#the game also has implied child death and implied animal death at certain points

[susielesbianism]

Been watching people play Home Safety Hotline recently and oh my god y’all please fuckinng play it it’s so good

[thanatika]

people on that child support post are talking as if patho classic daniil is great with kids and it's pathologic 2 daniil that people are getting this negative idea of him from, which got me thinking...

daniil's main characterization of how he treats kids in patho 2 comes from artemy's POV of him, which is biased against daniil due to daniil making a really dickish first impression, and is also based off of unreliable narrator accounts:

first by some kids outside of rubin's house who lead artemy to believe that daniil refused to treat poisoned children when it was actually just dying dogs, which can be followed by artemy confronting daniil himself where he continues to misunderstand the situation and assumes daniil is calling children animals, until he finally visits the kids' warehouse and learns it was just the soul-and-a-halves' pets. which, obviously it would be a nice thing to save pets from dying, but he really ISN'T a veterinarian and there's a deadly plague starting. he's doing triage.

and then another early incident with the kid in the warehouse dying of sand pest, where notkin passes along a message telling artemy not to bother trying to save him that makes him sound very dismissive ("Don't waste your time on Patches, it's over for him"). reading between the lines though, it's pretty clear that he came to that conclusion not because he doesn't want to save people from the sand pest, but because this is a seemingly incurable disease with no medical cure, and at that point he probably hasn't had the chance to test the schmowders on himself so would have no reason to believe in their effectiveness, and assesses that loading patches up with drugs will just kill him. which, he's literally correct! whether you treat him with tinctures, pills, or a whole schmowder, patches dies that night. obviously trying to treat him or at least ease his suffering is a morally good dead, but you can also see the implied basis of daniil's actions, that every second is precious in the early stages of trying to prevent a widespread outbreak, so you shouldn't waste time on a patient who ultimately can't be saved. (which fits in really well not only with his arc in both games where he comes to the conclusion that the whole town is unsalvageable, but with the bigger emphasis on time management and manipulation that his remake has been described as having. hell, maybe from daniil's POV he knows for certain that patches will die due to whatever time manipulation that's going on with him, and that spending the time on that patient allows for a larger disaster to happen elsewhere). so, the situation is framed by notkin (understandably, because he's just a kid and that's his friend dying) and artemy (because he's honestly pretty petty about daniil) as just "the bachelor is an asshole and abandoned these kids" when it's more of a genuine ethical quandary.

he's also pretty rude and dismissive in how he talks about grace to artemy later on, but again, it's pretty clear that he's not just being a hater to a 15 year old for no reason, the point he's making is that she shouldn't be left in charge of a graveyard filled with potentially bio-hazardous corpses.

all that to say, the main canon info about how he treats children in patho 2 basically comes from the fact that a lot of kids end up disliking him, because he's extremely pragmatic to the point of being heartless, but still ultimately pretty understandable in what he's trying to do (stop a plague).

meanwhile when we do get to see his POV in the marble nest, i would say the way he treats children is pretty much consistent with how he talks to them in pathologic classic -- if anything, he's a bit nicer to them? he has some fed-up, yelling sort of dialogue options to the kids, but pretty much all of those are based on being upset that they're out breaking quarantine and putting themselves at risk of death. meanwhile other dialogue options make him come off very much willing to humor them and talk to them on their level. and when another adult is much harsher about the kids being irresponsible, he defends them, with no dialogue option to agree with corporal punishment:

meanwhile in pathologic classic, i do think that on the whole daniil is pretty nice to kids and willing to go out of his way to protect or help them (to the point of risking death, such as the late game sidequest where he can agree to go take on several soldiers to keep the father of two children from being wrongly executed). but he does also have some really unkind and spiteful dialogue options, like some of what he says to clara both in his own route and hers, and on the topic of corporal punishment...

[chidoroki]

Isabella - 73584

I had a serious debate with myself over whether or not I wanted to sit down and spend my weekend writing another one of these praise posts. I was content with just doing one for each of the Fullscore Trio kids and ending it there.. but apparently I love this woman too much to just ignore her on her birthday. So here were are on September 9th with a list of all her best and my personal favorite moments as to why I believe she’s such a great character, antagonist and mother (yeah you heard me right). Considering she only shows up in the beginning and very end of the story, this post ended up longer than I originally anticipated, which just goes to show how many thoughts I really have about this woman. (for real, this rivals Ray’s post in terms of points but there’s far more words)

Since she also has some backstory and certain events differ between manga and anime (thanks to the second season), I’ll try to go in chronological order between both timelines instead of chapter by chapter, which might be a bit confusing as we’ll jump around the story a lot but just to bear with me as I try to makes sense of it all.

(spoilers for the entirety of The Promised Neverland & ch181.7, so if you haven’t read/completed the manga yet, consider this your first warning, because I’m literally going from start to finish with this one last time. I promise.)

- I’m not sure how well she compares to Emma when it comes to athleticism, but Isabella seemed to have no trouble climbing up and down trees when she was younger.

- Not only that, but she managed to scale the wall by herself using a method that requires a fairly impressive jump. It’s also implied that this is how she climbs the wall again so many years later when chasing the soon-to-be escapees, which helps prove that even at an older age, she hasn’t lost her touch.

- Was chosen to undergo training to become a Mom, which required high test scores and the current mother’s recommendation. She accepted the offer in order to keep living and survive as human the demons couldn’t eat.

- Based on Sienna’s comment, is it fair to say Isabella is on par with the full score trio? I mean, the woman is basically flawless.

- She was practically untouchable during her time at headquarters while training too apparently. Mom positions are scarce so the environment where these ladies fight (physically/mentally/emotionally) to even snag that job is highly competitive, and yet Isabella never let anyone deter her from her goal of becoming a Mom, which probably led to the “Iron Lady” nickname she received now that I think about it.

- She was the youngest ever to be granted the Mom position at..what, 19? 20? Somewhere around there, but impressive nonetheless considering they’re forced to have a child, build up a strong, emotionless exterior and endure so much fear. (but my goodness, the woman doesn’t age at all. she looks just as good when the story actually starts as she did her when she was a bit younger)

- It became common knowledge among the Sisters that she was also very successful in the way she raised her children.

- Her success greatly benefited the farm, as she offered up countless high quality goods, which sounds terrible, I know, but believe me when I say she gave her best effort for her children. Even though she held the Mom position, the amount of power she actually had in this system was pretty minimal, especially with how much she valued her own life. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes or risky changes, so she settled with doing the most with what she was capable of. She provided her children with a normal lifestyle, not only to keep up the orphanage facade, but knowing that their lives would all be cut shorter than they anticipate. She gave them love in hopes that no one would ever have to feel the dread she felt after Leslie’s death and/or finding out the truth. She tried to delay that horrific fate by encouraging them to learn all they can (like teaching the trio about strategy and chess) so they could achieve higher tests scores and (unknowingly to them) add a couple more months or years onto their lives. Yes it was her job to raise these children to such high standards but she excelled at it for their sake too.

- And I know y’all will just throw Ray in my face like, “oh but he was her actual child and she treated him horribly/different.” Okay but deep down I don’t think she actually wanted to? When they both realized they were truly mother and son, Isabella couldn’t just dote on him and start treating him as such. I’m sure Ray wasn’t too fond of Isabella at this point in his life either, knowing that she sent several of his siblings away to get killed. They probably would’ve gotten along just fine in a perfect world, but since they were both aware of the hell they’re trapped living in, they emotionally distanced themselves and formed a business-like relationship as a result of Ray’s deal, which benefited them both in different ways. For Ray, it was more practical, with the obvious notion of living as long as possible along with obtaining various rewards and knowledge of the outside world. For Isabella, it helped emotionally by simply just ignoring their true relation. I believe if she clung to that realization, it would break the orphanage illusion and eventually wear down her “Iron Lady” exterior that she relies so heavily on.

- Like can you imagine how much you would have to harden your heart in order to quite literally walk children to their death every couple months for years on end and just move on like it’s completely normal? Now imagine how earth shattering it must be to think about doing the same to your actual child. All those years spent perfecting a fake smile and emotionless exterior like she was trained to have and her son shatters it in an instant. She becomes completely terrified about how he’s actually alive and in front of her right now and there’s nothing she can do to truly save him.. and yet she still recovers so damn quickly I can’t even comprehend it! But there’s still some sadness in those eyes. You can’t tell me otherwise. That one moment of weakness speaks volumes to me.

- So now with her general backstory FINALLY out of the way, we can finally start with ch01/ep01 and how her laugh is sweet and innocent. I say that because (all hidden emotions and motives aside) that’s exactly how she’s supposed to sound in this moment, not only to us but to the children as well.

- She of course checks Emma’s tracker a moment later but other than that I still think it’s a pretty genuine moment between the two.

- As previously stated, her ability to raise high quality children is unmatched, which is clear as day thanks to the fullscore trio.

- Despite their crazy level of intelligence, the trio has yet to win a simple game of chess against Isabella, even when teamed up.

- She treasures everything about the kids.

- She really cares about them, even when it’s time to send them off with a smile, which we know is thanks to her strong facade.

- But mother dearest isn’t really fine. She doesn’t like walking kids to their death, especially so young. But she can’t let them (or even herself) know that. She can’t show weakness, so she hums Leslie’s song, which is a tool she’s used for years in order to give herself strength.

- Don’t worry, I disliked her this moment happened too, just as the story intended. And here’s where her fantastic antagonist role begins for all the world to see.

- A true champ at jump scares.

- Acts completely calm the night after a couple of kids found out the secret of the farm.

- She uses the tracker in plain sight, sending whomever went to the gate last night a threatening but silent message.

- Correct Norman, that’s the “Iron Lady” for ya. Also the name of ch03 for us. Well, “The Iron Woman” but same difference.

- She switches from calculating and manipulative breeder to sweet and pleasant mother so quickly and effortlessly it’s incredible. Isabella even checked Emma’s pulse in this scene to see if she was acting normal.

- At this point she still had no idea who went to the gate (Ray didn’t tip her off yet, at least I don’t think so) but her guess couldn’t have been more precise. The level of fear she drives into both Emma and Norman was great too, but then again her presence is enough in any scene to give us chills.

- Notices her watchdog isn’t at his usual post and starts to get suspicious.

- Not only of him, Emma and Norman, but Don and Gilda as well, thus giving the five extra chores to finish in an attempt to slow down any escape planning, such as cleaning vacant rooms, organizing the pantry and inspecting spare linen.

- While the trio believes Isabella was being too soft and patient in finding her targets, she effectively catches them off guard by bringing in Krone for assistance. The trio soon realize they were actually preparing the sister’s new room and those mundane chores were just an excuse to buy time.

- Look at her, all smug. Checkmate indeed. (and totally not important, but her eyes are such pretty shades of purple)

- The sass and her no nonsense attitude.

- Immediately puts Krone in her place the moment she even thinks about shipping out the targets. Of course holding off on shipping the targets would benefit the farm, as it would produce higher quality merchandise as time passes, but plant 3 is run by Isabella and she’ll be damned if an assistant thinks they could waltz right in and decide her children’s fate.

- She check’s Emma tracker again despite her claim of knowing exactly who the targets might be. You can never be too careful.

- Her precious children managed to win a game of tag against Krone, which is still impressive considering the kind of training the sister has gone through, so kudos to her teachings.

- Knows right away that Krone was trying to take advantage, which allows Krone to realize that the opening she had to learn more about the children was all planned by Isabella herself. Her intimidating nature is enough to scare adults too.

- Reveals that Krone was mostly summoned in order to keep Ray in check after his failure.

- Despite the trust issue, Isabella still keeps up her end of the deal by requesting the items Ray asked for, thanks to the odd perks she had under Grandma Sarah which allowed her to order goods that weren’t on the supply list.

- This hug between her and Phil is just too cute not to mention.

- I imagine she makes this comment because she knows exactly how long a rope must be based off her own almost-escape.

- It’s just something about how this scene is framed alongside this dialogue that makes me think “oh, like mother, like son.”

- I blame her very thoughtful planning for my first big freak out when I watched season 1 blind, like ma’am that’s my favorite boy, please don’t.

- She conspires with Grandma Sarah in order to get rid of Krone for good, which renders the evidence sister just found out about the children’s escape completely useless. Sarah believes there might be some truth to it, but ultimately ignores it and puts her faith in Isabella’s ability of controlling the children & the situation.

- She then cuts Ray off and ends their six-year long deal, opting to control the situation herself from now on. Also, how she wanted to keep him around until the very end is kinda bittersweet. Does she mean as merchandise? Or because she wanted him to live as long as possible? Ah such a tricky little comment.

- She also tosses him across the room like a rag doll.

- Thank god for this panel existing and actually being adapted into the anime so I could hear it because I had absolutely no memory of her laughing in this moment.

- “She says it so nonchalantly,” Norman said once upon a time, and it’s still so frightening.

- As insane as her ideals seem given the circumstances, nothing she says here is really a lie.

- She has the strength to quite literally break a leg and that cracking noise still haunts me to this day.

- It wasn’t even a spur of the moment thing either. Isabella came fully prepared with bandages to fix up any injury she was willing to inflict and that thought alone is terrifying.

- Not only that, but she broke it so cleanly that Emma’s leg does indeed heal perfectly in the exact time frame she estimates. This entire moment is so unfairly impressive, like ma’am how dare you do this to Emma of all people.. like why couldn’t you at least use that kind of force to snap Peter’s neck instead or something?

- To make matters worse, she then reveals Norman’s shipment date. And it’s the following day, which sends the kids into a very understandable panic.

- Needless to say, November 2nd, 2045 was a very successful day in the life of Isabella. Woman was putting everyone in checkmate in ep08 and my anger on full blast.

- This sly smile she sends Ray’s way after announcing Norman’s shipment to the younger kids is so cruel.. it’s perfect.

- I can only imagine she asked about Ray’s whereabouts because she knew the boys were close friends and she hoped they would at least say goodbye to one another, but that’s just me.

- Puts an end to Norman’s parting words in such a simple and chilling matter.

- The way she just openly threatens Emma with others just out of earshot.

- Norman out here asking the real questions. If anything, I say she’s more “content” rather than happy. I don’t think she’s ever really thought about her own happiness, at least not often enough, hence the slight pause. This entire time she’s been focusing on how to make her children’s lives perfect, but for herself she just wants to survive in this hellish world they’re all living in.

- I’m honestly still not sure who’s final decision it is to send people to Lambda, either Isabella, Peter or someone else (honestly never bothered to check), but whether or not Isabella had any say in the matter, I’m sure she’s at least a little glad that Norman gets to live a bit longer? Perhaps that’s a stretch, but I’m putting the idea here anyway.

- I say this because I believe that’s part of the reason why she offered Emma a Mom recommendation, not only because our girl’s high test scores, but in hopes that she could live a longer life.

- Although she really stresses in an intimidation fashion how pointless Emma’s efforts are now that Norman’s “dead,” the cliff remains a major hazard and her leg is still bandaged up, Isabella still tries so hard to convince her to give up, like Ray has, in order for Emma to end her own suffering. It was the first instance during my blind watch-through were I started to get the hint that Isabella might actually care about her kids, and of course I know now it’s because she didn’t want Emma to experience the same pain she did after Leslie’s death.

- With Emma and Ray both broken, things went by rather smoothly for Isabella those last two months, though she continued to keep a close eye on them.

- Her humming is so soothing. And why it took me this long to bring up “Isabella’s Lullaby” is beyond me, but oh my god, that song and any other soundtrack that uses its melody is absolute perfection.

- Had enough sense to not let her guard down the final night, even though her efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, but the idea counts.

- Though her caretaker side is focused on more during the fire, some motherly instincts do kick in as she instructs Gilda to get the babies from her room and lead everyone outside to safety. She was also concerned for Emma’s well being, hoping all the smoke didn’t get to her when the girl vanished. (i know you can argue “she’s only worried because they’re merchandise” which is fair but c’mon, i swear she’s not completely heartless)

- Took a hot minute (ahha) but Isabella eventually realized that the kids were actually escaping solely based on what they were wearing on their feet. I’m sure Emma’s discarded left ear was a big tip off too but to come to that conclusion by noticing the shoes they had on during all that chaos is surprising.

- She looks completely insane here but I always thought this shot of her was nicely animated with all the fire (or embers? sparks? whatever they are) flying around. The laugh she does before this is also a nice bonus. Oh, and she somehow managed to secure a radio from the room Don had locked.

- Figured the fifteen kids would head towards the bridge and called in headquarters to block it off.

- But when the children didn’t appear at the bridge, she just happened to know exactly where else they might try to cross the cliff.

- In the anime’s case, Isabella climbed the wall and ran there quick enough to engage in a stare down with Emma before she finally slid down.

- The moment I knew I was doomed.

- After the 15 kids successfully escaped, Isabella admits defeat, for she couldn’t really see how much her children have grown to outsmart her.

- This iconic quote, which conveys so much truth and sincerity. There were multiple occasions where she had to distance and restrain herself due to the system that controlled her, but the love she was able to show the children was genuine. If she wasn’t held back by the strict rules enforced by Mom position, I don’t doubt she would’ve treated Ray better or became far more emotional whenever a child had to leave for good or seriously injured, instead of donning a fake smile and being closed off.

- She realizes with this unspeakable loss in merchandise, the reputation she worked so hard to build up is meaningless now and that the farm no longer has any use for such an incompetent caretaker. She figures she’s as good as dead anyway now, so she wastes no time in actually helping the escapees by reclaiming the ropes to hide their exact method and route of escape, if only to grant the kids some extra time before the pursuers really locate them.

- She doesn’t act bitter as a result of her loss, instead choosing to wish the escapees luck with the future they grasped for themselves and care for the children that were left behind.

- She’s just so pretty y’all. Thank you anime.

- She was named “Best Antagonist” (and rightfully so!) back during the 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, winning over Askeladd (Vinland Saga), Overhaul, (My Hero Academia), Garoua (One Punch Man,) & others.

(Post-season 1 spoilers ahead, even though the anime is completely finished at this point, but will be touching upon her special chapter more as well.)

- Completely owns up to her mistakes that caused the farm a massive loss in profitable goods and is ready to received whatever punishment necessary, which she expects to be death.

- Only.. she’s not being killed, she’s actually being promoted to Grandma. Though Isabella was directly responsible for the children’s escape, the blame ultimately falls on Sarah who couldn’t correctly control Isabella, thus leading the old lady to be shipped out in place of the goods Isabella lost.

- Peter also notes that the farm found more worth in Isabella than Sarah, so her past merits also played a part in sparing her life, as having a woman like Isabella in charge would surely produce the level of quality the farm needs.

- Isabella eventually accepts the promotion, though she can’t help but feel hesitant and shocked about the whole deal. This woman was ready to embrace death and finally be free from this cruel world, but now she has to witness not only more kids being shipped off, but moms and sisters in training as well (yay old chapter reviews coming in clutch).

- She could have very well just refused Peter’s offer, but we all know how much Isabella originally wanted to survive, so she doesn’t just accept because this man dangled a sense of freedom in her face, she also agreed so she could have the opportunity to help her children in any way her newfound power would allow her.

- Of course, her transition to Grandma happens a bit differently in the second season, but I will give some bittersweet thanks to the anime once more for the obvious but curse them for also having this entire scene dark as hell. Let me see her beauty darn it! I can only fix the lighting so much until it looks overexposed and bad again.

Anyways, Sarah is still alive at this point and taunts Isabella with the escapee’s lives just to see how she would react, which gave her a small sense of hope. Then some demons pay a visit later on and also ask if she would want to see the children one last time, but Isabella tells them that not only would she be too ashamed to face them but that they would manage to survive Grandma’s capture plan, which involved several men blowing up their shelter. It’s now clear to the demons that these children are special, and while Isabella agrees, it’s not for the same reason the demons think so. The demons believe the kids are special because of how they were raised to such a high quality. Isabella calls them special simply because they’re her children, just as any mother would.

- In the anime, it’s the demons who offer Isabella the Grandma deal if Sarah’s current plan were to fail (which it does) and she takes it and the freedom from Grace Field House without question. Do I still believe she had similar intentions to help out the children like she did in manga at this point? Of course.

- Not even a full month into her new job did she start preparing to help Emma & the others by considering who from the current Sisters she wanted to recruit to personally assist her destroy the farm entirely.

- A month later and Isabella had already decreased the number of shipments that took place at Grace Field, which obviously helps raise the quality of the children by default, but it also means less death and gives those kids a chance to live longer.

- She completely anticipated that Matilda, Jessica, Sienna & Scarlet were conspiring against her and caught them quite easily, as they were among the top scorers.

