#magnus is a TRULY superior character

[trashburgersblair]

I'm realizing that fiction podcasts have made me do a shit ton of self reflection.

Like, more than any other media I've ever consumed. Listening to the magnus archives (especially season 5) made me realize and be able to put a name to what i was truly afraid of. And its still making me reflect on me as a person and what i like an fear.

The Penumbra Podcast also kinda did that? More it sent me into a gender crisis that im still chilling in. But Juno's character development through the seasons hit me like a bit of a bus. Especially him leaving Nureyev and all-round his self destructive behavior made me do a lot of look at how i face my issues.

Other ones like Camp Here & There and Jar of Rebuke also just made me thing a lot when characters were having conversations and i cant really find the words but they also made me look at myself.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, I think this just means fiction podcasts are the superior medium

(Honorable mention : A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO FAKING YOUR DEATH, an Album by jhariah also made me do a lot of self reflection and made me realize that i am totally ready to run away from my problems and fake my death) (don't worry im working on it)

[ultraericthered]

So, uh... Lazytown was a thing during my adolescent years, but for me, only a thing I was aware of rather than a thing I was into. Even years later as I was becoming an adult and it had a revival, I only knew it through The Memes(TM). But late last year, partially on a whim and partially because August this year will mark the fifth anniversary of when a truly special, wonderful, and irreplaceable human being named Stefan Karl Stefansson tragically left this world, I decided to give Magnus Scheving’s original Icelandic stage play Áfram Latibær! and its direct sequel Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ (which introduced Stefansson as Glanni/Robbie) a watch. The first one was unironically fun but also super hokey and cheap in a lot of ways. The sequel was superior in almost all ways. Both of them got me in the mood to give a look to the TV show and see what I’d slept on (ha ha) for so long.

After having watched a few episodes here and there, I can say that this show...is basic. That’s really the best word for it. Worse childrens shows have been made, but better ones exist as well. Sometimes the writing is solid and will get a laugh out of me, other times it’s just dumb and eyeroll-inducing. I’m not a fan of the puppet characters and kind of check out when the focus is on them, the song and dance numbers can be hit or miss, Stephanie’s pretty cool when played by Julianna Rose Mauriello rather than Chloe Lang (more the material’s fault than Lang’s, she was a better Stephanie in her TikTok videos), and on that note I’m not even touching the Cartoonito Era of the show beyond the meme-worthy Robbie Rotten content it gave us. Also, how dare the show leave out Officer Obtuse, that is a crime!

But none of that matters because this post is really about the two characters pictured above - Robbie Rotten, played by the late and great Stefan Karl Stefansson, and Sportacus, played by Magnus Scheving himself. These two are what make the series for me. In the plays and the show, they’re the strongest elements. The actors’ portrayal of them is obviously a huge part of it (seriously, how the Hell was I sleeping on Robbie for so long? The guy’s legit hilarious!), but there’s something deeper that strikes me about them - they’re the best example of a Role Model VS an Anti Role Model I’ve ever seen.

What I mean by that is that Sportacus is the guy you like, you root for, and want to emulate in life. He’s there to make kids want to get more active, eat healthier, and make wiser life choices. Hell, he makes me want to get more active, eat healthier, and make wiser life choices! His athleticism and acrobatic abilities are like I’ve not seen since John Stork AKA Hyper-Strike on Who Wants To Be A Super Hero?, and his positive attitude and affable personality marks him as the Good Guy, the one you wish you could be like. ...But there’s always that awareness in the back of your mind that unless you are a very dedicated and talented pro gymnast like Magnus is, you will never be anywhere near as cool. You can follow in Sportacus’ footsteps but you cannot actually walk in them, it’s beyond you. Meanwhile, you’ve got Robbie Rotten, the guy you boo and hiss and enjoy watching as he gets thwarted, ridiculed, and bested every time he gets up to no good. You like him because he’s funny and not all that evil or dangerous (in the show, I mean - OG Glanni Glæpur was quite a different story), but do NOT want to emulate him and his lifestyle because it’s not at all subtle that he’s in the wrong, that sloth and gluttony are sins not to be encouraged in children. ...And yet, if you’re to be honest with yourself, you either know this guy or are this guy. You identify more with Robbie than with Sportacus because aside from the Jim Carrey-esque cartooniness and villainy, he’s more feasible. Any child could prefer to live more like how he does, and carry those preferences well into adulthood. It may not be healthy, but it’s easy, relaxing, self-gratifying and comfortably routine. Even if you’re better adjusted, you can’t help but find Robbie to be relatable in various ways at various points. Your want to not be like him is in part because you recognize in yourself qualities that he displays.

Yeah so basically I stan. These are iconic and immortal characters for a damn good reason.  

[ladyhindsight]

We are half-way through the book, and it feels like going nowhere. Team Good is trying to find a way to help Jace, sure, while doing some side quests. Sebastian and Jace are progressing with their own plan as well, and Clary just hangs along not really actively trying to find out anything but to build rapport with Sebastian and make out with Jace. It all seems so aimless at the moment.

Chapter opens up with Alec returning to Magnus’ place after the meet-up with Camille.

A way to make your character to look more dumb than probably intended is to do this. Because what purpose does it serve how long does it take for Alec to realize this insignificant thing?

→ “but the living room was glowing with the blue-white flame coming from the pentagram.”

Alec goes to sleep next to Magnus who had different ideas than sleeping, and we cut to Simon and Isabelle having difficulties cuddling.

Astute observation. Also, it’s always childhood and nostalgia when Simon thinks of Clary. Isabelle will later in this book make a great point about this, but Simon never really gives up that aspect of Clary and his relationship to move forward and grow up, does he.

Just in the previous chapter I said that it’s such an outlandish take for any Shadowhunter to be inclined to think like this. Obviously individual opinions exist and not everyone necessarily likes them, but the fact that it’s one cause of the whole point that makes them Nephilim in the first place, it’s ridiculous that the scars are made such a point of beauty/ugliness in this book.

More so is the opinion that Isabelle presents here, that girls aren’t supposed to be covered in scars. Who thinks that? Where does he get that? What is the influence behind this idea that girls specifically are supposed to be unscarred? Warrior women and daughters of Raziel aren’t supposed to be scarred when they too use runes?

This is so idiotic and more a mundane issue, which for all the superiority the Nephilim feel towards them should make them think it all stupid.

Simon is also hungry and Isabelle tries to seduce him to drink from her. Simon resist but Isabelle is insistent, from which we could draw some parallel points that no means no, but:

This is unintentionally hilarious.

Simon is worried that he drank too much.

I’m going to need some peer-reviewed studies on this. Sure, blood volume as in plasma is replaced and can be replaced quickly, which means even quicker for the Shadowhunters. But even with Shadowhunters and they hyper blood, hemoglobin will take weeks, so does it really help if you’re going to be anemic? No.

Cut to Jace and Clary, and Clary is surprised that Sebastian told her the truth, that he didn’t feed the human girl to the vampire girl.

The writing does it utmost to teeter the edge of maybe we can trust Sebastian and give him a chance, but it doesn’t really work when you have child murder on your tally. Doesn’t need feverish mulling-over when you've witnessed firsthand and secondhand the evil Sebastian is capable of. Clary is neither that worried about the human girl Sebastian dragged along, she just wonders whether Sebastian lied about her fate and is to be trusted.

I don’t know where the jeans appeared because it was told in the chapter 8 that: “The drawers held camisoles and underwear, tops in cotton and silk, skirts but no jeans or pants.” And this is the only wardrobe that Clary utilizes in the moving house of Sebastian. Though obviously Sebastian or Jace could’ve gone and bought her some.

They truly know each other so well.

I'm just taking a dig, they don't have to know or can't know each little thing about each other, but it's funny because otherwise the writing really likes to tell you just that.

Again, the em dashes function like a comma, a colon, or parenthesis. Like commas and parentheses, em dashes set off extra information, and here they are intended as a colon but used like parenthesis. Without the em dashes the sentence here in the excerpt would go like this:

She looked away from him and busied herself putting together a breakfast plate from what was on the table, the chewy, round kind.

→ and sliced bacon that was the chewy, round kind.

Or something.

Much like me with all of Clare's writing. Why, why, why...

The motion he is doing is still running, not floating.

→ making it look like he was running in the air.

Clary doesn’t know Jace can cook eggs, and Jace doesn’t know Clary doesn’t like eggs. Also Clary doesn’t know how to tell Jace she doesn’t like eggs.

Imagine not being able to voice your dislikes because the other one might get disappointed. Imagine just answering Jace’s question: “Neither, I don’t like eggs.” But no, we needed a stupid segue to relationship wisdom from Sebastian, since Clare doesn’t realize that even these tiniest of things and inconsistencies eat away the actual consistency of her narrative she sometimes manages.

Why does he need to strip at all?

Oh, right. For another character-defining moment.

There will be another point also in the book that refers to this same point. Why does it matter where to rune is placed? Because the series has barely told us anything about the workings of runes, it has barely made any sense with the use of them.

You can infer that it matters where the rune is placed. But what runes work best and placed where? Maybe this is not necessary knowledge for the story to work, and maybe I'm just too pendantic about it, but since it is made a point that each rune is placed on a specific place here, I'd personally like to know why those places exactly.

Maryse then gets her one and only PoV.

Jem is so insistent on separating Jace as Herondale that it isn’t even subtle. “Your son” would suffice. (he does say that after though)

Case in point. Also there is no consistency as to what names the Silent Brothers even use.

I just love this exchange because Maryse tells Jem what’s what! And yes, Jem, you did, with your obsession of Jace's Herondale-ness.

YES, HE WAS. And the mentality like you are the reason he did not get to be! Also, what does this even meeeeean???

Cut back to Team Evil. They are on a mission to do something, after hanging around the town for ages, but Clary doesn’t know what they are after. (A chunk of adamas)

This book just loves “subtly” incorporating the incest theme. The sibling love theme just continues and continues, and I am tired and sickened at the “subtlety” under which Clare thinks she operates, though I get why Sebastian phrases it like this.

Why was it so difficult to leave Jace and Clary to wait outside somewhere? Because plot couldn’t happen.

Truly the peak of Jace’s training.

We end the chapter with this cliffhanger but no worries, Clary will experience her warrior awakening in the next chapter, which was actually kind of nice. All the other stuff in this chapter, not so much, which is not a good fanfare for what is coming next.

