#well. not outwardly but he is actively shown to care about them. like. that character is one of the only things he cares about when hes bas

[chrissyjoshys]

liking a character is. fun because i'll go "i love this character!" and then everyone is like "omg me too i love how he hurts people on purpose for fun because he finds it enjoyable and how he specifically hates this character also!" and im like. have you even like skimmed the source material. are we talking about the same guy

[redfish-blu]

I think the reason I got so attached to Narcos Mexico specifically is that to truly understand any of the characters and their actions you have to compete in the Critical Thinking Olympics, because every main character is actively playing multiple games of 4-D chess with one another, and in doing so they also trick the audience into thinking they’re doing one thing while they’re actually doing something different. The show never outright tells you what’s happening, so you have to figure it out for yourself.

There’s a specific interaction in s1e10 I’ve been decoding in my head for the past few days, which lasts about ten seconds on screen but the lead up and eventual payoff spans the entirety of seasons 1&2 at the very least. It’s this exchange between Félix and Amado after the former made his return having paid off the army to protect him, and took control of the plazas again:

Amado: Too bad what happened to my uncle, right?

Félix: Yeah, we’ll miss him.

Amado: Yes, we’ll miss him a lot.

(beat)

Amado: Well, welcome back, cousin.

This is off the back of Félix turning in both Rafa and Don Neto to get the government off his tail for the time being, because they were about to get his ass. Nothing stays a secret for very long when you’re running a cartel, and the show establishes that it’s pretty obvious to everyone involved who had Don Neto’s safe house raided. He even says so when he gets arrested (“Félix made his move”), so I think it’s safe to assume that Amado, who is actually related to the guy, knows exactly what happened.

Amado does a few things here.

First, he unknowingly enters Félix into a test by commenting it’s a shame his uncle got “caught” without directly revealing that he knows Félix had a hand in it. The test is to see 1) whether or not Félix will deny involvement and 2) whether or not he feels remorseful or apologetic for his actions. Amado is literally Neto’s nephew, and the only family he is explicitly shown to have around at this point in the show. I think I would want my boss to feel a little sorry for sending my only family member to jail, just a little bit. Needless to say, Félix doesn’t pass the test. He clips Amado’s remark in the bud and won’t even look at him when he gives him what amounts to a pleasantry as an answer for what happened, basically saying “get outta my face.” Amado then adapts to the situation and mirrors Félix’s attitude about the whole thing.

Secondly, Amado covertly reaffirms his alignment with Félix by showing he is outwardly willing to ignore the transgression for the sake of staying in the business, or that he’s ignorant as to what took place altogether (It isn’t clear which one. I have my own hypothesis but it gets into season 2 events and I’m trying to strictly draw from what’s already happened). The way he seems to forgo the topic shows Félix that he still has a follower in Amado and that he doesn’t have to worry about him trying to get revenge or sewing dissent because he’s taken personal offense. This is a stunningly clever play on Amado’s part, because it takes him off of Félix’s “people I need to keep an eye on” radar (evidently a bad place to be), and ensures that he won’t be used as the next get-out-of-jail-free card should the government turn sour on them again.

(Side note: The english subtitles for this scene leave out the fact that Amado referred to Félix as cousin when he welcomed him back. I don’t think they’re actually related like Rafa and Félix are, but using the term serves as a further endearment even if Félix doesn’t care very much for that kind of thing. Obviously, since he snitched on his actual cousin [Rafa] and scoffed at the federation being called a “family” like 30 seconds prior)

Getting into the Character of it all for a second: Félix is the type of person who thinks that if he can’t find any evidence to disprove what he sees, then he must be right about everything, to which he proceeds to invent his own confirmation bias because he refuses to listen to other people’s opinions about anything, because he thinks he’s smarter than everyone around him as a default setting. Er go, if Amado is acting and talking like he doesn’t care about what happened to his uncle, then it must mean he actually doesn’t care. Félix chooses to believe whatever option will best serve his interests, and if nothing comes of his decisions, he won’t look any deeper into it. As long as Amado is acting like everything is aces then everything is aces.

Félix’s logical fallacy completely disregards the possibility that Amado is putting on a front for the sake of not getting put on The Shit List, which is exactly what he’s doing. The previous sequence saw Félix announcing his presence at the meeting where the plazas were going to cut him out of the business, to which he basically scared the pants off them into accepting his leadership once again despite not having the respect of a single person in the room. Félix revealed the lengths he was willing to go to just to keep everyone’s toes in line. Well, everyone knows the best way to make someone think you’re doing what they want is to appear as if you are. Only when they’re looking directly at you, of course.

As an audience, we have to work just as hard as the characters to reveal their true intentions and identities. The first time I watched the show I barely noticed this interaction, and only upon rewatching did I realize that the viewer is playing the part of Félix in this scene. The writers wanted Amado out of sight and out of mind, a one-dimensional character who didn’t take up too much space in our head so that they could effectively pull off his arc in season 2. A lot of Amado’s character is made up of what he leads us to believe is true; and if we didn’t see it in the moment, Félix Gallardo didn’t either.

[andypantsx3]

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to write Shouto? There’s so much to his character, I’d want to do him justice!

Ahhhh hello my angel!! I'm happy you'd trust me to answer this lol, since I think I'm still kind of figuring that out myself.

I think it mostly depends on what you want to achieve with him, plot-wise, or which aspects of his canon characterization matter to you the most. You'll want to play up some things vs others depending on your personal preferences. But I can tell you what I focus on when I'm writing, and maybe that will help!!

Technique-wise, I use a very standard bit of description to move Shouto around on the page.

For me, writing Shouto is mostly about super tiny hints of emotion. In canon he's got that deadpan expression when he's saying like the most insane stuff, and--except for in the heat of battle/at majorly emotional plot points (you know the ones)--he doesn't show all too much outwardly. So I'll often write just a hint of what he's feeling on his face. You're probably sick of all the "tiny smiles pulling at the corner of his mouth" and the "smallest hint of a furrow at his brow" at this point lol, but that's how I do it--I choose a microexpression and let it deliver the vaguest hint of what he's feeling.

Plot-wise, I try to have the storyline tie into the aspects of his personality I want to play up the most.

Personally, one of my favorite things about Shouto is what a brat we've seen him be--like in the WHM prequel + all the times he's ghosted or shaded his dad. So I like to make him a little bit of a shit in my own fics too. I usually show that via him doggedly insisting on the things he wants--like a date with Reader, and using underhanded methods to get it if he has to--or getting slightly jealous when he absolutely does not need to.

The other aspect of his canon personality that I love is how genuinely kind he is. His whole character arc really shows how he actively thinks of and prioritizes others--whether that's giving Midoriya a little bit of his soba when Midoriya's upset, or giving his father the chance to redeem himself when he owes him absolutely nothing like that. So I also try to lean into that in my fics, having him take care of the people around him (usually Reader) by feeding them, actively listening to them, etc.

Dialogue is probably where I deviate the most from canon Shouto. In the manga, he's shown to be a little bit rude, often not using the appropriate honorifics, speaking very directly--so you might want to keep his language a little bit more abrupt. I do tend to give him shorter lines for this reason.

For some other reason, though, I have it in my head that he's old-fashioned, having grown up moneyed in an established hero family--Camie Utsushimi called him "hero royalty" basically. So I give him more formal dialogue, usually, with very few contractions--I'll make him say, "I would like," instead of "I'd like," and kind of old-fashioned phrasings like "are you well?" instead of "are you okay?" or "did you not?" instead of "didn't you?"

Uhhh and that's it, I think. Like I said, it's really just using your plot to underscore the personality traits you want to play up, and applying some different techniques like the micro-expressions/shorter lines to cement it!! I hope this was at least a little bit helpful!!

I'm mostly still figuring out what works for me though, so if other Shouto writers have tips, I'd love to hear them!!

[sun-undone]

OBX details that make me feral (3/?)

JJ's super interesting reactions to Kie showing affection towards anyone that isn't him

Okay so this shit makes me so incredibly sure about JJ’s feelings for Kiara that I truly cannot see how some people don’t realize it.

Quick psychology lesson (pls don't yell at me if this isn't perfectly accurate, psych is complex and that's why i love it okay):

Reaction formation is a defense mechanism in which someone tries to hide or appease unwanted emotions by openly expressing the opposite of them.

Projection is another defense mechanism in which someone displaces their own emotion onto someone else in order to avoid dealing with it internally.

I think that JJ subconsciously employs a combination of these two defense mechanisms in response to his feelings for Kie.

The unwanted emotion: We know that JJ had apparently tried to take things further with her sometime pre-season 1, and we can assume that he got rejected, probably because of the whole “no pogue on pogue macking” rule. But those feelings don’t just magically disappear, especially when your crush is one of your best friends whom you constantly see in a bikini.

The reaction: So, I think that in order to try to repress those residual feelings for her, he jumps on the idea of her potentially liking John B, and later Pope, and becomes kind of obsessed with both of those relationships. Instead of expressing his own romantic feelings, he projects them onto his other friends and then tries to appease his jealousy through actively egging on the relationships.

In reaction formation, the expression of the opposite reaction is usually very showy and exaggerated, and I think that that definitely falls in line with how JJ seems borderline obsessed with both John B/Kie and Pope/Kie.

In 1x01, he very dramatically teases John B about Kie telling him to be careful, and basically implies that John B is an idiot for not pursuing something with her already.

And then in 1x02, after Kie has kissed John B on the cheek, JJ teases him in the same exaggerated way again, insisting that he can clearly see both of their feelings for one another. This eventually leads to John B kissing her later in the episode.

With Pope/Kie, JJ definitely seems more outwardly jealous, but he still hides a lot of it through this obsession over the relationship, trying to ask Kie how far they’ve gone sexually and then giving Pope advice. And then just like with John B, JJ's advice directly leads to Pope trying to be more physical with Kie after they get the gun out of the sewer.

Importantly, I definitely don’t think that JJ is doing any of this consciously. He is the most loyal person ever, so I highly doubt that he would purposely try to sabotage his friends’ relationships and jeopardize the group dynamic for any reason, much less one that involved his own feelings. I really do think that this is an example of his immature defense mechanisms shining through without him realizing it.

Other examples include him immediately shutting down and getting defensive when the Pogues disagree with him in 1x07, as well as him blowing the stolen 25K later on in that same episode. He also uses deflection A LOT, but I think that one is much more of a conscious choice. (i could do a whole other analysis on his defense mechanisms and i just might)

JJ is a flawed character who has been shown to not be very good at verbally expressing his emotions, so to me, this seems like a plausible explanation for his behavior regarding Kie’s relationships with John B and Pope.

TL;DR, JJ acts like the #1 John B/Kie and Pope/Kie superfan, but he really just has unresolved romantic feelings for Kie that he can’t express in a healthier way.

previous post // next post

[virtual-minotaur]

Watched Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) (PP&W) and I.... don't really know where to begin. I don't think I'm going to have super deep analysis, I barely remember anything from the original Peter Pan (PP) movie and I've never read the stories, so. Don't take my word for it.

However, basing my judgment entirely on the comparison of the two movies... the new one is kind of a mess.

Obviously, it kept the themes of "growing up vs staying a child", but PP&W felt... strange in its handling of the themes. In PP, Wendy is very torn about growing up, but doesn't fully embrace staying a child either! She misses her mom, and loves the adventures they're going on, but also realizes that she has to take responsibility, especially when it comes to her brothers. PP&W Wendy, however, ends up embracing fully that she has to grow up, even if she does go on the adventures and helps the Lost Boys defeat the pirates. She still hopes Peter will grow up with her, even as he chooses to hold on to childhood.

When it comes to Tiger Lily, they've taken precious care to erase any overt racism towards natives. However, her more active role in the story ends up ringing a bit hollow. She is played by a Cree actress, and speaks Cree throughout the movie, but her character is still, fundamentally, the same. Rather than putting positive portrayals of natives shown through her clan or family, they instead scrub the movie clean of it (killing two birds with one stone by removing potential bad portrayals). So, despite a more active role with the Lost Boys, she is shown as separate from them (even outwardly saying that their home is not hers). Honestly, I don't know what I wanted from a portrayal of Tiger Lily, but I don't think this one was great. Miles better than the original, of course, but still not great.

Captain Hook is played very straight (LOVE LOSES), where he is given more... "depth"? He is given the backstory I'm guessing the books gave him, where he was a Lost Boy and grew up bitter and mean, only to want to take his revenge on Peter Pan. I... don't think it does anything for his character, at least in comparison to the movie. In PP, he's a very fun villain! And gay-coded. His fear of the crocodile is recurrent throughout the narrative, and he is VERY expressive! However, in PP&W, he is very... toned down. His fear of the crocodile is only brought up once to establish it, and another time when the crocodile shows up (ONLY ONCE IN THE MOVIE. AT THE MIDDLE). Overall, a disappointment.

Finally, when it comes to the "magical" aspect of Neverland (as in, fairies and mermaids), it's very... well, it's not much. Mermaids are completely absent, never even mentioned nor hinted at. I feel like the mermaids in PP add to the feeling of childhood whimsy, by having mythical creatures inhabit the island. They are still dangerous, but are nonetheless fun. In PP&W, all aspects of childhood imagination tied to magic or mythical creatures is gone entirely. They fly because of pixie dust, but as far as I can recall, not because they believe they can fly, which felt like an important part of PP!

I can accept the changes they made to Wendy and Tink's relationship (removing the rivalry/jealousy they had and instead making it a friendship), I think it's a good addition and change to the narrative. I think Wendy's "this isn't a boy's magic" line was a bit on the nose, and it felt very obvious that they wanted a more... "feminist" "girl boss" retelling? Which, again, isn't necessarily bad, it just felt very obvious.

I don't think I'd recommend this movie if you're looking for a fun childish movie, especially as a Peter Pan movie. There are other alternatives out there, even if they fail on some aspects. They do not, however, fail at being fun.

[the-dragon-hearted]

Dream and Technoblade

So, the Dream and Techno villain duo - a breakdown of their characterization:

Get yourself a rival who will bond with you in prison, laugh at your jokes, argue with your shared torturers, and then leave you hidden Blueprints under the block where you two formed your first alliance. Get yourself someone who is your opposite in many ways, but your equal in so many others.

__________________________________________________________

Technoblade and Dream have always been the epitome of strength for the server. In that way, they're equals.

They've always been the tanks, the aces up the sleeves, the be-all-end-all. Equals.

They're similar in how they are quick to resort to violence as it's what they're best at. They're similar in how they very easily forget about the innocents they hurt to achieve their separate goals. They're similar in their basic characterization.