- Each had a fair chance at becoming Moms but with those positions limited, it was obvious to figure out they were trying to force Isabella’s seat open by creating some suspicious activity to place on her almost perfect record. Unfortunately for the girls, our new Grandma is too smart for her own good and I love it.

- The four women are apprehensive to join her insane plan to go against the farm, but Isabella assures them there’s no freedom if they follow the system’s rules and betray her. The harsh reality they’re all living in will continue unless they stop competing with one another and combine forces to defeat the true enemy.

- To persuade them further, Isabella mentions the children they all gave birth to are still alive, bringing out an array of emotions from the women that they each thought they had buried deep down.

- THIS! Just all of this is wonderful and shows just how much Isabella learned from her children who once defeated her.

- To fully gain the women’s trust, she gives them Ray’s farewell note that he originally left in order to bait Krone, as proof she won’t double-cross them at any point.

- I love the fact that she kept the note close to her because it acts just like all the other various toys and items she saved in her secret room back at plant 3. The original owners were all precious to her so she kept a piece of them behind to remember them in a place only she knew about. As I said before when mentioning her “I wish I could have just loved them normally” quote, all the love she had for her children had to be suppressed when she was under the system’s control, but that doesn’t mean she never cared. Because she did, and if I haven’t made at least that clear by now then I’m failing.

- Can her intentions and love for her children be any more clear? (possibly, i’m not done with this darn post yet. how you guys holding up? i’m going a little insane at this point.)

- Anyways! Second season didn’t make the rest of the story easy so apologies for any timeline mishaps as I switch between both anime and manga events from here on out.. like how in manga Isabella is informed of the escapee’s return to Grace Field via Peter, while the in the anime it’s her who helps lures them back with a fake transmission via the radio they stole.

- Just before Emma & the others do return to Grace Field on November 13, Isabella finally reaches out to the farm’s many other Sisters to recruit them. She waited until the right moment to inform them of her crazy takeover plan so Peter wouldn’t become suspicious from all of headquarters acting/thinking differently (you know, like how Emma kept the jailbreak plan under wraps until the night of). These ladies also feel a bit wary and even think of Isabella’s offer as a joke, but with some real, heartfelt encouragement, she manages to win over every single woman to her side.

- The moment when it was first revealed to us that she was not only still alive but was also promoted to Grandma is still so powerful.

- She snaps Nat’s finger back into place after Peter broke it. (and considering emma’s group infiltrates the farm right after this, i’m pretty sure that ch170 with rallying the sisters took place before this..i think?)

- Gave me a minor heart attack.

- *CLAPS FRANTICALLY!!!* The moment she truly won me over.


- While her betrayal against Peter in the manga is fantastic and quite possibly one of my favorite moments, the anime did give us a little something too. It shows Peter spewing utter nonsense to Emma about how she’s destined to fail, only for best girl to bite back with such a fantastic quote, and then Isabella drops the act and switches sides. While I agree Emma’s comeback is “wonderful,” it’s the English dub that completely wins me over in this scene by having Isabella comment “Now that’s my girl” instead, like bro.. hearing that makes me so happy.

- For real dude, you have several highly skilled women pointing guns at you, I think her betrayal is crystal clear.

- This is like the perfect example of how she had to conceal her feelings while bound by the system. She just misses these kids so much y’all but she can’t let her true emotions show yet.

- Having her call Peter a boy is beyond hilarious to me. Also, how she disagrees with him on so many levels is excellent, like how he believes in experimenting on kids and having the right to call yourself their parent just because you created them, while Isabella believes in raising and loving children normally and that you earn that parent title by actually being part of their lives. To be fair they both inflicted pain on kids (Nat’s finger/Emma’s leg) but Peter’s action was a mistake in itself. Isabella got frustrated back when Krone even threatened to ship out the kids who discovered the secret, so you can bet she’s probably pissed off at this boy for harming one of her kids on purpose.

- The best mother-daughter moment ever! It’s such a shame it never got truly animated since the second season decided not to give the children guns, but we get to see a small smile from Isabella after Emma decided to still call her “mom.”

- The anime never gave Peter the chance to run away, like he (somehow) managed to do in manga, so we had the chance to see someone actually shoot at him. Well, in his general direction at least. Isabella lands a perfect shot not even a full second after he pulls out that disc. Accuracy on point.

- Said this once or twice in the past in manga so I’m glad the anime brought it back.

- Remains cautious and keeps her gun raised at Peter when Emma approaches him and rightfully so considering he still had his knife hidden at this point.

- Refuses Emma’s offer to join the kids in the human world at first because she knows that her (& the sister’s) actions shouldn’t be forgiven so easily, but with some rather blunt sympathy from Ray and encouragement from her other children, she finally gives in.

- This entire post summed up in one image.

- She apologizes even though distancing herself from her kids and preparing them for death were just required of her role as a caretaker. She wouldn’t have done any of that in a normal world. (do i sound like a broken record yet? probably)

- The emotion you hear in her voice during this entire dub scene hits my heart in all the right places.

- She still thinks of Leslie after all this time and I think that’s real cute.

- Her protective nature is on full display when she protects Emma from this bastard of a demon. A truly surprising and heartbreaking moment, considering this is the woman who’s survival used to be her top and only priority in the past, but now doesn’t hesitate to give her life in order to save her kid (and by extension that small girl emma saved. also, major heart attack for me).

- Despite being critically injured, this woman still possess enough strength to hold back a demon twice her size. She doesn’t even pay any mind to its nonsense. Like the demon, people often think this is when redemption arc starts but I believe it started way back in ch37 when Isabella retrieved and hid the ropes the kids used to escape. Ever since she admitted defeat on the wall that night, she threw caution to the wind and began cheating the system in hopes to one day assist the kids achieve a brighter future. Despite all the work she’s done behind the scenes, Isabella believes there’s still so much more she can do to atone, so even though she’s already received the children’s forgiveness, she continues to assist them by jumping in and saving them directly from demons for once in her life.

- Ma’am it’s sweet you’re so concerned with their safety, but we should be asking you that question ya know? (but then again emma was the same way after she woke up from her coma).

- Knows that just apologizing and saving Emma isn’t enough to suddenly forgive all her actions and wants to do so much more for the children as a result. Even though I already acknowledged all her subtle and hidden moments, I wish we got to see her care for them more openly.

- I simply can not read through ch177 and not get emotional. No matter how hard I try, I always feel tears start to form in my eyes. Oh my god, how cruel that death can be this beautiful. It’s so unfair.

- *uses old chapter review because I’m too upset right now* “She apologizes for everything. For not treating him right and loving him as a mother normally would her own son. For making him despise his life so much and enduring so much pain that he thought the only escape was suicide.”

- “She leaves him with one last wish to protect everyone, and that completely breaks me because you know exactly how much they both care for their family. Not only would they literally die for their family, but they would live for them too if someone asked. Truly like mother, like son.” (aaaaaahhhhh)

- Her, umm.. ghost (along with Conny’s & Yuugo’s) help Ray reunite with Emma in 2049.

- All my tears aside, the anime did something right by actually keeping her ALIVE!

- Have you ever seen something so GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL in all your life?? This image is so powerful it literally tossed aside any salty feelings I had that night with how the second season ended. Seeing her like this grants me so much happiness y’all, it’s truly unbelievable. I still can’t get over it and hopefully I never will.

Okay, now I’m done, thank god. Sorry this is like ridiculously long, especially since she’s absent for sooo many chapters. Also find it so hilarious how drastic my opinion of her changed from the beginning to now, from “bitch” to “oh my god I love her so much.” I know people will always have opposing opinions whether she’s actually a good mother or not and that’s totally fine. Wasn’t trying to convince y’all of that either because yes, some of her actions are real unforgivable, but she was suffering under the farm system too and just followed through with what she was trained to do in order to survive, but while other Sisters fought to climb ranks and help themselves survive, Isabella ultimately wanted the best for her children. The more power she gained, the more risks she took and once the system crashed so did her facade.

An absolute queen.

[notcorrect-persona5]

akira for the character ask thing please!

Yes!! I’ve been wanting someone to ask me about Ren or Yu. After typing this though I feel like some of my opinions are kinda controversial 😅

Favorite Thing About Them

This is the question that keeps me from posting these quickly. There are too many things I love about these characters. It’s really hard to pick a favorite thing, so I’ll just talk about one of the many things I love.

Even though we know nothing about his life pre-game and he’s a silent protag, Ren’s still a really unique character while also being a normal, teenage boy. He doesn’t need to be weird or have an intriguing backstory to be interesting. He also feels like he could be a real person. And he’s hilarious.

Least Favorite Thing About Them

He’s mean to Mishima for no reason.

I wish he had more of a backstory. I want to know more about him and his life prior to the game. I think Strikers would have been the best opportunity to give us some more insight on his life, and I was really disappointed when that didn’t happen.

The way some of the fandom sexualizes him is disgusting. He’s a child.

Favorite Line

“I’m not the free labor type.”

brOTP

Ryuji!! They’re friendship is so pure 🥺

OTP

Shumako! I wish they had more fan art, they’re such a cute couple.

nOTP

I understand why people ship Shuake. I do not understand how people can say they’re “basically canon.” They’re not. Also, a lot of Shuake content I see portrays Ren as this super fluffy, sensitive, sweet catboy which is weird and so far from who he is. I think he’s portrayed this way to be a contrast to Akechi. I don’t think you should change a character’s personality just to fit your ship better or to create the ship dynamic that you want. Not all content is like this, but I’ve seen a lot of it. Also, also, Ren caring about his friend’s death doesn’t automatically equal romance. Of course, he was sad that Akechi died. They’re friends. Speaking of, Ren’s dream reality wish wasn’t for Akechi to be alive. People who are currently rejecting dream reality don’t get their wishes. We know this because the wishes of everyone else in the party disappeared when they started rejecting it. We also know that Ren’s wish was to stay in Tokyo forever (which you find out if you accept dream reality). Maruki said he brought Akechi back because he thought it was tragic. He never said Ren wished for it. Even if Ren did wish for it, that wouldn’t automatically equal romance. If my friend died, I would want them to be alive too. I know a lot of Shuake shippers are really defensive of their ship, so if you have the urge to argue with me, please don’t. I don’t have the time or energy to talk in-depth about their relationship.

Random Headcanon

Ren has a light country accent. In the stage play, Ryuji makes fun of the way he says a certain word at the ramen shop. In a manga, a stranger calls him “an idiotic country bumpkin.” The only way that stranger could have known Ren was from the country would be his accent.

Ren’s scared of heights. This is actually implied in the game, but not a lot of people know about it. When he goes to Tokyo Tower with Sumire, two of his responses are “You don’t mind heights?” And “B-But if we fall...” When he goes there with Takemi, he says his ears feel weird and his heart is pounding. She then asks if he’s scared of heights. If you choose to train, Morgana will tell Ren to stand on a chair and one of his dialogue options is, “I’m not good with heights.” He looks miserable on the roller coaster in the animation. At Dometown, Ryuji says he’ll protect Ren on the roller coaster and starts teasing him saying “you better not cry on it.” When asked if he would rather go to Hawaii or LA, Ren can say Leblanc. Ann will then ask if Ren is scared of airplanes.

He is not athletic. Like not in the slightest. Ryuji, Sumire, Takemi, and Kawakami all point this out. In the manga, Ren says he was late due to his “poor physical condition.”  Sumire never tells him “good job” after training, she always says “good effort.” In a manga, Yusuke said he wanted to capture suffering then asked Ren to exercise. In Dancing, Ren thinks this while in Makoto’s room, “The weights are labeled 4K...Almost nine pounds. Really!?” While in Akihabara, Ryuji says the exercise machines are really expensive. If the player chooses to say he wants one, Ryuji says even if Ren could afford one, he won’t use it and it’ll just collect dust. Ryuji also tells Ren, “You gotta be more active.” After Takemi says a lot of students have been getting injured due to sports she says, “Well, I guess a kid like you doesn’t have much to worry about that...”

His glasses are real. I know it’s confirmed that his glasses are fake, but I really don’t like that concept. Most people don’t wear glasses, so they won’t help him “blend in.” They’d do the opposite- if they did anything at all. And that “intense gaze” thing doesn’t make much sense either. Have you seen his portraits? His facial expressions hardly change, and he has so much hair you can barely even see his eyes. I also just dislike the “intense gaze” trope in general. I like having a character with glasses who isn’t a nerd, genius, or old. Your eyesight has no impact on your personality, so Ren - who is also the main character btw - needing glasses would be cool.

Since he wears a lot of black and is always with Morgana, he probably has cat hair all over him.

He doesn’t have a big stomach/appetite. He tends to react judgmentally to how much Sumire, Ryuji, and Ann eat. When he was asking around Yongen-Jaya to see if anyone knew Futaba, a man asked if Ren eats a lot, and after you respond the man says “you don’t eat a lot?”

Ren’s a picky eater. Makoto asks Ren if he’s an adventurous eater and his dialogue options are basically no. He says, “yeah, sometimes”, “not really”, and “it depends.” When Jose asks if your tastebuds change as you get older, both of Ren’s responses are no which makes me think he won’t try anything he disliked once, even if it was years ago.

Since he’s from a small town, Ren gets lost a lot. There’s actually a manga where he texts Ann, “I’m lost. Send help.” Ann asks if he’s bad with directions, and he - distressed- says “No...Tokyo just takes a little getting used too...”

Ren’s late pretty often.

Since he’s from a small town, he’s a slower walker than some of the other characters.

He’s terrible with names. He asks for Kamoshida’s name three times, when Kawakami says Niijima wants to speak with you he has the option to ask who that is, the dialogue options for telling Ryuji Mishima’s name, the text bubble never changes from principal and Haru’s fiancé even though the player knows their names, he forgets Arsene’s name in a manga strip, he forgets Eiko’s name, and in Q2 one of his dialogue options is there’s too many names.

Unpopular Opinion

I’ve seen a lot of people complain that Ren didn’t seem to have PTSD after everything that happened in the interrogation room. I’ve also read things like, “There’s no way he doesn’t have PTSD.” That’s not how PTSD works. PTSD doesn’t care what you think “should” or “should not” happen. Traumatic events can trigger PTSD; however, not everyone emerges from trauma with it. Headcanon all you want, but saying it’s wrong that the game didn’t give him PTSD isn’t right.

Song I Associate With Them

Criminal by Brittany Spears

Wildcard by KSHMR

Good Kid from The Lightning Thief the Musical

Make It Up by Sam Tsui (this song also gives me major Percy Jackson vibes)

Still Feel. by Half•Alive

Favorite Picture of Them

I have two!

[smolsix]

The LTNM 2 analysis that specifically does its best to debunk the loop theory

I’ll preface by saying i still havent seen the mobile game so RIP me. [i can’t download it and never have the attention span to watch a video of it]

Oh and I haven’t seen the new comics either I wanna buy em and read em in person first WEYHO

Little Nightmares 2 is NOT a loop or time loop. 

We’re shown Mono at the start of the game appearing from a TV, implying based on his later ability to teleport between them that he teleported there somehow. Where he got this ability is never implied, but I believe that because he is a resident of the pale city or near it that TVs have a certain affect on him. Note how Six is largely unaffected by the TVs throughout the whole game and makes an effort to pull Mono out of them. The Viewers are continually captivated by them and the TVs have some sort of affect over them. 

Likely the Radio Tower’s signal warps people into being affected by the TVs, and Mono living in proximity was also affected by it.

Six also has her hunger again, although it’s only seen at the end of the game. I believe Six was already a resident of The Maw. In the room you find her in the radio tower you’ll notice on the wall a painting of a girl in a yellow dress with the face scratched out, which is also located on The Maw in the lady’s quarters. I also do NOT think the Thin Man created this room for her to calm her down, but rather this room was created by Six’s mind. If Mono is to be believe to be the Thin Man caught in a loop, he would have NO idea about this painting. And if he did, why would he put it there for her? I bring up her hunger as a possible correlation to Mono’s abilities, and that her hunger is a product of The Maw and likely its food has this affect on people, same way the Radio Tower has its affect on the residents.

So Six already having ties to the maw could imply ltnm2 is either a sequel or prequel, but w the presence of dark six from the tv appearing in this game w such a loud presence im highly leaning on prequel. but i know that some creators said a while back it’s a sequel??? idk

For a time loop to take place the radio tower or thin man need some control over time, which is not shown in the slightest. How could he possibly turn back all the events, and for what purpose? To prevent himself becoming the Thin Man?

I’ve seen a lot of people mention that the Thin Man specifically goes for Six in the first encounter w him, but I honestly think it’s just that he sees Six first. The pulse that goes through the room when he enters causes her to fall out from under the table, and if you specifically do not hide under the bed he will capture Mono first, completely contradicting this idea.

So why did Mono become the Thin Man? I believe that the radio tower simply replaced the Thin Man after he was destroyed. It needs to keep status quo and as a result, found and locked away a suitable replacement. I know people think he was trapped in there for a long time based on the sequence where we see him slowly turning into the Thin Man, but consider how long Six was also in there and how fast she turned into a creature as well. She was in there maybe a few hours, it’s likely that the sequence was a creative choice to get you confused and invested in what’s happening to him before giving the final reveal, not as a means to show a long time has passed.

Obviously because of this, it’s likely that this ending is also alluding to Six’s fate at the end of the first game. After she kills the lady and consumes her, she gains her ability to suck the life out of people at a glance. It’s entirely possible she will replace The Lady as a result, should The Maw function the same way.

Also, Six is NOT a monster, she is NOT “evil” and whatever else you want to call her. She is a child who is only 9 and she is a product of her environment. In this world the slightest mix up means death, and she has grown up in this world. When you first meet her she’s very apprehensive in helping Mono until she needs help, too. In the playground she hardly plays, opting for standing around areas [like standing up against the goal post instead of playing w a ball or anything] or vaguely doing things. This can imply that despite the fact she is a child, she hasn’t been able to have a childhood. She still enjoys childish things like toys [implied by her room], and has a sense of curiosity [how often she plays w the x-ray whenever you’re around it and her animation showing her looking at the toy she’s holding or at herself], but hasn’t been able to actually indulge in child things most of her life.

Her letting go of Mono was a case where either:

A) she wasn’t sure they’d both make it out in time and decided to save herself

B) she knew she was getting hungry and would kill Mono when they left together

I’ll honestly take either of these, they both make sense. 

I also want to touch on the idea that the hanging man is either mono as the thin man, or original thin man, and here’s my ideas as to why it’s neither:

For it to be the original thin man, we need to assume he wasn’t destroyed by Mono. If he wasn’t, then why did Mono replace him. If he was, he couldn’t have gotten to the maw to hang himself, and why would he leave a note.

For it to be Mono as thin man he needs to have somehow gotten to The Maw before Six, and then killed himself there in that specific area. I want to mention that the Thin Man’s appearance outside of TVs is distorted and not at all solid in the same way as normal people. For mono to get to the maw he either had to have taken the normie way there on ship, or teleport through the TV. But based on what we saw, his teleport ability can only be done through TVs already turned on by the outside, and they must be near each other [he never goes great distances]. It also makes sense that he could possibly not even affect TVs too far from the radio tower where the thin man stays, and where the frequency reaches. Basically I’m saying you’d be hard pressed to make it all the way to the maw in the middle of the ocean [or where ever it is haha]. 

The only TV we see within the maw itself is in the library and must be turned on. so we can’t really guage TV population within the maw. and should the TVs affect people as they do in the pale city, i highly doubt they’d be left on carelessly should they warp the guests. 

oh yeah and

the chair sizes are completely different, since i’ve noticed people saying they’re the same chair.

ANYWAYS all else i wanted to touch on was that it’s very very likely the bosses in the maw are actually puppets! in the hospital you will see their faces pinned to the wall, fitting for the mannequin area! not sure why the mannequin’s are affected by light but the puppets on the maw are not, who knows.

that’s all i got, i’ll post any changes i have to my ideas after the comics/vln

EDIT: I just remembered that we DO see the thin man in a TV at the end of the DLC for ltnm1, but it’s unclear if this takes place in the maw or the pale city. 

This means that either he does have more power and is capable of jumping farther and that point is moot [but then that means he didn’t get here till after the events of the maw so, it still doesn’t line up w hanging man], OORR it was just in the pale city and was a simple teaser.

