#and similar to miranda yet so different

[isas-bathbombs]

can’t stop thinking about bela and donna’s dynamic if their relationship were explored a bit more. they’re the ones in miranda’s route that’s most aware of the cult and are also the only ones fighting against it. it felt like it was literally just them against everybody else. only they knew the complete depth of the cult’s cruelty and how miranda’s rot tangled far too deeply on their family’s roots. there must’ve been some mutual understanding between them that will have to carry this heavy burden all on their own.

did they find comfort that they at least had each other and weren’t completely alone? did they communicate/share what little they remember of the previous resets?

[mrfoox]

Wtf is my fascination with this little freak.... Hes just a dude but I'm so intrigued, I'm tired

[river-of-wine]

I know I’ve mentioned this plenty of times before but I’m still kind of annoyed by how the fanbase just kind of completely declawed the four lords and placed the entirety of the responsibility for their wrongdoings on Mother Miranda.

The Baker family are great, I love them, they’re an incredible unit of antagonists who are intended to be very sympathetic, at least for the most part. Jack and Marguerite in particular have lost all control over their minds and their bodies, turning into extremely violent murderers and cannibals who threaten and attack their own family, kill anyone unfortunate enough to come across them and, especially in Marguerite’s case, lose complete autonomy over their own bodies. Marguerite turns into a walking bug hive who’s only purpose is to feed her family and birth her new children. Jack is an unstoppable murderous force of patriarchal violence who has so much fun chasing down and harming his victims, which in the Daughters DLC includes even his own daughter. The exception to this is obviously Lucas, who has been cured of his infection and his acting of his own free will. All of this is caused by Eveline, everything Jack and Marguerite do controlled by her, and yet Eveline is just as sympathetic as the rest of them. She’s a ten year old girl. Even Jack, who has watched his family and their victims suffer because of her infection, doesn’t seem to hold any of it against her. She just wants a family of her own, after all. It’s a complex and tragic situation.

The four lords, while I suppose being similar in structure, are not the Baker family. Not in dynamic, not in character, not in the kind of tragedy that they embody. I could talk for a while about just how completely different they are, but I don’t know if I really need to.

The Baker family are so tragic because they were just innocent bystanders trying to help a woman and a little girl they found in a shipwreck out in a storm. That’s the only reason they ended up in the situation that they were in. While the lords have similar origins, being victims of Mother Miranda’s experiments to bring her daughter Eva back, an important distinction between them is that in the case of the lords, all four of them are still acting of their own free will. Yes, Mother Miranda has undeniable power over them. She leads the cult they are part of, she has control over the village, she is their superior. However, I really dislike when every negative action by the lords is pushed onto her, as if the lords are not all grown adults who are for the most part acting independently of her.

With Alcina, she is the head of her own extremely brutal crimes. I think a lot of people have forgotten quite how horrifying the situations of the maidens are, possibly due to the prevalence shipping between Alcina and the maidens, and though we have minimal information what we do know is very frightening. Alcina uses her work force like livestock, draining them for their blood in a cellar full of horrific torture devices, and leaves their corpses to shamble around, armed and ready to attack any unwanted guests that have slipped out of the daughter’s clutches so that Alcina still doesn’t have to do her own dirty work, given how highly above everyone but Mother Miranda she appears to view herself as. While yes, Alcina does need human blood to survive, her methods are brutal, and none of this has been enforced upon her by Mother Miranda. Similarly to Jack on occasion, she takes a great deal of pleasure in hurting and attacking Ethan as he runs from her. Additionally, everything she does to Ethan is against Mother Miranda’s request. While yes, it is retaliation after he killed Bela, the part I often see people leave out is that Alcina is equally as upset that he entered her property and was attempting to steal from her, and she isn’t just after him to kill him.

Alcina has also been an active participant in aiding Mother Miranda with at least one experiment, considering that I’d how she got her daughters. While I’m sure her strong admiration for Mother Miranda and Mother Miranda’s power over her has absolutely had an affect in this, that’s not something I’ll deny, Alcina is still a grown woman and in her written entries about this shows no qualms about her participation in this. Her general attitude towards others, using young women as a good source and turning men into scarecrows, also leads me to believe that she does not exactly care who gets hurt or taken advantage of when it comes to her and Mother Miranda’s personal endeavours.

Donna and Moreau are the two more sympathetic people within the four lords, but they are not innocent. To start with Moreau, he’s desperate for Mother Miranda’s approval, as well as the other lords. He’s insecure and lonely, and he’s doing what he has been instructed by Mother Miranda when it comes to protecting the flask. However, he does also take quite a bit of joy in trapping Ethan in the reservoir and swimming after him with the intention to eat and kill him. Moreau though, given his conditions and circumstances, is the one I think is the least to blame for what he does.

Donna is hard to discuss because we know so little about her. Her parents are dead, as well as whoever Claudia was to her, she communicates through Angie and she can cause those who enter her house to hallucinate. According to Mother Miranda, Donna is severely mentally ill and that is what has made her an unfit vessel. I think a lot of people took this to mean that Donna is unaware of what she is doing, that the hallucinations she is showing Ethan are frightening, but after having been a fan of this game for years I just can’t agree with that anymore. Donna intentionally lures Ethan into her house with visions of his supposedly dead wife. Donna is going after fears she likely knows Ethan has, making him relive Mia’s death, take apart a mannequin of her, listen to her voice panic over something being horribly wrong with Rose, all building towards the horrifying baby that chases him through the house. There is no way Donna doesn’t understand how what she is showing Ethan is distressing, especially when you consider that, given how she can make herself appear and disappear at will within Ethan’s vision and that Angie is sitting in the hallways stationary and unspeaking, Donna was likely close by Ethan at all times and could see and hear his frightened reactions to what she was intentionally showing him.

Donna’s death is upsetting, but Ethan was not just chasing her down and killing her. Donna was attacking him, or at least she was controlling her dolls to do so. It’s still a hallucination, but Ethan doesn’t know that. When faced with a threat that is keeping you trapped and trying to end your life, you will likely try to get away or try to fight back, as Donna is doing to Ethan after he starts to attack her and Ethan is doing to Donna when he thinks his life is still in danger. I would also like to remind everybody that Donna communicates through Angie. What Angie is saying, that’s Donna. Angie doesn’t talk or move once she’s dead, it is Donna who controls her.

Lastly, Heisenberg. I think Heisenberg is the one of the four most entrenched in headcanons. Headcanons are fine, I am never in this post trying to suggest they aren’t, but my issue comes in when people use them to try and change the canon of the game. For example, it’s fine to believe that Heisenberg was experimented on by Mother Miranda as a child, but that isn’t canon. It’s fine to believe that Heisenberg mourned the deaths of his siblings, but that isn’t canon. The opposite is, with Heisenberg not viewing the cult as an actual family and being very openly mean to all three other lords, even Donna and Moreau who seemingly haven’t done anything to slight him. While his goal of killing another Miranda is a very understandable and sympathetic one given what she has done to him, using a six month old baby as a weapon and trying to bring her father into the mix only to try to get him killed when he denies him is not. I cannot overstate quite how little Heisenberg actually cared for Ethan and Rose’s safety when it came to his goal, and given that we are playing as Ethan, Rose is the priority.

Heisenberg has built an army of corpses he has presumably stolen and desecrated. This is kind of fucked up actually, and done completely independently of Mother Miranda. He also puts Ethan through a very dangerous lycan gauntlet before he even reaches the factory, which makes it even stranger to me that people seem to interpret Heisenberg’s deal as something that would have benefitted both him and Ethan and as if he ever had Ethan’s safety in mind.

All four of the lords have tragic aspects to them and there are definitely reasons to sympathise with all four. They’re victims of Mother Miranda, who knows they will all be killed. She wants them to be, giving her less to deal with by the time she has Eva back. They never meant anything to her. Not Alcina or Moreau, who were desperate for her attention. Not Donna, suffering from her unspecified but apparently severe mental illness. Not Heisenberg, who was seemingly her favourite creation. However, all of them are grown adults who do their own bad things independently of her.

And it’s fine to still like them. It’s fine for them to be your favourite character. It’s fine to have happy or nice headcanons about them or want to kiss them or be their friend or to want them to have survived. It’s fine to like characters who do shitty things. It’s to be expected in a game series like Resident Evil. It’s a horror game series. People are going to do bad things.

I just find it so boring when people take away all their bite. What makes a character like Lady Dimitrescu so fun it’s that she’s completely over the top. She’s campy and ridiculous, her castle layout makes no sense, she’s got three kids made of swarms of flies dressed like a set of goth triplets, she’s a lesbian who’s castle is full of naked statues of women, she turns into a big dragon and laughs maniacally while flying around and trying to eat you. She’s evil and it’s fun. It’s the same with Heisenberg. He’s a campy show off with a fun voice and a massive hammer he never actually uses. He can control metal. He looks like a cowboy. He pronounced Miranda in a funny way. He talks to you over an intercom while trying to get you killed. They’re fun and evil and they fight over who gets to kill Ethan like they’re two little kids. It’s absurd.

What makes a character like Donna so scary is that she’s silently working in the shadows, unassuming at a first glance and unseen for most of the time in her house. She is the least threatening of the four upon first glance, and yet she has undeniably the most frightening part of the game. Pretending as if Donna is completely unaware of what she is doing and babying her like she is an incapable child waters her down completely and takes away from the effectiveness of her character.

Villain characters are great! They’re very often the highlight of the story they are in, and they aren’t real! The four lords especially are often so completely exaggerated in what they do as well. It’s fine to like villains! It doesn’t make you bad! Characters can be bad people and you can still like them!

It’s just frustrating seeing a group of very fun and exciting villains, all designed with different aspects of horror, all over the top and campy and stupid and fun, all doing their own set of fucked up things, watered down to a set of poor innocent victims who have never done any wrong ever. If you want Jack and Marguerite, take Jack and Marguerite. Lady Dimitrescu loves killing and eating women and Karl Heisenberg turns corpses into soldiers. They’re bad people and they do comically exaggerated bad things. If you can’t stomach liking a character like that, horror is probably not the genre for you. Unless it’s Resident Evil 7, I suppose, but apparently tall women aren’t hot when it’s Marguerite Baker crawling on the walls.

[echo-nt]

I know this has already been said and I’m super late, but Mia as the protag of RE8 would have been so good. The contrast between Mia, the Lords, and Mother Miranda would have been absolutely interesting. I'm shoving everything under a read more because damn I have so many thoughts about Mia.

Lady Dimitrescu is a woman that cannibalizes and drinks the blood of her servants and intruders. On top of that, she tortures before preying on them. She does this willingly and very much derives pleasure from doing so. Lady D’s gothic triplets hunt any poor fool that wanders in. It’s a fun family activity for them just as much as it’s for sustenance. 

Do you know what this parallels? The Baker family under Eveline’s control. They patrol the estate and anyone who rejects the “gift” either ends up molded or on the dinner table. This family also partakes in a fucked up version of a family dinner, eating the victims that refused their little girl’s “gift.” 