In other ways, they're completely different.

Take, for instance, their selfishness:

Both Dream and Techno have always been selfish. Dream's selfishness has been shown in his quest for power, for godhood. It's etched in the exile arc and brought to light in the final showdown where he finally meets his match; Punz's betrayal and the unexpected unification of the server against his, said, greed and selfishness.

Techno's selfishness on the other hand is shown when he sets a goal and sees it through because he is right and no one else can matter. It's seen in how he destroys L'Manburg two times; both times he sees himself to be in the right and pushes aside anyone else's opinion. Both times he takes action based on what he wants.

Dream's lust for power and control pushed everyone else he ever cared for away. He's always been self-serving with a flair for the dramatics (very different for dry-cut Technoblade who's never been impressed by anything thespian or dramatic). Unlike Technoblade, Dream is never happy where he is - he's always wanting something more. He's always been searching for the next big power, the next revival book, the next puppet to manipulate.

Techno's selfishness is different. He's never aspired to be anything more than what he is; Technoblade. All he's ever wanted is to exist without someone hurting him. He's correlated governments and anyone with 'power' to be something that can hurt him or those he cares about so he strikes out at them and destroys them without a second thought.

This basic character trait seems two-dimensional until you see how it's applied to the characters. Dream's selfishness isolated him from any support system and alienated him from his own friends, his own trusted mercenary. Techno's selfishness led him to do anything for those he cared for, even at the expense of others; it created a staunch loyalty that cemented his support system in Philza and now in the syndicate.

They're opposites to one another in how their selfishness formed them, but they're on parallel paths.

Furthermore, there's how these rivals interact with the plot:

Dream's always climbing up the next mountain. Yearning for the next battle. Every time we've seen Dream, except for the prison arc, he's always ready to fight. Always picking, poking, prodding, urging the plot to move along because he is never happy where he is. This is partially due to the fact that the audience never sees Dream except for when he is in a lore stream, whenever he's on the stream he's always turning the gears in the scene. He's either one of the main players or he's a constant threat watching from the sidelines.

Techno, on the other hand, was happy staying stagnant with the plot. The most motivated he saw him was while he was helping take back Manburg, and even then all he was trying to do was tear down the government and establish what he thought would be the next sense of normalcy; anarchy. After he tore down the government himself he took joy in staying stagnant. It almost felt like he was being unwillingly pulled along with the plot that he wanted nothing to do with (not the content creator, but the character) in how he was forced out of retirement by the people he hurt. He always seemed to like the norm. He was happy with Philza, with his house and his farm. He was happy with his crimes and his guilt. He never aspired or wanted anything else except to keep himself and his friends right where they were, without changing because changing could mean pain and Technoblade has made it clear that he does not like to feel pain, especially in the emotional sense.

The prison is a brilliant arc and I will stand by it because it did one crucial thing for these two villains; it brought them back into action. It brought them together.

It gave them both a reason to fight and it gave them sympathy from the audience. Now - before we get into the "abusers should not be given sympathy" argument we have to remember what we're watching here. It's a story. It's a special story in the sense that every character wants their voice to be heard. There's not one narrator behind it who can slight certain characters as the characters are all individually controlled by actual people. Of course, the plot lines are not going to be moral or necessarily 'good' in a moral sense - but they never had been. Dream has made it clear that he's a villain and the prison arc wasn't meant to make everyone go "ohhhhhh poor green bby :( " - it was meant to showcase Sam and Quackity. The prison arc was Quackity's time to develop and grow comfortable in the power vacuum that Dream left behind. It was Sam's time to fall from grace and lose himself. It was Dream's time, for the first time in his character's life, to stay still.

The prison arc poised the question: "What would happen if one of the biggest powerhouses was pulled from play?" What would happen to the plot if the big bad villain wasn't around?

The answer; a new villain/issue rises. Quackity, Wilbur - these people that the audience knows are not truly evil people were able to play around in the sandbox without Dream there to overshadow them.

But what about Technoblade? Well, funny enough the prison arc did for Techno the exact opposite thing it did for his rival. Technoblade gained more power, he made more friends, his syndicate - while not very active (which is fitting for the man who wants nothing more than for everything to stay the same) is still a support system. Dream became less of a threat but Techno remained the same threat he'd always been, just as distant as he always had been, with no reason to throw himself back into the fray.

Until, of course, they were both imprisoned. Now I could go on and on about how Techno's willingness to walk into a trap really spells out the interest he holds for his rival and the trust he holds for Philza. I could go on about how shoving those two rivals together was lovely for these antagonists to grow. But for now, let's focus on what the prison did for the characters in a fundamental sense.

Time in prison taught Dream fear. It taught his character what it felt like to be stagnant. What it felt like for nothing to happen. Now, it remains to be seen what the plot will do now that Dream is free. Will he continue to push it forward just as he had before or will he be more discreet, warier? Perhaps the time in prison will finally teach Dream to be more cautious - but who can say? All that's certain is he will not forget Quackity for what he did, just as Tommy won't forget Dream.

Time in prison for Techno, on the other hand, taught him nothing. All the prison did was reaffirm what Techno always thought; any large institution, anything with power will try to hurt Technoblade. The prison had the same effect on Techno as the Butcher Army did - it pulled him back into the plot kicking and screaming because the greatest warrior on the SMP cannot be allowed to sit idle. What the prison was meant to do was give Technoblade an excuse to come back into the plot, reluctant as ever because that's who he's always been.

So now the two are free, and they have the same goal. History does indeed repeat itself.

Their first alliance was formed in shadow, where Dream refused to outwardly say if whether he supported Pogtopia or not but his actions towards Techno made it clear that he would assist, albeit secretly. They didn't need to share words for both to get what the other wanted.

Their second alliance came after L'Manburg was won back from Schlatt, also forged in whispers. A whisper and an answer that resulted in chaos and destruction for which the two needed no rehearsal.

Their third came to finish off what they'd started, tearing a young country apart. They've never needed to plan, they're so similar that both Dream and Technoblade had prepared to annihilate L'Manburg on their own. All their alliance did was spell absolute decimation.

Now, it begins again. Only fitting their next alliance will go back to the hill where it began, with few words and an equation that spells destruction.

The prison may change Dream. It will not change Techno. Now, they're both out, closer than ever. Two loners, strong in their own right with a vendetta against the world.

It's almost guaranteed that they will be back for vengeance. Either together or on their own. Another similarity they share; they can be vindictive

[skarsgard-daydreams]

I really like the snippets of the SVMs that you post, but I can’t help but think about how by the end of the series Charlaine Harris just decided to destroy the character of Eric. I read those last few novels and just fumed with anger. Were you happy with how they turned out?

You are absolutely correct, anon. Was I happy with how they turned out? Absolutely not. I have a lot of bones to pick with Charlaine Harris about what she did to Eric Northman, but more importantly, I have a lot of bones to pick with Sookie.

Initially, I thought that the problem in the latter books was that Harris got lazy with everyone's characterization when she was contracted to write three more novels and started writing these characters in ways that were inconsistent. Certainly, there are a few instances where Eric is portrayed in a manner inconsistent with earlier books. (He loses a lot of his humor and charm and suddenly has a very different perspective on the possibility of turning Sookie, which I attribute to bad writing.) But as I went back in the series to compile these quotes, I noticed that the problems I had with Sookie's character in the latter books manifested much earlier. I have been trying so desperately to wrap my head around her behavior, and I have come to the following conclusions about Book Sookie, which are not necessarily applicable to TV Sookie...

(major spoilers and an unedited 4,000 word essay ahead)

Sookie's mind-reading abilities have stunted her ability to read and empathize with others without the use of her powers.

The magical bond that is formed when she and Eric exchange blood circumvents this while it is active, enabling Sookie to feel Eric’s emotions rolling off him at the time. She knows he is terrified when his maker arrives in book 10, and she is even able to identify precisely why he is frightened: he doesn’t want to be under someone else’s control. But after she severs their bond in book 11, her ability to read him fails her. She has spent her entire life reading people’s minds, which has served as a crutch. Rather than developing the intuitive ability to read a person’s body language and read between the lines of what they are saying that most of us learn, Sookie relies on her abilities, which don’t work on vampires. As a result, their motives are often mysteries to her. She notes how stony-faced they are, how carefully controlled they are in expression, but she misses a lot of cues that convey their repressed feelings. This is particularly bad for Eric, who, like many men, shields himself with anger when he is feeling hurt. His anger is not excessive or violent—in fact it is often very well controlled—but it masks the tender feelings that hide under the surface. It is telling that Sookie never acknowledges the incredible pain and betrayal that Eric must feel when she severs their blood bond, or when she ultimately refuses to save him from being taken away from her. The only time she feels sympathy toward him in that respect is in one line at the very end of the series where she considers how lonely he will be—and then she purposefully smothers that thought, refusing to dwell on it further.

Sookie's trauma from her formative relationship with Bill renders her suspicious of the motives of others and unable to trust her future partners.

Bill is the first man she ever dated, fell in love with, or had sex with, and it is revealed to her through Eric’s intervention that their entire relationship was premised on a lie. This plot point is the same in the book as it is in the TV show. Once Sookie and Eric are together, there are numerous instances where she suspects his motives. She maintains the firm belief that Eric never does anything unless it would be beneficial to himself, which is probably true up to a point, but even after he has shown that he is deeply in love with her and that he has borne the personal cost of this love, she still doubts him. In fact, Sookie believes that the love they seemingly share is only the result of the magical blood bond between them, which renders it false. Eric repeatedly states that he does not care why he loves her, only that he does, but this is a problem that Sookie cannot get past. It results in her severing their bond without warning. Once the bond is severed, she insists that she does still love him “all on her own” but her love quickly begins to erode without the understanding that the bond created as they are besieged by numerous calamities. When the final obstacle to their love presents itself—a contract negotiated by Eric’s maker that would force him to marry the vampire Queen of Oklahoma against his will—Sookie is so blinded by her inability to trust him that she doubts every word he says about wanting to stay with her. He never expresses a desire to leave her for the queen, but remains stalwart in his insistence that he cannot escape the contract despite seeking every possible loophole. Yet Sookie believes he is attracted to the queen and the power that she possesses and attributes his insistence that he is trapped in the contract to a clever lie designed to dupe her. In the final days of their relationship, Eric reveals that he knows Sookie could save him with a magical object that grants her one wish, and repeatedly insists that she could stop him from being taken from her if she wanted to. He does not ask her to do it, nor does he mention the object explicitly, or ask where it is. His statements read like a man who is wounded by his lover’s unwillingness to save him, but one who perhaps has too much dignity to resort to begging her to intervene. Presumably he believes that he should not have to beg the woman who says she loves him to save him from “cushy slavery,” as Sookie calls it. Once Sookie realizes that Eric knows about her magical deus ex machina, she starts to wonder if he really just wants to take it from her, or use it for himself. She even entertains the possibility that maybe he orchestrated the entire dilemma in order to get his hands on it. When the thought enters her head, she admits that she never would have considered such a thing if it weren’t for Bill’s betrayal of her.

Sookie's affection for Eric is conditional upon his usefulness to her (including as a sexual object), and she never develops an appreciation or understanding for who he is as a person.

Perhaps this is the fatal flaw in their relationship from the very beginning. Sookie does not express an interest in Eric other than the fact that he is physically attractive until his numerous favors to her and the many instances where he has saved her life or protected her begin to add up. The blood bond between them is formed when he prevents a vampire who has authority over him from forcing blood on an unwilling Sookie, instead offering his own blood as a substitute. Their marriage was orchestrated by Eric when another vampire wanted to take Sookie away from her own against her will, and it allows Eric to serve as a barrier to any other vampire who would try to harm her. Once their romantic relationship is formed in earnest, it quickly becomes evident that it is lopsided. Eric praises Sookie for her beauty, but also for how brave she is and how hard she works and countless other virtues that are not physical in nature. In return, Sookie feels obligated to pay him a compliment, and all she can manage is that he has a nice body and is good in bed. She often deflects from serious conversations with him to have sex instead. Sookie clearly doesn’t believe Eric is a good person, expressing her own doubts about his moral code when he doesn’t display enough outward moral repugnance for her liking. When Eric tells her how his boss tortured and killed a human woman to punish a vampire, she asks him how the story made him feel. His answer—that it made him fearful it could happen to Sookie—is not good enough for her because he does not also express remorse for the woman in question. (It should be noted that he doesn’t revel in her pain either; he is merely concerned with applying the moral of the story to his own circumstances and the woman that he loves.) Sookie does not seem to acknowledge the good that other people attribute to Eric, such as when his new bartender tells her she requested to come work for him. Sookie cannot imagine why anyone would want to work for Eric, but the vampire explains that he is a good master to serve because he treats his people well, specifically pointing out that he doesn’t ask for sexual favors from his female subordinates like other sheriffs do. Sookie is not interested in his life, his business, or his world. When he attempts to explain the elaborate hierarchy of vampire politics to her in an effort to include her more in his affairs, she outwardly expresses so much disinterest that Eric takes offense. Their relationship treads water for a while, until Sookie is kidnapped and tortured by fairies and Eric is prevented from rescuing her. While she is being tortured, Sookie is certain that Eric will show up at any moment, but she doesn’t know that he has been forbidden from intervening by his boss. The other vampires bind Eric in silver chains to keep him from going to save her. He later tells her how anguished he was that he could feel her pain and do nothing to protect her, shedding tears as he talks about it, but she doesn’t want to hear it. That moment marks a turning point in their relationship. Sookie repeatedly affirms that she believes Eric is so big and strong and capable of handling anything, and any time he is not able to deliver on her expectations, she loses even more love for him.

Sookie's prejudice against vampires leads to her treating them as though they are not people.