[onebadwinter]

The Joker Tropes Part 2

Taken From Here and here

Nether Realm Studios especially seems to love making Joker out to be evil incarnate. In Injustice: Gods Among Us and its sequel, he loses all his cred (and life) once he nukes Metropolis; Harley ditches him entirely, Batman just completely gives up on indulging him any more, even Guest Fighters like Hellboy consider him worthless, and non-Batvillains such as Grodd and Brainiac and even Darkseid loathe him for either Metropolis, or just in general principle. Mortal Kombat 11 shows that even the MK cast see him as a scourge upon the realms, and also express distaste toward him for either his nuking, a previous outing, or because he's seen as a buffoon who cannot be taken seriously (this is usually the case for other villain characters).

About the only person who can tolerate him for long is Lex Luthor, only because they both have the same level of hatred for their respective enemies. Even then, Luthor prefers to keep his distance from the Joker, if only because a bored Joker screws with everything For the Evulz.

In the animated series, he claims to have been beaten as a child when interviewed by Harley Quinn. It is unknown if this is true. According to Batman, he's simply making it up.

In one issue of New 52, he claims to have been driven insane by an abusive grandmother, who also bleached his skin to its present pallor.

In the same continuity, he is one to a baby gorilla he adopts, trains up as a gun-wielding henchman, and ultimately gets killed off for laughs.

In the comic book adaptation of Injustice, it's implied Harley fears Joker would be one, and gives their daughter to her sister, lest he kill the child. It's left ambiguous whether the Joker's even aware of the ruse.

Averted in one story, wherein one of Arkham's doctors realizes Joker's faking insanity just to piss off Batman as revenge for his disfigurement. Another doctor finds the report and excitedly reveals it to the current head doctor, only to learn that  the Joker left it for everyone to read, since the paper's written by Harley Quinn, and therefore worthless as evidence.

In Batman: The Man Who Laughs, it's established that the name "The Joker" was given to him by the media, and he liked it so much that he decided to call himself that.

The same happens in Joker (2019), where Murray tells the audience to "look at this joker" when talking about Arthur. Arthur took it to heart.

Batman: Arkham Knight takes this even further by revealing that being forgotten is the only thing the Joker truly fears.

Just to demonstrate how much disregard he has for his henchmen, a reoccurring motivation for offing his own lackeys is failing to laugh at one of his jokes. Or laughing too late. Or laughing for too long. Or laughing at the wrong joke. He's... unpredictable.

The Joker loves it when people laugh with him, whether genuine or not, but if someone laughs at him, they're most likely already dead.

Joker loves attention and being above the normals, so never imply that he's not interesting or unique. Terry exploits this flaw in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker just to drive him to a Villainous Breakdown.

The Batman Who Laughs. Since the character's first appearance in Dark Nights: Metal, the mere mention of him is enough to put The Joker in an uncharacteristically un-jolly mood and is a good way to get on his bad side. In fact, the dislike of this twisted version of his archnemesis is so great, that when Lex Luthor and The Legion of Doom started cooperating with him against Joker's protests, he quit the legion (after non-lethally jokerizing every other member of it) in disgust.

If you're going to hurt Batman, do it right. One of the supplementary stories for Joker War had him beyond furious with Bane - to the point of promising him he'd kill him in a way he would never see coming - for showing so little imagination in killing Alfred in City of Bane without even letting Batman listen to it to torture him. By his reckoning, if you have a great gag to break the Bat, use it to break the Bat - don't blow it by having Robin be the only one to witness it.

Originally Conrad Veidt from The Man Who Laughs.

Later portrayals base themselves on his actors, with Cesar Romero a popular candidate, and after Jack Nicholson came in, artists such as Alex Ross base him on him, such as the actor's distinct widow's peak and slicked back hair.

During Knightfall he and Scarecrow killed several members of a SWAT team, and one of his last actions in Batman: No Man's Land was to kill Commissioner Gordon's second wife, Lt. Sarah Essen.

One of the alternate realities seen in Zero Hour! was one where he killed Commissioner Gordon instead of crippling Barbara.

Part of the reason Gordon takes over the post of Commissioner in both The Dark Knight Trilogy and Batman: Arkham Series is due to the Joker killing Gillian Loeb. Additionally, the first game in the latter series, Asylum, he sees several of Arkham's guards killed by him and his men.

He's holding a dead cop's corpse in his intro in Injustice: Gods Among Us and using it as a puppet. He also talks to the body of one of the Regime enforcers who captured him once he breaks out and heads to Gotham.

Whether he was driven insane or was already insane and became completely bonkers.

Where he is on the spectrum between "wacky prankster" and "utterly depraved and sadistic sociopath and murderer".

Whether he is a senseless, performative terrorist wreaking havoc for kicks or a deceptively cunning and competent criminal mastermind. Or both. Usually both.

He's no Batman, but sometimes he is a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, Knife Nut or marksman, and other times a flimsy wimp who goes down in one punch. In some of the grittier settings, his raw strength, numbness to pain and viciousness are enough to level the playing field with Batman.

Whether he actually loves Harley Quinn varies. In the animated series, (where Harley first appeared) the writers haveoutright said he's a sociopath incapable of loving anyone, and just sees her as a useful mook. Some other works imply he really does love her on some level (although he's usually still an abusive asshole.)

He can either be Faux Affably Evil, Laughably Evil, just a Monster Clown, or some combination of the three.

At least one such incident implied he would be interested in Batman... but only after he was dead. Again this may only have been a tactic to get under Batman's skin or truthful admission. The readers will never know for certain.

His plot in The Killing Joke is to put Jim Gordon through the wringer hard in the hopes of driving him mad. He'll also try to drive Batman over the edge (particularly, drive him to break his "no killing" rule), sometimes by cutting off all of Batsy's human connections.

The Dark Knight reworks it into Driving Gotham To Senseless Violence with wanton acts of destruction or terrorism, just to prove everyone's as bad as him deep down.

Ironically, a 1952 story has the Joker get himself falsely committed to an insane asylum, to question a patient who knew the location of a cache of money. The end of the story has him Laughing Mad due to a prank Batman used to disguise his identity.

He didn't have his signature laugh. This seems to have been a way to "goofy up" the character to make him less terrifying in the days of the Comics Code Authority. Later on, he'd learn to giggle while remaining terrifying.

He actually committed crimes for moneynote , and wasn't really interested in causing chaos or terror for a joke's sake.

Building off of that, his plans weren't really "insane" until the Silver Age (at which point it's not even fair to say this was exclusive to him), nor was there any question of the character's mental stability.

His obsession with Batman wasn't there, much less the idea that he would pass up chances to kill the Bat or learn his identity. This aspect was probably introduced to explain the Bond Villain Stupidity he (and every Batman villain) had become infamous for in the Silver Age.

His clown-like complexion was actually makeup in his early appearances. He even removed his makeup to disguise himself as a cop, which was referenced in The Dark Knight. It's later revealed that the look is permanent after falling in a vat of chemicals.

The Brave and the Bold #111 and #191 have him team up with Batman to clear his name after being framed for several murders. The first instance turned out to simply be a framing the guilty part occasion but the second instance was actually genuine on Joker's part (except the person Joker seemingly murdered turned out to be faking their death).

He also does this with Batman whenever The Batman Who Laughs is involved (specifically in the Dark Knights: Metal series).

He abruptly ends a partnership with Red Skull when his Nazi affiliation comes out. Red Skull simply wonders why he is so surprised when he thinks that the Joker would make a great Nazi. The Joker is NOT happy about this, proclaiming "I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an American criminal lunatic!" It even provides the trope's image. And yes, folks, even an equal-opportunity murderer like the Joker despises the Nazis!note

The exception is mentioned again in the Last Laugh arc where the Joker immediately refused to join the American Neo-Nazi Aryan Alliance group in the Slab after he was offered membership. Joker: I'm evil and all that, but you guys are just plain mean.

Will not harm dumb animals and doesn't condone it. There's no humor to be had in that. Higher primates apparently do not qualify but a lot more effort went into that one.

While in Arkham with villain Warren White, AKA the Great White Shark, Joker calls him the worst person he ever met. He states that while he may kill people, even he doesn't steal their kids' college funds.

Sees nothing funny about someone parking in a handicap spot when they're not handicapped. However, he does think it's hilarious to hurt them in ways that will make certain they'll always be able to park there.

A girl named Janey Bennett, whose class was studying criminal behavior, became pen pals with the Joker while he was in Arkham. When Janey revealed that her father, the mayor of Motor City, was abusing her (exactly how isn't specified, though it was implied to have been really bad) the Joker broke out and, convinced that the authorities would be of no help, tried to force the mayor into admitting to his crimes and giving him Janey (so that he could find a better home for her) by threatening to contaminate the city's blood supply, going through with it (because the ends justify the means) when the mayor refused to give in to his demands. He originally intended to give her to Batman as well so he could protect her but at the end decided to give her to her mom. Joker: I mean, stealing a city blind is something I can admire... but being mean to one's own daughter... that just makes my blood boil.

For a rather literal form of "standard", the Joker's team-up with Carnage in Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds fell apart in part because the Joker, known for his love of theatrics, found Kasady's desire to get straight to killing boring. Conversely, Kasady didn't like the Joker's flair for theatrics.

The Joker absolutely loathes The Batman Who Laughs, to the point where he drops his usual joking demeanor and is deathly serious whenever directly referring to him, even willing to work together with Batman to face him when it comes down to it. When Lex Luthor goes behind his back to make a deal with The Batman Who Laughs (going against the only condition Joker has for joining his plan), Joker responds by Joker-gassing the Legion of Doom, putting Lex into a series of deathtraps, trashing Lex's Power Armor, and quitting the Legion. In the process, he tells Luthor how he had planned on ruining the Legion utterly on the verge of victory, and as nightmarish as his plan sounded, he claims it is nothing compared to what the Batman Who Laughs is going to do.

While he still gloated about it and found Commissioner Gordon kneecapping him funny after remember that he'd crippled Barbara, the actual act of killing Sarah Essen in the penultimate issue of Batman: No Man's Land is one of the few times the Joker wasn't happy with something he himself did, considering he's seen walking away while scowling afterward, leaves the babies he originally planned to murder unharmed and immediately turns himself in to the police.

Emperor Joker sees the Joker disgusted with a corrupted Jimmy O Lsen tormenting the Superfamily and Batman when they're turned int animals.

Later one he is disgusted when his minions vandalize the Moai on Eastern Island.

Again, when he rescues Lex from The Batman Who Laugh's infected minions in Hell Arisen, the mere mention of his alternate universe rival prompts him to have a very uncharacteristic Freak Out. The Joker: I told you. I told you not to deal with him. You should have shot that thing in the head the second you had it in a cage! It is wrong. It is a wrong thing.

Played more straight in his relationship with Punchline. Only time will tell if it lasts.

There’s also a comic storyline when Hush informed that a dirty cop Office Halmet killed his wife Jeannie. The Joker wanted nothing more than to kill said cop in revenge. Then there’s Batman: Three Jokers where, despite it being being heavily implied he was abusive, the “Comedian” Joker is seen setting up fake tea parties with dolls, clearly trying to substitute them for his wife and child showing that he does miss them and desire to be a family with them.

While The Dark Knight is one of the few times the Joker's clown-like appearance is the result of make-up, he does sport a Glasgow Grin.

While Joker still has the permanent clown look, it's combined with the Glasgow Grin.

While Batman: Endgame would see the skin of his face restored with a chemical called Dionesiumnote , at the start of The New 52, the Joker had the Dollmaker skin his face and then, after he recovered it, spent Death of the Family wearing it like a Leatherface-esque mask. And even in Endgame, his restored face ends up badly burned as the result of the finale battle between him and Batman, though it still ends up restored again.

Gotham sees neither Valeska escape this. After his death in season 2, Jerome (the proto-Joker) ends up resurrected in season 3, but because Dwight thinks his attempt to revive him failed, Dwight ends up cutting off Jerome's face ala Death of the Family and Jerome ends up stapling it on when he catches up with Dwight and while he later has it properly reattached, there's still scars from what happened. Jeremiah, Jerome's twin and the show's true Joker, ends up with the "perma-clown" appearance due to Jerome having the Scarecrow brew something up to spray in Jeremiah's face, but season 5 sees his fateful fall at Ace Chemicals badly scar his face and sear off most of his hair with only stringy patches left.

Averted entirely in Joker (2019), where his clown appearance is entirely makeup, and the worst it gets is painting his iconic smile on his face with his own blood from a car crash. Not even a Glasgow Grin or anything, the blood is from his hand and his face only has a few normal cuts on it.

While Batman is a rather serious character who refuses to kill anyone, The Joker is a rather comical character who revels in death.

Joker's gadgets tend to be rather goofier but much more lethal, such as the Joker Venom that he often uses to kill his victims.

While Batman gets along well with his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl, Joker frequently abuses his sidekick Harley Quinn and has tried to kill her before, not to mention all the times he has been a Bad Boss by killing his henchmen for any reason you can think of, sometimes for no reason at all.

While Batman's backstory is well known, even by the citizens of Gotham who know of the tragedy of the rich Waynes' in Crime Alley, no one knows anything about the Joker's backstory, but most versions he tells are consistent in two things: he was a nobody, and possibly someone poor.

In most adaptations, his voice is high-pitched in contrast to Batman's Badass Baritone.

Why he went by the name the Red Hood has changed over the years: The Killing Joke claims he was a failed comedian driven to crime to support his pregnant wife. The trauma of his disfigurement from jumping in the acid and his wife's earlier accidental death drove him insane. However, even this backstory is questionable, as the Joker himself calls it "multiple choice".

In Injustice 2, an intro with Atrocitus has the Red Lantern wondering what drove the Joker to nihilism.

In the animated series, he claims to have been abused as a child when interviewed by Harley, but according to Batman, it's just another ruse to escape Arkham.

The purple suit and matching pants with either an orange and/or green shirt with a bowtie or tie, remains the definitive Joker look one that many artists and costume designers have given spin on. He is sometimes known for wearing a cool hat but other times goes hatless. Heath Ledger's custom-designed purple long-coat, trousers, blue shirt and green Waistcoat of Style with a tie has likewise become iconic and famous for its contemporary and downright stylish update on the classic look.

The original Red Hood outfit which is a black suit, white shirt, bowtie with an opera cap and a bizarre red dome is also quite famous.

The Hawaiian tourist outfit he wore in the notorious scene in The Killing Joke.

The white suit he wears in Miller's The Dark Knight Returns as well as the white nurse maid outfit with red wig in The Dark Knight is also quite notable.

The Future Joker look from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker which went with a mime look (black body suit, slicked-back hair) is also quite distinct and unique.

The first issue of Batman with Joker's debut has him described as having "burning, hate-filled eyes" and the moniker, "the harliquin of hate".

The Man Who Laughs had Bruce dosed with a light version of the Joker Venom and he felt his perspective shift into a paranoid vengeance were he felt everyone deserved to be punished for his parent's death just for existing.

Death of the Family had Batman describe how Joker's irises are always narrow when looking at anyone but Batman and that it is usually an indication of negative feelings toward something with Bruce mentioning that his eye are the eyes of someone who hates everything he sees.

In the Justice League storyline "Rock of Ages", Martian Manhunter has to put in incredible effort to reorganize Joker's mind long enough for him to give up the cataclysmic Philosopher's Stone. The briefly sane Joker immediately says My God, What Have I Done? verbatim as he hands it back, before quickly losing his mind and going back to the laughing madman.

The famous example from the end of The Killing Joke, where Batman tries to convince him to allow Batman to rehabilitate him before their vendetta kills them. Joker considers it for a long, somber moment before quietly reflecting that they're both too far gone.

Batman: Cacophony ends with Joker being pumped full of an inhuman amount of antipsychotic drugs to keep him under control while in recovery from a near-fatal stabbing. Batman takes the opportunity to have a relatively-sane conversation with him, though it's somewhat subverted by Joker still being a homicidal sociopath even while heavily sedated.

He even gives multiple reasons on how he came Back from the Dead in Injustice 2 and will go along with whatever his opponent thinks is true, despite being Dead All Along in story mode and only appearing as a hallucination to his ex-moll.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns sees him kill David Endochrine and Ruth Weisenheimer, who were clearly based on David Letterman and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

During Knightfall, once he realizes that Azrael isn't Batman, his plan's gone to hell, and one too many criticisms from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert stand-ins, he kills the stand-ins.

In one of the issues for the The Batman tie-in comic, The Batman Strikes, he terrorizes a stand-in for Conan O'Brien. This becomes darkly Hilarious in Hindsight as the real O'Brien voiced Endochrine in the animated version of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In the series proper, Harley's debut had the two of them terrorize a stand-in for Dr. Phil for the climax.

If you want to know how truly terrifying The Batman Who Laughs is, look no further than the way Joker acts whenever discussing him. He doesn't laugh, he doesn't smile. He becomes calm and serious and simply tells whomever he's talking to that the TBWL is "a wrong thing that shouldn't exist". Someone HAS to be scary if the very thought of him makes Joker act like a calm rational sane person.

In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, the clown has a massive Villainous Breakdown when Terry mocks him for his failed attempts to break Batman.

On the rare occasion Joker gets bored and leaves Gotham, expect everyone to think of him as just a silly clown, until the bodies start piling up.

One issue of the Robin Series had him talking about having Abusive Parents, only for a psychiatrist to tell him it's the seventh story he's told now.

Batman lampshades on this to Harley in the animated series, thinking it's another lie to gain sympathy.

The Killing Joke claims he was a failed comedian driven to crime to support his pregnant wife. The trauma of his disfigurement and his wife's earlier accidental death drove him mad. However, even this could be a lie, as he himself calls it "multiple choice".

It's even discussed in Injustice 2, as Atrocitus wonders what drove the Joker to nihilism. Despite only appearing as a hallucination to Harley in story mode, he spews out multiple theories for his Unexplained Recovery and will say Sure, Let's Go with That in non-canon fights. Was he resurrected by someone, or is he from another universe? Did he escape from either the Source Wall or the Phantom Zone, or is he just an apparition?

Shadow of the Bat #38, Tears of a Clown: He celebrates his anniversary of the day he was a still sane, but hapless comedian, and was thrown out of an exclusive Stand-Up Comedy club for an unfunny act the patrons mercilessly heckled. It was the last straw as he agreed to provide to his family by pulling a job for the Red Hood gang. So he kidnaps all the patrons and reenacts his act with control collars that will kill them when they laugh. Oddly enough, the patrons are hardcore Stand-Up Comedy fans, so they can't remember the number of times they've booed someone. However, even this origin story could be a lie.

It's come to be his primary disfigurement over the original skin bleaching.

In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Terry McGinnis exploits this by delivering an epic Boring Insult so the clown will have a Villainous Breakdown.

King Barlowe proved to be a big one in his Thanatos Gambit in the episode "Joker's Millions" of The New Batman Adventures. In a spiteful Video Will, he gives the clown his millions, revealing in his tape that most of it was fake. Expecting the clown to splurge on it, he won't have enough to pay off the IRS, allowing Barlowe to get the "last laugh" after his death, without the Joker coming after him.

Alan Moore's "I go Loony" from The Killing Joke, an in-panel song-and-dance tune that was eventually made into an actual song belted out in Batman: The Killing Joke.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold has "Where's the Fun in That?" from the episode "Emperor Joker".

Batman: Arkham City ended with him covering The Platters' "Only You (and You Alone)", Batman: Arkham Origins had him cover Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold, Heart" and Batman: Arkham Knight had him provide an original composition, "Can't Stop Laughing".

Action Fashionista: This incarnation of the Joker has a wide variety of garish outfits for every occassion — most of them straight from the comics.

Adaptational Attractiveness: Metal teeth, lack of eyebrows, and tattoos aside, he's still being played by the youthful-looking real life Pretty Boy Jared Leto; especially since the last two cinematic Jokers were a creepy middle-aged gangster with a botched face-lift and a filthy, scarred vagrant (even the mentally unwell clown-for-hire doesn't scream Mr. Fanservice one bit). This version looks more like Marilyn Manson.

Adaptational Nice Guy: A very downplayed example. While he's otherwise the same Clown Prince of Crime we all know and love to hate, he appears to genuinely care for Harley, and even throws her out of a falling helicopter to save her life. Almost any other iteration of the Joker would do that to save his own skin or rid himself of her.

Adaptational Skimpiness: This version of the Joker tends to be shirtless a lot more than he has in any other medium. It mostly seems like an opportunity to show off his tattoos.

Adaptation Distillation: Leto's Joker seems to be less of the "evil philosopher" that Heath Ledger portrayed him as in The Dark Knight, and instead seems to be a cross between the garish, larger-than-life Mark Hamill version from the animated series and the Arkham games, and the creepy, deeply twisted Brian Azzarello version. David Ayer had also stated that he looked specifically to the Golden Age Joker for reference, providing reason for many to believe that Leto's Joker is a modern re-imagining of that incarnation.