However, a major difference between the Baker and Dimitrescu family is their willingness to participate in these activities. A family of cannibals; one forced while the other relishes in it. 

Mia is still very traumatized by her three years in the Baker’s estate. Breaking into the castle to find her daughter would force her back. Hello to all the emotions that come with those memories, the ones Mia has been trying to forget. The harder you try to forget something, the more you think about it. What better way to make Mia acknowledge Dulvey, Louisiana than by forcing her into something so similar? 

And while she’s still reeling from remembering her time in captivity, why not push her a bit further down memory lane with House Beneviento? Mia has demonstrated at multiple points in RE7 that she does care about other lives. She lies to Ethan to keep him from getting caught up in her work. She tries to save Alan and crew members of "The Annabelle" (the crew members are a bit more indirect, she mainly focused on Alan) by containing Eveline. After Jack finds her, Mia keeps her distance to keep from infecting them while trying to write a warning. She tries her hardest during RE7 to save Ethan. 

Mia’s hallucinations could center on her guilt. The failure to stop Eveline and the lives ruined as a result. How she was always too late to help anyone. Ethan curing her, a criminal, over Zoe, the person helping him. Leaving Zoe behind in the shattered remains of her home and family. Surviving. Visions of Ethan hinting at his “condition” could lure her to the manor. A little nudge to the whole “he was mold the entire time” plot twist without fully giving it away. 

Moreau, lacking in self worth and very attached to a woman who doesn’t give him the time a day, yet still he considers her as his mother. Most of his actions are for the attention and validation from his “mother.” No matter what Moreau does, he’ll never have her affection or time. It’s sad, isn’t it? To witness a man try so hard only to be rejected. And isn’t that familiar? Mia once felt compassion for someone with similar traits. 

Remember the little girl who considered you her mother? The one that spent three years waiting for you to love her after you promised? The one you had a hand in killing? What makes you think you could ever be a good mother after what you did? Why are you trying so hard to save Rose when you didn’t even extend the same courtesy to Eveline?

Y’all know how Mia’s past is a mystery? Like why she was working for the Connections and how she was even recruited and all that. Heisenberg would be a great way to explore it. A man taken, forced into becoming something else, and stuck in a family he doesn’t want. Mia can relate. He wants to use her daughter as a weapon. She was willing to let another child be used as a weapon. They’re alike, so surely Mia would be willing to side with him.

But Heisenberg is cocky and Mia isn’t the person she was prior/during 7. Even if she was on board with using Eveline as a weapon to end all wars or whatever bullshit the Connections told her, she’s not willing now. Not after what she’s seen and been through. This section could be Heisenberg goading her through the tvs/intercoms about her past to change her mind with Mia remaining steadfast in her refusal.

And then there’s Mother Miranda. Two mothers trying to get their daughters back through vastly different means. Because of the group photo showing Mia and Miranda with Eveline this encounter can go one of two ways. 

Miranda and Mia know each other and have worked together before. Whether it be on the E-Series Project (with Mia becoming the caretaker and spending copious amounts of time at the lab) or though some other means at work. 

They’ve only briefly met when the Connections were in a hurry to transport Eveline.

Either way, Miranda would compare them. As a mother, Mia must understand what she’s trying to accomplish. Would Mia not do the same as she? Maybe at this point Miranda shows she killed Ethan to demoralize to prevent her from interfering with the ceremony. Tells her she’s too late once again and to give Rose to her because she’ll be the superior mother.

Idk, I guess you could switch to Ethan instead of Chris so he can still have Eveline tell him he’s moldy. But he’s a stubborn man and he forces himself back to weaken Miranda so Mia can kill her. Chris shows up and Ethan does the same thing he did at the end by blowing himself up with Chris forcing Mia (with Rose) on the helicopter. That way the Shadow of Rose DLC can still be about Rose and Ethan. 

TLDR; Mia should have been the protagonist because it would have allowed us to explore her character and background more. It was a missed opportunity especially since so much of RE8 centers around mothers. It would have played out better as closing off the Winters Family saga as well since we could have tied the loose ends that came with Mia’s mysterious past.

[dragongirl642]

H-heya! Could i ask for an shy female dragon shifter reader with Lady D. and Donna? Like she's heavily injured by hunters and had to crash/land into their home because of it? How would they react or would they even help her?

(I Love Dragons but see most of the time only male dragon shifters uwu

I feel like both their initial reactions would be very similar to the other Male Dragon Shifter meeting post, (a.k.a: This post).

Alcina Dimitrescu

At first, all Alcina sees is the giant hole in her castle walls and the giant lizard in her hall and she goes into attack mode.

She aims for your injuries, so you curl into a spiky ball of scales and flame.

Turns out your scales are Alcina proof so unless you uncurl and she can get at the flesh beneath, she can't hurt you.

She may lose a limb to your flames.

She is incensed at your presence and forbids her daughters from going near the hall.

But you are very warm, you're inner fire counteracting the cold winds coming in through the hole in the wall, and the Dimitrescu daughters are attracted to the giant warm cuddly lizard.

You warn them off a few times, but they keep spouting curious questions and attempting to come close that eventually, once your natural regeneration has sealed the surface of your wounds, you allow them to sit between the spines on your tail and examine your claws. (You can easily turn and burn them if they pose a threat.)

Alcina is furious that her daughters disobeyed her and approached you, and yet equally furious that you are entirely different from the mindless beast she'd warned them against.

When she sees your human form for the first time, I see Alcina doing a complete 180, (compared to her reaction in the other post).

Oh, you're a Pretty Maiden?!?!?! Well why didn't you say! Come closer, let me look at you Darling. *bites you! bites you! bites you!*

Yeah, she will pretty much try and get you to let your guard down and then go for the CHOMP.

You fight her off of course, half-shifting is easy for you.

Now you can be a fire-breathing menace AND roam the halls.

You have gone hunting a few times, and you brought your kill back to the castle. Dripping blood on the carpet and sitting in her great hall tearing into carcasses like an animal. (Her children love that you let them feast on the leftovers after they've sat for a few hours.)

Alcina is sulking. She can't kill you, she can't eat you, she can't just sit back and let you stay without at least making a show of removing you without losing the respect and support of Mother Miranda.

But then said Mother Miranda shows up and is promptly sent off with burned wings.

Okay, now she's a little worried. She is not certain she could beat you even in her full mutant form and her daughters adore you for SOME REASON.

After several weeks, she looses it, storms into the hall and unleashes a verbal lashing her ancestors would be proud of. The effect is only slightly reduced by the fact that she bursts into frustrated tears and flees the room to go dramatically wallow in her sorrow.

Okay, now you feel kind-off guilty. You did crash into this woman's home, burn her boss, monopolise her daughter's attention, and ruin the carpets. Maybe you should do something to make up for all that.

You repair the walls the best you can, replaster over scratches in the walls, hunt down the castles cleaning supplies and soak the carpets in a potion of bleach and foaming soapy water before hanging them from the battlements to dry.

Your final act of apology comes in the form of draining the blood from your kills and leaving them in sealed jugs by her bedroom door, handwritten notes tied to the handles.

You are a new exciting variable and her daughters try to help by going to their mother and telling her about what you're doing.

Every day, you wait outside her doors for hours waiting for her to emerge.

When she finally does, it is to your offer of a truce. You are being hunted and will not leave this very conveniently guarded hiding spot, however, you can be useful and help her with her food supply.

She is doubtful when presented with the blood of animals, but when you acquire human blood through negotiating trades with the villagers she slowly starts to change her tune.

You're a smart pretty lady and you have presented her with a charming little solution to the problem of the future dwindling supply of villagers to feed from.

Alright, Alcina has come to the decision to be the merciful, graceful mistress of the castle who allows a poor hunted lady to stay with her. (Keep telling yourself that Alcina).

After a few months, it starts to feel a little more comfortable.

After a few more, it starts to feel normal.

She caught herself running her hand down your scales once, marvelling at how the light reflected, (she will forever deny that she did that).

You start to lay down your claim and soon have built up a new hoard of trinkets, and maids, and mutants. The glittering gem crowning your hoard, is Alcina herself, not that she knows yet.

Once you've established yourself and Alcina doesn't outwardly reject your claim, you become quite the homemaker.

You are fierce and strong and loving.

You provide the warmest cuddles known to man, or mutant.

You cook for your new family, catering for their 'special' diet is a little easier with your own predilection to a carnivore diet.

Alcina will brag to the other Lords about "her darling", "the dimitrescu dragon", "the second dimitrescu lady," but only out of earshot of Mother Miranda.

Donna Beneviento

Pretty much the same reaction as the other post...except she's a bit braver about approaching you due to seeing your obvious injuries.

She has several dolls in attack mode ready to go, (not that they would work against your flame.

You know you could easily incinerate this woman but you attempt polite conversation through gritted fangs. You ask about her hobbies, favourite foods, favourite colours, etc..., and offer your own answers in return.

The talk calms her and she seems less frightened and more welcoming.

It takes a few days for her to really trust you.

Oddly enough you get the feeling she liked you a little more after Mother Miranda visited and berated her for not eliminating the threat (you) before being quickly chased of by a living flamethrower (also you).

When you shift to your human form to make it easier, she's surprised and immediately more comfortable with you.

Donna knows a lot about medicinal plants but zero about dragon biology. You know all about dragon biology and zero about medicinal plants. Together you make one whole doctor...and figure out how to make medicine for your wounds. It's patchy and a little funny-smelling but it does the job (at least you both think it does). To be honest, your natural regenerative capabilities take care of most of the damage.

Angie tries to play doctor too but is, admittedly, more of a hindrance than a help.

Your injuries are haphazardly patched and a good long sit by a lit fireplace does the rest.

You know your hunters are still out there, but this remote village is hidden and safe for now.

You decide to stay just until you need to move on.

Okay, Donna was not prepared for guests but now she has one.

She makes you some basic new clothes to cover you up and you collect firewood whenever she needs more.

After a while, she feels inspired by the way your scales gleam in the firelight and excited at the prospect of having a new friend to play dress up with, Donna offers to make you some dresses. Dresses with holes and pins to accomodate your wings and tail, delicate lace fingerless gloves allowing your claws to shine through.

You accept the gifts only because she seems so eager and it would be rude to deny your host, (not because she's cute).

You do what you can for her in return. As it turns out you can cook more substantial food than tea party sandwiches; which Donna definitely appreciates.

The dolls unnerve you, but you learn to live with them.

You install more lights in the manor and fix leaks in the roof.

There are long talks by the fireplace. She reads to you sometimes.

After a few months, you and Donna starts to build a comfortable rhythm.

After a few more, it starts to feel homely.

You attend a tea party she holds for the other Lords. When someone (Heisenberg) makes a comment that has Donna cringing, you growl, a loud deep vibration that (along with the glow in your eyes and fire shining through the skin of your chest) instills fear in all attending. Donna now has scary dog (dragon) priviledge.

You tell yourself your protectiveness is because she's your benefactor (totally not because you have a crush on the pretty, shy dollmaker with a voice like honey and temperament to match).