[gritsandbrits]

Sentinel Prime in a nutshell

How he became that way

- Was friends with Elita and Optimus

- Suggested going to a forbidden planet

- Got attacked by giant mutant spiders

- Optimus saves him but Elita is lost

- Optimus covered for him by claiming the trip was his idea and is kicked out

- Sentinel remained in the academy, moved up to Guard Status which he remains today

List of Crimes

- Fostered a toxic learning environment

- Gave Bumblebee and Bulkhead their names solely based on their character flaws

- Accepted false statements of Wasp being a decepticon spy without really questioning them

- Refused to send help to Optimus's ship which resulted in their crashing down to Earth

- Bullied the Detroit Crew by forcefully showering them (hazing basically)

- Puts down Optimus

- Attempts to use his authority to bully others

- Tried to have the Detroit crew arrested just because they wanted to learn Wasp's story

- Bribed decepticons into a scheme to make like he caught them on his own even though was really dangerous

- Tried to hog Ultra Magnus's hammer when it didn't belong to him

- Tried to play the moral high ground on Blackarachnia because he couldn't face his guilt

- acts incredibly arrogant when it proves to be a danger to himself and others

- tries to use his authority not to Cybertron's wellbeing but to cover up some easily avoidable mistakes

- Takes his insecurities and self loathing out on others

- Has a stank attitude towards life

- Had such a stank outlook on life it even drove Jazz away

- Speciest towards organics even though he had a warm welcoming on Earth

- Badmouthed his own superior behind his back

- Takes advantage of his friendship

- Tries to downplay his own awful behavior

- Wears a stupid crown in S4 concept art

- Disobeys traffic rules

Cause and Effects

- Hates himself for what happened on that planet so he doesn't sit with his guilt

- Seems to be insecure so he tries to secure status and power

- Feels that he has to have the spotlight on him so he does what he can to make himself to be a big hero knowing the risk

- Afraid to lose what little friendship he has left so he tries to keep Optimus on a leash when they reunited

- Scared to make new friendships so he pushes people away

- Never really had his viewpoints challenged so he lashes out or downplays

- Cybertron's rigid functionism prevents him from exploring outside his comfort zone

- Lack of accountability causes him to get away with his behavior or believing he is always going to get off scot free

What can help him

- Therapy and lots of it

- Needs to learn he is enough without status/wealth

- he doesn't have to do anything grand to prove his self worth he already is worthy

- Needs to find his own personal interests that doesn't involve seeking power

- Needs to take an objective look at his relationships and how hee treats others

- needs to give Optimus the space to heal

- has to find his own space to heal

- needs to acknowledge his guilt

- needs to understand he cant be lashing out at ppl all the time

- Has to look beyond species; actually value life

- Learn to not take things so personally

- Question Cybertron's rigid system and the reality of the Great War

- Find a healthy outlet for his anger

- Needs to truly apologize to Optimus and Blackarachnia to an extent

- needs to navigate his grief and realize he cant be consumed by it

- Actually has to allow himself to face consequences and learn from them

- PAY ATTENTION TO TRAFFIC

Who can help him

- Optimus can help him learn he doesn't need grand gestures; but also to tell his side of the story

- Sari can teach him to value life and see things outside of species/race

- Jazz can also help him with this

- Bumblebee and Buklhead coild help him find hobbies, being flawed =/= being bad or unworthy of respect

- Ratchet could help him understand what really went down in the Great War & how it affected Cybertron to this day

- Ratchet also helps him navigate negative feelings towards that uneasy truths, that trauma is not your entire being

- Bumblebee teaches him thay questioning authority & doing things your way does not make you bad it in fact it's important to not blindly follow rules/the crowd

- Optimus teaches him to respect teammates for who they are, not for what they can do for you

- Bulkhead can help him express his emotions through art

- Everyone can teach him changed may seem awful but it can give you a lot more wonders in life & opportunities you never though possible

- Jazz could teach him how to have fun & not take things personally

- My OCs (Malina, Alisha, Imani, and Nicole) can teach him the importance of forgiveness, that showing mercy is not weakness, and to have healthy boundaries

Conclusion: Sentinel Prime is a good character by not being a good person. While he is capable of redemption he actually has to chose to do better. Sometimes though people truly don't want to change but with guidance - and consequences - I believe Sentinel is not beyond saving.

[bookshelfmonkey]

July reading wrap-up

The Icebound Land- John Flanagan- 5/7/23- 8/10 This was better than I remember it being, but I still feel like it kind of missed the mark as a middle grade/young YA book.

Persephone Station- Stina Leicht- 7/7/23- 8/10 A fun and pretty original sci-fi.

When Women Were Dragons- Kelly Barnhill- 8/7/23- 9/10 This was hauntingly beautiful and a really interesting and complex reflection on how misogyny affects our society. I also loved that the dragons were cool in their own right, not just as a metaphor.

The Unbroken- C.L. Clark- 9/7/23- 9/10 This book surprised me in a lot of ways, and was generally a really exciting and well-written fantasy.

Her Majesty's Royal Coven- Juno Dawson- 10/7/23- 9/10 I didn't see any part of this book coming, but it was so good and I loved every piece of it. I also liked how it completely dismantled transphobic ideologies.

Magnus Chase & the Ship of the Dead- Rick Riordan- 13/7/23- 10/10 This is the superior Riordanverse series. I loved the characters so much.

The Memory of Souls- Jenn Lyons- 19/7/23- 8/10 Finally a book in this series was fast-paced enough to hold my attention. The characters developed in really interesting ways and I'm interested to see what happens with the plot in future books.

Love After Love- Ingrid Persaud- 19/7/23- 8/10 This book was not what I expected it to be. It broke my heart into thousands of tiny pieces.

The Other Wind- Ursula K. Le Guin- 20/7/23- 6/10

Mrs. Dalloway- Virginia Woolf- 21/7/23- 7/10 Worked well as an audiobook.

A Time of Blood- John Gwynne- 23/7/23- 8/10

How To Twist A Dragon's Tale- Cressida Cowell- 23/7/23- 10/10 Truly a classic. I forgot how this book ended, and I loved rereading the whole thing.

Sea of Souls- N. C. Srimgeour- 25/7/23- 6/10 Nothing new.

Oakleaf Bearers- John Flanagan- 27/7/23- 10/10 This book is my favourite in the series for a reason. John Flanagan has given me ridiculously high standards for battle scenes in fantasy.

Petty Treasons- Victoria Goddard- 29/7/23- 8/10 A nice way to flesh out the series, but did't do much by itself.

Ulysseys- James Joyce- 31/7/23- 3/10 It tried something new, but it was also very boring.

The Hidden Oracle- Rick Riordan- 31/7/23- 7/10 A decent story, but I really hate Apollo's narrative voice.

A Hero's Guide To Deadly Dragons- Cressida Cowell- 31/7/23- 10/10 A great adventure. I loved the setting of the library and the discussions around censorship.

[ab-cedario]

[steamberrystudio]

going back and reading all the old asks to get myself excited for Gilded Shadows all over again!! I love them all so much! fun ask, if the LI’s were stuck in a love triangle with MC, who would never say anything or just move on? who would try anyways?

This depends a lot on who is the other part of the love triangle. Like...is it another LI? Which one?

Or is it some random person? Or like...Trent? 😂 Bob #9? Is MC genuinely torn or is Bob #9 just delusional? That matters too.

All of them would ignore a "rival" that the MC is clearly uninterested in. The only time any of them would pause is if they're unsure where the MC stands or else it's another LI.

Ari would probably move on in most cases if he's sure of how he feels but isn't sure how the MC feels. He would stick around until he's sure they're on different pages, though. I don't think he really has the emotional energy to spend on a love triangle beyond that.

Caissa would move on for sure if it was Jack or...someone else. Who I can't name. Anyone else, it would depend but in most cases he'd probably back down, feeling the MC was better off with someone else. Unless the other person was a literal dumpster. LoL

Caleb would move on if it was Ari. If it was Jack, he'd be even more determined. 😂 He'd probably feel guilty if it was Jack but I don't think that would stop him unless Jack made really effect puppy eyes at him. He might back down for Yuu as well.

Jack would move on if it was Caissa, Caleb, or Ari. Or for someone that he really felt was better for MC. Which probably isn't very difficult to convince him of. LoL

Lance would entirely base his reaction on the MC. He'd probably just ask them and do what they wanted.

Magnus...would potentially...arrange for some 'accidents' to happen. He'd talk himself out of it. Probably. For a certain character, he would be inclined to back down or just be like "Welp. It's all three of us now." but for everyone else he would just be incredibly passive aggressive and insufferable.

Quill pursues MC regardless of a potential rival. Because fuck that rival. 😤

Reuben would be really anxious and unsure of himself but would continue to pursue MC until it became obvious they weren't interested. UNLESS it's Wynter. Then he'd just go get drunk and be sad.

Yuu doesn't care that he has a rival. He ignores the rival. What rival? He's clearly the superior choice and better at flirting. 🤷‍♂️ UNLESS the rival is Caleb. Then he talks to Caleb because he's not going to fight with Caleb over someone. He will back down if Caleb is truly interested.

[crysdrawsthings]

tell me about you WH 40k poor little meow meow!

Would be my pleasure! I hope you will reblog the meme tho, so I can ask you about blorbos from your shows! Adding pictures for you, so you will have some context, so all goes under the cut.

I am also only few books in, sooooo. This list is subject to changes.

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) - most definitely Magnus the Red. Like, there might be competition for other positions, but here this is just, yep, this would be Magnus.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) - Blinky the Void Dragon/Blinky the C'toaster. Admittedly, I am cheating here, because I made a superior, mecha-dragon design for him, but still.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) - Belisarius Cawl and his, thankfully, augmented back on which he is carrying the whole imperial science by this point, tbh. But genuinely I have very little idea on who is actually appreciated or not.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) - frankly, I feel like whoever I will name, I will soon be informed, that actually, this character has three books, model and dedicated rules to be played on a tabletop. I always liked Kairos Fateweaver, but he is not obscure. I also really love Khepra from Mechanicus the Vidya Game, which is a popular game. Also Iacton Qruze, a space marine who is constantly described as like, grandpa level old in my books. And Ing Mae Sing too, she was pretty MVP in her few appearances. Picture attached: Khepra! She is very nice and cares about her troops c:

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) - is there even such thing as an unproblematic fave in WH40k? I feel like everyone has done at least a few war crimes. Let's cheat again and say Oona, my own take on [REDACTED] out of existence eleventh primarch. And in the case of Oona - a truly pathetic fave.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) - I was in doubt if I should put Fulgrim here on in poor little meow meow, but the glorious bastard snake (with the admittedly tragic story) goes here. And by torment I mean to make an overabundance of meemes and just dumb pictures, as shown below. Honorable mentions: another primarch, Leman Russ. And also Emperor of Mankind himself, truly a parent and leader of millennia.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) - I was expecting myself to say Erebus. But then I reminded myself that while he, at least, has a redeeming quality of being a good character, even if a horrible, horrible person, I can't say the same for Kor Phaeron. So Kor Phaeron gets the superhell. Here they are together, Kor Phaeron on the left, Erebus on the right.

[sunsetpan0rama]

None of the protagonists of the tsc books would have been able to do anything without Magnus Bane. Thus, he's truly the most superior character

[phantaloon-books]

(some) Riordanverse characters (bc I never read TKC) and which Hogwarts House I think they would be in

Warning: this is a long one

Nico: the dude is definitely Gryffindor without a doubt. Like Sorting isn't about some traits and some characteristics, it's about core personality. He may have gone through some of the roughest stuff when he was 10-12, and he was resentful and bitter, but he was brave and bold af throughout everything he did. From learning about his powers, to using them relentlessly despite knowing how exhausted he is afterwards, to his willingness to do whatever is necessary to do what has to be done, because it has to be done. You can't change my mind that he's Gryffindor lol.

Grover: Do I even need to explain why he's Gryffindor? He's a satyr, and even if we're shown strong satyrs, they're not really supposed to be brave fighters. Yet he is one of the strongest, bravest nature spirits we've ever encountered in the Riordanverse, and one of the bravest in general. Like he's so passionate about doing what is good, he's a hero, and the only thing he doesn't match with common Gryffindors is that he's humble and as far from arrogant as could be possible, but it doesn't take his courage away.

Hazel: She's Gryffindor, and core personality-wise, she and Nico are very much alike. They don't ever think about themselves, like Hazel really always does what has to be done, no matter the cost, I mean she literally died preventing Gaea to rise the first time, and she freed Thanatos while believing he would take her back to the Underworld. She's brave af, and she has one of the most strong willpower we've seen in the Riordanverse. She's a passionate hero, and she's the closest thing to a real knight in shining armor.

Lester: I'm gonna place him in Gryffindor because I don't think he fits in in the other houses lmao. That said, as Apollo he's very shitty, but as Lester, he's one of the most courageous people. He's grown so much, he's so willing to actually do stuff now, and sacrifice everything to do what's right, including his life, even if he doesn't know he's gonna survive. Hell, he really went most of TTT with an incredibly painful wound that nearly turned him undead, and he cared more for the future of Camp Jupiter than his own life. Additionally, he's a bit arrogant and cocky, but he truly means well, I love Lester so much.

