#helena orphan black

[best-character-named-x-poll]

have you done your daily click

[merevide]

i have zero thoughts in my mind except this specific photo of helena. she slayed (literally)

[ft-nostalgia]

I love that Donnie is definitely a little scared of Helena but still doesn't want her to go after the drug guys both because she's pregnant but also because she's trying to be less violent now. I have no doubt it won't last, but I appreciate them at least trying to have Helena move on from the violence she was taught to commit.

[insanepoll]

INSANE CHARACTER TOURNAMENT: ROUND 1, BRACKET B

[ID: Background is a gradient of yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple. On top, there's the pictures of the contestants, separated by a “VS” sign. Above it, reads “ROUND 1” in bold black letters. /End ID.]

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

A Rachel simp too why am I even surprised

Going to assume this is about Rachel Duncan. Anyone who's been around when I go to bat for Merula knows what's coming next. To the uninitiated, brace yourselves. Unabashed Rachel defense incoming.

Now I admit, she's done horrible things. Like when she stole Beth's identity. Or when she stood by and watched her friend suffocate as punishment for a crime she did not commit. Like when she shot Helena in the chest. Like when she murdered a ton of her own sisters on the orders of the Prolethians. Or even the time she put a pencil in Rachel's brain.

...Do you see my point?

The Sisters pretty much all do terrible things at some point during the show. (Except Cosima, she is a cinnamon roll and Delphine does not deserve her. I said what I said.) You can argue that Rachel's crimes are more numerous than the other clones, but that's probably because she's on the other side of the conflict, and we're seeing things from the perspective of the main heroes. I know, I know, Neolution is evil, and after all, it was Rachel's choice to join them. Oh wait, no it wasn't. Not at all. She was raised by them. They are a cult, and Season 5 spells this out about directly. Rachel frequently shows the same tendency as most Neolutionists to put their loyalty to "science" (read: eugenics) above human life. But that's because, again, she was indoctrinated as a child and brainwashed. Which resulted in her dealing with her situation in the worst way possible.

From a young age, she was taught to see herself as a string of numbers. As a subject. As property. The older she got, the clearer that was made to her. Rachel may be power-hungry, but her lust for power is nothing more than a desire for autonomy. In her mind, it's the only way forward. Despite being "Pro-Clone" she has not been raised without knowing human compassion. It's worse than that. She was given a taste of it with her parents (who are both terrible people but I could make a full post about each of them so let's stay on topic) before being taken by Neolution where she was forced to adapt if she wanted to survive. But everyone she knew or cared about, or was even allied with, betrayed her at some point.

Ethan Duncan, her father, took his own life and made her watch. His last words? "You don't deserve me anymore." Yeah, all kinds of fuck him. Aldous Leekie, who she once trusted enough that she considered him a father figure, constantly went behind her back and it was during one of his examinations that he refused to share her results and told her "You're not exempt from the experiment." Susan abandoned her when she was little, gave her to Neolution, and even when they were reunited, the way she treated her was despicable. It was textbook emotional abuse. I know I'm supposed to think of Rachel as the villain when she stabs Susan, but this act immediately followed the line "I regret creating you." She also stabbed Sarah in the leg in the same scene but...again, Sarah put a pencil in her brain. I'd say they're even. Oh, then there was Delphine, who tortured Rachel for information when she could barely speak. (This is unrelated but. Fuck Delphine. She is such a creep.) Let's not forget Westmoreland, who took advantage of her, lied to her, all while still objectifying her as property and spying on her through the eye-cam. The only person Rachel cared about who didn't stab her in the back? Kira. Because of this, I refuse to believe Rachel ever wanted Kira hurt or would have let it happen on her watch.

I still don't see how the word "simp" applies here but...y'know what, screw it. I'd have coffee with her. She'd probably stab me in the neck with an icepick in the middle of the night, but I'd still have coffee with her. Just consider me a full Rachel Duncan simp. Hey, as long as we're talking about her dating life, Ferdinand is a fucking creep who does not love her at all, he's just got some disturbing obsession with her that is possessive and violent. ("Who's a dirty clone" made me want to hurl, and I only wish Delphine hadn't stopped Sarah from finishing him off.) His obsession includes strangling Rachel, and pretending that Mika is Rachel while he's murdering her, in some sick, twisted form of venting his aggression at Rachel. It is messed up and I despise Ferdinand. But Rachel genuinely thinks that he is the only person who ever loved her and I just want to scream. No. No no no.