Okay, who are you kidding, you want to claim a new hoard here...you want to stay with her.

After a few accepted offerings of food made from your hunted game, a few accepted cuddles, and the painstaking labour of building and decorating a new conservatory with an unfolding roof cover for stargazing, (which Donna immediately hugs you in thanks and immediately outfits with a planter full of herbs), you consider your claim accepted.

You are fierce and strong and loving.

You provide the warmest cuddles known to man, or mutant, (or doll).

Once she feels comfortable enough and like she has permission, Donna is so sweet with you.

You compliment and build her up, and soon her confidence soars.

Donna goes from one of the weakest Lords to the strongest.

You burn the creepy baby monster in the basement, it's the one thing you couldn't live with.

[dragonsinthedarkness]

"But I hear other voices. A chorus of voices. Multitudes. They reach back centuries. Men and women and children who lost their lives to men like you. Man and women and children forced to wear your chains. I must answer to them.

And this war, Flint’s war, my war, it will not be bargained away to avoid a fight. To save John Silver’s life, or his men’s, or mine.”

I’d like to start from this beautiful speech from Madi to explain why I think Madi is the war itself. Why she was exactly what Flint needed to start fighting it and why she couldn’t be further away from Silver as a person.

Just because I rewatched the final ep. today and I feel the need to honor the one who lost part of herself in this and to reason about the dynamics among the two persons who might have changed the world and the one who kicked that hope back into the dark corner of the untold.

As always, Flint and Silver’s conversation at the end of ep.XXXVIII made me think A LOT. First time I guess I was overwhelmed by emotions, but this time, between the bitterness of the betrayal and the desperation of Flint's loss, I think I started to see exactly what Silver couldn’t get about the war. Which basically is its meaning.

But let me begin with Flint, because is the character I think I know better by now and because I need to start from a warrior who is not the war itself.

Flint started by fighting a war, another one, an easier one, alongside Thomas. He found himself in that period of time, but he lost that war and the one he loved the most with it. Then he started to fight another kind of war, twisted himself in order to fit into its lines. That war was never about liberation, even if that was what he had been telling himself all along and maybe what he hoped he could eventually accomplish by fighting it: it was just about revenge and something to grab in order to stay afloat. It took him to lost every hope of happiness he had left (Miranda), the last possible meaning of his life and of the person he felt he really was deep inside to see the chance for yet another kind of war. A wider one, a harder one, a most fundamental one. It took him to meet Madi. Knowing her, someone completely different from anyone he had known and fought along in the past, someone who was somehow closer to him as a person than anyone he had ever known (except maybe Eleonor, I’m talking mainly about the pirates. Thomas and Miranda were close to him but not very similar in character I’d say and maybe this is why they got along together so well), he finally had the chance to understand that he was not alone in his misery. She had the courage to be what Flint didn’t even know he could become, the fight not for the fight’s sake but for the outcome, as much as he reputed himself already excluded from it, because however he couldn’t ever be part of anything again, not in the way he had been with Thomas and Miranda. But there’s a difference between fighting just to kill and fighting to save who the one you are killing would have been willing to kill, and Madi represented that change for him.

And the war represented the only meaning he was still able to give to his life.

He is defined by his past, absolutely and mainly, and this makes him both someone with valid reasons to fight and someone with reasons to stop fighting.

In the previous episode we see how Silver instead refuses to be defined by his past, which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how one let that past influence themselves, but that in this specific situation is basically what makes him unable (just my point of view of course) to get the general meaning of that war.

He chooses to erase his experience in favor of the moment, of the future maybe, and this makes him unable (as much as he likes to affirm the contrary, which I had never agreed upon) to understand the minds of the ones who let that experience shape them. And even more, it makes him unable to understand the minds of the ones who don’t need to have cruel experiences behind them in order to feel the fight. That is, Madi.

To link with my previous post ( https://www.tumblr.com/dragonsinthedarkness/758840316125216768/from-the-moment-he-started-speaking-i-couldnt?source=share ), in that infamous conversation in the last ep. Silver confesses he felt the war only (or especially, but I’d say only) when he lost Madi, because he felt the need to honor her sacrifice, avenge her lost and everything Flint had been doing for years, and the point is that that war was EXACTLY that. It was answering to the multitudes of voices who had undergone all that suffering and that demanded justice for it. It was trying to accomplish that as few others as possible could undergo that same fate.

And the point I want to make is that Madi was not only a warrior but the war itself because she felt those voices and the need to answer to them EVEN IF she had never personally experienced such tragedies. She was raised with the Guthries, then in the camp, she had probably even had the chance to be happy in her childhood, but this didn’t prevent her from developing the knowledge of that evil or the responsibility to fight it as leader of her community and as sisters of all the ones who had suffered before and may suffer again.

She wasn’t defined by her own past, but she brought on her shoulders the most painful and important legacy and decided to honor it.

And one may ask for justice for what happened in their own lifetime with a single chance of succeeding, that can make a great warrior of them, but those voices REACHED BACK CENTURIES, as she said. Her justice, their justice, would have been hopeless as long as something bigger as that war started to change things, and this is exactly what Silver couldn’t understand.

Now of course I know changes don’t happen overnight because “the world is too strong for that”, but I’m talking about their reality in that age right now and I think that as much as a war couldn’t have probably changed things, it would have been a beginning at least. A scream echoing in the night of their existences who would have maybe be heard, and as long as even a single person was able to gain goodness from it, it wouldn’t have been in vain.

As I believe all their efforts had not been in vain, despite the outcome.

For one hour, a month or a year (to improperly quote Silver) of freedom.

For one single moment of victory, of light in the dark.

[copperbadge]

If its not too personal could you talk about what was the inspiration for Michaelis? He's got a lot of depth to him, especially for what could have been a one off character in the background after Fete. Also the way he mourns but carries on really resonates with me in Jes.

Oh sure! I mean, on the one hand it is quite personal but it's a kind of personal I really enjoy sharing. :D Michaelis began life as the Standard Hallmark Parent -- you see them a lot in the movies, the parent who is

1. Kinda grouchy

2. Usually pushing their kid slightly too hard in slightly the wrong direction (with the best of intentions)

3. Often a widow/er

4. Practically a cameo designed to stress out the lead, but easily attractive enough that they could be romantic lead themselves in the sequel.

There are actually several Hallmark films where the over-sixty characters are either the supporting romance in a one-off film or the main romance of a sequel film. (The Wedding Veil films, which despite their flaws are actually very enjoyable, have a Michaelis-like character for the mother of the male lead in the first movie, and she then becomes the major supporting romantic lead in the fourth movie.)

By the time I got to Michaelis talking to Eddie at the end of the script for Fete, I'd grown to really like him. When I adapted the script to a novel, I liked him even more. I thought that I could do a sequel with him getting jolted out of himself a bit -- and I was encouraged by how many people liked him in the initial read through. The main inspirations for the actual plot of Infinite Jes were, one, Gregory jokingly suggesting he do a podcast, and two, Michaelis's defensive dismissal of Gregory's question about what he's done for companionship since Miranda passed.

Over the course of writing Infinite Jes, he came to be a collection of themes I've explored or wanted to explore, sometimes themes I knew I wasn't skilled enough to handle yet. The core of him is based on a professor I worked with as a student; the confidence that occasionally tips into arrogance, the keen intellect that likes to take things apart, the ability to look at some toxic family traits and decide "RIP but I'm different" and be a present, nurturing masculine figure, all come from that professor, who had a huge impact on me.

But I have also been fascinated for decades now by a certain kind of character in fiction, someone who has had a devastating loss and keeps going, even if they aren't driven by something like revenge. Profound grief is difficult and fascinating for me, and I finally felt capable of exploring that fully, perhaps because the pressure on romance novels is a bit lower at times.

And honestly, a lot of him is me, processing the fact that I am aging in fandom. I'm older (44) than the oldest person I knew in fandom (38) when I joined it at the age of 14. I have, for lack of a better word, a position in fandom, a status, that affords me certain perks and requires of me certain obligations. Not to call myself elected king of fandom ("I didn't vote for him!") but the duty I feel to fandom, both as a culture that raised me and a found family, is very similar.

Most of my characters contain some of me, but Michaelis and Jerry contain far more of me than most, perhaps because I'm in a place to do some reflection. Michaelis -- intelligent, experienced, hopefully a mentor, but also lonely and detached at times -- is who I'm coming to grips with being; Jerry, the charming fuckup with power but no real clue how to use it, who is doing his best to grow up a little later than a lot of his peers and figure out how disability fits into his identity, is who I still see myself as.

So yeah -- I find Michaelis incredibly fun and compelling to write for, and I think that's because I had hit a skill level in my work where I could combine a lot of tropes and themes into one character and use him to explore why I enjoy them so much. But he definitely began life as the Hallmark Widowed Dad. :D Well, there are worse origin stories.

[thekiabo99]

In The Arms Of God

This is a very similar idea to the 'Waking Up In Her Arms' drabble I did recently, except this one involves a fem reader with Mother Miranda! I love Miranda the most, so I just had to do a version of this with her, (Don't tell anyone I said that..). Hope you all enjoy!

This story includes; Romance, fluff, slight hints of sexual themes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a dark, rainy night and you found yourself within the refinements of Mother Miranda's house. You were honestly surprised that Miranda had let you into her home, especially after the way you have seen her treat the other villagers. She is by no means kind-hearted or soft, so you were bamboozled when she openly invited you to her house.

Now that you think of it though...you were the only villager which Miranda had not threatened, nor has she tried to experiment on you, yet. You wondered why she treated you differently to everyone else, doing things like openly approaching you and you alone, gifting you very valuable jewellery, talking to you about anything that came to mind. You assumed she hated the thought of normal village life but apparently, she is interested in your life.

Then it hit you one day. One day she had invited you to the local bakery, just you and her, it was then when you realised that she loved you but was too shy to admit it up front. Only when you asked her about her intentions did she finally confess her feelings, telling you that you were not like the other villagers and that she does not wish to harm you.

All of this had led up to this night, when she had invited you to her home, a privilege which no other villager has ever had before. Or so you hoped. You were currently sitting in the middle of Miranda's bed whilst she was seated at her desk, scribbling down notes on her recent research. You knew she was trying to get her daughter back and you truly did feel sorry for her, so you watched her whilst she had her back turned to you.

She still had her dark, black robes on and her headpiece but despite that, you still managed to admire her figure from where you were seated. She was definitely divine in so many ways, everything from her long, blonde hair which was always slicked back and within a veil, to her elegant, taloned fingers all the way to the curves of her body was in your eyes, god like. Most of the villagers viewed her as their saviour, their protector and goddess but you, you saw her as not only a god, but someone you could truly trust.

The time you have spent with her has allowed you to learn so much about her and what she is trying to achieve, you admire her determination, her beauty, everything about her. You only wished she would show her love for you more often, you knew she did love you and she even told you thar a few times, but she was still bad with getting her emotions across. Having been alone for over a century, she naturally has a very tough outer layer and sometimes, it gets in the way of her emotions.