Although Sookie does not express her prejudice explicitly as some characters do, she still exhibits a bias against vampires throughout the books and expresses a clear preference for humans or shapeshifters. She is disgusted, for example, by Eric’s suggestion that she should come work at Fangtasia, saying that she would hate to watch the fangbangers seek the attention of the undead among them. She believes that they do not feel emotions or possess empathy in any comparable measure to humans. (The thought that not all humans share the same depth of emotion or empathy does not seem to occur to her.) She also discounts their physical pain or suffering because they possess the ability to heal themselves. This happens numerous times when Eric is wounded, often while trying to protect her. In one case, Eric shoves himself in front of a car window and takes a bullet intended for her point blank. While he is injured, he fights off the werewolf who was trying to kill Sookie. Then he gets back in the car and drives her home with the bullet still lodged inside his chest. When they arrive back at her house, he asks her for blood, saying explicitly that he is in pain as his body pushes the bullet out of his chest. She tells him he’ll be fine and if he really needs it, he should stop at Merlotte’s and get some True Blood on his way home. Another time, Sookie comes upon Eric after he has been badly beaten and bound with silver. His arm is broken and his hands, she notes, look gruesome, because the silver was wrapped around them. As soon as she frees him, he springs into action and decapitates the vampire who had attacked him before said vampire can go for Sookie, who gets faint at the sight. (She is not injured.) Eric picks her up even though his arm is broken, and she takes the opportunity to internally romanticize the moment, imagining that she is Scarlet O’Hara. But a short while later, she asks Sam to drive her home without thinking about offering Eric a bottle of True Blood even though they’re right in front of the bar. The most egregious example of this phenomenon occurs when Eric’s vampire brother has massacred all of the staff at his home. Sookie arrives to find several vampires and humans slaughtered on the premises while Eric is desolate and in excruciating pain with his ribs ripped through his chest. He tells her that he needs her to push his ribs back into place and that Pam was there as well, and Sookie proceeds to chastise him for not springing into action to go after his brother. When tears form in his eyes, she grows impatient and questions why he hasn’t called someone to come clean up yet. It isn’t until midway through the conversation that she tells Jason to push Eric’s ribs in so he can heal, and it is only on accident that Jason happens to find Pam, who is thankfully not dead.

Sookie's system of morals is so rigid that, when she participates in violence, she suppresses her own personal responsibility and projects blame on the people around her in order to continue believing that she is a good person.

After the massacre referenced in the paragraph above, Eric and Sookie must fight his crazed brother and several fairies at her house, slaying his maker in the process. When they are victorious, Sookie is immediately revolted by the bloodshed. Eric, meanwhile, is flooded with relief that he is free of his maker, who subjected him to hundreds of years of rape and slavery when he was first turned into a vampire. Sookie knows this, and in fact can feel the emotions radiating from him, but she seems to despise Eric for feeling anything but repugnance in that moment. This appears to be her coping strategy any time she participates in violence—she negates her own culpability and creates moral distance between herself and Eric by judging his reaction to be grotesque. The same thing happens when they are able to kill the brutally cruel vampire regent who was actively trying to ruin Eric and was responsible for attempts on Sookie’s life and who refused permission for Pam to turn her human lover into a vampire before she died. Eric and Pam are joyous that they have won and that the regent cannot torment them any longer. Sookie, who helped plan the attack and in fact dealt part of the killing blow to the regent, is abruptly disgusted when Eric embraces her and kisses her. It does not occur to her that he might be relieved that she was unharmed in the battle and that the constant threat to them all has been eliminated. Instead, she assumes that he’s trying to have sex with her and tells him she’s not interested in a manner that clearly conveys her revulsion. Eric does not handle the conflict gracefully, and bites her harshly to drink from her after he tells her she’s being a hypocrite, which only gives her more reason to push her guilt away and project it onto him.

Sookie’s youth and inexperience serves as a barrier to navigating the turbulent waters of a real relationship.

Sookie had never been in a relationship before Bill, and she only has one other relationship between breaking up with Bill and getting together with Eric. While she enjoys the ‘honeymoon’ phase of her relationships, she flounders when it comes time to address communication issues or outside pressures. Neither Sookie nor Eric find it easy to establish an open channel of communication, but Sookie actively seeks to end serious conversations early or avoid them altogether, while being stunned that Eric initiates conversations about their relationship, something that she thinks all men avoid. At one point, she tells Eric that they need to talk and then starts discussing what she refers to as their “irreconcilable differences.” The conversation seems to be veering into breakup territory, and they’re deeply involved in it when someone knocks on her door. She immediately invites her unexpected guests in and is relieved by the excuse to terminate the conversation abruptly even though Eric is still trying to figure out what’s going on. At other times, she observes that she loves Eric, but she’s not feeling the same lust or excitement when she thinks about him anymore. Anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship knows that passions often wax and wane, and that it also takes work to sustain and strengthen a relationship over time. Sookie is unwilling to put in the work or even have an honest discussion about the things they need to work on. She talks about romance novels a lot, and it seems to me that she has an idealized concept of love where she believes that they should be effortless and that passions should always be as hot as they were at the beginning. There are also times when she behaves in an extremely childish manner in the midst of conflict. After she severs the magical bond between her and Eric, he comes to her house and her main concern is whether or not he’s mad, while he asks her if she still loves him. She stubbornly insists he has to answer her question first even though she’s the one who broke the bond. On another occasion, Eric’s king comes into town and he is required to be at the monarch’s beck and call. Sookie gets mad at him and tells him she doesn’t want to see him one day, then is even more irritated that he isn’t calling her the next. Soon after, Eric is dealing with an endless litany of personal disasters that he can’t control, and he is short with her. Sookie listens to him confide in her about his problems and then responds with sharp-edged, sarcastic contempt, telling him that she has information that might have helped him with his problems and she might have told him if he wasn’t neglecting her.

Sookie’s limited understand of cultures that are unlike her own leads to misguided assumptions and fatal misunderstandings.

As the books progress, Sookie’s knowledge about vampire culture and governance grows incrementally, but she never approaches their customs with the same open-mindedness that she uses when it comes to werewolves or shapeshifters and their customs. This proves to be a major problem in her relationship with Eric, where there are two unfamiliar cultures at play—the modern culture of vampires, and the ancient culture of Eric’s human life. Sookie often refers to Eric as her “big Viking,” but she never gleans any insight about the culture in which he was raised. She seems to believe that he does not have much respect for women and projects American pre-Women's liberation attitudes on him even though he does not express those beliefs. When he offers to have her come live with him, she assumes that he wants her to be a housewife who cooks and cleans for him. She takes offense, and Eric is confused by her response. As Sookie’s situation becomes more perilous and she is injured multiple times in attacks at Merlotte’s, Eric asks her repeatedly to come live with him and/or work at Fangtasia so that he can protect her. She rebuffs these proposals, believing that they are rooted in misogyny. Sookie is also disinterested in understanding vampire culture, tuning Eric out when he explains things to her and refusing to accept that their rules and customs are different from her own when they inconvenience her. In particular, she never seems to understand the feudal system of governance under which the vampires live. When Eric is obliged to obey his maker or wait on his king or queen, Sookie is consistently irritated that he is not paying enough attention to her. She either does not understand or will not accept that vampires are not free to do whatever they want. This becomes a huge problem in the latter three books after a king from another state annexes Louisiana and kills every sheriff except Eric, putting him in a precarious position. Backed into a corner, he must maneuver very carefully to protect himself and everyone who is loyal to him. At the same time, he learns that his maker entered into a contract to marry him to the vampire Queen of Oklahoma against his will. Sookie refuses to believe Eric when he tells her that there is no way out of the contract, repeatedly insisting that if he loved her enough, he would just refuse to honor it. She holds him to the standards of her own culture, remaining willfully ignorant of the horrible consequences that could befall them both if Eric were to disobey. When she learns she can intervene and save Eric from his fate, she refuses, adamant in her belief that he will find his own escape clause if he truly wants to. The end result of her refusal is that Eric is forced into 200 years of “cushy slavery,” as Sookie calls it, a fate that does not inspire any guilt or pity in her, presumably because she still sees herself as a jilted lover.

At the end of the day, Eric deserved a lot better than Sookie.

He also deserved a lot better from the author, and a lot of people were justifiably outraged with the ending that Charlaine Harris gave to him. Harris, by way of Sookie, repeatedly reminds the reader that the Queen of Oklahoma is a very attractive woman, and it seems that this is intended to excuse the fact that Eric would be contractually obligated to have sex with her whether he wanted to or not. Eric expresses no desire for the queen, constantly asserting his commitment to and love for Sookie. When he admits that he would be required to consummate the relationship with the queen, he seems discomforted and ashamed at the idea. (Harris specifically uses the word “abashed.”) It is revealed to Sookie that the queen conspired to put Eric in this predicament specifically because she knew he valued his independence too much to ever agree to it willingly. Sookie knows that Eric was forced to service his maker sexually against his will, and that what he hates above all else is to be subjugated. She also knows that he will not be a monarch if he marries the queen; he will be her consort, a position that carries with it no inherent power or authority unless the queen gives it to him, and he will not be able to ever succeed her. Even despite all of this, Sookie is completely unsympathetic toward Eric. The author never acknowledges that this ending for Eric essentially means that he will be raped. What astounds me is that I don’t think she would have made his choice for a female character, or if she did, she would not have framed it in the same way. Sookie’s casual dismissal of Eric being sold into “cushy slavery” implies that male rape is no big deal, which is incredibly harmful. It is astounding that she would subject the primary love interest of the entire series to such a fate, and it’s the final nail in the coffin for Sookie Stackhouse for me, at least in her book incarnation. If any of her other love interests had been put in similar circumstances, I can’t imagine what she would not do to try to save them. But because it was Eric—her big, strong Viking who she believes is incapable of feeling emotions or pain and must be invincible in order to be valued by her—Sookie thinks nothing of it. Nothing at all.

@grimeundglow @stevesharrlngtons @scxrsgxrd @grandpa-sweaters

[blueburds-but-swtor]

Whumptober Day Two: No. 31 - HURT & COMFORT

Fandom: Star Wars: The Old Republic

Character(s): Female Original Character; Male Original Character; Khem Val; Theron Shan

Rating: T+

Word Count: 1,024

Red hot chunks of debris flew out from the side of the volcano and broke into hundreds of tiny, glowing pieces upon impact. A’lea caught herself against a rock as the eruption shook the landscape. They were less than a mile away from the erupting volcano—but she wasn’t about to just leave, either.

          Her breaths drew out in short, ragged huffs as she clutched at the stone. Her eyes darted around, seeking out her brother who had lost his balance mere moments ago. He’d fallen beneath the mechanical structure, out of her line of sight, and she hoped he didn’t fall.

          No—he didn’t. She could still feel his presence.

          Too little, too late. A’lea spun around, narrowly dodging twin lightsabers slamming down at her. He was exhausted, too, she knew. Their quarrel was bound to end in a stalemate as their power, stamina and agility were similar enough in strength. Lucien could attack in short bursts; she could dodge in quick movements. They were getting nowhere and their time left in this place drew short.

          Another quake set them both off balance. But A’lea kept her lightsaber at her belt, refusing to activate it. She’d used it during their fight, but now was a time of negotiation. “Come with me, off this planet, Lucien,” she shouted above the crackling of the volcano.

          “Back to Coruscant? Kicking and screaming, I still wouldn’t go back there. Stop pretending you’re on my side.”

          “I want to help you.”

          “Then you’ll leave me be. Let me continue to discover myself.”

          “You’re hurting so many people in the process.”

          Lucien’s lips twitched. “You don’t care for Imperial loss of life.”

          “Perhaps I don’t. But you’ve hurt me, Lucien. You’ve hurt our fathers.”

          “If they cared for my well-being as much as you think they did, I would have been brought up in the Inquisitors. Not with the Jedi.” His voice held an aggressive tone now. “Father hid me with the Jedi—and all it took from them was a vision. One vision, and I was treated like I massacred innocents. I hadn’t done anything.”

          “They were wrong for—”

          “Father was wrong. After they told him about that vision, he should have taken me in.” Lucien outstretched his arms in an exaggerated shrug, “They called me a lot of things that I wasn’t, A’lea.” His arms fell back at his sides. “After a while, those titles got to me.”

          “It is only natural for you and I to inherit the Force, perhaps more so that we dwell in the Dark Side. But it becomes our weakness when we let it control us.”

          Lucien sneered and he tightened his grip on his weapons. “You sound just like father.”

          “He isn’t wrong about everything.”

          “I am not controlled by anything. My actions are my own. I chose to abandon the Academy. I chose to train with the Sith.”

          “But you know this is wrong. It feels wrong, certainly.”

          “I feel liberated.”

          A’lea swallowed dryly. Her eyes fell to the rocky ground below, albeit briefly. Her eyes met with her brother’s again, “And if you were offered a place in the Inquisitors?”

          “It’s much too late for that.”

          “A place with me?”

          Lucien gave a tentative shake of his head. “I’m not returning to the Republic, A’lea. If you want to join the Empire, you’d be shown mercy by my word. We could fight together, forget about the Republic.”

          “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

          Amidst the searing heat, the ashen winds and smoke, and the crackling of the volcano in the distance, she felt his frustration. The Force fluctuated around him—and if nothing else, he wore a hurt expression upon his face. She felt his sorrow.

          Lucien sheathed his lightsabers and hooked them back onto his belt. “Then we part as enemies.”

          “Lucien—”

          “Go, A’lea. Before Darth Xul gets here and makes you part of the landscape.”

          Thexia. Briefly she had a flashback to the day of her childhood where the Sith led an attack on Tython. A’lea knew she was no match for her brute strength. Still she wanted to reach out to Lucien, to do just as he suggested: haul him back to Coruscant, kicking and screaming if she had to. But that wasn’t going to happen.

          Acceptance was what she had to work on. But this? Was this something she could so easily move past?

          No. Not for some time. In fact, she felt her heart sink as she turned on her heel and dashed in the direction of her ship. She shed no tears, but she still felt that familiar knot tightening in her throat. And she knew that this was going to be a long ride home.

.

          A’lea’s holoterminal beeped. She practically leapt from the pilot’s chair and rushed out of the cockpit. She’d yet to make the jump to lightspeed, opting to orbit Ossus and watch the volcanic eruption from an aerial view; perhaps still holding onto hope that Lucien would hail her. Khem Val stood in the main room, quiet and stoic as he ever was, and he inclined his head toward her holoterminal.

          A’lea clicked it on.

          “A’lea,” Theron’s disgruntled voice came through. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

          “I had... a run-in with someone.”

          Theron folded his arms over his chest, brows tightly knit. “So Dove’s not with you?”

          “What? No—no, Khem Val is the only other person I’m with.”

          “Okay,” Theron sighed. “Sorry, I... it’s been a day.”

          That makes both of us, A’lea thought.

          “Get back to Coruscant when you can, please. Your father’s been looking for you, says something’s happened. Won’t tell me what, though,” Theron grumbled.

          “He doesn’t want to worry you. I’m on my way. But I’m stopping by your headquarters first.”

          “Don’t worry, I’ll come out to the courtyard to meet you. Your father wants to meet you on board the Torr-Rol.”

          Ah. Was his request to meet her so urgent that he couldn’t even bother to leave his Dreadnaught? Mentally she frowned. Outwardly she gave a nod. “I’ll head there after I see you.”

          “Good. I’ll let him know. Travel safe, A’lea.”