Advertised Extra: Heavily featured in Suicide Squad promotional materials, barely appears in the film for more than seven minutes. According to Jared Leto, several of the scenes he shot were not included in the theatrical cut.

Ambiguous Disorder: In Suicide Squad, most of the time the Joker seems... not all there compared to Harley. In addition of psychopathic tendencies, the Joker has random bouts of maniacal laughter, confusion, and slurred speech-like patterns. All attributes that stem from punch-drunk syndrome. Considering he has faced Batman one too many times, it makes sense that the Joker's mental stability is finally catching up to him.

However, come Birds of Prey, they broke up, mirroring the comics where they do have an Relationship Revolving Door. It appears to stick, as Harley publicly calls it quits between the two of them.

His tattoos are very reminiscent of the Joker in All Star Batman and Robin.

Ax-Crazy: Like all the incarnations before him, calling him a violent psychopath is one of the biggest understatements you can make.

Bedlam House: Spent some time at Arkham Asylum, where he met Harley. Then he broke free from it with the help of both Harley and his gang.

Chewing the Scenery: An important part of the character is his theatricality.

Cool Car: A bright purple sports car with underglow lights and a "HAHAHA" license plate.

Dented Iron: It's subtle, but the numerous scars on his body and metal replacement teeth in his mouth are clear signs that his frequent run-ins with Batman are taking their toll.

Disney Death: He seemingly dies in the crash of his helicopter... only to come back to free Harley from her high security prison at the end of Suicide Squad.

The Dreaded: In true Joker fashion, everyone is terrified of him.

Establishing Character Moment: One that takes place before he even makes his official debut in the setting - he killed Robin (a minor) and vandalized his outfit to mock Batman over his inability to save him.

Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Insofar as much as the Joker can love anyone, anyway, but he does seem to genuinely care about Harley. Eventually, subverted.

Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He considers the brutal murder of a minor as a joke he played on Batman. When he's torturing Harleen Quinzel, he promises not to shatter her well-kept teeth while flashing his own hideous metal dentures. When Harleen later has him at gunpoint, Joker just says "please don't kill me, I'll be ya friend" in a snarky tone.

Evil Is Hammy: It's not The Joker if he's not Chewing the Scenery. And, sure enough, he does.

Evil Is Petty: The graffiti on Robin's costume seems to imply that Joker murdered him just to prod at Batman. It is confirmed in Suicide Squad that Joker and Harley killed him.

Evil Laugh: It's kind of his thing. One notable example is when he chuckles while surrounded by an arsenal of weapons.

Fake Shemp: Indie rocker Johnny Goth stood in for Jared Leto in Birds of Prey, in the flashback where he and Harley torture and tattoo the big mafia thug Harley later bumps back into.

Foil: To Batman as usual, but with some new additions. After 20 years, Batman became more jaded and cruel, while the Joker somewhat mellowed out and his criminal activity became more professional. Batman didn't settle down until the death of Superman while the Joker grew attached to Harley Quinn.

In Suicide Squad Griggs' smug indifference about his gambling debt immediately becomes pure terror when he realizes the Joker has gotten involved.

He is so feared that even the likes of Black Mask would rather steer clear of him. Harley's enemies only start gunning for her in Birds of Prey when it's become clear that she's no longer with him.

   G-Y

The Ghost:

There is an allusion to him in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ("HA HA HA Joke's On You, Batman" painted across the chest of the dead Robin's empty suit in the Batcave), but he doesn't actually appear.

He gets mentioned a lot in Birds of Prey, but he's only seen very briefly in some flashbacks, always from the back (including footage from Suicide Squad). There is a whole Deleted Scene where he and Harley have a domestic dispute. Harley leaves the house through the window and the Joker throws her stuffed beaver out through the window. In the film proper, she's just kicked out of the house, with no shot of Mr. J.

Greater-Scope Villain: His role in Batman v Superman. Despite not actually appearing his murder of Robin by this point has driven Batman down a darker, more vengeful path that goes against Batman's traditional moral code; the one that the Joker is always trying to prove is wrong. Batman's rage towards Superman blinds him to the possibility of Lex Luthor being the real threat long enough for Superman to die fighting Doomsday. In a way the Joker's actions contributed to Batman's failure.

Guttural Growler: This Joker is noticeably more snarly than previous incarnations.

Handshake Refusal: He doesn't like to shake hands, as Monster T finds out.

Hell-Bent for Leather: Wears a purple crocodile skin duster at some point in the film.

Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Despite being a homicidal sociopath, he seems to truly love his girlfriend Harley Quinn. Then in Birds Of Prey, he coldly and violently breaks up with her.

Joker Immunity: He appears to die when his helicopter is shot down about halfway through Suicide Squad. To absolutely no one's surprise, he shows up alive and well in the final scene. It helps that he's the Trope Namer.

Knife Nut: And by God, does he have enough blades.◊

Lean and Mean: This Joker, while muscular, is quite lean, especially compared to the heavily muscled Batman.

Love Epiphany: Well, "love" is pushing it, but Joker realizes his affections for Harley when she dives in the chemical bath that ultimately turned Joker into what he is. Symbolic in the sense she was agreeing to join him in madness. Further adding to the complexity of the scene; Joker was tying up a loose end, having used Harley to escape from Arkham. He lead her to her demise and intended to leave her for death but at the same moment realized she had entered his world and his madness. Joker never anticipated the amount of utter devotion Harley would have for him, something inside him just couldn't walk away from her, so he jumped in to save her.

Manipulative Bastard: He manipulated Harley into helping him escape Arkham because she fell in love with him. When she served her purpose, he would have had her kill herself jumping into a bath of chemicals to prove her feelings. He instead saves her from this demise because he has a Love Epiphany in the moment.

Monster Clown: Like the previous film versions, Joker is an Ax-Crazy criminal with clownish makeup. Green hair notwithsanding, his white makeup, red lipstick and absence of facial scars make him look closer to a mime than his predecessors.

Noble Demon: In Suicide Squad, his whole motivation is to rescue Harley Quinn. His commitment is so strong he doesn't even waste time with pranks or petty acts of cruelty. Everything he does is for someone else.

Only Known By His Nickname: He's only known as The Joker, or "J" / "Mr. J".

Outlaw Couple: He and Harley Quinn are lovers and partners in crime.

Sadist: Even though there was only a few select scenes of him, one of them is him torturing Harley. It's disturbingly obvious that he is positively gleeful over it. And he doesn't seem to have lost any sleep over murdering Robin, either.

Pet the Dog: David Ayer confirms that while he did push Harley out of the falling helicopter, his intent was in fact to save her life.

Satellite Love Interest: To Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. His characterization revolves entirely around Harley, not even getting involved with the main plot.

Scary Teeth: Several of his teeth are made of metal. According to David Ayer, Batman punched his teeth out after he killed Robin, leading him to replace them with metal teeth.

Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Although he has a presence at the start of the film, The Joker appears to have left Gotham City to be controlled by Black Mask in Birds of Prey, with Roman saying that Joker has already skipped town.

The Sociopath: He's chaotic and remorseless, much like his previous versions. Special mention goes to his murder of Robin, which he topped off by spray-painting a cruel taunt for Batman onto the boy's costume.

Tattooed Crook: His torso is covered in jester-themed tattoos. He also has a few on his arms and face.

Villain of Another Story: He mainly appeared in Suicide Squad, but his biggest act of villainy to date — killing Robin — happened some years before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which he doesn't appear. The spray-painted message on Robin's empty suit ("Ah ah ah joke's on you Batman!") in the latter film can't be anything else than his doing.

Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: Is seen with a rather impressive arsenal of guns and knives. And even says to warden Griggs, at some point, "I can't wait to show you my toys." note Notably, he manages to hijack the gunship which was sent to extract Waller and the squad so he can rescue Harley.

Would Hit a Girl: In the past, the Joker electroshocks and manipulates Dr. Harleen Quinzel into allowing her to fall into a vat of chemicals, in order to become Harley Quinn.

Would Hurt a Child: He killed Batman's sidekick, Robin, while the boy was an underage minor.

You Gotta Have Blue Hair: His hair is bright green.

   "Knightmare" Joker

"You won't kill me. I'm your best friend..." Appearances:

Zack Snyder's Justice League

"You need me. You... need me... to help you undo this world you created, by letting her die."

The Joker meets up once more with Batman in the nightmarish alternate future where Darkseid has conquered the Earth and Superman turned evil. But things aren't the same anymore between the two legendary foes.

See also the Knightmare page for more on that setting's characters.

Break Them by Talking: He deliberately tries to agitate Batman by reminding him of how many people have died on his watch.

Cop Killer: He wears a bulletproof vest with at least two dozens police badges on it. Whether these were good cops killed prior to the apocalypse or servants of the oppressive regime of Superman after the apocalypse is not detailed.

Costume Evolution: He has ditched his garish gangster suits for what looks like either a medical gown or a butcher gown, complete with orange gloves and a bulletproof vest with a dozen police badges pinned on it. He got rid of his "Damaged" forehead tattoo, let his hair grow and put red makeup around his mouth, looking closer to more common depictions of the character.

Enemy Mine: He and Batman had the worst kind of enmity imaginable, but the Earth being conquered by Darkseid is enough of a Conflict Killer for them to call a truce and work together to try undoing this mess.

Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He utters the line "We live in a society" while gazing upon the devastated landscape in the trailer. This is clearly a Meme Acknowledgement, and it's quite awkwardly used given the context (is there really any society left in this post-apocalyptic world?). It doesn't appear in the actual film, however. The line was improvised by Leto.

Evil Laugh: Even with the world being in such a sorry state and him still being sane enough to acknowledge how bad the situation is, he'll still let some laughs out, even though they sound more subdued than ever.

Evil Versus Oblivion: Even he sees the necessity of teaming up with Batman to try undoing what Darkseid did to Earth.

Future Badass: He survived the apocalypse brought upon Earth by Darkseid and looks like he's geared for guerilla actions.

My Card: He gives a Joker card to Batman as a symbol of their truce. Shall the Dark Knight want to break that truce, he'd just have to tear that card up. The card could be seen strapped on Batman's assault rifle in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: Joker gets a high reminding Batman how costly his mistakes in the past have been.

The Nicknamer: He nicknames Mera "my little fish stick" and Robin "Boy Wonder".

Progressively Prettier: Despite being worse for wear, this Joker is arguably even better looking than his previous appearance, with his over-the-top tattooed gangster image toned down and his androgyny played up. Ironically, this version also more closely resembles the Heath Ledger incarnation.

Thousand-Yard Stare: He has such a stare when looking at the devastated horizon as he starts talking to Batman.

Villain Has a Point: While he’s the one who killed Robin, he gives Batman a minor What the Hell, Hero? for sending “a Boy Wonder to do a man’s job.”

Vocal Evolution: His voice is much softer and higher pitched than it was in Suicide Squad.

[redteabaron]

Sansa and the (yellow brick) road home

The movie The Wizard of Oz follows along the general theme most heroes/heroines do; the journey to the inner self, at times in relation with the outer world. (The book by Baum, and by relation the movie, has racist/xenophobic/nationalist undertones and implications that continue and multiply through the text that I’m just not going to include here since this meta is already too long and I’m also not going to include the political or Baum’s personal symbolism in these things.) 

I’m going to go off on a limb and assume mostly everyone knows the general summary of TWOO and not summarize it, if not, the wiki on the movie itself is pretty comprehensive. Below, instead of a short novel describing all the possible references and parallels found, I’ll just be using summarized points about how Sansa fills in for Dorothy Gale on her road home.

Red shoes - Red in the film, as that’s what I’m focusing on rather than the silver ones in the book since that was all about the free silver movement. Red for women and girls in a lot of fairy tales often represents the path onto adulthood, particularly connected to menstruation, which isn’t an enormous part of Sansa’s arc but it does get quite a few notable mentions (usually from gross people concerned with her ability to produce heirs). Sansa, like Dorothy, only gains her “red shoes” once she leaves home (that is, setting her on a path to metamorphosis and growing up). The “red shoes” symbolize things Sansa possesses that people, envy, admire or desire for their own. Sansa’s red shoes represent womanhood, agency over self, beauty, intelligence, her kindness and compassion. 

Sepia colors to technicolor in the film/Kansas to Oz - This transition from little to no color to places where it becomes a feast for the eyes (from the north to the south) represents Dorothy’s and Sansa’s feelings toward their respective homes and the places of their desires. Sansa yearns for something else, something different and southron because that is the place all the songs and tales are about. The north, as reiterated by numerous characters both northern and southron, is a hard, harsh place that has little beauty. Sansa, like Dorothy, feels unfulfilled and out of place in her home. She doesn’t explicitly state how out of place she feels in the north like Jon and Arya, but there is the implication that at least within her family she is out of place (perhaps with the exception of Bran who wants knighthood, loves songs and stories like his sister and doesn’t stick his nose up in the air at the fact that Sansa prefers the ones with ladies or love). King’s Landing is her land of Oz, a place of magic and possibility like all the songs, it’s a world of technicolor and danger.

Yellow Brick Road - The yellow brick road is just that; a road on which Dorothy needs to follow to meet with the wizard of Oz, and most importantly the journey she must undertake to go home, and Dorothy does want to go home, she misses it even in this enchanting land that seems to be everything she first wanted. Like Dorothy, Sansa wants to go home after briefly being in the place where dreams are supposed to be a reality (all the stories can’t be lies) and this beautiful place has more danger than she’d realized; Sansa’s yellow brick road is a sight more twisted and unclear with far fewer friends and guarantees of safety. Dorothy is told to stay on the Yellow Brick Road to find her way to her ticket home (the Great Oz), otherwise she’ll run into danger. 

Sansa’s metaphorical ‘Yellow Brick Road’ is her role as a ‘pawn’ in the game of thrones; she has to play within the rules others make for her and outliving them, or she will have no other recourse for survival. 

Toto - Toto is Lady; the animal in a fairy tale setting that is something unknown in a child, yet to be understood or tamed. Toto was Dorothy’s playmate, constant companion, and likely her confidante, and undoubtedly although Toto didn’t have a large part to play directly in TWOO, he set off the events to occur the way they did for Dorothy throughout her time in Oz and in Kansas, but at least she had the comfort that he was there with her throughout it all. Toto is symbolic of a natural gut instinct (his hatred of Miss Gulch, where Lady hates the Hound) and the one who uncovers things normally concealed (again, Lady’s dislike of the Hound despite being the gentlest of her siblings). 

Lady, like Toto, sets off a chain of events for Sansa personally, but Sansa doesn’t have the comfort of Lady being there with her. Here, Lady is the unknown part of Sansa (that functions as her gut feeling, portrays her true self yet to be realized) but ultimately she, a part of Sansa, is killed by Ned at the behest of Cersei (also featuring Robert once again turning aside something unjust and gruesome for an easier solution). 

It brings Toto escaping from the Wicked Witch of the West in a harsher light. Dorothy’s tearful happiness that Toto escapes alive even while she’s captured and her life is in danger … yet Sansa is in danger and Lady is dead, only alive briefly in her dreams. Toto represents a part of Dorothy that manages to escape the worst of the punishment, yet a part of Sansa is already dead, spiritually, at this point. With Robb’s death and his last words being Grey Wind, we can assume there is no ‘getting a new direwolf’ or just simply recovering from the death of their direwolf. 

The Twister - Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon uproot Winterfell and the Seven Kingdoms unintentionally. By accepting the position of Hand, Ned paved the way for her journey there. Later the deaths of Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon, Sansa is trapped in King’s Landing/the Vale (“Oz”). Robert is the Twister and once in King’s Landing, Ned is the locked cellar, essentially leaving her out in the open in danger as he doesn’t share his worries with Sansa. He deliberately leaves her as the odd man out while he manages to speak with Arya about the situation and at least makes her aware that there is danger. 

Poppy field - The allure of giving up and wasting away; in TWOO these lovely, deadly flowers cause those who breathe in their sweet scent to lay down and fall asleep until their death. The poppy field represents apathy and surrender during difficult times, and similarly this makes its appearance for Sansa who abides by all the rules of her captors (people who have harmed her, her family, her home, etc) - but she only succumbs to this from a certain perspective. Sansa hasn’t fallen asleep and succumbed to her metaphorical poppy field, she is, in effect, lucid dreaming. Dreaming while aware, even if she must stay in the dream so she can survive. She’s giving everyone around her the illusion that she is trapped in her “dream”, that she is “Sleeping Beauty” while she continues to learn, adapt, and observe.

Dorothy has three companions that remain with her on her journey that all want the great wizard to give them something they feel they lack. While in the book/film, it’s clear they’re still good people and not without their positive traits, everyone focuses on what they lack across the board. In the sections below, I’ll be using commonalities found in the (unwanted) “suitors” of Sansa on her journey where they too focus on their negative traits, or are the inverted intentions of Dorothy’s companions.

Tin Man/Tyrion Lannister/Sandor Clegane - Men of sympathetic circumstance and who want to be wanted as they are, or desire to be loved/objects of desire and are understood among others as not having a heart or not able to.

Both Sandor and Tyrion project their feelings of rejection from society and in particular women, noblewomen, and lust onto Sansa (a child, a prisoner of war and an easy, isolated target). They are the most selfish form of desire for the Tin Man’s want for a heart; where the Tin Man desired a heart for the purpose of loving others and everything (although he finds later he never needed a physical heart because he was good and loving all along) Tyrion and Sandor desire a heart from someone else for themselves.

They’re who are typically the ones we want to root for as the underdogs who get their just rewards as they have been abused in their positions or misfortunes in life, but they ultimately fall short because they are simply awful and have built up these defenses and use them against Sansa despite being positions where they could have proven to be the ‘knights’ she yearns for (barring the enormous age gaps which inherently leaves these matches undesirable anyway). 

While Sandor’s backstory regarding his abuse at the hands of his brother are awful, he himself enacts abuse on others - the murder of Mycah, him relaying regret for not raping Sansa when he had the chance (whether or not he meant it, she was a child and it’s an awful thing to regret not doing), and his participation in the unkiss as well as verbally abusing her and gaslighting Sansa. Yet he wants kindness and some sort of love or affection from her regardless of his treatment of her. She sings the Mother’s Hymn for him during the Battle of Blackwater Bay, in a way, giving him some form of (her) heart although that wasn’t what she’d intended to do (she misremembers the trauma so we can assume she was terrified), it can be inferred that Sandor got something from her that he wanted (subconsciously or not). 

Similarly, we have sympathy for Tyrion because although he is highborn, he still faces constant mockery, obstacles, verbal and physical abuse due to his disability and looks. However, he still wants to be lord of Winterfell and he wants Sansa (who he finds himself attracted to) - girl or woman-child or whatever she is. Tywin could have married her off to a Lannister cousin, so Tyrion does have the choice to pass her up, but he chooses to go forward with the marriage and even prepares to take her against her consent (where he molests her and says he could be the Knight of Flowers in the dark; essentially telling her to lie to herself about how she felt about him and the situation) but stops after he feels guilty. Tyrion could have been sympathetic because he isn’t without his soft spots (see his conversation with Jon Snow, his consideration for Bran, etc) but he again falls short. He wants love and affection - but he has rather exacting standards, the same thing that infuriated him about Sansa not finding him attractive.

Like the Tin Man it isn’t that they have no heart. Unlike the Tin Man, however, for Sandor and Tyrion, it’s simply that most of that heart shown consists of selfishness and self-centeredness. Sandor might immediately cop to it and never attempts to hide it, but he tries to bring every man down to his level by saying how awful everyone is, everywhere. Tyrion meanwhile may be capable of kindness, but he shows that he is easy to offend when it is rebuffed or denied, as though he expects payment for such a thing.

Cowardly Lion/Ser Dontos/Joffrey - Characters who have the titles of courtly images; Joffrey is a prince, then a golden king. Ser Dontos is a named knight. Both have the roles in songs and stories where the expected virtues would include courage, grace, humility, honor, etc but ultimately do not have these things even if they have the appropriate titles. 

In TWOO, the Cowardly Lion presents a falsehood or an oxymoron (after all, how can the king of all beasts be a coward?). Joffrey and Dontos do the same. (How can a king be cruel, how can a knight not have dignity, etc). Sansa’s attachment and adherence to songs/stories isn’t really all that different from any of the ideas the Stark kids have about their favorite stories, but in her journey specifically, we see her unraveling popular propaganda in Westerosi high society; she even makes comparisons in her inner monologues. 

