstruction of the iconic Clois relationship would work perfectly here. The relationship shouldn't be "doomed", but it absolutely should be a harder road to reach marriage (if DC would ever allow that) than what Clark and Lois went through, and it allows you to examine that relationship in interesting ways.

My take on the difference between John and his "LL" and Clark and his "LL" is that the basic dynamic should be reversed. John's the cynical urban one and Lana is the kid from nowhere who shows up in the big city and adjusts to living there, the reverse of Clark and Lois. Similar to how Clark and Lois are both reporters, the New 52 making Lana an engineer goes a long way to helping justify why she and John might have feelings for each other: they already share interests! Add in that both of them are defined by their interactions with Superman, and it totally makes sense why after meeting each other they would find they have a lot in commoIf I was able to write their relationship from scratch, I'd really try to play up their different outlooks on heroism. For John, being Steel is a way to atone for his weapons designer past, a chance to do some good, and a way to help others. For Irons being a hero is costly and dangerous, and he struggles with whether or not this is the right path for him. For Lana, superheroism is all about the excitement and adventure of being a hero. She left Smallville like Clark, so Lana must have some desire to see the outside world, and I think playing up her wanderlust gives her an interesting character attribute that contrasts well with Steel's desire to stay in Metropolis. Lana should be very encouraging of John being Steel, in part because she believes in the good he can accomplish, and in part because she regrets not choosing to go with Clark and support him in his quest to be Superman. John and Lana co-leading Steelworks, a company invested in building a better future for the poorer areas of Metropolis like Suicide Slum, would also be a source of stories.

Ultimately I would like to see John and Lana get married in the mainline comics. I think that relationship is great for the both of them, and neither of their previous relationships feel as full of potential as being together. Lana's marriage to Pete Ross was just awful, her openly lusting after Clark and trying to cheat on her husband just made her utterly unlikeable. I did enjoy Amanda Quick from Priest's run as John's dysfunction Lois, but I think Lana can fill that same role just as easily, and since she's an iconic Supermythos character in her own right I think she can fill it better.

His Relationship with Natasha

Natasha should be the Rocket to John's Icon. She's her uncle's biggest fan and can't wait to be a superhero. Where John might wrestle with whether or not being a hero is really allowing him to reach his full potential, Natasha doesn't understand how he can even ask the question. Of course one man can make a huge difference, hello, has he SEEN all the times superheroes have saved reality? There's nothing more impactful than being a superhero! She's the one who gets John to loosen up and enjoy the awesome feeling of smashing evildoers with his hammer, of how cool it is to iterate on new improvements to his power armor. I think Natasha should have her own identity separate from her uncle. I've heard a few suggestions for names, "Alloy", "Anvil", I personally like the name "Silversmith" since that's an "S" name that goes well with her abilities and with her color scheme.

His Relationship With Superman

In terms of day to day, can we stop having the goddamn Batman be the one Clark goes to for tech advice? I get your average DC writer treats all the non-Batman ongoings as mere auditions to their real dream to write their epic Batman story where Joker gases Gotham and Batman wrestles with whether he should kill him or not for the 100th fucking time, but how about we stop bringing Batman into the Superbooks, and use Steel instead? He's the goddamn supergenuis of the family, USE HIM. No more Batman, let Irons be the guy Clark and all the other Superfamily members go to for bioscans, tech analysis, or anything else science related they can't handle themselves.

I definitely think Irons is the one guy Clark trusts enough to share his Kryptonian tech, or any other dangerous technology he's acquired and stored in the Fortress, with. I really loved the Tesseract Fortress from back in the day, since Clark is back to his arctic getaway, I say let John have a "Fortress of Steel" Tesseract in the Steelworks sub-basement that he's able to create using alien tech from Clark's Fortress.

What I'd Do With Steel

I think the best use for Steel is to lean into his nature as SuperIron Man: Make him the corporate hero of Metropolis, the "good billionaire" who uses his wealth as well as his tech to help. Clark can never be one of the rich and elite, it's not in his nature nor in his interest, but I think John absolutely can walk in those circles. He would be a newcomer, an "interloper", having to fight against the old money elite who don't want him meddling in their affairs.

The pitch is this: John is feeling pretty damn good at the moment. His relationship with Lana is going well at the moment, and he's starting to think she might be the girl he'll marry. Together they run Steelworks, a tech company co-owned by the two of them that seeks to build technology to improve life in Metropolis and across the world. Steelworks is rising in the financial sector, thanks to it securing a contract from the City of Metropolis to deal with the monsters created by Lexcorp dumping chemical runoff into the bay. John and Lana built a mecha capable of defeating the monsters that crawl out of the bay and threaten the city, and they've used that success to tackle a new problem: gentrification of Suicide Slum.

With Lexcorp's decline in power, other megacorps are making a move to establish a foothold in Metropolis, and they're targeting Suicide Slum as their entry point. John is using Steelworks to defend the residents, he's even built a brand new top of the line hospital for the area the Steelheart Medical Center. Only one problem: the mayor's office has installed some guy named Dr. Villain as the administrator, instead of Iron's choice of Dr. Amanda Quick who is vice admin instead, and Steel suspects sabotage on behalf of one of his megacorp competitors pulling strings to get this guy installed and drive the hospital into the ground.

At the same time there are rumors of Suicide Slum residents disappearing from their homes thanks to CADMUS being reestablished somewhere underneath Metropolis. Whispers in the underworld say Superman's tech expert before John, Dr. Emil Hamilton a.k.a. Ruin has seized control, and is experimenting on residents for God knows what reason. Hamilton is jealous of Irons for "stealing" his role and Irons worries it's only a matter of time before Ruin attacks Steelworks.

As if that wasn't all bad enough, Natasha has started college and insists on interning at Steelworks. Between her hacking the mecha and badgering her uncle about when he'll let her join her in the superhero business, Irons is at his wits end with her.

Oh and did we mention someone put a $50 million dollar bounty on Steel's head, and some freak named Skorpio has shown up to collect? John's going to need his hammer to handle this freak if he wants to survive long enough to reign in Natasha, coordinate with Quick to keep Villain in check, and take Lana out on a date.

The whole run would see Irons go from the most opulent penthouses and boardrooms to the darkest, poorest corners of Metropolis. Irons would get involved with politics, Clark may never endorse a candidate for mayor but I see no reason why Irons can't, and his campaigning for a pro-poor mayor would really anger the elite. He'd have to face down the old money and fend off attempts to have his company bought out by the new.

It will probably never happen but that's my pitch. I really do hope we get some more Steel content somewhere. He was front and center on the Supermythos promo for Infinite Frontier:

So I have to assume some kind of mini or something is in the pipeline for him. I imagine he will be part of that Superfamily event that's coming in Sept, and that he'll hopefully get a mini coming out of that. I want DC to strike while the iron is hot, the S&L show just helped reintroduce him to a wider audience, take advantage of that! Steel is too awesome a character to just be left on the sidelines for that long.

[wangxiandecoded]

Episode 10

Previous Episode | Next Episode

(Spoilers for the whole show ahead!)

Going to draw a heart over Wangxian to keep track of every time the camera shows someone third wheeling them from now on.

Wei Ying uses his Binding/Bonding talisman on Xue Yang to show Lan Zhan it’s a dynamic tool that doesn’t deserve to be named “Boring”. Even though there’s a serial killer on the loose, Lan Zhan’s opinions on his inventions matter a lot to him. Standard Wei Ying stuff.