As you stare at her figure, admiring her god-like attire and presence, you notice her spreading her wings as she reaches upwards and stretches her arms out. Her sleeves allow you to see part of her arms for a brief moment before she turns to face you, a stoic expression on her face as she looked to you. You wondered if she knew that you were watching her so closely, you began to feel a little shy, especially now that her eyes were on you.

"I could feel your eyes on me" she stated matter-of-factly as she observed your reaction, making you blush and look away shyly as you swallowed dryly. "I am sorry, Miranda... I cannot help but admire you" you said quietly as she chuckled lightly, "Just the same as everyone else then" she said as you heard the scraping sound of her chair moving as she stood up from her chair.

You dared to look her way as she approached the bed, her eyes were on you as you watched her elegantly approach the bottom of the bed. You were wondering what she was doing as she smiled slightly at you, moving to crawl onto the bed as you watched with nervousness painted all over your face.

You remained perfectly still as she crawled up towards you, her eyes never once leaving you as she moved until you were leaning back. Her taloned hand gently pushes you back as she hovers over you, looking down at you as you swallowed dryly. You had no idea how pretty she was up close until now, you had only been courting her for a month, if that and you had yet to kiss her.

You were nervous as she gently reached forwards, capturing your face within her taloned grasp as she made you look to her. "You said you cannot help but admire me, yes?" she asked, looking into your eyes as you nodded slightly. "I need confirmation, Pet" she said, her voice was low and dripping with lust as you opened your mouth to speak, "Yes... I did say that" you quietly said as she smirked at you.

Without her iconic mask on, you could clearly see her face, the way her icy blue eyes pierced into your own made you feel weak as your eyes drifted to her lips.

"What is wrong, Pet? Do you see something you are interested in?" she asked knowingly, her voice made you shiver as you avoided her gaze. When you did, her grip on your chin tightened as you instantly looked back to her. "Do not hide from me, Pet. I already told you that I will not harm you" she said, a slight hint of bitterness in her voice as you gently reached up, taking hold of the arm that was holding your face.

When you did this, she glanced to your hand as you offered her a smile, "Sorry Miranda, I did not mean to offend you" you said shyly, watching as her grip loosened on your face once more. "And... about what you just asked... Yes, I do see something I am interested in" you confessed, looking at her face for a reaction as she smiles at your words. "Well, in that case then... come and claim what you are interested in" she said, her voice low and dark as you felt her hand lower from your face.

She sat in front of you, watching as you moved a bit closer to her, you did not want to push her too far, so you decided to go slowly as you leaned forwards and kissed her cheek. She instantly blushed a bit when you did so, but soon enough, she grumbled at you as she looked to you once more. "Come now, Pet... do not hesitate to claim what is yours" she said, her voice slightly husky and low as you nodded and leaned towards her again.

Your hand gently cups her face as she looks into your eyes, her eyes giving away nothing as you finally kissed her soft lips. You instantly melted into the kiss, her lips were so soft and warm, you felt like you could turn into a puddle right in front of her as you felt her taloned hand gently rest on your shoulder. She was a really good kisser too, easily taking the lead as you were inexperienced. You let her take control as her other hand moved to rest on your thigh, rubbing gentle circles as you grumbled slightly into the kiss.

The kiss lasted a while, you letting Miranda gain enough strength to push you down flat against the bed as she was hovering over you once more. When you both parted, a thin line of saliva connected your lips as she smiled down at you, drinking in your flushed face and unsteady breathing. You could tell she was eager for more as you smiled and gently reached up to her, pulling her down and into you as you wrapped your arms around her.

She froze for a moment before she finally relaxed, hugging you back as she hummed in content. "Was that what you were interested in, Pet?" she asked, her voice laced with love as you nodded against her neck. "Yes... I have wanted to do that for weeks" you admitted as she almost purred at your words, "As have I, Pet. Why don't you tell me more about how much you admire me?" she asked in a teasing tone, moving to lie beside you as she pulled you into her arms.

You smiled as she held you close, her hands gently rubbing circles on your back as you looked up at her slightly. "I do not really know how to explain it other than telling you that I admire everything about you. Everything from your hair, to your eyes, to your hands... and your figure is divine" you blurted out as she hummed slightly.

"Hmm, so you are trying to say that you find me very attractive?" she asked as you nodded, "Yes, one hundred percent. You are a goddess in my eyes, Miranda. I feel so lucky that you invited me into your home" you admitted as she looked down at you slightly. Her wings spread slightly as she smiled at you, moving to encase you both within them as you smiled at the warmth of her wings.

"You truly are precarious, Pet" she cooed as you nuzzled her neck slightly, earning another hum as she moved her head to give you more space. She enjoyed your nuzzling, much more than she would ever admit openly.

"You are surprisingly warm, Miranda" you said as you rested your head on her neck slightly, she grumbled slightly at your words. "Did you think I was cold entirely?" she asked, a hint of humour in her tone as you laughed slightly. "No, of course not. I just did not expect you to be so hot" you said, looking to her face as she avoided your gaze, "Well, It is not entirely my fault, Pet. It is because you are here with me... I have not had anyone close to me for many years" she quietly said as you smiled lovingly at her.

"That just makes me love you more, Miranda" you said, voice laced with love as she finally looked to you. "Is that so? Good to know" she said as you felt her hands wander down your body once more, "You are a really good kisser, Miranda. How many lovers have you had exactly..." you asked shyly, feeling like a novice as she tightened her hold on you, as if she was scared you were going to leave her.

"I have only had a couple, I have been alone for years now" she said as you let out a sigh of relief, at least she was not too experienced compared to you...

"Why do you ask, Pet? Are you uncertain of my love for you?" she asked, nervousness was clear in her voice as you shook your head. "No, of course not. I am more uncertain if I am good enough for you" you said as she sat up slightly, making you sit up too as her wings wrapped further around the two of you.

"My Pet... do not think such things. If you were not enough for me, I would have experimented on you by now. Compared to my past lovers... you are miles better" she said the last part quietly as you smiled at her. "Aww, so you do have a soft side?" you asked teasingly as she huffed slightly, "I never used to, you have changed me..." she said as you gently leaned your forehead against hers.

"Good, I like your soft side. It makes me feel even more special" you say with a smile as she smiles back at you, "Noted. You should be careful what you tell me, Pet. You might regret it later" she said, a teasing tone in her voice as you laughed slightly.

"I look forward to that moment, I truly do" you said as she hummed once more, "Good, because from this moment on, you will know my love for you every day" she said as she nuzzled your foreheads together. You smiled warmly at her words as you gently kissed her again, she let you lead this time as you deepened the kiss.

When she fell back against the bed, you ended up on top of her as she held you close, letting your hands wander over her body, as hers were doing to yours just before. This kiss was different, it was filled with love and lust for one another, you truly enjoyed this kiss.

When you parted for air, Miranda smirked up at you as you smiled down at her. "I love you, Miranda. You truly are my goddess" you said as she laughed lightly at you.

"I love you too, Pet. Now... let us see if you can blush more" she said as she flipped you over so she was on top once more, looking down at you as you widened your eyes slightly at her strength.

"Miranda!" you said dramatically as she laughed and leaned down to kiss your neck once more. You were so pleased that your goddess returns your love fully.

[adracat]

G Witch's Cinematic Rhythm and the Poetic Edda

You might have noticed or seen someone highlight the rhyming shots in Gundam The Witch from Mercury. If you don't know what I mean, I refer to the repeated usage of rhyming shots such as these

Important moments echoed and distorted, rhyming with each other. These are just a couple flagrant examples but hardly alone. When you look close, G Witch loves to do this clever bit of repetition throughout. But what's its purpose? A mere stylistic choice, might be your first assumption. I suspect it's meant to invoke something specific.

Because as I've discussed in my G Witch Norse analysis, the show appears to partly follow beats of Norse Myth (link to examples). And from these rhyming shots, call to mind the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda is a collection of tales, skaldic poetry, and songs featuring the mythological exploits of Norse gods and hero-cycles. It features alliterative poetry; echoing but different. The same as the rhyming shots above.

This isn't limited to its episodes either, but also in the various homages to past gundams, such as Miorine being a distorted echo of Relena Peacecraft (link to my analysis on the subject), her relationship with Suletta mirroring Utena/Anthy (RGU) and Miranda/Ferdinand. (The Tempest)

Considering the other influences within the show, The Tempest and Utena respectively, this theme of cycles and rhyme is perpetuated. Revenge, systematic abuse/oppression; metered verse and fantastic tales of witches, royalty, and love blooming within the dark ugliness of humanity. Its rhyming structure becomes nothing short of brilliance.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

First off, neat right? But what will it mean in the grand scheme of G Witch. Consider the Poetic Edda is not a coherent narrative but an amalgamation of stories/skaldic poetry that flows past, present, and future. It simultaneosly tells of Ragnarok or the twilight of the gods, the strife between the Aesir and the Vanir then unification through a marriage between Odin and Frigg/Freya. Similar to the Tempest where Prospero rescinds his plans for revenge upon the union of Miranda and Ferdinand.

This tale ebbs and flows and so do its references within G Witch. Yet I suspect the show's end will likely mirror the most prominent beats-- The End of the Gods, which could mean Benerit Group/Permet weaponry/Spacians, peace and unification between Spacians (Aesir) and Earthians (Vanir) and of course if Miorine becomes president that would make her Odin within the spacian pantheon; a Queen as Relena becomes in Gundam Wing.

Another rhyme in a show enamored with poetry and cycles

Note: Odin does descend into Niflheim, a realm of the dead, to consult a seeress/witch (maybe Eri👀👀) so she could still take a dip into QZ hell

[dameaylins]

lol it makes me soooo angry when people say elriels have no reading comprehension!! The other ships don’t even have anything TO read like?? Their ships have maybe 1-2 lukewarm interactions between them in the text.

Do people not understand how writing works? SJM already made Elain & Lucien mates in ACOMAF. If she “would never destroy a mating bone” and “loves mating bonds” then why would she specifically spend the rest of the books talking about how uncomfortable Elain is and how they both avoid each other? If the mating bond is the end all be all, then why waste precious words saying it made them both uncomfy? It’s not enemies to lovers (which is a trope she already did with feyre and Rhys), it’s APATHY. Big difference.

In terms of the other ships: Gwyn and Azriel interact every single day in Valkyrie training. Nesta and Cassian (who the antis have crowned the authority on narration because he’s OBVIOUSLY the Miranda preiesly of velaris) are also both present at training. Do people realize how EASY it would’ve been to show multiple moments between Az and Gwyn during training that could be romantically coded? Him helping her with daggers, hand on the small of her back, skimming over her hip, she kisses his cheek - all these are subtle - very easy ways to show a slowly emerging relationship between Az and Gwyn.

But SJM did not go that route. Despite the fact that they interact every single day - Neither nesta or Cassian thinks anything about their interaction is worthy of noting. Because they are all platonic.