Where the virtues of kings and knights are meant to be shown, we see her expectations fall very short of what the title is meant to indicate about the character of the people who hold them.

In both Joffrey and Dontos, they lack these qualities even if we, Sansa, may briefly hold out hope for the better (where Joffrey immediately kills that by suddenly having Ned executed, where Dontos sells her off to Littlefinger despite trying to play her Florian). In particular, Ser Dontos ultimately fails as the CW because he says he wants Sansa to be safe, to be her Florian, but isn’t truthful with her about it, yet he wants to reap the reward for it. Joffrey believes himself to have these qualities but is often called out on it by other characters, playing the CW in the beginning who immediately attacks the Tin Man, seemingly unaware of his lack of character. 

In TWOO Dorothy says she’ll miss everyone, but she’ll miss the Scarecrow most of all; below the characters I associate with the Scarecrow are the ones who Sansa might be able to more easily pick out traits (or trick herself into seeing more good than exists) she is most comfortable with (one of the characters below is most obviously not “safe” or the one she has the most affection for, but rather the one she tries very hard, due to her current dependency on him, to project or emphasize what he’s “done for” her). 

Scarecrow/Petyr Baelish/Harry the Heir/Ser Loras - Characters shown or believed to be less intelligent, without depth, or even overrated. They are stuffed with straw, padded with nothing of substance in a person.

Briefly starting with Ser Loras, I included him specifically because even though Sansa has a little crush on him, she quickly realizes that he never had interest in her, and didn’t remember giving her the rose even though it was the highlight of her day when he did. This is an indication to Sansa she doesn’t know him even though she daydreamed about him. She doesn’t truly know him, is what she realizes and he doesn’t know her despite the implicit belief that love or affection can be found and trusted at first sight. He was handsome, seemingly knightly, dreamy, and he turned out to be no one who would have any consequence for her.

Harry the Heir, we don’t know much about as a person beyond the basics. He has one illegitimate child and is currently courting Saffron, who is pregnant with his second illegitimate child. He is a knight. He’s Robert Arryn’s heir. There’s the idea that he’s quite good at knightly actions (jousting, swordplay, horsemanship, etc) and likely indications that he is a little egotistical. From the released chapters of Alayne we’ve seen, he does apologize for his rudeness, but I don’t believe he’ll be around long enough for us to explore his person. Our understanding of him, and I believe Alayne’s/Sansa’s understanding of him will be one of pity, knowing his fate, but ultimately we won’t know him enough for it to be particularly impactful save for how his death will affect Sansa’s actions. 

To that end, Harry has every possibility of being a better suitor than the others that have sold themselves as her beaus, but it won’t last. Where we read that Ser Loras didn’t remember Sansa or seem to care or was invested in her, we’ll see that ultimately Harry is another, if newer scarecrow; ultimately a character of seemingly goodwill, or at least one who won’t wish her harm, but will fall flat by not having substance or not be allowed the time to develop much. 

Admittedly, Petyr as the Wicked Witch of the West is also fitting, but considering we are constantly told in text how dangerous he is forces him to the forefront of our minds as this terrifying endgame boogeyman. Since asoiaf likes to have little twists and turns and defy immediate expectations, he isn’t likely so important to the final fate of Westeros, and by extension, Sansa’s fate. His biggest impact will be having spirited her away to the Vale and keeping her under lock. To that end, he is (one of) the Scarecrow(s) in Sansa’s journey. 

The whole “I’ll miss you most of all, Scarecrow” here applies to Petyr. Not that he represents a positive point in Sansa’s journey home, but he does represent safety, even though it comes at a price. (Where he tells her to call him Father, where he molests her, gaslights her, verbally and psychologically abuses her and she forces herself to dissociate, ultimately piling on the trauma). 

Petyr isn’t stupid, or without a brain, but he is overconfident in his mind, to the end that he will make huge missteps he won’t have accounted for (Jeyne at Winterfell, not thinking Sansa will be capable of fleeing or thinking for herself, believing he knew everything that happened after the Red Wedding, doubting Dany is a dangerous element, underestimating Aegon, etc) despite giving Sansa similar warnings (all while believing she would be too stupid or naive to heed them). He, like the Scarecrow, is a planner but ultimately he will meet an anticlimactic death. He, and numerous other characters, sell the idea (very loudly) that there is more to him than there appears, that he has great depths, that he is one of the most dangerous men in Westeros.

That isn’t to say he isn’t dangerous - he obviously is. He kicked off a violent war, arranged for the deaths of numerous people, has quite a lot of money and power (although he doesn’t have a name with weight). It’s just that with every person who announces how dangerous he is, we’ll see in Sansa’s journey when we see him as his truest self, stripped of his gold and power we will see nothing. He has no great depths to plumb beyond his own ambitions.

He is the Scarecrow who already found his “brain” (where Petyr already has the lesson that his strength is his mind), yet in the end, is still a scarecrow. Just the form of a man filled with straw.

Wicked Witch of the West/Cersei - The ever present danger that never loses focus on Sansa, seemingly magically out of reach from danger to Sansa’s eyes. Cersei, in a way, is this insurmountable force to Sansa; she is the purest form of danger that exists and it’s why Sansa has no choice but to hide and trust that Littlefinger will keep her concealed.  

Cersei blames Tyrion and Sansa for Joffrey’s death, and especially has a grudge against Sansa for her “red shoes” (her name, her agency, her womanhood, children, beauty, etc, we see her reference snidely about Sansa’s qualities whenever she talks/thinks about her) (see above for what Sansa’s red shoes are) and the action she believes she is responsible for. She has multiple hangers on as Queen Regent (flying monkeys who do her bidding). 

She, from Sansa’s point of view, has all this power and represents someone who can’t be stopped (we see the same thing with Dorothy and the WWW), but yet the Witch dies easily. In TWOO, she’s melted by a bucket of water Dorothy accidentally spills on her. I think this may be an indication that Sansa may have another indirect hand in her death (indirect as with the Purple Wedding), perhaps letting some information she gives be used against Cersei, or something. But ultimately, Cersei, like the Wicked Witch of the West won’t have a particularly “onscreen” death (she’ll likely die in King’s Landing, either by Jaime’s hand, or indirectly through Tyrion when Dany burns it).  

Oz/Man behind the curtain - The songs and tales of Westeros that conceal the darker truths that exist behind what power means; a means of propaganda that Sansa is forced to unveil on her own. While all the Starks learn a lot more about people, the world, truth and lies, politics, etc Sansa’s position in court leads her to pay a lot more attention to what people don’t say. She also develops a deeper understanding of how what she believed came to actually be. She has to learn how to weed out the domino effect stories and songs have, even though at their core they can be appreciated (for instance, that honor and nobility are good things, even if the song/tale about the person isn’t someone who realistically practiced it). 

This saturates court culture across the world, although her focus is on Westeros, but we know that this isn’t just a southron issue; this exists in the north, across the Narrow Sea, within Houses, legacies, and even singular people. 

[shirokodomo]

Differences between the anime and the manga and how it affects my portrayal [Hakudoshi]

As probably everyone who has been following me for a while knows, my Hakudoshi is canon-divergent and headcanon based while cherry-picking certain stuff from the anime and manga.

But today I was going around several manga chapters where he appears to make new manga icons and I have noticed, once again, how there are a couple of things -like every other adaptation- that differ from the source material and I decided to make a post about this so that my followers know what I take from either the anime or the manga, mostly I follow the anime but let's dwell on it (might be a rather big post)

The first differences come right after his "birth", while it doesn't directly affect Hakudoshi's character it does change the way he and Entei met.

In the anime Sunrise introduced a second demon, Rengokuki, that along with Entei had been sealed by the priest the Infant and Kagura killed, his death leads to the seal on both demons break and Rengokuki is the one who possesses the naginata that later becomes Hakudoshi's signature weapon:

In the manga, Rengokuki doesn't exist and Entei is immediately drawn to Hakudoshi choosing him as its new master/rider due to him having broken the seal. Thus their bond is not about Entei having seen Hakudoshi as a strong demon, worth ride on his back, but more as a returning favor, Hakudoshi even says so:

This makes Entei's and Hakudoshi's "bond" even more unreal, colder than in the anime, although in the anime Hakudoshi could care less about Entei when it died (much like in the manga), the anime added Entei backing up Hakudoshi's escape. While I like the way both anime and manga portrayed their bond and I understand that Hakudoshi is a character not meant to form any sort of bond, I tend to prefer the anime's version because I like the idea of Naraku's incarnations forming at least one bond with someone. I even have made headcanons about Hakudoshi's and Entei's bond and stuff they did together when literally no one was looking, not even Kagura. Thus this is my first canon divergent piece in my portrayal albeit not used in his main verse but rather in the other ones: Hakudoshi can and will form bonds with someone if he spends enough time around them, he will be cold, distant, rude, and very unfriendly at the beginning but eventually comes to see them in another light.

Another difference I noted between the manga and the anime was Hakudoshi's introduction, I am not sure how much that changes things, probably nothing at all and it's even more probable that it's just a case of different translations for the same topic. In the manga, Hakudoshi introduces himself as "the discarded white child of Naraku" whereas in the anime he introduces himself merely as a "Naraku incarnation". Doesn't affect my portrayal but I thought it would be interesting to note.

In the manga, also regarding his weapon, Hakudoshi obtains his naginata by having Entei kill a boar demon that had that weapon. He took it from Rengokuki after he killed him with the naginata in the anime. Fun fact, in the anime a boar demon named Chokyukai had exactly the same design as the boar demon Entei killed in the manga, he even appears in the episode following Hakudoshi's introduction with a naginata exactly like Hakudoshi's with the exception that it has a sapphire in it instead of a ruby. Again, doesn't affect my portrayal but I thought it would be interesting to mention.

The following change is related to Hakudoshi's abilities, most of his abilities are kept on par between the manga and the anime (barrier creator, miasma production, regeneration, and teleportation), however, episode 144 gave two more abilities on the very same scene above: telepathy, he already somewhat possessed this ability in the manga as well as he is able to read other's minds by touching them much like his counterpart (I feel like the minimal difference between Hakudoshi and the Infant is that Hakudoshi reads minds while the Infant reads the hearts), however, the anime adds more to it and he is capable of reading other's minds without touching them. Regarding this ability, I have decided to keep it in both ways though he will not be using the non-touching mind reading one unless it's necessary or if he feels like it. This means that it works essentially like a switch button that he can control at will and helps me explain why he didn't hear or even comment further on Kagura's thoughts about killing him/betraying Naraku or even when Kohaku was right next to him thinking about Sango as his sister and about his plan to get closer to the Infant after the Zushi Nezumi incident.

The second ability introduced is 100% anime-only and it's telekinesis which means he can move objects using his mind. I am also keeping this ability of his, however, with some restrictions. In the scene above we see Hakudoshi throwing several small rocks at Kagura, more with the intention of annoying and giving her a warning. Now, those small rocks don't have big weight and thus are easy to manipulate and control. This is where my headcanon and second canon divergent happens in my portrayal: Hakudoshi is not able to use telekinesis on objects that weigh more than him, in my post-canon verse this changes as he trains harder to be able to lift heavier weights but in his main verse he cannot do it. He would not be able to, for example, levitate Tessaiga in its transformed form considering it's much heavier than himself but he would be able to use the telekinesis to move his own weapon in case, for some reason, it was driven away from him.

The third difference between the anime and the manga is, for me, one of the most important scenes considering that it shows more of Hakudoshi's methodical and strategical side. Once more this scene is anime-only, possibly more to fill in the content of the episode than anything else but I still find it interesting.

This scene makes it Hakudoshi's second direct interaction with Inuyasha (and his group, although in this specific scene it's only Inuyasha) set in between Inuyasha visiting Totosai and learning about Hosenki and Inuyasha actually finding Hosenki. In the manga such scene never happened, it was immediately shown Inuyasha finding Hosenki's lake. In the anime, they added that Hakudoshi was spying on the group through Samiyosho thus leading to the scenario above where Hakudoshi shows that he is always a step ahead. Not only that but he reveals that he knows about Hosenki's existence and even that Hosenki I is already dead (it's even implied at first that he had something to do with it only to be debunked by Hosenki's son).

Of course with the manga not having this scene they couldn't really change the plot behind it, however, I still find this scene interesting because not only shows Hakudoshi's childish behavior where he sees all this as a game (like a chess game) and Inuyasha's group are mere pawns in it but also that he could have easily killed Hosenki II, leaving Inuyasha's group without that resource and also, at the very least, injure Inuyasha seeing that he caught him by surprise but simply choose not to. He chooses not to kill his number one enemy with the mere exchange to see how Inuyasha would work around the problem, I think this is where it shows the differences between Naraku and Hakudoshi, while they are extremely similar in many ways and Naraku himself has been shown to be able to manipulate the odds in his favor, I feel like Naraku wouldn't have missed the chance to try and kill Inuyasha had he been this close to him like Hakudoshi was. This is yet another change the anime made that I keep within my portrayal of Hakudoshi, not only it gave more interactions between Inuyasha and Hakudoshi but also showed more to Hakudoshi's strategic side.

The following scene is not different in either the manga or the anime however it's something I would still like to point out as it's one of my headcanons regarding Hakudoshi's betrayal plot towards Naraku.

While I believe that Hakudoshi and the Infant had already been plotting for a while (if not from the beginning) their plan to eventually overthrow Naraku I mostly think that this scene above might have triggered it to start working, this and also once Naraku gave the Infant the Fuyoheki which kept hidden the Infant's demonic aura. Back to this specific scene, however, until then Hakudoshi had always been relying on the fact his heart (and Naraku's) was somewhere else as his "lucky charm", he could not be killed and could be doing whatever he wanted. He even hid behind Naraku's "protection" when it came to Kagura as he would punish her. This also made Hakudoshi extremely cocky regarding his status as a superior incarnation of Naraku, made him believe he was not a tool like Kagura was.

This specific moment, however, I headcanon it finally clicked in Hakudoshi's mind that he was not that different from the other incarnations, at least not to Naraku (in his mind he still was it) as he would use him as a shield just like he did with the other incarnations without hesitation, this made him realize that he is a tool just like Kagura and he absolutely refused to be it.

This would also lead to his state of rage, craziness, and denial we see in the moments before he dies.

The major change comes next, this time it was cut from the anime and I actually would have liked to have seen this animated. Unlike in episode 165 where Hakudoshi tested the newly created Moryomaru on Inuyasha, he actually tests it on both Inuyasha and Koga. This was the first and only direct interaction that Hakudoshi has with another enemy of his (and Naraku's) aside from those in Inuyasha's group.

Therefor while until now I've mostly maintained what the anime added to Hakudoshi's role, this time it's the other way around and I will be keeping this manga scene in my portrayal. It helps me give a better sight in how Hakudoshi would act around other enemies of his that are not Inuyasha and his group or around Naraku and Kagura. The anime pretty much reduced Hakudoshi's interactions to these three and I don't like it, just like I didn't like that pretty much all of Hakudoshi's personality traits in the entire series (both manga and anime) were being evil and a brat.

From here on until the parts that were animated in the original anime are pretty much all on par with the manga. Which brings the next big change to the first episode of the Final Act (and Hakudoshi's only appearance in the 2010 anime since he dies right in the first one).

His first appearance in the new anime remains the same as in the manga, meaning he goes to the dungeons to speak to Kagura who is in charge of watching the revived Goryomaru, however the major change is in his speech towards Kagura:

" Yes, freedom. If you truly desire liberation from Naraku you have no choice but to kill him." followed by " How about it Kagura? When the time comes I can retrieve your heart before I obliterate Naraku. "

In the anime, Hakudoshi attempts to make a deal with Kagura, tries to make her join forces with him, Goryomaru/Moryomaru and the Infant even tempts her with her so desired freedom and with the chance of retrieving Naraku. I confess when I first saw this I was confused, even when I hadn't read the manga yet, because until this point Hakudoshi has not once shown to care about Kagura's desire for freedom (something that to an extent he also desires but with another kind of end) nor had he ever tried to make a deal with her since he had always looked down on her. Granted this could very well just be a manipulation, most likely was, but still didn't explain his sudden need for her help when he never minded getting his hands dirty.

However, in the manga the speech goes extremely different, there is no temptation, there is no attempt to make a deal, he just plants a seed of doubt in Kagura:

" You want to know...just who Goryomaru is, don't you Kagura...? I'll tell you one thing. Even if you follow Naraku's orders...and protect Goryomarum, it won't benefit you. "

Still a manipulation however far different from that of the anime, he literally plants a seed of doubt in her, doesn't tempt her with a pact, he lets her make the decision on whether she should betray Naraku or not. And above all doesn't make such a promise to retrieve her heart.

In all honesty, I love both versions a lot, the anime's version fits a little better with my first point of canon divergent in which I wrote Hakudoshi is capable of creating a bond even if it takes a lot of time (and again not in his main verse, I refer this part to the post-canon verse and AU verses). It also gives me food for thought for an eventual AU where he actually succeeded in overthrowing Naraku (granted I never truly understood how he and the Infant intended to do so aside from absorbing Naraku into Moryomaru's body).

The manga's version is far more consistent with his relationship until now with Kagura: indifference, mutual despise, etc. But again, I did mention I didn't like how being evil and a brat was basically Hakudoshi's canon personality traits, I prefer to build my Muse with several character layers.

With this said, I made the decision to keep both versions in my portrayal and it will vary according to the kind of thread I am making.

A lot more was changed with the content of the following manga chapters when they were turned into anime but I won't dwell on it since they don't affect my portrayal of Hakudoshi. Until his death though, all the rest is much the same and in his main verse, it remains so.

But this brings me to my Post-Canon Verses which serve for interactions post-Kagome's return to the Feudal Era in which Hakudoshi is brought back to life in a similar way to Kikyo except that instead of a body made of clay, it's a body made of yokai flesh (fox yokai) with a human heart thus making Hakudoshi a half-demon.

Upon being brought back to life, however, Hakudoshi has no memory of who he used to be. Forcing him to start over in an attempt to both move forward with his (new) life and at the same time try to discover who he used to be (when it happens though, it will cause heavy conflict in his now human heart). He will also deal with human night every 9th day of the month.

I made these post canon verses with the idea of creating new interactions with other Inuyasha characters outside the whole "evil incarnation kid" (it gets repetitive and tiring to me to only use his main verse in every thread, I guess) and it also helps me build a more solid personality for Hakudoshi like other characters have.

The post became much bigger than I thought but I think I pretty much wrote down everything I wanted to write about the differences between the anime and the manga regarding Hakudoshi and how I use these interpretations in my threads.

[black-moon-raven]

I will do anything to protect my sister, even if it means dying for her or lying to her.  

✦————————————✦  

[Name] : Oswald Baskerville

[Alias] :

Oz-kun

Oswald-san

nii-sama / onii-chan (by Ianna)

Transfer Student

Problem Child

Newbie

Dark Knight

[Race] : Human  

[Gender] : Male  

[Age] : ??? ( appearance of 16 years )

[Birthday] : April 20

[Starsign] : Aries

[Blood Type] : -O

[Dominant Hand] : right hand

✦————————————✦    

PROFESSIONAL STATUS:

[Status] : Alive

[Affiliation] : Night Raven College

[Dormitory] : Ramshackle Dorm

[Year] : 1st year

[Occupation] : Student

[Favorite Subject] : Flight

[Disliked Subject] :  History Magic

✦————————————✦    

APPEARANCE INFORMATION:

[Hair] : black

[Eyes] : blue

[Height] : 1,92    

[Weight] : 63 kg

[Appearance] :

Oswald is described as an attractive young man, looking almost like a Dark Knight. He is a man with a tall stature, thin waist, broad shoulders with blue clear eyes and disorderly jet-black hair thas goes white at the ends. He is always smiling although he can sometimes be seen with a serious eye.

His uniform consists of a black blazer and skirt with gold accents, a white shirt under the gray sweater and brown shoes, he wears a black and white tie, and has the magic crystal in the center of the tie. Like is sister he also wears a pair of blue earrings. 

✦————————————✦    

PERSONAL INFORMATION :

[Family] :

Unnamed Father ( unknown )

Unnamed Mother ( unknown )

Ianna : Younger Twin Sister (alive)

[Personality] :

Oswald is always happy and overly optimistic. He can be serious on occasion, but is  usually highly active and cheerful. He appears to be kind and simple,  but is actually clever and highly manipulative. Something else to note  about Oswald in particular is that he can give a sharp gaze that appears  as if he is looking right through someone and at their true selves.  