Wangxian’s Mirrors

At this point of the show, I could not believe there was a couple who directly mirrored Wangxian. And surprise! They were two men who dressed in black and white and came together for their common vision exactly like Wangxian did. Wei Ying cannot help but connect the dots and Lan Zhan is already aware of their eminence.

Xue Yang Fancies The Yiling Laozu 

Xue Yang’s introduction makes the story take a darker turn but also a gayer one. The homoerotic subtext between him and Wei Ying literally jumps out of the screen.  

(This episode had a lot of moments that were just begging for alternate dialogues to be written. I just wanted to have fun with the subtext that’s already present.)  

Wei Ying doesn’t want Lan Zhan to waste his precious breath interrogating the bad guy. He protectively steps up (something he does quite a lot) and puts some distance between the both of them.

But he wants Lan Zhan to hold his sword while he does that.. and if that act wasn’t necessarily considered to be intimate or romantic before, it just became that after Lan Zhan refused to do it in front of everyone.

Wei Ying has uttered many conspicuously gay things on the show but most of them are with reference to Lan Zhan. Therefore, this is possibly the gayest dialogue he has ever said in a strictly non-Lan Zhan context.

His tone is all, “Honey, you've been existing for 5 minutes, I'm the queerest person the cultivation world has seen in a millennium. You think frisking a guy is going to make me feel scandalized?” This is nuts to me because Xue Yang is arguably the most blatantly coded gay character on the show.. and here is Wei Ying all but saying he can outgay him. That he shouldn’t come after his job. And Lan Zhan just looks like..

It is curious how Lan Zhan says no to something that would require Wei Ying to go near Xue Yang again.

We get it, Lan Zhan. It was hard to see your guy giving attention to someone who wasn’t you.

When Lan Zhan is unsure what's happening back home, the first person his eyes seek is Wei Ying, his source of strength and reassurance.

SongXiao Help WangXian Fall Deeper In Love

Wei Ying is euphoric to meet another pair of Soulmates™. (The same kind of glee that queer people feel when they meet a celebrity queer couple.) His relationship with Lan Zhan just gained supreme validation and a boost to the power of infinity!

He sees everything he has with Lan Zhan reflected in SongXiao’s relationship. He admires them and is delighted that people like them who aren’t concerned with clan drama can walk the wider path of justice, and also lead successful, honourable lives. He looks to Lan Zhan for confirmation but Lan Zhan doesn’t seem too eager to publicize the super sweet promise they made at the lantern ceremony or the fact that he’s been secretly enjoying Wei Ying’s companionship on this expedition. And let’s be honest, it would’ve been more shocking if Lan Zhan did confirm any of that here.

Cheer up, Wei Ying! Lan Zhan will get plenty more opportunities to prove his love for you and he'll ace every single one of them.

No one asked for this but thank you NHS for declaring your ideal type is beautiful gentlemen who fight crime together and unapologetically go their own way.

The parallels between the two pairs write themselves. More importantly, it is while watching SongXiao leave together that Lan Zhan stumbles onto an epiphany.

This is such an underrated moment in the show. The sorrowful music and slow-motion shot of Lan Zhan looking at Wei Ying with vulnerability all over his face once again drives it home that Wei Ying is The One for him, and he is his. He was already getting tired of denying that Wei Ying is his soulmate in every sense there is, and he feels his pain and sadness in this moment. It is enough for Jiang Cheng to feel sorry for him and move on but not for Lan Zhan who feels all that his soulmate feels. 

It is overwhelming and brand new information to Lan Zhan himself that he can feel it because Wei Ying is not in impending danger right now, so this need he feels to protect him and be there for him can only mean that he loves him beyond the shadow of a doubt. Wei Ying seems upset thinking about his mother and Lan Zhan gets it, without Wei Ying having uttered a word the whole time. His face shows a kind of defeat in this scene; he surrenders to everything he has known and felt for some time now : He's in love with Wei Ying and would tear down the universe without a second thought if it means it would rid him of his unhappiness. And he isn't able to do that in this moment. But thanks to Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen, he’s found comfort in the truth they have each other at the end of the day, even if they have nothing left in this world. He cannot give back to Wei Ying what he has lost but he can accompany him in his sadness, and it will have to be enough. And it is, because Wei Ying can overcome just about everything as long as Lan Zhan walks by his side.

Wei Ying Says Lan Clan Deserves Rights

Wei Ying has many nice things to say about the Lan clan who he found exhausting a few months ago. Love brings about miraculous changes in a person, y’all.

Wei Ying gravitates towards Lan Zhan as if it's second nature to him and it really is.

Jiang Cheng spends a lot of time trying to get Wei Ying to spill the Top Secrets about the Yin Iron and Wei Ying is like, "Sorry, I’m bound by the Soulmate laws to tell you absolutely nothing."

Wei Ying is already embracing the idea of controlling the Yin Iron and people are rightfully getting offended by his suggestion.

What did you expect, Wei Ying? Not everyone is your lifetime confidant to give you the benefit of the doubt and reciprocate it with compassion, trust and open-mindedness.

Wangxian’s Temporary Separation

What was that, Wei Ying? Did we hear you admit that the Gusu Lan roof is softer than the one in Qinghe? Could this have anything to do with a certain law enforcer in Cloud Recesses you fell in love with at first sword fight? 

There is a delicate, bittersweet air to this separation, and even the casual watcher is going to be wondering, “When did I get so invested in Wangxian that WuJi makes me want to cry?”

It's cute how Lan Zhan is like, “Okay, I’ve seen the love of my life for one last time, I’ll quietly take my leave so he doesn’t know I was waiting for him to come back.”

Turns out, "I'll sleep on your roof tonight," is one of the most romantic things we could tell the person we love. Isn't it brilliant that just few seconds ago Wei Ying had said he will take whatever ground he finds as his home for the night, and how utterly beautiful is it to have followed it up with this dialogue? “Lan Zhan, I'll sleep on your roof tonight.” Because the world is big but my home is wherever you are. That’s where I’m happiest, I'll sleep on this rugged roof and walk through thorns if it means I get to be by your side. I won't mind it at all. And how unbelievably romantic is it that Wei Ying makes a philosophical statement about life, which ends up being about Lan Zhan?

Lan Zhan hears the implications in his voice. And he openly yearns to stay behind a little longer and commit to his memory what Wei Ying looks like when he is drunkenly proclaiming his love for him under the moonlight. It is pleasantly surprising that Lan Zhan is willing to express his emotions when he knows he is safe from Wei Ying hearing them, that he doesn't mind telling him goodbye when he thinks Wei Ying won't remember it. 

But the audience can hear his voice and we are going to remember it. How, "Wei Ying, I have to go," is uttered in a cadence so sweet we did not know Lan Zhan was capable of before this. And the choice of words do not simply mean that he’s going to leave, but that he has to, and most certainly not because he wants to. And how it really means, “I’m worried about everything, but especially you, and I'm sorry I have to go. I have to trust that we'll both be okay on this path. Please know that I don't wish to leave you, and forgive me for it. Wei Ying, I love you."

Even their temporary separation hurts so good. If they were meant to be best buddies, this scene wouldn't have been shot so poignantly. But we got used to seeing them together and every frame is designed to dig deeper into your heart and instil the fact that these soulmates are parting, and we don’t know when they’ll see each other again. This is the melancholy of a man who does not wish to be away from his lover but is forced to for the sake of the greater good. Anyone can see that.

The rooftop and moonlit night come as a callback to their first meeting, only Lan Zhan no longer wants to point the tip of his sword at Wei Ying, it gives him far greater satisfaction to place Wei Ying behind his sword.

