#if i bring up why i struggle with this does that become manipulation? even though i'm asking in good faith?

[doggendoodle]

fucked up and singlehandedly cost my group a kudos fight in front of someone i respect (this will have a negligible impact on their day but i will forever be haunted by their first impresson of me being ruined)

[soldatshandler]

Winter Soldier Post!HYDRA Headcannons

a/n: I was writing something earlier and it made me want to write this. It's just a random collection of headcannons I have. You bring him home after he escapes HYDRA. You have your hands full.

warnings: Bucky is still the Winter Soldier, PTSD, post abuse (physical, psychological), past SA and mentions of treatment for it, light descriptions of injuries/wounds, medical stuff. Overall angsty hurt/comfort. Recovery things. Did not edit <3

Following the events of the movies, let's pretend you bring Bucky home after CATWS. He's still the soldier. He's still Soldat. And Soldat doesn't speak. In fact he is silent for days. Uttering nothing, not a peep.

Soldat is silent, watchful, wary. He doesn't like being approached too quick. He stays in corners. He stays in small spaces. Being too exposed now makes him feel anxious. He reacts with aggression if he is anxious.

You learn all this.

He also becomes visibly irritated when he feels confused and stressed, which is pretty much constantly.

He needs you to order him around, which sounds harsh but the sudden change of environment and treatment is really confusing for him. He is too fresh from HYDRA to immediately just heal. That's now how it works. This kind of trauma doesn't just go away. This man is so severely mistreated, you aren't even sure where to start.

Simple things like telling him to shower or sleep. Otherwise he stays up for days and refuses to do anything. Free will is such a foreign concept to him.

Re-feeding and giving him nutrients and fluids is a nightmare. Luckily, you had a medic friend who could look at him without the involvement of the government since he was in hiding for now. You got all the supplies you needed, but it was still a hassle. His options were very limited when it came to food. Oatmeal, mashed potatoes, applesauce, things like that. He could barely stomach anything more solid than that.

He sits still for the IVs, but sometimes he doesn't and he puts up a struggle, assuming it is some kind of drug to manipulate him. You just have to stay close and talk to him so he pays more attention to you than what your friend is doing.

He got sick a lot. You had to be careful about that. Too much food made him sick, his body wasn't used to it.

He also was having difficulty remembering you and where he was, the fact that he wasn't undergoing constant brainwashing made all the chemicals go haywire. It made his moods unpredictable. He had aggressive bouts, though he never harmed you badly, he would grab you if you got too close out of instinct and fear.

He often broke down and during these times it was a gamble whether or not he'd let you around him. He felt so pathetic and small and horrible, confused and unsure for the first time in decades. He was used to being mindless besides the orders barked at him. Simple, easy, all he had to do was listen.

But now, things were different. He was no longer being kept in a shitty cell or in an icebox. He wasn't tortured daily, he wasn't taken into rooms where agents were greedy with him. He wasn't hurt. And...it confused him even more.

You notice he sits strange when he does. He doesn't like to sit for long. He says it hurts. He prefers to stand. You don't understand until later, and you do your best to help ease his pain.

He didn't understand why you didn't hurt him. Why you didn't hit him. Sometimes he hit himself when he felt like he deserved it, each time he felt a pit in his stomach when he saw the disapproving look in your eye and listened to the scold that came after. You were gentle...but firm. He could not hurt himself. That made him bad. Disobedient. Disobedient soldiers are punished. It was a cruel cycle that ran in his mind. You had to be the one to stop it.

When he did speak, it was simple Russian phrases. Yes, no, he addressed you as handler, his responses were monotone and recited. He had been trained not to speak. That wasn't what he was supposed to do with his mou-

Enough. The memories are invading again.

You could tell when he zoned out into his episodes, his eyes became glossy and he seemed to become a zombie. You sat him down somewhere quiet and stayed with him. Sometimes he didn't want to be touched, sometimes he let you. But you had to be careful, you never wanted him to be uncomfortable or make things worse.

It was a tender thing. But it was something you were more than happy doing.

After a few weeks he seeks you out more often. He stays close by, he even sits close to you or tries to get your attention. He's still quiet, but he speaks more now. Even in english, which you find a relief. By you you've learned the short Russian phrases he spoke, but it was good he spoke english too.

He starts to hang closer to you, he stays out of his 'hiding spots' in your home and stays around you more often. He sits on the couch beside you, starting to seek you out. It's a positive sign he's growing more comfortable.

He doesn't like being alone for very long. If you have a job, it might be hard for him. You try to get one where you can work from home, otherwise he is very anxious and clingy when you come home from your shift.

The spare bedroom is his, but he often finds himself migrating to your bedroom through the night. He needs your presence, he needs to know he's not alone. The silence is deafening, and knowing your body is beside him is comforting when he sleeps.

Speaking of, he starts off on the floor. It's a little heartbreaking, he sees the bed as a test, an awkward thing he doesn't want to sleep in. So he starts on the floor, then you move the mattress off the bed to the floor, along with some pillows and blankets. That seemed to help condition him to an actual bed before he eventually sleeps in yours with you.

You know recovery and his healing is going to be a long, bumpy road, but you are just happy he sees you as protection and comfort, and his trust is slowly building with you.

Thanks for reading.

Dividers by @/strangergraphics

[procrastinatingsoicanreadfanfics]

Vikings and their eras

Summary: what era would vikigns be in if they weren't in their own

Notes: I did a lot of text for this one, bc I loved thinking about this!! There are some pretty popular characters missing (Ragnar, Sigurd, Athelstan) where I just couldn’t imagine a certain era for them. Thank you so much for your request :)))))) Some of these eras aren’t wonderful or filled with positivity but that doesn’t mean these characters wouldn’t thrive.

tagged: @majesticwren @obsessiveformiyatwins @leithdragon @demon-of-the-ancient-world @alicedopey, @ivarlover @levithestripper @batmandallyboy @akayxo09 @vrtualfairy (hmu to be added!)

based on this request | masterlist | requests are OPEN!

Lagertha

Lagertha would thrive well in times of crises and war (lmao). The black death, WW1 or 2, or long periods of war/famine/sickness is where Lagertha does well. Think about her what you will, but she brings people together, manages them, and takes care of them. She’s a natural leader, and a fighter, so she’s able to protect her community.

We’ve seen examples of this in the series, think during the sickness in Kattegat, or when she takes over and completely builds up Hedeby. People tend to trust her, and especially women look up to/feel safe around her. When disaster strikes, she would be able to save/take care of them.

Aslaug

I had to think about this for a really long time because I think that Aslaug fits so well into the era the show is set in, however, I finally decided on the 1920s. Even as a feminine woman in Viking Scandinavia, she had a lot of authority over herself and knew how to grow a business (Kattegat) when Hirst wasn’t feeling sexist.

In the 1920s, she’d live in a big city, maybe Berlin or New York, and she’d own some sort of speakeasy. I’d love to think that her speakeasy would be a place for the very few pagans of the city to meet up in secret, and she herself would still be a norse pagan, völva, etc. Also, she’d dip her toes into wild jewellery design (think Schiaparelli). Definitely someone who attracts artists and would be considered a muse.

Rollo

Middle Medieval Ages for sure. He thrives being a knight because he’s a manipulative little hoe that I can’t stand. Gets to do his performative heroism during tourneys and woo women only to leave them all alone.

Rollo is not a good person, esp. towards women. He constantly gets into trouble with the church and with fathers whose daughters he ‘dishonors’. Definitely needs a wife like Gisla to slap some sense into him. I think that eventually (mid forties) he’d start to mature. Also, having children would help him become a better person (I think they should have put that into a show).

Bjorn

Bjorn thrives well in the late 2000s to early 2010s, when travel blogs were on the rise. He’s one of the early influencers, and travels the world together with Halfdan. This only works bc cancel culture isn’t real yet. Bjorn would say some stupid shit and get hounded for it let’s be real. Nonetheless, there is always some rumour about him and Halfdan being a thing (they would be if they both didn’t constantly say ‘that’s gay’).

Alternatively, Bjorn might make a good colonizer (can I say that?), but it’s not like he isn’t that already.

Ubbe

Ubbe would thrive during the late medieval ages (defo not the Renaissance though). He’s the type of man who would enjoy the idea of the charming knight. I think Ubbe would definitely enjoy the idea of quests/saving damsels in distress/having the arranged-marriage-turned-lovestory (he’s a booktok girly tbh).

This doesn’t mean that all of this is totally pure. Ubbe gets some shit twisted in canon as well (ESPECIALLY concerning Margrethe). Maybe his first war was something crusade-like, and he went into it thinking of heroic acts and blabla and then got fucked up by battle and gore. Also has a religion and Madonna/whore complex problem.

Hvitserk

In the show, Hvitserk was always seeking sense/purpose while also struggling with balance, which is why I think he would thrive in the 1970s. This is THE era for protests and social change. Climate change, feminism and sexuality all became important topics. Going to protests would be able to give him a sense of change, and I think it would be liberating for him as well, to be able to free himself of his restraints by changing something.

I’ll go into communes a little more for Helga, but I think Hvitserk would thrive in an early commune a lot. He needs to have people around him taking care of his mental health, and this would be great for his mental health. Yes, therapy helps a lot of people, but I think if Hvitserk lived in our time, he would think that talk therapy is stupid, and completely close himself off to it. This guy just needs a lot of love, okay?

Also, he needs to smoke some 70s weed every once in a while.

Ivar

Just like Hvitserk, Ivar would thrive during the 1970s. However, this is for completely different reasons and also means that no one else gets to thrive. I chose the 1970s because it’s THE serial killer decade.

That honestly sounds terrible but we all know it’s true.

Ivar would be bitter about being discriminated/not being able to fully take part in society/not getting any women and that would turn him homicidal. He definitely overcomplicated his killings and does shitty bloodeagles to get some cool name but all he gets is like “the Viking killer” or something and he’s so mad about that he reveals himself on his deathbed to change his title. It doesn’t work.

Floki

Floki just wants to be where Helga is, but he would not thrive in the 2020s. I think he’d get in arguments with Helga about vaccinations. However, I want Floki to be in the 2010s/2020s with Helga. He definitely has some kind of hallucination-related mental illness at the least. I think that especially the season where he acted out against Helga (season 4?) shows that his mental health was making him harmful towards others and probably towards himself.

I can’t diagnose Floki, but I think we can all see that he might have some kind of bipolar disorder/mania disorder on top of a schizophrenia. He needs some kind of meds, and he needs someone to help him taking them.

Helga

This is very specific, but Helga would do AMAZING during the early era of Covid (like March 2020). Yes, she’s a very social person, but I do believe that Helga would be part of a quite isolated commune if she lived during modern times, and even during that time be isolated with Floki.

