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svynakee · 1 month

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Zuo Le: a naïve newbie overly concerned with the rulebook

As someone who played Arknights Global since server launch and a day one Hellagur user, my first impressions of Zuo Le comes with a strange nostalgia for Arknights as it was 4 years ago, when his subclass was first added to the game. Zuo Le is undoubtedly the strongest Soloblade Guard (which I still call Musha in my heart) we have. He’s the Degenbrecher, Reed the Flame Shadow, Mountain of his subclass.

And in terms of power level, he’s mid.

Hellagur was the first 6 star Soloblade added to the game in April 2020 (Global server). As an old veteran of Ursus, a militaristic nation, who has grown disillusioned of his country’s patriotic attitudes the identity of a strong, self-sufficient DPS geared at dealing with elite enemies fit him well. He wanted to stand alone, dealing with dangerous foes before they reached the main defensive line of operators, refusing healing so medics could focus on other squad members. His kit provided dodging and an attack speed increase as his health dropped lower. He was made for desperate victories and impossible odds, relying on only his own skills and a bit of luck. An old soldier, no stranger to war. Block-1 would prevent him from getting overwhelmed with multiple strong enemies, while his high damage would carve through lesser foes easily; a mark of his experience and understanding of his own limits. Hellagur was elegant in his design and exciting to use, providing an alternative to boss killers like dreadnoughts (Melantha, Skadi) and burst-type (Silverash, Eyjafjalla).

But in a game where you can only bring 12+1 operators he demanded more attention and strategic thinking than easier options who performed the same tasks. Some players found this a bonus. But it was a detriment in terms of meta. The paradox of a laneholder who advertised self-sufficiency by self-healing, but relied on RNG dodge, a steady stream of enemies of a certain strength, leaked large groups of enemies due to Block-1 and needed proper skill activation for survival. And ranged enemies were his bane, chipping away at his health if they did more than 60 HP damage per hit.

I used Hellagur. I raised him to level 90. I used him in Contingency Contracts, events, to clear new main story maps.

But bosses got harder. Enemies got faster. Elemental damage became more common; Wandering Medics could solve this issue for most operators, but not the unhealable Soloblades. And Hellagur entered retirement for the second time in his long life. New Soloblades (still called Musha) were added. None were 6 star, and the only one to make waves was Utage, whose S2 provided Arts damage burst and encouraged her use as a nuker: a mini-Surtr of 4* rarity.

Four years after Hellagur, Zuo Le made his debut. His design followed the Soloblade traditions while adding modern upgrades, a revitalisation of old ideas. He is the first Soloblade to make use of Barriers, a mechanic that had been present in the game since launch and present on other unhealable characters like Hummus (Reaper) and Penance (Juggernaut). With the Soloblade’s identity based around their attack speed increase at low HP, the idea of replacing HP while increasing survivability is so obvious that it’s frankly criminal that it took four years to implement. His +1 Block skill (S2) at lvl 7 costs 24 SP, unlike Hellagur’s (S3) which costs 41. His range-extension skill (S3) is one tile further than Hellagur’s (S3) with a much lower 28 SP cost. He not only increases attack speed at low health, but SP regeneration as well, making his already cheap skills easily spammable ensuring his DPS and survivability remain high no matter the conditions. He is the shining future of Soloblades, in an era where their niche is threatened by ever-stronger Dreadnoughts, Juggernauts, Reapers and Duelists (but not really Duelists). Zuo Le easily stands ahead of every Soloblade in the game. He is the champion to bring back the glory of Hellagur’s debut, addressing every flaw in the Soloblade’s design while piling on the damage to catch up to 2024 Arknight’s premium DPS.

But Zuo Le made a miscalculation: you see, the other subclasses have been cheating.

Mountain is a Brawler Guard, a low DP cost Block-1 subclass meant to deal with weak enemies at the start of a map. He blocks 2 and heals himself. Reed the Flame Shadow is an AOE Caster masquerading as an Incantation Medic to keep her DP cost low. Degebrecher’s S3 is auto recharge, with a Swordmaster Guard’s massive range and damage, with a unique debuff that disables enemy normal attacks. Mlynar sneaks in some true damage while in his mandatory idle phase as a Liberator Guard, using his taunt and reflect passive. In 2024, operators are expected to do more than their job description. Zuo Le stuck to the rules.

Zuo Le is the most Soloblade a Soloblade has ever Solobladed. And he shall remain so, at least for the next 6 months. He’s an extremely strong DPS and laneholder. Unfortunately, that’s not enough anymore.

Zuo Le’s main weaknesses are the same as other Soloblades: he is susceptible to ranged attacks that he can’t retaliate against, elemental damage can wear him down when there are no enemies, and Block-1 leaks large waves. I find myself using him in IS standing in front of a low rarity and low DPS defenders like Spot and Cuora, charging up his skills to clear out the enemies she gathers up. His S3 range is good for providing support to other lanes when placed horizontally; Blaze and Thorns users will be familiar with this strategy. He performs well enough.

But for a casual player, I think his performance will feel worse than other 6 star laneholders. He’ll leak a slug because his S2 didn’t charge in time, die to necrosis damage, get frozen and fail to recover his HP before getting bonked…and when you stare at your squad wondering what to tweak to get that perfect clear, Zuo Le will start looking like the guy to replace. I think Soloblades and other Block-1 elite killer types (Skadi, Viviana, Hoederer) have a tendency to feel worse when they underperform compared to other operators. Zuo Le isn’t a weak operator, but among strong operators he will feel worse to play.

The first Soloblade character was a veteran of bygone wars, tired of fighting but reluctantly joining the battle to spare others the suffering he knew too well. In a way the Soloblade subclass echoes Hellagur himself, feeling like they were made for an older style of combat that Arknights has since moved on from. In a time when many DPS bring other utility to the table, and the utility classes bring considerable DPS, Zuo Le honours the Musha’s legacy perhaps a bit too much for his own good.

#fish's rhodes island performance review #arknights #maybe i'll do more of these on other operators idk

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the-unrelated-theorist · 2 years

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...but nobody came.

Man. So many characters in these games have major abandonment issues.

Flowey with "nobody came", which the Echo Flower dialogue confirms is him speaking from experience, feeling like Toriel forgot all about him, or worse, was glad to be rid of him.

Spade King saying the Lightners left the Darkners behind and forgot all about them.

Jevil being locked up and having no one to play with.

Spamton saying he was left to rot at the bottom of a dumpster.

Susie telling Kris in the "New Girl" post that someday someone would take Kris away and Toriel would forget all about them, or even be glad to be rid of them. Susie is definitely transferring her experiences onto Kris.

We don't know what Kris said to Susie in "New Girl", but one theory is "I know," or "Good." While this is only a fan theory (and one I don't agree with), it is worth noting that "...but nobody came" also appears in Snowgrave Spamton Neo whenever Kris calls for help.

Gaster was lost in the void, shattered across space and time. And now no one remembers him, except for his followers, who can't even speak about him directly without fear. (I'm including Jevil and Spamton as Gaster followers- they certainly came in contact with him.) This is just my own headcanon, but I often imagine Gaster waking up in the void, and his first thoughts being, "Where am I? It's so dark, and so cold," screaming, crying, begging for help... but nobody came.

For each of these characters, even if the exact dialogue isn't used, they all have an aura about them of "...but nobody came." All of them have at some point felt alone, trapped, and helpless, and nobody came to their rescue. Granted, this hasn't been positively confirmed for Susie, but given that she almost quotes Flowey when she screams at Kris, it's easy to deduce that she also had a "...but nobody came" time in her life.

And so many other characters face rejection or abandonment, as well. Toriel divorced Asgore in both timelines, leaving him desperate to see his children and his wife again. Shyren lost her voice when Shyra fell down. Maddie and Mettaton both ran off to fuse with their own bodies, leaving Napstablook alone. No one can remember Ruins Dummy's name. Mettaton was Alphys' friend until he became a big... heh, sorry, I almost said "big shot" (fitting, tho, isn't it?). So Alphys felt abandoned until she met Undyne... and then if you kill Undyne, Alphys disappears, apparently having committed suicide. Snowy left home because his mother fell down and his father hated his jokes, so Snowy felt abandoned. Ralsei is described as "the lonely prince." All of the Darkners feel abandoned by the Lightners. Queen divorced Spade King because he neglected her. Spade King pushes Lancer away- or, possibly, outright abuses him- so Lancer calls Rouxls his "Lesser Dad," even though Rouxls largely pushes him away, as well. Papyrus...

Papyrus...

"Forgettable." Still striving for a double-digit follower count on Undernet. Can't get into the Royal Guard. Works himself to the bone but can't get any recognition, much less a friend. May have "left home due to happiness." And most important, has a brother who is willing to avenge his death.

Everyone loves Papyrus. Everyone knows his name. More people talk about Papyrus than about his brother. holidaygirl1225 is asking everyone if they know how to find his egg again. Undyne is Papyrus' best friend. Alphys thinks his posts on Undernet are hilarious. The biggest differences in the ending for neutral runs fixate on whether you spared him or killed him. He even becomes king if he's the only one left alive. Why does Chara call him "Forgettable"? Why does he not think he has any friends? It's honestly a bit like Susie saying, "Why would anybody really wanna be my friend, anyway?" Except that he never lets himself say exactly that- but his whole attitude of "I can't make any friends, I have to work hard for people to like me" says it all.

It's like he does have an abandonment issue, but he's not giving in to it. Did he... Was he... was sans the only one who ever came when he called? Is that why these two are inseparable?

Much as I would like to leave this essay on this dramatic note about everyone's favorite skeleton, I also want to mention Dess. Most people believe that Dess is the one singing, "Don't forget, I'm with you in the dark." This feels like the exact opposite of "...but nobody came." How is she holding onto hope? Even though a lot of people miss her, nobody's looking for her anymore. They've all moved on. All except... her sister. Can Dess see Noelle searching for her? Who exactly is with Dess in the dark, anyway? The player, I presume, but could it be someone else?

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thewhitefluffyhat · 2 years

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Ianthe’s Makeover Through a Femme!Harrow Lens

“This seems like a good week to post about how I relate to Harrow as a fellow androgynous-femme,” I say, taking cover behind an industrial strength blast shield. (Joking, joking.)

But in all seriousness, this post has been in my drafts for a while. I’d seen the makeover scene in HtN described as “confusing” when it comes to Harrow’s gender, and I honestly thought it was too on first read.

So I wanted to take a closer look!

Spoilers: I don’t think it’s as simple as Harrow being uncomfortable with wearing dresses in the abstract.

Rather, the main aspect that stood out to me as making Harrow curl up like a shivering wet cat is the loss of control and the sexual haze permeating the whole affair. And I really do want to underline the latter aspect, because even before Dios apate Minor enters the picture, Ianthe herself repeatedly frames what she’s doing in terms of making Harrow more sexually desirable. More fuckable, if you will:

"God, what's this? That's a bit risqué-" You grew desperate. "Let me pick." Harrow the Ninth, p264

"Not even one of the Emperor's fists and gestures could give Harrowhark Nonagesimus a sexy makeover. Sometimes I think you look like a twig's funeral. In the right light, though-" Harrow the Ninth, p264

"You look just good enough that I'm proud of my handiwork, but not so good that I'll be consumed with lust and ravish you over the nut bowl," she said. "I walked a fine line, and I walked it admirably." Harrow the Ninth, p266

But Ianthe also emphasizes: not too fuckable, Harrow shouldn’t misunderstand and become confident in her body, because Harrow is such a pitiful charity case that the only beauty she can ever hope to attain will be scraps distributed at Ianthe’s mercy. She’s… she’s literally doing the High School Mean Girl schtick of “I’ll help you look pretty as a favor, but don’t you dare challenge my place in the pretty pecking order.”

Which, to be honest, probably says a lot more more about Ianthe and Coronabeth and their issues than anything about Harrow! Like, tell me more, Ianthe, how do you feel about constantly being described as the lesser twin to your face? I’m sure that’s never hurt you and you’re not projecting here at all, haha.

But regardless of its effectiveness, to me this strategy reads as an attempt at a very femme-vs-femme power play. You want to talk about gatekeeping femme identity? Surprise surprise, so does Ms. Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss!

As a result, Harrow, being a delightfully contrarian and passive-aggressive little shit even in the depths of having her agency denied, protests this in whatever small ways she can still find:

As an act of meaningless rebellion, you applied the sacramental skull of the Priestess Crushed Beneath the New-Laid Rock, the least beautiful skull in the canon. Harrow the Ninth, p266

“Fuck you and fuck trying to win your rigged game I didn’t even want to play,” essentially.

But note that Harrow doesn't wear a masculine-coded skull to protest Ianthe’s dress. (Are there gendered skulls in the canon? Muir could easily have made one up here, or had Harrow wear a pattern normally used by her father, Crux, or Ortus.) It’s not being seen as feminine or femme that she’s objecting to. Instead, Harrow goes for the ugliest skull, the “I don’t want to be perceived as desirable from any perspective” option.

And this actually reads very true to my own experiences! I’m somewhere between an androgynous and a non-mainstream feminine presentation myself, and I’ve had basically this exact same fight over what to wear at a social event. Right down to finding subtle ways to make myself less attractive to subvert the other person's attempt to control my appearance. Better something ugly that I chose myself than something playing by the rules that femme = signing up to be judged on the fuckability scale.

(Not, to be clear, that there’s anything wrong with pursuing or enjoying sexual attractiveness! Just that being forced into it feels really awful.)