I haven’t counted the number of times people acknowledge Wangxian’s relationship and/or know that they are inseparable, but it’s safe to say almost every character does that at some point. And some even know how to exploit their weakness, that in order to hurt one of them, the surefire way is to simply aim for the other like Wen Chao does here.

To summarize, Episode 10 saw Lan Zhan showing us his true colors : When he isn’t occupied with being the esteemed, intimidating Lan Wangji, he’s busy being a regular, sweet, romantic guy in love. And Wei Ying did that. He single-handedly exposes the soft side of Lan Zhan that nobody sees to the audience now and the world later on. 

This episode also gave us this : Two soulmates chilling shoulder to shoulder zero feet apart because they’re falling in love.

[violetnemerald]

You Don’t Know Me: Chapter 1

Gotham has always been known for its underworld. The underworld operated with great success thanks to the rich who put up the facade that Gotham was a great place to live and not one where crime families ruled. No crime family was more feared than the Wayne’s. Damian Wayne was the heir to the family business, destined to take over after his father.

Damian sat at the bar against the wishes of his guards. At the bar he was exposed, stripped of protection, which was exactly how he liked it. If he was going to be making a business deal he liked to give the other party a sense of vulnerability. With this many make the mistake of becoming vulnerable themselves which could in the end be used to exploit them and ultimately getting what he intended. On this particular day Damian was tasked with renegotiating terms with Trigon about his little drug operations. Trigon had invented and sold a little drug he liked to call Sin. Sin plagued many of Gotham citizens, both wealthy and poor, with addiction. Trigon had made the most demanded drug to ever hit the streets of Gotham City. While both Bruce and Trigon got along the tensions were still high. The meeting today was in regards to solving said tensions, or at least making them a little less suffocating.

Damian glanced around the restaurant taking notes of where his guards had situated themselves. As much as he wanted his freedom he always had to earn it through deception and distraction. His father prefered him with a guard in case any rivals attempted to take out the heir. Damian, having been trained to be an assassin by his mother, wished someone would try so he could finally prove himself to not need the surveillance.

Damian glanced down at the golden liquid swirling around his cup. He had been waiting long enough to be a glass and half in. The sound of a wooden door caught his attention causing him to turn his head towards the front of the restaurant.

Through the door two men walk in, following behind them is a woman hidden by their tall stature. From what he could see of her she was looking down focusing on what he assumes is something in her hands. Damian’s gaze lingers noting a faint familiarity to the way the woman presents herself. Turning his attention away he pulls out his phone taking a quick glance at the time. Six thirty- four great. I’m willing to give this guy six more minutes before I walk out that doo-

“Mr. Wayne.” a delicate voice interupts from beside him. A girl, interesting tactic Trigon, Damian thought as he moved to face the source of the voice. With every inch his eyes move up the more familiar it feels, until his emerald eyes meet her slightly violet eyes. Shocked was an understatement for how he feels in this moment. Damian hadn’t been expecting Trigon himself however he certainly did not expect the girl he’d been sleeping with for weeks to walk through that door. He shifts in his seat before composing himself. There are too many people around, too many witnesses, to reveal this girl as his weakness.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.” Her eyes full of panic as she herself attempts to understand the situation. Damian could not blame her. When they met he didn’t share his real name in fear she would’ve run away. He sees now that that was not the case. The innocent girl he knew as Rachel was just as much wrapped up in the ways of the Gotham underworld as he was. Taking control of the situation Damian gets up offering out his hand.

“No you have the right person. Damian Wayne.” He says sternly while looking at her hoping she would catch the “go along” tone.

“Uhh yeah… Raven.” She stretches out her hand to meet his. Her hand molds to his, the touch sending a wave of warmth through his torso, ultimately allowing thoughts of their previous encounter to rush in. She did so many things to him, including completely disarming him with the brush of her fingers. Pale fingers slowly remove themselves from his grasp, savoring every inch of contact before falling to her side. Raven lowers herself into the chair right next to him, stiff, unwilling to move in fear that one miscalculated action could lead to her life unraveling.

“I did not realize Trigon had a daughter. But I can see why he would keep a beautiful woman a secret. You are a secret weapon to him. ” Rosey lips turn upward, in addition a slight eye roll as Damian’s playful remark falls on Raven’s ears. Just as quickly the tension blew in the door it fades with that bright smile of hers. “Unfortunately it’s going to take a lot more than a pretty face to disarm me.”

“Whose says my purpose is to disarm you. I’m here because my father trusts me, and will be leaving me in charge if something were to happen to him.” She retaliates, as she pulls out a series of files her dad gave to her as she left. Placing the manilla folder on the bar top in front of them. An empty glass and a napkin, which she was sure was for her, pushed away to make room for more important matters.

“I’m sure you get whatever you want. Don’t you Rae?” The last word slipping out, as it was habit. Despite how natural it flowed from his mouth it was not lost on him, nor her, the mistake he just made.  

The panic returns this time, mixing with threat. It was a dangerous game they were playing, and with so many spectators someone was bound to pick up on something. “Can I call you Rae?” He continues, playing off his slip up as charm.

Raven makes no comment. Sometimes the best response was no response. Instead she chooses to keep a stern face and look down and shuffle through the papers on the bar in front of them. Pulling out a list of demands made by her father and placing it on top of the array of sheets. Raven glances at Damian through the corners of her eyes. He studys the various documents put in front of him, eyes flicking from paper to paper. His face remains still, no indication that anything on the papers surprises him or even spikes an interest. His hand extends to the glass near him bringing to his lips. The edge lingering on his lips before he tilts the glass and finishes the rest of its contents in one sip.

“These terms are ridiculous. I’m sorry but has your father been sampling his own product. He is insane to think that we would even consider these terms. Come back when you have realistic terms.” He stands up. The chair makes a noise as it scrapes across the floors. He buttons his suit and makes his approach to leave, but before he does he looks back at her. Once more their eyes meet and all the surroundings fading before coming right back into focus. No wrong moves.

“Also... what do you want? I know what your father wants but what do you want?” He questions with less anger in his tone before he turns to head out the door. Raven watches as half the people in the bar get up and follow the young man out the door.

_________________________________

Raven knocks once on the door, making herself known. When they had developed the one knock system she thought it was going to be just for her assurance, she now realizes that it is a two way street. They are more similar than she previously thought. Here she was thinking he would never understand why they had to meet in secret or who she really was, but in reality he was probably thinking the same things.

The door opens revealing him. A tan face interrupted by green orbs. A face that she was now looking at for the second time today. She quickly walks through the small opening brushing past him. The door slamming shut behind her. He turns a hunger in his eyes. Oh had she been looking forward to this meet all day, and it was only heightened by their unplanned meeting. All she wanted to do at the bar was have her way with him in the bathroom, but surroundings limited their interactions, which she was not all too happy about.

“I figured out what I want.” Her voice just above a whisper as she takes a step, closing the gap between them. Raven leans up her lips meeting his, desperate to feel his body against hers. With her close and without the watchful eyes of others Damian felt no shame in grabbing her hips and pulling it against him. His thumbs digging deep into her hip bones. Desperate and needy pale fingers tug at the bottom of his shirt. The two breaking long enough for him to slip the shirt over his head. As he takes off his shirt she takes off hers, taking advantage of the time apart as she didn’t want to waste anymore of their time together.

Dipping back down his lips find their way to her neck, her head rolling at the feeling. His path of kisses continues to her bra strap, stopping to look into her eyes. The only emotion she could see behind green barriers was lust.  