I would like to think that the commune could be self-sufficient and Helga just gets to go ham making banana bread and care packages. She thrives in this time where she doesn’t really have to go to work (even though she loves being a kindergartener too) and gets to take care of the people in her commune, and even further than that from the comfort of her own home.

Astrid

This woman thrives where no one else does, and that is toxic 2020s twitter. All she does is tweet, get cancelled, tweet, get popular, repeat. She’s so so annoying and bullies a bunch of people who don’t deserve to be bullied. Is most definitely blocked by trump, hailey Bieber and the Kardashians at least.

Makes a living by selling feetpics.

Ecbert

Ecbert thrives in the 1980s. Now. Hear me out. Ecbert in neon Zumba clothes. There, that’s my reason.

I’m just kidding, there’s more. I’m not old enough to fully understand most of the decades I’m talking about in here but the 1980s, it seems, were this extremely colorful and wild decade. Literally everywhere, color just kind of seemed to explode, and I think Ecbert would thrive in this kind of chaotic atmosphere.

(are there people in their forties or older on this post that can verify?)

Aelswith

I’m really sad that we didn’t go into Aelswith more in the show, but I firmly believe that Aelswith would make an amazing Sufragette. Thinking back to her time on the show, she was always very firm in standing her ground, more so than Judith or even Lagertha in some ways (especially in the sense that she was SO YOUNG). She directed and strengthened Alfred, and I think during season 6, she used a beartrap to defend her baby?

Anyway, I imagine her as a rich/aristocratic lady in London who definitely steers the household while Alfred brings the money in (he likes art) and she decides that, if she puts in the work in the house, she should be able to decide over the country that house is in as well.

[frozenjokes]

Hermitdragons Masterpost (Wings of Fire x Hermitcraft/Third Life AU)

Grainshifter (Grian) was born to the Nightwings under one full moon, giving him the power to read minds. However, as fortold by Nightwing seers, he also possesses animus magic, a power that the Nightwings will use to bring their tribe into greater glory, becoming Watchers that feed off the strong emotions of the other dragon species, particularly fear. When Grainshifter attends Jade Mountain Academy in disguise as a Skywing called Grian, the Watchers take notes, and years later they surprise him with his very own death game featuring all his friends.

hello hello! this fic is on hiatus, and while I would like to finish it one day, it is my first foray into fic writing basically ever, and my writing has improved dramatically since a year ago when I started to write this. It’s been a while since I’ve reread this, but I have been told it’s good! lol. However! There’s still a lot of content (70k words and SO MUCH ART) so let’s get into it!

Fic One - Ruler of Everything

After Grian betrays Nightwatcher secrets to one of his best friends, Scar, he is punished by the Nightwatchers and placed into a death game with all of his past friends from the academy. However, there are two dragons he does not know; Scott, a Seawing who seems mostly normal, and Martyn, a dragon whose mind he can not read at all. Whose mind no one can read. Whose body can not be manipulated by animus magic. Soon, it is clear that Grian is not the only dragon here that is being punished.

Fic Two - Mechanical Hands (this fic does not exist but in theory it would after the first)

Grian comes to terms with his relationship with the Nightwatchers, finally realizing and accepting that they do not love him, and only want to use him. He teams up with Martyn in a shared goal of destroying animus magic, but a massive problem still stands; they’re both still stuck in these death games. And their friends are still under the Nightwatchers’ magical control. As the games go on, things are starting to feel hopeless, but revealing the secret of Martyn’s immunity to animus magic that he has so desperately tried to keep might just be the solution these trapped dragons need to escape.

Beyond these summaries, I’m going to try and keep these story explanations brief, however, if you’re interested is All Of The Art + commentary + more story explored through the art, then you can keep reading under the cut :) also just as a warning there is a lot of undetailed cartoon blood below

Designs

before writing, these were my first pass of most of the designs in the series! As you can probably tell from the references of the main three characters at the top, Scar, Grian, and even Martyn have changed quite a bit, and if I ever return to this series, other designs will probably change as well. Except Joel and Bdubs. Those are peak. The biggest change from these designs, is that Jimmy is not actually a dragon in this fic!(which is why I included the third picture with him, Scott, and Grian) He is super human, and he dies first for A REASON. He just looks the way canon Jimmy does, minus the wings.

Full Pieces

I made two fully rendered pieces for this fic. To the left is a scene from the academy where Pearl, Ren, and BigB are play fighting in the mountains while Grian and Scar watch. Grian is very uptight in the academy, struggling socially, and his friends, painfully aware Grian comes from a bad home situation and possibly raised in a cult, are trying to help him relax and have a nice time in school while he has the chance.

On the right is a scene from far into the death game, where Scar is overtaken by the magic of his red life, and is threatening to force Grian to kill all three Dogwarts dragons, and at the same time, blowing himself up in the process. The dragon on the left is Skizz and I hate his design, however the little tie thing is hilarious.

Chapter Headers

I made a ton of headers for the chapters of this fic, though most of them are broken on ao3 as far as I’m aware. However, you can see them here!

dragons featured in order of appearance: Scar, Pearl, BigB, Grian, Martyn, Scott, Jimmy, Ren. This isn’t actually every header but I’m going to run out of images and these cover most of them. The ones I left out aren’t anything special.

Mini Comics + Misc Art

I have literally run out of image slots. But that’s okay (most of the stuff was covered, but if you want to scroll through the hermitdragons tag then feel free). Hope you enjoyed regardless! This series is still very close to my heart, and even though I kind of lost touch with it, it’s something I still love dearly. Thanks for reading :)

[atlaserine]

Now, in your opinion, because I'm struggling with the falling in love part

How do characters fall in love with their enemy realistically? Which isn't love at first sight!

And how do idiots characters keep falling and falling into the hellhole sticky situation that is love with your enemy?

Love,

@heroes-villains-side-blog

Okay so first thing first, just to be clear. I am far from a "writer" so I don't have any experience myself 💀

I'm more of a reader though, to me there's a lot of ways to bring someone to fall in love with their enemy [again, idk much] but if I were to read a book, I'd love to read something like this :

A hates B, like a lot. Literally wants to kill B. B can either hate A back or just playfully hates A back. And then usually there's a third person in the story, someone who sort of breaks the line between good and evil, straight up..all the dark things you could imagine. Twisted, sick, psychopath which I'll call C.

1. C can either wipe everything away which made A and B in a forced proximity (working together to save something) because A is bad but they still have morals/they do the bad things because of a good reason/their ideology. They work together-> becomes close and fall in love

2. C can still be all the above (sick, twisted, psychopath) but add a little bit of ✨charm✨, a little bit of ✨manipulation✨, a truly cunning antagonists suggesting A or B to work with them. Let's say C is working with A now -> B fights two people -> B loses -> C and A wins -> A still wants to kill B but C refuses so C simply turns B into their "pet" or "slave" -> A and C rules the world/anything -> B is not in a good place (tortured? Assaulted? Maybe C has some sick fantasies that A doesn't know of?) -> maybe everyone/some group is looking for B and A hears the rumors -> A scoffs (still hating B) -> A hears that B does something small but good and interesting? Like turns out B would always go to the animal shelter to volunteer or play with the orphanage, charity and what not -> A got a bit piqued of the real "B" Because all A know is the B that B shows to A, the B with ambition and annoyingly good fighting skills and a stubborn righteousness (bcs before this, A never really cared or was interested in B's personal life, just seeing B as an obstacle) -> A gets curious and asks C/finds B themselves -> A finds B -> B is really really down(sad)either dying and what not ->

Now this can either go two way again,

B being so low that they answer anything A asks -> A pities B and becomes soft-> A saves B -> turns out C bad -> A and B defeats C and fell in love in the process.

or ORRR ORRRRR (this is the one I love 😁)

B is dying BUT B is still stubborn and defiant -> A still thinks B is annoying but maybe has a bit of pity and curiosity so A asks B what C did -> ever since B got defeated, B kind of grows a hate for A (and of course, hates C more) but answers anyway...bcs A is forcing B to- -> A shooketh, A was like "holy shit...C did what?", B just stays quiet, not wanting to talk to C and also B is like "yeah, why do you care?" -> A kinds of zips it, but inside, A had a small awakening. Maybe A thought C was someone above, not knowing about this and now is doubting C. -> A goes to find out more while B is still sad and prisoned -> Turns out all B said was true, A's awakening became bigger -> A plots a plan (so this is kind of like evil vs evil but we're trying to make the less evil win) -> maybe B helped? Maybe didn't? Doesn't matter, point is A wins and C is defeated -> A rules now, maybe even sort of owns B in a "you're free to do whatever you want but you're mine (because I saved you) " kind of way/ made a deal with B so now B and A lives peacefully with each other -> BUT THIS TIME B REALLY REALLY REALLY HATES A remembering all the time before C came, A doesn't really care about it -> B kind of stays away from A, ignoring and giving A the cold shoulder -> A becomes annoyed with this attitude and decides to talk about it to B -> they fight, drama, B breaks down, A sighs and is like "..fine, im sorry. I can't stand you ignoring me like this, what do you have in mind?" -> they make a deal -> a bit more freedom for B, maybe B now just works for A with some conditions from B (B doesn't kill or anything) -> they now really do live in peace but still a bit awkward -> B finds someone, a new enemy? A new villain? disguises as a good person. B doesn't know and was leaning to that person's comfort -> A notices and tells B -> B stubborn and defiant -> A is like "fine, do whatever you want" But A had a really bad feeling in their gut, as if they just can't let that happen but acts ignorant on the outside (this, I think I where the romance starts) -> B goes to a date with the person but oh no! A was right all along! Was B going to die? That can't be! B is strong! -> But nope lol, the person turns to be stronger -> A comes out of nowhere (Jk, they've been watching from the bushes) and saves B -> B half heartedly thanked A -> A sighs and was like "look, just let me take care of you alright? You're an idiot and you're too reckless for your own good" -> B is defiant and in denial, "You? I can handle myself. I'm fine" but in the end agrees with A..still half heartedly -> A is in a close proximity with B? B lives with A now? Something like that, now A was soft with B (not in a fluff way) just a normal amount like " I got you food" Or "I got you roses, I heard you like them", or maybe A is in denial themselves thinking they had no feelings for B but A's body is already a machine of self service -> B is shocked but kept themselves from being flattered..because their stubborn, but their heart kind of melted at this point-> something bad happens again, C comes back to live? JKJK this is so unrealistic, maybe a new enemy. Doesn't have to be C, idk -> B's in a life threatening situation -> A saves B and almost dies, giving B their last words -> B was like "no no no, please. I'm sorry. I love you, come back. Come back to me, I'm so sorry" And cried cradling A in their arms-> A shocked, and was like "B loves A?" but they were dying so they just smiled and was going to accept their death -> THEIR LAST KISS????? (Bonus) -> A gods miracle happened / if you want it to be really realistic then maybe A can be saved logically..somehow. -> A and B hugs each other, kiss again bcs why not, happy ending, lives happily ever after with B loving A the fullest and A loving B too but also being so apologetic for trying to kill B in the past, just straight up on their knees worshipping B with love, realizing how much they love B and could even go a bit possessive about B cause they're just naturally selfish. Hhahaha! The end

[descendant-of-truth]

The amount of unexplored concepts in Zi-o is driving me insane but I can only tackle one thing per post so let's talk about Sougo for a minute

As someone who immediately clocked Sougo as having something off about him (to the point where I wrote day-one fanfiction about it), I was really expecting there to be a few episodes where we just. sat down and unpacked all of it. We didn't get that, but the crumbs we did get only solidify my opinion that Sougo is a really compelling character when you take the time to think about him.