I'm still mad that Rachel was barred from Clone Club when all was said and done. It goes against the entire spirit of what Clone Club was supposed to be about, especially since they still let Helena be a part of it back in Season 2, despite her crimes. The gang would never have defeated Neolution without Rachel's help. She rescued Kira, betrayed Westmoreland and put a huge target on her back in the process. For crying out loud, she cut out her own eye to stop him from monitoring her. She betrayed Ferdinand (The "only person who ever loved her," don't forget) and warned Siobhan when he survived. She provided information on all of the other clones. And excuse me, after all that, Felix just gets to unilaterally decide that she can't come in? Screw that, why aren't the actual Sisters consulted? Or Kira? I feel like this should be put to a vote at the very least. I know Sarah will never forgive Rachel, but Rachel seems to have put the whole pencil incident behind her, so...that kind of makes her the bigger person here, just saying. Even if the writers wanted Rachel to go her own way, they didn't have to Felix slam the door in her face before she'd even knocked.

Rachel may be a villain, but that's because she's a victim of her circumstances. She didn't ask to be a clone, she didn't ask to be raised by her creators and groomed to suppress any empathetic urges. Her upbringing turned her into some strange, contradictory blend of slave and slave master, and it probably gave her a boatload of identity issues and self esteem issues. It took time for her to figure all of that out, and considering that she was constantly under the surveillance of Neolution, that's totally understandable. She didn't have any counter-examples apart from Sarah's gang, who were framed as enemies from the moment they met. Just consider for a moment, that Rachel was subjected to the fate that Sarah fought tooth and nail to protect Kira from. But no, Rachel had to live that life. But above all...she suffered for her crimes. She suffered so much. She spent two entire seasons learning to speak and walk again. She had to watch her father kill himself. Sarah and the others were willing to open their hearts to Helena, so why not Rachel?

[bestrongbebrave49]

Okay, okay, but hear me out. Helena from Orphan Black and Hawks from My Hero Academia.

Foodies? Check.

Tragic backstories? Check.

Turbulent childhoods and experiences of being controlled/manipulated by supposed caregivers and organisations that claim to want to ‘do good’, that enables them to relate to one another? Check.

Complex, layered personalities, whereby one such layer is a silly, goofy, childish, distracting side and another is more serious, caring, mature and practical? Check.

A deep seated desperation to be good whilst believing that they lack inherent worth? Check.

A desire to accomplish a goal they believe will better the world? Check.

The belief they are only worthy as people through their abilities and the accomplishments they achieve? Check.

A desperate yearning for freedom and approval? Check.

Intelligent, capable, considerate, snarky, loyal, kind, brave, passionate, and fiercely independent equals who are both just as broken and damaged as each other, and yet possess an inherent willingness to adapt and crave to be a light? Check.

These two have my whole heart. I adore this ship. Soaring Crimson all the way (yes, I coined a ship name. I adore these two!)

It’s 4:30am and I haven’t slept in hours but I needed to share my rarepair crossover ship with the world! I have so much to say about them but sleep is needed!

[phoebesbridgers]

GET TO KNOW ME MEME ♡ characters → HELENA

"My story is an embroidery, with many beginnings and no end. But I will start with the thread of my sestra, Sarah, who stepped off a train one day and met herself."

[sestrahulk]

Barbie posters (Orphan Black Edition)

[saturnvs]

there's a light in all of us

[finnickodaair]

HELENA & SARAH MANNING Orphan Black (2013 - 2017)

[two-sibyls-tall]

Batfamily Members (in no Particular Order) as Zero Context Kirby Photos I Have On My Phone Part 2

Bruce Wayne:

Selina Kyle:

Dick Grayson:

Cassandra Cain:

Terry McGinnis:

Duke Thomas:

Helena Wayne:

Luke Fox:

Azrael:

Bonus | Talia Al Ghul

[acaiyatree]

i wanna draw smth but idk. so i will Poll it

[insanepoll]

INSANE CHARACTER TOURNAMENT: ROUND 2, BRACKET B

PROPAGANDA FOR LUCILLE BLUTH.

PROPAGANDA FOR HELENA.

[ID: Background is a gradient of yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple. On top, there's the pictures of the contestants, separated by a “VS” sign. Above it, reads “ROUND 2” in bold black letters. /End ID.]