With one hand still holding her hips, Damian raised his other hand to the clasp of the bra. He took one side of the bra in between his index and middle finger. With his thumb he pushed on the fabric just past the clasp, the hooks unlatching from their holds. With the lack of tension, the bra straps fall down her arms. She allows the bra to fall to ground between them before bringing her hands back to his cheeks, pulling him towards the bed with her. The back of her knees meet the edge of the bed before she falls back onto the sheets, Damian following soon after.

____________________________________

“So your real name is Raven huh.” Damian looks at the woman as they both come down from their euphoric states.

“Yeah…” Raven can feel how rosy her cheeks are getting as she looks down letting her cover her face, hiding in shame. “I couldn’t exactly come out and say my real name. But you shouldn’t be saying anything, you did the same thing Damian Al Ghul.” Raven says mocking the last name he originally gave her.

Damian rolls over to get out of the bed, Raven catching a glimpse of the slight eye roll. If it was anyone else they would’ve interpreted his actions as anger or annoyance, but Raven knew better by now. He liked that she could give it right back to him, in more ways than one.

“So, shall we talk about the terms of your surrender?” His head turns to the side, just enough to see her face. His eyes shooting daggers at her.

“Fine no business with pleasure.” Raven concedes, knowing she hit a nerve. In the little time she knew him, and as much as she teased him, she had never seen him that angered by something she said. He fully turns to face her this time, any remnant of the anger gone, all that was left was his normal face, with a hint of sincerity.

“By the way, I was serious about that, Rae.”

“Serious about what?”

“Thinking about what you want. You have the power to change what you’d like, take advantage. Make sure you get what you want out of the deal. You can turn that so-called family business into whatever you want, without your father’s watchful eye. You are smart, and very powerful and make people fear messing with you.”

................................................................................................................................

Thank you so much for reading. I know this was sloppy and well, could use a lot more editing, but I wanted to get this up today. I may at a later date edit this but until then this is it and I will get started on the next part tomorrow. 

[the1stn0elle]

Parasyte -The Maxim- Analysis

Summary:

When parasitic alien-like creatures descend from the sky on a dark and silent night, they come along with a bloodlust for human flesh. In order for these parasites to survive, they must invade and take over a human host. Unfortunate high school student Shinichi Izumi has a frighting encounter with the largely unknown parasites lurking in the darkness, and he almost becomes completely taken over by a parasite. Despite Shinichi’s brain not being taken over by the parasite, it has managed to find a home within his right hand and is soon after given the name Migi (right). Parasyte tells the story of a world that is slowly being taken over by alien-like creatures as the parasites can take on human forms and can almost seamlessly live amongst humans. The duality of humans and parasites is expanded on by Shinichi’s character as he is living as both a human and a parasite.

Analysis:

Defining Humanity

Parasyte brings up one major question that the viewers must try to grasp in the duration of the show, “What does it mean to be human?”. Defining humanity is a difficult thing to do mostly because of the subjectiveness of the term, it can hold a plethora of meanings depending on the individual that is assessing it. When Shinichi becomes the partial host for the parasite Migi, his whole life is flipped around as he is forced to share his body with another living organism that understands nothing about humans. Migi’s lack of compassion or “human” emotions leads Shinichi to strongly dislike him as he only uses stone-cold logic when assessing any given situation. In the series, humanity is although, subjective, takes a more concrete form through the progression of the show. One’s humanity can essentially be chalked up to the dynamic emotions that are associated with humans. Shinichi in his current situation is technically living as both a human and a parasite and is continuously asked “what does it mean to be human?” and “what makes humans special?”

Shinichi’s struggle in being both human and parasite comes with having to question what makes parasites and humans so different? We as humans prey on other animals to survive, some kill their own kind, and many humans commit many terrible crimes, but who is anyone to call the parasites monsters when humans themselves never fail to embody the characteristics of monsters themselves? Parasites only take over the brains of humans so they may be given the chance of survival, shouldn’t any living creature be given a chance at life? If not, who are we to decide? The idea is highlighted in a comment made by Migi “If you have the right to live, so do we, granted I believe rights are a concept unique to the human species.”. Migi also discusses the concept of demons and their relatedness between humans “Upon researching the concept of demons, I believe that, among all life, humans are the closest thing to it. Although humans kill and eat a wide variety of life forms, my kind eat merely one or two kinds at most. We are quite frugal in comparison.” if Migi, a parasite who landed on earth knowing nothing about its existence or the world is able to conclude that humans share numerous qualities with demons, couldn’t the same be made by other humans if we all took a step back to see the full picture? There is another question of if humans are possibly worse than parasites; due to the complex emotional intelligence of humans, we can use these emotions for self-gain and can exploit others because of the very existence of human emotions and how they can make us just as vulnerable and weak as they can make us strong.

Losing One’s Humanity

One of the most important plot points in Parasyte is when Shinichi is on the verge of death after he is stabbed in the heart by a parasite that has taken over the body of his mother. As a solution to the problem, Migi decides to combine his cells with Shinichi’s to keep him alive, Migi explains his reason for doing this was that if Shinichi were to die, Migi would die as well since he’d be without a host to sustain his life. The event marks Shinichi’s gradual loss of humanity; he ultimately loses his ability to cry or even outwardly express the prized emotions that make an individual human. Shinichi originally hated Migi due to his lack of love, compassion, or understanding, but now Shinichi is finding himself in the same situation. The struggle Shinichi faces is truly heartbreaking to watch as we see him struggle to a point where it causes physical pain as he isn’t able to express sadness. He begins to adopt the same cold logic previously belonging to Migi and he’s distraught when he knows what he should be feeling but simply isn’t; Shinichi all but loses the altruistic characteristic humans are known to possess. We also see Migi start to show more human emotions as he gradually begins to consider Shinichi a friend and not just a host needed as a means for survival.

Redefining Humanity

Parasyte is bursting with the discussion of ethics and uses Shinichi and Migi to showcase the two ends of the spectrum to decide what is “right” and “wrong”. As the story progresses Shinichi becomes desensitized to killing other parasites as he views them as monsters. Reiko Tamura, one of Shinichi’s high school teachers, flips the belief on its head in a scene crucial to the plot and Shinichi’s regained humanity. Once obtaining a host, Reiko had a plan to bear a child as an experiment to see how the child would develop, but during the last half of the show, it is easy to take note that Reiko does in fact care about her child and even gives her life to protect her baby. Shinichi, who is around to witness the series of events notices the unusual emotions Reiko is showing to her child. It becomes apparent that she has attained some of the emotions once thought to only be possessed by humans. The event brings rise to the question of “is there really a difference between humans and parasites?” the once major distinction was the inability of the parasites to express love or empathy, but Reiko’s character completely proves this incorrect. After witnessing the death of Reiko, Shinichi can finally shed tears for the first time since fusing with Migi and is able to once again grasp his humanity.

What makes Humans Special?

In the final battle of Parasyte between Shinichi and Gotou, a highly dangerous parasite that is a major threat to humanity, Shinichi can accept the weaknesses that come along with being human and having the ability to feel complex and dynamic emotions. The fight between Shinichi and Gotou is gruesome and intense and depicts Shinichi, a man who is lacking in physical strength but is overflowing with emotions fighting against Gotou, a parasite who showcases exemplary physical prowess while lacking emotions giving a battle of human versus nature. Once Gotou is finally standing with his last bit of strength and on the verge of death, Shinichi at first decides to let nature decide the fate of Gotou and whether or not he should live or die. He decides this because he doesn’t want to “impose human values” onto an individual that is not human. Shinichi later concludes that Gotou is to die by his hand as it is the responsibility of humans and all other living species to fight for survival in the face of a predator. Shinichi kills Gotou with the prospect of protecting those dear to him from harm and succumbs to the selfishness of human nature.