On a surface level, Sougo is… very normal, I think. He's a cheerful guy, he's polite, he has a definite silly streak to him. He's kinda awkward, he fumbles around with Sento's catchphrase and struggles with his schoolwork. Like any good-natured protagonist, he has a drive to protect others and has no problem inconveniencing himself a bit to help someone out. These are all true things about him.

Sougo is also very good at manipulating people. And he does it by using his usual mannerisms to his advantage.

Take the episodes with Kuroto for instance. Sougo gets on Kuroto's side effortlessly by looking bright-eyed and enthusiastic about working with him, and this is completely believable to us as viewers because Sougo is always this enthusiastic. It's even relevant to his goal to become king - of course he would want to study under an actual king to get experience!

What makes this interesting is that it's only half true. Sougo isn't faking his enthusiasm, but he is faking his motivation. He doesn't want to work with Kuroto because he thinks he's cool, he wants to work with him because he wants to confirm if he's terrible first, and then take notes on how to not be terrible in the future.

And this is what makes him so good at manipulation: he knows how to channel his behaviors in such a way that he always seems genuine. Of course, it probably helps that he's often only half-faking anyway, which makes it even more convincing.

He's also usually using this skill for a good cause, but when armed with the knowledge that he became evil in the original timeline, it suddenly puts him in a different light; one where you can go "oh, so that's where he's keeping all his supervillain potential."

He displays this cunning side to him in a lot of smaller instances - using Woz's dedication to him as a means to summon him at any time, getting Geiz and Tsukuyomi to hang out with him under the pretense of their mission to keep him from turning evil, so on and so forth.

They sneak this part of him into the script all the time, and the only person to really bring it up is, interestingly enough, his mirror world self.

This scene makes me go nuts because it perfectly displays Sougo's inner conflict that he's usually really good at keeping under wraps. Though admittedly, they also make it a little unclear as to whether he was actually trying to manipulate anyone or just feels like he did anyway... but I think I've got it mostly figured out.

What's happening here, as I understand it, is that Sougo does genuinely want to save Geiz, but there is a small part of him that wants the power that comes with the Ryuga watch, too. And he does not like that part.

He knows that he's manipulated people before, and so when he notices having a second motivation here beyond his more idealistic one, he feels like he's manipulating people again. Making Tsukuyomi think that he's actually a good person when he just prompted Geiz to go sacrifice himself - he harbors a surprising amount of guilt.

And that's another key thing about Sougo that I haven't talked about yet: he hides things constantly.

Like, for example, why he wants to become king in the first place.

This is a lie. Sougo wants to become king because of a recurring dream depicting the most traumatic event of his life, where his only solace is someone telling him that he can save the world if he becomes a king.

But he insists in multiple episodes that it's just "something he's always known." He treats it very casually, despite it dramatically affecting his life plans.

Sougo treats most things with the same smiley nonchalance, honestly, in a way that can make him feel sort of detached from reality at times. But he takes things more seriously than it seems, and it's clear that he harbors a very deep sense of loneliness in him as well. Geiz and Tsukuyomi being his first real friends is one of the driving forces of the narrative, after all.

He also just drops lines like this sometimes that make me go crazy like hey has anyone checked on this guy emotionally during the entire show, I am Concerned

Like!! he says this about the possibility of him being the only person to not survive the final battle, and I know this isn't the first time he's expressed a similar sentiment and it's kind of a tradition for the protagonists of these shows to be like this but. god. and he says it while smiling

(You might be noticing a theme with Sougo and smiling through pain and you would be absolutely correct to do so)

I guess what I'm getting at with this whole post is that the appeal of Sougo's character, to me, is that he's just as much a silly, awkward guy with loads of enthusiasm as he is a cunning, clever person who knows how to lie to get the outcome he wants. He's both very cheerful and very sad on the inside, and none of these things are treated like they're in conflict with each other.

Sougo himself said it best:

And I dunno, I just think that's a really cool way to write your main hero who's working against his destiny to become evil. Or just any character in general. I both completely believe him as a hero and also never quite got rid of that "off" feeling that made me compelled to write about him when the show first started.

Zi-o as a show missed a lot of opportunities to explore things deeper, and Sougo is definitely included in that, but it never failed to keep me interested in him as a character because something about his specific combination of personality traits makes him very compelling to watch.

(He also makes the other writing flaws that much more frustrating because he's way too good of a character for these scripts)

[yanderederee]

Taking in Strays

Mostly talking about Baji and Kazutora’s relationship and why I think about it so often.

*this discussion post that dives deeper into injustices mentioned in this post … or this one, if you need a refresher.

So…

Overtime, these two became like, really good friends for one another. Baji taught Kazutora he’s allowed to not take disrespect, and pretty much gave him a bit of a life-refresh, with a whole new group of friends and support system who’s actually willing to be by his side …

They met under the pretext of “your friend’s use you and they suck, but bespite that, you fought on their behalf and stood your ground.” Because of who Kazutora is, Baji takes a liking to him and finds him loyal and maybe pitiful enough to call his friend.

That being said, the topic of Kazutora’s home life is pretty significant to how he acts, and why he fell off the deep end.

There’s no way Baji doesn’t know At least SOME of what Kazutora goes through. Kazutora feels safe with Baji, and would tell him everything under the sun. Baji, who’s only ever known how strict and loving his own mother could be, so while he can’t relate, he empathizes with Kazutora.

Baji is very good with complicated emotions, I think. I think even though he can’t explain why, he can understand the feelings that come with these unexplainable emotions.

He’s probably comforted Kazutora through hell with his home life, learning how to handle Panic Attacks, and became a little more aware of how one’s mental state can determine one’s actions.

Like when Kazutora accidently killed Shinichiro…

Baji is very aware of Kazutora’s guilt.

Kazutora does feel much guilt for killing Shinichiro.

But he couldn’t deal with the emotional strain that came with killing someone. Someone you admire. Someone’s brother. The person you admire, you just killed his brother—

- —By manipulating yourself into altering that reality, you can keep moving forward. … so that you can deal with the reality of how fucked up the consequence IS, was the only way he could cope.

Without that coping mechanism, Kazutora surely would have attempted suicide before that.

By targeting Mikey for “his transgressions”, he finds a reason to live.

Now, I can’t talk on the Validity of Kazutora’s delusions, cause that’s what they are: Delusions. And while the reasons he clings to may be, like, totally skewed, what else has he left?

Baji Keisuke.

Baji has been trying to save Kazutora ever since they met.

…

We see Baji’s understanding nature on a few different accounts, like in the future.

Baji’s appointed(willingly) as a martial arts instructor at the Sano Dojo, because unlike Mikey, who’s just a genius that doesn’t get having to work hard for power, Baji’s been honing his skills, and probably used the classes as a way of emotional outlet. He gets along well enough with kids to understand their struggles, and helps them pick themselves back up and hit even harder!

There were definitely warning signs that Kazutora has always been on the bring of a meltdown. Baji may have hoped he’d saved him from becoming who Kazu would have been. After he fell into delusions, Baji probably had the biggest moral dilemma in his LIFE.

But of corse, he sticks with his guns. Loyal all the way down to the edge, Baji will go through hell for his friends to save them. No matter what, Kazutora could always rely on Baji. Baji probably swore this, and began his savior complex after Shin’s death.

“No matter what hell awaits us, we’ll be in it together!”

We see this when he talks to Ryusei, about Kojiro.

Now, realistically we know the best way to have helped Kazutora would have been to talk him out of his delusions and come to a sensible solution… had someone really tried to sit Kazutora down and just fucking talk to him, Bloody Halloween and Kazutora’s vendetta against Mikey might have been diverted. Kazutora really needed therapy.

BUT, had Baji tried talking Kazutora out of his delusional thinking, he could have lost Kazutora’s trust, thinking he’d sided with the adults and now Everyone was against him.

Baji made sure that Kazutora never felt that loneliness of having everyone against you. That no matter what, at least they had each other. Which was enough to save Kazutora’s soul, so to speak.

At least by being by Kazutora’s side, Baji felt he could at least manage and make sure nothing else went wrong.

Rid Toman of Kisaki vermin, show Kazutora that his friends are still His Friends, and get the gang back together.

If only it worked out that way.

The relationship between Baji, Ryusei, and Ryusei’s loyalty to Kojiro…

Ryusei and Kojiro’s relationship is very complex as well…As two mutually neglected children who found family in eachother, they starting sharing a bond that became skewed overtime. As Kojiro kept getting worse and going down the wrong path, Ryusei found himself hurting while following him. Ryusei wasn’t being true to himself, condoning the monstrous things Kojiro would do just because they were best friends.

When Yatsuya Kaiden and Toman first division fought for the first time, and Kojiro threw a knife at Baji. Ryusei felt moved by Baji’s display of stand-togetherness for his gang. He thought it was admirable to protect those you consider your buddies.

Ryusei resonated with the notion of Toman’s will to fight. To protect your friends. He’s trying to protect Kojiro, but he only starts to question now if simply being by his side is enough? Will Ryusei ever be enough to fix the irreversible damage done to Kojiro?

Ryusei is an extremely loyal person, the whole reason he’s fighting these senseless battles were for Kojiro’s plan and scheme. Ryusei felt this same undying loyalty for the monster he couldn’t help.

When Yatsuya Kaiden flee the scene, they leave Ryusei. Kojiro left Ryusei.

I really feel bad for Ryusei here, because he’s literally being kicked while he’s down, and not even his one friend is on his side. The one he’s trying to protect. Left him bleeding and to police care.

Ryusei took the knife-blow meant for Baji because, had Kojiro actually killed someone, that’s when consequences would become serious. Not petty ones with a slap on the wrist or a few months in juvenile detention. Real consequences with faces and names. Just for the sake of pride.