[computermaus]

Saw that post on reddit

IF you look at the parenting styles and general growths, you realize that the sons of each family carry traits of their parents rather than the outcome of the parenting style. Part of what these upbringings do is that they don't really create a single son that fulfills the results of the upbringing, but rather it creates children that are who they are because they are intelligent enough to react AGAINST their parents.

Stan (Alignment: Good) is noted to have the most stable family, but the thing about his family is they tend to go with the flow of things rather than actually trying to be someone else. Stan's motivation as a person is always about doing what is right regardless of public opinion, meaning that he will actively fight the system if it means being true to himself. As a person, he will willingly compromise for the greater good, but he won't take a side that he knows is wrong.

Kyle (Alignment: Lawful) is unquestioningly lawful and adheres to the rules of a system and generally takes it upon himself to make sacrifices in the name of upholding the status quo. Whether it is right or wrong, you can trust him to always follow someone if it means being in the right. However, he is not above abusing his ability to argue semantics and is the quickest to find loopholes in bullshit. It is fairly common for Kyle to use the rules for his benefit and do things from within the system for the sake of the point. While Stan will break the rules to do what is right, Kyle will use the rules to argue to do what is right.

You can compare them with their approach to the economy crisis. Stan will go through hell or high water to do what he does because it is right, even if it is a stupid Margaritaville. Kyle would willingly take on the burden of the taxes because he could, not because it is right, but it is the solution that he can legally do.

On the other side is Kenny and Cartman.

Kenny (Chaotic) is outwardly what you would have from uncaring parents that let him do whatever he wants, but that only extends to what he is willing to do FOR HIMSELF. His lifestyle is balanced by the fact that he is the most willing to delve into self sacrificial behavior with no regard for himself because he knows his life is the most expendable. Compared to Kyle, he does not have any reasons to care about rules because he sees them all as ludicrous when it regards himself. However, his parenting has made him FAR more aware of who his true family is (Outside of Karen, his immediate family is basically Stan, Kyle and Butters since they are his closest friends) and he will do literally anything to insure they are safe. This has gotten to the point where his parents aren't parenting him, HE is parenting his parents.

This is in comparison to Kyle where you can see that while Kyle will demean himself for the greater good, Kenny will straight up ignore the rules and use his own life as the price to get the job done. Note that if the same situation involving Kyle and the Economy were to be solved by Kenny, he would straight up have just martyred himself in order to shock the people back into doing what is right instead of caring about how to pay for it.

The last but not least is Cartman (Evil) who spends more time doing things for his own benefit than caring about his friends. Although, this is a likely result of being babied by Ms. Cartman, you also realize that he is very manipulative well beyond the realm of what it simply means to be spoiled. As it should be noted, Cartman isn't unable to follow rules, he has shown that he is perfectly aware of the rules and will eagerly use them to his own benefit if it suits him. However, the real driving force of his character is that he absolutely needs to get what he wants regardless of who tells him what is and is not his to have. Note that Liane is more focused on appeasing and eliciting the reaction that she wants through bribery which Cartman knows how to do. Cartman uses those same methods, but unlike Liane who does it to fill a void, Cartman does it because he has an ulterior motive.

[greengrungeemo]

Higurashi Character Analysis - Onikakushi

I completed it! Higurashi Chapter 1 complete! Such a fulfilling story arc. Before moving onto Chapter 2 - Watanagashi fully, I’ll provide some insight to each of the characters, the purpose and roles they fill, and how I find it wraps things up brilliantly as a prologue or introductory chapter. While Keiichi is the main protagonist, I’ll begin with the other characters first to emphasize the varying points. This post may contain spoilers!

Rena

Rena Ryuugu is one of the main characters in the group. She is known as the excitable type of girl, who aims to experience her life with anything and everything that is “kyuuute!” As a result of this, she seems to be hoarding a ludicrous amount of objects that can fall under *her* umbrella term of “cute”. Her home is layered with statues and mailboxes and signs and overall what would be deemed as “junk” to most. She views them as treasures. She is also willing to capture cute people and bring them to her home. She suffers from a few disorders, but one unmentioned disorder she could be suffering from is a hoarding disorder due to the sheer expanse of her collection (and never-ending desire to hoard cute objects!) A sad reality, but is this to fill some sort of gap in her life? Which gap in particular? Well, for one, she exhibited violent and aggressive behavior at her old school, she claims due to a curse. It makes you wonder, what goes on in her mind? For instance, when Rena is home alone, what sort of activities does she do? We know for certain she cooks great meals, which can take a big chunk of her time, what else? My personal theory is that she simply stares into all of her cute possessions in her room, and thinks. Thinks about what? Thinks about her friends, Keiichi in particular, thinks about the potential cute things she can collect, but overall, she thinks about her never-ending hunger for romance. The cute possessions in her life is to fill her desire for a loving mate and companion. It is clear through her expressions, reactions, and mannerisms that she is fondly interested in Keiichi, so until that is satisfied, she will continue this behavior. She is also known for her unmatched unarmed combat skills, being able to instantly disarm or dispatch any foe with one or more punches - exemplified further when she is in her “kyuuute” mode.

Mion

Mion Sonozaki is my all-time favorite character in Higurashi! She reminds me of one of my friends who was a girl - who sadly passed away recently - because she was a full representation of a leader. Mion represents leadership and a competitive nature. She’s way too cool, definitely a best friend I would want in my life! She has charisma that can rally a group easily together, so much that she is the one responsible for setting up the activities or events. She is also reflective of a model of leadership due in part to how she responds to the group, you can tell that the baggage of her friends is often on her own shoulders. When Keiichi was “acting up with a bat”, she emphasized the point that he is “scaring everyone”. A clear sign she looks out for the feelings and emotions of those around her on the inside, even though she displays a portrayal of ruthless bravado on the outside! She synergizes quite well with the group, especially Keiichi, due to their love for competition and identical style of humor. They both enjoy rubbing it in, making snarky remarks, and how she often refers to herself as an “old man” shows how easy-going and open-minded she is. She seldom expresses herself as a “serious” type, unless it’s with strong regards or urgency about her friends. Therefore, she doesn’t seem to express “serious” emotions too much, which masquerades her crush for Keiichi perfectly. Their synergy is so strong, combined with her love for teasing or feeling dominant in situations, meshes the two so well. It’s a no-brainer she considers him a possible love interest. The combined responsibilities as well as her hidden love for someone adds a great burden on her shoulders that she tends to conceal elegantly.

Satoko

Hojo Satoko is most well-known as the “trapper” of the group. Brilliant-minded in planning, devising, and retroactively setting up traps to whomever she wishes to feel dominant over. She absolutely aims for anything regarding that rush or feeling of dominance and power, that she uses any means necessary for it. That being said, when the opposite happens, she has counteractive measures like cutely crying or vocally presenting how cruel the person is. This instantly synergizes Satoko perfectly with Rena - the obsessor of cute things and people. Rena feels jubilation every time she sees Satoko express any type of cute emotion, even crying fits with how it appears like Rena’s own child to take care of. Therefore, since Satoko has a constant desire for dominance, she knows to use Rena to her advantage, knowing how capable Rena is with her combat capabilities. She may be small, and may appear frail, but she has countless weapons to her disposal. This makes her a force to be reckoned with.

Rika

Rika Furude is known as the cutest, smallest girl in the group. Everyone loves Rika! Despite her cute outwardly appearance, she is incredibly intelligent, wise, and can be both playful or serious at her whim. She understands when to use her cuteness to take advantage of any situation, and she is well-disciplined in that she is obedient and calm. Still, this does not fully prevent her from being mischievous, especially towards Keiichi. Any time that Keiichi succeeds in a remark or event towards his opponent, such as Satoko, Rika is sure to retort back in a guilt-tripping or intelligent way in defense of her best friend. This alone displays pure synergy between the two small girls, reinforced further by the fact that the two of them live together without parents. They look out for each other by nature, so this is shown in their dialogue, too. It is clear that Rika is substantial in Himanizawa, as she has a shrine dawning her last name, the Furude Shrine. This bestows her as a highly-valued figure in the town, as she possesses a clear status and place in it. Later, it is clearly confirmed when she fulfills the role of a Shrine Maiden for the Watanagashi Festival. With such a status, it is important to note her immense underlying power that she seems to hide so well.

Tomitake and His Mystery Woman

Tomitake Jiro is most known for his love for photography of bird. He visits Himanizawa a few times a year to capture photos of the area and to attend the Watanagashi Festival event. It is clear with how he interacts that he has a good heart and always wishes for the best to all those around him. This is evidently clear in how he spends time with the main group at the festival, and aims to win the teddy bear prize for Rena. He is good-natured, and does his best to keep those around him happy. He is also open-minded in how he performed varying activities with a younger group, and accepted his punishment without complaint when he failed the club’s activity. He carries zero evil within him, that much is clear.

The Mystery Woman with him however, she carries a perplexing nature and aura around her. The way she smiles and responds to Keiichi’s comments is far too suspicious, instantly giving anyone the vibe that Tomitake could be in trouble - since the two of them seem to have a love interest in one another - this is reinforced further by what happens in the chapter. Her caricature looks of that of a mastermind, a deceiver, a manipulator. She possesses the “evil eyes”. She carries every evil within her, that much is clear. She is clearly the perpetrator to an underlying mystery, the causal factor, the antagonist. It is psychologically and literally - written all over her face.

Keiichi

Keiichi Maebara is the main protagonist of this chapter. The main focus. Unfortunately, he also carries the most burden in his newfound life in Himanizawa, being an exchange student. He is the only male in his group of female friends, and he exerts a competitive and overall “male” nature. He can be hot-headed, boisterous, confident, friendly, and... unfortunately, very delusional. Eventually, he suffers from great delusions that another classmate had suffered from, who “transferred out.” Keiichi suffers a huge weight on his shoulders due to his sudden involvement with the police, namely Oishi Kuraudo, since the events after the Watanagashi Festival put his friends in a bad spotlight. This sparks the discourse. A suddenly split in everyone’s roles in the story. Keiichi’s unquenchable desire to learn the truth, combined with the direct correlations his own friends have in the many mysteries in Himanizawa and the curse, it drives him mad. He cannot emotionally handle being caught between the police and the people he loves and cares about, it is far too much pressure for him. This leads him to make very, very bad decisions. Her distances himself from his friends, he displays paranoia and delusions (both auditory and visual). This makes him “react” badly in any circumstance, even where ones should be concerning. For instance, when he wanted to mask his household as his parents being home when they were on a business trip to Tokyo, when Rena arrived with her delicious food, he should have done the following: 1) Let her in. 2) Inform her he needs to finish up a phone call. 3) Rush over to the phone and inform Oishi, “Sorry, I have to go, my friend Rena is here! Bye.” 4) Enjoy dinner with Rena in the dining room as normal. This would not have triggered anything, this would not have forced a response from Rena. Keiichi lies directly to his friends, and his friends pick up on it quite easily, this causes the divide and mistrust. Another instance with Rena, when walking home together and asking Rena is she’s hiding any secrets, when she replied with, “Well, are you hiding any secrets?” He should have answered “Yes”, but in a sincere tone of voice, he should have explained he doesn’t know what to do since he was confronted by the police, and doesn’t want to put his friends at risk of investigation. Being forthcoming, as well as portraying the need for advice from his friend, would have prevented any “creepy” or “scary” reaction from Rena. One could argue that this wouldn’t have pushed the evidence of sketchy behavior, but in truth, that’s what Keiichi wants deep down. He wants to be able to simply go to school, and have fun with his friends, not to investigate things he should not have gotten involved with. It would have prevented his delusional behavior since he wouldn’t notice any disconnect from his friend group, and it would have undoubtedly prevented him any harm from his friends, since they would deem him as trustworthy. Unless... it really is a curse?

Either way, from Mion’s genuine and saddened expression when Keiichi exploded on her, that alone proves to me that she had the fullest of love and trust in him, and when he denounced her and her group of friends, that’s what pushed her over the edge. He pushed himself in that situation from his bad decisions, understandably, it isn’t his fault either.

[multiverseforger]

Like her brother, Android 18 usually displays a cool and confident character, especially in battle, although her sarcastic humor is the most prominent trait of her personality. This is demonstrated when Goku takes notice of her assembly with the Dragon Team at the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, leading to the retort "Look, he noticed. How cute." (in Japanese she says "Took you a while idiot!"), as well as saying "Spare me" when Krillin reveals to Goku that not only have they married, but also had a child. Shortly after this, she is asked by the World Tournament Announcer if her real name is legitimately "No. 18", to which she responds "My father was pretty dull" (in Japanese, she replies that "It doesn't matter" before tossing the number at the World Tournament Announcer). Although she isn't characterized for this, 18 can be very curious if she is really interested in something, to the point of activating her comrade Android 16, and wondering what present she will give to her husband Krillin during a dispute of a wish with the others using the Dragon Balls. She often expresses herself in her cool and downplayed manner well into her marriage with Krillin, often smiling in a somewhat subdued fashion that conveys her very laid-back personality, in Super, however, she is often seen smiling. However, 18's sense of humor is not always tactful, as she jokingly expressed to Future Trunks that she wanted reimbursement for him killing her alternate universe counterpart, much to Future Trunks' displeasure. This is a rare instance where Android 18's humor was anything but tactful, as per her usual timing. This failure is likely due to Android 18 being unaware how murderous her counterpart was and how much Future Trunks had suffered because of it, as she likely would have been more sensitive had she known the full extent of the destruction and suffering caused by her and her brother's counterparts. She is also shown to be rather prideful, though not to the same extent as her brother had been during the Imperfect Cell Saga.

As an older sister and delinquent, and later as a wife and martial artist, Android 18 is shown to be outwardly commanding, insisting that she and her brother 17, and later she and Krillin, have to make strides to improve the family's financial situation, insisting Krillin to join the Tournament for the prize money, forcing Mr. Satan into a deal about giving her 20 million Zeni to the point of destroying his property and multiplying the prize money a hundred-fold, wanting Shenron to grant her wish for a present for Krillin, and initially saying that she would only fight at the Tournament of Power if she gains money for it although she later decides to enter because she suspects that the tournament is not really a game. In Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, Android 18 is hinted to dislike driving solely because of Android 17's insistence on driving around aimlessly without anything better to do. However, 18 still exhibits some of her sensitivity and even protective side, especially towards her twin brother, daughter, and husband. This is in stark contrast to her alternate self from Future Trunks' timeline, where she is a murderous sociopath who cares for no one but herself and her brother though this is mainly due to the fact that Future Dr. Gero had altered Future 17 and 18 to hate humanity, which never occurred in the main timeline. 18 also possesses a vast distaste if not outright hatred of violence against children, to the point that after witnessing Lord Beerus's attacks against Gotenks she lost her temper and proceeded to assault him, despite his decisively superior power. This is likely due to her instincts as a mother and fondness for her friends' children despite being frequently annoyed by the underage Super Saiyans. Unlike her brother, she, like Goku and any other fighter, sometimes has the tendency to let her guard down during battle, allowing her opponents to take advantage, primarily because of her cool and laid-back attitude, as demonstrated by Shosa in the tournament.