Clarisse: Look look, all I have to say is that no one could have pulled off less than half the stuff Clarisse has done, she's so Gryffindor it hurts. She's reckless and impulsive, but she's driven by her passion to do good, even if she's the daughter of war, and was bullied by her own father. She's daring, she's bold and she is the hero. She's also arrogant and thinks she can solve everything by herself, something characteristic more of the canon Gryffindors in the books, rather than what the fans have shaped. In fact, she's very much like Gryffindors in the books, who are actually very rude to other houses and think they're the best. Still, at heart, she's in this house.

Alex: I'm in a huge dilemma about where to put them, but I reckon they'd fit pretty fine in Gryffindor. Not only are they daring and courageous, they're proud of who they are, but not in a too full of themselves kind of way, rather in a 'I am who I am, and if you can't accept me, fuck off' kind of way. They can get carried away rather easily though, and very arrogant, thinking they don't need anyone else, when they do in fact need some company. They are one of the kindest and at the same time most ambitious characters we've met, but they are brave beyond understanding in a very personal way, thus, Gryffindor.

Percy: I think it's fair to say he'd be Hufflepuff, because loyalty is literally his fucking fatal flaw, and he is the kindest sweetheart to all those who deserve it, he goes out of his way to help those who need help, whether that be mortals, halfbloods, gods, magical creatures or even his own enemies. He's too good for this world, and even if he's grown a bit bitter, he always looks to fight justly for what is right, and never loses faith in others. That, and the fact that he turned down immortality so that the olympians were more inclusive of minor gods, and their children were treated better. He's just a lovely soul, he's like 80% Hufflepuff so that's enough for me. All that and he's stubborn as hell.

Jason: Hufflepuff. Just, undoubtedly Hufflepuff. Like he seems to be this cold and self centered hero with a superiority complex (bc of all the son of Jupiter stuff) but he's the softest guy there is. Not only is he hardworking, open minded and kind, he appreciates justice but he doesn't seek for revenge or anything, he makes sure people are treated fairly and wants everyone to be accepted. Proof of that is how he continued Percy's job of including more gods, and made sure Nico felt comfortable with who he was. He truly has a heart of gold. (He deserved better btw)

Meg: God I can't decide between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, but I think I'll go with the former. She's so strong, my baby, she's faced so much wrong, but she's still so kind and understanding of others, especially those who deserve kindness. She puts up such a hard facade, but she's so patient and warm and inclusive. She's brave and strong (as strong as the big three kids, if not stronger), but she's also so loyal to her beliefs despite how she was forced someone else's beliefs for years, so I'll keep her in Hufflepuff. Also, she's stubborn af, and she can be lazy, so that settles it.

Will: I KNOW some people will say Will could be in other houses that are not Hufflepuff, BUT I won't have it any other way. Will is literally the warmest person ever. He is kind and sympathetic and enthusiastic and patient and inclusive. Like Helga Hufflepuff would take one look at him and lose her shit screaming "mine". He's the guy who saw the son of Hades so many people were scared of and immediately grabbed his hand and transfered him some warmth and didn't let him go ahead and get himself killed. He's also the one who everyone loves and likes, so much that Clarisse gets along with him and he can calm her down. He's the ideal Hufflepuff, you can't change my mind.

Magnus: I mean, what else can you expect from the son of the god of summer? He's literally a guy who heals others with warmth. He's also the guy who spent years on the street with the most difficult situations, and accepts every single person the way they are. He's inclusive af, and tolerant of everything. He's the guy who's closest include a deaf elf, a Muslim valkyrie, and a black dwarf, and he's dating a genderfluid person. Yes he's brave, and he's kinda smart, and he's ambitious, BUT none of those qualities overpower his Hufflepuff nature.

Piper: Kinda debated whether Gryffindor or Ravenclaw fits more, but in the end I went with Ravenclaw. Even though she isn't a fighter, she's very very brave, yet her bravery isn't compared to her wits. Like others in the PJOverse, she wins her fights by outsmarting her opponents, but unlike others that's one of her strongest traits. She's witty and creative and a little on the negative side, she really struggled to work in a group rather than by herself. On another note, she's able to keep calm in crazy situations and come up with the craziest most unthinkable solutions (I'm talking borderline ridiculous) that always somehow work. She's not booksmart, but she knows so much about everything, and she's lifesmart you know?

Reyna: Why are some of these so hard? Deeply debating whether she'd be Ravenclaw or Slytherin. In the end I'd go more for Ravenclaw though. Reyna's smart as hell, she's strong and sharp, and she always sees the best way out of a situation. She's witty and observant, being able to keep her cool in battle and lead others in the best direction. She's always looking to grow, and she prefers to do things on her own, but she's a great leader. She has some Slytherin qualities, and she's not learning as learning oriented as others, but she's definitely Ravenclaw.

Sam: Let's face it, Sam has the only active neurons in all of MCGA, she's definitely Ravenclaw. I'm gonna be honest though, I've only read MCGA once, so I can't remember much of their personalities, but Sam is witty and clever, pretty much the only one who can come up with competent plans, while the others rely mostly on luck and whatever plan they can cook up in 5 seconds. She's loyal and true to who she is, and she's extremely courageous and proud of who she is, but her sharpness is what she stands out for me, which is why I put her in Ravenclaw.

Annabeth: I know the obvious option is Ravenclaw, but I genuinely think she's also Slytherin. Yes she is booksmart and wise like Ravenclaw, but her personality matches Slytherins' ambitious, cunning and resourceful nature. She's smart as fuck, but she's calculative, she always finds a way to end up winning, and while she does so by outsmarting her opponents, she wouldn't need to outsmart them if she weren't so competitive. I feel like there's this 40/60 odds on Slytherin rather than Ravenclaw, but it's that small difference that counts. Plus her leadership skills are so powerful that people don't ask, they just know she's the boss.

(Also just picture the sweet and loyal Hufflepuff boy with the strong and cunning Slytherin girl, like it should be as opposite as it is with Poseidon and Athena, but they're so cute)

Leo: Idk what you can expect that's not Slytherin. This boy is the embodiment of ambition and determination. Reminder that not all Slytherins are bad btw (I'm slytherin myself), but like he's life smart and cunning, and he can analyze situations faster than anyone else. He's charismatic and talented, and there's no one to stop him from triumphing. I don't have much to say, I just know he'd be in Slytherin.

Rachel: She's kinda a difficult one, and I struggle between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and tbh I'm still not sure. But I think I'd place her in Slytherin, because even if she's brave af (especially since she was a mortal fighting in a war out of her power), her main trait is her determination. When she's set on something, she gets it done. You can't tell her she can't do something, because she will find a way to do it. She's kind, and she's only a mortal, but she still has incredible power unlike any other. I don't think I can really name it, but I think she'd be put on Slytherin with much difficulty from the Sorting Hat.

Luke: Where else could Luke possibly go? On the meaner side Slytherins have created themselves, Luke would be part of those misled by who preceded them, by those who want to take advantage of their mistreatment (bc let's face it, Slytherins are mistreated by both students and Hogwarts staff), and turn them cold and bitter. Luke is ambitious and manipulative, being manipulated himself, and it comes easily because of his natural charisma and talent. He's very freaking determined and cunning too. He'd fit right into Slytherin, but he'd be viewed as one of the rotten lot.

Thalia: I don't have much to say about this, but Thalia is the girl whose fatal flaw is their desire for power (or smth along those lines), just like most Slytherins. She's ambitious, she's smart, she's truly talented, she stands out between the rest, and she knows it, and she actually kinda likes it.

(Also I put Annabeth, Thalia and Luke in the same house because they're all kinda similar, even if their beliefs and postures are different.

Frank: Ngl I'm having more difficulty with Frank than anyone else. I'm kinda torn between Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I literally can't choose. He'd fit perfectly in any of them lmao, I just can't decide where he'd go. You decide this one yourself.

Please keep in mind, this is my personal opinion and my take on the characters, and not all of you will agree, and that's fine! You can let me know what you think (kindly please, don't come at me), and if you want to, send me an ask on a character you want me to do the same as these (as long as it's not TKC, I'M SORRY I haven't read those) go ahead, don't be shy!

[cuubism]

what is the superior moment for alec in relation to malec 👀:

The sad sniffle (2x18)

The big tear (3x16)

The ugly crying (3x20)

ugly crying for the win always 😔 that scene has everything: tearful farewell, dramatic sacrifice, thinking they'll never see each other again, apocalypse vibes, complete emotional breakdown, alec sobbing (does alec ever cry like that in the rest of the show? i don't think so)

just truly love that trope of stoic character having an emotional breakdown. cannot be beat. he just loves and misses magnus so much that he can't even stop himself from showing the depths of his despair in front of his siblings, which he never ever does. ahhhhhhh

[dwellordream]

“...It stands to reason that a society which is ruled by its male senior citizens through the control of younger and less powerful men would instill reverence for the wisdom of advancing age in its male youth. The Romans, we might observe, referred to previous generations as maiores, greater individuals, and employed the adjective magnus, great, in the kinship terms for parents' close male and female ascendants (a practice the English language has adopted with its use of the adjective "great" for kin of earlier generations); such a practice testifies to the Roman equation of seniority with superiority, and to the inclusion of women among its superior seniors. 

Thus it should come as no surprise that older women seem to command more respect, inspire more awe, and have (or be perceived as having) greater social and political influence than do younger ones. In addition, Roman women along in years were more likely to have young male relatives who were eager to prove themselves worthy of and to their elders, and who were mindful of the nurturance they had recently received from mothers and older kinswomen; such young men were under special pressure to manifest their respect and awe for their female maiores through publicly visible gestures. 

We have already examined the idealization in Tacitus' Dialogus of the moral instruction and intellectual sustenance provided for an eternally indebted Roman male youth committed to a life of public service by his upstanding female relatives; this picture is far from unique in Roman writings. Such a vision of an older Roman matron's function, and of Roman mother-son relations, seems the parodic point of Plautus' Casina. The play, composed immediately before the playwright's death in 184 B.C., was popular enough to be revived in the next generation. In it, the materfamilias Cleostrata intimidates her elderly and socially powerful husband both through proving herself his moral superior and, as her son's ally and abettor, by ingeniously securing for this son the sexual favors of a slave girl his father also covets.

By cleverly rendering her presumably grateful son such services, attracting admiration for her capable handling of this complex affair, but nonetheless setting herself up as a moral example in the process, she evidently travesties the Roman concept of a wise, righteous, and exemplary mother. This same vision, however, is reproduced as part of a serious moral and political exemplum in Livy's narrative on the Bacchanalian scandal, an episode which profoundly shook Roman society shortly before the Casina was first performed. Livy's young male protagonist Aebutius and his reluctantly influential courtesan mistress Hispala Fecinia manage to bring the matter to the consul Postumius' attention, and Postumius proceeds to bring the malefactors to justice, solely through the aid of Aebutia, amita (father's sister), to Aebutius, and Postumius' venerable mother-in-law Sulpicia. 

These two older women—depicted as virtuous, beneficent, sagacious, deserving of male reverence and hence, by Livy's implication, truly "maternal"—are contrasted with two, far less admirable, matronly counterparts: Aebutius' own mother Duronia, whose devotion to both her second husband and his interest in depriving Aebutius of his patrimony led her to seek her son's undoing by having him initiated into Bacchic worship; the Campanian priestess Paculla Annia, who began the Bacchic cult's corrupting influence by initiating its first men, her own sons. 