When Kojiro left Ryusei, literally bleeding out and to Police devices, Toman took Ryusei in, validated his values of friendship and loyalty. Ryusei began to heal from the damage Kojiro had done. He learned to have fun and laugh again. Chifuyu showed him that who you are as a person does not speak for the actions you commit, all the time.

Toxic friendships can make you into someone you aren’t.

After the two had their break, Kojiro only got worse, feeling betrayed and alone. While Ryusei had finally healed, and became himself again.

Kojiro dragged Ryusei back down on the cruelest way possible, and all the healing Ryusei had done simply became dormant. He fell back into line with how their friendship always had been, shut up and listen to Kojiro, and everything would be okay. It was Chifuyu who knocked the sense back into Ryusei. Forcing him to remember that he can heal, he can have friends and loyalties outside of old friends, and still want to help them along the way. And Ryusei decides that what he wants to do is take Kojiro down the healing journey, find himself outside of the monster he’d built about himself. Kojiro protected himself by pretending nothing hurt him.

Ryusei sees that there was hope for him, and there could still be hope for Kojiro.

Besties go to therapy together okay!!!

What happens when you “break free” from the friends who need your help? They fall into madness.

Baji sees how loneliness and loyalty can destroy and form lives.

He felt a sense of obligation to Kazutora, for being his one and only true friend. Had he simply left him to his devises, Kazutora definitely would have blown his hyper violent temper at “Baji’s Betrayal” and probably would have went to seek more than Valhalla to ruin Toman…

Kojiro almost did this exact same thing, had Ryusei not sided with him.

Before Valhalla, Baji has seen first hand how to best manipulate your teammates into believing your bullshit.

Sadly this only makes me wish Baji had reached out and at least told someone his plan? I know it’s because he feels a sense of responsibility to help Kazutora all on his own. Hell, all of toman was ready to go to war against Yatsuya Kaiden, but Baji’s sense of responsibility limits him to only accepting help from his Division, or no one at all. Chifuyu has shown time and time again he is worthy of Baji’s trust, yet he still denied it til the bitter end.

I can’t stand you sometimes, Baji…</3

We could get into the conversation about why Baji chose to die, instead of giving his forgiveness be being killed by Kazutora. But it’s been talked about enough, unless I feel like it later lol.

Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah, I just think it’s cute how Baji just befriends all the stray troubled kids he can find and makes a home for them. ♡

·:*¨༺♱✮♱༻¨*:·

Feel free to share or chat on any of my posts btw, that’s the fun in writing these:)

[cinamun]

*opens my notes and adjusts glasses.* Okay now bare with me bc I swore I saw what bishop was convicted for being soemthing related to bodily harm but I struggling trying to find where I saw it. But regardless, let's remember he was convicted and spent 30 yrs. He himself says he doesn't like that moment of his life.

I haven't read into bishop in his previous gameplay with his original creator so!! Imma have to get to that. But in this case in this story, I think it plays a part to why he suddenly acts caring.

So I think he's doing this to avoid being suspect one. Jay already knows his toxic behavior, mostly mentally abusive. Bishop when around always made a sort of barrier between Mercy and Jay, from disrespecting him and purposefully making him uncomfortable to the point Jay was gonna put a boundary on the contact between him and his mom. Even though Bishop went to Jay to tell him not to do that, he did it in a way that just gave Jay more reason and anger to not unblock his mom. A common thing abusers do with their victims is isolate them. And he's a good manipulator as we saw. His is one of the time he acknowledges himself and her family cutting her off in the same sentence. I'm pretty sure he knows what he was doing.

Obviously he failed at that when her grandbabies where born and she wanted to be involved and now she's becoming more resilient. But, he still has some power over her bc he's a good manipulator.

Moving on, not only does Jay know, but Indya knows and she knows details that she can point out its not healthy and toxic and warns mercy like whatever you choose to do, itll effect your son. Then it effects my daughter. Then it effects me. You don't want shit with Indya. And then, let's remember Mercy went on that public podcast and Bishop exposed himself to ppl listening in, usuing her name, and manipulated his way in again. I remember Indya not rlly buying it.

So, that's 2 ppl, plus their family members that know bishop isn't great.

Now let's move into the whole mercy with a knife situation. I wanna say that even though mercy pulled a knife on him, with he fact he already has abusive patterns and uses sex to get control, and he admits he likes controlling her, and his previous conviction, and she's clearly mentally distressed, they'd probably see maybe he triggered it. But also, as much as I love Mercy and wish she did it, if she truly wanted to harm him, she'd do it. She instead yelled, and let him talk. This shows me she has hesitance. She not ready yet to actually do it. So, she doesn't really have intention to harm.

She'd definitely probably get in trouble for pulling the knife, it's complex, but then he takes to literally smashing her so hard against the wall after taking her down to drop the weapon and de-escalating the situation. He then threatens to murder her. He clearly has intentions to harm if he is threatening to murder and physically harm to the point she's losing conciousness. And also, he has a habit of bringing up her grandkids. He did it here and he did it long before when she was moving out of San Myshuno apartments.

During her unconsciousness, Jay tried to text her bc they do in the end have a close bond. Jay knows his mom. First he assumes maybe she's dating. That's at 2:13 pm. Several hours pass, it's 11:19 pm. Still no response or a simple yes to him asking a question. So now he's worried. Bishop takes her phone and acts like her to make Jay worry less.

Lastly, if Bishop REALLY cared about Mercy's health, he'd drive her to the hospital. If he wanted to avoid suspiciousness, he could of left her and drove off. Act like a civilian. Instead be brings her to an unknown location, isn't letting her leave until she can stand up and not wobble (that's so she doesn't look disoriented) and eat up cus clearly she hasn't. Then also text her son so kess suspicion is thrown on him.

That's been MYYY theory. I think he's avoiding suspicion cus he doesn't want get charged again. He has a pattern of behavior that calls for concern. U stayed before he could of been surprised she was almost gonna get him with the knife. If she's able to pull a knife, who's to say if he left her there, she finally spills to Jay or someone what's happening? Now he's in trouble.

So, take her to a random location, hidden away, seemingly underground, and don't let her leave till she looks normal.

Now I pray to God my phone didn't autocorrect some random crap and make me sound crazy 🙏🏼

[horse-girl-anthy]

The Rose Bride: Power from Passivity

when I was first seriously trying to understand RGU, I struggled the most with how to understand Anthy. I was seeing a lot of people frame her as the mastermind behind all the manipulations in the show, yet somehow, this didn't feel right to me. on the other end, I would see people who defended Anthy's innocence in the events of the story, either by selective reading or blaming Akio as the cause of everything. I also couldn't quite accept this view, though I did feel it was important that Anthy not be condemned. through a lot of time and thinking, I have come to my own conclusions about Anthy, her powers, and her role in the narrative.

in an interview, lead writer Enokido describes Anthy as a personification of when reality enters a drama. going further, he states that because he and the other writers do not know everything about reality, they cannot know everything about Anthy, either:

Enokido: Because even us creators can’t understand Anthy’s inner thoughts (*note: naimen = inner feelings, interiority, true self). We created her while in search of that.

–. You can’t understand anything?

Enokido: That’s right. After all, there are things about “reality” that neither I nor Ikuhara can understand. Like you know how in this world we live in, there are things we think are absurd or things we can’t confirm.

from these statements, it's clear that Anthy was designed as a character it is impossible to fully grasp.

Ikuhara echoed Enokido's description of Anthy as reality in this interview, going on to call her "a rare sort of character." there are many reasons why she could be considered unique, but I want to focus here on other things Ikuhara said about Anthy in this interview:

Ikuhara: As for whether Anthy's character herself is venemous, I don't know the answer, and while I depict her in ways that make you suspect she is, I plan to never show you whether that's out of ill will or not.

the ambiguity of Anthy's character is very important. she always has plausible deniablity; her worst deeds are implied from a clinical distance. further, Ikuhara brings up the question of intentions. even when it's unambiguous that Anthy is doing something (for instance, helping Akio to poison Kanae in episode 32), there's usually not much indication of what Anthy is feeling or thinking. it's like she's not even there.

I've always been struck by this little scene from the beginning of episode 23, when Anthy is employed at being Mamiya. she's totally alone here. if Anthy is doing Akio's bidding with full consciousness, then why do we get this scene? but on the other hand, can I say that Anthy doesn't know what's going on? of all the characters in the show, she has the best idea of what's really going on in the social system. again, contradiction and cognitive dissonance.

Anthy is magic, not of this world. can I, as a normal human being, imagine what it would be like to one second be there, and then the next to vanish out of my clothes? it's impossible.

then the question becomes, what is the nature of Anthy's magic? she is called a witch for her crime of taking the prince away from the world. that was her last free act: I would argue that Anthy's magic as a witch is not actually something that she uses as a free agent. this was first put into words for me by Alice on the Imagine Me & Utena podcast (I believe it was their focus episode on Anthy)--after listening to others debate on if Anthy truly has bad intentions or not, Alice asked, does Anthy use magic, or does magic work through her?

similarly, in his episode commentary for episode 23, Ikuhara wrote:

People’s happiness or unhappiness shouldn’t be determined by struggles over the device called “the Rose Bride.”

I find the term "device" to be an interesting one. from a meta perspective, Anthy is a device for the writers: she is used within the narrative to acheive the story's aims. she is a device for Akio: a thing to be used. in a parodoxical way, Anthy's disempowerment is her power, and her passivity allows the world to take shape around her.

Anthy became the Rose Bride through the trauma of the Swords of Hate. they left her empty. in episode 38, she says, "I thought I was just the Rose Bride, just a doll with no heart." the emotional core of the story is the search for her true self, Utena's desire to reach the heart that Anthy had forgotten she once had. however, Anthy plays her role as the Rose Bride to the end, even after she has shown her true face to Utena.

how exactly do Anthy's powers as the Rose Bride work? as a device, a mechanism, I believe that the Rose Bride simply responds to the social environment of Ohtori, with the final aim of bringing about the "End of the World." this is getting kind of esoteric, so I will use an example from the show to illustrate: a reading of Miki's early interactions with Anthy.

did Anthy go and play piano at the end of episode four in order to manipulate Miki to duel in the next episode? or is she simply manifesting what is in his heart? watching how Anthy interacts with others carefully, she operates as a projector screen, becoming whatever someone is fixated on. further, the way that they view her can radically affect the way she is portrayed from episode to episode. while Anthy becomes a demure angel for Miki, she is a two-faced schemer in Juri episodes.

the process doesn't stop here. next, the Rose Bride brings reality crashing down on characters' heads.

during Miki's first duel with Utena, Anthy suddenly cries out in support of Utena. this action seems wildly out of character for her supposed role in the duels. again, I believe Anthy does this because of a truth buried within Miki himself. the falsity of his pursuit of the shining thing is what Anthy exposes, revealing that the object of his affections might not be what it seems. as the Rose Bride, Anthy repeatedly destroys other characters' self-images, their worlds.

of course, Akio does appear to be pulling the strings behind Anthy's machinations throughout the narrative. perhaps this is because Akio is the End of the World, a harbringer of the death of the self. however, Akio seems incapable of riding out the process himself, staying stuck within the system, its enforcer and slave. and although he subjugates Anthy, he is tormented by the fact that she is beyond his grasp no matter what he does.