Now, the topic of what does and doesn’t count as femme is… fraught and basically impossible to definitively nail down. But presenting as femme and/or feminine as part of one’s queerness often involves being in dialogue with other forms of femininity, picking and choosing which aspects to keep and which to reject. I’ve seen lipstick lesbians talk about their over the top makeup as a way to mark themselves as different from the heterosexual “natural look” norm. I myself love the gothic lolita look, because I like the idea of being seen as “feminine” in a transgressive way, but also potentially in a way that strikes other people as less sexual. (Though the nuances of lolita fashion could be a whole other discussion…)

Harrow’s presentation preferences aren’t quite the same as mine (she does not enjoy being seen as smaller or more childish), but she seems to share the desire for her unusual femme aesthetic to implicitly deflect from sexual interest rather than attracting it. She’s using her religion as a socially acceptable shield against Ianthe’s advances. Because given Ianthe’s reactions to the subject, flirting with a nun seems to be at least a little as taboo in TLT as it does in our world:

You simply said, “I have always slept alone.” “You don’t say.” You heard the primness in your voice when you said, “I am betrothed to the Locked Tomb, Tridentarius. I slept on a cot in my cell.” “I always forget you were an honest-to-God nun...” Harrow the Ninth, p260

Ianthe is an asshole who ignores Do Not Touch signals, but I think Harrow’s desperate clinging to her nun robes is, in part, another assertion of this implicit boundary. So I read the makeover scene as Harrow having an allergic reaction to being sexualized and objectified against her will (and to the entire idea that correctly performing as femme requires one to aspire to such), rather than disliking being perceived as femme or even feminine in general.

A second layer to this scene is the slimy cultural aspect to what Ianthe does. If the paint and full-body coverings are the Ninth's version of proper female attire, then Ianthe is forcing Harrow to perform to a very Third ideal instead:

“Will you take off that grotesque skeleton corset?” “No.” “What about your face paint?” “No.” “I do not know why I ask these questions,” she said. Harrow the Ninth, p265

I'm always wary of assuming modern racial dynamics apply to TLT’s universe, but y'all... this scene is a white woman forcing a brown woman from a stigmatized, minority religion to perform a normalized Western standard of femininity. Up to a rebuffed attempt to remove her face/hair coverings. Regardless of how much this dynamic applies in-universe, the real life parallels are not exactly subtle! Harrow could be the most feminine femme to ever gender within her culture, and what Ianthe does would still be extremely gross and coercive.

It’s also another direct callback to GtN - Ianthe forcing Harrow into fashionable Third norms is an inversion of the scene of Harrow forcing Gideon into Ninth facepaint. The same way that Harrow’s demeaning “Griddle” gets a dark reprise in Ianthe’s “Harry” and several other echoes in HtN of Harrow having to endure similar treatment from Ianthe as she once abused Gideon.

Ianthe is insisting that in order for Harrow to meet the dinner party’s standards, she must compromise her own culture’s standards. That Harrow’s own ceremonial robes aren’t expensive or nice enough to pass in a formal setting. She can be a well-dressed femme, or she can be a Ninth nun, but not both. Again, I don’t see Harrow’s objections to this treatment as being in conflict with Harrow having a femme-leaning identity, so much as Harrow being made wretchedly helpless and humiliated by having her Ninth heritage erased to fit Ianthe’s Third tastes.

Still not convinced? Finally, let’s contrast Ianthe’s makeover with the scene of Harrow getting ready for Abigail and Magnus’s anniversary in GtN:

She put on her best and most senescent Ninth robes, and became a skinny black stick swallowed by night-coloured layers of Locked Tomb lace. She fiddled with long earrings of bone in front of the mirror and repainted her face twice. Gideon the Ninth, p168

In any case, both she and Harrowhark turned up, gorgeously gowned in their Locked Tomb vestments, painted like living skulls, looking like douchebags. Harrow clinked when she walked with the sheer multiplicity of bonely accoutrement. Gideon the Ninth, p169

Here, Harrow is dressing purely according to her own decisions, and she actually doubles down on the more stereotypically feminine lace and jewelry rather than aiming for something wholly androgynous. She also does her best to appear neat and presentable here despite being a scruffly gremlin most of the time. Perfectionist that she is, Harrow is still nervous about her ability to perform it, but she’s confident in the specific femme aesthetic that she’s aspiring toward.

(Side note: You know who else wears an excessive amount of jewelry at Canaan House? Coronabeth. Was Harrow trying to look more like Corona, and if so, why? More crunchy gender food for thought…)

Ultimately. if your takeaway from the Ianthe makeover scene was "ah, Harrow would have been more comfortable if Ianthe gave her a suit" …I wouldn’t say that’s unreasonable. You could certainly do an alternative read of the scene as Ianthe force-feminizing a butch or nonbinary-leaning Harrow. (And if someone writes that essay I would love to read it!) But I don’t think that’s the only valid interpretation, and my personal read of the scene is that Ianthe is trying to coerce Harrow into a sexualized and gatekept definition of femme that Harrow strongly rejects.

It’s the pain and powerlessness of being told you’re doing your own gender wrong. Then having someone “helpfully” show you how to perform it right …only to look in the mirror afterwards and recognize yourself even less. And at that point, starting to miserably wonder if you’re even allowed to be your gender at all. Does that make sense?

Well, even if it doesn’t, thanks for reading to the end! 🖤 💀 🖤

#the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #harrowhark nonagesimus #ianthe tridentarius #tlt analysis #my tlt stuff #my ramblings #read more #note: edited a few bits 1.10.23 for further clarity of terms #anyway this seemed like a good segue #from last week’s ianthe-themed queue #into the harrow&ianthe art queue I'm planning to do next

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lordfrezon · 3 months

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

9/10

Yeah that’s right, it’s a full ass review for a DLC, this game is making it onto my GOTY list, it’s popping off.

Short review: If you liked Elden Ring, here’s 40 more hours of it. It’s dope AF, go play it.

Longer review: Shadow of the Erdtree (henceforth Shadow) is the expansion to 2022’s Elden Ring. As has become expected of FromSoftware, their DLC is extremely well made and Shadow is effectively another game. Pretty good value for $40.

You continue your journey as the Tarnished into the Scadutree (scadu being pronounced shadow, the more you know) where a missing/dead demigod has taken up residence. It’s your job now to find him and maybe help him but more likely kill him because you’re the goddamn best at murder. You travel around this land, realizing that it’s real messed up, and decide to fight people about it.

Unfortunately for you, the people you’re fighting kick your ass.

If you’ve heard anyone talking about Shadow on ye olde social media, you’ll likely have heard how goddamn hard it is, and they are not wrong. The bosses in Shadow are all on meth. They move faster, hit harder, and are more unpredictable than nearly all those in the base game. There’s only like 3 bosses in Elden Ring of comparable danger to those in Shadow. This makes for some awesome-ass fights, as you get to learn how these losers act before demonstrating that you’re just better than they are in every way. After they kill you a hundred times but you get them in the end.

As always, while the bosses are the main attraction, the game is mostly taken up by exploration, and exploration remains great, probably even better than in the base game. There’s the traditional dungeons and random drops to find, new weapons and spells, the whole thing, but Shadow really shows off the art direction of Elden Ring with multiple “Breath of the Wild” moments, where you come over a hill to see a gorgeous vista that yes, you can go explore. It’s a beautiful, if dark and foreboding, world.

There are a few flaws I want to discuss. First, same thing goes here as for base Elden Ring, game is hard and punishing, not for everyone but definitely better than any Dark Souls. Second, there’s some new design decision. There’re two collectable items in Shadow that boost up your damage, resistance, and those of your summons. These are near mandatory to collect all of if you want to engage with the later game content, and while many of them are pretty easy to find, this leads into my primary issue with Shadow, the level design.

Shadow is huge, there is so much to discover, so many cool things exist, it’s great. But there’s an issue in that about half the map is effectively impossible to find without a guide. Soulslikes have issues with needing a tab open to know what’s going on, either with lore or with gameplay, and Shadow increases that significantly. Want to know how to find these cool bosses? Well you might get lucky and find the single hole that leads to this area but probably not, so you go and open up a new tab to look up where things are, which spoils you for some other thing, and you’re still not sure what the area you’re looking for is even called so you waste time looking around and...

It's a real issue and one that was present to a lesser extent in the base game. I am not someone who needs handholding, I will happily ram my head into some difficult challenge in a game until I win, but when experiencing those challenges requires me to spend minutes or hours wandering around hoping I find the singular small path, something is wrong. There are NPCs that help a bit, but unlike the base game it’s not always apparent where they are, and the hub area doesn’t include any of the new NPCs (which makes sense but still makes it hard to find them). When many of them have cool quests (that lead up to one of the best boss fights in the franchise), it’s frustrating that to have the full experience I have to de-immerse myself from the game.

But still, the gameplay is plenty fun, and I had a great time with all but one boss. Elden Ring as a whole continues to demonstrate that FromSoft gets good worldbuilding and design principles. Here’s to whatever they come up with next.

#video game review #elden ring #shadow of the erdtree

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rosiewitchescottage · 3 months

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youtube

I've heard this mentioned around the place.

Because at 7:30 Mr Rogers explains his song lyrics

Boys are boys from the beginning. If you're born a boy then you stay a boy.

Girls are girls from the start. If you're born a girl then you stay a girl.

Of course there are people going ballistic.

There are those saying that this is just used as fuel for transphobia.

And I'm sure that there are people who are doing so. I don't excuse them.

But It Doesn't Mean That What Mr Rogers Said Isn't Right or Good.

Because there's a wide difference between countering gender theory with biological facts, and being transphobic.

Either being trans is rooted in biological facts, or it isn't real, because gender theory is just that, an idea to explore.

If Gender Dysphoria makes maleness therefore manhood or femaleness therefore womanhood unbearable.

Then I can absolutely understand the male living as a woman to distance herself from maleness, or the female living as a man to distance himself from femaleness.

That is rooted in biological reality. The male is a trans woman, not a woman, the female is a trans man not a man.

And this is perfectly OK.

There's no lesser than or greater than. There's just the acknowledgement of biological reality, and how it works.

Mr Rogers is making it clear that whilst a boy will always be a boy, because he's male and his sex won't change.

Whilst a girl will always be a girl because she's female and her sex won't change.

That doesn't mean that the child can't become whatever he/she has the ability and passion to become.

Because he/she most certainly can.

Mr Rogers is just making it clear that we shouldn't be telling children things about their bodies that isn't true.

A feminine or androgynous boy is still a boy

A masculine or androgynous girl is still a girl.

In 1980 we were playing around with these ideas. But they were still a long way from being mainstream.

All this is merely biological fact versus gender theory.

And unless one aims to deny all trans people their rights, then this isn't transphobic.

As the beginning of gender theory came from a monster named Dr John Money, who both lied that his excuse for a failed experiment was a roaring success, and sexually abused both his subjects, who later committed suicide.

I'm not sure whether Mr Rogers would have any truck with it.

Yes. John Money had a terrible childhood, and no doubt Mr Rogers would mourn that.

But the man still decided to behave in this diabolical manner, causing suffering in others on the way.

There have been proper transgender studies. But they were a whole other game of marbles, meticulous care taken off the subjects, the strictest insistence that there be no mental health issues, history of abuse etc, that might otherwise be affecting the young person's self perception.

Plus, those who carried out the study are livid that their work is being used in such a cavalier manner.

They know that the hormones they used are not to be handed out lightly.

And certainly not without making sure that they and not something else entirely, aren't want the patient truly requires.

#Youtube

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grad701-liv · 2 years

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week 1.2 sdl

it’s hard for me to write a positionality statement, as I still do not know what topic I want to pick to do this project on. it’s really tough to choose, but I really feel the pressure of needing to advance the project.

... ... ...

and after finally deciding on my topic, I’ve come back to write my statement.

1) how do you identify yourself in relation to this topic/issue?

I am someone who has had contact with kids who behave inappropriately and knows kids (my younger cousins) who behave inappropriately within online gaming communities, so I have first hand experience with my topic.

2) what elements of your familial and/or cultural background do you have in intersection with this topic/issue?

my background in gaming, I suppose? I’ve been active in gaming communities via social media since 2020. I’ve since met and befriended others that I enjoy playing with, seriously or for fun, that have also had bad experiences with kids. majority of my friends are 20+ and have had kids as young as 10 yrs old approach them to become friends.

3) how significant are these elements to how you identify yourself?

I don’t usually tell people I’m a gamer, as like to keep my online identity and real life identity seperate. unless I become close friends with someone, they will never know the person behind the screen. but I do enjoy playing games with friends or by myself. as a result, I’ve further honed some important skills such as strategic planning, critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork.

4) what meanings - cultural and/or personal - does the topic/issue carry to you?

I personally feel very strongly towards this topic as I was once the kid who didn’t understand the weight of their actions, and now am seeing a lot of the same behaviours of kids like a younger me. I fear they will grow up to have issues due to the dangerous things they were exposed to while growing up (eg grooming, bad views on women/men, developing trust/anger issues). this means they could have issues with forming connections/relationships with others, developing social skills, have strong unrealistic ideals about gender norms and many more problems.

5) do you recognise any biases you have toward this topic/issue?

well... I don’t think only guys can be online predators, I know that girls can be as well. and regardless of gender, an unknowing kid is an unknowing kid. so I don’t have a gender bias towards this topic. if I do have a bias, it’s that I assume that all kids are the exact same in regards to their knowledge on online safety. I would have thought differently pre-COVID, as kids would not be online so often and not as exposed to all these situations. but now more than ever, they probably play more games than an average high school student as they have less responsibilities and more time in their days.

6) if yes, do you think you need to maintain or unlearn these biases? why or why not?

for the sake of the project, I don’t think so. as a designer, you should be the expert in your own research topics therefore strive to provide basic information for all, not just their target audience. as long as I don’t miss the mark by giving any smug or obnoxious energy through the design choices I make and information I choose to share, things should be fine.

7) do you recognise any possible harms that can be associated with these biases? why or why not?

there is a chance I could come off as condescending rather than concerned and push kids away. no one likes to feel bad or lesser, it only leaves a sour taste and stained view. I will do my best to find the best tone of voice to address this issue.

#week 1 #semester 1

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centaurworks · 2 years

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Major Update: December 2022

2022 has been… a rocky year. If I can put this year into any arc of my life, it would be the Wandering or Self-Trials Arc. It just has not been good on my end with multiple things following through and changes of all kinds happening while holding on for whatever the world throws at me next. And that’s kinda what this big update is. I’m getting older and the world isn’t saying the same for long. So let’s get into some of the few things.