Like her brother, she developed hatred towards Dr. Gero for modifying them against their will, though interestingly, she still uses the name No. 18 instead of her original name Lazuli and in the dub even sarcastically refers to Dr. Gero as her father (as he was the one who gave her the name No. 18) when asked about her name during the World Tournament. It was this shared hatred of Gero that convinced 18 that Cell was only imitating 17's voice to trick her. Though she lacks her future counterpart's sociopathic and murderous personality, she does share her counterpart's love of shopping and interest in fashion, as well as taking care in maintaining her appearance and dislikes having her clothing or hair damaged in battle. In the anime, she is shown to dislike Chi-Chi's Chinese dresses while trying her clothes when the Androids come to Goku's House looking for Goku. This is in contrast with her future counterpart who had no problem with the Chinese dresses she tried on while shopping for clothes during The History of Trunks special, showing that she and her counterpart apparently have different tastes in fashion.

By the time of Dragon Ball Super, Android 18 seems to have grown kinder and compassionate, is often seen smiling and is closer to Krillin and Marron compared to Z, where she is shown always folding her arms and looking withdrawn from the characters (like Vegeta and Piccolo, with the former before being accustomed to earthly society), only smiling when she sees her daughter and participating in some activities with the characters, like in the God of Destruction Beerus Saga, she participates in the bingo tournament. When she encounters Future Trunks after so many years, she is shown to be more kind and friendly to him than the last time they met, giving him a fist and joking about her future self's death. Android 18's close relationship with Krillin had led her to want to give a present for him, which she wanted to use the Dragon Balls to wish for a present, when Bulma told #18 that having her and Marron is better than having any present, she was struck with flattery, causing her face to blush, implying that she really loves her husband, and even cheers for him during Universe 6 and Universe 7's baseball match. In addition, she also ended up joining the Tournament of Power, not due to money, but because she suspected from both the increasing prize money, Goku and Gohan's increasingly desperate offers to have them join, and Gohan's serious disposition that the results if they lost the tournament would be very severe. However, she is cold towards her brother after reuniting with him for the tournament and tells Krillin not to force it when he tries to break the ice by initiating a friendly conversation with his brother-in-law. She also threatened to kill her brother if he mispronounced Marron's name as "Maron" a second time (however this may be due to it reminding her of Krillin's ex-girlfriend Maron, or it could have been a sanctimonious, empty threat), indicating that she and her brother have grown distant since the Imperfect Cell Saga.

Despite this, both siblings are still capable working well together as a team during the Tournament of Power and even strategize together to take advantage of their infinite stamina. Android 18 also nevertheless still deeply cared for him, as she was very distraught when he seemingly killed himself to save Goku and Vegeta along with Universe 7. In Xenoverse 2, she states she has been working with Krillin on attack coordination and that it reminds her of the old days fighting alongside her brother, though notes that she and 17 would never actually try and attack deliberately together, as they simply just naturally had good timing due to being twin siblings. However she notes that it is not the same with Krillin as she needs to focus more on Krillin and use more concentration when coordinating her attacks with his, though she doesn't mind it really.

However, she still at times retains some of her original cool nature, as evidenced by the Peaceful World Saga, where she offhandedly mentioned that even the likes of Krillin could beat Wild Tiger after seeing Pan beat him.

In the events in Dragon Ball GT, Android 18 has a very close attachment to her now older daughter, Marron and protects her when she is in danger. When Krillin was killed by her brother, Android 17 due to Hell Fighter 17's control, Android 18 emotionally cries over her husband's death despite being a cyborg and admitting she loves him as she shows her vengeful rage to her brother for what he had done. When she confronts her brother for the second time, she smiles at Goku due to his friendship with her husband as she assists him to avenge Krillin's death.

Relationship with Krillin

Android 18 and Krillin's relationship began as a mutual yet unspoken attraction despite their meeting as enemies in battle, as she spared his life and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It is unknown if Krillin had feelings before this kiss or if he developed a crush on her from that point on. Afterward, by the time he could have shut her down with Bulma's remote control device, Krillin's feelings had already progressed to the point that he chose instead to smash the controller and warn her of Cell's approach despite the danger this presented to the world. Just before her absorption, 18, after hearing Krillin being knocked away by Cell, attacked Cell in a fury and denounced the latter as a monster, despite being rendered temporarily blind earlier due to Cell's use of Solar Flare. Following the battle with Cell, Krillin used the Dragon Balls to remove the bombs implanted in 18 and 17 in a selfless act he believed would allow them to live happily together. 18 angrily corrected him on the fact that 17 is her brother, not her boyfriend, before leaving, flattered by Krillin's feelings.

Krillin's courtship of 18 beyond was not shown but it is clear, by the time Majin Buu surfaced, that 18 had consented to marry Krillin and even had a daughter with him. Despite openly requesting to improve her family's financial situation, 18 inwardly admired her husband intensely, once stating that he was "So cool" as he flew away. She is also seen tending to his wounds after his mock-fight with Goku with a gentle smile on her face. As parents, both 18 and Krillin were shown to be intensely protective of their daughter Marron. In the Majin Buu Saga, Battle Of Gods Saga, and Resurrection F saga examples were shown of one or both of them focused on who will protect their daughter before major battles.

It has been shown that 18 is an emotionally supportive wife, offering kind words and wisdom to Krillin in his moments of self-doubt, such as when Krillin wondered if giving up martial arts was the right thing to do, but when Marron walked up to and smiled at them, 18 told him as she tended his wounds that he was exactly where he belonged. 18 also can be playful and works well with Krillin in many situations, both in combat and in leisure. One humorous instance of this was seen on the Lookout, with 18 helping Krillin in a card game against Master Roshi, with 18 giving him directions from behind Roshi's back through head gestures.

18 is shown to have a somewhat difficult time expressing her affections towards her husband, as she intended on one occasion to use Shenron to wish for the perfect gift for Krillin. Upon receiving a heart-to-heart conversation from Bulma, 18 realized that she and Marron were all that Krillin needed to be happy, bringing 18 to a new level of understanding towards her husband, deeply touched by Bulma's words and kindness towards her. 18 is also known to worry about Krillin's safety due to his job as a police officer, as he has been known to suffer bullet wounds despite his superhuman conditioning and abilities. 18 is clearly devoted and dedicated to Krillin's happiness and well being due to this tendency of hers. However she does have a bit of a jealous streak as shown in the Bio-Broly film when the researcher Nain hugs onto Krillin as they fly her and her colleagues to safety as Mei Queen Castle fills with Culture Fluid, Android 18 notices him blushing as Nain hugs him causing her to coldly push Nain and Krillin away while telling them to hurry up and go, though neither are hurt by this. This jealous streak also implied by her reactions to Zangya's comments about Krillin being cute in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. It is also implied in the Dragon Ball Super anime she may be aware of Krillin's ex-girlfriend Maron, given she angrily threatens her brother when he mispronounces her daughter Marron's name as Maron.

In Dragon Ball FighterZ, Android 18 is torn emotionally when Android 21 (when overcome by her evil persona) orders her to fight with Krillin though she agrees to prevent Android 21 from attacking him. She orders the soul inside her not to kill Krillin and they manage to defeat Krillin without killing him though Android 21 loses control of her cravings, forcing Android 18 to have the soul inside her link with Android 21 to stop her from eating Krillin. After subduing her, they leave Krillin behind to learn more about Android 21 who Android 18, 17, and 16 resolve to help overcome her evil side. After 21's fission into her good and evil halves following the death of 16, Android 18 is relieved when Krillin arrives to save her and the good Android 21 from the evil 21. She is touched when Krillin admits he realized she had gone easy on him when they fought and correctly assumed she had own reasons for helping 21. She is not surprised when Goku and Krillin want to help the good Android 21 stop her evil counterpart. Android 18 is also shown to have developed animosity towards Frieza for his murder of Krillin in the past, which even extends to the Clone Friezas as she convinces the good 21 and her brother to help her avenge Krillin by killing a Frieza clone they encounter much to good Android 21's confusion as she recognizes that Android 18's desire to avenge Krillin by killing a Clone Frieza is itself irrational as it is not the true Frieza. Presumably, she would hold similar animosity towards Tambourine as well as Super Buu (though in Super Buu's case, it would likely be greater as he killed both her husband and daughter, as well as 18 herself). Though Android 18 loves her husband, in a special conversation between Krillin and Yamcha in which Yamcha mistakenly assumes that Krillin has a thing for female Androids due to Krillin agreeing with Yamcha that 21 is attractive, Android 18 overhears Yamcha's careless remarks, causing her to comically seethe with anger and glare sinisterly at both Krillin and Yamcha who are so terrified they do not dare turn around and instead focus on fighting the enemy, hoping that 18 will go easy on them afterwards. However, Krillin himself is shown in FighterZ to love Android 18 and is enraged when he sees her injured in the Super Warrior Arc and Enemy Warrior Arc, to the point he is willing to bravely confront the likes of Perfect Cell (and Frieza, the Ginyu Force, and Nappa in the Enemy Warrior Arc) and is shown to be protective of her, though he can be overprotective as he is reluctant to allow her to work with her brother, 16, and Android 21 because he was not trusting 21, owing to her association with the Red Ribbon Army, though after she holds back against him he, understands she had her reasons for doing so and ends up coming to her rescue when she, 17, and good 21 confront the evil 21, having learned what was going on from Dende while staying on The Lookout.

Dragon Ball GT showed an, even softer side of Android 18. When 17 returned in a brainwashed state and attempted to compel 18 to join him, Krillin was able to break the mind control. 18 was distraught enough over her husband's subsequent death to attack her own brother in a rage and it was a combined attempt to avenge Krillin that helped 18 and Goku finally put aside their differences and become friends.

[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy chapters 239 & 240 - character background arrives for Kikuta

Hello all, this is a much belated meta for the past two chapters.  I was very busy with work last weekend and I’m feeling the usual work related exhaustion with the covid-19 situation on top of it.  I’m currently living in a part of the States which still has a much stricter social distancing policy and it is still unclear when I can return to work, even if we follow new social distancing policies.  Suffice to say, it has been a huge struggle for me.  I’m already more prone to suffer from depression and this situation has just been really hard with friends and family very far away from me.

I usually like to give my all into my meta analysis of a chapter but I really didn’t like chapter 239.  The sense of humor that underlies the “midnight shoot out” just well - well.  I wasn’t keen on it.  I have a pretty dirty sense of humor so it isn’t even the fact that it is a part of male body part humor; just how it was implemented.

So I’m just going to go with this.  Usami and our “Jack” convict are men cut from the same cloth who link sexual acts with violence.  The only difference between them is that Usami was found and groomed by Tsurumi, thus appearing to be a more contributing member of society (as a member of the military), while “Jack” has been left to his own devices and is a free roaming serial killer.  Usami is the correct member of the 27th to do the field work for this convict.  What is more interesting is teaming him up with Kikuta.  After Usami and Jack’s “shoot out” Usami pursues him on foot while he’s on horseback.  Usami’s general response is to try to beat someone via brute force.  It isn’t surprising that he just jumps for the man only to get knocked down, he acts on instinct.

Kikuta has a much more tempered response as he first had Usami and him split off to try to pinch him off between the alleys/streets.  It gives him a clear shot at Jack.  Here he’s using one of his revolvers in his right hand.

Jack is lucky as Kikuta hits his top hat. This pause in action allows Kikuta to spring into action.  He sprints towards Jack tossing his revolver so that he can grab onto the convict with his right hand.  What I really like about this is how is shows how Kikuta thinks very quickly on his feet as we saw at the hot springs.

He’s able to use his left hand to reach into his coat where he likely has at least another revolver in a holster.  It should be game over for the man as he tells him that he’s got him with the revolver to the back of his head.

Unfortunately, Kikuta is defeated by “Jack’s” manly abilities and it is just plain gross and unnecessary.  Kikuta is one of my fav current members of the 27th, I just didn’t like this entire scene.  As a result he escapes and Kikuta is likely feeling - well feeling used, gross and assaulted.

Usami and Kikuta continue to pursue him and hear a woman scream.  Sure enough he managed to kill her and Kikuta looks shocked as they find the body.  The fact that Usami looks at Kikuta from the corner of his eyes makes me think that Usami is not surprised by anything our killer does.

In contrast, despite his years of experience, Kikuta is uncomfortable with this type of criminal activity & violence.  He’s no stranger to violence but he clearly has a strong moral compass.

The next day, they return to the scene of the crime in daylight.  The sketchy and questionable police officer is there with our sad and pathetic reporter.  Kikuta muses what the killer is thinking.  Due to all the things that have transpired so far, it is clear that Kikuta is really trying to rationalize things.  In contrast,’knowing’ his mind, Usami just offers an explanation that makes sense to him since it takes one to know one.

This only further highlights the difference between these two men.  It is clear that Tsurumi wants them to keep working together, even if Kikuta is really uncomfortable with Usami.

Usami is eager to visit the other crime scene, Kikuta hangs back and lets Usami go ahead.  He uses this time to casually approach Ariko. Everything about Kikuta’s body language, behavior and vibe scream - spy/secret agent.  He’s able to address Ariko with a calm demeanor and then when Ariko almost panics he instructs him how to behave.

Kikuta cuts the tension by teasing Ariko, stating that he’d recognize his figure anywhere and to think he’d be difficult to recognize is a bit of an insult to Kikuta’s intelligence.

He’s able to approach Ariko about his role as an unwilling double agent.  Since he’s there under direct orders from Tsurumi he knows that for the time to being he should be in the loop as far as Hijikata’s movements.  If Ariko is in Sapporo, it is a logical extension that Hijikata is there as well.

The chapter then wraps up with Tsurumi leading most of his men to Sapporo leaving only two to remain near Otaru to look for Asirpa.  He reports that Kikuta is the one who sent him the telegram about our convict, Jack.  If Tsurumi is reporting the truth to his men, it means that Kikuta only reported on the convict and requested backup but Kikuta may be withholding information about Hijikata being there as well.  This chapter leaves it up in the air as it shows Tsurumi looking military dictator-ish while Hijikata stares off into the distance.