Anthy must have gotten some satisfaction out of Akio's torment, but she is more tormented than he could ever imagine. in a way, I feel as though Anthy is somewhat prideful of her position as Rose Bride; she feels that it is unchangable, a fact of life, and her adjustment to it is what allows her to keep surviving. thus, accepting things without complaint is wise. Utena is the one who challenges that, threatening Anthy with change, which can be terrifying even when what you know is endless suffering.

Anthy stabbing Utena is one of the only times that she acts out of her true feelings and her role as the Rose Bride in unison. here, I don't want to parse out all of the complex interpersonal reasons Anthy the person had to stab Utena, but instead point out that it continues to fit with the Rose Bride's purpose: she brings reality to Utena. this was always going to be the ending to her desire to be a prince, cemented when Utena takes the swords for Anthy.

the true sickness of Anthy's passivity is on display with her acceptance of the Swords of Hate. although the Rose Bride is the greatest instrument of power in Ohtori, it does nothing for Anthy herself; it comes at the cost of her sacrifice. that it is why it is difficult to frame Anthy as a mastermind. it was never going to be as easy as Anthy just making different choices, since sacrifice is demanded by the swords. she was only getting out of her position by someone taking her place, so she resigned herself. that resignation made her the subaltern base of Ohtori, able to take any form within it but her own. she must exit to be a real person.

[akanesheep]

Now that Nightbringer is out, and we’re a few chapters in… I keep wanting to put some thoughts in writing, and then a new chapter will drop and I end up getting one question answered, while gaining several others… I’ll try to keep speculating to a low and just discuss how I personally felt while playing.

Spoiler warning now, as I’m going to be discussing events that take place through the latest release.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled with the change of the battles to a rhythm game, as I’ve always been bad at them. But I’ve adapted pretty well, although I’m a perfectionist, and will waste time and precious AP trying to get the best score possible XD

Now onto the story…

It seems odd to feel genuine heartache, frustration, etc. but that has definitely been the case.

Tossed backward in time to brothers who didn’t know us, and in fairness, don’t know themselves at this point in time. It’s been so strange to see them like this. Barely out of Heaven, minds between angel & demon. Both familiar and unfamiliar. To become strangers to those I’ve grown to know so much about. How unfair. Solomon arrives with one or two pieces of information, but what made me so curious is why couldn’t we go to Barbatos? Why is Barbatos so hostile to Solomon? He says he doesn’t remember, which I don’t wholly believe. He’s hiding stuff, which I really dislike, no matter how much I adore him.

As for the brothers, my heart breaks. Satan in his uncontrolled anger phases, Mammon wanting so hard to be a responsible ‘big brother’. Levi struggling with his self worth even more than before. He’s using different words most of the time, but we know his meanings better than just bashing himself for being a ‘stinky otaku’… the lack of Normie, but still our lovable otaku. Lucifer shaken, rebuilding himself in private while putting on the front of a cold hard ass to his brothers. Providing them the structure and stability they require to move forward. It’s the hardest role in the family, and he stepped into it naturally. As it was his role before their fall. I love that despite everything, he never hesitated. He never regretted his decision. He knew it was the right choice even if it caused pain. He does show moments of brief regret about the brothers fall, especially when Levi & Asmo on separate occasions had their moments of lamenting their situation, or missing the Celestial Realm. Even though each of them personally bears no regret for having followed Lucifer, all of the brothers, Lucifer included, are going through grief and loss. And we have a front row seat.

I was surprised at how long it took for us to even hear the name Lillith. The very end of chapter 10, Belphie is the first to bring up her name. We already know the story, of course, as well as Lucifer’s secret. In the original timeline, we knew about Lillith before Belphie, and in the fallout of chapter 16 we learned about Lucifer’s deal with Diavolo. At the end of Nightbringer chapter 10, it’s revealed that we are human, and the beginning of Chapter 11, where we get the near repeat of Belphie’s anger and grief inflicted upon our poor lil body. Solomon saved us and took us to 13’s cave.

If the lead up to this point was lamenting the loss of of ‘our’ brothers. This chapter was about the pain of us ‘betraying’ them. I cried, a few times… they were so hurt and the whole time I was wanting to tell them everything.

At the Fountain of Wisdom, Solomon pushed for us to choose humanity over everything else. Honestly, it pissed me off. It felt manipulative, like he was actually saying ‘choose me over the brothers’. I might be the only one who took it that way though. XD

The grimoire was the simplest choice for me. It wasn’t even a thought. It was going into Lucifer’s hands. All other things aside, I don’t think it’s right to control people, especially those we care about. (But that’s a personal history I won’t get into ;3) Declaring a promise to ‘protect’ them is pretty spot on for me too, which led to the events of chapter 12.

Unconscious me getting sweet visits from all 7 brothers was touching. Especially seeing that Belphie, having calmed down from his initial outburst, realized that it didn’t matter that we were human, that blaming all of humanity for the fact that Lillith ‘died’ wasn’t right. The benefit of being able to engage with him before he had thousands of years to let that stew inside him, his anger, frustration, grief, and guilt, hadn’t solidified into the cold murderous intent of the original story. His outburst this time was loud, angry, and hot. He hadn’t planned it. Therefore, it wasn’t as hard to dissuade him. A solid threat from Solomon resolved the better part of it, as well as the quick exit. It allowed thought, reflection, and time to calm down and see things properly.

On one hand, it’s good to see him face his grief differently, but on the other it’s hard to see the brothers collectively face it. Aside from Satan, who doesn’t have the personal connection to Lillith, it seemed that the brothers were coping with their grief by distraction. Her name seemed taboo to bring up. It could be said it was that way in the original story, but to a lesser extent. Some of it’s reveal was incidental to your getting to know the brothers, getting to know your environment… but this time, it was an intentional omission. They simply weren’t ready to talk about it. (Although, in Lucifer’s case in both stories, he simply feels it isn’t any of your business)

Nightbringer is a strange character. He calls himself a demon. Yet he could use the Ring of Light. That he even had possession of it is odd. Although it isn’t like we know how Lucifer came into possession of it right? (If I’m wrong on that, please let me know) He’s obviously playing some kind of game involving a much bigger picture than we can see, and are currently oblivious of. I’m starting to wonder if the voice that spoke to us when we were unconscious following our obtaining the Ring of Light from Solomon was actually Nightbringer. I’d originally thought that perhaps it was Michael, but given where things currently are, Nightbringer seems to be the safer bet. When he spoke to us in the latest chapter he tells us it’s our happiness he seeks. He also mentions something about scales being out of balance, as well as bringing night. But to where? Devildom is perpetually dark. The human realm? Likely no. The celestial realm then? What scale of balance is he referring to? Our personal balance? The balance of power within the three realms? If he’s seeking our happiness, it wouldn’t seem he would then seek to upset our personal balance of things. I had a thought on this, which perhaps if it related to the three realms, it could be he wishes to cause a more direct balance within the human realm, as while it already is a balance between light and dark, it is decidedly leaning toward the celestial realm. Is he seeking another war between the angels and demons? One that would lead the celestial realm out of it’s perpetual light? Or is this a more subtle thing. Does he simply wish to somehow magnify the mixing of the three realms? Like a super magnification of Diavolo’s plan of peace? Could it even be an attempt at rebalancing the harmony of the brother’s lives? To return the happiness and joy that was lost to them when Lillith died? The line talking about what MC in regards to the brothers gave me that thought. Are we there perhaps to prevent some past event from happening? (Like a ‘Back to the Future’ type of thing?) Whatever it is, MC and the brothers, are absolutely key.

This would beckon the question of ‘why?’ Who does this plan of happiness benefit? I mean, aside from ourselves. But what does it cost? That is what is to be revealed I suppose. Solomon obviously knows things and isn’t talking. For the first time, I truly find him suspicious, as opposed to mischievous. It’s fun, I suppose, to get to enjoy the domestic aspect of living with him currently… and seriously, I love this awkward aloof man. I’ll do a write up on that soon enough… but it’s safe to say from my personal perspective, that I’m very suspicious of his actions.

How intrigued are you guys about Barbatos? Why can we not go to him with the story of what is happening? If nothing else to explain where we are from and seek assistance in returning to our proper timeline? The red flags for why could be in the persistent insinuations that Barbatos may well indeed be Nightbringer. From the opening, which is clearly narrated by and talking about Barbatos, and the card which shows his scary wide smile over a set of scales while he plays with the puppet of a king… it’s hard to ask, but is Barbatos responsible for Diavolo’s father falling into his sleep? Is he now, or was he then, controlling the royal family, including Diavolo? Or could he also be connected to Nightbringer in a similar way to Solomon? I personally can’t see him controlling Diavolo in either instance… perhaps this story given in the intro is something which Barbatos did in the human realm at the behest of Nightbringer? …again, we’ll have to wait and see.

I wonder if the brothers can feel us in their past… like are they sitting there and suddenly remember they had an attendant named ‘MC’? Do they realize that it’s you? Do these new memories you’ve made pop up in their minds 3,500 years in the future? Is it distressing or comforting? I want to hug them all. Both past and present… -sigh- chances are that feeling isn’t going anywhere.

My sole ‘complaint’ if that’s what it can be called, is the appearance of Simeon and Luke. They aren’t exchange students yet, as RAD still doesn’t exist… but ‘poof’ here they are… way too early, and under no well defined explanation. (Or at least to me…) it seems a bit contrived. Like the devs had to keep them involved because they’re dateables, even if the story doesn’t support their appearance… I say that as if my angel husbando and my child are unwelcome… that isn’t the case, I just wish the events surrounding their sudden appearance made more sense. Maybe I just missed something in the story?

What does everyone think of the story and game this far? I, for one, keep flying through each chapter as soon as it is released, and wait anxiously for the next chapter. It’s quite compelling thus far… and I’m excited to see where it goes.

[icharchivist]

Ironically the Dragon Knights could also enjoy tabletop roleplaying games to varying degrees

I think Siegfried would try his best. It doesn't come naturally to him, but he makes an effort, even if he doesn't immediately understand the rules

Lancelot might actually get really into it

Vane is open for anything as long as everyone's having a good time. Also he brings snacks

Percy might complain a bit, but he can see the value in roleplaying since it allows you to consider other POVs

They just would struggle with creating a balanced party, but at least they won't constantly try to torpedo the DMs best efforts

oh god you're right.