[astrologista]

Gavin Bros. Analysis

here be spoilers for apollo justice (aa4)

There are already a bunch of posts all about AA:AJ and just what the heck was behind Kristoph Gavin’s Psychelocks. What were his motivations? Why did he do what he did? As fragmented as the story is surrounding the Gavin brothers, and as much as I wish the source material had rounded out their characters a little more, I believe the game actually tells you pretty much everything there is to know about this case rather succinctly. Don’t worry as I will use evidence to back up my claims...

It is notably interesting that Kristoph’s Psychelocks only come up when Phoenix asks him point blank why he killed Zak Gramarye. This is the one question that Kristoph consistently refuses to answer directly, both in Solitary Cell 13 and in his testimony at his trial. Coincidentally, this is also the main question that he ever gets asked that speaks to his emotions or state of mind. Kristoph has a really good logical answer for basically all of the evidence-based questions. But, it’s also not a coincidence that Apollo has the presence of mind to note - “why not bring up the motive from the start? unless it was a battle he thought he might lose...”

This establishes pretty clearly that Kristoph is going to have a vested interest in keeping all questioning solidly focused on the material evidence at hand such as the postage stamp, the nail polish, and reasons why he cannot be directly connected to those objects. The law provides plenty of escape hatches and loopholes for Kristoph to exploit, which he does, providing him with the legal basis to be able to escape punishment due to the inability for anyone to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is not surprising as being a very successful defense attorney is literally his job and he happens to be extremely competent at it.

This kind of person is scary if you meet them in real life because they can always seem to wriggle out of anything you try to pin on them. Kristoph is a grand master at doing this, quite possibly as good as they come in the AA universe.

Here’s the rub. Apollo brings up that Kristoph wants to avoid bringing the conversation into motives and state of mind questions, why? Because “it’s a battle he thinks he might lose”. Every single time this topic comes up, Kristoph deflects the question. This also is indicated by the five black Psychelocks that come up when Phoenix asks him point blank why he killed Zak. So from this we can gather that the game is drilling it in pretty well that Kristoph’s motivations are a sore spot for him and possibly the one chink in his armor.

Because the material evidence cannot prove anything for or against Kristoph’s guilt, in a typical case like this the police would hope for the holy grail - a full confession and admission of guilt. Kristoph is much too cool of a customer to fall into any traps, no doubt he was questioned very rigorously after being arrested, but all he even had to do was invoke his right to remain silent regarding his motives or simply claim that he killed Zak just ‘cause y’know, being evil is fun. Once he confessed to killing Zak, though, the police probably didn’t care all that much to probe into his thoughts and motivations really, if he did it, he did it and he’s going to spend a stint in jail either way.

Phoenix sees through this, however. In Solitary Cell 13 he does NOT allow Kristoph to drop or evade the question. That is why we get as far as even seeing the black Psychelocks at all. If we can’t know the motive, why bother to have this scene in the game?

Quite simply we can now understand that Kristoph’s motive for killing is something emotional. It is not something that he’s going to divulge casually, but it is also probably something that he is worried about divulging UNCONSCIOUSLY which is why he constantly tries to steer conversations away from it, instead deflecting to discuss the evidence or the emotional state of other people in the room. Consider that Kristoph’s reputation is PREDICATED on him being “the Coolest Defense in the West”. His identity is based on his successful suppression of emotions in court. This is not to say he shows no emotion or is some kind of monotone emotionless husk. He has a rather dry sense of humor. He banters with Apollo. He banters with Phoenix. He isn’t as uptight as some portrayals would have you believe (”life is to be taken easy”). When it comes to surface topics, Kristoph is an open book. He’s not as terse as you would believe, but rather kind of poetic and loquacious and conversational (to his downfall in 4-1). You get the feeling that he would be a very good conversationalist. But only for surface topics. Try to dig a little deeper and he will very neatly deflect your efforts. 

How can we hope to understand a character who by definition does not have any interest in talking about his innermost neuroses? The reason why people still discuss the Gavin brothers and Turnabout Succession so much is that, while a very satisfying and intense case, it is unlike a lot of other AA cases in that you come away from it with a LOT of open ended questions. You don’t feel the same feeling of closure as you would get from the DL-6 case, where it feels like you finally understand all the facts of the case and all of the character motivations come to light making you go “oh! THAT MAKES SENSE!” you understand why von karma killed gregory, and everything comes together nicely in the end. Turnabout Succession is kind of a rarity in that it does not do that. By the end, you feel like you clearly understand the case, but you do not have a crystal clear view of the root cause of the motivations behind it.

In Kristoph’s final testimony he does shed a little bit of light on his motivations for his crimes. The issue that he has is mainly centered around his dismissal by Zak Gramarye as his representation. And, his subsequent replacement with Phoenix Wright, an attorney he perceives to be low-class and sub-par. Kristoph then states “these men shamed me, and I could not forgive that.” This is as close to an answer as to why he went to such lengths to get Phoenix disbarred as we are likely to get. Disproportionate retribution is the name of the game. It seems as if, if there’s one thing Kristoph cannot tolerate, it’s being looked down upon by someone that he perceives as inferior to him. Kristoph has extremely polarized notions of who should get to practice law, who is acceptable and who is categorized under “ignorant swine soiling the courts”. He makes very, very clear that he has nothing but disdain for common people, common wisdom, and any use of emotion or feelings in deciding verdicts.

So the particular manner in which Phoenix sought to bring him down with the jury system was a very deliberate masterstroke to Kristoph’s pride. That much we can establish. But again, motive. The game goes out of its way to tell you that whomever defended Zak would be “famous beyond belief” and, presumably also, rich. They would get a lot of very high-profile clients and cases sent their way after successfully defending the uber-famous magician Zak Gramarye. 

Taking all of this into account, right. Is it possible that everything Kristoph did has its roots in one very simple source, the root of all evil?

Money.

Taking a step back for a moment, consider Klavier. Why does Klavier perform in a rock band? “Because I want Frauleins to look at me when I walk down the street.” I feel like people really want to believe that both Kristoph and Klavier are super deep characters and have all this deep lore and hidden backstory. Maybe they do. Most AA characters do. But consider this. What if they’re both so deep, they’re actually just shallow? Yes, that shallow?

Given how much AA:AJ focuses on the Gavins, which is really not that much, this concept seems difficult to swallow. Is there really more to the story based on what the game gives us? If there is, how would we piece it together?

One major hint the game gives you about Kristoph (and, if this is insignificant, then you have to really wonder why they bother to bring it up at all) takes place directly after seeing Kristoph’s black Psychelocks in Solitary Cell 13. He starts doing his nails. Phoenix says “I know appearances are a big thing with you”. Kristoph says “You know what I say? One cannot live a beautiful life without beautiful nails.”

I feel that this statement is important because it is probably about as deep of a look as we are ever going to get at how shallow Kristoph Gavin really is. He hopes you will believe that he’s playing 12-dimensional chess with some kind of fucked up backstory and motive going, but the truth is, he’s no chessmaster. Based on what the game gives you, there’s really only one motivation for everything that makes sense.

Kristoph killed Zak, Drew and attempted to kill Vera to cover his tracks. He had to do everything he could to make sure no one talked about the forgery. He had to stalk people like Spark and keep Phoenix very close (the epitome of keep your friends close keep your enemies closer). There’s nothing really debatable about those facts because they are all discussed in the game.

What about the root cause? Revenge, of course, for Phoenix stealing away the chance for Kristoph to defend Zak.

Why was defending Zak so important to Kristoph? To become rich and famous.