[theatrical-penguin]

I have worked with actors for over 25 years. Some very talented actors — including a future Tony/BAFTA nominee. But Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black confounds me. I have to continually remind myself that this is one actress. Helena to Rachel to Cosima.

When Allison disappears for a couple episodes I think “I wonder if she had a conflict? are they covering a pregnancy or something?” before remembering that IT’S THE SAME ACTRESS!

The voices, the physicality - far beyond the costuming because there’s the times the clones swap and there are subtle ways to tell the differences.

Ari Collins’ Castor clones are way more similar. And things like the Battlestar Cylons don’t touch what Tatiana accomplished.

It’s an acting masterclass that she should have won way more awards for.

I’ve just finished Season 2 on my rewatch and it’s just crazy. Plus the character development of the core clones in what for them is basically 2 months? And from here out Helena’s pregnancy shows the rest of the series is less than 9 months. 50 episodes of a year in the lives of this family of Sestras.

[masbro-cophine]

Happy Birthday Tatiana Maslany!! (Still don't believe she's 38)

[bestrongbebrave49]

My favourite thing about Hawks (MHA) x Helena (Orphan Black) as a ship is that there is enough similarities to make them understand and relate to one another, enough shared qualities to get along, and yet the differences help them grow alongside each other.

Spoilers for both shows & the manga ahead!

Helena provides Hawks with a different perspective and vice versa. There is a vulnerability deep within both of them that is well hidden though better hidden with Hawks than Helena. Her desire for a place to belong, for safety, kindness and understanding is rooted in the lack of love she never received and a yearning to be appreciated and accepted. ‘I am the light’ is a lie she’s been told and yet it’s true. Beneath the violence is a helpless, feral little girl, a broken compassionate woman, who just wants to do and be good. There is a light in her, the same as in Hawks. A desire within them both buried somewhere fundamental to be useful and (as aforementioned) good, helpful, a hero.

In Hawks it is much more prominent and overt, in Helena it is more subtle; you only see it if you touch her life in some way, if you cross paths in the right circumstances, if you remind her of herself like a ripple or echo both long forgotten and ever-present. It differs from Hawks’ flashy shows of heroism and quiet determination to be the only one with bloodied hands and a tarnished soul, but it still exists nevertheless. Her ability to extend a kind hand in the form of absolute mercy or sheer brutality. Her mentality of; ‘I will kill to keep you safe, I will fight for your freedom because I know what it means to be caged. I will protect those who cannot defend themselves because once I was defenceless and the scars stay with you. I was moulded into a monster but now I choose my own path.’

She cannot outrun her past or what she has been forced to become but she can chose to use the tools given to her to create a better world; a mindset that both Tomas and Maggie originally twisted during their indoctrination process whilst instilling in her a desire to kill off the ‘copies’ (only in the AU I have in mind the clones do not exist as clones but as people not born out of experiments, for the most part). I believe she always had a desire to help, it just got tangled up in their murderous, religious extremism. Likewise, Hawks’ ideals were also twisted and warped into what the commission wanted them to be. Both lost their innocence and their spark in the name of controlled ‘heroism’. Unlike Helena, Hawks kills purely out of duty and as a last resort. He’ll hold back and hold off if other options present themselves, but he won’t forsake a mission that could cost the lives of thousands for the sake of his own sentimentality; such is his moral compass. (Even if it was twisted by the commission to suit their means despite his near constant disobedience) he’ll run on fumes and willpower alone if he has to, to get the job done, see it through and utilise his mission or his goal, but he won’t endanger the lives of innocents along the way if he can help it, and more often than not he can because he refuses not to.

In contrast, there is a vital part of Helena, maybe due to her strict, abusive upbringing in the convent, maybe because of the helplessness she experiences repeatedly in her life, particularly her youth, or perhaps because the practice of killing is forbidden and taboo and therefore exciting (I reckon it’s a case of all three) which craves the violence, basks in the blood of her enemies and the glory of death. It’s a task complete, a job well done when her target is no longer standing. It will get her recognition, appreciation, fondness and kindness from the only ‘family’ she’s ever known, a sense of peace in the knowledge that the world is ‘safer’ and that God is ‘proud’ of her due to the actions of taking a life.