Gaming/Streaming

So, I’ve been streaming for 7+ years… and I feel like I’ve stagnated. I feel stuck. I’ve tried to push but I feel just drained and can not keep up. And I know a part of the reason. I haven’t been able to create content outside of art that will grab people and follow me to Twitch or any other site. Growing alone on Twitch is a struggle and it’s needed to make content outside of that platform to grow. The problem is just time and energy which has been a theme this year alone. Failure to clip, failure to make videos, failure to motivate with all the mounting pressures.

I still enjoy streaming, I enjoy going live and streaming to the world and making designs. However, I am not in a good place to present in the way that I want to, to bring the energy I want to bring, but I feel like before the hiatus I was not making a good Livestream experience. Also, a failed on keeping up with a consistent schedule before it all melted down. So I decided to just do it more casually for a while, as I maneuver throughout life I think this will be better as it’ll allow me to keep up with the demands of life while at least keep doing streaming.

I will also be reworking the alerts and overlays for my streams. There are several elements I would like to downsize, as well as focus on more of the core elements. I feel like there’s been a good amount of stress from a lack of enough chatters for me. Not the views, but simply the lack of people chatting; and I would like to start adjusting myself and my streams in a way where I don’t stress about them too much. I understand if that comes off as rather selfish, but right now I’d rather be honest more than anything.

VTubing… has felt good for the most part. Not as easy to do as simply hitting live with a webcam but it has made me comfortable for the most part. Tho I have slowly become uncomfortable with using Galen Maplevolley, originally a stand-in for myself. There was a plan to actually have 4 different characters/VTubers for different types of streams. However, I can no longer try to do that. I just don’t have the resources to pull off something that elaborate. There’s a good chance that Galen will be replaced but not in the near future.

This is not me done with streaming, this is not me giving up, this is not even a graduation. This is simply a need to recharge and reevaluate my time with it.

Streaming TL:DR

Streaming is being downsized to something more casual

Failure to grow streaming is due to lack of content outside of Twitch

VTuber plans being downsized and being refocused

Not stopping streaming, not “graduating,” will continue to stream even with terrible times

Socials

God, Social Media is such a blessing and a curse at some points. It can feel like an addiction and a necessity to grow. And it still feels like it’s so hard to grow and reach out. This is something I still need to figure out and continue to learn and relearn as more pop up over time. There are going to be a few things I’m going to be nailing down on as time goes on. One of which is starting to wind down on the lesser-important social media accounts, mainly those associated with GamingCentaur/TheGamingCentaur.

There’s also the issue of working on new social media sites. There are some that pop up so much and I would like to try to support them all. Right now tho, I need to focus on the sites that support Postybirb, a tool used to schedule and upload art all at once on multiple socials. It’s become an incredibly vital tool for me and something that has become necessary to spread my art around the internet. Basically taking the scope of it and shrinking it down in a way but sadly that’s what happens when you’re trying to balance everything in my life. Tho the main reason why I’m not on Facebook’s services is that I do not feel comfortable with their business and do not feel like those were a good way to promote myself after years of trying.

Social media also includes YouTube, an area I was doing well in but soon failed in. That is something I want to fix. Videos are one of the easiest ways to grow, especially short-form content these days. Multiple art time-lapses have been completed but have not been rendered into videos, as well as past moments from the streams. Easily this is one of the biggest failings on my end so I need to start working on those. I can’t promise on long-form videos, but I can try to start cranking out short-forms. TikTok is something I’m looking into, and it’s going to be interesting to try to maneuver through a newer and now most popular social media front.

I am going to look into streaming on YouTube. Now that my channel has it’s own slot for Live content, I would like to look into adding to it. Who knows, It might be a good test to see how successful or ineffective it might be. Can’t tell unless you try.

I’m going to keep working on my Discord tho. I know I’ve been on and off but I’ve been happy with where it’s at. Month Community Nights will continue as I hope to plan at least those out much further in advance. The October one was a success in a way that I could have never imagined so expect similar kinds occasionally, but October will always be a marathon night for sure now.

Thank you to everyone that has joined this Discord Server, that have followed my social medias, and has supported me through commenting, reblogging/retweeting, and being a part of this journey. The world’s changing bit by bit by the day, but I hope you stick around.

Socials TL:DR

Accounts of GamingCentaur are being dwindled down

Focus on SMs that use Postybirb

Planning to return to YouTube

Monthly Discord Community Nights will continue

IRL situation

Apologies but this section is going to be reserved for my monthly supporters. This is because I feel the most comfortable sharing rather personal experiences that have happened with me this year. Thank you to those that have supported me monthly and to those that support me with likes and favorites.

Artwork and Designs

If you would have told me ten years ago I would be fully focused on art, I would have laughed in your face. Back then, I was so certain that I would be a gaming content creator but times have changed, and I’ve learned and evolved as a person. And now I decided to fully embrace it. The recent name change I think is one of the big indicators of this.

The art side has felt much more productive, with a weekly schedule for art and slowly improving my craft. Of course, Month of OCs is a big launch of new art at once which won’t lie, tends to drain me later on. But I am incredibly thankful for this weird journey I’ve been on, and I don’t intend to stop. I’ve been submitting to fanzines since I want to focus more on art.

I’m going to take a look tho at the artwork I’ve posted so far and see what people like the most about them, what work, and what falls by the wayside. I think it’s also important to start planning for events outside of Month of OCs, like major releases within my circle or the circle I would like to have. I’m also making sure to focus on improving and taking criticism of my artwork whenever I can to study and see how to improve my art. Going down the road of art is often much more of a struggle, as you’re fighting for your creative work to flourish in a sea of other people fighting for the same exact thing. But this is something that I feel the utmost passionate about, and given how long I have been making art, I feel like that’s made much clearer. I think I’ll be continuing this for a long while, don’t know how long, but as much time as I can. And perhaps, I can get there.

Now for design, This is something I’ve had experience with thanks to creating my own streaming elements like the overlays, alerts, etc. And with getting deeper into streaming, I’ve expanded and worked on more elements needed for streaming and even outside of it. So art and design for me have become hand and hand for me and I think that I’ll be working on them even more in the future. The best way to put it, I think I’ll be staying in this art and design area of the internet for a very long while. And for those that have supported me throughout the years, I thank you for sticking with me.

Art+Design TL:DR

Amazed of where I am now compared to when I started

Doubling Down on Artworks

Taking criticism and any data to make my art better

As well as continuing to improve my designs.

Original Characters

When I was younger and first discovered adoptables, I jokingly said to my friends “I’m going to get 365 characters!” As we reach the end of 2022, I now have 414 characters and slowly finishing my world and lore. It’s honestly been amazing since I never would have thought I would be so focused on my own characters but as time went on, I am very thankful for this.

Right now the main focus of my art is still on my own characters. I know it doesn’t help to have so many characters but a part of me doesn’t care and it helps flesh out my world. The only problem is when it comes to recognizing me, There’s a reason why some companies have 1 mascot and not 200. Either way, it’s an uphill battle I’m willing to do.

Something I would also like to do more is to start writing more stories fit for public release. It’s something I’ve been interested in but haven’t been able to do due to time and energy. But I want to try my best to make stories of my most favorite characters. Not just non-canon stories but especially stories that relate to the main plot(s) and scenarios that happen to them.

Also, I really want 2023 to have the effects of the 2022 Ballot. I haven’t been doing a good job at doing so but I would really like to try next year. The OC Ballot for 2022 is still going on til January 2023.

2023’s Month of OCs is also in the works this year, it’s going to be more ambitious than last year so hope you pay attention. I’m also hoping to do another art contest. That might be more trickly with the upcoming economic situation but I’m determined to try to save enough for it. Either way, July 2023 looks like a big month once again!

I saved the best for last for a reason. The Original Characters are basically my motto “If you don’t like something, make it yourself” come to life and boy has it helped me a lot throughout the decade-plus in my life. They have been my comfort zone and what has helped me become more comfortable with creating artwork and stories. Practically keeping the creative side of me alive. Because of this, I would like to try to focus on them and keep it going for as long as I’m alive. Thank you to those that follow and are a fan of my characters it means a lot to me.

OC TL:DR

Creating Original Characters has made me more relaxed, even if it’s a detriment

Continuing art focused on my characters

Aiming to make the votes of the 2022 OC Ballot have more of an affect

More Ambitious Month of OCs 2023

I do want to thank the artists @constellor and @Gurepyon, while they don’t know me and I consider them the more 1% of OC Artists, their works have made me feel confident in taking this initiative.

The possible future…

The future right now is just… not the best, but there are glimmers of hope on the way. Sometimes you need the fire lit under your ass to make you realize you need to adapt and get better. I would say that I’m slowly getting better, tho sometimes not fast enough. My main hope for showing this update is for a better understand to both you and myself of where I would like to go in the future.

COVID to me was a great accelerator of the world around us. And that certainly has not changed in some aspects. There are still things I could do better and need to do better, and I hope that as 2023 begins I can adapt and have a stronger presence. Luckily, I think I really do have a plan to how to move forward. All that’s stopping me is well Time and Energy.

That’s probably something I’m going to work on the most, finding out the best way to balance everything in my life while keeping the Art and OC train going. While I still plan to Stream and Game, I feel like it’s better to have those as more casual times. There are still so much to do it feels like, but I want and need to be more than ready to just go down the road that will help benefit me. There are bumps on the way but I’ve experienced plenty of bumps already and there will be plenty of new ones as well.

What matters the most to me is that at the end of the day, while still going through many trials and hardships, you guys are still here, still enjoying my art and streams, and are still following and liking my content. If it wasn’t for you guys, I don’t think I would have been around for over a decade simply existing online.

Here’s to the last month of the most hectic year for me, here’s to the eventual closing of one door, and here’s to opening the next new few.

Thank you for reading this,

Thank you for sticking with me,

And just Thank You in general.

I hope to see you at the end of 2023 in a better mindscape.

#Update #Major Update #Gaming #Streaming #Art #Design #IRL #OC #original character #original characters #CentaurWorks #Thank You

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seventeenlovesthree · 2 years

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Digimon shipping dynamic game

@atsoraasayoma

I am always a Takeru x hikari undying fan forever. Curious on your thoughts about them from another perspective. It’s probably been done to death in so many different ways but it’s refreshing any time just the same.

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Whether canon provides input on them or not:

Takari are a very interesting case to look at in general, because, from an objective storytelling perspective, there are only few characters who are as consistently framed together in the way these two are (besides all the jogress combinations, namely Taichi/Yamato, Daisuke/Ken and, to a lesser degree, Miyako/Hikari and Takeru/Iori). This might take a little longer, since I actually haven’t paid too much attention to these two before, so bear with me:

Adventure 01 obviously doesn’t give them a lot of screentime together, as Hikari joins the group fairly late in the series and is also sick for a big chunk of it - however, they’re still played as parallels from the very beginning: Not only are they the youngest members of the Chosen Children and the siblings (and story-related foils) of the main fighters in the final arc, but they’re also the carriers of two of the most significant Crests, that are bound to bring the Light of Hope to everyone through their holy/angelic Digimon partners. These roles are even more strongly defined in the reboot and thus, they’re frequently seen next to each other - but it’s not the only thing they’re being paralleled for. Each of them has their very own set of brother complexes/issues, which are also important factors in how their relationship is developing and framed - from 01, 02, the movies, Tri to Kizuna. To put this rather shortly - Takeru, at first, projects onto Hikari in terms of wanting to protect her at all costs (just like Yamato overprotected him being the youngest and considered to be the “weakest”), whereas Hikari, at first, projects onto Takeru in terms of seeing him as someone she has to rely on (like Taichi).

02 frames them together, because they’re now the seniors of their new Chosen Children group, they share the memories, the experiences, the pain and the happy moments - they’re on good terms here, relaxed and visibly close to a point that makes Daisuke believe they’re actually a couple (who go on vacation trips together). But due to their issues, they do not really confide a lot in each other at this point. This is why Takeru gets angry at Hikari for being so dependant on Taichi (just like he was towards Yamato) and why Hikari deals with stuff on her own without asking for help up front (and will actually end up confiding more in Miyako as her jogress partner than Takeru). Their conflicts don’t really get resolved in 02, but one can see that there IS a foundation of trust between them, a connection, which is exactly why Takeru is able to track her down and reach her when she’s at the Dark Ocean, making them “connect through worlds” (which, in my opinion, is similar to how Taichi and Koushirou connected, even though this time, Takeru INTENTIONALLY wanted to connect with her to save her).

So it’s no surprise that they’re framed as rather close in Tri - which is logical, since the rest of their “usual” friend group has disappeared, so the youngest ones are left(overs) to stick together. Additionally, since they’re now 14, there is also a teasing element between them, with Hikari frequently nudging Takeru about his “ladies’ man persona” (and appearing a tiiiny bit jealous about it in the process), which Takeru downplays/deflects each and every time. Tri frames Hikari as noticing Takeru as a boy now, making her blush on a few occasions - whereas Takeru is framed to be her anchor, especially during the arc where Hikari thinks that Taichi has died, holding onto her, steadying her, giving physical comfort. So there actually is a bit of ship teasing here among the good old “him being protective of her vs. her being dependant on her brother” trope.

Last but not least, we have Kizuna, where they’re framed as being among the last remaining fighters to protect the real world from rampaging Digimon - trusting and relying on each other like, apparently, very comfortable partners in crime, who go on breakfast dates with their Digimon.

So the answer is yes - there is a LOT of material to work with, despite the fact that they were never confirmed as canon.

Whether I think why and how they’d work:

Based on everything I have outlined above, I believe that I don’t even have to mention why exactly this ship is probably one of the most popular Digimon ships world wide. Due to all the parallels between them (the Crests, the angels, the brothers), due to the fact that they’re consistently standing next to each other sharing (knowing) glances (because they’ve definitely seen things that bound them together), due to them seeming so comfortable by each other’s side (when things are not at stake), caring so much about each other’s wellbeing, it’s only logical to think of them as a romantic couple. It almost feels like they’re destined to be together - and I do think that it could definitely work, because them overcoming their respective traumas and start healing together could be the most wonderful thing (which, unfortunately, was never focused on in each of their arcs, because, most of the time, they’re really just foils for the sake of other characters’ developments). They’d have to tear down their respective walls for that though and that won’t be easy after all this time: Once Takeru opens up towards her about his doubts and fears, letting go of his fake smiles, masks and walls he built to make her (and everyone else) feel at ease, he could finally rely on her in return - that is, once he is able to see that he has projected onto her and that she’s more than capable to fight for herself. Once Hikari finally comes to terms with that she is indeed her own person for her own sake, not for Homeostasis, not for Taichi, or anybody else, once she can be honest towards Takeru and display her trust and affections in a genuine manner, they really could become the unstoppable “partners in crime” power couple - both on and off the battlefield. They already are mutually supportive and comfortable next to each other - with a lot of gentle teasing in between -, they just need to let loose a little more.