So wait. Why does Kristoph need to be rich and famous?

As it is, Kristoph appears to be very affluent and well off. There is no real reason directly given in the game as to why he would need such prestige and fame other than that it feeds his massive ego and superiority complex. So that’s a big part of it, no debate there.

But why would the excessive monetary gains that would be secured off of the Gramarye case be so appealing to Kristoph? We’ll re-examine this in a little bit.

In Daryan Crescend’s case, Phoenix tells Apollo “every man has an igniter. find his and set it off”. 

What is Kristoph’s igniter?

I mean some people would say Phoenix Wright is Kristoph’s igniter based on his breakdown. But, I think more of that trial was contrived by Phoenix than we tend to notice.

I think Klavier is Kristoph’s igniter.

The final trial in Turnabout Succession would not have been able to succeed without Lamiroir, without the jury system, without Phoenix pulling the strings, without Trucy, without Apollo, and most especially without Klavier. Removing any of these elements from the scenario would immediately give Kristoph a massive advantage in allowing him to manipulate the courtroom. Can you imagine Payne trying to prosecute Kristoph?

No. Klavier was the only one who could confront Kristoph successfully.

The final trial had to be contrived in such a way as to put maximal pressure on Kristoph to increase the chances that he would slip up or, more likely, that an element of randomness and/or emotion would become introduced. Phoenix sets up Klavier as the prosecutor for this trial for a good reason - remember, Phoenix tells Apollo point blank that he (Phoenix) is pulling all of the strings for the Misham trial, so whatever happens is entirely his responsibility.

It must have been difficult for Phoenix to entrust Klavier, the person who sealed his fate, with such an important task. But realistically, he didn’t really have a choice. Klavier’s disclosure of Kristoph’s visit to the prosecutor’s office is the glue that holds together the entire case against Kristoph Gavin. Notice that Kristoph never really does anything to keep Klavier out of the public eye or otherwise silence him (up until the very end at least). If I knew there was someone walking around giving press interviews and practicing as a prosecutor who knew something really incriminating about me, I would want them swept away or snuffed out asap - I mean, Kristoph has already poisoned Drew and Vera who were unlikely to tattle on him at best; Drew couldn’t even identify him! What Klavier has on him is much, much more damning dirt. Either Kristoph really loves and trusts his brother or is convinced that he can control Klavier to the point where Klavier would never dare tell anyone about that visit or wouldn’t want to. Probably both are true.

The interesting thing about this dynamic is that this is really the only time where we see both Gavin brothers together in one room, as well. Something about being in proximity changes both of their behaviors. Klavier becomes hyper-alert and nervous in Kristoph’s presence, a marked change from his usually easy demeanor. Klavier’s presence causes Kristoph to make several mistakes, which end up costing him the case.

So all of these things needed to happen, and they needed to happen simultaneously for Phoenix to succeed. Getting back to my theory on Kristoph, we can see from what’s said in the game a few things - he really, REALLY wanted to be the one to benefit from defending Zak Gramarye (a trial he knew he would win against his brother using forged evidence), the presence of Klavier is his undoing in court, and his appearances are very, very important to him. 

I honestly think the real reason Kristoph was so salty about losing out on the Gramarye trial fame and money is that he didn’t just want to be affluent or well-to-do. He wanted to be excessively, filthy rich.

If you look at Solitary Cell 13 you will see that Kristoph likes very much to surround himself with many nice things. He likes tasteful decorations and furniture. He enjoys literature, music, art, that weird rose he keeps in a vase, and he has a dog named Vongole. “First rate in all things, accept nothing less.”

To have such top of the line items, Kristoph must not only be rich, he must be like top 1% rich. He has to have the absolute best of everything. This is why he needs money. Without these things, what separates him from the ignorant swine he so despises? This is why Kristoph needed money.

Nowhere is this highlighted more than with the Ariadoney nail polish. I think it’s mentioned a couple of times that the Ariadoney is absolutely the best possible nail polish that you can buy. It’s very, very expensive and is manufactured in extremely limited quantities (this is discussed during Kristoph’s testimony). If Kristoph is this fixated on something as simple as a bottle of nail polish, you can almost imagine the absolutely ludicrous costs of every other item that he uses or owns, not limited to his home, his car, fine foods and wine, his expensive hobbies, possibly traveling etc etc etc etc. I just know this fool shops at Whole Foods, because I can’t see him buying groceries at the Costco. It makes a lot of sense as to why he is single as well. Kristoph Gavin would end up being an expensive habit to any partner who would have him - I wouldn’t want to share a bank account or credit line with him. He needs Gucci to keep him happy. No bootlegs here.

Point is, Kristoph Gavin has an addiction to the finer things in life and he will NOT settle for second rate products. He will have what he wants and he will do basically anything to maintain his lifestyle at its current elite level at the expense of his own morality and soul. Sadly enough I feel like that might be as deep as it gets with him. That’s a really pathetic motive to have and makes me hate him a lot more, but it’s so fucked up I can’t look away.

Consider also the most important thing to Kristoph of all - his appearance. It costs money to keep yourself up and this seems to be the one area that Kristoph might end up pouring the most money into. The top of the line suit, the white shoes, the perfect tan, the platinum blonde hair so immaculately coiffed, the fact that his skin is virtually perfect and the fact that his face is near-identical to Klavier’s despite being some 8 or 9 years older. Most normal people would have some kind of facial imperfection pop up at some point, a wrinkle, a pock mark, something. And that’s when you realize... that Kristoph Gavin has most likely had work done. Like, on his face to make it stay youthful. He’s just that vain and probably also despises watching Klavier stay young and pretty while he’s just aging. Fillers? Botox? Collagen treaments? Something more invasive? No one knows, but all I’m saying is that Klavier’s character description goes out of its way to describe Klavier as “the spitting image of Kristoph Gavin”. Vera notices the extreme resemblance right away. There can certainly be genetic basis for two brothers looking alike, but compare that to how Mia and Maya look “alike”, or Lana and Ema, both of whom have a similar age gap to Kristoph and Klavier. You would realize that Kristoph and Klavier seem to have somewhat of a more obvious resemblance despite the age difference. So this isn’t just possible anymore, this is actually likely. I don’t think the game implies that Kristoph has undergone plastic surgery or anything, so I’m keeping this in the realms of headcanon for now. But it would make perfect sense as yet another reason as to why Kristoph Gavin needs cold cash. He needs to look flawless and he needs access to the absolutely most top of the line treatments and practitioners, continually. And as he continues to age, he needs to get more and more aggressive, more and more products, more and more retouching with those age reversal creams and foundations and stabilizers. That adds up, cost-wise, very very fast, especially if you want top of the line EVERYTHING, and Kristoph does indeed. It is very clear that settling for any less would be completely unacceptable to him.

All of this money, it has to come from somewhere. Being a posh defense lawyer will bring in some money, sure, but nothing near what Kristoph is going to need to live his beautiful life. Winning the Gramarye trial would have probably bought him enough prestige, clients and monetary gains to support himself off of law for the rest of his life. It does make a lot of sense that he would be incensed after losing that chance.

There is one more unexplored possibility as to why Kristoph had to be the one to win the Gramarye trial, though, and it ties into the money issue as well. This was supposed to be a fair match, after all, brother to brother. Klavier’s first case, in fact. It was supposed to be Kristoph vs. Klavier, and Kristoph wanted to make sure that he would be the one to win. Only Zak and Phoenix ruined that chance - a once in a lifetime chance, actually, for Kristoph to go up against his brother on Klavier’s very first day.