What is most important in this chapter is setting up how Kikuta is going to be some sort of player in the hunt for this convict in particular. 

Chapter 240 begins to bring the manga plot back to the aspects that I like of it, more intellectual, big picture moves of the different groups as well as a side of good old fashioned spy business.

The chapter title page helps us to establish Ariko’s and Kikuta’s personalities even more.  Ariko is playing cat’s cradle with Tanigaki in the trenches while Kikuta literally has Ariko’s back and he watches them.

This shows several things.  1.) Kikuta is similar to Ogata as he’s always watching.  Since he was one of the “Russian” kidnappers, we know he has a background in intelligence and he’s a clever guy.  We also know that he cares about Ariko as a person, hence comfortable enough to lean up against his back as well as cover that back. 2.) It let’s the reader know that Ariko is similar to Tanigaki.  He’s a large, soft, dopey man.  He is simple, he’s outwardly friendly and like Tanigaki he has natural outdoorsman/hunting skills but that he’s an okay solider and but isn’t the most intelligent.  Neither man is a good liar and they are predictable.

Ariko is 100% out of his element and trying to be a double agent is pretty much a situation ripe for failure.  He just can’t do it.  In direct contrast, Kikuta looks completely natural and at ease.  He’s used to doing things like this and he’s confident with the games of espionage and intelligence.

Ariko is barely able to hold himself together, voice unsteady, sweating, looking like he’s got no out.  So Kikuta tells him to team up with him in contrast to Hijikata and Tsurumi.

Of course Ariko is shocked by this statement.  Kikuta continues his argument. He frames himself as Ariko’s only option. They survived the war together, they saw that same moon together.  The flashback shows, Kikuta reaching out to touch Ariko while he goes to hold his hand.

They’ve survived together against the odds.  So Kikuta is willing to ask Ariko to ignore everything else.  Forget about his father’s involvement in the gold theft and his murder and the fact that Tsurumi will try to get his cooperation by threatening family.  He summarizes it doesn’t matter which man he tries to align himself with, the outcome is same - it is terrible. So then he let’s him know that “central” is going to let things play out in Hokkaido.

This is enough information for Ariko to figure out why Kikuta was so keen to regain Tsurumi’s trust.  He’s the spy for central that Tsukishima has been always on the look out for.

The angle of this panel is just great, Ariko is in shock while Kikuta adjusts his bowler hat.  And with that, a running joke that originated on a discord server when Kikuta first showed up became the truth.

With Kikuta’s appearance several of us tried to figure out what is role would be and we came up with a nickname for him, “Roger”, which was coined by Merdopseudo.  This was due to how he looked like Roger Moore, one of the actors that played James Bond.  I 100% agreed with the Roger nickname and as a result, I struggle to write any meta post about Kikuta without referring to him as Roger instead.  I personally was leaning toward a more Clark Gable inspired look but Roger was just better.

The chapter then has Jack hanging around a church with no informative text.

The action then shifts to Hijikata’s group which is all in disguise.

The wee babe, Kantarou is a newsboy, selling newspapers.  Hijikata is a goldfish vendor. Ushiyama and Toni are buddhist monks, and Kadokura is a Koya-san pilgrim.  Ogata is a filial piety puppet performer and Nagakura and Ariko are just random looking civilians. Kirawus remained as himself.  Perhaps they thought if he tried to blend in as Japanese it would be obvious? 

Our morally bankrupt reporter, is able to elaborate on the details of the Sapporo serial killer - calling him a copycat of Jack the Ripper.  The Cliff Notes version of things is that if this is a true Jack the Ripper copycat, the fifth and final murder will happen 40 days after the two murders from the night before.  It seems proper that Hijikata is the one to summarize the situation that his group is in.

Interestingly, Kadokura, Kantarou and Kirawus are shown sweating in the background while Ogata is deadpan.  Clearly, Ogata is not bothered by the 40 day time limit.

This makes a nice transition to Sugimoto, Shiraishi and Asirpa now in Barato.  Shiraishi, being the smart dude that he is, points out an interesting article.  Sugimoto assumes it is about “Jack” but instead he notices children have gone missing.  Boutarou is able to immediately connect these crimes to another tattooed convict.

Asirpa looks nervous as, well she’s a child and she was teased additional information than what Sugimoto got from meeting him.  Boutarou is upfront and immediately is able to identify him for the rest of the group.  Asirpa is totally freaked out as the identifies him as the candy peddler.

Sugimoto then has murder eyes and angry screentones as he concludes that he is of course one of the convicts. 

This chapter is setting up a clear confrontation between all the different groups.  I like how it finally begins to ratchet up the the tension and put pieces in place. Usami showing that he’s terrible at spying and discretion both makes them stand out but also tips Kikuta off that something else is likely afoot on Tsurumi’s side. 

The missing children are a trail indication the direction of Ueji Keiji.  I like how Shiraishi and Sugimoto are looking at the paper while Boutarou towers over them and looks at the paper.

The chapter ends with our two shaded convicts surrounded by swirling newspapers.  Both men are making their actions clear to the public.  I would guess are both reading the newspapers as Jack let’s his activities know while Ueji is potentially communicating with him as his own actions are showing his direction, moving towards Sapporo.

The chapter then ends with a dark Ogata joke.  He’s really into his filial piety act and has to be yelled at firmly by another member of the group. 

Overall impressions on 240 and some brief ponderings.

1.) I love Roger, er Kikuta so much.  His character has a level of class and sophistication that many characters lack.  He is also a ‘self’ made man who rose through the ranks to be a valuable member of military intelligence.  It is clear now why Tsurumi would have kept his distance from him and why he was so insistent on getting back into Tsurumi’s inner circle.  It is clear that Kikuta is not a “Tsurumisexual”.  He is also the type of man who Tsukishima was suspicious of going back to his showdown with Ogata.  Tsukishima is livid that Ogata sniped Maeyama and told him that he’s the pet cat of “central” he’s waiting to sell out the 27th to gain position in the military establishment.

Therefore, our three “Russian” kidnappers are all originally enlisted men who likely gained a lot of skills working for a fallen elite like Tsurumi.  Tsukishima stresses loyalty to comrades.  Ogata has never shown much loyalty to those around him, but it is obvious that Kikuta has loyalty to Ariko.  He had to put on an act to look like Ariko had betrayed him and Tsurumi.

I have begun to wonder if Ogata is the red herring deflecting the focus from Kikuta.  Ogata doesn’t believe in the words of Tsurumi that are used to stir loyalty and dedication to a cause.  Is this because Ogata believe it is complete bullshit or that he’s aware that Tsurumi uses these types of concepts to control most people?

What I want to know now is if Ogata is working with or in parallel to Kikuta.  I still don’t see Ogata as a spy for central.  It goes against by gut reading on Ogata.  I could see Ogata and Kikuta being aware of each other and their objectives where Ogata may have even tried to make it look like he’s the spy to deflect attention from Kikuta.  Again, Ogata’s goal from this entire situation is still completely unknown.  Was Kikuta linked to the rebel group - RIP bear death trio.  I still haven’t forgotten you.

But based on Tsukishima thinks of Ogata as a putative spy, it fits Kikuta’s personality better.  Kikuta still has loyalty and connection to others from the 27th, e.g. Ariko.  His discomfort working with Usami on Jack’s trail shows that Kikuta has a stronger moral compass and thinks about what actions are justifiable and which are more ‘evil’ or morally questionable.

2.) Ogata needs a therapist.  Of all of the “disguises” he could choose, Ogata picks the filial piety puppet show. >_<  He put on makeup to look like his own father, and a son puppet that has a striking resemblance to his half brother Yuusaku.  Therefore, the bastard child is performing an act where his devoted brother does everything he’s expected to do as a model son for their asshole father.  The fact that his line is “What a dutiful son. Please give him the reward that he deserves.” can be read on several levels.  Basic text reading - Yuusaku was a good son, and he truly deserved the reward for being a good son.  He kept his virginity and purity, was un-corruptable by Ogata and therefore, he had no choice but to snipe him.  Subtext reading - due to Ogata’s clear “daddy” issues, he is actually the dutiful son and he wants the reward that he deserves.  Ogata entered the military and performed well both in intelligence for Tsurumi, on the battlefield as a sniper and did everything that was asked of him before he liberated himself from Tsurumi.  In that regard, Ogata was an excellent solider if not better one that Yuusaku with hands on/real world experience long before Yuusaku was a flag bearer.  I think this situation should both be read on the text and subtext level.  ‘Cause it is Ogata dammit and he’s not some obvious character.

Ogata is a character who wants and desires nothing more than love and acceptance.  Of course being the cynical intellectual that he is, he would pick something like this. . . . it just makes you want to cringe and go “Ogata . . .”

The fact that they almost left Ogata behind indicates to me that he’s acting out his own plan for - something.  Our man of mystery - Ogata.

[its-jijii]

chuuya’s masculinity

i was talking to hannah and thinking about the whole chuuya feminine/masculine debate and decided its time to write an essay on this. i have been waiting for the opportunity. and now my thoughts are gathered, so prepare for a mildly frustrated tangent abt the portrayal of chuuya in canon and in fan-made things.

i think that there are a lot of factors in play that influence how people see chuuya, the main one being canon content of course. in the manga, i do not get the vibe that he is feminine or weak in any way; in fact, he’s very aggressive and his stance indicates that he does not intend to be viewed as less. i will agree that the anime portrays him as more feminine: he has a higher pitched voice, and he is short. 

my problem with this is both the people who take that as being feminine, and the people who try to say chuuya is not feminine or weak. i don’t enjoy seeing chuuya in dresses not because i view it as feminine and therefore weak- rather, the circumstances of the source that makes me dislike it. for instance, primarily when he is drawn in dresses, he is clearly annoyed and doesn’t like it. i believe that to be because despite his “feminine” body type, his personality is very masculine. the way he acts and speaks does not imply that he is weak or feminine in any way.

my thought process isn’t dress = feminine = weak, so chuuya in a dress = weak, but in contrast, he is doing nothing about it. he is out of his comfort zone and obviously doesn’t enjoy it, yet he always seems compliant in wearing a dress. all of that is also usually for dazai’s entertainment, in some way. same thing when i see scenarios of them on an undercover mission together. one always dresses up like a girl, and that is usually chuuya. that is still because people equate his height and body type with girls, which makes sense to a certain degree, but one i still disagree with.

chuuya’s body type has almost nothing to do with being feminine, in my opinion. subconsciously people equate his height with femininity, which is not really the case. i don’t think they are necessarily equating his body with that of a girls and determining its weak. rather, they likely look at his height and body build and think “that’s weak.” that has no direct relation to being feminine, nor is it true. i think everyone knows he is far from weak, he is just never portrayed in the way he should be: masculine and dominant. 

his body type being feminine does not change the fact that he is strong and fit; his outfit doesn’t exactly show that off, so his features can be dumbed-down to long hair, cute face, and curves. this is completely disregarding his personality and actions, which annoys me considerably. in people there are often traits that are tied together- outgoing and dominant, quiet and submissive- and there are actions that tie into those categories, too. people on the quiet and introverted side tend to curl up and take up as little space as possible. extroverts assume a position that takes up more space (called power posing) 

“power posing” is a stance that indicates that the person is comfortable and confident. many times i have noted that despite chuuya being small, he does tend to stand in ways that take up more space. just from his body language, you can tell that he feels strong and in control. the art and scenarios of him unhappily sitting in a dress for someone else’s entertainment, but doing nothing to get out of the dress? that shows he is yielding to someone else, which is incredibly unlike him.

more chuuya in high power pose positions here lol

the reason i believe a lot of people think of chuuya as feminine ties into how he was introduced and how dazai treats him. upon his introduction in the dungeon, he is shown as a powerful and confident character. to me it seems that the first impression he made, which was asserting dominance and strength over dazai, was erased somewhere along the way. well, dazai happened to plot things out in advance, and later felt like he had the upper hand on chuuya. so despite chuuya’s strength and intentions, in the end he was rendered powerless by dazai. and to finish that off, he ended up pretending like he was a very feminine girl for dazai’s amusement.

his initially strong introduction was overwritten by the funny scene where chuuya acted like a girl. chuuya continues being masculine and dominant throughout the series, but oh so often is ending up following what dazai wants, or used as the object of dazai’s jokes. in the end, that rubs off on people so they think of him as less than dazai. his voice actor and the way he is animated likely ties in the thoughts of him being feminine, and when combined, people tend to think of him as either feminine, weak, or both.

it seems that no matter how this argument is presented, i find fault with it. even when people state that femininity =/= weakness, i feel that they are not presenting it right at all. i understand where they are coming from, but from my standpoint it isn’t as in depth as it should be (which i guess is why i’m writing this lol). maybe im overthinking things i accidentally analyze stuff and feel disappointed when people post unpopular opinions with nothing to back it up 😭

lastly, slight nsfw warning? (discussing top bottom stuff nothing explicit)

the entire top/bottom debate regarding soukoku also exhausts me. i believe chuuya to be a top, but again not because i equate being a bottom with being weak or submissive. power bottoms are a thing. however, i do acknowledge that there is a power difference between tops and bottoms- tops have considerably more control over the situation than bottoms do. and that is where i believe people have misconceived notions of whether he is a top or a bottom. on some level they do associate him with being a bottom, likely due to his size and believed inferiority to dazai. as dazai always seems to be ahead of chuuya, isn’t it only natural that dazai would be in control and would top?

w r o n g you can’t convince me dazai isn’t a lazy bottom, at best a switch. he does not seem like he would enjoy putting forth the required effort for topping. additionally, dazai himself isn’t exactly dominant or controlling. often he is relied on and respected, yes, but he only really tries to dominate and control chuuya as a way to harass him. chuuya on the other hand is outwardly dominant and likes being in control of a situation- and above all, hates doing what dazai wants. so even if chuuya was ever to bottom, no way in hell would i believe that he’d do it with dazai. he would not want to surrender control to him unless absolutely necessary.

additionally, i guess i just see chuuya as an active person. bottoms don’t seem to really do much,, they are on the receiving end of it all, so they often aren’t controlling the situation or moving around. it is hard for me to imagine chuuya to be the type to sit around and take something like that. it is much more reasonable to me to believe that he would rather be the one in control, and the one actually moving and doing things. if talking in the terms of soukoku, that seems doubled in my eyes. chuuya is far more physically capable than dazai, and likely has better stamina too. dazai would be one lousy top lol

thank u for reading! ive always thought about this, as there was a lot of art and fanfics that were the opposite of the impression i got from chuuya. to me, chuuya has always radiated big dick energy, top/dominant vibes, etc. i love chuuya and its not really a big surprise to me that my first post/analysis regarding him is talking about his masculinity haha. it’s always been a hot topic for me to think about and talk to my friends about.