Livy's account, at 39.nff., of Postumius' efforts to ascertain, through Sulpicia, the character of Aebutia, warrants special notice since here he treats these two nurturant and publicly influential mother figures in a sympathetic and sentimentalizing fashion: he refers to the former woman as dignified, a gravis (and later a gravissima) femina, to the latter as morally upright and of old-fashioned ways, probam et antiqui moris; he even describes Aebutia as moved to tears by, the dreadful treatment of her brother's son (filius eius fiatris), also morally upright (probus), by those who should have been the last to do so.

 Another, doubtlessly romanticized, moralizing tale also attests to both the esteem in which a young Roman male was to hold his elder kinswomen's judgment and moral authority and to the public display and political impact of such esteem, namely the story of Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Set in the mid-fifth century B.C., the story achieved great popularity in the classical period: a lost book by Cicero's closest friend Titus Pomponius Atticus featured Coriolanus prominently; Livy, Valerius Maximus, and Plutarch all treat his tragedy. Coriolanus has recently been called the "Roman archetype" of the "perpetual mama's boy" in a provocative psychoanalytic study of the Roman mother-son relationship, and for good reason: he allegedly valued his widowed mother so highly that he abandoned a traitorous march on Rome at the head of an enemy force only after she demanded that he desist.

There are less dramatic, and probably somewhat more reliable, pieces of ancient Roman testimony to the reverential regard of young Roman men for the older, maternal female members of their families, to their—and others'—experience of these women as significant and influential individuals, and to the frequent exhibition of both this regard and this experience in a larger sociopolitical context. Several laudationes Junebres, orations delivered by aristocratic Roman men (and usually youthful ones) to honor a deceased relative of political distinction, belong in this category. 

Cicero reports that the first such speech in commemoration of a woman was given in 102 B.C. by the consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus to honor his mother Popilia; no young woman received this same recognition until over thirty years later, when Julius Caesar's second wife, Cornelia, was buried amid her husband's public praises. That same year, however, Caesar made a more memorable, or at least better remembered, contribution to funeral oratory with his laudation of his father's sister Julia, wife of the military and political leader Marius. Caesar's words first proclaimed the glory of this aunt's, and hence his own father's, maternal ancestry: The maternal lineage of my paternal aunt Julia descended from kings, the paternal is connected with the immortal gods. 

For the Marcii Reges go back to Ancus Marcius, Marcia being the name of her mother, and the Julii, to which clan our family belongs, are offspring of Venus. There is, therefore, in her lineage both the holiness of kings, who have the greatest power among humans, and the religious quality of gods, in whose power are the kings themselves. Perhaps not insignificantly, Ancus Marcius, the early king from whom Julia's maternal Marcii traced their lineage, supposedly inherited Rome's throne through his maternal grandfather; so, too, the divinity from whom her (and her nephew's) paternal Julii avowed their descent was Venus, mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas.

A later, and also elderly, Julia, Caesar's sister, was hailed in the funeral laudatio upon her death in 51 B.C. by the twelve-year-old Octavius, whose mother Atia was Julia's daughter; through this maternal grandmother Octavius, later the emperor Augustus, could claim descent by blood, as well as adoption, from Venus and the Julian clan. The laudatio delivered in 42 B.C. to honor the nonagenarian Caecilia by her son Atticus, a man whose attraction to the Coriolanus legend we have already noted, stirred comment as providing proof of Atticus' familial devotion (pietas): said to be sixty-seven at the time, he pointed out that he had never once needed to apologize to his mother, nor quarreled with his sister, who was almost the same age as he. 

One might also consider in this context an inscription generally dated to the early empire, the laudatio of a noble matron Murdia. It is dedicated by a son of the woman's first marriage, despite the fact that her second husband seems to have been numbered among her survivors. She is, moreover, identified only with the words Murdiae L(ucii) F(iliae) Matris, "Murdia, Lucius' daughter and my mother"; she is acclaimed by this son as "most precious to me" (carissima mihi), although he says nothing about affection between her and either husband. 

Along with citing her modesty (modestia), upright character (probitas, an attribute we have seen noted in Livy's Aebutia and Aebutius), chastity (pudicitia), compliant nature (opsequium), wool-spinning (lanificium), conscientiousness, and trustworthiness (diligentia and fides), he cites her wisdom (.sapientia); what is more, he accords her special praise for treating all of her sons equally in her will. Both mater and amita also figure prominently in another, fairly early and important source for the public reverence awarded and sociopolitical significance clearly and justifiably ascribed to older Roman women of the upper classes by their younger male relatives. 

…It may help further to elucidate why other young Roman men of the upper classes regarded their elder female relations, their own and other men's mothers, so seriously, looking upon them as socially and politically powerful figures deserving publicly visible homage. Atticus' sister of sixty-odd, Aemilia, the dowager sister of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, and the matrons who were sisters of Aemilia's son Publius Cornelius Scipio (and hence enjoyed the magnanimity of his adoptive son) obviously rank among older women, whether by age or by relation to their devoted male kin. But the concern publicly evinced for other, younger, women of high birth by their brothers, such as that displayed by Scipio in his munificence to his sisters, indicates that sisters in Roman elite society were also highly, and publicly, esteemed by their brothers. 

Evidence from Roman comedy merits special note in this context. A lengthy passage from Plautus' Aulularia generalizes on the feelings and duties of brothers and sisters to one another: it depicts Roman brothers and sisters as partaking of a close relationship, sharing the same concerns, and looking to one another for advice; it depicts one particular sister, moreover, as expecting her advice to be followed. At lines i2off. Eunomia speaks of her sincere commitment to her brother Megadorus' best interests as "befitting a sister of the same parents" While acknowledging that brothers find sisters bothersome, she points out their mutual obligation to counsel and admonish one another, and even demands that Megadorus do what she orders; she justifies these demands on the grounds that she is closest to him and he to her.

More importantly, both Roman legend and Roman historical writing concur in their depiction of this fraternal esteem for sisters, and fraternal compliance with sisters' wishes, as having a substantial public impact among the Roman elite. They suggest that a Roman sister, though likely to be regarded with respect rather than veneration, and subtly complimented rather than eulogized, by her brother, often exerted influence of a political nature both on and through him; they indicate that various sisters publicly reflected in—and often actually benefited from—their brothers' social and political prestige.”

- Judith P. Hallett, “Women of Elite Families and Roman Society.” in Fathers and Daughters in Roman Society: Women and the Elite Family

[khaleesiofalicante]

HELLOOOOO

Okay first things first- is everyone having an awful fucking January or what???

(My family has got covid for the 2ND TIME???? last time I was the only one who didn’t have it and had to take care of 4ppl but this time they have infected me too- what kind of WEAKASS GENES AM I CARRYING. I want a refund on this family istg sksksks)

Lexi’s chapter was an absolute bangerzzzz bro- I didn’t send reax because no energy) BUT LEXI AND LIV FINALLY- *inserts let’s go lesbian* meme. Also PRESSURE!!!! *chefs kiss*

NOW-

DAVID ALEXANDER BEAUCHAMP?????DAVID ALEXANDER BEAUCHAMP?????? HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME LOVE THIS BOY EVEN MORE-

I don’t know how to send reax- it’s David, I love every part of it

Alec and David finally bonding lmao we love to see it

LB fam breakfast scenes supremacy only. sksksks not David calling Magnus’s bluff

MAVID- I love them so much I’m so many feels I can’t believe this is ending I’m not crying. Max dirtying them on purpose >>>>>

Magnus and David’s talk- aaaaaa protecc Max pls. And Magnus go fckn talk to your child bebe pls

Alec taking the letter but not knowing the language this joke never gets old

Rafe sending a kiss for Magnus- they are so soft pls

Herondale-Fairchilds: just them

“No one is scared of you. Only you are”- SOMEONE HOLD ME

that immortality thing had me by the throat ngl-

Jealous David >>

David and Jackson are goals

That piano scene was so soft. Also I need to see Alec find out about David’s name

Coraline and David. I have no words. it was so beautifully written. when David held her in the end- I’m still finding it hard to process that David is a whole grown ass adult now lol. he truly is the best boy

Immortality- bruh when this shit gonna leave the tsc fandom. but also David’s decision makes sense too. imagine having to deal with ppl for an eternity- could not be me.

AYAN?? MAAM?? you invented a word for MAVID??? I-

your note >>>>>

I never thought I’d love an OC this much but David is superior. never been happier to be wrong. I will miss him so much though. I’m tears. ILY thank you for writing such a beautiful character.

(p.s. I'm thinking of doing smth for David but Idk what cause I lack the artistic skills I can only create memes- but I will think of smth and let you know soon)

Okay bye. Take care and stay safe Dani <3

me thinking of my life without David's POV

January is a piece of it. Fuck January.

I hope you feel better very soon. Please get some rest and take care of yourself.

And I hope David made you feel a lil better <3

[aflyingcontradiction]

The Magnus Archives Relisten: Episode 92 - Nothing Beside Remains

And yet here, in this empty world, I cannot but spend these nights, these dreadful, silent nights, huddled and frozen in some terrible fear I find myself unable to name. I almost think I hear the mocking joy of my friends, but there is nobody here, and never shall be again. - Statement of Barnabas Bennett

Excuse me while I scream.

And it was not out of malice, or because he lacked affection for Barnabas Bennett: he retrieved those bones sadly enough when the time came. Bones that you can still find in my office, if you know where to look. No, it was because he was curious. Because he had to know, to watch and see it all. - Elias

a) Is this the text passage that spawned the Jonah/Barnabas ship I've been seeing around? Is it because he kept the bones for all those centuries? b) This is actually a really vivid and horrifying way to describe what the Eye does to its worshippers. No word wasted there and yet it makes it all so perfectly clear...

Tim: Oh, Christ, what is it now? Melanie: Er, yeah, same question, please.

Okay, this made me grin.

Elias: And I killed Jurgen Leitner because he was�� an unnecessary complication. Likely to tell John too much, too early.

Why did I not ask myself harder what Elias meant by that, exactly...

Basira: Daisy, where do I know that name from? Daisy: Oh, the Yousuf case. An Introduction to Higher Anatomy. Basira: Ah… Oh, god! And you killed him? You sure we shouldn’t be giving him a medal?

Do I want to know what the Yousuf case was all about? I'm assuming some extensive body horror, just from the title of the book.

Jon: What about Michael? Elias: What about him? An irritant. Interfering because he’s bored, and he resents us. He has no purpose –

RUDE!

Elias: For someone who used to be a detective, you’re remarkably reluctant to think things through. You think you’re the only police officer eager to do violence and call it justice? No, there are plenty of other rabid dogs out there, mad with the hunt. And some of them have signed a Section 31. There are plenty of others your superiors can call on to clean up this mess. Basira: Er… they wouldn’t. Daisy: Yeah. They would.

a) No, I didn't get that when Elias says 'rabid dogs mad with the hunt' he's referring to one of the fears. I don't think the Hunt had been mentioned by name at this point and I just didn't notice the signs that were obviously there. b) Seems like a relatively realistic view of the state of the police... c) ... Daisy just casually going "Yeah, of course they would" is rather chilling.

Martin: Okay, wai-wai-wai-wait, that’s the police that you’re talking about! Okay, they… they wouldn’t… Would they?

Martin, on the other hand, is being a bit more naive than he really has any right to be.

Elias: A contract of employment. For Basira. (...) Jon: Oh, no…

That whisper, no, breath of "Oh no" from Jon in the background says so damn much.

Elias: You never wanted this, no. But I’m afraid you absolutely did choose it. In a hundred ways, at a hundred thresholds, you pressed on. You sought knowledge relentlessly, and you always chose to see. Our world is made of choices, Jon, and very rarely do we truly know what any of them mean, but we make them nonetheless.

I'm not even sure what to say about this. You could probably write entire analyses of the concept of choice and the lack thereof in TMA with this quote as a foundation. I'm not going to, though, I'm just going to leave this here as "highly notable quote".