By the time they’ve reached their Kizuna ages, I could definitely see them spending study sessions together - with him comfortably practicing creative writing while she’s reciting her pedagogy teachings towards him. And since they’re both, apparently, very fond of coffee shops and the likes, one will frequently see them spending time there (also to provide Patamon with beverages of his choice and Tailmon with all the sweets she can get). Basically, I could see them spending a lot of their freetime together - and with their respective friend groups, just tagging along and having fun (for example gate hopping with the 02 gang or lounging around in Koushirou’s office with Taichi and Yamato).

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship:

This may sound a little bit weird regarding everything I have talked about so far, but despite the fact that I have grown to appreciate the romantic appeal of Takari a loooooot more throughout the last months, I always kinda preferred them as “platonic life partners”, if that makes sense? As outlined above, they have everything it needs to have a beautifully supportive, gentle and understanding relationship with each other that hits a lot of spots I usually fall for and I could definitely see them living together eventually - but rather as best friends (and also probably cuddle buddies, once they’ve gotten rid of their walls towards each other) than as classic romantic partners. I can definitely appreciate romantic framings for them, but I also love the idea of Hikari endlessly teasing Takeru about the ridiculous execution of his crushes (on Meiko for example), once he has finally admitted that his “dating phase” was just him trying to compensate. The boy has a lot of “broken family” related trauma, so him spending his life (whether romantically or platonically) with someone coming from a happy family to heal is still one of the best things (and the Yagami family has probably adopted him by now anyway, just like Koushirou). Takeru is the kind of person whose own romantic life needs a lot of time to actually get into motion, while he’s absolutely marvellous at sensing romantic opportunities for his friends (just like Mimi would, in my opinion) and that is why, in my opinion, he would be the best possible wingman for Hikari (to set her up with, for example, Koushirou or Miyako). They can both be absolute trolls when it comes to teasing their brothers (and others too) for example, so that’s absolutely something I could see them bonding over.

So yes, I’d actually enjoy both “timelines”, the one of them being platonic life partners as well as them being a romantic couple.

#my two cents #takari #meta #takeru takaishi #hikari yagami #digimon #analysis

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leolo404 · 4 years

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✨Astrology Observations Pt.1✨

Hey guys! My name is Leo and it's my very first time to make a personal astrology observation post. I can't wait to share my knowledge and understanding in this certain topic to everyone✨

⚠️Sidenote⚠️: Please take this with a grain of salt for not all of my personal observations will resonate you entirely.

✨Mercury in the 9th house/9th house stellium can indicate someone who wants to experience new things atleast once. (Example: wants to try skateboarding, learning another language, traveling to another country)

✨Venus-Mars aspects(especially conjunct) can give off both masculine and feminine energy.

✨Personal observation but I noticed most Aquarius moons tend to like playing games that are unusual and not as famous compared to other games. They can also be really passionate about gaming.

✨Gemini placements are so good at multitasking and juggling as much ideas as they can. I could never😭😭

✨Out of all the fire x air dynamic, Leo is the most committed and loyal but also the only sign that has tendencies of holding grudges. On the other hand, out of all the water x earth dynamic, Pisces is the most free-spirited and tends to move on quickly.

✨If you are having a bad day and need a lot of compliments and support to make you happy call a Leo or Libra rising.

✨Mars in the 6th house tends to overwork themselves to get rid of stress because this can be their way of distracting themselves from their own personal problems, this can also apply to Mars in the 10th house and Virgo Mars as well.

✨I believe Sagittarius is the only fire sign that has no ego at all or atleast lesser compared to the other two fire signs.

✨Cancer placements can be really talkative when they are comfortable enough with you and they can be great home buddies.

✨I heard this somewhere but having your south node in the 11th house can indicate that in your past life you tend to focus more on humanity and helping others that you can't express yourself or someone restricts you to be who you really are which shows that in this life, you have the chance to express yourself more and be creative. (North node in the 5th house)

✨1st house stelliums are the types of people who are really focused on the self and would try anything to learn more and find insights about who they truly are. (they can be into astrology, personality types, or anything that can describe you and give you a sense of belongingness)

✨Scorpio moons can have really intense emotions but since the moon is in fall in Scorpio, they tend to repress their emotions or block it leading to compulsions and anger.

✨Taurus/Leo Suns are stereotypically known as the lazy signs of the zodiac but don't let that fool you. They are one of the most ambitious and determined signs and when they have their eyes on a certain goal, they won't stop until they reach it.

✨Aries/Capricorn placements are like a train without brakes, they are really unstoppable from doing what they like.

✨Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) tend to resist change and will only change when there is a reason to.

✨Virgo Suns are one of the most important people needed in society. They are very dutiful, hard-working, studious, factual, and are reliable partners in the workplace. They can be the typical role model citizens.

✨You tend to have a Love-Hate relationship with the signs in your 4th and 8th house. (Example: I have Aquarius in my 4th house and Gemini in my 8th house and istg they are so annoying but holy cow I still love them 😭❤️)

✨Mercury in the 10th house should try working in a business, they are really economical and business-oriented and the way they speak is so professional-like.

✨Cancer with a mix of Leo placements are truly the most sweetest and sincere people alive.

✨Capricorns are not cold, they are just really mature and are good at handling their temper issues.

✨Also the way they express their anger is like a great example of when your parents get mad at you for doing something wrong. Please don't lecture me 😃✋

✨Both Aquarius and Leos are in the same level when it comes to attention seeking but in a very different way, Leos tend to look for it or perhaps find a way in order for others to compliment and praise them while Aquarius are more on the standing out type, doing anything to make sure they are noticeably different than the rest. (Sorry Aquarians for exposing y'all😔👈)

✨People who aren't familiar with astrology tend to mistaken Aquarius as a water sign and Scorpio as a fire sign. Not surprised though 🤡

Ok this is it for my first astro observation post. Thank you so much for taking your time reading this and hope everyone enjoyed it✨

I also want to thank @venusfun for inspiring me to make this post and helping me out with this as well. Love ya bestie💞💞 And of course I can't forget about my friends who supported me in any way possible💞💞 Thank you!

#astrology #astrology post #astrology observations #astro notes #zodiac signs #horoscope #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces #credits to owner of the gif

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dreamkidddream · 3 years

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I’m the Doll!MC Anon and I just wanna say I’m so glad that you enjoy a soft/delicate!MC and I really didn’t expect it to get so much love!

Since I kinda want to be evil and see the boys be overprotective, can I request hc’s of them seeing Doll!MC getting hurt by some lesser demon that bumps her into the ground and she gets a bruise? 🌚

Omg Doll Anon I wasn’t expecting it to get so much love either (here’s the original Doll!MC HCs if anyone wants to read)!! So I actually had your request saved for when I was done with the prompt special bc it’s so good, so I decided to combine them and I have definitely been waiting to write this 😈😈 Reader is gender neutral!

CW: mention of blood (nothing graphic) and spoilers for Lesson 16 (Lucifer, Mammon, Beel, and Belphie’s part)

The Brothers and Diavolo with Doll!MC who Gets Hurt

Lucifer

Okay whoever is dumb enough to hurt you in front of him deserves this 100%

The air around this man is already more than intimidating, so whoever tries this is a poor, stupid soul

When he saw you fall down the stairs, he felt his stomach turn. He already caught you before you could injure yourself further, but after seeing the blood coming down your face, the damage was already done

Now, Lucifer is the brother who always has control over himself and what he does. But, we also know that how his temper can get, especially when it comes to his family

This demon is dumb enough to push you but not dumb enough to crack a smile in front of him, especially with how tense Lucifer is getting right now

He sat you up and tried to remember some first aid techniques to stop the bleeding. You’re on the verge of losing consciousness, but you’re okay right now. He’ll take you home, but first-

His glare is making the demon freeze in place right now, and the anger radiating off of him is petrifying

How dare- how dare this fool harm you, in front of him no less?! Did they think that he wouldn’t do anything? That Lucifer, the Avatar of Pride, one of the strongest demons to ever grace the Devildom, would just idly stand by and let this happen?

He’s stalking towards them, and he can feel his fangs showing and his diamond appearing on his forehead, growling out how they will pay for this-

But he’s stopped by Lord Diavolo, who was shocked by the scene. You’re unconscious, and Lucifer has this poor student hanging in the air by their uniform, claws ready to slice through them. Needless to say, he understands why his close friend is upset, but for everyone’s safety he should just take you home like planned

You thought Lucifer was a helicopter parent before? You haven’t seen NOTHING yet

He would start inviting you more to his room to sleep in his bed while he works away, and it started happening so much that he didn’t even ask anymore and started expecting you to always be in there

So instead of him being glued by your side, you’re glued to his. It’s obvious that he can’t let you out of his sight without something happening (again), so hope you’re ready to see experience Lucifer’s daily routine from sunrise to sunset and a whole new set of rules. Basically playing follow the leader, but with a lot more handholding and kisses

You had to practically beg to be back into the kitchen, and he only relented when he could be the one to supervise you, and even then he still didn’t want to hold anything sharp or be near anything that could injure you (which is pretty much everything)

The main one to put a stop to his brothers’ schemes, handing out harsher punishments than before each time they try to involve you. This man is not playing any games with anyone

You know he means well, he was already overprotective from the start, and this is just his way of showing that he cares about you. You can tell every time he gives you that soft look in his eyes, and the regret that he shows every time he catches sight of your bruise. He may not like to be vulnerable, but he couldn’t hide his emotions from you too long. You’re like a weakness to him, one that he isn’t against indulging in

And he hasn’t forgotten about that student, oh no. He made sure to have a nice lengthy chat with them when you both returned to RAD. You didn’t question it when he informed you that the student had been rightfully punished and no longer an issue, and you tried to ignore the red dots splattered on his shoes, or that sadistic gleam in his eyes...

Mammon

This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening-

The blood is pouring from your head, and your eyes are closing too fast for him, and his heart stops

You look lifeless, like when Belphie killed you, when he was too late to save you-

He’ll never forget that image, it’s drilled deep into his mind, forever a reminder of his failure to protect you. And now he failed again-

This demon is gloating about this, and that’s when he snaps

He was already in his demon form and beating the life out of them when he was restrained. Many people were shocked that he was capable of this, that Mammon the scumbag, Mammon the dummy, Mammon the punching bag was capable enough to be this dangerous, this deadly. He’s the second born after all, and he’s the strongest right under Lucifer himself, and he holds a lot in

He could- he would do a lot more because they deserve it, but just seeing you so still, it snaps him out of it. You’re more important to him than getting his anger out, and you’re the one he needs to be focusing on right now. But rest asssured, this isn’t over

You thought he was attached to you before? He is glued to your side 24/7 and will not be leaving anytime soon. Ever since you woke up he never let go of you, calling you “his human” and just hugging you tight

Also if you have to go down the stairs you guys are FLYING no exceptions! The stairs are the devil in his eyes (how ironic) and he will not be risking anything with you

If you guys aren’t out and about under his careful and watchful eye (and I mean very careful, he’s like your very own bodyguard but with a lot more growling and snapping on strangers than usual), then you’re in his room doing whatever. Watching movies, playing cards and somehow beating him every time (he swears that he isn’t letting you win! Lies), whatever you wanna do. As long as you’re with him, giggling and safe, he’s happy and stress free

You mean so much to Mammon MC, he can’t even tell you if he tries. Under his tsundere traits, he really loves you, like really loves you! He’s just so scared of being rejected and losing you a second time. But now that he knows you’ll always be there for him, he’s going to do the same for you (but he already was even if you didn’t like him) He hates looking at that bruise right now, but it’s set as a reminder to not let something happen to you again

Also, another thing that people forget about Mammon is that he can talk to crows. So it wasn’t much to have them track down the person who caused you pain, and it didn’t take long for him to find them either. He thinks that the aftermath will set a good lesson for everyone else who continues to underestimate him when it comes to you: don’t

Leviathan

See, this is why he never leaves his safe haven AKA his room!

After he saw your head hit the ground hard, he was freaking out. He doesn’t know what to do, he wasn’t prepared for this! He tried shaking you to keep you awake, but your eyes were steady closing

Everything is happening in slow motion. You’re slumped over on the ground while the person who did it is laughing at him

If anything, the person who did it should be the one on the ground, not you, not his Henry. It’s not fair, it’s not fair, it’s not fair!

The demon stopped laughing when their windpipe was getting crushed by the second. They couldn’t even try to loosen the grip, Levi’s tail is rather strong, and so is he. He is the third strongest out of his family and the Grand Admiral of the Navy, yet people tend to forget that

Everyone knows how bad Levi’s tantrums can be, but this isn’t just a tantrum, it’s much worse. Had the brothers not intervene, he would have done much worse than summoning Lotan (which he was on the brink of doing anyway)

When you did wake up, he was so upset. Of course he let this happen, he’s just a worthless otaku who couldn’t even keep his crush safe-

OMG why are you hugging him and patting his head?! Quit it- well wait, this does feel kinda nice...Ugh you’re such a normie! Getting hurt so easily and still trying to put a smile on his face. But it does make him feel better

He rarely left his room before, and you guys are definitely not leaving it now. It’s like having a sleepover, but it never ends. That sounds great, right MC? Endless marathons of TSL and other anime, co-op video games, trying on his cosplay outfits that he made (some even made just for you and he needs to cover that bruise somehow), it’s going to be so fun and you’ll be safe with him! Who wouldn’t want that??