i apologize for the lack of posting & original content rn ;; still con crunching for ota this weekend, and then i will be at the beach for a week. so i’ll probably just be reblogging art nd stuff when i can. hopefully ill get back to writing and posting normally after im not ultra mega busy. edit: forgot to say earlier but thank u for 200 followers! didn’t really expect anyone to care for my content but it means a lot to me

[cardentist]

I’ve been seeing people ask about the age gap between moomin and snufkin for a little while now, with some people going so far as to label it pedophilia outright.  I responded to someone asking about it politely recently and I think I went over it in enough detail and with enough sources that making it it’s own post could do some good.

that said, that’ll only work if people are actually able to see it in the tags, which won’t happen if tumblr knows that there are links. so to get around that I’m going to put parenthesis around the dots in all of the links and bold them, like this: staff (.) tumblr (.) com if you want to get around that then my original response is here:  cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/185261475458

but alright, here we go first off, snufkin is canonically younger than little my ! from the official moomin website: Snufkin is Little My’s younger half brother – Little My is older than Moomintroll, Sniff and Snufkin, whose parents only meet each other when Little My is already born. moomin (.) com/en/blog/snufkins-family-tree/ with that in mind, I don’t see many people question whether little my is on the same footing as moomin emotionally (even though she’s the most likely to be significantly older than moomin jdlksj) so it's strange that people do it for snufkin

as for snufkin’s age in relation to moomintroll there are a few things to consider first being snufkin’s backstory that’s revealed in moominpappa’s memoirs, that being that his father (the joxter) met his mother (the mymble) around the same time that moominpappa met moominmamma and sniff’s parents (the muddler and the fuzzy) met, with little my having already been born this already makes it far more likely that snufkin is around the same age as moomin, but that’s further hammered home by how snufkin is portrayed and treated in the novel itself. he’s very much on equal footing with the other kids in behavior and is actively treated the same as the other kids by moominpappa, he even refers to snufkin that way ! he’s also very much so engrossed with the joxter, taking pride in the similarities between him and his dad, insisting that moominpappa only tell him the truth about the joxter, and occasionally referring to the joxter as his “daddy,” all of which are pretty heavily coded as being childish, or at the very least as not being as jaded as an adult in his position might be I’m sending the screenshots as links for size conservation: imgur (.) com/RD8xCWz imgur (.) com/LJYmo58 imgur (.) com/lerDoUA

overall it’s pretty clear that snufkin is being put on the same level as moomin and the rest of his friends by moominpappa, and snufkin himself views moominpappa and joxter as adult figures

the second thing to consider is that ! snufkin’s relationship with moomin would be, Really Really Weird if there was a significant age gap, even when viewed platonically. and I mean this both from the perspective of us observing it from the outside and from the adults in universe not having any qualms with it

for instance, the first winter after moomin and snufkin met they hibernated together, with moomin’s room even being officially recognized as also being snufkin’s room !

moreover, they’ve outright slept in the same bed together in the 90s anime during a sleepover

the moomins are an absurdly nice and welcoming family, but letting a grown adult man sleep next to their child for three months after they’ve only just met him this summer is a bit much even for them fjksld

it’s also worth noting that it’s made clear that their relationship is just as important to snufkin as it is to moomin. they both view each other as their best friends, which would be weird for a child to feel about an adult but just, Way Too Uncomfortable for an adult to feel about a child. the fact that snufkin relies on moomin just as much as moomin relies on snufkin is more or less the lesson he learns in moominvalley in november kjflsd, which there’s an excellent analysis of here: milky-red (.) tumblr (.) com/post/184933769573

then there’s also the spring tune, which I’ll admit I’m more familiar with the 2019 adaptation than the original, but they both exist somewhere along the extended moomin canon so fkljsd it’s more or less all about snufkin’s need to be alone vs his need to be with other people, or more specifically with moomintroll. while he doesn’t outright acknowledge it, not yet, his need to be with moomintroll is just that, it’s become a part of his nature just like his need to wander and his need for solitude, and one that he’s trying to come to terms with

in the 2019 adaptation snufkin outright hallucinated moomin telling him that it was okay that he wasn’t ready to come back yet, all while holding snowdrops, flowers that snorkmaiden would later tell moomintroll “herald the return of loved ones” while the 2019 version definitely leans into snufkin being more outwardly emotional, it’s also worth noting that the part of the novel this scene is referencing is well, I mean look at it kjfsld

and then of course the argument with teety-woo the 2019 adaptation puts a lot of emphasis on snufkin being physically uncomfortable around teety-woo, uncomfortable with having company at all and with how forward they are. this is especially notable as it’s something that comes up later in snufkin and the park keeper, where he ditches moomin at a party and then has to take time for himself. both because he needs to cool off after being overstimulated/overwhelmed at the party and because he very actively feels guilty over leaving moomin, though he doesn’t admit that fact outright. this is especially driven home when moomin comes up with the plan to break snufkin out of jail, as when he chooses a punishment for snufkin we’re shown a flashback to the party and snufkin says “I suppose it’s all I really deserve.” he not only thinks that moomin is punishing him for leaving him but actively accepts that it’s his fault for needing to leave him, or perhaps just for leaving without saying anything

with that in mind, it’s especially worth noting that snufkin’s lines about being able to go back to moominvalley whenever he wants and that maybe he won’t go back at all are lead up to by teety-woo riling snufkin up by invading his space and ignoring his body language to the point of very genuinely upsetting snufkin, and then is punctuated by teety-woo bringing up that it would hurt moomintroll. and when the argument has wound down and he’s come back out to play for teety-woo and sees that they’re gone it’s pretty obvious from his tone and facial expression that he regrets snapping at them, most likely feeling that he’s driven them away

this is then followed by snufkin feeling physically ill from loneliness, him desperately looking for teety-woo, and the nightmare sequence. which, is very explicitly about his fear of being both forgotten and replaced, not just in moominvalley but by moomin specifically the scene even goes so far as to have snufkin abandon his harmonica, his very excuse for not having gone back to the valley in the first place

while he’s afraid of losing his nature, of losing his freedom, the idea of moomin pulling away from him scares him even more.

moomin is an incredibly important part of snufkin’s life, one that he’s had to learn how to tailor his previous lifestyle around. one that he finds worth changing how he lives his life over. while it’s certainly not entirely out of the ordinary for an adult to have some kind of positive relationship with a child, enjoying their company and enjoying acting as a mentor, for an adult to emotionally rely this heavily on a child would just be, inappropriate and unhealthy for both parties

none of this even getting into the fact that their relationship is pretty heavily queer coded ! I, would probably go on for far far too long and there’s more that I wanna get into (and the links themselves are gonna take up more than enough room) so here’s links to references and analysis of a queer reading for these characters both in and out of universe ! moomin (.) com/en/blog/who-inspired-tove-when-creating-snufkin/ cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/184309504683 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/184352468223 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/184529809803 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/184126897018 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/184305305518 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/185023635288 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/18424873269 jamiewoolleyart (.) tumblr (.) com/post/185073023200 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/185066154973 cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/185199096163 I don’t think I need to go over why an age gap between these two would be uncomfortable under the lens of them being queer coded. though with that in mind,  it’s worth noting that snorkmaiden has been depicted as thinking that snufkin is cute or flirting with him in both the comics and the 1990s anime cardentist (.) tumblr (.) com/post/184569294298 imgur (.) com/7EDJ9Rt

the anime has more leeway in that snufkin is more or less just playing along while she’s having memory issues, it wouldn’t be too strange if snufkin were older than snorkmaiden here. but in the comic snufkin blushing and being “wooed” is the Punchline. the comics are more adult sure, but I don’t think tove would just casually make jokes about pedophilia 

thirdly, I think that ultimately snufkin only comes off as more worldly because his upbringing was so dramatically different from moomin’s ! all we know for sure about his past is that he was abandoned when he was very small, so small that he didn’t have any memories of the mymble or his other siblings

it’s possible that he was raised by somebody for a short time, but it’s never mentioned in canon and he certainly wasn’t raised there for long. snufkin had to grow up faster than moomin did simply for the fact that he had no one to take care of him, and his worldliness stems from having more life experience than someone his age usually would and from independence being both a need for his survival and ultimately something he didn’t get to choose for himself at the start, even if it’s what he wanted for himself later

and ! for my final point ! the ages for the moomin characters, while generally consistent with their relationships to each other, are not set in stone. they’re heavily implied to be different depending on which versions you look at, both between adaptations and between the novels and comics and sometimes the novels themselves. tove played around with canon as she pleased jfklsd

the comics especially have no qualms showing moomintroll smoking and drinking, getting in fights over snorkmaiden’s hand, and just overall being more adult, which isn’t too shocking since the comics were more adult oriented, as I mentioned earlier

moreover ! it’s more or less canon that moomin is outright an adult in moominvalley 2019, as the team has said that this version of moomin was supposed to be older, he’s very much so voiced by an adult who is using an adult voice, and he outright calls himself an adult moomin in the show !

so it’s very likely that moomin is, at the very least, a late teenager to young adult in much of canon, with snufkin being close in age

feel free to add onto this with more analysis and sources if you have them and the time !

[helluvascribe]

Alastor and Astrology

Alastor potential birth chart

January 24th 1896, New Orleans(Jan 24 1986 is the birth date of voice actor Edward Bosco.) Alastor died in 1933 getting shot in the head and on the wiki, it said he was in his 30’s when he died. 1933 minus 1896 equals 37. I figured that the dark hour of 3:00 am would be fitting for him.

Sun in Aquarius

 Friendly and sociable, you may have a wide circle of acquaintances. Friends are very important to you. Intellectually oriented, you are happiest with friends that share common ideas and interests. Strangely, you find it more difficult to cultivate a truly satisfying intimate relationship. This aloofness exists because feelings are rarely expressed outwardly, and you usually seem distant. You resist anything or anyone threatening your independence.

Alastor is shown being sociable to Charlie, Angel, Husk, etc. He’d be happy with Charlie, Mimzy, Rosie, who share his love of singing and dancing. With a constant smile on his face, Alastor tries to never express what true feelings he may have at the moment. Anyone threatening his independence like the overlords or perhaps his father would likely not live very long.

Moon in Taurus

A Taurus Moon emphasizes the material side of life, and emotions are centered on the comforts and possessions in life. You tend to be a collector and an accumulator of the things that, in your view, make up the "good life." With the Moon in Taurus, you want the best that life has to offer, and you find it difficult to settle for less. The emotions are earthy and practical, highly attracted to material possessions and the satisfactions that come from material comforts.  Sense impressions are very strong, the sense of touch and taste is highly developed, and you probably have a pleasant speaking and singing voice. At least you are fond of music, art, dancing and all things that make life more pleasurable. You innate good taste probably extends to decorating the home and having a great sense for interior design.

Mercury in Aquarius

 In Aquarius, Mercury produces a mind that is original, detached, and abstract. Ideas come to you as bursts of insights. Your mind is hyper-active and going constantly. Thoughts are rarely organized, rather arriving in flashes and fragments which are often the seeds of invention and progress. The thought pattern is scientific and dispassionate.Your ideas may sometimes be considered very progressive and some may be well ahead of their time. Your unique approach will prompt some to label you as being a little crazy or at least eccentric. You like to do things that are unusual or avant garde just to shake up the establishment and create controversy. You have no respect for tradition and little concern for the lessons of the past. You are a pure progressive. You love to rebel against the system in supporting causes and ideas that are controversial and revolutionary.You are very intuitive, and accordingly, an excellent judge of character. Being very fair-minded, you judge people by what they seem to know or what they do, rather than who they are or what position they occupy. You believe strongly in equality and fair play. A humanitarian, you support ideas and programs that assist those less fortunate than yourself, and you support the concepts of total social reform.You're witty and open to a wide range of ideas, but at times, you become mentally fixed in your opinions and very stubborn. You are talkative and social, but you often come off as rather aloof and cerebral. It may be hard for you to find common ground in many social circles. Nonetheless, you are very verbal and enjoy expressing you views to anyone who will listen. Writing and speaking both come easily for you.

Theory: in his human life, Alastor resisted the racist standards/discriminations, being part Creole and having a mother who wasn’t white. He most likely killed off anyone who had bullied him. It is possible that Alastor will redeem himself by working with Charlie and the other protagonists to stand up against the Archangels, overlords, and/or Lucifer. They who claim that “demons deserve to die” or the overlords who wish to brainwash the populace in Hell would face Alastor’s wrath. The name Alastor means “spirit of vengeance/tormentor,” after a figure who wanted justice for familial issues. It could be good or bad (tormenting innocent people or tormenting evil people, both of which Alastor would relish in.)The speaking/writing aspect could translate into him speaking in his radio broadcasts. The Aquarius symbol can represent water, electricity, or in his case, radio waves. Venus in Sagittarius

You are humorous, sociable and even a flirt. Outgoing and personable, you are very friendly and sometimes not too serious. There is a strong love of personal freedom in your nature that makes it a little hard for you to settle down to a restrictive sort of relationship. You feel more comfortable in a relationship when things go slowly, and your partner doesn't get too serious too fast. In fact, you would probably like it better if the relationship stayed casual, and pressures of serious love never emerged. Threats to your freedom make you very nervous. Deer need their freedom and Alastor is no exception. Throughout the show, we see him socializing and casually flirting with Charlie, Husk, and Vaggie with dramatic gestures, invasive physical touch and in Charlie’s case, dancing. He likely did the same thing with his companions as a human. His humorous side comes into play with his dad jokes and clown-like demeanor. Mars in Capricorn

You are hard-working, very determined. Since much of your energy is focused on your career, you have a tendency to become something of a workaholic. There is a drive to satisfy professional ambitions. This is likely to manifest with innate managerial skills and good old-fashioned common sense. You have strong material urges, but even stronger is the need to get status and recognition. To attain these ends, you use your energy in very practical and profitable ways. You have little use for laziness or a lack of ambition. Alastor is ambitious when it comes to getting what he wants, whether through charm or brutal force. He was likely a workaholic at his job as a radio host. In Hell, he conquered many parts of Hell, killing those who stood in his way “seemingly overnight.” His goal is to take over all of Hell and broadcast his victory, via overthrowing the king of Hell most likely. Not only does he enjoy the finer things in life and the afterlife, he also enjoys the recognition that comes with it, both admiration and fear from others.