Jon: Am I… Elias, am I still human? Elias: Jon, what does human even mean? I mean, really? You still bleed, you can still die. And your will is still your own, mostly. That’s more than can be said for a lot of the ‘real’ humans out there.

'What does human even mean' is also one of those things that TMA keeps coming back to, especially with regard to Jon's character arc.

Elias: Good. Well, I have work to be getting on with. I’ll send you a Return to Work form, but don’t worry about the doctor’s note.

Pfffff. Gotta keep the bureaucracy up to date!

My impression of this episode

So the issue with this episode is that I am REALLY, REALLY bad at telling voices apart. Like, comically bad. Basically all the female characters (aside from Gertrude) sound the same to me and among the recurring male characters, I can only consistently tell Martin apart from the rest of them. Up to this episode that wasn't a problem because context always made it immediately apparent who was speaking and the characters weren't ever all in the same room but this episode - well, I think I spent most of the non-statement part of the episode trying to play catch-up on who was actually talking, making it really difficult to actually have emotions aside from the desperate flailing of trying to keep up with the plot (which there is rather a lot of). It's a lot easier with the transcript in front of me as I listen. As for the statement, oh god, the concept of being stuck in the Lonely forever is fucking terrifying. The Lonely usually gets me but I think it gets me hardest when it's cut down to its essentials and it doesn't get much more essential than "You're alone in the world. There is nobody else and there never will be again." I somehow doubt Barnabas died of old age, I sure as hell wouldn't have.

[jelly-originals]

★絶望 Character List★

Phoenix Wise High

Theodore Phoenix

The prince of the school.

Son of the headmaster, which makes him super popular but also puts incredibly amounts of stress on him.

Puts on a happy-go-lucky front to hide how depressed and lonely he is inside.

Due to his mother leaving him and his father when he was younger and his father's neglect of him, he's perpetually afraid of everyone around him leaving him if he's not good enough.

He works hard on his grades, often to the point of passing out, as he gets terrifying panic attacks if they're even a bit below perfect.

Reki Kagawa

The infamous loner of the school.

He has an extreme case of social anxiety, and being a late transfer student makes it extremely hard for him to talk at all at school.

His face is almost always passive as he learned a long time ago that it deters bullies better than anything else; it's incredibly rare to see him show any emotion on his face due to this.

His view of himself is perpetually warped due to years of bullying, which has lead to him often berating himself as boring and stupid.

He rarely has time for himself at all, as taking care of his sick mother and trying to keep up with school takes most of it.

Leopold Carnaby

The bad boy of the school.

Most people avoid his presence, especially at school, as he's known for flying into dangerous rages at people who even try to talk to him.

He has an immense hatred for his full name and calling him anything but Leo will get you a one way trip to the hospital.

Despite his outwards persona and anger issues, he's very soft with animals and children, often even helping the elderly around his neighbourhood.

Nobody knows what's actually going on with his family, though there are rumors that he's either homeless or that there's some abuse going on at his home that leads to him avoiding the place.

Milo Wagner

The smart bookworm of the school.

He's considered 'popular', if only because he's often the one who actually listens in class and thus has all the answers to tests and such.

Of course people often talk about him behind his back, but mostly due to his immense obliviousness he hasn't picked up on it.

He gets nervous when anyone asks about his family, though pretty much everyone has picked up that something's going on over there.

He's almost unhealthily skinny and never seems to eat anything, at least not around other people.

Royal Sunrise

Orpheus Draemdate

An artist who's detached from the world.

While he's incredibly in love with the world, it's mostly left at the aesthetic sense and he clearly views himself as an outsider when talking about the beauty he finds in everything.

While he's incredibly good at reading people and studying them, he doesn't truly understand the why and how of it.

He doesn't really have any friends or even acquaintances, as the most he talks to people is to ask to draw their portrait or when he gets commissions from people.

He doesn't spend a lot of time in his apartment when he doesn't have commissions to work on, and usually just wanders around the city in search of inspiration.

Daksh Mandal

A serious businessman with a workaholic streak.

He's perpetually tired and often on the verge of collapsing, as he tends to work himself to the bone as he perceives himself as having no purpose outside of his job.

He was previously married but his wife left him when his work became more and more important than her.

When he isn't working, most likely due to being forced to go home, he's at his apartment drinking tea and watching whatever happens to the on tv.

He used to be addicted to drugs before he got married to his wife. It used to be what he filled the void inside him before he started working and started using that as a replacement.

Lawrence Engelt

A clinically depressed hermit.

His father, largely the one thing connecting him to the rest of the world in any way, recently passed and Law inherited all of his money.

He leaves his apartment so rarely that sometimes the building's security guard is sent to check that he's still alive.

He has permanent dark circles under his eyes from his video game and energy drink addiction. He's especially fond of dating sims, most likely to fill his need for human contact and love.

He talks so little that his voice gets easily strained which makes his voice raspy and whispery.

Lazlo Farkas

An infamous serial killer.

He hates the world and everything that comes with it, but he hides it behind a charming and nice facade that makes everyone think that he's just another ordinary neighbour with a penchant for classical music.

He got his scars from his father, who was abusive to both him and his mother. His mother eventually ended up killing her husband and became a serial killer.

He listens to classical music while killing people since it reminds him of his mother and how it felt to be with her.

He has a habit of preserving his victims tongues in jars, as a way to 'remember' their last screams as they die.

La Dolce Vita Shopping Centre

Lennox Ashwell

An intimidating flowershop clerk.

Despite his looks and generally scary presence, he's actually a huge softie and is quite insecure about how people perceive him.

He often talks to the flowers at the shop when people aren't around, as other people don't really talk to him unless necessary.

His whole house is filled with various plants, as he has a tendency to take the dying ones with him to revitalize them. It makes him feel like he can actually do something good.

He's clearly had a troubled past that likely lead to his belief that he's no good, but he refuses to talk about it in any measure.

Shigeoki Nakayama

A barista with a grudge against his job.

He has a tendency to get stuck in customer service mode even outside of his job, as he's very aware that his prickly personality will just get him in trouble.

He's an alcoholic, coping with his shitty life and job by getting drunk at home, sometimes even on the job though he tries to avoid that when his superiors are around.

A lot of people hit on him on the job and even offer him their numbers, but his disgust at his job usually extends to the customers, who are clearly seeking to just spend the night with someone pretty.

He's a former street kid with hardly any skills other than bartending, so despite his hatred for his job he knows quitting isn't an option.

Ezra Nuit

A cheery jewelry shop clerk.

Due to being one of the longest lasting employees at the centre, he has a perpetual smile stuck on his face, that he seemingly can't take off even in his sleep.

His mother was one of the mysterious deaths in the shopping centre, when she fell through the glass ceiling of the jewelry shop while he was working there.

He always has jewelry on him, as he likes both feeling pretty and the attention he gets from it, likely stemming from having been a wallflower as a child to both his peers and family.

He lives with his younger sister now that his mother is dead, though neither of them spend that much time at home, much less at the same time. There's some tension there.

Iago

A bookshop keeper with a secret.

He has a calm and relaxed smile almost constantly on his face, though notably it isn't the same smile the rest of the shopping centre's employees have.

He always carries around a notebook, and while he on occassion writes in it when around people, nobody's ever read it.

He lives on the second floor of his bookshop, though people who've gotten in at night note that he never seems to sleep and that the shop gives off an eery feeling at night.

He's a bit arrogant when talked to, though his tone remains relaxed and teasing. He pretty clearly sees himself as being above other people in some way.

Black Spade Gang

Lucifer

The tough leader of the gang.

While to outsiders he comes off as sadistic and scary, to the members of his gang he acts like a reliable big brother.

He's a former orphan who founded the gang when he was 13, incidentally when he commited his first murder.

He keeps a pet snake around his neck at all times, a beautiful black Tiger Snake named Satan, who's extremely protective of him.

He has a particular fondness for getting into trouble, though he's very strict with his gang on where and what kind of trouble they can get into. He's very well aware he isn't the most dangerous thing in the city.

Luca

The clever second-hand man of Lucifer.

He's the brains of all their operations, being a master strategist and the only one out of the whole gang who's finished school.

He comes off as very kind, even to outsiders of the gang, and he knows how to take advantage of such presumptions. However, he's just as dangerous as the rest of them.

He comes from a well off family, but he was kicked out once he became too difficult for his parents to keep.

Lucifer is the one who introduced him to the life of crime when they were children, which is why he's extremely loyal to him.

Kit

The sweet looking maniac.

He's been with the gang for about as long as he can remember, and isn't really interested in anything outside of the little world he's created with his family.

He's always willing to go with whatever plans Lucifer may have, though he also has a tendency to go overboard with the violence so he's usually supervised by someone.

Despite his violent tendencies, he has a love for all things cute and fluffy and in fact often can't resist stealing things that fit the description if he sees them.

He's only calmed from his rampages if he's given his favorite stuffed animal, a little red fox named "Paddy".

Magnus

The silent muscle of the gang.

He's virtually mute, and usually communicates with grunts or charades. However, the rest of the gang seems to understand him just fine even without those.

Lucifer picked him up a few months after the gang was started, when he almost died in a scuffle he'd been pulled into by some kids who found him creepy.

He's very good at soothing the younger gang members, and is usually in charge of Kit. He also seems to always have something nice in his pockets, like candy.

He's very strong, capable of snapping someone's neck easily. In fact, he's done so on several occassions though usually it's to protect the other members.

Primrose Preparatory Academy

Enma Mephisto

A fellow yandere who pretends to be perfect.

He lives with his aunt, as his parents killed themselves when he was a child. Due to this he's desperate to please everyone around him, especially his aunt who always wanted a perfect little boy to dote on.

He's on top of the schools hierarchy, and is almost desperate to keep it that way which insentives him to keep the perfect facade on even more.

As he craves validation from the people around him, he sometimes goes to extremes to get it which has often resulted in him getting hurt.

The player, as the first person to see through his facade, grows into an immense obsession for him that he would be willing to do anything for.

Quincy Heverdoth

A crossdresser who's at the bottom of the school hierarchy.

Despite the harsh bullying he faces and the constant pressure from his mother to succeed and stop being who he is, he has an immense love for life.

He's physically very fragile and often sports more than a few bandages as his bullies tend to forget how easily he gets hurt.

He suffers from bulimia, as it's been drilled into his head that he has to look perfect for his family's reputation, which manifested in immense body dysphoria.

He cries a lot, from the slightest emotion he feels be it good or bad. Needless to say it's made him an even easier to pick on.

Mordecai Quintrell

An almost completely emotionless heir to a large conglomerate.

He's set to inherit his father's company in about a year and thus he's in a hurry to graduate and learn the ropes.

He doesn't have time for social interractions beyond business, but despite this he's popular at the academy as people admire his strong silent character.

He doesn't really know what he likes, as he's never had the time to figure himself or his personality out. All he's ever had to be is the heir to his father's company.

He's very good at reading people, but only in the business sense. His emotional intelligence when it comes to other people and himself is about zero.

Colin Stratton

A country pumpkin who recently came into a lot of money.

He's from out of city, and thus is unfamiliar with the societal expectations he has on him all of a sudden. Due to this most of the students tend to look down on him.

He's had very minimal education before coming to the academy and thus works extra hard to catch up. While this causes him immense stress, he tries to keep a positive outlook.

He's physically stronger than most people at the academy from years of farm work, and thus the students are slightly afraid to even try and bully him.

He's not used to being alone, so since the student body of the academy mostly avoid him he's very lonely at the school and is always looking for any excuse to chat with anyone.

Velvet Apple

Dae Kim

The "calm leader" of the group.

Outside of his stage persona, he's pretty energetic and the partying type. In fact, going to parties and engaging in reckless behaviour has grown into a bit of an addiction for him.