Comparatively, both nesta and Cassian (though he hasn’t put all the puzzle pieces together yet) explicitly show how they are witnessing SOMETHING between elain and Az. Nesta even explicitly states she knows why Azriel avoids the fire, avoids Lucien. So SJM goes out of her way to write interactions between Az & Elain and- even though Gwyn is “right there” (as if she isn’t a strong powerful character in her own right and should be reduced to being the backup love interest for a man she has shown zero interest in). Reading comprehension doesn’t even come into play because while elriel has been built up since that first moment in ACOMAF - the other ships have half a bonus chapter of platonic banter (very similar to the banter of az and feyre when he was teaching her to fly btw) and something about a ribbon meant to be a symbol of womanly strength. Oh, and Cassian being the velaris fashion police.

Make it make sense???

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 2 replay, recruiting Jack:

Osun

-Erinie has element zero. Quite a bit of it. Why does a garden world in its last stages with a small salarian colony have so much?

I suppose if it was colonized in the last cycle, the element zero may be from various crashes at that time.

-Purgatory is run by the Blue Suns. So this is yet another Blue Sun mission. Why are they central to so many?

-The Blue Suns were started by humans or a batarian, depending on the story you go by. Yet they sure seem dominated by turians. Warden Kuril runs this place.

-When Warden Kuril gives that little intro speech he sure sounds like he’s selling Purgatory to Shepard. You can tell how proud he is of it.

I suppose it could be viewed that he’s warning Shepard how secure it is, so they don’t try to escape later.

-Kuril and Garrus are actually very similar. They’re both from Palaven, both former law enforcement, and both chose different career paths because they thought governments weren’t strict enough. They hate letting criminals get away.

In a different universe, I could easily see Garrus running Purgatory – although to his credit, I don’t think he’d sell criminals.

(Yes, I know Garrus has special dialogue for this mission.)

-I think Kuril generally does believe he’s doing the right thing. Or at least he’s convinced himself of it.

He’s also just very greedy, and thinks he can perform a public service and line his pockets.

And since criminals aren’t “real people”, it’s okay to beat them up and sell them off.

-Why are all the prisoners we directly encounter human?

The one being beaten, 780 whom we speak to, 403 who’s hearing things, Jack…

Bioware, c’mon. How hard would it have been to make one of them a salarian or an asari?

-Shepard has some autodialogue when Jack is released.

-Jack’s outfit is so bad. I don’t know why she’s even bothering with any kind of top. What was Bioware thinking?

(Between Jack and Miranda, I’m not sure the character designers were thinking.)

-Kuril’s threat to blow out all the airlocks if the prisoners don’t stand down is empty; that might cost him money.

-I think I’m slowly getting the hang of charge, but I am dying so many times. Charge was not designed with insanity in mind.

One of the biggest problems is that Shepard can’t dodge and is so, so slow. If I could run to cover this wouldn’t be so bad.

-The Kuril battle is much easier than the battles before it. One of the easiest fights so far in the game.

-If you ask Jack why it’s a problem that you’re with Cerberus, Miranda says she’s destroyed Cerberus people and property. I don’t think she knows that Jack was raised by Cerberus.

Jack says Miranda will die first. Lovely to see them get off on the right foot.

-Miranda also says Shepard is not authorized to give Jack full access to the databases. This is the first time Jack calls her a cheerleader.

It was hate on first sight.

Normandy

-Crew: I’ve never worked with so many aliens so far.

Strange line. I’ve recruited two so far – Mordin and Grunt. Last one I picked up with Jack. This should have played later in the game.

-Jack tends to respond better to neutral or renegade lines. Paragon tends to make her defensive or think you’re weak.

-The image of Jack’s silhouette in the shadows holding a gun is very well done.

-One of the biggest mysteries is why Jack doesn't bail at the first opportunity. She knows how dangerous Ceberus is. She doesn't give a damn about the Collectors. Why does she stick around?

-Grunt says humans, salarians, and asari are soft. Quarians are not – why?

Tell me more about Qurarian biology, Bioware!

-Okeer wanted Grunt to hate aliens. Why? I didn’t get that vibe when we spoke to him.

-More of Grunt’s complex is starting to come out. He’s strong, but he didn’t earn it. He just is.

The dead may have been weak, but at least they tried. He never had to.

-You don’t get this line if you go renegade and tell Grunt you need him to be strong. He tells you he’ll be strong enough to kill your enemies, and that’s all you need.

Grunt may respect you if you go renegade, but he doesn’t necessarily trust you.

-The amount Grunt thinks is itself telling. Krogan intellect is often mocked – they have no scientists. They just exist to kill.

But Grunt is the perfect krogan, and he spends a lot of time thinking. About what he was told, about what he believes, about who he wants to be.

That’s the antithesis of the view most people hold of krogan, even other krogans.

But they are capable of it. Grunt is proof. Violence is baked into krogan culture, but that’s not all they have to be. They’re capable of much more – they just have to break the cycles they’re trapped in.

It doesn’t even necessarily mean leaving violence behind; Grunt loves violence. But it can be productive violence, for the betterment of their people and the galaxy as a whole.

If Wrex is the Urdnot clan leader in ME3, he touches on this. With him, Bakara, and Grunt I think they do have a chance to rewrite the future of the krogan people.

[laufire]

☕️ related to our discussion before... why is Elena Like That.

Born this way?

LOL. I do think that's part of it, but I will elaborate (quite a lot).

To put this ask in context: we've pointed out that Elena's extreme awareness of social hierarchies and other people's emotions (with some blindspots) is similar to those of characters like Cammie's Laila in The Essence of the Equinox or Dean Winchester (Elena's soul twin as far as I'm concerned!): characters who suffered abusive upbringings. Even Stefan is shown to behave the way he does in part due to growing up with an abusive father he had to manage and fawn at. It's remarkable that Elena resembles this type, given that until her parents' deaths, she lived as charmed and cushy a life as a young girl possibly could in this world.

First thing first: I see no reason to question this assumption. Cushy doesn't mean perfect and I don't think the Gilberts were so. I mean, Grayson did unethical experiments on sapient beings LOL, that's not a good sign. IIRC Elena as a child saw Something of that, but wasn't equipped to understand it at the time and seems to have shaken it off, as she often does. And there is room to argue that Miranda's encouragement of Elena could've taken the form of high expectations of her; Elena, however, seems to want to honour and meets those expectations in a pretty level-headed way that doesn't interfere with her life and ultimate goals, which is a good sign. In summary, there's absolutely nothing in the show's writing that could be interpreted as "Elena is a victim of parental abuse" without making the reach of the century.

With that out of the way, in my opinion, there are some important factors that contribute to Elena's... let's call it mimicry? of this attitude. I think, to begin with, she has an intrinsic intuition she was born with; a capacity to understand and navigate social hierarchies with ease and with no need to reflection, practice, or focused study. Some people are like this, period.

Another factor I'd consider important is her natural amorality. I know, I know, this is not how most people see Elena, to say the least. But c'mon. That girl does NOT have a code, she does NOT have principles, she does NOT have an ideology. Nothing as solid as that could survive her fluidity of character. She constantly moves the goalpost and reacts accordingly when other people move it for her. This is very different from say, Laila: someone with a sturdy moral core, with principles that, if not completely solidified (she starts out in her twenties!), develop and gain strength through the story and through the challenges she goes through. Laila's moral quandaries and outrages, in summary, are genuine.

Meanwhile, Elena is good at mimicking morals, because of another factor: she's subconsciously tuned to the image others have of her, and she knows how singularly important it is. Specifically, she knows how singularly important it is for her to retain exactly the image she wants to cultivate.

Because the thing is, and this is something that ended up working against her: Elena's learned to glorify soft power, at the expense of hard (real, personal, nontransferable) power. Personally, I've always had the headcanon that Miranda was a soft power MARVEL. Loved and idealised and perfect in that just-slightly-imperfect way that makes it all the more loveable, always at ease, admired for it. Elena looked up to her and wanted to live to her image. She might've seen the social power Miranda wielded and wanted to imitate her. And because of how charmed and privileged their lives were, and probably because Miranda was taken from her when Elena was young enough that she had yet to forcibly become aware of the limitations of this method, Elena sticks to it, sometimes stubbornly so. She's seen how well it works when it's meant to work, and for a long time it worked perfectly for her.

This leads me to how I think Elena's privilege is an important factor in how this socially-aware nature happens to work for her. The fact that she instinctively understands how structures and hierarchies work, and how to use other's feelings for her benefit, combines with how she's perfectly at ease with the status quo because so far, it's done nothing but aid her. She doesn't chafe against perceived or real limitations* because she has a (partially earned!) overconfidence in her capacity to thrive in her environment.

*I do think her gender can't be ignored: she's still a girl in a world where that can be dangerous (where that does become dangerous once the Salvatores enter the picture, but although I'm not there yet in my rewatch, IIRC her flashbacks at the end of season 3 regarding her relationship with Matt definitely painted a picture). This quote I reblogged recently really stood out to me:

But this can't be separated from how well she otherwise navigates and adapts to the status quo and from how ultimately she thinks it's better to maintain it and work within it than to challenge it. She's profoundly misogynistic, she has no use for feminist praxis, and she subtly (and later not-so-subtly) works to separate from and elevate herself above other girls, often seeking reassurance of her superiority (see: making sure Matt dating Caroline didn't actually mean he was over her). Instead of thinking "hey, men have one over me no matter what and this is unfair", her goal is to be the One Special Woman they'll be willing to compromise for (without acknowledging this won't necessarily last forever*). This works wonderfully... until the show no longer centres the perspective of a man that considers her special.

*sometimes I wonder. what if some of the information we got about Grayson had involved being a less-than-stellar husband? I think THAT would've wrecked Elena far, far more than to learn he was a torturer lol.

Another way in which her privilege both comes at hand AND gets in her way is that she will always dismiss people she sees as "below" her. People like Vicki, like human!Caroline, etc. She's aware of social hierarchies but she doesn't question them, and she sees them as far more immovable than they truly are.

This is when Dean Winchester becomes a good point of comparison. As I've said before, I think they're cut from the same cloth. But one key difference IS their wild disparity in upbringing.

Dean got four good years in (although we're eventually told they are less idyllic than they might seem, because surprise surprise, it turns out John was always a lousy husband and parent. Or, paraphrasing Dean, "the marriage wasn't perfect until she died"). Then his mother died, and everything went to shit in a SPECTACULAR way. The audience is told that there might've been periods of straight-up food scarcity, because John would leave the brothers alone in motels for longer periods than the money he left covered, and at one point Dean was even caught stealing food. He's such an obvious case of parentification that it hurts. He's a drifter, he doesn't have a safety net, the money he uses comes from schemes and hustling people at pool and poker and the like, something he obviously wasn't born learning, etc. etc.

Dean has his own blindspots but in general I think he's a better judge of character than Elena because of this. He navigates reality and hierarchies and structures, he adapts, but he's not built in to discard people at the bottom because he's been at the bottom (or as close as a white guy will get in this world!). There are several times where Sam expresses a Blissfully Liberal Opinion (sometimes college un-educates you, ime xD), like implying that doing a job at a prison is a waste of time because who tf cares if convicts get hurt, and Dean immediately shoots that down. Another time Sam makes a disapproving comment about the guy in charge of the group home Dean stayed in as a teen being an ex-con and Dean replies "what, and we're such saints?".