We all know that Levi is very self conscious. He knows that he isn’t confident like Lucifer and Mammon, or attractive like Asmo, or smart like Satan or Belphie, or physically fit like Beel, he knows. But every time you listen to him ramble on about this new anime show that he wants you guys to binge, or when he rants about a stupid move his teammate did in an online match, he feels valued. He feels loved. And while it’s hard for him to express his feelings, it’s no doubt in his mind that you’re important to him, and that he’s beyond happy that someone like you is his best friend

One day he’ll get the courage to say those three words, but he hopes that you already know with everything that he does for you

For example, Levi is an aquatic demon, and he has the ability to communicate with all types of sea creatures. Granted, he knows right from wrong, but in his eyes he’s taking care of the problem. So it wouldn’t be a huge issue if he used them to clean up the remaining mess of said problem, right? I mean, his venom can only do so much, and he doesn’t need anyone questioning him, and Lotan does get hungry...

Satan

He could only see red. Both from his anger surfacing and from the fact that you’re bleeding

He had his claws wrapped around the neck of the one responsible before they could even think about running. This- this filth dared tried to escape after he hurt you? And they thought that Satan would just let them get away with it?

They must forget that he’s the Avatar of Wrath, the one who doesn’t show mercy

He just kept pounding the demon into the ground, over and over and over and over. He didn’t even care about the blood splatter it was leaving on the lockers or on him

He was this close to finishing them off when he heard you call out for him, and it took everything in him to drop them. He squeezed their neck a final time, not even close to being satisfied with the whimper he heard, and growled out a promise of that he will find them and will make sure that they suffer before he threw them down. They better count themselves lucky that they get to crawl away in one piece (for now), because had you not been there-

Oh, he is seething the more he thinks about it

But you bleeding is a distraction from it, even if it is making his stomach turn, it’s helping him know that he needs to help you now

He didn’t have to let his brothers know as they came to see what the commotion was, and Lucifer (even if he didn’t want to believe it himself) was anxious that he was the cause of it. But after he saw the hold he had on you and another demon barely clinging onto life, he knew otherwise

It was decided that you two going home would be the best course of action (which it didn’t matter to Satan, you both weren’t going to stay here whether it was demanded or not), and he calmed down enough to properly treat you

You didn’t leave his room for the rest of the day, and he even gave up his bed for you to lie in so that he can do some research. The human body is a complicated thing, but Satan can learn it like the back of his hand just for you. So just go ahead and rest for now MC- or maybe not, you might have a concussion according to this book and if you do he needs to monitor your condition!

Even after you were healed, he didn’t let you out of his sight and daily checkups were a must. Dr. Satan is in the building!

You eventually moved back into your room (you would have stayed longer but he’s a little nervous with his towering stacks of books and doesn’t want anymore accidents), but he practically moved in with you with how much he comes over, either falling asleep at your desk reading a book or falling asleep in your chair right next to your bed

Very reluctant to have you around stairs, it makes the hairs on his neck stand up. He’ll let you go down the stairs ONLY if you’re holding his hand. If you’re upset with those conditions (spoiler alert you’re not), then you better be ready to learn some teleportation spells (but even then he’s still not leaving your side)

He doesn’t hold his temper back with the others when it comes to you for the time being. If he even senses that Mammon, Asmo, or Levi is coming to you with something that can cause trouble, he’s growling at them to leave you alone, horns slowly coming out and tail whipping furiously

However, he tries not to lash out in front of you. He realizes that he lost control with that demon, and how it could have terrified you had you been fully conscious, but he doesn’t want you to think that he’s just a monster. He wants you to continue to treat him like you do now, and not have the image of bashing someone’s bloody body on the floor repeatedly

Speaking of bashing someone, Satan made well on his promise of coming back. The demon thought that avoiding coming back to school would save them, but Satan is a genius, and has many associates that he can sweet talk to get what he wants. It didn’t take much to figure out where they went, and he made sure to get out all of his pent-up frustrations from that fateful day. He felt better when he came home, but he needed to take a shower before he went to see you...

Besides from that, he does appreciate the peace that you do bring him. You just have this aura around you that’s so calming to him, and he needs to steal you away more he realizes

Also you make better cat-themed desserts than the cafe and he can’t risk Beel eating them all again

Asmodeus

He’s shook, and not in the good way

He just had your hand in his, complaining about how you cuticles look so good and his is lacking and how guys have to go to the nail salon after class, and then your hand is jerked from his, your form at the bottom of the stairs

The blood staining your uniform is alarming, but he can’t worry about that now. He’s trying to keep you talking, but you’re already on the verge of passing out

“MC, you can’t sleep yet! We have plans to go to the nail salon remember? And I need you awake so we can talk about what matching color we’re getting! So what color should we get now, MC? MC? MC!”

He’s trying to keep himself from panicking, but he can’t help it! You’re suppose to be smiling and laughing with you, loving him, but you’re unconscious on the ground, and he’s scared

Quickly dials Lucifer and tells him the whole situation, and he’s surprised to find himself blinking back tears

The demon who did this is long gone by the time Lucifer and Diavolo come, but he remembers the face, and he has something exciting planned when he comes face to face with them

Obviously you have to go home, but Asmo is so distraught that he has to go home with you. But when you wake up, prepare to be tackled to the bed with him crying his eyes out. All you can do is try to comfort him and tell him that okay, giving him little kisses on his cheek

But now that the sadness is out of the way (all this crying and worrying is causing him stress wrinkles), it’s time for a makeover/stress relief!

Fashion shows, makeovers, painting nails, face masks, the whole nine yards. All in the comfort of his dazzling room!

It’ll make you both feel and look better, and honestly you two need that right now. It also gives him the opportunity to cover that unappealing bruise. Your beauty outshines it but it’ll be best to cover it up for your and his sake (mainly his)

Every time Asmo sees your bruise, he gets upset and he’s tired of being reminded of what happened. He knows that he’s only loved for his looks, his vanity, but you see more in him than that

You’re...you’re the first person that loves him for him entirely, not because of his features. And when he tells you that he loves you, he honestly means it. He would have never thought he would fall so deep for someone, let alone a human, but...he’s glad that it’s you. He’s happy that it’s you

Which is why he wants to keep you safe and injury-free. Plus, your skin is too pretty and doll-like to be roughed up!

You guys still go out of course, he just has a better eye on you now. This one incident isn’t going to hold him back for picking out new cute outfits for you!

And don’t think he forgot about that demon who caused all of this in the first place. He actually waited by their locker, and convinced them to come with him. But what should Asmo do with them? He could always have them steal Beel’s food, annoy Lucifer, say something horrible about Ruri-Chan, the possibilities are endless! As long as they don’t cause him to get dirty, of course

Or maybe they should do something so severe that they have no reason than to leave RAD forever, or even leave the Devildom forever, depending on how far he’s willing to take it. He’ll do anything if it means you’re safe and he gets to keep you all to himself

Beelzebub

He thought it was an accident at first, you get so excited about things that you stumble over your own feet sometimes, but he’s always there to catch you or pick you up

You keep saying that you’re okay as he’s holding onto you, and after he sits you up he’s confused because he smells blood. His heart is beating a little quicker, and you’re not talking anymore, and your head is drooping, and that’s when he sees the blood running down the side of your face

He’s starting to panic, and he’s so scared that if he tightens his hold against you he’ll just make things worse, that he’ll just hurt you more. But he needs to go find Lucifer, he needs to get you help, you’re feeling so light in his arms and it reminds him of the Celestial War when he witnessed his sister dying-

He hears someone snickering behind him, and that’s when he loses his temper

You’re a part of his family now, someone that he loves and cares for more than he can describe, and they did this to you? Someone who wouldn’t even squish a bug, someone who made him late night snacks without even asking, always there to give him hugs after his games no matter how sweaty, someone that put his family back together and they did this to you?

Lucifer and Mammon struggled to hold him back after they found the demon flung through the wall, laying under the rubble. Beel just kept growling, fangs bared and wings buzzing. He won’t stop trying to get out of their hold, and he keeps inching closer and closer to the demon, and it’s only a matter of time before he finishes what he started

You were already in the infirmary getting treated, and Beel isn’t calming down anytime soon so you were both escorted home

You woke up to Beel upset and pouting. He’s so worried about you that he couldn’t even eat. Beelzebub could not eat, that’s how you knew this was a something serious

Poor Beel was so terrified of hurting you himself that he failed to protect you from the people that do want to hurt you, or worse

But this won’t happen again, he swears, both to you and himself. Move over Mammon, Beel is officially your new bodyguard!

Wherever you go, Beel is right behind you, literally. He’s like your shadow, just bigger and a lot more...menacing. Also isn’t taking any chances with Mammon’s schemes, just carrying you away before he can even open his mouth about another get rich quick plan

Speaking of carrying, you are not allowed to walk down the stairs anymore. As soon as you step near some you find yourself in his arms like it’s nothing. Both at home and at school, it doesn’t matter to him

Also he’s very cautious to have you around people besides his brothers, and the exchange students (but he’s still hesitant about Solomon, anyone who can cook food like him is automatically getting the side eye)

Also you practically moved in with the twins, and it’s nothing compared to the sleepovers before. Belphie sleeps easier, Beel’s stomach is satisfied (eating your homemade sweets with you is better than everything combined at Hell’s Kitchen, and trust me he knows) he feels all warm inside, and you’re protected. Everyone’s happy!

Beel is a sweet guy, just don’t come in between his family or his food. After that whole incident with the demon, everyone has come to understand that, especially after seeing just how much damage he caused both to the demon and the school in so little time...

Belphegor

If he was sleepy before, he’s completely awake now

You’re holding the side of your head, and he can see the blood seeping through your fingers, groaning in pain. You keep trying to say that you’re okay, but your words are starting to slur and he’s getting nervous, he’s getting scared

It’s reminding him too much of his worst mistake, of what he did to you, when he murdered-

No. He doesn’t need to be thinking about that right now, especially when the person who did this is bragging about it while your body is slumped over. Right there, he knows what exactly needs to be done

Belphie was already in front of them before they even registered it, and didn’t give him any time to form an excuse. His claws were already at their throat, inching deeper and deeper the more they swallowed

“I should just slit your throat now, it’ll be easy and not a lot of work. But you deserve much worse than that. You’ll wish I did by the end of this.”

After a tap to the demon’s forehead, they just collapsed before him, unmoving. He didn’t even look down when he stepped over them (or rather stepped on them) to get to you. You’re passed out, but still breathing. You can’t stay here like this, and he refuses to tell Diavolo or Lucifer. He’ll figure something out, maybe Satan has some books in his room on what to do...

When you woke up, you found yourself wrapped in blankets and Belphie sleeping beside you, arms wrapped tight. You were confused, when did you get home? You remember walking with him down the stairs, but everything was blurry after that. What happen-

“You’re always thinking so hard MC, you’ll never be able to get good rest if you keep that up. But Satan did say to check on you every couple of hours, so I guess it’s fine. And quit touching your head!”

“Oh, sorry Belphie, I didn’t mean to-”

“Tch, how annoying...”

But he’s lying. Even as he’s carefully re-wrapping the bandages, he’s relieved that you’re awake, that your eyes are still full of life, not like the dullness that he saw that fateful night

When Lucifer finds you he is not happy with Belphie, but he doesn’t care and tells him that everything is already under control and that he isn’t needed. Belphie didn’t miss the scowl that he sent his way, but he just smirked in response. You didn’t need Lucifer as Belphie is already taking care of you, as it should be

You know how he always carries around his favorite pillow? Yeah he’s doing that with you basically, minus the carrying. You’re practically attached to his side, wherever he goes you’re either right there with him or in his room, which is mainly just you two lazing around or sleeping (as usual)

Honestly, the only demons who he’s okay with disturbing you two is Beel and maybe Satan. Beel because that’s his twin and it’s his room too, and Satan only if he’s checking on you medically or if he has some new ideas to mess with Lucifer. Everyone else is just trying to bother you and be annoying, and you don’t need that

Of course he blames himself for this! How is he suppose to keep you safe, to make up for his mistake? But then it clicks

It’s not the fact that he’s weak, people think that he’s weak. But he realizes that this is fine, he’ll use that to his advantage.

Diavolo is upset and Lucifer is running out of excuses for him, but Belphie just plays stupid and says he can’t remember how to remove it (even though he does). Let the demon lose some more sleep until they learn their lesson, whether it’s from the constant nightmares or from sleep deprivation trying to stay awake to avoid said nightmares. He’ll remove it when he feels like it, and he doesn’t see that happening anytime soon

Let people think the Avatar of Sloth is weak, that he’s not a threat, and he can show them exactly how wrong they are. Better yet, this demon can be the perfect example, and many more if they become a bother to you (and him)

You’re too nice MC, too delicate. You treat him so good, like he’s not a demon, like he’s not the monster who took your life, and he has to thank you for that somehow. He feels like whatever he does won’t be enough for the kindness you give him, but protecting you from others who used to be like him could be a good start

Also now he can hog all of your head pats and cuddles for himself, and he doesn’t feel bad at all. Everyone else had their time with you when he was locked up, so he’s finally got the opportunity to be selfish

Diavolo

First of all...this demon is dumb enough to harm you in front of him??? The Demon LORD???? The FUTURE KING OF HELL??!

They have more than just a death wish

It all happened so quick, he just crossed paths with you in the hallways and started to ask about your day (and maybe invite you for a small tea date after school) but he didn’t even get the chance to open his mouth

One second he saw your eyes light up and hand extended to excitedly wave, then he saw your fragile form tumbling down the stairs

Barbatos was soon called to his side as Diavolo saw the red coating his palms and you barely staying conscious, trying to say that you’re okay and not to worry

See...he feared that this would be a problem. While Diavolo is a very kind and understanding ruler, there are still some demons out there who think he’s too lenient, too soft. But that’s where people are mistaken. Diavolo is kind, but do not mistake his kindness for weakness

He felt his anger rising, his demeanor starting to crack, but he set aside his emotions. You’re his first priority, and he needs to make sure that you’re okay! He’s still a ruler, and you’re his responsibility (and first love)

However, he made sure that Barbatos took the demon who did this and kept them in the dungeon until he was done treating you. He won’t let this go unpunished, he can’t and he won’t

You’re an important part of the exchange program, and you’re most important to him, and he’s upset with himself that you got hurt. You’re so delicate, and you don’t deserve any of this happening to you, but what can he do? While he trusts the brothers to keep you safe, he wants to keep an eye on you personally, but how?