As reincarnations pass, his love for Ianna has prolonged until the very end - as he considers  nothing to be more important than Ianna's safety. Throughout his  existence however, he's grown attached to numerous others and devotes  his care to them almost equally. The lengths that he's willing to go to  in order to ensure the safety of those he cares for is far more than  enough to prove his need to protect  .

[Background]:

Oswald in his first life was raised by his parents and twin sister Ianna. He was a curious and protective child of his younger sister, and he would do anything to spend most of his time with her to make her smile. A calm and peaceful life, or at least it had been in the beginning. At the time Oswald was born, Ianna was considered to be Child of Ill Omen. As a Child of Ill Omen, Ianna's existence attracted misfortunes causing unspecified difficulties for her and him during childhood, but that didn't stop their happiness, not until this cruel world for her sister decides to kill him and his parents. in front of her. With despair and stress at seeing such a scene Ianna gets out of control and ends up destroying everything around her.

In the following lives the same events were repeated, Ianna lived happily with Oswald but then he died and with that Ianna either committed suicide or lost control of herself and destroyed everything. An endless cycle, Oswald came to blame himself for not being able to protect Ianna when he saw her becoming more and more depressed with the passing of reincarnations and losing her radiant smile. He started to notice that his sister was already going crazy just like him due to the cycle of events, he wondered why it had to be them.

Oswald was noticing that with the passing of reincarnations Ianna started to have an unstable or broken personality due to the extreme stress and pressure she had when protecting “her world” but she never managed to, it was always the same ending. As a last resort of events, she began to lose or forget those memories that caused her pain as a way to escape. What she didn't know is that Oswald was making her forget those memories and not her. Oswald wanted to see Ianna's radiant smile again and he was able to do everything for that even if it means lying to her or killing to protect her and her smile.

Oswald lived with Ianna and her parents in Twisted Wonderland, as Ianna no longer had many memories of the past, at least the ones that caused her pain, she had been the same, smiling and having fun, she had even made two new friends. who were brothers, seeing how everything had returned to normal Oswald was happy, but as Child of Ill Omen she would always be a Child of Ill Omen unfortunately. One day Oswald's parents told him why they reincarnated (yes because their parents also reincarnated), the reason they reincarnated was due to a curse of residing in some family members or at least that's what they thought, as the family was cursed they are not known, but they believe the reason for the curse is for a greater good in the future. Oswald even though he knew now, he continued to question why it had to be them and why they had to make Ianna suffer. Days later when he was in the tower with Ianna playing with her dolls and him looking out the window. Oswald sees his mother running towards the tower and climbing the stairs and warns Oswald and Ianna to run away, Ianna didn't know why but Oswald did, someone was coming to kill Ianna or to take her due to her powers that had been discovered days ago before when Ianna had been upset with some people for speaking ill of her best friends and hurting them. Their mother with the last remaining strength uses magic to take Ianna and Oswald to another world and change Ianna's memories, she says goodbye and asks Oswald to protect Ianna as was always.

When Oswald wakes up he realizes that he is in another world, apparently he was in an orphanage at the beginning he was confused but then he realized that his mother's magic made them fit in with the world they were in that there was no magic or at least that was what he thought . The memories that Ianna had had been changed to memories of the world in which they were as a way for her to forget everything, and Oswald was pleased with that because he did not want to see his sad sister again. Ianna and Oswald were growing up in the orphanage and as they grew up Ianna was having heart problems and went to a hospital where she spent most of the time now, she was stuck and could not leave. Oswald worked to earn money for the operation to Ianna's heart. One day Oswald was returning from working with a gift for Ianna when he started to hear a voice that seemed familiar, he was not paying attention and has an accident where he “dies”, that same day Ianna has a heart transplant. that was the heart of her heart because if anything happens to her he would be the giver for her. Oswald was in a dark place when he started hearing the familiar voice again, it was familiar because it was his mother's voice, his mother explains that their real body was not actually in the world they were in, but in Twisted Wonderland, she in her last moments took their souls to another world and their bodies had been taken to another side where they were being protected until they "died" for their souls after they returned to Twisted Wonderland. Oswald was confused for a few moments with the explanation because only he had "died". His mother later explains that it is enough for Ianna to want to escape the "real" world for her soul to return, it was very likely that Ianna would forget the things of the "real" world. Oswald started to feel heavy and his mother said it was about time. When Oswald wakes up he is in a coffin and does not know the reason for being in one until he hears his sister's voice on the other side, talking to someone, when he leaves the coffin he realizes that he and Ianna were in he returns to his true world, which made him happy but at the same time worried, but that didn't matter to him now because he wanted to see his sister. When he and his sister stood in front of the mirror, sweat started running down his back because he was worried if Ianna and his powers were discovered, to his surprise the mirror said that they had no magic and that they didn't even belong in this world. What made him question himself.The headmaster asked them some questions and decided to let them live in an old dormitory that had no use. Later the headmaster told them that they were going to do some odd jobs as a way to pay for their residence. (And the rest of you already know about the game's prologue.)

His and Ianna's story may change when the game is released.

✦————————————✦    

[Fun Facts]:

[Likes] :

Ianna (her younger twin sister)

sweets

animals

music

[Dislikes] :

stew

hear people talking badly about his sister

[Hobbies] :

write songs  

play games

[Fears] : see  her sister die in front of him

[Weakness]: sister

[Favorite Food] :  Strawberry cake  

[Least Favorite Food] : Stew

[Favorite Drink] : Black  coffee

[Least Favorite Drink] : tea

[Talents] : write songs

[Unique Magic] :   Eyes of True

Oswald unique magic is called Eyes of True, as the name implies, when Oswald activates this magic his eyes can see other people's true intentions. Oswald created this magic as a way of knowing if people are trustworthy or if they have other intentions inside. He can also get people to tell the truth if they look him in the eye.

[ADDITIONAL FACTS] :

[Trivia]:

Oswald's name is derived from Old English “god" and "rule”.  

Oswald is perhaps is a little siscon. He loves his sister to the point of doing everything to make her happy, even if it means erasing her memories to forget the pain, lie to her or kill for her.

He cared about Ianna deeply, and blamed himself for the fact that Ianna was born a Child of Ill Omen.

Oswald and Ianna are cursed. The curse they both have is the curse of reincarnation. It is not known or certain why they have this curse, but every time they die they always reincarnate, and with the memories of the past.

Oswald is always the first to die and with his death, Ianna loses control of herself. She tries to destroy everything or she goes into extreme depression or in many cases she kills herself or tries to escape from reality.

Like Ianna, Oswald is very curious and has an impulse to touch the things that make him also curious.

Oswald even with the passing of the reincarnations he never changed his personality or the way of seeing the world, the only thing that may have changed is perhaps the fact that he is more siscon and protective towards Ianna.

Oswald is the only one who manages to calm Ianna, when she is with her attacks of anger.

Oswald is a morning person and he usually wakes up Ianna in the morning and does her hair.

Oswald does not allow any boy with a romantic interest in Ianna to approach her.(siscon)

Oswald rarely gets angry but when he does it's better to be careful because he is just like Ianna when angry, and having a second angry Ianna is not a good thing.

Oswald is very social with everyone and likes to make new friends. Of course, he makes new friends. He analyzes people to see if they have other interactions in his "friendship". Oswald has a very sharp gaze and people say that when he looks like that he looks like he is looking into the person's soul to see the real person.

Oswald does not like to drink tea, but when Ianna makes tea he drinks because it was prepared by her and not to disappoint her or make her sad for refusing.(siscon)

Oswald and Ianna are initially hated by some NRC students for being in school without having any magic. Later on, when both of them wielded their powers, that hate became fear (especially they were afraid of Ianna) because now the two twins could take revenge if they wanted to, now no one messes with them unless they want to die in their hands.

[buttsonthebeach]

Lost Horizon, Pt. 3

Here we go again folks! @scharoux continues to blow me away with her faith in me as we take Rhaella on this journey!

This long fic picks up almost directly where The Last Game last left off - with Rhaella pregnant and alone in a world where Solas has removed the Veil, despite her attempts to stop him. Rhaella has now escaped Kirkwall (and Solas) with Merrill in tow.

My Ko-Fi || My Commissions

Part One of Lost Horizon can be found here

Part Two of Lost Horizon can be found here

Other pieces about Rhaella I have written include:

1. All Things Green and Growing

2. The Long Road Back

3. The Turning of the Year

3. The Same Kind of Scar (contains explicit content)

4. World Without End (contains explicit content)

5. The Last Game Pt. 1, the Last Game Pt. 2, and the Last Game Pt. 3 (contains explicit content), and the Last Game Pt. 4

Pairing: Rhaella Lavellan x Solas, post-Trespasser

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Other parts of the series contain directly referenced character death for a character from DAI, implied character death for characters from DA2, and general references to death and destruction.

This section contains depictions of childbirth.

********************************

At least they managed to get to the Emerald Graves without any problems.

Rhaella could count that as a blessing.

She cried herself to sleep more often than she didn’t, claimed she needed to take a break from riding because her back was sore when really she wanted to duck behind a tree and sob into her folded arms out of Merrill’s earshot - but at least they’d made it to the Emerald Graves. Beautiful, terrible, full of history. It was oddly soothing to be in a place that outwardly reflected what she inwardly felt, where past and present and heartbreak already collided.

It was not soothing to see so many spirits there.

These were not just the simple wisps that had followed them to Skyhold - these were fully matured spirits that could approach them and speak to them, or command them to go away, as did one spirit of Command as they entered the Graves. 

Spirits with fully formed personalities who might pass on word of two elven women, one of them heavily pregnant, making their way through the Emerald Graves.

“Maybe we shouldn’t stay here after all,” Merrill said as it became apparent that they were everywhere, and not just in one isolated part of the region.

Rhaella felt the tears well up all over again.

She was exhausted.

Exhausted in every way a person could be.

She had ridden hard and hoped hard and tried her best and she still had nothing to show for it but a plan that fell apart every time she tried to stitch it together. She just wanted to be safe. To have space to grieve. To prepare to welcome her son into the world. She couldn’t think of anywhere else they could go. The Exalted Plains were still a blasted wasteland and far too exposed by and large - nowhere really to hide, no safe warren to build her nest - who knew what any Dalish clan there would think of her - she couldn’t go further into the heart of Orlais - there was no time to cross the mountains back into Ferelden -

She was dimly aware that her breath was coming in shorter and faster, that the roaring in her ears had returned. Merrill’s hand was on her shoulder. None of that mattered, none of it could override the terror of how trapped she was.

Then, in a puff of purple smoke, there was Cole, eyes luminous, pale blond hair gleaming in the waning sun.

“Panicked, breaking but not broken - you have been here before and you will be here again and you will always pull through. Be still, friend. I am here to help.”

Cole’s hand went to her other shoulder. Rhaella’s panicked breath began to slow.

“What in the name of all of the Creators -” Merrill murmured. “Where did you come from? Who are you?”

“My brothers and sisters are worrying you,” Cole said, still looking only at Rhaella. “Do not be frightened. They will listen to me. I will tell them what a precious secret you carry, and they will keep it. I am here to help. I am always good at helping, aren’t I?”

Rhaella thought of the cheese and mint, the barrels full of daggers, the honey spilled on windowsills. A compassionate knife easing the pain of the dying. The tightness in her chest receded.

“Yes, Cole. You are.”

“Cole?” Merrill asked, bewildered. “Isn’t that a human name? Are you not a spirit?”

“Am I?” Cole asked, his voice laced with amusement. He had grown somehow since Rhaella saw him last. Perhaps he was more at home now that the Veil was gone, now that he was no longer torn between two worlds.

“Cole is a friend,” Rhaella said finally, rising, one hand on her belly, waiting to feel some movement from her child. When she felt it, the final bit of fear eased. “An old friend at this point, I suppose. He is also a spirit of Compassion.”

“And you knew him from before the Veil fell?” Merrill asked. She reached out and took hold of Cole’s hand. “And he has a body? But he can appear and disappear? I have never heard of such a thing. Are you like Anders and Justice, a spirit and a person sharing the same body?”

“No. I am only me. Only Cole.”

“Fascinating.” She dropped his hand and walked in a quick circle around the two of them.

Cole tilted his head, watching her progress. “Bright, buzzing, beautiful - your mind is full of shining gears. So much more clever than anyone ever gives you credit for. You and I will be friends.”

Merrill laughed - giggled, actually.

“Well, that’s settled then.”

A wave of exhaustion overcame Rhaella even as she smiled. “Cole, do you know somewhere safe for us? Somewhere we can settle in for a long time and remain undetected? We’ll need shelter, room to garden, fresh water…”

Cole nodded slowly. “I think so, yes. I will look, and tell the others not to speak of you.”

With another puff of smoke, he was gone.

“Do you think he can teach us how to do that?” Merrill asked, green eyes wide.

Rhaella snorted and shook her head. She did not have the energy to express it, not with her panic so recently gone and her belly so heavy and her back so sore, but she was grateful that Merrill was capable and intelligent and yet also innocent enough to still find wide-eyed joy in the broken world around them.

Cole returned a short while later and told them to follow him. He led them through the woods to a place where the land rose into two sharp cliffs on either side of them, drawing them down into a gorge. It opened up eventually into an elliptical clearing with trees and shrubs, flat grassy spaces, and a stream that poured through the rock face at the very end of it.

“It’s perfect,” Merrill said, pacing around. “Space enough for us to camp, to keep the animals, to start planting that garden.”

“Only one way in and one way out,” Rhaella said, eyeing the high sides of the cliffs around them. “If someone finds us, we’re trapped here.”

“We’ll set daily wards far enough away from the entrance that we’ll know if someone gets too close. A second layer behind that so we can be certain they’re headed in our direction. That will give us time to prepare to move on.”

Rhaella nodded. The exhaustion felt stronger now that the possibility of rest was so close. She nodded at most things that Merrill said from that point on - about the location of the garden, about the idea of making a small pen for their mounts, about making a lean-to to provide better shelter for them. She nodded and nodded until finally their bedrolls were set up and she could lie down and seek oblivion.

*

Rhaella woke from that oblivion in a flowering field - a clifftop, overlooking waterfalls. She recognized it at once. It was the place she had gone with Solas when he saved her from death in the Crossroads. When they made love for the first time. They had sat here together and talked. It was a beautiful place, if bittersweet now. Bitter because it was yet another place where he left her - sweet because it was the place where their child had been conceived.

She felt the warmth of the sun on her cheeks and tilted her head back and closed her eyes and let herself focus more on the sweetness than the bitterness for a moment. She was going to be a mother soon. Something she had wanted but feared would never happen. She would always have a piece of Solas - of the man she loved still, she could admit that here, surrounded by wildflowers and sunshine - and she was grateful for that. Grateful that it had happened. She breathed in deeply and let the warmth of the thought fill her, crown to toe. 

It spread, tingling all over her skin, warming her back - and then there were arms around her, and the warmth was coming from someone else’s body holding her close.

“Ma vhenan,” he whispered softly.

And that was when Rhaella realized what had happened.

She was in the Fade.

She had gone to sleep without taking Merrill’s draught, without setting her own mental wards through meditation.

The arms around her were Solas’s.

She stiffened in his embrace. She felt his arms loosen. She could stand, escape from his arms. Turn and scream at him. But she didn’t want to. She wanted to be held. To be safe in his embrace, to soak in his warmth, to turn and kiss him. She loved him. You couldn’t hide that kind of thing here in the Fade. It shimmered around you like the haze of a late summer afternoon.

She relaxed and felt him relax in turn, hold her closer. She breathed in the familiar smell of him, felt the beating of his heart, felt how her own ached and sped up at how much she longed for these moments with him still, after everything that happened. She heard him sigh, felt him nuzzle against her hair and breathe her in. She rested her hands on his forearms where they wrapped around her waist and felt tears rise in her eyes at the feeling of her palms on his bare skin, how good it felt. That simple connection that he had broken when he broke the sky open. 

They lingered there like that for a while - how long she could not say, because love and time both felt infinite here - and then he finally spoke.

“Come home.”

That broke the spell.

“No,” Rhaella said. She started gathering her strength so she could wake. Had he been trying to locate her while they held each other? Had he figured out where she was? She couldn’t risk another second longer in his company.

“Rhaella, please -”

She pulled free of his arms but then his hand was on her chin, thumb on her lips, not holding her, not grabbing her, but cupping her. Longing for her. 

She glanced back at Solas over her shoulder then, and it was like looking into the sun. His blue eyes, his freckles, the sharp angles of his face. His grief blinded her.

Ma vhenan, her heart sang back to him, but she did not let the words slip free.

“Come home,” he said again.

“No,” she said, and woke.

*

It was jarring to be back in the grotto with Merrill standing over her. Rhaella could still hear the roar of the waterfall in her ears. Could still smell the wildflowers. Could still smell him, feel him, at her side.

“Are you well?” Merrill asked. “I didn’t want to wake you but you were murmuring and twitching. Did you enter the Fade?”

Rhaella sat up and pressed the heels of her hands hard into her eyes, until her vision danced with spots of color. When she opened them again, and her eyes adjusted, she felt clear of the dream at last.

“Yes,” Rhaella said. “He was there. Solas.”

“Fenedhis. Did he figure out where we are?”

Rhaella thought about it a moment. She thought about the way he’d clung to her, the look on his face when she pulled away, how he kept asking for her to come home. Begging, really.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “I think he was really hoping that I would tell him. Or that I would just agree to come home. I didn’t get the sense that he was using his magic or trying anything covert.”

“He is the Dread Wolf,” Merrill said darkly. “The trickster. We can’t be certain. If you do really want to stay away from him, we have to assume that he would use an opportunity like that to track us. We can’t let you get so exhausted that you forget to take the draught or to guard yourself in the Fade.”

Rhaella imagined it again - the flowers and the water and the breeze and the sunshine and his arms around her. She ran her hands over her belly and imagined he was there with her, rejoicing in the new life they had created together. She imagined him being there when their son was born, the joy in his eyes when he held him.

Then she took all of those feelings and wrapped them carefully in a box and put them away.

“Yes,” she said to Merrill. “We will be more careful. I don’t want him to find us here.”

*

For two weeks, Rhaella and Merrill had space to breathe.

Not much space to breathe, of course - the opening they’d found in this ravine was not large, nor was the grotto in the shelter of the rock where they’d set up their shelter. But it was a sliver of peace in two lives that had not known much peace, especially not in the last several years.

They settled in at once with the practice of two Dalish women who’d been on the move many times before in their lives - arranging shelter while keeping an eye on the prevailing winds, designating latrine space well away from their fresh water supply, ensuring the animals had access to the water but likewise wouldn’t spoil it. And, of course, Rhaella’s favorite task - setting up a garden.

It was the garden that brought Rhaella the greatest peace in those two weeks, even more so than the fact that she no longer spent hours in a saddle, even more than the whisper of wind through the trees rather than the clamor of a city, even more than the fact that she could take a nap whenever she wanted to now. This had always been the thing that centered her, brought her peace. Her fingers in warm, dark earth, coaxing things to grow. It was how she and Solas had first begun to connect after all, wasn’t it? That gully in Crestwood, the blood lotus, their hands meeting in the rain.

Rhaella imagined connecting with her son over these same things. Showing him how to test the moisture in the soil, how to space the seedlings apart, which plants made good bedfellows and which ones didn’t. That was what brought her the most peace. The idea that she could build a life for her baby now, however small, however imperfect.

She was beginning to feel better about the idea of her son arriving soon. She and Merrill had no idea when it would be exactly, of course, but it had to be soon. Rhaella was big as a harvest moon in the autumn sky, heavy and tired every day now, working on the breathing exercises she’d once helped her Keeper teach other women in Clan Lavellan. She hadn’t yet reached the point of despair some women reached, where they became convinced the baby would never come, where the sheer weight of the waiting began to crush them. She didn’t think she would reach that point.

Your father made sure I was ready to wait for things with no idea of when they’d come. Thinking that they would never come.

Merrill was the only one who regularly ventured out of the grotto in those two weeks, mostly for the purposes of hunting. She reported hearing other elves nearby, though she never interacted with them. Some were Dalish, some Orlesian, and still others spoke Elvhen, the kind the two of them had only heard spoken by the likes of Abelas and Solas.

“I can mostly understand them at this point, and it didn’t sound like they were looking for anyone in particular,” Merrill reassured Rhaella. “I think they had just awoken from uthenera. They were trying to understand what happened, and find their way to civilization.”