He has principles, is what I'm getting at. He has a morality; one he might not have in another, cushier life (he seems far chillier and breezier in "alternate timelines" episodes where his backstory has been altered in that direction). To be clear, these principles aren't fool-proof or completely consistent. He believes "every person deserves our help", but that belief holds maaaaany caveats. For one, his definition of person is limited, to the point of abject cruelty to those that fall outside it (and sometimes even more damning, towards those that once deserved the consideration until they failed to meet his standards). He has genuine, sincere sympathy for victims, AND this sympathy will translate into actual help for them!! amazing!!!... unless the way you are a victim is perceived by him as faulty on some level (see: Max, a boy with psychic powers that used them to kill his abusive family in season 1, while Dean was still at Peak Daddy Knows Best mode. And of course, Bela, who he can't process as a victim at all, even when he should see that the facts don't add up).

My point is that, despite all that, imperfect morals are still morals. There's a struggle there. They might not come natural to him and be a product of his experiences, but they're there. With Elena................. I don't see them LOL.

But another useful point of comparison is grief. It caught Elena older, on more solid ground, but I think in both cases it contributed to a need for a sense of control (of themselves and their projected images AND of those around them, more evidently manifested in their younger brothers). I think losing her parents enhanced Elena's tendency to hyper-awareness, basically.

Another thing that enhanced it? VAMPIRES VAMPIRES VAMPIRES. See, I think before the show, Elena was understimulated lol. I mean, she was dating Matt, who is ALSO very in tune with social hierarchies (but who chooses hard-power female role models like Liz and Carol. I cannot tell you how funny I find this on its own. But I mean, he clearly saw first hand how soft power was shit with Kelly's parade of lousy boyfriends). But, well, for her, Matt wasn't exactly a strong proposition. There was no challenge there. She was BORED. Caroline's insecurities and her ambition were probably the most difficult thing she had to deal with, and at that point Caroline had yet to be a real challenge herself.

But then Stefan came, and all the dangers to her life, and even Damon to a certain extent (at least, when he was something to retain and be managed without giving him too much). Elena is easily bored and THRIVES on high-stakes situations. In regards to her actual life, of course, but more in terms of high-stakes social situations, where it's only her charisma that might prevent her downfall. They make her more creative, more efficient. She pays more attention as well, which obviously makes her act more hyper-aware.

Her relationship status cannot be ignored here. Elena is extremely dependent on romantic relationships/bonds for her modus operandi, and even outside that, she's an extraordinarily social animal (that also works best with as much forced closeness as possible). It's a good thing she was a doctor during the pandemic* because if you'd make her remove herself from the world at large (worse, alone with only Damon...) she would've died of sheer boredom.

(*......... writing this down for my horror delena wip brb).

This is why she was at her best, in terms of social capital, with Stefan. HE was a strong proposition. HE was a challenge. A worthy partner and worthier opponent. And this is why she slowly loses her magic touch when she dates Damon, who has the social finesse of a baby elephant in a glassware shop. Elena responds to and raises to a challenge. If she's put on the spot, she'll surpass expectations.

This speaks to why becoming a vampire was... not that great for her social capital. Suddenly her soft power strategies didn't work as well, because nobody could forget she now had superpowers. Maybe if the show hadn't combined the double punch of hard-power-thrust-at-her with now-she-dates-Damon things would be different, she could've adapted to a new MO, but alas. This is why she's one of the only two vampires volunteering for the cure (along with Rebekah), and why she actually follows through. On some level, she's trying to return to a better time for her. She almost... fetishizes that human vulnerability of hers, and how she could get others to fight for her with it. But season 6 is a different world, with different rules and very different players, and it proves to be a huge miscalculation on her part.

Oof. This got long xD. Tl;dr: I attribute Elena being Like That to a variety of factors: her intrinsic nature: great instincts wrt social hierarchies, easy charm; a combination of lack of morals and excess of privilege both aiding her and getting in her way depending on the context; a personality that responds to challenges and gets bored and more passive without them; and a learned glorification of soft-power manipulation.

[queer-ragnelle]

I would love your opinion on Black Sails! I was never able to finish it (even though I want to). Seasons 1-3 felt linear and natural in the way the characters were driven and motivated. Season 4 changed so much... undoing character growth, scrapping character beliefs for new motives that were narratively weaker, and using way more shock/gore than there had been used previously. I would love to know your opinions on it, and if I'm talking out of my ass on this. Love the show! Would love to finish it. Would genuinely love to hear you do a character analysis, if you felt up to it. Ty!

Hi Anon! I'm going to put this below a cut since it's not strictly relevant to this blog and yet I have much to say about it lol

It's been over a year since I watched Black Sails in it's entirety, but I'll go on record saying it's the best show I've ever seen. I love the writing, the acting, the costuming, the filmography, the music, the everything. It is [almost] perfectly balanced. Ironically I felt season 1 was the weakest and didn't take the same issues with season 4 as you did. My biggest criticism of season 1 involves the plot regarding Max's captivity on the beach. I think connecting her with Anne could've been achieved some other way (or even a similar plot just overall less sexual violence/quicker resolution). But even so, I still stand by that I recommend it, particularly to those who love a blend of historical and fiction/mythic characters.

I would love to see an Arthurian retelling on that scale and with that tone. Starz had produced their show Camelot in 2011, three years before Black Sails, and while that first season also has some issues, I'll forever be heartbroken it wasn't renewed. I fully believe they would have developed Camelot into an epic tale ala Black Sails, particularly with strong female characters and queer storylines. We could've had it all....

On that note, Black Sails was absolutely vital in my journey as an author adapting Arthurian legend in a historical 6th century. The meta about ambiguous storytelling subject to biased perception or outright misinformation and thus misconceptions about people involved in historical events fascinated me. On one hand you have Jack Rackham's obsession with his legacy, almost uncannily aware he's in a story and his limited time to leave his mark. Then there's Charles Vane's hanging in Nassau, when the history books say he died at Port Royal. It circumvents expectations, not with shock value (looking at you, Game of Thrones finale), but in service to the narrative by calling into question the validity of our accepted reality. Beyond that, it seamlessly blends historical figures, the cast of Treasure Island, and original characters created to incorporate more women and people of color into the narrative. Everyone's developed and fascinating and complex with clear motivations and fleshed out backstories (except for Silver, lol, which itself makes him compelling). Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles does similar things. He utilized Saint Derfel as his point of view character to analyze the Arthurian legend through a [semi-]historical lens. But I think Black Sails does it better. It also seems to transcend genre at times. It's adventure and action, but it's got everything from romance between a network of characters in all different Stiuationships to the horror of Flint's past haunting him (literally). And yet it never feels like too much. It doesn't lose track of what it's doing. Nothing set up is dropped or forgotten about. It's frustrating when the goal post moves yet again, but in a way which draws us in closer to the characters and makes us all the more driven to see it through. When another hiccup arises we must overcome, or even a devastating and insurmountable shock (Miranda....), it feels earned. Of course that was liable to happen. How could we have been so foolish to think things would have worked out?

This show gave me permission, and frankly, the determination, to experiment with my own retelling. The people who made Black Sails knew when to stay true to the past, drawing on facts to develop the story in accurate ways (such as utilizing the colony of escaped slaves to bring Madi and her people into the story (which also ties into Treasure Island in which Silver had a black wife!)) and when to follow the rule of cool (Jack Rackham in his definitely-historically-unviable-but-undeniably-cool shades). Literally life changing.

I don't think I could narrow down the characters enough to do a full analysis of one of them, I love them all for different reasons. But I did name my borzoi Long John Silver, so, I kind of have to talk about him, right? Well I think the character's lack of a backstory, ie his unwillingness to disclose it, acts as a surrogate for the viewer. We ride the wave with Silver, thrust into this predicament with the map and the gold and the very culture of Nassau's pirate trade whilst Silver somehow remains a blank slate mystery as he navigates this dangerous world with a quick mind alone. While Flint could certainly be considered the main character, and we're quite often in his head, his memories, his nightmares even, I don't think the viewer's supposed to identify as him so much as with him. Flint is Flint. But we are Silver. (Scary thought lol)

If you couldn't tell already, I'm long winded. :^) So I'll stop here and the real deep dive character analysis happens in my books. Gawain is just landlocked Flint if you squint<3 Thanks for asking about Black Sails! Everyone go watch it.

[writers-blogck]

The True Mother ( RE8 Lords [ Alcina Dimitrescu ] x Reader )

♡ Warning(s): I need to go back through the older chapters and update the formatting, so if they look different, that is why.  ♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥  　♡　♥　♡　♥　 ♥ Title: The True Mother ♡ Description: Ethan needs some time and you know who you need to distract.  ♥ Pairing: RE8 Lords [ Alcina Dimitrescu ] x Reader ♡ Fandom: Resident Evil - Village ♥ Word Count: 3,446 ♥ Current Chapter: Nine ♡ Previous Chapter: The Cold Comes In ♥ Next Chapter: TBD ♡ Story Index        

      “I thought I smelled something rotten.”         

       Even after seeing Lady Dimitrescu more times than you cared to recall, you were always surprised by her size. You tried to stay out of the woman’s way, afraid she would crush you like a tiny grape and make wine out of your blood if you got on her bad side. You had begun to wonder if she even had a good side…The only reason she hadn’t killed you on the spot was due to Mother Miranda’s orders. You doubted that even her daughters’ enjoyment of you would be enough to save you at this point. Lady Dimitrescu would just assume her daughters would get over it after so long and find another toy to play with. You had a feeling that she was right in that regard…

        “I think I got lost…” With your hands behind your back, you stealthily moved to put the dagger into one of her pockets. You could not let her see that you had already gotten the dagger of Death’s Flowers successfully. There would be nothing stopping Lady Dimitrescu from just tossing you off the side of this huge turret to plummet to your death below. Splatting on the ground still might be a preferable option to what else the woman may do to you if you kept this “game” going.

         “I know that you speak only lies. You think you are so good at sneaking around like a disgusting rat in my walls,” Lady Dimitrescu began to skulk closer to you, her eyes narrowed and back hunching down to meet your gaze like an angry cat, “But you are not as tricky as you wish to believe. I can hear your footsteps as if they were my own, no matter where in the Castle you are. You had plundered my home as if it were a mere tomb for you to take from. I am not so naive as to believe that there is any way you could have gotten lost while traversing in my domain.”

         “I wasn’t thinking,” You continued to ramble, instinctively taking a few steps back to put space between you and the woman. Yet, as you did so, your back hit the concrete of the raised coffin where the body of the unfortunate fellow who created the dagger lay. It was sorely ironic to be killed by your own weapon. You just hoped that Lady Dimitrescu didn’t look close enough to notice that the dagger sticking out of the corpse’s chest was not the one that had been embedded in his flesh when he died. She seemed solely focused on you in the moment which was in itself both a blessing and a curse. Most of the time, you had better plans than this. It truly felt like you were going off of the cuff at this moment. Talk or die. Convince Lady Dimitrescu to spare you or become her next meal. Would Mother Miranda’s protection be enough? It would be easy enough for Lady Dimitrescu to play it up that you had died in some accident of your own design. That thought sent a shiver down your spine.