Siegfried would be the one who stumble the most into it too because his definitions of "low efforts" would also be high effort for everyone else (re: how he can take down an army of 100 all by himself without cracking a sweat), so sometimes he ends up seeing he rolled low and he will say "so i'm taking on 50 people" and the DM has to explain to him that, this is, not how it works.

Lancelot and Vane would both be really into it. They probably grew up playing DND as kids as a training to be good knights, so they know all the obscure lore and details and also all the most obscure loophole you can imagine. If they're both players, they will come up with plans without even concerting one another taking the other's strength into account. Unstoppable unit.

Percival would be really against it at first until he sees it as an opportunity to explore scenarios and situations that he could have to tackle as a future king. But from that point on he becomes obsessed with the rules. Like he would read all of the books and really academically approach any situations. He'd be irritated by the way Siegfried never grasp them and the way Lancelot and Vane twist them around, but he knows instead he has to work around with them, not against them.

Vane could wrap up the Chickadee into playing because they'd love to share anything their captains would be playing. None of them really played DND before, so it's really about helping the kids through and not being too hard on them.

Arthur is constantly trying to solve things with kindness but ends up rolling low so everytime Mordred has to make sure his turns are made to protect Arthur from what he's done. He's constantly lecturing him somewhat. Tornelio has picked to be a healer and he's always so cautious about what he does, he never takes any risks. Cruz is mostly quiet and analytic and he doesn't take many initiative for himself except when he has to cover for Arthur or Mordred. And if Henry comes to join them he'd try to boast and make the most cracked background character but would constantly be rolling critical fails which embarasses him so much.

Aglovale could find it interesting, on the same wavelength as Percival, because it would be a way to analyse everyone's thoughtprocess into dire but fictional situations. In fact he might actually create problems on purpose to try to see how the group would try to approach those problems.

if Tor is playing as well, you have a very kind player who somehow comes up with the most convoluted plans everytime the DM put them into some trouble, and he seems like a reliable ally, if not for the fact that everytime Aglovale causes problems on purpose they share one look and you know that Tor is going to use his planning specifically to support his Lord and justify why his character would help Aglovale. And so now you have two manipulators causing warfare sabotaging the DnD group at once.

if Lamorak would get to play... on the angst side i'd see him play a healer if only because fantasy would make it possible, for once, that he can actually help someone with his magic. Only his siblings really understand the weight of that choice since he smiles through it all. Eventually everyone start to forget though because he also ends up causing problems on purpose, but unlike Aglovale who does that to test how people are going to get out of this one, Lamorak does it only for fun. Lamorak would also be the player who will add elements to the game only to see if it can help anyone around the table work through their trauma with their player character. The only one who sees through him is Dindrane and maybe Florence.

Speaking of Dindrane i think she wouldn't want to be involved nor play with anyone around this table, so she just is watching what Lamorak is doing while glaring daggers at everyone else. At best she'll """accidentally"" stumble on the table to force the dice to change where it landed to help out but that's it.

Gawain would refuse to participate to something this childish until Lamorak says that he's a coward and Gawain does everything to prove him wrong. He builds the ultimate self indulgent OP Tank character he can imagine. He also completely sucks at Roleplaying so it's really just his own Gawainsona. This is Gawain, his personality is whatever Gawain will reply when asked, and he's going to fuck you up. The only reason he doesn't yell that the dice doesn't count because he KNOWS he can take the enemies down is because Florence is hushering him on the side.

(if Bertilak joins the party he will do exactly the same but therefore with less violence, but Gawain would suddenly try to behave like a rolemodel for the kid and pretend that he never misbehaved while playing DnD. everyone is sighing at him).

Florence meanwhile would probably insist to DM i feel, because what interests her the most is creating scary situations to put her players through (like when she made the horror maze in her Halloween FE), and she's more interested with playing enemies of the party, wicked witches and stuff, which she can play better as DMPCs. As a DM also if she catches what Lamorak is doing about the trauma exploration, she will add to it because, let's be real, her cursing Gawain to have an armor that would slowly kill him unless he made good deeds, all while roleplaying as an evil witch, was her already being a DM to have him roleplay being a nice person for once before it backfire on their head.

....... i may have gotten a little carried away there but you catch my drift,

[kiss-my-freckle]

Why does Damon get hate for killing Aaron Whitmore even though he regretted it and broke up with Elena for it but Stefan doesn't get hate for killing Jonathan Gilbert and trying to kill Founding family members? Those were similar situations. Also when Elena read the Gilbert journal and found out about that he tried to manipulate her and keep her from understanding all sides of the situation cause dating her was more important than respecting her. Also when Elena no longer wanted to be with Stefan he treated her like she was morally inferior to him for a long time while Damon was more likely to see and treat her like she was too good for him. He also choked Elena's dad out even though John was scared when he saw them together and gave a reasonable response for not wanting to see them together. John was on oxygen and struggling to breathe, so Stefan doing that could've caused him to die had he not been wearing the ring. Plus he tried to force feed vampire blood so her dad could become a vampire. And he continued to threaten him after that. The fandom constantly brings up Damon's actions to make Stefan look better but I rarely see Damon stans bring up these actions of Stefan's. I didn't even remember or notice many of the horrible things Stefan did until I rewatched the show because it's rarely brought up in the fandom (even in the Delena fandom) and brushed off in the show.

Rose-colored glasses. Like saying his shit doesn't stink. Elena was warned plenty by both Alaric and Damon, and she still wouldn't accept it.

Stefan sells the Ripper as a monster of past, as if he no longer exists. But he exists so long as Stefan's a vampire. When Elena said it sounds like you were Damon, he should've said I "am" worse, not I "was" worse.

Stefan made it clear that he's worse than Damon, he's just not worse than Damon all the time. I consider them equals, they're just written differently. Stefan is the better vampire and Damon is the better man.

Stefan was screwed the moment Damon chose to better himself because 1864 Damon is untouchable. He IS the better man. If Damon were truly the better vampire, characters like Klaus and Cade would've preferred him.

[the-alconbury-chronicle]

Mythology in media

 Okay!

Obviously I have been struggling to think of something new to post for the past few days, but that ends now.

Various mythologies have been represented in media for as long as media has existed, and even before.

Plays like the Illiad and the Odyssey are fictional works based on the mythology of the people who created them. The main difference with those plays is of course the fact that the myths covered in them was still widely known and the religion attached to to it was still practised, unlike most mythologies today.

Certainly the most popular depictions of ancient mythology in modern media are Marvel's Thor movies. They take key figures from Norse mythology and put them into a modern day sci-fi type setting, often putting a modern spin on the old stories. In theory this is great, as it brings those older stories into the public eye. In practise however, it's more like taking the original stories and twisting them until they are almost unrecognizable. In Norse mythology, Thor is very much not a blond-haired blue-eyed supermodel who always puts the greater good before his own wants and needs. The real Thor is a violent, angry drunk, who tends to just start fights for an excuse to end them. I understand why Marvel might want to steer clear of an attitude like this for one of their main characters, but they still shouldn't have changed it so drastically. The real Loki is neither pure evil, comparable to certain depictions of the devil, or simply an angsty young adult with a penchant for mischief. Loki is a trickster, much like Odin. As a result, he tends to lie and manipulate to get what he wants. Loki is also responsible for fixing the mistakes of other gods, usually solving a problem that someone else created while being blamed for it himself. Gods are always morally grey, never truly good or evil. Loki, Thor, and Odin are all perfect examples of this fact, but it can be seen in cultures all around the world. However, I'm getting off topic.

Neil Gaiman's series American Gods does a good job of exploring the gods as they were more often depicted and thought of back when they were more actively worshipped. Odin (Mr.Wednesday) in this series does not exactly come across as a heroic figure, doing the right thing purely because it's right. He lies to and manipulates people to get what he wants. He's a con artist and a trickster, which is not uncommon in myths about him. Thor and Loki also appear in this series but...I haven't finished it yet, so I won't talk about their characterization here and now.

The Percy Jackson series, as poorly researched as it is at times, also does a reasonably good job of portraying the gods in a realistic way. In Percy Jackson, the Greek gods follow "Western civilization", whatever that means. In practise this means that they started out in Greece, migrated to Rome when they took over, and then followed rising civilizations all the way to the modern day United States of America, where they have remained for however long they've been there. The gods are obviously not depicted in a traditional way, but still a way that makes sense when you consider the context. The Percy Jackson series depicts the gods as being heavily influenced by their host civilization, and changing to fit it's culture. Ancient Greece is popularly depicted as being all about art, science, and philosophy, so the gods were as well. Rome is depicted as aggressive and warlike, so the Roman forms of the gods reflect that. The modern forms of the gods, though using their Greek names, are fundamentally American in their visual representation and attitudes. 

One problem with all three of these examples is how difficult it becomes to research the mythologies they pull from. You can't look up Loki and actually find any helpful information without scrolling through a dozen pages about Marvel. You can't hunt for information on a more obscure Greek god like Moros without spending twenty minutes on a "Fandom Amino" page before realizing it's not even canon! And you will especially have no luck finding good or accurate information on the gods or beliefs of a culture that isn't either: Greek, Roman, Norse, or Egyptian. Using mythology as inspiration for your fictional work is perfectly fine, and makes for some very compelling stories, but if you don't do it properly you run the risk of making it harder for people after you to write accurate stories themselves. It's important when writing anything with culturally significant stories at it's centre to remember that it's not pure fiction. It's somebody's culture, and it matters to someone.

If every individual thinks, "Somebody else will do their research, so I don't have to," then nobody will actually do it.

That's all for now,

Tyr

[mystaero]

Pro Bono: Lawyer v. The Law

A memoir written by Jericho Louis B. Jumawan

Ever since I was young, my mind was somehow shaped to hate law. Not the laws, law. Once, I heard about how lawyers are the most vile and sinful creatures to ever exist. Even as a kid, I asked to myself, “Why? They’re just only doing their job: to protect their clients.” A response eventually came, “That’s the point. They only defend people who are rich. Money can manipulate law easily.” As a kid, I thought to myself that that had a point. I often see lawyers on TV protecting criminals and syndicates, which made me realize I will never, once ever in my life, think of becoming a lawyer in the future. I had other plans: becoming a chef, computer expert, and whatnot.

Growing up, I see this weird portrayals of lawyers in Philippine television. A lawyer (portrayed by an extra) that does anything their “evil” client says, then the protagonist of the said series will outsmart them and win the scene. Case closed. I thought of it boring as I never saw an actual portrayal of a lawyer in action. I developed no interest with it. That just added to the few reasons why I hate law and lawyers.