That eased Rhaella’s tension. She had been vigilant about preventing exhaustion, about meditating before sleep, about taking Merrill’s herbal draughts. She had not entered the Fade since that night that Solas came to her, and she had not been using her magic either. She didn’t like the full feeling that gave her, like snaps of electricity might spring from her hands without her control the way they had when her magic first manifested, but it was a necessary evil for now. Eventually - someday - it would not be like this.

She was going to live forever now, after all. Wasn’t she?

When Rhaella was working in the garden one day and felt the staticky change in the air, she thought it was her overripe mana at first. Then she looked up at the sky, saw the high, billowing clouds in the distance. She took a deep breath and breathed in the metallic smell of oncoming rain.

“There’s going to be a storm,” she called back to Merrill, who was busy with something near their bedrolls, her back turned.

Merrill mimicked her at once - looking to the sky, smelling the air.

“You’re right. A good summer thunderstorm, and a strong one at that. I’ll work on blocking off the entrance to the ravine so the animals can’t escape if they are frightened by the thunder and lightning.”

Merrill tucked away whatever she’d been working on quickly enough that Rhaella felt a pang of confusion and curiosity. She didn’t pry further, though. Merrill had done more than Rhaella had any right to deserve since they escaped Kirkwall.

Then Rhaella felt another pang, not in her chest but lower down, in her belly and back. A tightening like a giant hand had come down and squeezed her whole midsection. The back of her neck prickled and her heart sped up.

Could it be - ?

It was better to just keep busy and keep moving. There was so much to do before the storm came. (Her belly tightened.) She wanted to check the trellises for the plants in the garden and ensure that they were secure. She wanted to wrap the baskets with their provisions in oiled cloth so that if water reached them they would not spoil. (Her belly tightened.) She wanted to move their bedrolls further back into the grotto, under the overhang of rock, and then cast a barrier so none of the elements could reach them. (Her belly tightened.) Could she sustain barriers over the garden and their animals, too? Barriers were simple spells and if she cast them without any particular flare, and cast them quickly, they would not attract anyone to them -

This time when her belly tightened, it stopped Rhaella in her tracks, locking up her breath within her chest. It came with a wave of pain bright and coppery as blood.

“Rhaella? Are you well?” Merrill’s voice broke through and Rhaella could breathe again.

“I am,” she said, even as nervous flutters filled her chest and stomach in the wake of the pain, as she considered what it probably meant.

“You can take a rest,” Merrill said. “I can finish the preparations for the storm.”

Rhaella had only gotten through half of her list. She couldn’t allow Merrill to take on everything else.

Her belly tightened hard when she started over towards their dry goods with the oiled cloth, and her steps slowed to a crawl, until she finally had to concede and stop moving. She felt Merrill watching her even through the pain that came with it, spiraling up her spine.

“Barriers,” Rhaella managed at last, after what felt like an eternity. “Could you help with some barriers? Just to keep the worst of the wind - ” The pain was lingering now, slinking through her body even when the tightness was gone. “Off of the plants and the animals and our provisions.”

“Of course,” Merrill said. “Are you certain you don’t want to rest?”

“Positive,” Rhaella said. If anything she felt the need to move and pace, however slowly she moved. Something was happening in her body, something she’d seen happen to dozens of women before her when she still lived with her clan, but something she still feared to name out loud.

So she did move, continuing over to the dry goods and kneeling down, wrapping each woven basket up in its cloth, pausing when another contraction hit her to rest her forehead on her arms. She could use the word now, she knew what was happening. Her child was on its way, and even just thinking the words filled her with twin tendrils of anxiety and excitement. She knew she should tell Merrill but the clouds were thickening and the chemical smell of rain was picking up and it would break soon, and sometimes this phase of labor went on for hours and hours anyway, and Merrill had already done so much for her -

Her belly squeezed tighter and tighter and pain burst behind her eyes in fractal patterns like lightning, and she leaned against another basket of dry goods and did her best to breathe through it, reminding herself to soften her jaw, to unclench her hands. Tried not to wonder what her baby would look like, if she would see Solas’s eyes looking back at her in a few hours. 

Tried not to think about what was now irrevocable, undeniable - Solas would not be there for the birth of his child.

The sky darkened and their mounts wickered nervously and the wind picked up and Rhaella had just made her way into their sleeping quarters and laid down when the storm burst above them with a crack of thunder and a cascade of rain. Merrill cast her final barrier, sealing them into the grotto with a shimmer of magic light. The rain hit the barrier and flowed over it, almost like a waterfall, so ethereal and lovely that for a moment Rhaella just watched it, heedless of anything else around or within her.

Then - another contraction, so sharp this time she cried out, and a rush of wet between her legs.

“Now then,” Merrill said calmly, appearing at her side. “Don’t you think we ought to discuss the fact that you are having a baby today?”

Rhaella could not help but laugh, however weakly, as the contraction ended. The next one came on quicker, though, and then she was not laughing.

Merrill hummed to herself, barely audible above the sound of the storm outside, as she set about making preparations. She poured water from one of their sealed jugs into the pot they used for cooking and summoned heat into her hands so she could warm it to boiling, even though they always purified it before they put it in the jugs. She laid a large clean cloth beneath Rhaella and neatly folded several others nearby, and unrolled a pack of surgical tools that was part of any good Keeper or First’s pack at all times. Rhaella tried not to look at those. She tried to focus more on the excitement than on the nerves. She was going to meet her child at the end of all of this.

Lightning flashed while Rhaella labored, illuminating the grotto and casting severe shadows everywhere she looked. There was little room to stand and walk but Merrill encouraged her to move through different positions, to sway and rock and do anything she could to distract herself from the pain as it grew, grew, grew. Merrill fed little whispers of magic into her belly, just enough to dull the pain, but every time it seemed to come back stronger. The wind roared outside and her world narrowed down to just how much it hurt, how each hurt was coming faster and faster and stronger and closer together and how there was nothing but pain and the sound of the rain and Merrill’s cool hands soothing her, soft encouraging words that Rhaella could not longer hear or understand. There was only the pain and the present and the feeling that both were neverending - and then, layered on top of it, a sudden terror - the realization that this was real and if the pain ever did end she would be a mother and she wasn’t going to be enough for her son, she knew that already -

“You can do this, Rhaella,” Merrill said over and over again. “You can do this.”

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I don’t know how to this on my own -”

“You’re going to be just fine, lethallan. You have everything you need within you.”

“But I don’t have him, I don’t have -” Even in the haze of her pain she cut off the thought. No. She didn’t need Solas here. She didn’t need him at all.

“You have made it this far on your own power. You have everything you need, lethallan. I believe in you. All of our ancestors are here with you in this moment, and they are giving you everything you need.”

The next sensation that overpowered her was a deep pressure, a need to push that overwrote the feeling of pain swarming every part of her. She had to, had to, had to push, had to push right now, had to push as hard as she could, had to push even if it was going to break her, and she feared it might, and Merrill wanted her to try sitting up or moving to all fours but she couldn’t do it, not without him -

“Solas!”

The name was torn from her lips, primal as the sound of the storm, and she wished in that moment that he was as powerful as everyone said he was, that he might appear at her side, summoned like a spirit, and take the pain away, tell her he was here, that she was going to be okay.

But he didn’t come, and that was what she really wanted anyway, wasn’t it?

There was no more thought after that, only the pain and the urge to make it stop - and then, finally, one last long hard push, and there was a tiny, squalling, red-haired infant in Merrill’s hands. The pain evaporated and there was only wonder.

“You have a daughter,” Merill said, smiling, exhausted.

A daughter.

Not what she had imagined, expected. But small and perfect and nestled against Rhaella’s bare chest now, squirming and crying and balling up her tiny little fists. Rhaella felt tears of a different sort streaming down her face as she held her there, skin to skin, close as close could be.

“Hello, little one,” she said again and again over the cries as they quieted. “Hello, hello, hello.”

Then her belly tightened again, hard, and the pain and the pressure were back.

“What’s happening?” Rhaella managed as she felt the urge to grit her teeth - to push again.

“The afterbirth, most likely,” Merrill said, though even she was frowning as she felt Rhaella’s belly.

“No, this feels - this feels like what just -” Rhaella’s breath began to quicken again. She held her daughter back out to Merrill. “Take her.”

And just like that, like a nightmare that would not end, like a dam breaking, the pain flooded her all over again, coursing through her body, tearing another scream from her throat. She had to push, push, push again, but her daughter was already here, she wanted to hold her, she wanted this to be done -

And then there was more crying - another infant in Merrill’s hands.

“Creators above,” Merrill murmured, and then looked up, smiling. “You have two daughters.”

Rhaella laid back against the pillows they had arranged behind her, and held out her arms.

Merrill nestled both babies into Rhaella’s arms, and she held them, and studied their fine copper hair, the scrunched red faces. She marveled at how they both curled against her instantly, as if soothed by her presence. Her daughters. She had two daughters. How was she going to feed and care for two babies?

The ‘how’ didn’t matter, actually. She was going to do it. She already loved them both so much that it paralyzed her and gave her wings. She had two daughters.

Merrill checked them over while they cuddled against Rhaella and pronounced that they were both healthy, and that Rhaella herself was in good shape - nothing a little healing magic wouldn’t repair, which Merrill performed quickly. Rhaella wanted to sleep but she didn’t know how she would take her eyes off the two perfect marvels that were now spreading out their limbs, turning their little heads, exploring, suckling at her breasts. She didn’t know how she would ever sleep again when she wanted to memorize the exact slant of their little pointed ears.

“Thank you,” she said to Merrill when she finally remembered that there was a world beyond her two tiny daughters. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for trusting me to be part of this moment,” Merrill said, smiling. She looked worn out too. The storm was still going, though not nearly as intense as before. Rhaella wondered how long she had labored for. “I did have one more gift for you - though in hindsight, it is not enough.”

Merrill went over towards her side of their grotto and rustled around. She returned carrying a small woven cradle. Rhaella thought back to all the times she’d seen her friend working secretively over the last two weeks, hiding things away, and her heart was so full of joy and gratitude that it broke open again, and tears welled out from her eyes.

“I will have to make a second one, but they should both fit for now,” Merrill said, considering.

“I do not deserve your kindness,” Rhaella managed, barely a whisper.

“Of course you do,” Merrill said. “Everyone deserves kindness. And you have done so much for our world. It is the least I can offer in return.”

Rhaella let the tears fall a little longer. One after the other, her daughters fell away from her breasts, calmer now.

“Would you like to hold them?” she offered.

“Always,” Merrill said, arms outstretched. “That’s the best part of helping, isn’t it?”

Merrill smiled and cooed at them and Rhaella watched her and tried to wrap her mind around it all. She’d done it. She’d had twin girls. She’d borne Solas’s children, and he was not there. She had a family now, so many years after the family she’d known had disappeared. It was not exactly how she’d imagined how it would happen - perhaps not even how she’d wanted it to happen - but she’d done it, and she was beginning a new chapter in her life now. A happier one, because these two girls were in it.

“What will you call them?” Merrill asked.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Rhaella laughed weakly. “I was convinced I would have a son.”

“That’s a decision for later, then,” Merrill said. “Rest now. I’d say you’ve earned it.”

They settled the girls into their bassinette, and as much as she’d thought she would stay awake forever watching them, Rhaella felt her eyelids growing instantly heavy, her whole body dropping like a stone into sleep, and then there was darkness.

*

When Rhaella woke she was in the field of wildflowers again - the high plateau overlooking the waterfalls. It was peaceful. Lovely. Quiet. Her shoulders and chest felt lighter than they had in years. She tipped her head back and felt the warmth of the sun on her face and let out a long, slow breath. She was going for a walk through this field. She had all the time in the world.

(There was, in the back of her mind, a small prickling, a little spike of doubt like a stubborn weed. But she knew that she deserved this moment. She knew this field was safe.)

The flowers and tall wild grass brushed soft against her fingers as she walked. She breathed in their scent - herbal and sweet and sharp and earthy. There was a river at the other end of the plateau. She’d walk there and let her feet dangle in the water. It had been such a very long time since she rested - really rested - and she had earned this.

(She knew, with all her arcane training, that something was off here - but she did not care.)

The river rushed over a bed of colorful rocks - tans, peaches, browns, creams, all rubbed smooth by eons of running water. Rhaella lifted her skirts and stepped into the river, feeling it pull at her ankles and cool her skin, enjoying the pressure and texture of the rocks against the soles of her feet. She’d been on a long journey, and this was her reprieve. She closed her eyes, and tipped her face up to the sun, and it felt warm enough to banish every winter to come. The sound of the wind through the field and trees filled her soul.

She opened her eyes, and the wolf was there on the other side of the river, looming large and black as the abyss of night.

He sat there on his haunches, and even without the six glowing eyes, she knew him.

Her reprieve was over.

“I’m not in the mood for parlor tricks. What do you want, Fen’Harel?” she said, words sharp as glass.

Smoke blurred the form of the wolf and when it cleared Solas was there, forehead creased with sadness, eyes so blue they pierced her like arrows. There was some pride left in the straightness of his spine - but his shoulders were slumped forward. Not enough that a casual observer would catch it, but enough that she did. She’d struck true and deep with her words.

“I wanted only to observe you for a while. To have the hope that you might look upon me as another part of this scene and not as something you hated.”

Vhenan, why? Why would you smash everything up and then sit and cry amongst the pieces?

“If you didn’t want me to hate you, you shouldn’t have done something so hateful.”

“Please -” he started forward, bare toes touching the river now. “You know it was not an act of hate. You know I wished there was some other way. You know I tried to find another way. But it is done now, and there will be no more secrets or lies between us. I lived a life wrapped up in secrets and I have torn them all away now. I only want you. Our life together. Please -”

Another step forward, and the river lapped around his ankles.

Rhaella did not move.

“You’ve spoken sweetly to me before and brought me only pain afterwards. This is just another one of those times.”

“Vhenan, that is not true. I have meant every sweet word I have ever spoken to you. I mean them now. I cannot keep you safe when you are apart from me like this.”

“You didn’t seem to care if I was safe or not the first time you left me. Why do you care about my safety now when I am the one who left you?”

“Rhaella, you do not know the stakes. The people who are out to find you now - the Evanuris - even you cannot stand before them unaided. And you must think of our child. Come back to me before they arrive, and let me protect you both - let me be the person I have always wanted to be, before all the lies - a man who loves and is loved. Let me be there for my child.”

Rhaella opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment a strong breeze whipped across the plateau, stripping flowers from their stems, bending the trees, bringing with it the scent of water and earth and new life -

And carrying the sound of a crying infant.

Solas went utterly still.

His jaw dropped slowly down.

“Rhaella -” he began, voice hoarse, pleading.

She woke.

*

“Rhaella. Rhaella.”

It wasn’t Solas’s voice that greeted her on waking, but Cole’s. He hovered over her, moon-pale eyes wide and unblinking. Rhaella came back to her body. She was sore and exhausted in ways she had never been, and her breasts were full and tingling, and she remembered it all abruptly.

My daughters. I had my daughters.

They were crying in their bassinette. Her heart leapt at the sound. Nothing on earth could have kept her from them in that moment. Not even the member of their father standing stock still in the river, eyes as wide as if he’d been dealt a killing blow.

Merrill was hovering over the bassinette, hushing them.

“I wanted to let you sleep a little while longer, but it seems they need you,” she said as Rhaella knelt beside her. Rhaella reached into the basket and touched her daughters, one after the other. Their warm full bellies and their soft rosy cheeks and their little balled fists. She reached for one of them, preparing to lift her. She was dimly aware that the storm had passed, that a thin, eerie mist had snaked its way into the grotto. That something felt wrong. But all that mattered was her two little girls, and she was going to care for them, and she wasn’t going to cry over the memory of their father standing there alone, betrayed.

“There is no time,” Cole said, his voice soft and urgent.

“What is it?” Rhaella asked, though her stomach had already dropped into her toes.

The air was too still. Then Merrill’s head jerked up suddenly, like a horse that had heard the snap of a twig. There was no sound - but Merrill was the one who’d placed the wards well outside the ravine. The one who would know if someone was approaching.

Cole straightened slowly, his gaze distant and unfocused, as he followed Merrill’s gaze.

“He is coming,” Cole said.

[cantfoolajoker]

the investigation team as dnd classes

after sees and the thieves, we’re here now for the final part of this dumb series. thank god the i-team has the smallest cast size so this isn’t as lengthy as the other two, but it’s still going under the read more for reading sake. enjoy!

lets start off with our main lad souji/yu who i vote is a knowledge domain cleric. alternatively, could also be a tempest cleric if you want more zappy zappy, but i’m focusing on his pursuit of knowledge here. as the name implies, these clerics worship gods of knowledge and their temples are typically libraries. they get things such as read thoughts (using their channel divinity to read the thoughts of creatures at a surface level if they fail a saving throw) and visions of the past, which lets them see what happened in the past to a specific item or area. their domain spell list also includes speak with the dead (yikes) and scrying (so he can talk to nanako whenever :) ).

yosuke is 100% a drunken master monk and here’s why: drunken master monks fighting style is entirely based around being agile and essentially moving as if you had the unsteady feet of someone drunk, making yourself light and able to effectively dodge moves while making your opponent undermine you. while yosuke isn’t That ahead of the game in terms of how he tries to portray himself, his actual fighting style of being very acrobatic and airy fits into drunken master nicely especially considering the hit and run tactic the class utilizes. also, since we all now know yosuke is the fastest character in the p4 arena games, here’s some extra tidbit info: monks get extra movement speed every few levels and if you were to make him a wood elf, he’d have the highest speed of anyone, including a certain warforged monk. have fun with that.

so this may be a bit of a controversial take but chie as way of long death monk because of how much she wants to protect other people. their fighting style focuses on understanding how death functions and essentially ensuring they are able to accurately take down opponents by examining the different aspects and fundamentals of death. they can expand ki points to avoid death with “mastery of death” and can frighten enemies with “hour of reaping” due to their skill set. also, they get the main staple of monks which is a normal hit die for using an unarmed strike, so chie can kick as much as she wants.

i feel like yukiko is an evocation wizard since she is both a magic user and also like does put in some dps, as well as it makes sense her highest stat would be intelligence. school of evocation as a subclass is basically the dps subclass for wizard that focuses on blasting spells of most elemental affiliations but it is very commonly associated with fire since that is the most explosive (and also fireball is a very fun spell). you also get the sculpt spells feature which allows you to redirect your spells mid casting them which no other wizard subclass can do, and potent cantrip, which basically forces the enemy to take half the damage of the cantrip even if it succeeded on the saving throw. also yukiko Would threaten to hit people with her giant magic tome she keeps her spells in, don’t lie to me.

kanji’s a paladin because he’s a tanky boy and i felt that giving him barbarian would be a cop out. oath of ancients paladin i feel is the best fit for him since they’re first and foremost considered one of the oldest subclasses as they date around to druids, their essential full class cousin, who are considered ancient divine magic, and this fits as a reminder that kanji comes from an equally traditional family. their tenets essentially stand for protecting the inherent light and creativity of the world rather than a sense of morality; they uphold art and song and the general beauty of life, meaning kanji’s sewing also takes a very important role as they typically don their armor with decorations relating to this concept as a reminder that they are protecting light and life. most of their attacks center around a nature theme, and they even get a new form at 20th level due to elder champion that is almost akin to an ancient force of nature. also, they get speak with animals as an oath spell, i feel like that’s the best selling point.

alright rise’s a bard. we all knew that one. i feel like she’s a valor bard especially given her ability to fight in p4au, since valor bards aren’t exactly melee like their swords cousins but they still can pack a punch and assist their dps in combat. they can provide inspiration mid fight and also use their music to heal some hit points. flavor wise, they’re known for singing about heroes to inspire other heroes and can be considered very classic bards, and since those are typically the most popular kinds of bards, it does parallel nicely to her idol status.

teddie’s an eladrin first and foremost, potentially one that’s sort of mixed between all of the seasons to match his primary color self as well as encapsulate on the fact he would essentially be an off color fey adjacent figure like his harmless-yet-potential-to-be-harmful shadow origins in source. because of this, i think leaning into that would be good and druid circle of dreams may be the best fit for him; these druids pull their power from the feywilds and specifically the dream like state it has since generally being in the feywilds feels unreal to most people not naturally originating from it. they invoke the power of both the summer and the gloaming courts in order to act as essentially a poster child for the hopefully peaceful relations between the feywilds and the material plain, and as such they get “walker in dreams” which allows them to plain hop much like teddie can do between the shadow world and the normal world. also, like all druids can do, he can shapeshift into animals, and he can keep being his beary best self.

okay so like, i know gunslingers are a thing, but also naoto strikes me as an inquisitive rogue because they’re basically the actual detective class and subclass combo of dnd. the big take away is they have a very keen eye and basically amp up their insight and perception skills to the max, with unerring eye even allowing them to see through illusions or other magic designed to deceive one’s senses. naoto can Also have a gun still while in this class regardless and even get bonus damage on it if they get sneak attack, which is pretty neat.

bonus: adachi is a gunslinger fighter bc he literally made a model gun have a functional barrel cause he wanted a gun that badly. alternatively, he could be a fiend warlock or even the artillerist artificer bc he almost definitely has the int stat for it.