         “I was just wandering around the castle and I was so lost in thought that I must have made a wrong turn.”

         Lady Dimitrescu was just a few feet away from you now and her eyes looked as if they were on fire with the hatred she was staring down at you with. She had never been fond of you but at this moment, you would guess that you were the most disgusting thing she could think of. You might be even worse than a man-thing. She sneered in your direction, showing off the sharp fangs often hidden behind her red lips. You wondered if the stain was caused by lipstick or if it simply had turned that color due to all the blood she ingested, similar to the stains the sisters had around their mouths and neck. Now was not the time to ask that type of question…You would be fine with never finding out the answer to that specific query anyway.

          “I don’t see what anyone finds appealing about you.” Lady Dimitrescu shot her hand down and grasped your forearm roughly, pulling you up until you were desperately trying to balance on the tips of your toes. A green herb you hadn’t secured in your pockets well enough tumbled out and onto the snow-covered stone below. If she kept pulling on your arm like this, you wouldn’t be surprised if your arm popped right out of the socket! Like a teddy bear with loose stitches. Except, a needle and thread wouldn’t be enough to put you back together again.

        “The other Lords, my own daughters, even Mother Miranda seem to find some positive attribute in you and yet I find it impossible to see you as they do. Perhaps they are blind to your real nature. I am the only one who can see the truth, that you are nothing more than a vermin who should be gotten rid of as soon as possible. Exterminated with the rest of the rats.” With strength no woman should possess, she easily flung you over the side of the stone wall, causing you to dangle with her hand being the only thing that was keeping you from imminent death.

         Your torso thumped against the heavy stone that made up her castle, giving you no cushioning as she slammed you against the wall. Pain shot through you and deep down your legs, though you knew you should be feeling more pain than you were. Thank whatever being was watching over you for adrenaline. How many people had adrenaline saved? You had to guess the number was a rather high one. You knew it had saved you on a number of occasions and you could only hope that this one would be added to that list. Your boots hopelessly pushed against the hard rock, as if you would be able to somehow save yourself from this situation. It was useless. If she so chooses, you are going to die like a pancake filled with strawberry jam. Splat.

         To be honest, you always expected to die young. You didn’t know why you had convinced yourself of this fact but ever since you were a child, you knew your fate was not to live a long life. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism for living in the Village. It wasn’t a rare sight to see children die, whether from some outside force or internal health issues. Some parents didn’t even name their children until after the first year, in fear of the baby dying due to how common the occurrence was. Naming a baby just made it that much harder when you lost them… The Duke said the world outside the Fog was nothing like this, that there were advancements you couldn’t even begin to imagine. That children didn’t die as they did here within the Village. You had dreamed that one day, he would take you past the thick mist and show you to the wonders that you had been deprived of for so long but it seemed like that day was not to come. You were going to die. Perhaps you should try to look on the bright side: at a fall from this height, death would be swift. There were much worse ways to go when living in the Village, especially since the Lycan takeover.

         “Lady Dimitrescu!” You shouted up to her, wondering if your voice really was that quiet or if it was the blood thumping in your ears that was muffling the sound, “Please, think about this! Mother Miranda said we needed to get along!”

         “Mother Miranda will think you simply fell over the edge of my abode, falling to an unfortunate early end. Do you think I am so daft as to be unable to convince her of something so simple? It sounds like it could be true. She will believe me.” Lady Dimitrescu spoke but you were wondering if she was trying to convince you or herself with her words.

         “Mother Miranda knows that I come here all the time. She won’t believe I just fell, I’m safe, careful. I don’t take those kinds of risks.”

         “Then I can say one of the lycans or other repulsive beasts got to you.”

         “And she wouldn’t be upset that you didn’t protect me? Mother Miranda knows how strong you are,” You yelled up at the woman, tossing in a slight trace of flattery in hopes that would help your case, “She will be upset that you let me die.”

         There were a few quiet moments where you were just tangling off the edge, Lady Dimitrescu’s sharp nails digging into your skin. Thankfully she hadn’t used her right hand…You didn’t want to think what it would be like to have her holding onto so tightly with that wicked glove of hers.

         With a sigh, Lady Dimitrescu pulled you back over the edge before roughly tossing you aside like a broken doll, falling into a heap in the corner. Her heels clicked dangerously as she walked over to the corpse and grasped at the handle of the dagger, pulling it like the Sword from the Stone. A growl left her lips as she tossed the dagger in your direction, the blade clattering to a halt by your feet. She didn’t want to hurt you with the blade…She wanted to make a statement.

         It was not that she hadn’t noticed that the dagger was missing but that she truly didn’t find you to be a threat in any way. Even with the dagger designed to kill her, it was worthless in your hands.

         “You say you are lost and yet, what is this?” Her voice was becoming louder and louder. You wouldn’t be surprised if the entire Village could hear her voice echoing down to them. The Castle stood high above the rest of the Village, giving the air of superiority it obviously wanted to possess. “I can assure you that this is not the dagger I used to end that man’s life. I would never use such a disgusting old thing!”

         “Lady Dim-” You started to speak but she quickly interrupted you.

          “Do you really think you are going to defeat me? You stole the dagger and now what? You expect to use it on me? How? Sneak upon me when I am sleeping? Stab the blade into my back when it is turned to you? ” Her voice was shrill and reminded you of the shrieking of a bat. With your hazy gaze, you swore that the woman’s pale skin was bubbling…No, not bubbling. It looked as if something was underneath the skin and moving around, creating bumps and divots all over her body. Was she like her daughters? You had never heard any rumors that Lady Dimitrescu was a host of bugs…You hadn’t heard any about the sisters either though so anything was possible at this point.

         The woman was pacing this way and that as she monologues to you. Why did people feel the need to do this before killing someone? You would just kill them and get it over with…Monologuing left room for error that the victim could exploit. Would you be so lucky? Probably not but one can hope.

        “You wish to use the dagger of Death’s Flowers to try to kill me? You? A tiny mortal who simply got lucky in the genetic lottery? Even that isn’t true! You are lucky only because Mother Miranda chose you. She picked you to be her special little informant. Without her blessing, you would have died out in the cold years ago, starving and pathetic. Now you are just as pathetic with your hope that you may even be able to do any damage to me.”

         “And why try any of this now? You could have done it at any point but now that Mother Miranda has ordered you to do her bidding, you decide it is the right time to try to dispatch me? Do you believe that you can take my place as a Lord?” Her words were becoming more frantic by the moment and it was clear that any emotional control she may have possessed was gone. Her hands were waving in the air as she spoke as if trying to emphasize her point.

         “No, I don’t want to be a lord!” You pressed your palms against the cool stone, covered in flakes of snow that seemed to be forever falling upon the castle and pushed yourself to your feet. Everything was spinning and you swore you saw two of Lady Dimitrescu, but you forced yourself to keep standing even if you wanted to fall right over. “I’ve never wanted to be a lord!”

         “Then why are you doing this? Why-” Lady Dimitrescu slowly turned to look you dead in the eye, her face growing grim, “You are doing this because of that stupid man-thing, aren’t you?! You are trying to help him get his disgusting daughter back. His little girl is planned for so much more than he understands, he should be grateful to be a part of something so monumental. You will have to do so much more than get rid of me if you hope to even have a chance at retrieving his daughter.”

         “Now, if I tell Mother Miranda you are working for that man-thing, she will understand why I needed to get rid of you as soon as possible.” Lady Dimitrescu turned to glance down at the Village with her dark eyes, “I will finally be rid of you once and for all. No longer will you corrupt my daughters with your ideas from the outside world. I never approved of them receiving items from the Duke during his trips but they insisted. You would always be the one to deliver the requested items. You were the one who always made my daughters feel unfulfilled with the Maidens they were given to play with. Everything has always come back to you and you ruin anything your disgusting hands can get a hold of!”

         “Wow, rude…” You mumbled to yourself, shaking your head to focus your vision. Before you could do anything other than keep yourself balanced on your feet, the door that led into the castle swung open. Ethan was standing there with a shotgun in his one hand and three strange-looking sculptures in the other. While you didn’t seem to understand what those items meant, Lady Dimitrescu did as soon as she laid her eyes on them.

         It was like a switch had been flipped in Lady Dimitrescu so that any rational thought was gone and she was simply being driven by her primal urges. She began to advance upon Ethan like a grizzly bear ready to take down its prey. Large, lumbering, loud. Her hands flexed at her side and the sun seemed to glint perfectly off of the blades that were attached to her right hand. You had almost been on the receiving end of those blades a few too many times than you were comfortable with and knew exactly what they could do. If she got to Ethan, he was going to be a goner.

         “MY DAUGHTERS!” The wail was like that of a banshee as the woman moved towards Ethan with a purpose. Wait…Your eyes flicked down to the statues that Ethan had dropped on the ground as if taunting Lady Dimitrescu. That couldn’t be right…Right? How could they, the inanimate statues of marble, be related to the sisters in any way? Yet, something within you seemed to come to the understanding that what you saw before you was true. Ethan had killed the Dimitrescu sisters and those idols were all that was left.

         There was a tug at your heart for the past, thinking of the sisters and how they had treated you. They were simply misguided by their own mother, it was hard to blame them for the terrible things they had done. That didn’t give them a pass from the consequences that were bound to catch up to them, apparently in the form of Ethan Winters, but it did leave a longing in your chest for what might have been. If they had not been raised by the vicious psychopath that was their mother, what might they have accomplished? Perhaps in a different universe, this could have all ended differently but there was no time to mourn the dead when the living still stood before you, though perhaps not for long.

        Somehow, the adrenaline in you allowed you to push yourself off of the wall with one foot, running with uncoordinated steps toward the towering woman. You staggered this way and that but luckily, you had a big target. She was too focused on Ethan and what he had just shown her to be paying any attention to you. It was clear that you needed to use this to your advantage in any way you could. That included running up behind the huge woman and piercing the dagger as hard as you could into her lower back. You couldn’t reach much higher in your weakened state. You were lucky that you had even been able to stab into her down to the hilt.

        As the blade pierced her flesh, you were not quick enough to stop the woman from slapping Ethan off the edge of the turret. You were certain that was going to be the end of his story but with a small grunt and thump, you came to the conclusion that he somehow had fallen onto a lower part of the castle and didn’t fall the much too far distance down to the ground. Instinctively, Lady Dimitrescu hit you off with a single swing of her arm, causing you to crumble to the ground and stay down this time.