Jupiter in Leo 

Jupiter is in Leo in your chart. This placement of Jupiter suggests optimism, self confidence and generosity. You have much physical energy and a strong constitution. You have a dramatic flair in showing off your status and prosperity; you're big on grandeur in all forms. Your dignified demeanor inspires confidence and produces excellent leadership qualities. You expect appreciation and admiration in return for your benevolence, and you may seem a little offended if you don't always get it.

Being one of the most flamboyant characters in the show, Alastor lives for drama and showing off. Broadcasting his killings and conquests, both as a human and demon gives him great joy and affirms his powerful position. He appears dignified in nearly any situation, not fazed by Sir. Pentious’ attack nor when Charlie refuses to make a deal with him. With Jupiter in Leo, one could say that “theater is his religion/worldview.”“The world is a stage, and the stage is world of entertainment.” Saturn in Scorpio 

Saturn in Scorpio adds much purpose and impatience to your nature. You demand much of yourself and of others. You approach responsibilities with an intensity of purpose that overwhelms people who won't carry their share of the load. You have terrific willpower and much energy. With your determination, it's hard to remain calm and reflective. Secretive and unforgiving, you resent it deeply when you are treated unfairly. Despite your strong drive for success, your approach is usually subtle and calculating.

Scorpio represents the supernatural, Saturn represents misery and death. With so much dark energy running through Alastor, it’s no surprise that he became known as the infamous Radio Demon. Alastor doesn’t like to be treated unfairly, both as a human and demon, and those who do would quickly meet their end. He does have a subtle approach to his plans, observing Charlie’s family portrait with great interest, summoning voodoo symbols when Charlie isn’t looking, watching Charlie sing on TV with fascination.He is demanding on Niffty, Husk, and Vaggie. He bribes Husk into greeting the guests and working at the stand with booze, summons Niffty to clean the hotel, and telling Vaggie to smile. “One never plans a murder out loud.” Uranus in Scorpio 

Many of your peers born during the years when Uranus was in Scorpio are apt to bring about massive and often disruptive changes. The seeds of revolution and instability may take root from within this group. Uranus in Scorpio tend to be rebels. Their determination and strong will keep them heads above anyone else. But it may not be obvious at first. Uranus in Scorpio is more of a dark horse that you don’t see coming until the last second. That’s when they pounce.Disruptive changes included the 1929 stock market crash, the Great Depression, war, Alastor’s murders and his death by a bullet through his head.

Neptune in Gemini 

Neptune in Gemini are in awe of the world and want to learn as much about it as possible. They are sociable and great communicators. But they and also be drawn into fantasy and illusion. They can also be taken advantage of if they’re not careful. Theory: this might explain Alastor creating illusions using his magic, as well as music, song, and dance, as Neptune rules the arts. Wanting to learn about the world could have been his desire as a child. He may have been taken advantage of in his human life, thus deciding to take advantage of others to make himself feel more secure.

Pluto in Gemini 

People during the Gilded Age between 1882 and 1914 were often optimistic, fashionable, sociable and arrogant (describing Alastor and how he was brought up by society).Things in the world seemed to be improving, getting people positive to the extreme. However, things were getting bad and there were cracks in the worldview. The rich and the poor, duality is associated with Gemini. Constantly immersing themselves in deeper and more intense experiences than ever before, they reshape their thinking patterns continuously, ever evolving, ever becoming better. Love and affection are also very beneficial to their state, as it points to them they are appreciated and that it’s worth it to have a bright outlook for the future.

What could Alastor’s ascendant be? 

Leo, Gemini, Capricorn, or Sagittarius Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Taurus The combination of your Sun and Moon signs produces a personality that people find easy to like and admire. This is not so much for what you do as it is for what you don't do. You’re never petty or small, and your appeal is to those in the higher as well as the lower rungs of society. You don't pester people with your worries and anxieties, but when others come to you, you drop everything to listen to their problems. You're interested in people, and like to be around them as an observer, but somehow maintaining a distance and not getting too involved individually. You rate people not on their position or rank, but simply on whether they interest you or not. You have a certain self-sufficiency about you, and you never feel that you have to put on airs to impress anyone. You have all it takes to be executive, except the desire that would be required. You seem to be devoid of any domineering or missionary spirit, willing to "live and let live." This combination blends the originality and independence of Aquarius, with the determination and powerful will of Taurus. These two fixed signs together give a will that is so strong that it may become obstinate and intransigent. Happiness can depend on assuring peacefulness and harmony in environment or home life, and in respect to human relationships. 

Sun opposed Jupiter 

The opposition of the Sun and Jupiter suggests an over-expanded ego. Jupiter deals with judgment, and with this aspect, the drive for significance is subject to being overemphasized. There is often a tendency toward extravagance and pretension. You can have too much optimism, and promise more than you can deliver. There is a continuous need to control urges to enter grandiose schemes and avoid ostentatious manners. The strength of this aspect lies in your ability to apply much charm to gain the approval of those you deal with in your daily affairs. There is often much talent and creativity associated with this aspect.

Sun trine Pluto 

The Sun in your chart is trine Pluto giving you a highly evolved power of concentration and will. You have a way of mobilizing your talents to reach your goals. You have many leadership abilities, but you may not be so interested in leadership. You focus instead on your personal agenda. You often display an attitude of righteous indignation toward those who bend the truth and take advantage of others. You are an extremely perceptive person. There is much investigative skill associated with this aspect, and your insight in human motivations can serve you well in fields of behavior sciences. You may not always agree with people, but you understand them very well. Moon opposed Uranus 

The Moon and Uranus form an opposition in your chart. This opposition suggests a conflict in your life regarding emotional matters. The Moon denotes emotions and Uranus produces unstable situations. Thus, you may be called on to deal with unpredictable emotions that may appear as nervous tension. It may require conscious effort on your part to maintain a responsible role in your domestic affairs.

Moon opposed Saturn 

The opposition between the Moon and Saturn suggests a negative mental attitude and often a restriction of the spontaneous flow of ideas. Intellectual responses are somewhat slowed. Even if you are very bright, the inability to express self in other than a prosaic manner often hides real mental abilities. Thus, you are more contemplative than conversational, but nonetheless a good listener. Venus conjunct Mars 

The conjunction between Venus and Mars shows a strong desire nature needing expression. You are the aggressor in relationships with the opposite sex, and you are ever eager and aggressive in making social contacts, as well. Artistic endeavors may be an active outlet for your hyperactive nature.

Moon square Mercury 

The square formed between the Moon and Mercury suggests conflict between your mind and your emotions. You have difficulties making reasonable judgments because your feelings get in the way. Irrational decisions place you at odds with people sometimes, and you have the feeling that you're being treated unfairly when this may not be the case. You dwell on trivial personal matters and may have a real sense of insecurity.

Mercury square Uranus 

Mercury in a square aspect with Uranus speeds the perceptions, and quickens the intuitions. At times you can be erratic in your drive to be independent. Your speech can become sarcastic and brusque, and mental energies can be wasted in temperament. You love a battle of wits and will take the other side of just about any argument just for the fun of it.

Mercury trine Neptune 

The aspect between Mercury and Neptune suggests you're a practical idealist with an intuitive mind. Because your intuition is so highly developed, you understand what motivates others in their relationships with you. You have an artistic imagination and the skill to express it well. You can visualize objects or processes in your mind, much as though you were looking at a finished product. In this regard, your mind is very inspirational. You communicate effectively, and with a flair for dramatic delivery. 

Mercury square Saturn The square between Mercury and Saturn suggests mental restraint and strong ties to traditional ways of thinking. Mental processes are on the pessimistic side. You worry too much, often about unimportant details. You have much concern about succeeding or failing to succeed. Your education may have been rigidly disciplined and conforming to traditional doctrine. There is a tendency because of this, to uphold the established order and resist change. Numerology

A = 1

L = 3

A = 1

S = 1

T = 2

O = 6

R = 9

1 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 6 + 9 =23  

2 + 3 = 55 Destiny number 

http://astrology-numerology.com/num-birthname.html

The number 5 Destiny suggests that the direction of growth in your lifetime will be toward becoming a harbinger of change, freedom, and progressive thought and action. The number 5 Destiny potentially endows you with the wonderful characteristic of multi-talents and versatility. You must develop in ways allowing you to do so many things well. The tone of the number 5 is the constructive use of freedom, and in your drive to attain this freedom, you must be the master of adaptability and change.As you mature, you must become good at presenting ideas and knowing how to approach people to get what you want. Naturally, this will give you an edge in any sort of selling game and spells easy success when it comes to working with people in most jobs. Whatever you do, you have the capacity to be clever, analytical, and a very quick thinker.You must learn to accept changes as they come along and avoid clinging to the outdated. Avoid rebellion, and focus on enlightenment and progression thinking that will benefit mankind. You life is broadened by gaining an understanding and an appreciation of all kinds of people.The Destiny 5 will be welcome in many varied professional environments. The public sector is a natural for you because you must administer to all peoples. The media, advertising, promotion, publicity, all types of selling, and entertainment are all potential fields that may interest you. Settling on a single career may not be in the cards for you, as you are in a continuous state of flux brought by constantly changing interests. Alastor: Jan 24 1896 Charlie: July 3 before 1830s Husk: age 60-75Died in 1970s1970-75 = 1895VA birthdate Dec 10 Dec 10 1895 Niffty: age 22Died in 1950s1950-22 = 1928 March 22 1928 Vaggie/Vagatha: died in 20142014 – 22 = 1992Voice actor birthdate May 10May 10 1992 Angel Dust/Anthony: died in his 30s 1947Voice actor birth date June 17 19951947 – 30 = 1917 June 17 1917

[lutefisk-kingdom]

I know I swore off mbti but what can I say, it’s like astrology but for psychology nerds. There’s something ridiculously addictive about it.

I felt like psychoanalyzing the characters of my new favorite show, so here’s a list of their types and my reasoning for them.

Sabrina clearly has strong introverted feeling. She follows her own moral code above all else, and this causes her to clash with the people around her. She marches to the beat of her own drum. She’s highly idealistic, opinionated, and self righteous. She can be stubborn with her ideals, but because of her dominant extroverted intuition she is still curious and open to new ways of thinking. She’s observant and constantly seeking outward stimulation. She’s easily bored, incredibly individualistic, terrible at following advice, and fantastic at winging things in order to get out of trouble. She risks her life for the people she loves, and is prone to putting the safety of others above her own. She often exhibits that Potteresque “I’m the chosen one, so I have to save everyone else” type of thinking. She’s a dreamer, and believes in her ability to change the system she was born into.

Sabrina has well developed extroverted thinking, making her a fairly healthy enfp. She’s the ideal combination of active and idealistic (a combination that many struggle to achieve.) To put it frankly, Sabrina puts her money where her mouth is.

Sabrina has inferior introverted sensing, and seems to have failed to develop that function as well as her extroverted thinking. She’s prone to romanticizing the past, or dismissing it all together, with little in between. She is so big picture focused that she occasionally underestimates her enemies, or oversimplifies the steps that must be taken in order to achieve her ideals. Thankfully her determination and inventiveness save the day at the end of every episode.

I might get some flack for typing aunt Zelda as anything other than an intj, but hear me out.

People with dominant introverted intuition are- and I hate to put it this bluntly- incredibly obvious about it. They usually look as if they’re a thousand miles away from the present. They can be so focused on their thoughts that they are prone to bumping into random objects or forgetting to take care of themselves. They are often perfectionistic, and quick to over analyze any and every situation.

Aunt Zelda is none of those things. Detail oriented, tradition abiding, people pleasing, nonchalant, resourceful, and highly observant. She’s high maintenance and utterly owns it, with sophisticated taste and a knack for aesthetics.

Dominant introverted sensors are far more likely than introverted intuitives to value tradition, and Zelda is the epitome of supporting the conventions she grew up with. Convention for her might appear rebellious to us, but multiple scenes have shown that aunt Zelda was the perfect student, and values the dark lord as well as satanic tradition above almost all else. She has lived by her religion.

The reason I type her as a feeler rather than a thinker is primarily due to her tendency towards extroverted feeling. She repeatedly clashes with Sabrina in this way. While Sabrina rejects every convention thrown at her, Zelda not only honors tradition very deeply, but considers the group first, and the individual second. She looks outwardly for approval (a clear example being the fact that her greatest nightmare consisted of the dark lord rejecting a meal she had prepared for him.) When Sabrina is put on trial, her first concern is for her reputation. On top of this, she has revealed herself to be surprisingly selfless at times, and is constantly on the look out for her family. She is fierce when it comes to protecting her loved ones (from Sabrina to the tradition of witchcraft that she adores), and what could easily be mistaken for viscousness is usually just a sign of the extreme devotion she holds towards the people she cares for.

As someone who grew up with an introverted sensor, I know that their devotion towards their loved ones outweighs their dedication towards even their most sacred traditions. If they care enough about a person they will broaden their horizons. I see the potential for this type of growth in Zelda.

Hilda is one of my favorites, and I definitely see her as an infp. She seems somewhat aloof and shares Sabrina’s idealism. While her sister followed convention and sought to fit in, Hilda was an oddball. She repeatedly broke the law when she thought it was morally correct, and risked everything to help Sabrina’s mother. She sacrificed her membership to The Church of Night in order to save Sabrina.

She has a tendency to internalize her feelings, and stew in her anger instead of expressing it. She lets people walk over her, but reveals that she does long for revenge against the people that hurt her. She struggles deeply to take up for herself. She’s quick to forgive on the outside, yet holds intense grudges.

She’s sensitive and caring, and willing to put herself in danger to do what she believes is the right thing. Her extroverted intuition allows her to be surprisingly resourceful at times, and she comes up with inventive solutions to unusual problems.

Rather than dealing with her negative emotions she often suppresses them, and deals with sadness by lightening up situations and attempting to see the good in things.

Ambrose has a lot of unexplored potential and I’m hoping to learn more about him as Sabrina progresses. For now, I’m leaning towards typing him as an entp.

He understands Sabrina better than anyone else in the family. He shares her curiosity, recklessness, and tendency to fall prone to boredom. He’s incredibly knowledgeable and inventive. He seems to have an answer to everything, and if he doesn’t have one he’s willing to put everything on the line to discover it. He also shows the potential to be somewhat grounded in comparison to other members of the family.

He has a history of being a trouble maker, and manages to deal with life threatening situations with a coy playfulness. He longs for freedom more than anything, and has a pervasive fear of failing to live up to his potential. He’s prone to overthinking, self doubt, and even wallowing. On the other hand, he’s resourceful and seems to have an intriguing past. I’ll update this once the show explores his character in more depth.