In recent years he's started caring less and less about his image, but some part of him is still afraid to disappoint all of his fans and ruin his career.

He's the most costly member of the group, mostly because they have to keep paying people to keep silent about his shenanigans.

He has an immense fear of darkness, and often sleeps in the same bed as one of his group mates so that he doesn't get nightmares from the darkness around them.

Sook Dang

The "innocent baby" of the group.

His actual personality is very foul and even hateful at times, as his time in the idol industry has left him pretty disillusioned with the world.

He often takes it upon himself to protect the rest of the group and despite his hatred for his stage persona, he'll play it up if it gets them out of uncomfortable situations.

He's the least comfortable in the group with showing his skin, and no one in the group knows why since at the start he was often in more revealing clothing to show off his cuteness.

He has a younger brother he has to take care of, which is why he's never really even thought of quitting or disobeying his manager and bosses.

Touyou Endo

The "playboy" of the group.

He's surprisingly innocent and naive, and the rest of the group are pretty intent on keeping it that way.

His parents, who were also idols, arranged for him to be a part of the group, and his immense fear of them keeps him from quitting.

He suffers from extreme insomnia, often not sleeping for days at a time. He wears a lot of makeup to cover up the effects of it.

While he isn't a fan of his career, he loves travelling and seeing new places. In fact, it's a dream of his to just travel the world without the pressure of being an idol.

Vasili Galkin

The "tough silent guy" of the group.

Actually a huge chatterbox, often to the point where his group mates have to physically keep him from talking while they're in public.

Considered the "exotic one" of the group, which he finds a bit weird, especially considering he isn't from a country that would be considered "exotic".

Only one of the group to speak more than one language, which makes him the translator of the group even if it's a bit hard to navigate.

Being part of the group is his ticket to permanently staying in the country, so his options for leaving the group are extremely limited.

Angelcare Hospital

Cyrus Leigh

The rough and uncaring doctor.

He specializes in the terminally ill patients, though he also has surgical training which he's immensely proud of.

Most of the staff is a bit scared of him, as it's a pretty well known fact that he can and will get people fired if they get in his way.

He isn't necessarily sadistic nor intentionally hurtful to his patients, he just doesn't view human life as worth caring for as a whole.

The only reason he became a doctor is because he knew it's a respected career choice and people would admire him for it.

Ira Banes

The sweet nurse with a dark secret.

Most everyone who comes into contact with him think him just the sweetest person alive and all of his patients trust him way more than any of the other staff.

Of course, his persona's all a ruse in order to get close to his patients before he kills them. This way no one ever suspects him.

He's extremely fascinated by dying people, which is why he became a nurse, and he desperately wants to know what it's like to die.

He keeps a diary of all his patients, up until the day they die. He has a whole cabinet full of them and he often sits around and reads them when he has free time.

He got fascinated with death when his mother accidentally slipped and hit her head, leading to a slow and painful death that Ira observed for several hours, never alerting anyone until it was over.

Narihito Glen

The patient who's been sick his whole life.

He's lived pretty much always in a hospital, dispersed with the few times he was allowed to go home when he was thought healthy only to be carted back into his hospital room.

His family has pretty much given up on him ever getting better, and they rarely even come to visit him and he doesn't really have any friends either, at least ones who last long.

Nobody's sure how long he still has, as nobody truly knows what's wrong with him, but he's outlived all previous estimates so he's a bit hopeful of living a long life.

He's not always in pain, but most of the time he's at least mildly uncomfortable or pained. In fact, most of his treatment boils down to lots and lots of painkillers.

Darling

???

Saves the player from a car crash at the start of the game and falls into a coma as a result. No one has any clue as to who he is.

His doctor's pretty sure that if he ever wakes up, he himself won't know who he is.

Sometimes mumbles in his sleep, though it never makes any sense, but at least it means he isn't brain dead.

Spider Lily Orphan Home

Reuben Aranha

The head supervisor of the orphanage.

Under constant stress to even keep the place running and taking care of the children, which doesn't help his already bad temper with them.

His family has owned the orphanage for generations. It's currently officially owned by his mother, but he's set to inherit it soon.

He truly cares for all the children at the orphanage, he just isn't the best with children and would most certainly not ever have taken this job if it wasn't his responsibility to do so.

He's aware that the orphanage and his family has some big secret to it, but he doesn't yet know what it is. He's been told he'll learn it when he owns the place.

Minekiyo

The eldest of the orphans.

He's always running after the younger children, helping Reuben take care of them, even going out of his way to get them out of trouble if something happens.

He's been at the orphanage his whole life, as he was abandoned there by his parents. Due to this, he considers Reuben a big brother and his mother his own mother.

He often ignores his own health and well-being for the sake of others, even if they don't deserve his help or sacrifice.

He's picked up a lot of skills while living at the orphanage, as they're almost completely self-sustaining and someone has to take care of the household chores.

Lysander

The delinquent type who hates the orphanage.

He's only been at the orphanage for a few years, as he arrived when his parent's died mysteriously and none of his family members wanted to take him in.

He has about no actual social skills, as he's always been a difficult child and his parent's thought it better to keep him away from other children.

He's not particularly violent, he just doesn't understand how to be around children or even most adults, and thus sometimes unintentionally hurts him.

Most of the kids at the orphanage consider him an outsider and he pretends not to care about it.

Kiku

The cheery arsonist.

He's been around for a good ten years, though no one at the orphanage knows anything about him despite it.

There's lots of rumors as to why he's at the orphanage, though the most widely accepted is that he killed his parents by setting their house on fire, but no one could prove it.

He doesn't really know how to do anything, as he's been largely restricted from helping around in fear that it will lead to a fire.

He keeps getting a hold of matches and lighters, and nobody knows how. Reuben has a large box of all his conficted fire hazards.

He frequently tries to set his own hair on fire, and his hands are permanently scarred and hurting.

Molchalin Family

Vladimir Molchalin

The head of the family.

He's an eccentric inventor, always coming up with new ideas and machines, most of which are scattered all around the manor.

He's very easily excitable, and tends to run around and shout whenever something surprising and/or exciting happens.

He's very affectionate with everyone, including strangers, but most of all his children. His youngest child, his only daughter, tends to get the brunt of it.

He never talks about his former wife, but he doesn't seem too bothered by her rather mysterious passing.

Anatoli Molchalin

The eldest son of the family.

He has a rather morbid sense of humor, and sports an impressive collection of taxidermied animals which he has made himself.

He has a very mischievous personality, often teasing and pestering his younger siblings much to their chagrin.

He's the closest in personality to his father, and seems to have an unfathomable hatred for his mother whom he refuses to talk about.

He's often around to encourage his younger siblings' hobbies and ambitions, doing anything he can to help them.

Naum Molchalin

The second son of the family.

He has an odd way of showing his affection, which is to try and murder the people close to him in increasingly elaborate ways.

He used to be his mother's favorite child, though the feeling has never seemed to be mutual. According to the people who know him, he got a lot more lively after his mother's death.

Despite being more "lively", he rarely exhibits any emotion on his face aside from boredom or occassional annoyance.

He rarely actually spends time with anyone, though if his siblings pester him enough he'll follow them around to do whatever, especially to Nadenka.

Sasha Molchalin

The third son of the family.

He's very daydreamy, and never seems to be aware of what's going on around him, though with the help of his family and servants he really never gets hurt.

Usually he spends his time in the garden, surrounded by all the butterflies and small animals that live there. He often naps at the base of his favorite willow tree.

He doesn't seem to even remember their mother, though notably he was always her least favorite and hardly spent time with her.

He has a weird tendency to find the oddest spots in the house to nap in, some that seem almost impossible to get to, especially for someone so unaware of their surroundings.

DeVille Family

Dario DeVille

The surprisingly sweet and cheerful boss of the family.

Most people tend to underestimate him, as they perceive him as "soft" and "kind", especially compared to his father who used to be a feared and ruthless boss.

He doesn't think that being cruel to his subordinates will get him anything, but that doesn't mean that he isn't willing to get his hands dirty if needed.

In a fight he's absolutely terrifying, though most people don't know about that since he's usually stopping fights rather than participating in them.

He knows how to use several different kinds of weapons, though he's most efficient with small firearms.

Clemente Galante

The serious and seemingly sadistic underboss.

He's pretty much always by Dario's side, only straying when ordered to or for his personal time, though even then he has to be forced to take it.

He's extremely neat and gets nervous if anything is out of place or doesn't go according to plan, which often ends in him tugging at his hair frantically.

It's rumored that he has a secret torture chamber in the basement of the DeVille family manor, though no one has ever found it.

He's very efficient with throwing knifes, though he himself prefers a bigger arsenal, like machine guns and rifles even if he's not particularly good with them.

Elio Sorbello

The clever & power hungry capo.

He only recently became a capo, after the unsolved murder of his former superior, though he's been a part of the family itself for most of his life.

Expert in poisons of all kinds, but he keeps it a secret as he'd rather people not know that he has the ability to poison them at any moment.

He ended up as part of the DeVille mafia as payment for his parents debts to them. Coming from relative poverty, he's always had a craving for the finer things in life.

He's the most outwardly ruthless of the more important family members, having made it very clear that he's willing to do anything if it gets him influence and power.

Vittorio Caito

The boss' cousin and a popular stripper.

He goes by his mother's maiden name since, while being part of the family, he lives a pretty separate life style from them, professionally speaking.

He's never had that much interest in the family business, which led to him passing his opportunity for being the boss to his older cousin.

He's still trained in fighting, and keeps a small knife strapped to his thigh at all times. That said, he's very slim and relatively weak, so he usually has a bodyguard tailing him.

He became a stripper pretty much only because it gives him attention and validation on his looks, which he views as his one strong point.

Heavenly Breath Church

Malachi Gallagher

A devout priest.

Came to faith after a near death experience he believes he was saved from by an angel. He left behind his previously borderline criminal life and became ordained shortly after.

He believes on occassion his dreams are prophetic and straight from God, as they've shown him the future and heaven.

He's very charismatic and can keep the attention of a room indefinitely, even though previous to joining the church he used to be rather soft-spoken and barely aknowledged.

Carries around a small cross with a secret knife in it, that he on occassion cuts his hand with for some reason.

Raphael Angelica

An angelical music director.

He's pretty much always available at the church, and many suspect that he lives there though he adamantly denies such claims.

Tends to hang around Malachi a lot, especially during services and events. They're always whispering together, which at one point led the members of the church to believe that they're in a relationship.

He has an extremely pretty voice, which is often described as sounding like an angel's choir, though he doesn't tend to sing a lot.

He's always helping the members of the church with anything he can, way beyond his actual duties. He might as well be an angel.

Asa Drued

A very gorgeous gardener of the church.

He's not actually particularly religious, or even a member of the church, he just works there and since he loves the church's garden he's perfectly happy staying there.

Many of the church members consider him an outsider, though it doesn't stop them from being enchanted with his looks.

He doesn't seem to be aware of just how pretty he is, though he's more than happy to receive compliments and get to know people because of them.

He's generally pretty friendly but he's often seen as unapproachable because of the way he looks, so he doesn't have many social contacts.

Micah Dulcie

A choir member with an innocent aura.

He's very gullible and his "friends" often convince him of ridiculous stuff or get him to do something silly to embarrass him.

He's a somewhat distant descendant of the church's founders, so he's considered an important part of it even and somewhat influencal in the going-on's of the church.

He carries around a small cross that he clutches when he feels afraid or nervous, given to him by Raphael.

His parents have always kept him under their strict watch, so he's not very knowleadgable about the world outside the church.

Gigglemug Psychiatric Hospital

Jahi Ayad

The lethargic head psychiatrist of the hospital.