         With what happened next, you swore you had to be hallucinating. You must have hit your head when Lady Dimitrescu backhanded you. It didn’t make sense…Although to be honest, a lot of things weren’t making sense like they used to. From where you lay on the ground, you watched Lady Dimitrescu change from the woman you were used to seeing to…to a beast. You had never seen anything like it before. The closest approximation would be to say that she turned into a dragon but that wasn’t true. No, she turned into some monstrosity that easily dove off the side of the castle, aiming all of her rage at the man who had killed her daughters.

         At this moment, you were thoroughly convinced that you were screwed. Fine, Lady Dimitrescu you had a chance at defeating, even if that chance was a small one. Horribly mutated dragon Dimitrescu? You might as well hang the towel in now and just accept defeat. That was what your mind was begging your body to do but deep down, you were not a quitter. She would kill you even if you didn’t fight so you might as well get a few good licks in before reaching that final curtain call.

         The sound of gunfire brought you out of your daze. You needed to go help Ethan, in any way that you could even if you didn’t know how you were going to take down what lay before you. Yet, before you tried to find a way down, you couldn’t help yourself from crawling forward. Reaching out, you gently grasped the three idols individually, placing them in your pockets with the care of someone who remembered that these were once people, living people. Even if they were terrible, they still lived and breathed and loved like the rest of us. It was strange to know you had living remains in your pocket in the form of weird statues…If you lived through this, you would surely need to ask the Duke more about this situation.

        Once the idols were secured in your pockets, you moved to look over the side of the castle. You saw where Ethan had fallen and was now aiming what looked to be…a grenade launcher? How on Earth did he get that?! There was nowhere in the Village where he could have- You slowly realized that you had a good guess as to who he got it from but decided to ask about the weapon later. Instead, now you focused on the sole purpose of getting down to him without breaking your own legs.

         This was not going to be an easy fight, if even a fight that you had the slightest chance of winning.  ♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥  　♡　♥　♡　♥　 1 ● 2 ● 3 ● 4 ● 5 ● 6 ● 7 ● 8 ● 9

[peppermintfables]

On Monsters

So both Black Sails and One Piece have monsters as a theme (and so do many other pirate shows. Being a pirate and and being a monster are almost irrevocably linked). And since Im obsessed with both and no one else has magically written the exact essay I want I suppose I have to do it myself. The world is a cruel and unfair place.

Generally a monster is defined by two things. First of all they exist outside the norm/ society and secondly they are evil. Stories that deal with monsters as a theme are usually challenge one of those. What if monsters are evil but they also exist within society. Or in fact are more likely to exist as part of one? What if monsters are solely defined by their separation from society without them having to actually be bad and are often in fact only seen as evil because if condition one is true, condition two is presumed true as well. I think on this website we often go with the second option. I dont think I have to tell anyone here is a trend of looking at monsters and going „they are actually so nice and also my friend and we bake cookies and overthrow the government together“. Something something queerness and otherness. Smarter people have written smarter stuff than me and also i just want to talk about gay pirates.

I think the portrayal of monsters in One Piece and Black Sails is both very similar and has some difference that Im not quite able to pinpoint yet (which is why Im doing this in the first place). I think in both cases its about choice. Not only the choice to be a monster but the choice of what kind of monster you’re going to be.

The tag line of Black Sails’ monster theme is probably “Everyone is a monster to someone”. But that’s not where we start. We start with this:

“Monster” is not a thing you are. Monster is a narrative role other people put you in for their own benefit. It’s a tool used against you.

In comparison in One Piece we have this:

Chopper has been thrown out of reindeer and human society for not fitting in (and thus being a monster) and here we have Sanji calling Luffy a monster like it’s empowering. Luffy can fight *because* he’s a monster. And for the first time Chopper can see being a monster as something worthwhile and like he, a monster, maybe has a place amongst other monsters. And while in this scene Sanji is talking about Luffy specifically being a rubber-man and that being more of a monster in a physical sense (and doesn’t Sanji of all people saying that hit different now) we have plenty of scenes that talk about a different aspect. Specifically Usopp calling the monster trio monsters because they know no fear and are also maniacs who love fighting. Id argue that here too is a monster something positive and powerful to be.

Maybe that is the difference I was looking for. Black Sails starting with the term monster as something other people put on you and One piece starting with strength coming from monsterousness. I feel like that is also indicative of each shows tone and attitude towards piracy. So where do we go from here?

In Black Sails we are getting to “Everyone is a monster to someone” with Abigail realizing that pirates arent as inhuman and cruel as she was led to believe. Monster continues to be a narrative role but turns out civilization is not the only one telling stories. We are going towards “maybe monsters are within society as well.” And then we have Flint being iconic:

There it is! Choice! Power! So long society tries to frame Flint as a monster and they go to Ashe and Ashe is like “We can make you not the monster. You just have to tell your life story and that will make you vulnerable enough that people will see you as a person”. And Flint, who would rather have been seen as a monster than apologize, goes “This sucks but okay”. And then Miranda happens. Monsters *are* within society as well. Everyone is a monster to someone and you have the choice to make: Who are you going to be a monster to and what kind of monster will you be? And Flint takes that narrative role that people have tried to assign to him and makes it his own. He makes it into something that gives him power. Because if he’s going to be a monster either way he’s going to be one on his own terms. Im going to go insane.

Number one being Chopper choosing to be a monster.

Look at my boy go! Again: Embracing the monster you are, but making it your own. He’s doing it for his captain not just bc the Strawhats would do pretty much everything for their captain but bc it’s okay to be a monster amongst other monsters. Because that’s where he first learned that being a monster can be not just not bad but a good thing.

And then there’s Sanji. It’s kind of hard to analyze it because I absolutely do not think that Sanji’s arc concerning his modifications is over yet but let’s take a look at what we’ve got so far.

So in conclusion: It’s about being the monster you choose to be instead of the monster others want to make you and Im crying.

[sapphicrow]

Lycans

Description: idk, read and find out ;)

Word Count: 1,173

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You strolled quietly into the church with no real intention. It was a Saturday afternoon and you needed a place to be other than cooped up at home. Services wouldn’t be until tomorrow, so it was relatively peaceful. You decided to linger, if not to actively worship, then to reflect. Rows and rows of empty pews greeted you. The distant caw of a crow was the only noise besides the soft tap of your steps against hard wood floor.

Growing up religious, this building was one of familiarity to you. It offered the warmth of the known and the comforting fear of the divine. You traced the edges of the benches as you meandered down the aisle, chilled oak beneath your fingertips brought back a wave of nostalgia.

You recalled being stuffed in your Sunday best to sit through Mother Miranda’s spiel with the very same oak pressing against your back time and time again. On and on, the blonde priestess went about the Black God and His miracles. His blessings to the village. His punishment. His protection.

You hadn’t paid attention to the entirety of it, but glancing up at the stained glass mural, you recalled a particular service from your youth….

It was a crisp morning and you were squirming in your mother's lap through the sermon. At only four years old, devotion to the Black God wasn’t your priority. Frankly, you would’ve preferred to be playing in the snow that'd fallen in a thin, powdery layer over the land the previous night. You distractedly looked up at the glowing window, which depicted a variety of different symbols and images, but the hairy figure towards the bottom had caught your attention.

“Doggy-man?” you had uttered to your mom questioningly.

“No, dear. Lycan.” The woman with her arms around your pudgy middle corrected. “If you would listen, Mother Miranda’s telling a story about them,” she whispered back, her voice harsh but not unkind. She’d simply had enough of the unceasingly wiggly toddler, and looking back, your response would not have been any different.

You tilted your head in a fashion similar to that of a confused pup, but soon decided simply to obey. You tuned back in to the priestess’s rambling at the altar.

Now, in the present, that altar is empty. But you remember so vividly how she looked up there. It felt like the masked woman hadn’t aged a day, while you’d grown from a child to a young adult. Her beauty was unchanging, even as the church itself began to decay. Mother Miranda had lost none of the splendor she retained in your memory.

Her golden mask shimmered beneath the morning sun as she retold the scripture. The revered mother’s smooth, yet stiff voice reminded you a little of the frozen ground outside. Hard and unyielding to any assault, yet beautiful. She carried on, and you broke from your reverie.

“….On His hunt through the forest, he encountered a maiden. Now remember, wee ones, that our Black God is merciful to His devotees. Those who do not follow His will are not treated so kindly, and that is their own fault,” she reminded, ice-blue eyes traveling across the room. “This maiden was unknown to Him. She was startled by His wolfish form and tried to run away, but He was not having it. He had so graciously paused his sprinting pace to try not to alarm her—“

“Yet she still reacted in fright. He took offense,” you murmured the next bit to yourself. You looked up at the stained glass mural that twinkled so innocently at you. You knew better than to assume those bared chops were those of a 'doggy man'. You’d seen their chaos in person. A shudder passed through you at the recollection of the second half of Mother Miranda’s tale.

“The maiden tried to flee, but our Black God caught her without struggle,” she paused and glanced up at the parents seated with their children in the pews. “I will…..spare you the gory details for the sake of time and your children’s innocence,” the revered mother said almost reluctantly, as if she wished to tell the rest despite the uncomfortable nature of the story.

The whole congregation released a breath and a few uncovered their children’s ears. In due time, they’d be forced to confront the disgusting undertones of the scripture, but for now, it was nothing more than a tale.

“The maiden soon bore the children of the Black God’s canine form. The lycans.” You looked to your mother excitedly, now beginning to understand the illustrations in the glass. She nodded and nudged your attention back to the speaker. “There were two to begin. Twins. Both feral. Both furry. Though they were our god’s children, they were tainted with the sinful blood of mankind. They quickly populated our woods by biting the scruff of every wolf they could find and turning them. These turned wolves soon became the very packs that protect our borders from outsiders,” Mother Miranda concluded, her voice booming within the walls of the church.

You sighed as the last of the story left the forefront of your mind. The church was quiet, and you held a book in your lap, now seated in the front row before the altar. You looked at it; its surface held nothing but the priestess’s personal copy of the village’s scripture. It honestly looked a little dusty.

Depictions of the chase and capture of the maiden were scrawled among the pages, and you did not wince.

This was only one of many tales of creation the village was taught.

The lycans; a result of the Black God’s lust.

The Samce; a result of His wrath.

The Moraica; a result of His greed.

The Black God’s sins incarnate.

What kind of god sins, you had asked Mother Miranda? Only once had you asked this. You were never foolish enough to pose such a snarky question, but emotion clouded your judgment in this instance. It was when you were thirteen and had recently lost a close friend to a Lycan attack. Your faith was wavering, but Mother Miranda’s answer was not.

“One that was tainted by humans,” She all but hissed, seizing your chin between clawed forefinger and thumb. “Long ago, the Black God delivered a gift to our earth. A great gift a mortal like you could not comprehend. There were consequences of His meddling. Be grateful His sin offers ways to keep us safe. And don’t question me again, lest you find out for yourself just how effective His son’s claws are."

You could practically feel the cold metal of her talons against your face. You had to touch the skin to be sure they weren’t still there.

You never questioned Mother Miranda after that. Blind faith was better—no, safer—than knowing.

The holy book was closed and a quiet prayer uttered before you stood and took one last glance at the altar.

A black feather lay atop it the second time you looked at it.