Then it struck him

You liked to stay in the castle, always smiling and having fun whenever you spent time with him there, so why not relocate you there?? It’ll be like an extended sleepover/retreat with just you two!! You guys can do all of your favorite activities and won’t have to worry about going home because you won’t have to leave!! Why didn’t he think of this sooner?!

The brothers are very upset with this incident, and even more so when he announced this. Diavolo decided that your condition needed to be monitored closely, and since he’s the person directly in charge of the exchange program AND the ruler over the Devildom, there was no room to argue. You weren’t going to stay in the castle forever, just until he deemed it right to return to the HoL

Which would be...some time soon, maybe. He’s not really worried about that now, his number 1 concern is you after all!

You’re getting the royal treatment, literally. This is the chance that he gets to pamper you without interruptions and he is not wasting it!

You kept trying to convince him that you’re fine, but he wasn’t hearing any of it, especially after he sees the nasty bruise that was left. “MC, please! You still need to rest. How about I have Barbatos bring us some tea to help, and we can even have the royal staff bring us some outfits of your choosing if you like? Oo, we can even have our portrait painted!”

“Dia, I promise that I’m fine, you have more things to worry about than me-”

“Nonsense, MC. You’re what’s important to me, now and always. Don’t ever forget that.”

Even finished it with a hand kiss, UGH he really is a Prince Charming

Once you did return to RAD bruise free, Diavolo, being the gentleman that he is, walked with you everywhere in the beginning. Coming into the building, walking to class, lunch, even to the student council meeting, he was by your side. But he couldn’t avoid his duties forever (unfortunately), but he always made up for lost time afterwards

You never realized that when he wasn’t with you, someone else always was. Whether it be Lucifer who miraculously had spare time, or Barbatos who decided to escort you back to the castle to try a new recipe for his Lord, it was always one of them that stayed with you

Also, it never dawned on you why people were starting to be so nice to you. You thought it was because of what happened, not paying attention to how tense they would get, the fear in their eyes. You did notice that the demon who caused your fall never came back to class, and their desk is starting to collect dust...

When you did ask Diavolo about it, he just pat your head and said that what happened was unacceptable and that the demon has been dealt with accordingly.

You don’t need to hear about what really happened to them, he doesn’t want to scare you or taint your innocence! But he doesn’t mind if anyone else hears it, he’ll be more than happy to explain in full detail what happened and what will happen to demons that even think about attempting to harm you or think that he’s “too soft”. They won’t think he’s a soft ruler after that

Diavolo is a very sweet man, one that treats you as if you’re ruling by his side as his partner and one that you never have to be scared of, but even you didn’t miss the deadly glint in his eyes whenever he spoke about that demon...

But enough about that, he wants to try that new recipe that you made just for him!

He enjoys the time that he gets to spend with you, and after this, you’ll be in his company a lot more. He can’t risk having this happen again to his love- I MEAN favorite exchange student right?

#obey me x reader #obey me reader insert #obey me #obey me swd #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me mammon x reader #obey me levi x reader #obey me leviathan x reader #obey me satan x reader #obey me asmodeus x reader #obey me asmo x reader #obey me beelzebub x reader #obey me beel x reader #obey me belphegor x reader #obey me belphie x reader #obey me diavolo x reader

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 years

Text

hi yes im still alive

DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST--

HAVING A MOMENT TO PROCESS ALL THE LORE AND STORY CHAPTER 6 JUST DROPPED ON US, I CAN BARELY WRITE

AHHHHHHH, I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS 😭 kjdbbaufbiafafvoaybo LEMME PUT ON MY THINKING CAP AND THROW SOME STUFF OUT ASDYUBUASDLI;AGVUOQIB;VI You’ll understand why I used Leona’s face here even though it’s Idia and Ortho’s chapter after you read my thoughts--

***Chapter 6 (and other main story) spoilers below the cut!***

Okay, just to keep it simple, I’ll try to keep things in chronological order!

First is a bullet point list of my thoughts on chapter 6 so far, then all my questions and theories (mostly a biggish theory on Ace) are at the end of the post.

Expectation: Idia cowering in his room, Vil and Rook busting down his door using Epel as a battering ram, dead Ortho theory confirmed

Reality: SWAT TEAM RAID ON NRC, DORM LEADERS (sans Kalim) AND JAMIL GET KIDNAPPED

Admittedly, I’m disappointed to see that the injury Grim inflicted to MC was basically just a cat scratch and nothing more. I thought it would be a lot more impactful if MC had to deal with juggling the realization that Grim has betrayed their friendship and trust while also on the verge of death (or at least while being severely injured)... And given how MC reacted to the attack at the end of chapter 5, I would think whatever struck them was much more substantial than just a cat scratch. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say either the script got scrubbed by Disney, or the intent was that MC was still woozy from VDC / OB Vil, MC felt so betrayed that it shook them emotionally, or that MC was just that weak by default that they can’t defend themselves against cat claws.

Hey, Ramshackle’s finally getting renovated! Proceeds to immediately get destroyed again--

I feel like????????? They tried to retroactively explain why Neige won to try and mitigate the uproar over how VDC ended. There’s some dialogue between the VDC group about how they didn’t perform at their peak because of having just walked out of dealing with OB Vil, and how Neige’s fans were going to vote for him anyway because they resonated with his background. Honestly, I think they should have moved on from that sore spot instead of bringing it up again, even if how chapter 5 ended didn’t personally bother me.

BOOM, HERE COME THE TWST TERMINATORS--

NOT GONNA LIE, THOSE STYX GUYS LOOK HOT SO COOL

AAAAAAND IT’S KIDNAPPING MONTAGE TIME, KIDS

JOABSFHUPAUABDBADB CALM DOWN, RIDDLE??????? YOU’RE GOING TO COMMIT ARSON IN BROAD DAYLIGHT--

Okay, I know this chapter’s focused on Ignihyde and Grim, but the standout part to me (so far) has been the scene where Leona’s being kidnapped. Historically, Leona has not been a character that I like (excluding that one time I had to pretend to like him for a game). I feel like he’s one massive missed opportunity (he didn’t show up much in chapter 2, he’s pretty similar backstory-wise to his Disney counterpart compared to the other Dorm Leaders, he didn’t seem to learn anything or become a better person even a LITTLE after chapter 2, etc.). I’m not a fan of his lazy and arrogant attitude either (even if it is justified by his backstory). But here? THIS IS THE LEONA I ACTUALLY LIKE AND WANT TO SEE MORE OF.

LIKE????? I CAN’T DESCRIBE TO YOU HOW MUCH I LIKE THIS SCENE???? Yeah, we have Leona fighting STYX at first, but as soon as he realizes who they are, he wises up and surrenders because he knows better than to resist arrest. AND NOT ONLY THAT, but he uses King’s Roar in a smart way--to turn the falling greenhouse glass panes into sand so they don’t hurt anyone nearby (namely him and Ruggie).

And after he turns himself in????? LEONA TELLS RUGGIE TO TAKE CARE OF SAVANACLAW FOR HIM!!! THIS is what a real leader would do. He looks after himself and his people, but he knows when to surrender, AND he leaves his “kingdom” (the dorm) in good hands while he’s away. THIS is the Leona I want to see.

AJBDUASHPFBUABFIABIYFBIPFAAFIAF I ALSO REALLY LIKE HIS SASS WHEN HE JUST THROWS HIS HANDS UP AND ASDBIASBIABAIODDAYOFAIPPADAIDB SAYS “I’ll go with you, but be careful while escorting me, okay? Despite my looks, I'm a precious prince. I’ll get sick/dizzy if you drive recklessly.” SARCASTIC SASSY SMARTASS??????? IF YOU HAD MORE LINES LIKE THIS, I’D LIKE YOU MORE

I love how Azul’s still talking about capitalism/how he can profit from Idia (apparently the Shrouds are like the TWST equivalent of Google??????) as he’s being escorted away by the agents?????? IF I WERE HIM, I’D BE PISSED OFF THAT THEY INTERRUPTED MY BOARD GAME????? At least let the man finish first--

Damn, everyone’s being tasered???????? And apparently all the STYX agents are equipped with anti-magic plates? I guess Bind the Heart can just eat shit then--

Lilia’s ringtone is cute, period.

CROWLEY CALLED STYX TO CAPTURE GRIM???? GRIM IS OFFICIALLY A SCP THAT NEEDS TO BE CONTAINED????

WAIT WHAT CROWLEY’S BEING KIDNAPPED TOO??????? Oh well, the school is probably safer in Trein’s hands anyway--

askhlbfbilhidbabbidasb RIDDLE WAKES UP POST KIDNAPPING AND HE’S USING LEONA AS A LAP PILLOW?????!

How does it feel to be held in a room against your will, Jamil? Yeah, don’t like a taste of your own medicine, do you?

OH HI IDIA, NICE YZMA MAD SCIENTIST GETUP YOU GOT THERE

Wait, what????? THAT’S IT?????? SERIOUSLY???????

MAN.

I have so many questions??????? Specifically about STYX and what they do, and how the Shrouds are tied into all of it.

So they say STYX is a specialized unit called in to quell serious Overblot cases. And if Crowley called them to deal with Grim... well, bad times ahead for Grim. STYX has also been studying Overblot for a long time, which is why (I think?) they captured Riddle, Leona, Azul, Jamil, and Vil.

There’s been some allusions made between Grim and Stitch in a lot of fan art and fan theories I’ve seen, since their struggles have some parallels: that being them struggling to decide if they are “good” or “bad”. I don’t know if this was intentional on the part of the TWST writing team, but regardless, it’s a really good concept that plays into the themes of TWST itself. There’s no good, there’s no evil, no black and white--most of the characters we see may be BASED on villains, but that doesn’t MAKE them villains. They are good, and bad, in their own ways--and now Grim is dealing with that crisis as he fights to keep his sanity and avoid completely succumbing to Overblot.

Though Idia seems to be involved with STYX’s research, it doesn’t sound like he personally gave the order to retrieve those test subjects (or at the very least, he’s not happy about roughing up the test subjects), it sounds like the orders came from other people in the organization. His parents, perhaps?

They mention briefly that Idia’s parents are asking him to “come home”, so it must be for something urgent. Are they worried about his safety? But Idia’s lines at the end of chapter 5 lead me to think he is estranged from his family, since he straight up rejected a job offer linked to them (Olympus Corp is owned by the Jupiter family, and the Shrouds are a branch family of Jupier), and says something like “I’m not welcome anywhere”. Has Idia done something to disgrace him from the rest of the family? Or is it more of a self imposed/self inflicted statement, given that he always says he’s “cursed” and acts like he’s guilty of something that deserves scorn?

Why is Idia participating in STYX research, even if it means experimenting on his fellow students (and fellow board game enthusiast Azul)? People are speculating that he wants to use blots to fully revive Ortho (if dead Ortho theory is true), or that Idia actually has heroic intentions (he wants to know more about blots to prevent OBing from happening?), but at this point??? Literally anything could happen?!

In future parts, I’m guessing Pomefiore, MC, and Adeuce will team up to break Jamil and the Dorm Leaders (except Malleus, Malleus got left out again www) out? And HOPEFULLY we get to see Rook’s Unique Magic or at least more screen time, since I feel like he got so little in chapter 5... Another thing I’d like to see is Ace and/or Epel getting their Unique Magic, or at least starting to develop it. It’s really mostly Ace I want more details for.

A theory I’ve been holding onto for a long time is that Deuce getting his UM will spur Ace on to become jealous (since he has always seen Deuce as an idiot/”lesser” than him), and that will cause a rift in the friendship, or for Ace to throw himself into a dangerous situation to prove himself (he has done it before with Riddle)... and has his ass rescued again. This would make Ace even angrier, since he feels like everyone is treating him like a little kid or rubbing it in that he isn’t “as good” as they are. I don’t know where it would go from there (I’m sure TWST would get creative), but ultimately it would culminate in Ace making amends with everyone and rushing in to save them from either Grim or Idia OB.

I don’t think Ace would discover his UM in a similar manner as Deuce (Deuce had to embrace his own stubbornness and straightforwardness, but as the term “Unique” Magic implies, the way a magic develops and manifests is “unique” to the user). While Deuce has to learn to accept his own way of thinking, I believe Ace is already sure of his own way of thinking and has totally accepted it. I think what Ace has to deal with instead is coming to terms with his fickleness. We’ve seen him time and time again treating his loved ones kind of callously, from constantly bullying MC, Grim, and Deuce to ghosting his own girlfriend and flaking on people when they are counting on him to do a task.

The issue with Ace isn’t that he isn’t aware, it’s that he is aware and he seems to think this behavior is totally okay. He demonstrates little to no remorse in what he does and says, and he doesn’t seem to care about the consequences either (how many times does he get punished by Riddle, yet he keeps doing the same dumb things over and over?). Ace appears to operate under the mindset of always being in the right, or (if he’s in the wrong), he won’t really acknowledge it, or he will wave it off as “no big deal”--and I think that’s his greatest weakness.

In the scenario I described earlier, I mentioned that Ace’s jealousy will cause a wedge between him and his friends, and I think this will play into him realizing the error of his ways. When he has finally driven away all of the people that supported him, what will he have left? Nothing. Then maybe Ace suddenly finds himself relating to Idia, or to Grim, who have Overblotted and are in a similar emotional state as he is. Confused and lonely... and that energizes him to pitch in again, even if all he has is wind magic up his sleeve. Everyone could be shocked that Ace has returned, and in that moment, he could finally realize his true potential and unlock his Unique Magic!

(Maybe that’s too specific, but that’s a scenario that I’ve had playing in my head for a long time!)

... Buuuuut given that Ace has gotten little to no spotlight so far in chapter 6, I’m not sure if they’ll lean into him developing his UM yet (unless they pull a chapter 5 and really start addressing Ace in the latter half of the chapter like they did with Deuce). Seeing as chapter 6 is dealing with a lot of heavy topics (death, Grim lore, Overblot lore), I’m thinking maybe the TWST team will push off Ace’s UM development to chapter 7???? The only way I can see it happening in chapter 6 is if the chapter is SUPER long, or if the writing is REALLY good or really bad.

Anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!! I’m so excited for the rest of chapter 6... I hope that we don’t have to wait too long for it!

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bigskydreaming · 3 years

Text

Brain topic du jour is reflecting on the frankly weird as fuck pattern in Dick’s life where....he barely ever experiences losses one at a time. Most of the loss he’s experienced in his life is compounded by him losing multiple people and other elements of stability all at the exact same time.

1) When his parents died, in some continuities this is coupled with him losing his extended family of his aunt and cousin as well, with his uncle left comatose and on life support for years before he eventually died as well. Even in continuities without Richard, Karla and John, the loss of Dick’s parents is compounded by the additional loss of his circus family in the sense that he was taken away from them by the state and their constant reassuring presences in his life were no longer comforts he was able to rely on.

2) When Jason died, Dick didn’t just lose his brother, as the tragedy was compounded by Bruce’s reaction. I’ll never be able to gloss over the effects of NTT #55, personally, because I think its too key to Dick’s entire characterization and the specific direction his character took in the years that followed this, to like....disregard that Bruce however unintentionally, while lost in his own grief, added to Dick’s own sense of loss for Jason in probably the worst way possible. As by kicking Dick out and telling him to leave his keys, Dick - having no way to know or guess that they’d ever reconcile, just like he never actually went back to the circus being a regular presence for him - to Dick, this was in essence the equivalent of his childhood tragedy all over again. Losing not just one family member, but his whole family in one sweep, and all the comforts and stability offered by a home he was forced to leave. Even Dick’s contact with Alfred was minimal for awhile, because why would the guy who basically JUST saw history repeat itself and was like, well I know how THIS tends to play out.....why would he think that if Alfred felt forced to actually choose between his loyalties to Bruce and Dick respectively, that Alfred would pick Dick over the man he’d known and raised from childhood himself?

3) Titans Hunt. I know I harp on this one a lot, but you can’t deny that it fits the pattern. Dick didn’t just lose one friend and teammate.....he lost Joey, he lost a good four or five lesser known Titans who nevertheless were people he viewed as directly HIS responsibility to keep safe. With these tragedies compounded by the fact that though comics played out a lot more slowburn and extended stories over years back then, like.....the aftermath of Titans Hunt was still everpresent and directly died into Dick’s reactions and emotions during the Mirage storyline and everything that happened with the failed wedding and his breakup with Kory AND the fact that he was literally forced off the team he’d basically founded, by the government agency that took over the team and appointed Roy as its leader in his stead.

3) Graduation Day. The second time the Titans disbanded it was again not due to a singular loss, because Dick didn’t just lose Donna at this point, but also Lilith died in the exact same story and though Lilith is criminally underused, like, she’s also one of Dick’s oldest friends. She was literally the first Titan to join after the original five. This then led into the Outsiders era, where Dick was shown to still be reeling from the losses of this story for an extended period of time, and in a fun parallel to the Titans Hunt aftermath, Dick was also ousted from his leadership of THIS team by essentially a vote of no confidence by his teammates (and uh, Bruce too, literally).

4) The Blockbuster arc. Where Dick’s emotional state was due to a continued string of multiple losses. He lost his apartment building and almost every one of the neighbors he’d built a community out of, as we’d been shown him actively involving himself in their lives and vice versa for YEARS before this point. Then he lost his circus, his childhood home, burned to the ground and with dozens of deaths - both spectators and actual performers Dick had known and loved as a child. Then he lost his relationship with Barbara, his sense of self-security and autonomy to Tarantula, he lost another teen vigilante who died in his colors, the mantle HE’D created, when Stephanie was believed dead in War Games, and it all culminated in losing the city he’d invested himself in as his CHOSEN home, the place he dedicated himself to protecting, when Chemo blew it up.

Oh just for the record - my nonexistent passport to the magical kingdom of Narnia for a fic that raises the point when bringing up Tim’s losses in the Red Robin era, that like.....ALL of the above happened at literally the EXACT SAME TIME as all Tim’s referenced losses occurred. Obviously Steph meant more to Tim than Dick on a personal level, but I also included her largely as an anchor point to the timeline, to show how that death, and not long after that Jack Drake’s and then Superboy’s.... occurred right smack in the middle of one of the absolute WORST periods of Dick’s life. To be clear, I don’t intend this to suggest that no actually, Dick had it harder than Tim - nah.

No thank you. Hard pass. I hate that sort of thing even in support of my own faves over other characters. No, instead the thing I’d love to see explored more is just in light of the SPECIFIC angle fics take here - that Dick’s actions while Bruce was lost in time showed an obliviousness to everything Tim had lost lately - for literally ANYONE to bring up or introduce into the timeline here an awareness of everything Dick had lost AT THE EXACT SAME TIME PERIOD. To establish that actually, Dick didn’t just ‘not understand what it was like’ - rather, its more accurate to say that nobody in universe around this time ever shows an awareness of Dick’s own losses and says oh wait, that doesn’t track then.

Because obviously, with this stuff put in proper perspective, Dick understands VERY VERY WELL the exact thing we’re accusing him of not understanding by being oblivious to Tim’s losses that he’s not actually oblivious to because he tries to talk to Tim about them all the time, while meanwhile its everyone else who has absolutely mum to say about the fact that Dick’s emotional state is compromised to hell and back at this point, not JUST because of losing Bruce, but also because *gestures wildly* literally ALL OF THE ABOVE in the exact same time frame Tim’s extended losses happened in.

And okay I am going to indulge in slight tiny itty bitty pettiness and point out my ire that so many fics set during this time tend to recite listicles of Tim’s losses, with Steph, Kon and Jack Drake at the very top of said list....while paying no attention whatsoever to the fact that STEPH WAS LITERALLY BACK BY THE TIME THE RED ROBIN SERIES HAPPENED. She’s LITERALLY a person Dick sends to check up on Tim after Tim turns Dick away when he tries himself. How are you gonna stress the impact Steph’s loss has on Tim when you’re not even acknowledging STEPH’S RIGHT HERE IN THE EXACT SPECIFIC CANON STORY YOU’RE CITING??? I just. afhioskhflafhlafhklfahlfa.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but you know who ELSE was also back at the same time? CONNOR. Superboy LITERALLY was already back to life by the time the Red Robin series even began. Like, the issue where a resurrected Kon and Cassie (Wonder Girl) have a heart to heart about the fact that Tim and Cassie ‘connected’ during his absence and Connor stresses that this doesn’t bother him or make him feel negatively towards either of them at all, because hello, he was literally dead at the time, why would he mind that two of the people he loves most in the world sought comfort in each other? Yeah, that issue? Literally came out BEFORE Tim even became Red Robin.

I MEAN. I’m just saying, when people constantly take shots at Dick’s choices during this period because of how much Tim had lost before Bruce already, in order to shift focus away from the fact that Dick lost Bruce every bit as much as Tim did......and you repeatedly emphasize the SAME three names as the focal point of Tim’s losses while paying no acknowledgment whatsoever to everything Dick lost at the exact same time Tim lost these three.....it quickly becomes kiiiiiiinda relevant in my opinion THAT TWO OF THE THREE NAMES CONSTANTLY MENTIONED AS BEING TIM’S LOSSES ARE NO LONGER EVEN LOST BY THE TIME THE SUBJECT COMES UP. Again, I’m just saying! Pettily, mind you! I am aware of the pettiness, I just beg awareness of like *again gesticulates wildly at all of the above* ALL THAT!

LOL.

But I digress.

5) When Bruce was believed dead while he was lost in the timestream. Again, Dick didn’t just lose the father who had been the only parent in his life for almost TWICE as long as his first parents......this was coupled with the loss of numerous other sources of stability in Dick’s life. There’s the matter of his personal sense of identity and self-expression....Dick FOUGHT against becoming Batman, trying to handle Gotham in Bruce’s absence as Nightwing for as long as he could, because he knew being Batman was very much NOT going to be good for him. He put so much of himself into building his identity as Nightwing, establishing himself in that role, that self-image, that yes, I maintain it was an actual LOSS for Dick, to feel like he had no choice but to give that up and everything it meant to him and his own life, in order to essentially live Bruce’s life for him in his absence.

Because it wasn’t just being Batman that Dick was struggling with at this time....he also had to act as the patriarch to the Wayne family, essentially raise Bruce’s ten year old son, step into Bruce’s old role in Wayne Enterprises, all while getting no acknowledgment for any of this, for literally LIVING his father’s life instead of the life Dick had worked so hard to build for HIMSELF....because of course Dick’s actions and struggles couldn’t even be advertised beyond the family and close friends, because the whole point of him doing all this was so that nobody else even realized that Bruce wasn’t really there anymore. Dick didn’t just assume Bruce’s responsibilities. Dick assumed Bruce’s life, so thoroughly that most people didn’t even put together that Bruce was ‘dead,’ between Dick handling Bruce’s actual roles and responsibilities while Hush made public appearances as him.

Like, when you’re living someone else’s life so completely that nobody can tell they’re even gone....how on earth does that leave any time or space for you to have ANY kind of life of your OWN, y’know? Not to mention the fact that like in so many times previously....all this meant that Dick couldn’t even afford to let his grief for his own losses show, because he wasn’t supposed to be grieving any losses in the first place, that was the whole point of the con!

Additionally, couple this with the fact that throughout this time period, Dick didn’t have Tim to lean on at all, because it was never that Dick kicked Tim out or neglected him or didn’t care....he’d actively stressed how much he needed Tim, because the partner Tim was convinced Dick chose ‘over’ him - Dick was the first one to admit back then that he DIDN’T trust Damian yet, couldn’t afford to, because he was all too aware that Damian didn’t give a fuck about him yet and couldn’t be guaranteed to step in to have Dick’s back - because that required mutual trust that Dick literally just hadn’t had time to build yet. And add to THAT the fact that during this time, Jason was actively antagonizing the family and Dick in particular at every turn, trying to bring them all down and basically write over what all of them saw as Bruce’s legacy with Jason’s own version of what he thought that should look like.

Also also, take into account that unlike how often we see fanon depict Dick as just too stubborn or proud to ask for help, there’s the fact that he actually had very few avenues TO ask for help! As already established, he DID ask Tim for help. Not like Jason was an option at this time, and Dick’s friends weren’t actually just sitting waiting in the wings and groaning about the fact that Dick was trying to do all of this solo....nah, they kinda had their own problems, which Dick was all too aware of?

Like the fact that in the wake of Final Crisis, it wasn’t just Bruce that was believed lost. Many other key Leaguers like Martian Manhunter were dead or lost, with others struggling to fill the gaps left in their absence. Cry For Justice happened right after Final Crisis too....that story where Lian was murdered? So it wasn’t like Dick was remotely going to try leaning on Roy when Roy had just lost his freaking DAUGHTER and very much wasn’t handling it well (and not to overshadow Roy’s loss at ALL, but please let’s not act like Dick - who had literally been the person to put a baby Lian in Roy’s arms for the first time and had known that girl for pretty much her entire life - like, it shouldn’t be used to detract from Roy’s loss at all, but it shouldn’t have to, to just acknowledge that Lian’s loss right at this exact time was painful as fuck to Dick, who’d loved his niece like crazy.)

The pattern of compounding, concurrent losses in Dick’s life. I’m just saying. Its there.

And it extends into the New 52 as well, where Forever Evil came right on the heels of Dick losing his circus in THIS continuity to the Joker, just as a way to hurt him in Death of A Family. And with the aftermath of Forever Evil and Dick’s own literal death, being like....the complete loss of Dick’s entire life, even though he was revived quickly. That didn’t mean he got to live HIS life though, since Dick Grayson was believed dead and he was told had to remain so, so its like fuck whatever he actually wanted to do as he went about on the Spyral mission aka something that pinched his own sense of morality and personal agenda at every turn and was kinda the last thing a therapist would recommend for a trauma recovery period, lol. And like, for all the focus that was paid to how Dick’s family were hurt because they believed they’d lost him when he was actually alive, let’s not forget that for all intents and purposes, Dick DID lose his family in the wake of his resurrection because he was flat out told over and over that due to what ‘he’d LET happen to him’ he was an ACTIVE danger to them, and thus wasn’t allowed by Bruce to contact any of them or lean on them to any degree, until Bruce got amnesia and stopped blocking Dick’s pleas to return home by just not being there to pick up the secret phone line at all.

(And omg, the obliviousness that just EMANATES off the hot takes that Dick had a ‘choice’ in all this and he still CHOSE to do what Bruce told him....like. LOLOL, stop being pissy about me bringing up the term abuse apologism when its literal victim blaming to paint the guy who had to be beaten into ‘agreeing’ to the Spyral mission in the immediate wake of the trauma of DYING, all while his father vocally blamed him for his own suffering and the ‘threat’ he now posed to his family, keying directly into the guilt complex Bruce knows damn well is at the core of most of Dick’s motivations.....fucking please. There’s no choice in all that. That’s active emotional, mental and physical abuse aimed at directly manipulating Dick’s actions, delivered by the guy who knows Dick best in the world and whose approval - particularly when Dick is at absolute rock bottom aka Current Location - matters more to Dick than just about anything because his sense of self-worth has more in common with dog shit than actual dog shit does. Or something. Idk. That analogy got away from me. But like. You get it.)

BUT. I. DIE. GRESS. (I guess).

Aaaaaaanyway, so yeah! That repeating pattern throughout Dick’s life of ‘loss? What loss (singular)? My losses only come in groups, lolol, fuuuuuun’ - mmmm. Yeah. So that’s what’s on MY brain right now. Thoughts?

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sindri42 · 3 years

Note

What do you think the Reapers were supposed to be all about before the writer got replaced and the ending of ME3 threw out the lore?

There's not a lot that we have that's solid, just a lot of hints and suppositions. So there's no way to really conclusively determine what was supposed to be going on, but we can definitely come up with theories that match the evidence, which the "canon" absolutely does not. So here's what we know:

Harbinger refers to themself as our "salvation through destruction" and the "Harbinger of your perfection". "We will bring your species into harmony with our own" they say, and "Your species will be raised to a new existence. We are the beginning, you will be the end," but also "You will surrender your potential against the growing void."