Klavier was the prosecutor of the Gramarye trial. It was his very first case. What could Kristoph have to gain by being the one to trounce 17-year-old Klavier in court on his first day on the job?

Well, not much, other than it would have been a huge crushing blow to Klavier psychologically.

There’s a comic floating around by someone, I think zarla-s, where Kristoph wins the Gramarye trial and is discussing his win with Klavier afterwards. Kristoph is smug and hopes Klavier will be humbled by his impressive win, but Klavier is unperturbed by his loss, happy for his brother and insists he’ll win next time.

As cute as this is, somehow I don’t think that’s exactly how it would go down.

Klavier has actively shown how nervous / anxious / upset Kristoph’s mere presence makes him in a courtroom setting. Based on this, it’s not unfair to say that losing to Kristoph IN PARTICULAR on Klavier’s very first case would have been a devastating psychological blow that could technically end Klavier’s prosecutor career before it even began. There is a lot on the line with the Gramarye trial, don’t forget the praise and adulation that Klavier gained by winning it. So other than all of the fame, adulation, money and pride Kristoph would have gained by rigging and winning the Gramarye trial, there is another dimension that he was also robbed of - the ability to ruin his brother’s law career. Losing to another attorney like Phoenix or anyone else would not be enough to do the job. It would have to and could only be Kristoph’s doing.

What reason could Kristoph have for wanting Klavier’s law career to come to an end?

Well, Klavier does have another job. As a rock star.

Wildly popular rock stars make a lot of money, many many many times more than even a celebrity defense attorney could dream to make.

The Gavinners had multiple albums go platinum. They sold out shows all over the country, I believe, possibly all over the world. They are a brand. They are profitable. Klavier is profitable.

With how much Kristoph depends on and uses Klavier, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Kristoph gets to take a big cut of Klavier’s earnings from his music career. For all we know, Kristoph could have been responsible for assembling and filing many of the Gavinners’ early contracts and legal paperwork. The rights to songs, record deals, merchandising - this is a lot of stuff. I’d say it’d be pretty hard to believe that Kristoph did not have his hooks into the Gavinners from day one. If he handled contracts, he could have written in loopholes that would give him a huge cut of any earnings resulting from Klavier’s band, the Gavinners.

Now I know what you’re thinking, Klavier himself is a legal prodigy. He could have easily read through anything Kristoph prepared and refused to sign on the dotted line if he found anything amiss or hidden in the fine print. What if Kristoph’s legal control of Klavier started much earlier than that? Depending on when Klavier started in the entertainment business, which could have been a very early age, Kristoph could have had plenty of time and opportunity to secure access to any of Klavier’s future earnings, especially if their parents were out of the picture.

 If you think Kristoph has nothing to do with the Gavinners, think about it. One of their songs is literally called “Atroquinine, My Love”. They are a brand. They are marketed specifically to teeny boppers. They’re not squeaky clean mainstream pop like the Jonas Brothers or anything, but they are marketable. The advertising, the way they dress, the way Klavier says he’s tired of the youthful angst scene, the fact that Klavier only gives Apollo and Trucy a 20% discount on concert tickets. I’m just saying a lot of it could end up being contrived, perhaps by a certain someone with an ulterior motive. It seems really, really weird and coincidental that the band broke up right after AA4 too. Klavier seems like he’s really dedicated to his art, and to music. This much is clear in the way he reverently talks about Lamiroir, how he teared up at her song, even the Guitars’ Serenade seems like a very different song than what the Gavinners would typically do, and it only debuts after Kristoph is already in jail.

It makes you wonder if there might be a little something more going on here. If Kristoph had it set up to where he could get access to Klavier’s assets, which almost certainly dwarf his own by several times, then he had every reason to want to crush Klavier in court. He had to be the one to face Klavier in the Gramarye trial and win, causing Klavier to end his prosecutor dreams - and do what?

Go back on the road, put everything into his music career and become a workhorse for Kristoph’s ambitions.

Putting Klavier full time on the Gavinners would have solved all of Kristoph’s monetary worries for good. He could skim everything off the top and finally live the beautiful life of his dreams, the life he needed to have and couldn’t do without. Most importantly, he could keep up appearances and always look continually young and attractive.

Until we learn otherwise, I think that that is really all that was behind Kristoph’s black Psychelocks. Just a narcissistic, vain, preening loser masquerading as some mastermind villain when, in the end, that’s not really what he cared about being. He cared about painting his nails in a luxurious mansion surrounded by piles of money in a big Scrooge McDuck money vault, and laughing maniacally at anyone who ever thought that there was anything more to it.

[wizardcow12]

Now I was gonna say anything but goddamn it I can't just sit around and let people do this without stepping in! SO LOOK WHAT YOU DID INTERNET I'M DEFENDING A BILLIONAIRE (although they are fictional)

Let's talk about Batman. You've probably seen a bunch of posts making Batman look like a villain or a bully saying he's a billionaire who uses his wealth to beat up the poor and mentally ill rather then help them. But no that's not the case and I will prove so in this post. Now on the surface yes that does seem like what is happening, rich guy dresses in a suit to beat up criminals who could just need some money right? What about poison ivy that just wants to help the environment? Or Mr freeze who wants to help his wife?

Almost all the posts I see talking about how "Batman is the real villain" seems to take advantage of those three points and attempts to make them seem more like the victims. Which is far from the true. First case poison ivy

People who defend poison ivy say something along the lines of "she just wants to help the environment" yes she does but in her mind the way to help the environment calls for GENOCIDE. If I seriously have to explain why she's not a victim it will take years off my lifespan. Next case Mr. Freeze.

Poor Mr Freeze who is saving his wife right? No choice but crime? Couldn't Bruce Wayne give him money? Yes he's trying to save his wife. But he doesn't need to murder innocents to get there, and let's not skip over how in the comics Bruce Wayne DID cure his wife. And even so in the beginning Mr Freeze thought his wife was DEAD AND JUST WANTED REVENGE.

The elephant in the room, the big white and smiling elephant in the room. Joker. The joker is definitely a supervillain who suffers from mental illness and does need help. Which Batman has offered many times by putting him in an asylum. And before you say it yes an asylum isn't the best place for mental ill people to get help which is also why I want to say how that Bruce Wayne on several occasions has built a new mental health hospital for many of those who reside in Arkham.

Now about the run of the mill crooks. Many could just want some money to feed there kids right? Well majority of them dont, most of the people Batman deals with tend to be murders, rapists, muggers or drug dealers (most drug dealers teen to be selling hard drugs not just marijuana). It's not like Batman is trying to beat a jaywalker, a drug user, or a loiter. Besides even when he does attempt to stop the crooks or criminals he doesn't give them broken arms or jaws unlike he does with organized crime goons who are in the wrong. I don't care what you say you don't need to help the fucking joker or penguin because that's much worse then doing small crime for extra money.

So please just leave Batman alone. I get the point. You want to show how the system sucks and want to make class consciousness easier to understand. But the thing is Bruce Wayne isn't real. He's fictional. And in fiction it's possible for a billionaire to be a great person who isn't still built on the backs of child slaves in foreign countries, that isn't exploiting the workers, who isn't trying to lobby the government for their interest and I get why you're first instinct would be to label him as that, but it's fictional in fiction you can have something that would seem bad be good

[brandyspringsluxury]

The Staff of Brandy Springs Suites

Welcome to Brandy Springs Suites- a luxury apartment complex filled with clean, cared for facilities and on location gym, spa, emergency laundromat, and even a recreation room. It was once a hotel, but bought and modified by the current owner it is now peak luxury living. It’s a place that values consistency, kindness, and loyalty. The owner, a very mysterious man known only by Mr. Carter, was already very wealthy, so money is not something he prioritizes solely. In fact, he values loyalty more than income and if you prove to be a loyal and kind person, you may find certain perks and advantages. So, I hope you enjoy your stay and remain here for a long, long time. Nevermind all the tenants who seem to always have ulterior, hidden motives or the ever revolving spa and cleaning staff. Oh, and if you’re looking over things, please do try to ignore the first floor after midnight- and if you go down it’s in your best interest to feign ignorance to whatever noises you hear or things you see. And if you ever- EVER- manage to meet Mr. Carter make sure you are on your best behavior and prove your worth, or you may not leave the complex alive. 

