#the ramblings……..have taken over my brayne…..

[orathearsonman]

anyway so i’m rereading Villain With a Crush / Pure Villain and noticing some parallels between Han Doryeong (pictured left) and Tesilid (pictured right). hear me out for the next (checks watch) uhhhhh,

so both of them could be considered the face of their institution (doryeong more so since he’s practically a celebrity, tesilid on account of him being the Wielder of the Holy Sword)

both were taught and conditioned (?) from a young age— doryeong got his abilities as a newborn and was IMMEDIATELY on the special police radar because he was super strong. tesilid was taken in as one of the sacred sheep as a little orphan child and branded with the stigmata.

both of their powers exceed those around them (doryeong: woah, TWO POWERS?? tesilid: seven deadly sins and heavenly virtues let him power up)

ultimately, they are both somehow victims of their institution. doryeong’s been the best special officer practically since he was old enough to walk. he’s always been the hero, always been the people’s bastion of hope. for the longest time, he’s been burdened with the knowledge that if he ever falters or shows weakness, the people around him will lose their faith in the special police force. he has to win every battle / save every person / etc / etc. all the while, he’s haunted by the question: if he’s ever in danger, who will come to save him? now objectively tesilid has it worse; his childhood was stolen by the vatican treating him like a weapon and a tool to their own ideals. his hands were stained red with the blood of people that the vatican branded as heretics, inhuman, people that weren’t people at all but evil things meant to be purged. his morality struggled against the path he was forced into (it only gets worse during his regressions, of course).

both of them put on façades. for one reason or another, they have to act like pure, upstanding people (who are NOT undergoing a single mental health crisis, thank you very much). doryeong because he can’t let the public down despite his own fears (see above), tesilid because he feels he can’t risk showing that side of himself to ailette (because of that #sweet fear of rejection)

and both of them eventually meet a person (rosa, ai) who sees them as they are (debatable but it’s about the effect not the intention) and is powerful enough to protect them. when doryeong is in danger, who will protect him? rosa, who shatters an entire building headed straight for his face. tesilid forever wishes for a healer? no worries, ailette was studying a decade specifically for this. after forever being the hero now it’s THEIR turn to get deus ex machina’d. they don’t have to be the strongest person in the room or a smiling cutout. they have a chance to experience new things! smile genuinely! perhaps even… be a little bit jealous for once?? damn i never knew they had it in em.

doryeong and tesilid are different characters with different experiences and vibes. they’re not even set in remotely similar worlds. still, it’s difficult for me to not spot the similarities when they encompass so many tropes/archetypes i love (e.g. guy experiences genuine compassion for the first time, 10 dead, 27 injured)