Years passed and that ideology remained in my mind. Law is evil and nothing can convince me otherwise. My cousin who was staying with us, just few months older than me, was asked by my parents what course she would take in college. She responded, “Something related with law.” I was a teen, just barely hit as one, and I am still holding onto the belief that I knew law was not a simple field to meddle with. I tried to convince her not to pursue that career since it’s complicated and will get her in plenty of troubles. I was set into believing that people who actually wanted to pursue law are people who wishes to watch the world burn while they enjoy the privilege they have.

Eventually, things change but so do people’s perspective to everything. I was part of those people whose eyes were opened. Slowly, as I began to age, I also began to see matters I never knew existed. I began to see colors of black and white, then eventually presented a choice: which path do I choose? Do I choose the black, the one favoring the oppressor, even though I do matter that conflict myself and harm other people, at the very least I have protection? Do I choose the white, the one oppressed, scarce of power, struggling to climb up the ladders and fight those who trample us?

Not only my eyes were opened, but also my spirit. That’s when I saw various activism, protests, rights, and battles being fought. I heard the other side as well, that these actions are more harmful than helpful to the people involved. I hated law even more. I hated the fact that it divides the people only willing to fight and be free with and from themselves. It was more than chaos it brings, it’s destruction. Total and absolute destruction. It will cause friends, families, and loved ones to turn from each other and that’s when I realized that it wasn’t the law’s fault, it’s the truth.

It’s the truth that divides these people. It’s the truth needed to be heard. It’s the truth that some are so afraid to speak of that they will remain silent just so they can benefit from the false. It’s the truth that some are willing to die for so others may live because of their sacrifices. It’s the truth that separates black from white, but also the one that will unite them if people were only smart enough. It’s the gray.

My eyes have been opened and for the foreseeable future, I don’t see them closing. It confused me for a while, but I managed to keep my head straight to what is right and what is supposed to be—no matter how other people’s views on things may affect me. If the choices presented to me before were the colors black and white, now it’s different. Will I do something about the injustice that I see or remain silent?

It wasn’t even long until I arrived at a conclusion: yes. Yes, I want to do something about it. I somehow felt guilty for realizing it too late. That all these years, the manifestations of law and the things I hate around me is what the world has been telling me. The world is scarred and it will remain to be one unless we act upon it. It will not be easy. It will be painful, agonizing, and torturing, but that is only a few of the risks people must take so we can reshape this world into a better one that we remember it as of now. It will be difficult and we will struggle, but that’s the point of progress.

I have decided to pursue law. I will be taking psychology as my pre-law major and I will be one of the very few many that wants to change how the world spins. Being a part of my current academic strand, Humanities and Social Sciences, is a start, there’s still a lot more. If I want a change, then I will be part of the change. I must be a part of that system in order to change that system into something better, something to be proud of.

[the-lone-witch-and-secret-room]

Camila Noceda and Flawed Parenting

A perspective by a flawed person with loving but extremely flawed parents

I’m genuinely baffled at some people’s hostile reaction towards Camila. Like… do any of you have flawless parents that always know the best solution instantly, make no mistakes and never get emotional?

My parents are great. They’re super supportive and I love them very, very much. Overall I think I got very lucky in the parents department.

But god, they are far from flawless. I still live at home, and despite all the good, there’s moments when I can’t take my dad anymore. He’s the kind of dad that stayed up until two am to help me with homework when I was in school, and he does so, so many things to make sure I’m happy. I know that. But despite all of this, I have told my mom in emotional moments before that I’m not sure if I can keep living with him, because for all his good sides, he has a couple of fatal flaws that sometimes make him unbearable.

My mom listens to me and is very open to being educated on certain topics, but she has her flaws, too. She hates when I fight with my dad, and gets so torn up about it that I’ve once apologized to my dad out of fear of her getting into a car crash otherwise. She’s very vocal about certain flaws of mine, and sometimes uses the things she does for me as leverage against me when she gets very emotional.

And both of my parents pay a lot more attention to my brother because he needs it more, because he’s more of a “problem child” while I “seem so capable” even when I’m not.

And guess what? I’m not a perfect child. I make mistakes sometimes, some of them pretty severe. Just like Luz, I’m the kind of person that struggles to communicate certain issues of mine to her parents. I’m stubborn, and when I get emotional, I say very hurtful things sometimes. So do they.

And this has nothing to do with my parents being horrible or abusive. They’re neither of those things.

The takeaway from this should not be that my entire family is made up of terrible people, but that we’re all flawed in our own ways, despite loving each other and trying our best. There’s things about my parents I wish I could change, and there are things about me that my parents wish they could change. And to an extent, that’s perfectly normal.

In our strengths and flaws and frustration with each other, we’re all human.

Specific, spoiler-y Camila and Luz things under the cut since this got very long.

We have no indication that Camila has a pattern of emotionally manipulating Luz. Her “emotional manipulation” as I’ve seen some people put it, is people for some reason thinking that the second you become an adult, you’re suddenly perfect and can no longer make mistakes, lest you’ll be dubbed horrible and abusive.

The whole concept is absurd to me. There is no perfect way to parent. There simply isn’t. Of course, there’s some genuinely abusive patterns that are horrible and inexcusable. But out of the parenting styles that aren’t, which one works depends on a number of factors, one of which absolutely includes that every child is different and has different needs. Camila is an amazing parent for Vee, giving the kid everything she’s ever longed for. She’s not an ideal parent for Luz. And that’s because Luz and Vee have fundamentally different needs.

Likewise, Luz is a pretty great child for Eda, but not a perfect fit for Camila. Luz relates to Eda a lot more than she relates to her mom, and that’s why the two of them have an easier time understanding each other. Both of these mother-child relationships exist, and one is not more doomed to fail than the other, but I think you’ll agree that the better you understand someone and where they’re coming from, the easier it is to communicate, pick up on certain signs, etc.

As mom and daughter, Camila and Luz are both flawed and have issues seeing the other’s perspective because of how different they are. And we should simultaneously acknowledge both of their roles in the issue and give both of them the space to learn and grow past those issues.

Luz struggles to communicate her problems. She doesn’t want to burden people in the demon realm, and it’s a given that this started out as not wanting to burden her mom. So she keeps quiet about her issues. Camila tries hard but can’t read her daughter’s mind, so there’s only so much she can do to understand and help the way Luz needs her to. Hell, Eda, who Luz is a lot more open with than her mom, struggles to help her, because Luz doesn’t tell her what’s wrong. I don’t see anyone calling Eda a terrible mom for that.

Camila tries her best, but she struggles to understand her daughter because of this, and because of how fundamentally different they are. She loves Luz’s creativity, we actively see her supporting it in the new episode—she keeps the weird stuff Luz made because she thinks Luz will regret throwing it away, and even plays along in what she assumes to be some elaborate role play because “she’s glad Luz kept her creativity even though it’s not made things easy for her at school”. But at the beginning of the show, said creativity got out of hand and people got hurt. Luz could’ve gotten hurt. So of course Camila had to interfere. I love Luz dearly, but she thought it was okay to bring snakes to school and set off fireworks inside a school building. Creativity is great. Doing reckless stuff that causes people to get hurt is not.

In sending Luz to camp, Camila tried to have someone else fix her issue because she didn’t know how to help Luz. That was a mistake, and a bad one at that, but she’s realizing that. She looks disheartened when Vee tries to throw out Luz’s stuff, because she never meant to change her daughter or take that part of her away. She just thought Luz needed a reality check—which, for the record, is something the narrative actually agrees with.

Luz spends her time in the demon realm getting reality check after reality check, realizing that even her ideal fantasy world where she has everything she always wanted doesn’t mean she’s free of consequences. She goes overboard constantly, causing:

-Eda to be forced to fly into a trap because Luz is chasing a fantasy (Witches before Wizards)

-Eda to almost be branded by her sister because Luz doesn’t think through why Eda doesn’t use magic to publicly announce her presence constantly (Once Upon a Swap)

-Eda and the twins to get kidnapped by a Slitherbeast because Luz stole Amity’s wand (Adventures in the Elements)

-Her friends to get hurt when she goes overboard trying to help Willow (Wing it like Witches)

-Eda to be captured and almost petrified because Luz thought she could just steal from the Emperor with no consequences in an attempt to help (Agony of a Witch)

I’m like 90% sure these aren’t even all. None of those make her a terrible person, for the record, but as all humans are, she is flawed and makes bad choices. She learns from these experiences and matures, just like her mom had hoped she would at camp. She’s also made friends there, which was another thing Camila wanted for her daughter.

You’ll probably realize that a lot of Luz’s behaviors I mentioned follow one of two patterns: 1. Luz’s idealized fantasy world causing problems, when she walks around with rose tinted glasses and gets people in trouble in the process because she hasn’t thought about the consequences, and 2. Luz trying to help someone she loves, but instead making things worse in the progress. The issue with this one is often that she doesn’t communicate her ideas/listen to the people she’s trying to help—like when Willow and Gus said they’ve had enough of Grudgby, or how she never actually talks to Eda about the healing hat idea before doing something reckless.

…does the latter one sound familiar to you at all? No? Because it’s the exact same thing that Camila did.

Some of the things Luz does are reckless and actively endanger others and herself, and that’s something that I think we need to acknowledge before judging Camila. As Luz’s mom, it’s Camila’s job to interfere in those situations. That she made a mistake while trying to protect Luz doesn’t make her a terrible person, especially as, again, the narrative proves her right to an extent.

I’m not saying her making Luz promise to come back and stay isn’t something that hurt Luz—it absolutely is. But it was born out of desperation. She’s emotional and in shock. She’s so full of pain and regret. She just wants her fourteen year old daughter home safe, and there’s nothing abusive or even morally ambiguous about that.

From Luz’s perspective, what she says is absolutely heartbreaking, but from Camila’s, it’s perfectly reasonable. I doubt Camila has the full picture, but even if she does, she’s had a full fifteen seconds to process that her daughter has not only been lying to her for months, but chose to leave her, and is in the demon realm of all places. Of course she’d be emotional and upset about that! Who wouldn’t? Camila isn’t a robot. If she’d been calm about this I’d be way more concerned, honestly.

My parents don’t get mad that easily, but if I would lie to them for weeks on end, they’d be pissed off too, not even taking the running away from home part into account. That’s a normal thing. People don’t like being lied to. Camila is absolutely devastated in that moment because she’s scared that Luz left because she hates her, when Luz actively states that her leaving wasn’t about her mom—which is another thing we should really be acknowledging.