Sovereign claims they are each a nation unto themselves, that they are the pinnacle of evolution, and when asked who created them or for what purpose insists that they have no beginning nor end

Mass Effect technology plays upon dark energy in a way that is poorly understood by the young races despite their reliance on it for almost every aspect of life

A small but significant number of stars are destabilizing for unknown reasons, aging at a massively accelerated rate.

The mass relays were built for the young races, partly so civilized planets would be laid out upon predictable paths and easily accessible via the "back door" in the Citadel, but also so that the new civilizations would develop along the lines the Reapers had planned for them

it's very rare to have more than a single major race in each cycle; most often the other spacefaring civilizations are either wiped out or made subservient to the rulers of the galaxy

The greatest race of each cycle is used in the creation of a single new Reaper, while lesser races or those with major flaws are discarded or turned into servitors like the Keepers (per the end of ME2; obviously this got retconned in 3).

Between "harvests" the Reapers retreat beyond the galactic rim, sitting quietly in the dark using as little energy as possible for tens of thousands of years at a time.

So, first and simplest assumption, the Cycle is effectively the Reapers' reproductive system. Like all life forms, they have a drive to produce more of themselves, but for some reason they can't or won't simply make a new chassis out of raw metal, and they're unwilling to use "flawed" people as components, which means the people put into it are extremely important. If the larval reaper that Shepherd killed had been allowed to grow up, it would not simply have been a machine with some random DNA inside, it would have been humanity, an entire nation and species flying through space for eternity.

Second assumption, slightly stretchy but with several weak points of support? Mass Effect technology is slowly killing the galaxy. As more people use it in more ways every year, more stars start to die. This isn't an issue that would affect any normal person alive today, the changes are observed over the course of millennia rather than even centuries, but unless something big changes everyone is eventually doomed. And sure, any given individual or small group could simply refuse to use the mass effect, but it's so easy to figure out that you could never suppress the knowledge of how to use it in any meaningful way, and it's so useful and people are so greedy and short-sighted that you could never persuade everybody to stop. And if you tried to do it by force, well, a nation making free use of eezo in their engines and their guns and their shields would wipe the floor with a nation determined to stick to mundane technology.

So, my theory of how things went down? The first race to figure out the mass effect knew they had a problem. Maybe they had already made themselves immortal, so they were more concerned with the long term than most people. Maybe they just had more foresight than most. Either way, they put themselves into a form where they could still think and communicate, likely on a deeper and more intimate level than ever before, but they would use as little energy as possible to preserve their billions of lives. The "pinnacle of evolution" if you will, a machine which had no creator besides itself, a life form which could last forever with minimal resource consumption. And they sat quietly Thinking about how to fix this, for tens of thousands of years.

But while they researched and experimented and contemplated, other life forms kept evolving. And eventually they also figured out the secret to using the mass effect, but either didn't know about the dangers or chose to ignore them. So the ancient... okay let's just call them Harbinger for convenience, had to do something to stop this. Maybe they were too soft-hearted to wipe out an entire species for an honest mistake. Or maybe their research had hit a dead end, and they needed an outside perspective to apply new ideas to the problem. Or maybe they were simply lonely, or the instinctual drive to be fruitful and multiply reared up after being suppressed for so long. Either way, they converted the young fools into another nation-ship hive-mind like themself, convinced them of the seriousness of the situation (to "surrender your potential against the growing void" as it were), and resumed Thinking out in the black.

And when it happened again, and again, they refined their approach over time. The eezo drives on the individual ships of the young races are not only slower, but also massively less efficient than the technology the Reapers have developed, so they gave the Relays away as a gift to minimize the damage each new race would do. They couldn't allow young races to become too powerful to stop, but they wanted to allow them as much opportunity to develop scientific research and understanding as possible in order to be more useful to the ongoing project to save the galaxy, so they learned how to insert observers and infiltrators throughout alien societies to observe things and ensure the Harvest was delayed for as long as it was safe to do so but no longer (and I think you can agree that they were cutting their deadlines really close given how an extra three years brought the council races from 'utterly unprepared, basically a walkover' to 'giving you a serious fight').

So, how would the game end, after you learned all of this? Maybe Shepherd simply accepts the inevitable fate of the young races, like Saren once did, and helps the Reapers to end the Cycle with a minimum of suffering so that they can join the endless search for a real solution. The ultimate 'sacrifice for the greater good', killing thousands of entire species of people in order to preserve life in the galaxy as a whole. Maybe Shepherd rejects the idea that it's worth killing billions of innocents now in order to head off some distant nebulous threat later, and fights back with everything they have... and if you managed to unify everybody you possibly could, this would certainly be more power than the Reapers ever had to deal with before in any past cycle. Or maybe you use a display of that power to force the Reapers to the negotiating table, and then use all the "impossible" things you've achieved and all the scientific progress made over the past few short years, plus a heavy dose of raw charisma and Paragon ideology, to persuade them that if everybody works together they can finally solve the impossible problem, the one that has been stumping every Reaper for millions of years, within the time span of this one final Cycle if they just share the data they have so far and allow the young races to work freely.

#mass effect

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agent-cupcake · 3 years

Note

As a resident Claudefucker, I know am curious to know what our fave charming schemer is doing during this Mafia!AU. He'd look lovely in a suit.

~It was quite the headline when Godfrey Riegan died. The details are a little hazy, a little convenient, but people don't talk about that sort of thing. Car accidents are common. Tragic, but not unreasonable. There’s no reason to smear a man’s perfectly respectable political career for the sake of some sensational gossip.

~In the right circles, however, there was a huge uproar, questions about who was going to take over the Riegan family when the elderly boss Oswald died. The Riegan’s had been dominating Leicester for quite some time, but a lot of people began to predict that the Gloucester family was going to move in. They had powerful friends, it seemed. Friends with money, no less.

~Claude Riegan, grandson of Oswald, appeared out of nowhere just when he was needed. Stories of the lost daughter Tiana still circulated, sure, but there were still a lot of questions about Claude’s origins when nobody except Oswald were able to vouch for him. He obviously had military leadership experience—his skill with guns and ability to lead was just too excellent for any other explanation—but he dismissed the question out of hand. There’s no documentation of him, either, leading some to wonder if even his name was false. But Oswald said he was family, and that was that.

~Claude was quick to establish himself, in any case. Despite his cavalier attitude, his efficacy in overhauling the power dynamics of Leicester were profound.

~He decided, first and foremost, that the way to win the people over was to invigorate the local culture, which had seen a sharp decline as a result of new laws that were unfavorable to business, Adrestia’s growing market monopolies, and the bad reputation of the red light district Ailell. This included some perfectly legitimate campaigning and some under the table type schemes.

~The result was a flourishing Derdriu Street. While it lacks the prestige of Enbarr Square in Adrestia, it welcomes entertainment that would be considered too “low brow” like comedy, trendy new restaurants, and music venues. Even better, all of it is built on the recently cleaned up river. The Riegan family is involved in all of it, of course.

~Casino owner Claude. This exists solely to thirst but maybe it was preexisting and he took it over due to its poor management? If there’s going to be gambling anyway, it should be done right. The extra money’s not so bad, either. But, Claude lounging in a big leather chair in a dark blue blazer with gold brocade, his white shirt unbuttoned low enough to see enough his chest. Enough to make you drool. Enough that you’d definitely get caught staring and probably called out for it because he can’t help himself. Claude with his elbows on the arm rests and fingers folded in front of him as he considers you, gold rings winking because he’s just that ostentatious and appearances are important. Claude asking you how you feel about taking risks in a way that really feels like it has nothing to do with cards, staring at you with a friendly smile that doesn’t meet those calculating eyes—eyes that you know will pick up on every tell.

~Claude also struck a deal with the Kupala Distillery. They’d been fighting to keep hold of their historic business for years, and Claude offered to help them with that. You know, not for free, but he’s good at making deals that leave everybody happy.

~The second biggest thing he tackled was the drug trade. For the most part, no one family had ever had a complete handle on that market. The Goneril’s had a hold over the docks for years, but the Edmunds had been moving in and working with the Gloucester family to bolster their power. Distribution was scattered and hard to keep track of as it ultimately circulated wherever there was a profit to be made. Looking at it like this, Claude decided that the only way to fix things was to take control over all of it. In his line of work, shady things like the drug trade are impossible to avoid. At the very least, if he has control over it, he can ensure the product is clean and expel far more unsavory ventures.

~Through these escapades, Claude was able to make alliances with all of the major families. A lot of them had only remained loyal to the Gloucester family out of fear so as soon as they had an alternative, they bolted. This has an unfortunate side effect of revealing how his power is perceived. Every day is a balancing act for Claude. He allows each family to function as they please as long as they’re aware they do so at his mercy. It’s better to keep friends than to control enemies, but even that requires a delicate maneuvering of power.

~However, Claude likes the conflict. He enjoys the game and he especially enjoys winning the game. There’s a certain level of his excusing amorality for the sake of his family and Leicester, but there’s an equal part of him that understands his wrongdoings and deals with it separately. He wouldn’t hold to the naïve “ends justify the means” idea to excuse himself, but he would still argue that his actions have value and are even necessary. If it weren’t him, it would be somebody a lot worse than him. That’s probably something that would linger in the back of everybody’s minds whenever they shook his hand or paid their respects, whenever they began to think of how easy it would be to take him out. Fear, too. So far, Claude’s never done anything shockingly bad, only what was necessary. But with his power and intellect, it’s always a question of what he could do.

~If someone asked him that, Claude would smile that friendly smile and tell them that he would do anything to see his vision made real. Whether or not that’s true remains to be seen.

~Luckily, Claude’s not alone! Hilda is the stereotypical crime family princess. She joined Claude because he offered her freedom from the overbearing control of her father and brother. Her skill in manipulating everybody around her combined with her reputation as a ditzy rich girl makes her fantastic at gathering information, assuming Claude can get her to do so. But, as long as he’s not being too forceful, she’s surprisingly motivated to weave her way through social circles and charm everyone. Although she would never say it, the order he brought to Leicester, not to mention the entertainment, made everything a lot better for her and her family. Plus, she likes being useful after spending her entire life watching Holst give his heart and soul to family while she did nothing. Ultimately, the information she provides is essential and her relationship with Claude is one of the few either have that’s built on trust, respect, and loyalty. That said, sometimes even Claude gets a little shiver as he watches how easily Hilda can manipulate people.

~Lorenz was one of Claude’s most disdainful detractors, although a part of that was jealousy. Claude just swept in and did things that Lorenz had been waiting and planning to do once he became the head of the Gloucester family. Even after being on the receiving ends of such vicious attacks, once Claude undeniably had the upper hand in Leicester, he went behind the Gloucester boss’s back to Lorenz and told him that they were going to be friends or enemies, it was Lorenz’s choice. Not threatening him, just pointing out that the fall of the Gloucester family was inevitable under his father’s leadership and that Lorenz didn’t have to suffer for his father’s sins. Probably over mimosas and brunch. Lorenz is proud and has no appreciation for Claude, but he’s not stupid. After they worked out their disagreements and more or less accepted each other, Lorenz and Claude became pretty close. Claude knows that having someone to openly and aggressively disagree with him isn’t a bad thing. Not only that, but Lorenz’s a solid ally with a better grasp on some of the things Claude has difficulty with due to not being a native. Lorenz is willing to admit that Claude is a good leader.

~Marianne is well educated in the realm of the law and political action. The reason the Edmund family saw such success despite their lesser status was because of her adopted father’s genius. which he made sure to share with Marianne. She is invaluable in aiding Claude on the perfectly legitimate side of his business, and helping him hide his tracks for the shady stuff. Raphael is the muscle. Lysithea is a computer genius. Being a sickly shut in with issues that only recently saw treatment, she’s on the Mr. Robot level of hacker mode activated. Ignatz is an architect which is useful since so much of Claude’s power is in the property and infrastructure. He also designed a lot of places to have some neat-o hidey holes. Claude loves buildings that have secrets. Leonie is manages a lot of the physical and pettier side of the work. If someone’s stirring up trouble, she’s likely to pay them a visit as a warning before Claude has to get involved. She used to be a mercenary but being on Claude’s payroll is a lot better of a gig.

~As for the suits, one thing is very important. Claude would not, under any circumstances, wear something tight on his thighs. I actually kind of like the idea of him going for a 1980′s style modernized. In his post timeskip outfit, he’s already got a hint of that going on with how oversized his outfit looks. The 80′s (rightfully) gets a bad rep for fashion, but it’s also very iconic with those wide-collared suit jackets, matchy-matchy three piece suits, sportscoats with a fun patterned shirt underneath, open blazers, pleated pants with an oversized jacket, and—in particular—the trend of summer suits in shades of tan and cream with colored shirts underneath. Then, combine that with a pair of Ray-Ban Aviators and a topless convertible and you’ve got a distinctly recognizable mob boss who doubles as a devastating heartthrob. I’m not saying he’d do a 1:1 recreation, but you’d definitely see references to the fashion of the era in his outfits. He would wear oxfords or ankle boots. Whatever it was, they’d have to be comfortable. He also doesn’t shy away from jewelry. The earring, of course, and rings when he's feeling particularly decadent. When he’s wearing his shirts unbuttoned Claude could possibly wear a gold chain. I mean, what are you gonna say, no? That gold doesn’t look gorgeous against his skin? That it’s tacky? You’re talking to the man who wore quilted pants. Claude’s not afraid to stand out because he knows he will anyway, nor is he afraid to be seen as unfashionable because he doesn’t particularly care about trends. I also enjoy the idea of him emulating the 80′s as someone who didn’t grow up in a western culture and thus mainly saw things through the lens of movies. Whatever he wears, however, he would look very handsome.

#claude von riegan #fe claude #claude von riegan headcanons #fe claude headcanons #claude von riegan x reader #fe claude x reader #fe3h #fire emblem three houses #headcanons #did i put too much thought into this? yes #do i regret it? a little #but this has been festering in my mind

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