And yet, I believe that with each life she takes there is a piece of her missing, bit by bit, little by little. Because she did not choose this life, a child has no comprehension of killing and whilst it is second nature to her, it is a duty based on illusion. An act forcibly complied with at times to garner safety as much as devotion. It is all she has and all she knows how to be because no one ever taught her any different, and yet it is not all she is. Despite her comfort with gore and brutality, the softer sides of Helena coupled with the fact she never mindlessly kills nor targets anyone outside of a threat to her own personal safety, her family’s or those most vulnerable in society tells me she picks the knife up less when she has control over whether to pick it up at all.

This comfortability with death and torture provides a key difference to Hawks’ stricter moral code and yet the kindness embedded within her compels him to see her as human, capable of change and deserving of a better life. As with Twice and Endeavour. He views her merely as a product of her circumstances. Which is interesting given that he too, is also a product of his. If you were to ask Helena if she were a victim of circumstance she would say yes, to a degree. Ask Hawks if he was and he’ll probably disagree. Does he hate the commissions control over his life and the degree they’ll go to maintain that control not just in regards to him but society as a whole? Yes. Does he view himself as a victim? Not necessarily. In his mind he was saved. And so others too can be saved, all he has to do is show them a different path, offer a helping hand, give them a chance, and if they don’t take it there’s nothing more he can do, but should they choose to accept then they are indeed deserving of a better life and a place within society (after paying their dues for their crimes).

Inside the Winged Hero is that same little boy who just wanted to be a shining light; a dream that the Commission stamped out as best they could, and inside Helena is a little girl desperately believing people will love and want her if she is useful, and clinging to the belief that maybe, hopefully, possibly, she can be good.

So, on paper, Helena would take up Hawks’ offer in a heartbeat, except she has learnt to be mistrustful. She would have (and has in my AU for multiple reasons) about as much faith in Hawks and hero’s as she would / does for the police force, and Arthur had to earn her trust. His job wasn’t in the spotlight as much as Hawks and he didn’t have to uphold a façade personality wise. So given the many layers of Hawks and the innate unwillingness to take people at face value lest they strike her first, Helena would view him as an enemy. Maybe she’d warm to him a little or a lot more if experience had not taught her to be wary even of those who offer you food should it be a poisoned. Maybe my AU is just super angsty and without the added tragedies I gave her, she’d be more willing to believe the best in him. But whilst Hawks’ desire for freedom is true and would strike a chord in her, his overt, goofy, over-confident and flashy (first layer) personality combined with the ‘knowledge’ that he a hero - who people rely on to save and who the younger population especially has such faith in - is really working with those that civilians fear most would leave a bad taste in her mouth at best and make her want to gorge his eyes out at worst (if he were lucky).

If Helena hid her kinder aspects, Hawks would only see a criminal that needed stopping and locking away. His methods are more logic based than her emotional ones, albeit both are emotionally driven and have been raised to complete a task as efficiently as possible without emotion getting in the way. The approaches used though different, are one and the same in terms of instilling the necessary beliefs into the easily manipulated minds of children to become the weapons they were meant to be. Helena has been raised with a more severe iron rod and had her animalistic instincts utilised in ways that Hawks’ clinical, contained, ruthless and rigours training differs from, but they are two sides of the same coin and I love them for it.

Helena would save Hawks from his cage in a heartbeat if she knew the extent of his life and past, as Hawks would save her from hers. The layers of distrust, respect, resentment, pity, understanding, forgiveness and unity these two would have would be outstanding. Their complexity makes me want to squeal with excitement because there is so very much to explore, and that’s before you even get into the involvement of quirks. Helena’s would be cannibalistic in nature and I know just how to utilise it. So yeah, it’s late, 1:26am to be exact. But I needed to ramble nonsensically a little (I could write essays about these two) because there is so much to discuss and explore and I love them so very dearly.

The problem becomes can I write them well enough? Would they really work or have I just convinced myself of something that in actuality doesn’t make sense? Can I do them both justice? Are their characterisations off? Will anyone else actually care about this ship or am I doomed to watch it set sail alone? (I’m writing this baby even if it’s just me that reads it. The amount of AUs and oneshots I have planned for this ship alone is ridiculous). Soaring Crimson is my favourite thing on earth currently, I will fight anyone who says crossovers are not a valid ship because even if it doesn’t work out or will never in any way, shape or form be canon it’s fun and that’s what ships are supposed to be; fun, adventurous ways we can honour and explore our favourite characters.