Abusive parents suck and abuse should obviously never be apologized or trivialized, but saying something hurtful in the heat of the moment isn’t the same thing as being an abusive parent. My parents have done this. I’ve done this. And yes, those things can be emotionally manipulative, but there’s a huge difference in whether that’s a habit or a person speaking out of hurt and desperation in a very specific context. I doubt there’s anyone on the entire planet that hasn’t had a bad moment where they’ve said something like this because they were hurting. People lash out when they hurt, and they beg for reassurance when they’re scared. That’s something we all do.

The whole mindset of “all parents have to be perfect and can never get upset or make any mistakes” is harmful as hell, and honestly also very unrealistic. No parent is perfect, and especially people like me who have a relationship with their parents that’s very good overall should know that.

Once you have a child, parenting is a non-stop learning process, every day for the rest of your life. Taking away that room to grow and expecting perfection isn’t helping anyone, especially not struggling single parents.

And I see Camila as someone who is very willing to learn, because at the end of the day, all she wants is for Luz to be happy. Let’s give her some time to wrap her head around this whole situation. Let’s see what she says once she sees for herself how happy Luz is in that world, may it be via the videos eventually coming through or Camila visiting and meeting Luz’s found family, her friends and her girlfriend.

Ultimately, I don’t think Camila will force Luz to stay at home, but we have to give her some time. She wants what’s best for Luz, and she’s gonna need some convincing that a dangerous magical world is what’s best. I feel like that’s very normal considering the circumstances.

Her and Luz need to work on their communication on both ends, they both have things to learn, but I’m certain they’ll manage to fix their relationship in the long run.

If the bunk bed is any indication, I think Vee is gonna stay in the human realm permanently while Luz sleeps at home but keeps attending Hexside in the daytime. That feels like a solution that keeps everyone happy, and allows Luz to spend time with all the people she loves. I can’t see her being forced to choose at the end.

As a closing statement: Eda isn’t an ideal mom, Amity isn’t an ideal friend or girlfriend and neither is Luz, Lilith isn’t an ideal sister… but that’s because no one is ever an ideal anything. Being flawed is a big part of being human. Everyone has different facets to their personality. Their flaws are what makes them such great, relatable, believable characters.

And I feel the same way about Camila. She’s an extremely believable character that reminds me of my own parents, flawed but very loving nonetheless.

(Also honestly, I think it’s pretty telling that some of you guys immediately bash the black single mom that’s obviously trying her hardest while giving the benefit of the doubt to Alador, who has been portrayed as neglecting and threatened his six year old daughter on screen. This was already a thing before we knew much about either of them, and I’m disappointed but unfortunately not very surprised that it still is.)

[thirstyforlulu]

Yandere Hellsing x Reader HCs? Including Millennium

Integra:

She’s a very possessive yandere

With her money and power, she has the means to get her hands on you

She’s good at playing cool, you won’t catch on for a while

Sure you notice that she never sends you on missions and that she’s always having you work near her office, but that’s just her being a good friend

When she decides to approach you romantically, she’s very forward

Around you she’s a touch starved animal, unlike her usual put together appearance

If you deny her feelings or try to run, get ready because she’s not giving up that easily

She’ll pull whatever strings she has to in order to find you

She’ll spend thousands bribing people or tracking you

Once she knows where you are, she’ll send Alucard to collect you

When she has you she’s very loving

She’ll want to constantly be touching you in some way

Usually that means sitting beside her while she works at her desk

As long as you’re good, she’ll let you wander the entirety of the manor

Since you tried to run she’s added all sorts of security measures so you can’t get out

Act up though and she will chain you to the wall in her office

“Y/N, your behavior has been deplorable lately and needs correcting.

Don’t give me those sad eyes, this is all your fault.”

Walter:

He’s a sneaky yandere

Very observant, he’ll learn your patterns and preferences

At the start he’ll leave you gifts like your favorite food or pretty flowers

He uses it as an excuse to get closer to you

He’s always offering to do favors for you, secretly lowering your defenses around him

He’s not the type to take anything from you but he will take the time to appreciate them

If you let him clean your room he’ll likely pause to sniff some clothes

You notice how much he knows about you but you just think he’s very observant

You don’t realize it’s due to his obsession

He’s the type to take more precautions

If you deny his advances he’ll lock you up somewhere, probably his room

He’ll get chains and a cage if necessary

If you really act up, he’ll lock you in the basement

The way you cling to him in fear after spending all night in the dark is addictive

His wires are always nearby

If you try to run you’ll only get a few steps out the door before the wires wrap you up and pull you back

He does his best not to hurt you, but if you struggle too much, a few cuts are inevitable

Seras:

She’s a very clingy yandere

She’ll want you on every mission she goes on

When you have free time she’ll take you out into the area nearby for some quality time

If you ever push her away, she gets angry

She’ll pout like a child then force her way into whatever it is you’re doing

At the time, she’ll act like it’s just a coincidence and you might even believe her

You’re not getting rid of her so easily

She’s also a very sweet yandere

If she feels she’s hurt your feelings she’ll go out of her way to get you presents or treat you nicely

Until you say you forgive her, she won’t stop pampering you

No one else is allowed near you, not even Integra

She’ll make excuses and do whatever it takes to keep you to herself

She would never kidnap you or lock you up because she hates to see you sad, but her “loving” behavior will be a trap in itself

Don’t forget that despite how cute she is, she’s still a powerful monster that can and will do what it takes to keep you

If that means making you one of her familiars then so be it

Alucard:

He’s a terrifying yandere

He can control you and the people around you, holding you captive

You’re not a stupid person, you know how easily he could end your life, so you tend to let it all happen

On the plus side, he’s very passionate and often brings you gifts

He’s such a smooth talker you’ll end up forgetting the terrifying threats he’s made in the past

Anyone who flirts with you will mysteriously disappear

Anyone who hurts you will turn up days later torn to shreds in a ditch

He would never do anything to hurt you, but that doesn’t stop him from making threats

“I could tear you apart just like that man from last week. I would love to hear your moans of anguish, but I’d prefer moans of pleasure.”

When you act out he manhandles you

He’ll press you against a wall and bite your neck to remind you of your place

He enjoys when you become complicit, but he likes when you’re occasionally act out

It gives him an excuse to punish you, which he always loves

After that, you’ll think twice before disobeying him

Millenium:

Jan:

Bro this man is already wild

When he sets his sights on you it’s go time

He won’t let anyone else near you or get to know you, not even his brother

He’ll threaten people, meeting them after work for overstepping their boundaries

He’s very touchy, like he’s trying to leave his scent all over you

Out in public, he’ll hang on you, showing others that you’re already taken

He’ll growl at people that look at you too long when passing by

He flicks a lot of people off, all the time but more so when he’s around you

He’s paranoid and doesn’t like anyone else around you, even friends

Clearly he’s a fan of body modification so if he can convince you he’ll want to get some kind of matching piercing/tattoo

If you get it, he’ll pay special attention to it any time you cuddle, running his fingers over it countless times

He can be very intense so he might yell at you, but when he sees the hurt look in your eyes he backs off

In his own weird way, he loves you and doesn’t want to see you hurting

But if he has to hurt you to keep you then so be it

Luke:

He’s not as subtle as he thinks he is

He tries to play it cool, but if someone tries to touch you he will blatantly smack their hand away

Always has an excuse to be around you and if he doesn’t, he’ll find one

He’s not as touchy as Jan, but he does like to hold your hand

You’ll feel his pinky brush against you before his hand completely envelops yours

His grip tightens when he sees you looking at others

Your attention is something he so desperately craves

He gives you every moment of his time and he wants you to do the same

If you’re ever in danger he’s there before anyone else even knows

It helps that he was already watching you

Be ready to compensate him

At first he’s just worried about you, but then once he knows you’re alright, he’ll start making demands

“You owe me for coming to your rescue dear. Or would you like me to toss you back? Maybe then you’ll beg me in such a cute way.”

Rip:

She does not care what other people think

She’ll ruin relationships to get closer to you

She’ll endanger her own job if it keeps you two apart

Doing favors is how she gets closer to you

Anytime you need something she’s there and ready to go

She’d leave in the middle of a mission if she hears you need help

Anyone causing you problems will be slaughtered and presented to you as a gift

“See y/n, I took off their heads just for you.”

She can get very aggressive especially if she thinks you’re denying her advances

She won’t hurt you, beyond a little pinch or so, but she’ll make threats

She’s very sadistic and would be willing to lock you up

Having you as a pet is actually an attractive idea to her

She’ll take good care of you wherever you’re locked up, but she won’t allow many freedoms

“Look at my pretty pet. How lucky am I.”

The Captain:

He’s like a pet, always following you around

He’ll growl at people he doesn’t like around you

His arms are always around you, keeping you close

No one else is allowed to tend to you after missions

When he’s patching you up, he’ll run his hands along your arms and legs, lovingly caressing your limbs

He’ll use that as an excuse to stay around you

Popping in to “check on you” at all hours

You won’t even know he’s come in until he’s sitting on the edge of your bed

He’s the type the would sit there for a moment watching you breathe

If he can, he’ll try to get you to be his assistant

If he can convince the higher ups that he needs one, he’ll do whatever he can

Then he’ll be around you even when he works and will be able to protect you

No one on the battlefield will be able to even get close to you

He’ll ignore his own tasks to protect you

He’s extremely loyal and obsessive

The Doctor

Oh man it is terrifying when he has his eye on someone

He views it like just another experiment, wanting to test and push you

He’ll have you coming to him for “examinations” all the time

He’d likely put a bug on you

Suddenly he knows things you don’t remember telling him, but you can’t prove anything

People you like start disappearing, people you had no idea he knew about

If he suspects you’re starting to catch on and trying to get away, he’ll start drugging you

Then you’ll have to come to him if you’re going to get better

While he’s treating you, he’ll trick you mentally manipulating you to grow closer to him

You’re going to think so highly of him, forgetting all the red flags you’d seen before

He is absolutely a gas lighter but he’s damn good at it

Even if you have experience with this stuff you won’t pick up on it

It’s a game of cat and mouse with him

The Major

He is not subtle and does not care

Your needs or emotions don’t matter to him

If you don’t respond well to his advances he will make terrible threats

If that doesn’t work he’ll take it a step further, allowing the ghouls to get close to taking a bite out of you

Torture is the next step

He doesn’t care about your mood, he has to have you

“Y/N, why do you fight so hard when you know I’m just going to hurt you again?”

He’ll want to do most of it by hand, but if he needs to he will get the others involved

“Would you like me to make a spectacle out of you? I think the others would enjoy that.”

Behave and he won’t hurt you

If he gets mad enough he’ll remove your arms and legs

You’ll become his good little doll, always on display for him

Like a bird in a cage, you’re his favorite display item