TW: mentions of sex trafficking, kidnapping, murder, drugging, torture 

The Owner - Mr. Carter

55 - 6’1” - 188 lbs || Caucasian || he/him || lives separate || Weinstein Wannabe

Evil, awful man. Sells victims in the basement of the apartment complex, sex trafficker and if a tenant can’t pay and their intensive “background check” indicates the tenant is not someone that may be missed that tenant will be sold. That being said, if a tenant shows worthwhile attributes that could bring the Owner more money (ie bringing victims, more tenants, or generally having skills the Owner can exploit, etc) then the Ownery may be able to help the tenants with their own, perhaps nefarious, deeds (ie kidnapping/killing someone for them, bribing the police, etc). That being said, only the staff know what he looks like and have a direct line of communication with him. All tenants speak to staff, unless they are unlucky enough to have bumped into him or to have been a direction for his ire. He has no empathy and doesn’t attempt to pretend he does. He’s a cold, cruel man and he makes it known to everyone he interacts with. 

Emergency room in complex is Room 002

The  Front Desk -  Ronaldo Cortez

28 - 5’9” - 196 lbs || Latinx || they/them || lives separate || Golden Retriever Friend

Raised hyper christian american; couldn’t speak at the table or if they weren’t spoken to, couldn’t make or visit friends outside of the church, etc. Because of that they are fantastic at masking or playing characters and very much embodies the charisma of the golden retriever friend, but has an aggressive and vicious side hidden. Doesn’t let the tenants know much about them, but does blind side them with occasional double-sided comments. Great at picking up information on the tenants or on potential tenants from the position of Front Desk. Very beneficial for the Owner. The Owner places a lot of trust in them and how they vet tenants and workers-- essentially the Owner’s right hand person and second in command. Much smarter than they seem and is quite intuitive. Struggles to back their intuition so they get along very well with Lily-- the very person who can dig up the evidence to back their intuition. The pair are largely unstoppable. Their intuition is never wrong and Lily can find literally anything if they motivated her enough. Has never personally done anything illegal (hands on) but has facilitated and encouraged it enough. Essentially, the plan B of the operation should it fail. Cannot legally be prosecuted for any crimes and thus can help anyone who falls  into legal trouble get the best help to get away with whatever crimes committed. 

In case of emergency has access to Room 003.

The Head of Security - Lily-Anne 

23 - 5’4” - 180 lbs || Russian American | she/her || Room 005 || Greasy, Lazy Genius 

  Doesn’t look it but can pick anyone up and throw them like they’re nothing. Learned to deadlift and hack to prove the boys in her high school classes wrong. Mastered biology freshman year and went on to throw herself into the STEM programs. Won lots of scholarships but never went to secondary school. Can find anything about anyone. Normally quite apathetic but you don’t want to trigger stronger emotions- obsessive to either degree. She’ll either kidnap you as hers (and literally love you to death) or she’ll just kill you in her anger and hatred of you. Wants to push those around her to the brink, control them to the point that they’d do anything- kill or die for her. Heavily sapphic but not exclusionary and likes who she likes. Has few friends, most online, but Ronaldo is one she begrudgingly admits to befriending. The Owner knows a lot of Lily-Anne, but she knows little of him. She mostly digs up the dirt for Ronaldo, in return for a toy to play with and some cash, but she also largely protects the complex more heavily than traditional security including cyber security and bribing/hacking the police. This makes her a very valuable asset and the Owner has a soft spot for her, throwing her a toy to play with out of the blue occasionally if one fits her preferences that the Owner can tell. 

The Gym Trainer - Rocky

25 - 6’1” - 265 lbs || Dominican-German || he/him || Room 217 || Aggro-gym bro

Got hired after being a tenant due to his actual degree but also because Marissa had stumbled across his strength and ruthlessness and mentioned it to Ronaldo. The perfect backup and, well, Rocky killed his darlings often enough that the disposal of their bodies was payment for the heavy lifting he did for the Owner. Doesn’t know much, just knows he sees some bitches being taken and he beats some douchebags up. He doesn’t care what happens to the victims, doesn’t know, doesn’t want to know or care. Rent is significantly cheaper and after being the backup for a few years, his rent was waived. He showed loyalty and that is rewarded. Always on the prowl for tenants to trick into the complex and then trap them in the gym so he can bully them. Its a win-win for the Owner and for him. He earns commission from both. Quite handy to have on staff despite his own (willing and willful) ignorance. The rooms on either side of him are often vacant due to the screams of his victims (both sexual and tortured) and the Owner buckled down and sound proofed his entire apartment. Saves them both some stress.

The Head of Maintenance - Marissa Thompson 

27 - 6’ - 178 lbs || Black American || she/her || Room 008 || Chaotic ADHD gremlin

Trans-woman and proud. Black and proud. Can do everything a straight white man can do but better. Always has 100+ projects on her plate but still takes on every project offered. Prioritizes well and always helps the tenants in a timely and kind manner. Has never gotten a complaint-- about her work. She, herself, now requests tenants be out of the apartment while work is being done because she’s so chaotic it stresses out the tenants. Loves and leans into the “plumber’s crack” trope when she does plumbing work. Makes straight white men super uncomfortable and she lives for it. Unlike most other tenants, she knows nothing about The Owner or his operations, she was vetted by Front Desk and okay’ed due to her oblivious nature and genuine skills. (Front Desk totally knows about how she’s obsessive and stalks her love interests, how she sneaks into their rooms and frots against their bed while she caresses their skin while they sleep, how she hooked cameras up in her apartment so she can watch them always, how she always helps them first-- drops everything to help them first; but it’s okay, Front Desk can use all that to their advantage and when it stops being an advantage, well, they have more proof against her than she could dream of having against them. This job pays too well to lose, anyway, right?)  

Lobby Cleaner - Amelia Moser

21 - 5’6” - 134 lbs || Caucasian || he/him & she/her || Room 004 || Discreet Wallflower 

Soft, sweet, and quiet. She often blends into the background unnoticed. Gathers  a lot of intel that way and is quite willing to play the bait or honey pot people for the Owner. She’s more dangerous and promiscuous than she looks, after all looks are deceiving. She’s always getting dirt on the tenants, too. Cleaning the lobby and gym bathrooms while people are in them, eavesdropping on conversations, and generally watching everyone with a very close eye. She, herself, has an entitlement to her if you can catch her in conversation, though just know if you are in a conversation with her she’s already got you hooked. She doesn’t talk to anyone unless she wants or needs something from them- though they’re largely the same. Whatever it is, she’s getting it. Loves sweet things that aren’t just pretending to be kind, if you treat her and everyone with kindness but also get shy and flustered or you’re a little bit of a crybaby then- well, you’re her’s now. She’s kidnapping you, locking you up in her nursery, and drugging you until you believe you’re the child she’s treating you as. And if you try to leave- well, she won’t be afraid to take drastic measures. She knows how to clean up the toughest of stains after all.