He takes his study of the human mind very seriously and prides himself in his work, though notably his ability to discern actual human suffering is severely diminished due to his one track mind.

He's enjoys doing all sorts of experiments on people, and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in his pursuit of knowledge and science.

He's perpetually tired & sleep deprived since he barely sleeps and tends to work until he collapses on his desk.

He's averse to modern technology, due to his belief that for things to work properly people have to be in direct contact with their subjects.

Kai Elton

The gentle security guard.

He always tries to treat the patients with patience, even if the doctor's at the facility get a bit annoyed and tell him to hurry up.

He hasn't been working at the hospital for long, and thus isn't all that aware of the worst of what's done there.

He often brings flowers from his own garden for the calmer residents, which makes him very likeable among the patients.

While he's originally from the city, he hasn't lived there for most of his life as his parents thought it better to not raise a child there. They were still quite against him moving back.

Tavi Vass / D'artagnan

The long time patient with a "volatile" case of DID.

Tavi is the host and core of the body, he doesn't remember what caused his DID. He tends to be a bit moody and quiet, but generally agreeable and sociable.

D'artagnan is a persecutor and non-human alter. He holds most of the trauma memories of the system but absolutely refuses to talk about it. He views himself as above other beings, especially humans, and can be violent to both others and the body.

Vevina is a caretaker alter, who's very careful with her words and actions, especially when it comes to Tavi and Cookie. She can be threatening if need be, but generally tries to make nice with everyone.

Cookie is a little alter, about 5 years old, and fronts very rarely. He's a bit shy but knows to be sweet to everyone since Vevina is, and he listens to adults as much as he can.

Kaita Ito

The patient with Dependent Personality Disorder.

His DPD is very severe and leaves him incapable of making the slightest of decisions, which is why he ended up at Gigglemug after his parents got tired of taking care of him.

His DPD is largely the result of his parents deciding and doing everything for him as a child, never allowing him to develop an identity beyond them.

He often neglects his own health as the doctors at the hospital aren't actually too interested in helping him, just observing and studying him.

Most of the other patients know that he's easy to take advantage of him, and the crueler ones of the bunch often get him to do stuff that will get him in trouble, which leads him to panic attacks.

Wainwright Detective Agency

Ariel Wainwright

The hardened head detective.

He's the only adult member of the Wainwright family left, as everyone but his 13-year old cousin are dead under semi-mysterious circumstances.

While he always seems calm and collected no matter the situation, he often has breakdowns in the privacy of his home or office from the pressure of being pretty much the only true facet of justice left in the city.

His knowledge of how corrupt the city truly is has lead him down some dark paths in the past, but he's sworn to himself to not become that person again.

He has a loyal pet dog named Sebastian that follows him around everywhere. He's actually a service dog that helps him keep his emotions stable.

Langston Hayes

The eccentric partner of Ariel.

He spends most of his time lounging casually around the office, usually in the strangest outfits.

He gets on Ariel's nerves constantly, but he's a good and just detective and can't be let go just for his eccentricities.

He was unofficially adopted by Ariel's father, the former head detective, after his parents died and Ariel's father was assigned to the case.

He has a talent for making people feel at ease around him and reveal all their secrets to him if he so wishes.

Sonny Ejiri

The newbie of the agency.

He's from outside the city and so isn't all that used to the violent and horrific crimes that happen there, at least not the amount.

He's a go-getter, but the silent type who'll listen to orders given to him dutifully unless he thinks it's an emergency.

Everyone tends to always underestimate him, even Ariel, because of his pretty face and small figure, but he's actually experienced in Judo and Bōjutsu.

He's not entirely used to the case process, especially not talking to people and he tends to get flustered when he has to do something new.

Lincoln Deantown

The serious secretary of the agency.

He has a very no-nonsense way with the agency, always keeping the three detectives in check and making sure they're doing everything by the book.

He's always making meals for everyone at the agency, be it the three detectives, witnesses, clients, or even the lesser criminals. In general, he tends to try and take care of everyone in his own gruff way.

He has a very intricate filing system in his little cabinet wall, and if anyone who isn't him touches it he is willing to break some bones.

He goes to anger-management therapy for his personality issues, as Ariel insisted he take them in order to be able to work at the agency.

Yokomura Family

Musashita Yokomura

The wise head of the family.

He's a very traditional man and tries to keep the family's secrets and traditions alive, even if it were to cost him his life.

He's the third generation leader of the family, and was born outside the city. He was only two years old when they moved in, so he doesn't remember much of the outside world.

He doesn't have the ability to feel compassion for humans, as he's been trained since he was born to simply kill.

He loves his two children, and while he can no longer do anything for his older son who's already been trained, he tries to prevent his younger son from becoming a monster like them.

Yoriu Yokomura

The emotionless eldest son who unlocks his yandere streak with the player.

He doesn't understand the emotions of others or his own, often leading to him saying or doing hurtful things without understanding why people get upset.

The first emotion he's ever understood is his "love" for the player, as explained to him by his father, which makes him unable to let go of them.

He's an expert in bladed weapons, just as his father is expert in poisons and his brother in technology.

He's the most mysterious member of the family, as nobody outside the manor has seen his face and lived.

Kitsuya Yokomura

The family's tech wizard adopted son.

He was adopted by Musashita when he was 5, possibly as a way to try and repent even in the slightest for his career.

He spends most of his time in his room, which is filled with screens and computers, along with other pieces of high-tech technology.

He's never killed anyone with his own hands, but he helps his father and brother by gathering intel and acting as a remote lookout.

He's a bit spoiled since his father wants to provide for him as much as he can and the servants are afraid to deny him in fear of his older brother.

Yasuki

The loyal & skilled head butler of the family.

His family has been serving the Yokomura's longer than anyone could trace back, possibly to the start of both families careers. Due to this, he knows nothing else than being loyal to the Yokomura's.

He started quite young, as his father who was the previous head butler died during a mission and someone from their family needed to replace him.

He takes care of the ten guard dogs of the manor, and considers it to be the highlight of his day.

He acts like a true gentleman and servant no matter the situation, even when killing or in danger.

Devil Hill House

Samael Teivel

The master of the house.

He only appears in his office when it's raining, always looking out the large windows to the surrounding forest.

He speaks in riddles, often so incomprehensible and removed from reality that they're impossible to decipher.

The story has it that he made a deal with the devil or a dark spirit of somekind when he was alive, and he and his house got burned down for it.

He seems extremely interested in sweets, as they're the only thing that can lure him out of his office if only for a moment.

Belial

The being in the mirror.

If people look into the reflective surfaces in the house, their reflection slowly turns into his form and they are driven insane by looking into his eyes.

He's possibly the dark spirit who made a deal with Samael, but he doesn't aknowledge questions about the house and inhabitants before it became haunted.

He always knows what's happening inside the house, often telling the other residents when there are intruders in their areas. The only room he won't go in is the main office.

He clearly enjoys messing with intruders more than the others, his laughter often echoing throughout the house as they're being tormented.

Faust & Mephisto

The pair of twins in the hallway.

They always move in perfect sync, mirroring each other and talking together to make their voice echo.

They walk around the hallways of the house, and on occassion enter a room that was clearly theirs when they were still alive.

Most people couldn't possibly tell the twins apart, despite them being mirror twins. Even when they were alive they were impossibly similar, which often annoyed them.

During the night they'll sing lullabies to each other, taking turns until they fall asleep and then disappear.

???

The thing in the basement.

He doesn't seem to be capable of talking, only communicating through growls and yelps. Often his howls can be heard through the forest, leading people to the house.

He refuses to leave the basement, and people who go into the basement don't often come back. In fact, most of the other residents usually herd intruders in there to get rid of them.

Sometimes he looks out the small window in the basement, especially when it snows though he'll avoid everything that comes from through the broken window.

He's constantly starving, only eating when intruders arrive as there is no other food in the house.

Fanfare Fits Carnival

Lockhart

The weird ringmaster of the carnival.

He speaks in a very grandiose way even outside the ring, his powerful voice grapping the attention of passerby's easily to lure them into the carnival grounds.

While he himself doesn't really do acts during the shows, he clearly directs the other performers and often springs suprise tricks on them to amaze the audience.

He's very boisterous and enjoys the spotlight, but his willingness to do anything to keep the carnival running comes from his love for it, as both his home and family.

He was raised with the travelling carnival, his parents being former performers before they died during a show and the previous ringmaster adopted him.

Arion Crystalion

The grand-star of the show, a magician.

While not performing his shows in the main tent, he has a small personal tent where he reads people's futures and gives them life advice.

He joined the carnival a couple of years before they settled in the city, though he seems awfully familiar with the place.

He doesn't talk about his past before the carnival, and is incredibly protective of the only thing he had with him when he joined, a crystal ball.

The rest of the performers admire him a lot for the things he's capable of doing, though some of them are incredibly jealous of his star-status.

Thingamajig

The creepy clown.

Nobody remembers when he joined the carnival, and people in general have a hard time remembering anything about him when he's not present.

He likes handing out balloons and treats to the people exploring the carnival grounds, though most who take them disappear shortly after.

He rarely talks, and when he does people can never agree on if his voice is high-pitched or low and gravelly.

Children seem to trust him a lot for some odd reason, and he often escorts them around the carnival, showing off all the attractions.

Andromeda

The beautiful carousel ride sculpture.

He sits inside one of the carriages on the carousel, originally there to make lone riders feel less alone.

He thinks he came to life shortly after the carnival came to the city, though his memory is hazy.

He loves watching the quests ride on the carousel, though his longing to talk to them only grows larger with every spin the carousel makes.

He has never actually talked or moved much, afraid of someone discovering him and getting rid of him. He loves his carousel home too much to leave it behind.

Wraithfeat Cemetery

Jade Eidolon

The odd undertaker.

He speaks very slowly and lethartically, often devolving into mumbling and whispers if he speaks longer than a couple of words.

He lives at his shop at the very edge of the cemetery, and only ever leaves the place to do his job inside the cemetery. He never steps a foot outside the cemetery gates.

He avoids talking to people as much as possible, as he considers them to be terrifying and dark creatures since he only ever sees them in the throes of sadness which often turns to anger.

People tend to be very uncomfortable in his shop, as it's always a bit dusty and the shelfs are filled with jars of unknown substances and strange taxidermied creatures. Not to speak of the opossum people swear is alive but can never catch moving.

Shi

The shade who hangs around the cemetery.

He's usually seen sitting a top the brickwall surrounding the cemetery, around the main gates.

Normal people can't see him, but they can feel him looking at him and if he happens to touch them they'll get intense goosebumps.

He was born from the dark negative emotions of the people visiting the cemetery, so he doesn't really understand or experience positive things.

Everytime someone brings flowers to someone's grave, he'll take one from the bunch and stash it away in his private collection.

Luan Quy

The unaffected caretaker of the cemetery.

He doesn't believe in the supernatural so he doesn't really think there's anything odd going on in the cemetery, plus his iron-nerves, makes him perfect for his job.

He's the only person taking care of the cemetery besides Jade, who fears him a lot, so he's usually busy cleaning gravestones or weeding the flowerbeds.

Somehow he's very social outside of his job, though most people do think him a bit weird for taking the job, no matter how essential and well paying it is.

Despite the job being pretty well paying, most of his money is sent to his family so he lives in a small cheap apartment near the cemetery.

Peregrine

Odd bird-like fellow who regularly visits the cemetery.

He always visits the same grave, at the very back of the cemetery who's headstone is broken and overgrown.

He's often followed around by a flock of crows, who assist him with whatever he's doing and bring him fun little trinkets.

He seems to disappear when he leaves the cemetery, only the flock of crows left behind to fly off.

He tends to avoid talking to the other visitors, though the ones who've managed to catch him say he's quite a pleasant fellow.

Crystal Mirror Club

Lazarus Rhodestone

A mischievous and seductive vampire.

In modern words, he'd probably be called a 'playboy' but he despises it and insists that he's simply 'someone who enjoys things life throws at him'.

Despite the fact that he can't actually get drunk, with the amount he drinks he could technically be considered an alcoholic.

He often tells grand tales of travelling the world, living in a dark mansion where he was free to torment travellers and the villagers who fear him, though he doesn't like talking about why he's now in the city, not in a grand mansion or a dark castle.

He keeps a locket on him at all times, that he's extremely protective of and never takes off for anything.

Hamao Fujiki

A socially awkward jorogumo singer.

The only time he feels confident is on the club's stage, though unfortunately for him that confidence translates into his magic seduction abilities and usually leaves him swarmed with admirers.

He lives at the back of the club in a small room Amadeus arranged for him when he first started working there.

He used to live in the forest, but something drove him out and forced him into the city. where he was found by Amadeus and take in.

He tends to cover his face with his signature scarf when going out, not only to hide his otherworldly appearance but also to stop his seduction abilities from accidentally activating.

Amadeus Octave

An incubus who owns the club.

He's owned the club for about 250 years, though back then it was a completely different sort of establishment.

Because of his way with human emotions and dreams, he's particularly sensitive to people and their blights and can't turn away hurting people.

He has a special room in the back that he sometimes brings people into, but nobody knows what happens in there as the people who go in never remember when coming out.

He has a collection of sketchbooks, full of potraits of different people and places, presumably ones he's met and been to.

Gratie van Helsing

A clumsy and silly monster hunter.

While his style of speech is usually whimsical and playful, but on occassion it will drop down to a dramatic drawl, lead on by ominous warnings and mutterings.

He usually presents himself as a simple doctor from a foreign land, who travels looking for a place to settle.

His whole entire family are and have been monster hunters, most of them believing they're descendants of the van Helsing. Whether or not this is true is debatable.

He's a bit reckless when it comes to his job, often rushing into things without thinking about he consequences first.

Holdem Forest

Moriki

A mischievous tanuki.

He often hangs around the entrances to the forest, pranking visitors by taking on ghostly forms or a friendly face, leading them astray.

He isn't a cruel person, he simply knows that the more haunted the forest seems, the less people will want to seriously harm the place.

A lot of the forest folk know him and appreciate him for protecting the forest, often popping by for crackers and tea.

He's not originally from the forest, he came there looking for his brother who he believes is somehow living in the city.

Nishith

A bit too friendly naga.

He's extremely curious about humans, despite the fact that every member of his family has warned him against them.

He has a small territory he lives in that he never leaves, even if he desperately wants to explore the rest of the forest and beyond it.

He's unfortunately oblivious to his own dangerousness, like his poison fangs and strong tail, which more often than not ends in a dead little friend.

While he's very intelligent, especially for someone who's grown up in a forest, but he's very easily distracted and forgets to think when excited.

Valdemar

A lonely and elusive näkki.

Usually he appears to people as a beautiful horse to lure them into his pond, but his 'real' form is that of a beautiful but corpse-like man.

Even the other residents of the forest fear him and avoid his home pond, and he considers it to be best this way, as he can't help his nature and thus would be a danger to them.

He's very protective of his precious violin, though if someone were to bring him a specific kind of gift [three drops of blood, a black animal, or vodka] he'll gladly teach them to play it.

As calling him by his name is the only way to kill him, he never tells it to people unless he absolutely 100 percent trusts them, which has never happened.

Oberon

Fae king of the Unseelie court.

He often rides through the forest with his entourage, causing mischief to travellers, especially if encountered head on.

He has a blood feud with the Queen of the Seelie court, Titania. No one in either court knows why, though there's rumors of a love triangle.

As he's incapable of lying, he's gotten very good with words to entice and entrap people with.

He loves stories, especially interesting and new ones, and they're a good way to get out of his bad favor or not end up kidnapped by him. Or it'll make him want to kidnap you more, he's a bit unpredictable.

Death Parade Offices

Bela

The God of Death.

He is the CEO of the Death Parade Corporation, along with his brother Valentin, though he's clearly the more responsible one.

He doesn't understand living creatures, especially love and feelings of affection, though he's indefinitely curious about them.

He has a small black french bulldog named "Surma" who follows him everywhere and often fetches stuff for him.

He's very conscious of his appearance, as he's a bit paranoid of humans finding out who he is. He's very aware of the human opinion on death.

Valentin

The God of Love.

The other CEO of the Death Parade Corporation, the whole thing being originally his idea to hide both his and his brother's jobs.

He's always been the more popular brother, so he's very social and popular among the mortals around them.

He has a large white Norwegian Forest Cat named "Psyche" who usually lounges on a luxurious pillow in his office.

He's capable of possessing people to help people with their love life, though he usually leaves such stuff to his employees.

Aeron

Reaper just trying to do his job.

He pretty much fuels himself with coffee, being a worrying regular in the coffee shop near the offices. 19 shots of expresso.

He usually rides around doing his job on a white, sleek motorcycle, a sharp contrast to his black and pink office suit.

His co-workers like to often remind him of his rebellious phase before the company was established, when he was wild and reckless.

He has a stuffed bunny on his desk in his office, which he tries to desperately hide from people, not wanting to ruin his serious image.

Desi

The cupid to be blamed for all of this.

He loves experimenting with his job, which usually results in good things, at worst a few broken hearts.

He often spends time sleeping on fainting couch in his office while he's supposed to be doing paperwork, much to Aeron's chagrin.

He often gets away with a lot of his nonsense because of his cute and innocent face, and his very convincing apologies.

He's pretty notorious for being the reason for a lot of minor tragedies of the past, and despite people pointing it out he ignores it and continues his nonsense.

[officerofcybertron]

Headcanons 1: Matrix

Is Ultra Magnus worthy to carry the Matrix of Leadership?

The short answer to this question is: Yes, but he doesn’t want it or need it, and it’s complicated.

The origins to this question naturally date back to the original G1 movie; when Ultra Magnus was introduced, chosen by Optimus Prime to become the new Autobot leader, and then… didn’t. It was never really covered as to why that was. Instead Hot Rod was the token ‘chosen one’ character, and the explanation was left at that. The Matrix didn’t choose Ultra Magnus.

Ultra Magnus explains to Optimus when he’s given the Matrix he’s ‘just a soldier’, but is this really the only reason there is? He’s just not ‘leadership material’?

We can all agree that G1 is a national treasure and that the plot points do not make that much sense in many regards. Rodimus Prime showed up in the movie, awe-inspiring, powerful, and confident, but then in the following cartoon show it became a running joke that he would learn a ‘valuable lesson’ in leadership, either from Ultra Magnus himself, or from other members of the team when they corrected him on his actions, and then be right back to behaving like a child in the next episode while Ultra Magnus essentially led the Autobots in all but name.

So; what does this have to do with Transformers Prime? The character of Ultra Magnus is fairly changed. G1 Ultra Magnus was a lot more relaxed, not quite so rule-obsessed, and had an understanding of what it meant to be a family. He was also known to laugh, and act as a guardian figure for Daniel.

Conversely Ultra Magnus in Prime is the very definition of ‘strict’. I like to think that if you were to look the word up in a Cybertronian dictionary, Ultra Magnus’ picture would probably be listed under the word as an example. He’s a stranger to the family environment, and it is likely that jokes roll right off his armor plating.

The answer is rather obvious, although a bit too simple: they’re both soldiers who’ve never been comfortable playing the ‘leading role’. Not because they aren’t good at it, but because it’s not something they’ve ever wanted. Instead, working as Second in Command, while still giving them the ability to direct their troops, and help their soldiers, still gives them the ability to defer to another authority.

But more importantly: Ultra Magnus does not want the Matrix.

I think the Matrix knows this, and therefore does not choose Ultra Magnus.

Not because Ultra Magnus is not worthy. He’s definitely worthy. Rather the Matrix, being what it is, I think can see into the spark of a Cybertronian presented to it and it can see this quietly hidden truth. A truth that, maybe, Ultra Magnus never spoke of to Optimus Prime. That he’s uncomfortable with being set up to be the next Prime. That he doesn’t want to be a Prime.

Obviously, this is in the case of the G1 cartoon, but I think this same aspect could be applied if ever Ultra Magnus from Transformers Prime were to be offered the Matrix.

On top of this, let’s be frank: Ultra Magnus doesn’t need the Matrix.

I know in Prime he was shown to have issues with leading Team Prime, but I also take a lot of my Ultra Magnus from the prequel novels, and in the prequel novels he was a bad-ass leader. Confident in his soldiers, and described as ‘daring, strategically ingenious, and courageous to the point of recklessness’ by Alpha Trion.

It’s honestly a huge curiosity of mine what would have happened had Ultra Magnus and Starscream gone head to head in a real battle. The two of them were never pitted against one another, but I have a feeling a fight between the two of them very easily could have decided the fate of the war.

Why? Because when Optimus and Megatron fight one another, almost nothing else exists around them. So, on a quick tangent imagine that happening. Optimus, with Ultra Magnus, and Megatron with Starscream, go into a full-on head-to-head battle. Optimus and Megatron almost immediately size one another up, because there’s no one else who’s going to take on their opposite number. That leaves Ultra Magnus and Starscream to direct the rest of the battle.

Imagine, just for a moment, how ridiculously amazing that would be story-wise. I honestly couldn’t tell you who would win. Starscream and his Seekers would have air superiority, but Ultra Magnus and his wreckers are bat-shit crazy and not afraid to fight dirtier than any other Autobot as long as it gets the job done.

Back onto the topic at hand: Ultra Magnus’ Wreckers followed him into the battle of Fort Scyk and then when Optimus and the rest of the Autobot forces intended to flee Cybertron on board the Ark they remained with Ultra Magnus to hold back Trypticon and to try to keep an Autobot presence on Cybertron.

They fought with him against unbelievable odds. Against Shockwave and his abominations. Facing death every time they went out and knowing that the next mission would always be a suicide mission.

You don’t do all that and not have faith, feel loyalty, for the person leading you.

Ultra Magnus doesn’t need the Matrix to be a great leader. He old enough that he has the experience; has the compassion needed. He’s capable..

Would he have accepted the Matrix if Optimus had died and passed it onto him? Yes, but I don’t think he would accept it as the next Prime. He would accept it for safe keeping. Knowing that the next Prime wouldn’t be him. He would accept it because it was expected of him and it was his responsibility.

Which is why I actually enjoyed the ending of Predacon’s Rising where Opitmus took the Matrix out of the equation.

If Transformers Prime had gotten a proper sequel, and not the disaster that 2015 RID offered us, it would have been amazing to see how Team Prime evolved in the absence of a sacred relic which bestows the right to lead. By removing the Matrix as the be-all-end-all, it would have allowed someone – like Ultra Magnus – to step up into that leadership position and help Cybertron flourish.

And I truly do believe it would have been Ultra Magnus who stepped up. Not because I feel Bumblebee or Smokescreen are incapable of being leaders. They both have leadership qualities. As does Arcee, and even Bulkhead. Rather I feel it would be because of Ultra Magnus’ already extensive experience, and service record, that would catapult him up to the most likely leader going forward.

I realize that people may disagree with me, and that’s totally fair. Until I started really looking into Ultra Magnus myself, about the same time I started this blog, I didn’t have a very high opinion of him, but the more I read, the more I thought, I realized that there was so much untapped potential here.

Ultra Magnus is a mech, an Autobot, who should be proud of what he’s accomplished and he is most certainly worthy of being a Prime, but the part about his character that I love the most?

He doesn’t need to be a Prime to be a Leader.

He doesn’t need the Matrix.

And it’s better that way.