[rickyriddle]

Sociopath/Psychopath characters in anime/manga

Hi there. So after the first and second psychopath lists and the sociopath list, here’s a fourth list for other psychopaths/sociopaths anime/manga characters. For this list I chose 20 characters that I believe have anti-social personality disorder (aka sociopathy and psychopathy), explaining whether its regular sociopathy, high-functioning sociopathy or psychopathy. Keep in mind that I’m doing that for fun, I’m not a specialist, so I may be wrong about certain details. Spoilers, especially for the series Revenge Classroom, Umineko, Higurashi and Danganronpa. TRIGGER WARNING FOR SENSITIVE SUBJECTS

Yuri Meichi (Akuma no Riddle)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

I guess I can’t make a list without at least one AnR character. I first diagnosed this chapter with a superior complex but I come to realize it’s more than that. Yuri is a woman that seemed empty and hiding behind the same smile that looked printed on her face. She showed through the series that she lacks empathy, she has dubious morality, she’s manipulative and seems incapable de bond or love. In fact, the only time we saw her losing her usual smile was when a character proved their love for someone. Yuri is the typical calm mastermind who’s never bothered and doesn’t sympathize with anyone. I don’t know if I would classify her as a high-functioning sociopath or a psychopath, but given that she’s implied to have a rough childhood I feel like she’s not born that way but made.

Igarashi “Ulith” Rumi (Wixoss)

Conduct Disorder and High functioning sociopath

So, Conduct disorder is the precursor of Antisocial personality disorder, the former being diagnosed for child and teenager and the latter adult. Since she saw this character as a child exhibiting antisocial behaviours such as animal cruelty (well, more like bugs cruelty), lack of empathy, and a total disregard for rules. As an adult, Urith hasn’t changed and is quite manipulative and charismatic, and is, in addition, a sadist. She likes to manipulate and torment pure people until they break and commit suicide. If it wasn’t of the ending of the movie that made her break down in cry I would have diagnosed her as a psychopath, so I’ll go with high-functioning sociopath.

Matsuzaka Satou (Happy Sugar Life)

High-functioning sociopath

Satou is quite disconnected from her emotions but hides behind smiles and a kind persona, her mask to pretend to be normal. She has no problem manipulating others, threatened and even kill. She’s quite antisocial but she isn’t a psychopath. Unlike them, she’s capable of bonding and feeling love, even if it’s quite obsessive, her love is still genuine and sincere. She’s not born that, she was made this way because of the twisted environment she grew in with her unstable aunt. All of this caused her to become numb inside. But she’s not impulsive and is quite in control of her pulsion, making her high-functioning.

Donquixote Doflamingo (One Piece)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

Even since he was a kid, Doflamingo was a monster. True, he was raised in a society of noblemen who view common people like trash, but his parents were so good and kind, so it’s more likely that his behaviours are nature, not nurture. His total lack of remorse or empathy seems to classify him as a psychopath, but at the same time he does seem to have genuine sympathy for some of his comrade, so he could also be a high-functioning sociopath who was born with genetic predisposition to become one (since sociopathy can be both caused by environment and genetic predisposition). So I would say he lay between those two disorders.

Esdeath (Akame ga Kill)

High-functioning sociopath

I was going to classify her as a psychopath at first before I remembered her genuine love for Tatsumi and her past. Her past with her father shaped her actual mentality that the strong lives and the weak die. Esdeath has no empathy and doesn’t show remorse for all the horrible acts she has committed, she has no problem killing innocent people or torturing them. But she’s not incapable of love or bonding, she seems to at least care a little bit for her comrade who earned her respect, and deeply love Tatsumi. But in the end, she’s a cruel a ruthless woman who enjoys hurting others and has no remorse whatsoever for all the horrible things she has done.

Kamiyama Itsuki (Goth)

Psychopath

This one is interesting because he is most likely a psychopath, yet doesn’t hurt or kill anyone. In fact, most psychopaths in real life don’t, so he feels more realistic. The manga made it really clear that he’s wearing a mask to appear normal, typical of psychopaths. He doesn’t seem to be able to bond and genuinely love others, his only “love” interest is a girl who he fantasizes about cutting her hands. He actually put this girl in danger just to achieve this goal. But he never takes direct action to cause her harm. He is also quite fearless and doesn’t show empathy, other signs of psychopathy.

Musician Of The Forest Cranberry (Magical Girl Raising Project)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

A character that looks at first really calm, cool-headed and somewhat charming, but the more we know about her the more we noticed that she’s quite fearless and always in need of stimulation. She seems quite rational and in control of herself, without any sympathy for others. She treats life and death situations as a game and is always calm. I only saw the anime but I read about her backstory, being through a horrible situation where all her comrades (she was a child) were brutally murdered in front of her. Hard to tell if that moment traumatizes her and made her the way she is, or if it awakened something she already had inside her. So I can’t make a definitive diagnosis but to be she’s definitely antisocial.

Abigail (Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka)

Sociopath

This girl looks like the lovechild of Nio and Otoya from Akuma no Riddle. She’s all cheerful and looks sweet, but is actually ruthless and commit atrocities remorselessly. She’s cruel and has no empathy and hides her true self behind a cheery mask. But Abigail isn’t high-functioning, she’s pretty impulsive and can get easily angry, she basically has no self-control. But she’s capable of bonding and feeling love for her master. In addition to being a sociopath, she’s also a sadist who enjoys torturing people. 

Enoshima Junko (Danganronpa)

Sociopath

I hesitate to put her on my list because I saw an analysis of Junko with different disorders, but her being a sociopath is also a high possibility. She hides her true self behind a charismatic mask, she’s highly manipulative and doesn’t seem to have a single drop of empathy for anyone. Even people she claimed to love she ultimately hurt them (or even killed them) for her own selfish desire. I wouldn’t say she’s high-functioning though, the main reason why she succeeded was because she was rich, she had a super strong sister and she was really intelligent, but she doesn’t seem to have much self-control and is pretty impulsive. So I would say she’s pretty mid-functioning, enough to carry out her plan.

Takano Miyo (Higurashi no naku koro ni)

High-functioning sociopath

Another one I have been conflicted about for a long time, but I think high-functioning sociopath could qualify her. She had a rough childhood where her parents died tragically in an accident, she was abused horribly by her orphanage and her adoptive grandfather who she deeply loved was humiliated to the point he suffered from mental illness and committed suicide. It’s understandable if Takano broke after all of this and became numb and disconnected from her empathy. She’s a liar and quite manipulative as an adult, committing atrocities and hurting people without a shred of empathy and even enjoying it. She’s quite cruel, hiding being a nice and friendly mask while in reality she enjoys frightening people and toying with them. She’s still capable of love and bonding, but it has it’s limit as she has no problem killing her own allies. I would say she’s mainly high-functioning, but when she loses her certainty to win she can crumble.

Ushiromiya Kyrie (Umineko no naku koro ni)

High-functioning sociopath/Psychopath

From the same series as Higurashi. It took us a long time before realizing what kind of person Kyrie truly is. We discovered that she’s the true murderer of the Rokkenjima Massacre along with her husband. At first we’re lead to think Kyrie is a cool person, I would even say a calm big sister. She seems like one of the best adults on the island. Wrong, totally wrong. Kyrie is actually cold-blooded and lacks empathy, she would kill anyone who gets in her way. She was obsessed with her husband, getting jealous and cursing any women who get close to him, and she was even ready to kill his new wife. Luckily for her, she died, so she got what she wanted without dirtying her hands. Despite all she did for her husband, when he died she didn’t seem sad at all, which lead me to think she was simply obsessed by him but never actually loved him. She even revealed that she never loved her own daughter and her family was nothing more than a facade. We don’t know exactly Kyrie’s past so I can’t say if she’s born or made that way, but given that she seems incapable of love or bonding, I would say she’s most likely a psychopath.

Bernkastel (Umineko no naku koro ni)

High functioning sociopath

Another one from Umineko. For half the series, we’re led to believe that Bernkastel is an ally, she’s on the side of the hero and she reminds people of Rika from Higurashi, who was the heroine. She seems to sympathize with Battler and doesn’t show much bad intention. But then, she began to be more antagonistic, taking control of Beatrice’s game with Lambdadelta and toying with everyone, while heavily mistreating her piece Erika, revealing her true cruel and sadistic nature. She basically treats everyone as her toy and doesn’t hesitate to torture them for her own pleasure without a single drop of empathy. She can hide her true dark intent and pretend to be nice when she wants, but it’s only an act. She’s also quite petty, she lost so she plots to take revenge by literally destroying those who offended her. Bernkastel isn’t born like that, she was made that way after spending hundreds of years of being brutally killed and another thousand years being taught how to be cruel by her old master. At least Bernkastel is capable of love, but let’s say that her love is really twisted.

Kiryuin Ragyo (Kill la Kill)

Psychopath

Mother of the year… That woman has no empathy, no love and only cares about herself. She used her own children as tools for her goal, and didn’t feel remorse at all when she thought one of them died and regularly molested the other one. She tried to kill her own husband when he got in the way. This woman is incapable of having empathy, love or bonding, yet we could say she’s quite charismatic in a way, a lot of superficial charms. Even in the end, she preferred to kill herself with a smile.

Medusa Gorgon (Soul Eater)

Psychopath

Another mother of the year… At the beginning of the story, Medusa pretends to be the kind nurse of Shibusen, while she was actually a ruthless witch who abused her own child and raised them as a tool and an experiment. She treats pretty much everyone around her as tools or experiments and has no problem manipulate and using people. She never showed any empathy or love for anyone, she was a cold and cool-headed person who was in perfect control of her pulsion.

Yamase Yuuya (Revenge Classroom)

Psychopath

Nearly forgot about him. Yuuya is portrayed as a soft and kind boy for almost the entire manga, until the end when it’s revealed he’s actually the mastermind behind all the events, starting with people starting to bully Ayana which leads her to seek revenge and ended up in a bloodbath. Yuuya knew exactly that something like that would happen and still caused it, why? He was bored. He always felt empty in the inside and always had been an excellent manipulator, so he decided to start this just to satiate is boredom. He actually enjoys to see people suffer, he doesn’t seem to have any empathy or love for anyone. He’s quite a good actor and managed to fool everyone, until the end when his masquerade is finally revealed. He does have some bad stuff happening to him in his past, but I don’t feel it’s enough to make him this way, so I would say he’s born that way, thus a psychopath.

Celestia Ludenberg (Danganronpa)

High-functioning sociopath

Another Danganronpa character. Celes is known to be the queen of liars, she’s good at manipulating others and usually keeps her composure, looking rather elegant and superficially charming. She doesn’t seem to appreciate humans, proof is that her most important person is actually her cat. Some sociopaths prefer animals over humans. Everything about her is a lie, her name who is Yasuhiro Taeko, her past, her origins, and most of her personality. As we see in her class trial, Celes can be quite impulsive and aggressive, but most of the time she wears a mask that make her look calm and elegant. She doesn’t seem to have empathy for people, she had no remorse to manipulate Yamada and then murderer him, shamelessly lying to everyone, ready to get them all executed for money. She’s the type who had no problem sacrificing and using others for her own ambition.

Since I have three spots left to make a 20 characters lists I’ll take this opportunity to fix some of my mistakes from my first psychopaths list.

Oh Sangwoo (Killing Stalking)

Psychotic sociopath

On my previous list, I said he was a psychopath, but the manhwa wasn’t over yet and later we see how mentally unstable he was which makes me think he’s more psychotic. But he still shows lots of antisocial symptoms such a superficial charms, lack of empathy and remorse, deceitful, cruel and manipulative. But he’s not born that way, this is the result of his abusive parents, especially his mother who tried to kill and rape him. I would say he’s mid-functioning, enough to kill efficiently, but still really unstable.  

Yagami Light (Death Note)

Sociopathic narcissist

Another one I qualified as a psychopath but after rereading about him I have to change my statement. Light does show a lot of antisocial symptoms such as charisma, liars, lack of empathy and remorse, deceitful and manipulative. But he’s not born that way, we saw when he lost his memory that he was capable of sympathy. And he doesn’t seem to have anything in his past who would have made him that way. My guess would be that he’s a narcissist that gains sociopathic tendencies due to the influence of the Death Note. Maybe he has genetic dispositions for sociopathy and it got awaked by the feeling of power and the ability to kill. I think Light is mainly a narcissist, he feels superior to others, he wants to be God and he’s power-hungry. He feels morally superiors and thinks he has the right to kill whoever he wants.

Baek Yeonhwa (White Angels Have no Wings)

High-functioning sociopath

And another one that was classified as a psychopath on my first list. Don’t get me wrong, with the first manhwa she could definitely have been a psychopath. But the author made a sequel and I have to change my diagnosis. Yeonhwa is definitely antisocial, she’s a cruel and remorseless girl who hides behind an innocent mask, she uses her disability to gain sympathy from others and hide her true self, she enjoys tormenting and hurting others and even went as far as raping her own sister. She showed no remorse for her actions and doesn’t seem to have any empathy. In the sequel, however, she fell in love with a girl and seemed to genuinely care about her. She’s not incapable of bonding and love, but it doesn’t erase all the antisocial traits she has. So I suppose high-functioning sociopath would be a better diagnosis for her.

That will be all for this list, I don’t know if I’ll make a fifth one, but if you have any suggestion feel free to tell me! 

[killscreencinema]

The Last of Us Part II (PlayStation 4)

When this game came out in June, I could care less.  I enjoyed the first game well enough, but here’s the thing with Naughty Dog - once you’ve played one game in a franchise, you kind of know what to expect from that point forward.  I really enjoyed Uncharted:  Drake’s Fortune, but damned if I remember any other game in the series, as they’re all so similar they kind of blend in with each other (although I will admit Uncharted 4 was a little more stand out).  My brother bought the game and offered to let me borrow it while he was out of town for two weeks, so I figured... what the hell.  Why not? 

The Last of Us was a neat Naughty Dog take on the exhausted zombie genre, with compelling characters and decent, if extremely repetitive, gameplay.  With the previous sentence, I could just say I also reviewed The Last of Us Part II, and just wrap things up here, but I won’t do that to ya.

SPOILER WARNING!

TLOU 2 picks up about five years after the events of the first game, with Ellie and Joel both living peacefully in a bucolic town called Jackson.  Their peace is shattered when a mysterious girl named Abby abducts and murders Joel to get revenge for his mass murder fest in the last game’s climax.  Consumed by vengeance, Ellie follows Abby’s trail to the decaying metropolis of Seattle, where feuding factions are about to explode into all out war. 

So two things I want to cover about the story:

1.) Before the game’s release, there was a lot of manufactured outrage over the game being some kind of “SJW” vehicle.  This came about after the reveal in one of the trailers that Ellie is a lesbian (although Ellie’s sexual preference was already revealed in DLC for the first game).  When people start losing their minds over shit like this, and start throwing terms like “SJW” around, I immediately dismiss is hysterical nonsense.  While, yes, there are certainly media out there that shamelessly panders to minorities or the LGBTQ community more as a form of marketing than inclusion, I still support representation, even if its terrible and obvious exploitation. 

That being said... none of that is at play in this game.  Yes, Ellie is a lesbian, but other than an implied sex scene and a little PDA, the game isn’t “shoving it in your face” any more than the cis heterosexual relationship between Abby and Owen later in the game.  Ellie’s sexuality isn’t part of the plot whatsoever, beyond very mild unresolved tension between herself, Dina (her GF), and Dina’s ex-boyfriend Jessie.  Even then, it’s not a big deal.  There’s maybe one scene where Ellie and Dina are hassled by a bigot, and yes it feels a little hamfisted, but it’s hardly enough to condemn the game as an SJW Clap Trap.  So fuck all that noise.

Besides, being a lesbian is minor compared to the fact that...

2.) ...Ellie is a goddamned monster.  Granted, she was raised in a violent world full of *actual* monsters, but the way Ellie cuts a bloody swath through Seattle, murdering men, women, and dogs alike, is deeply unsettling, and made all the more so because the game *forces* the player to do it.  There are even moments in the game when you disarm an enemy and they beg for mercy, but the only option is viciously murder them anyway or, if you grant them mercy, they attack you anyway.  It would have been nice if, for those moments, you could just knock them out or something.  Ellie doesn’t even attempt to open a dialogue with the opposition ever - it’s just kill kill kill.

This becomes all the more onerous once the game switches perspectives and you play as Abby, where you get to see that the people Ellie is butchering aren’t the psychos she’s convinced herself they are.  They are, n fact, not much different from the community in Jackson, albeit more militaristic.  Abby’s motivations for killing Joel are 100-percent justified, not only on a personal level (because he killed her father), but because Joel’s actions fucking doomed mankind.  Although, Abby didn’t have to go about it so cruelly, torturing Joel before finally murdering him while making Ellie watch.  That was shitty.  Nevertheless, once the game goes out of its way to show you the other side of the coin, even going so far as to make you FIGHT Ellie in a penultimate “boss battle” of sorts, it’s extremely difficult to be sympathetic with Ellie’s psychopathic desire for revenge, especially in the final confrontation, when she INSISTS on fighting Abby to the death. 

Before this, Abby and her young surrogate brother Lev are captured by a vicious gang called the Rattlers while looking for a rumored Firefly enclave in Santa Barbara.  A couple months later, Ellie follows Abby’s trail to the Rattlers, and finds out, after freeing the Rattler’s other prisoners/slaves, Abby and Lev have been “sent to the polls” for attempting escape. 

So Abby has been tied to a poll, similar to a crucifixion, for several days and has obvious physical signs of starvation and extreme dehydration.  Lev, who is a child, is in just as bad or worse shape, so Abby’s immediate concern is to escape to safety and tend to their condition.  However, Ellie, who by this point is on the verge of bleeding to death due to a stab wound, is all like, “No, my bloodlust must be sated!  I must get revenge for my murderer father figure!”  This whole time, as I was fighting, I was screaming, “OH COME ON ELLIE!  THIS ISN’T EVEN A FAIR FIGHT, YA VICIOUS BITCH!”  This is all the more galling considering Abby showed mercy for both Ellie and Dina during their last confrontation, after beating Ellie into a bloody pulp, albeit reluctantly and only because Lev talked her down. 

I guess my point is, after that big, long, spoiler filled rant is I left the game never quite certain who to root for.  That might have been Naughty Dog’s intention, although I can’t help but feel they still expected gamers to ultimately side with Ellie.  I’ll give them credit though - the story is compelling enough that it got me yelling at my TV and that’s not nothing.

Gameplay wise, though, it’s exactly the same as the first Last of Us - you walk around dilapidated buildings, collecting supplies to upgrade your weapons and abilities, before occasionally fighting infected zombies or hostile humans.  The stealth elements feel a lot tighter, though, which made these action sequences more interesting for me as I like me some stealth.  The game even flirts with the concept of an open world sandbox, similar to that part in Uncharted 4 when you drive around the plains of Africa to look for bad guy outposts.  I wish The Last of Us Part II had gone all out with the open world gameplay, as it would have worked well considering the bulk of the story takes place in one location.  Also, scavenging would feel less tedious in an open world, as it would feel a little bit more like treasure hunting than scavenging (kinda like how you can scavenge random houses and bunkers in Far Cry 5). 

As it stands, The Last of Us Part II isn’t breaking any new ground, except for maybe impressive advancements in graphics and character model animation.  However, if you loved or even liked the first game, I think it’s fair to say you will enjoy this one as well.  If you hated TLOU, and Naughty Dog games in general, well, this ain’t gonna change your mind.

[lilith-lovett]

Found Families - Home is Where the Hart is - Chapter Sixteen

We have arrived in Act 2 and Logan is now officially Patton’s son but how long will that happiness last, prepare yourself for more angst and heartbreak to come but don’t worry there will be plenty of fluff in there for you also. Thank you for you support and kind comments.

Masterlist

Summary: The time has arrived for Logan to leave 

Word Count: 7972 (prepare yourself for some longer chapters)

Warnings: Past child abuse, bullying, hospital mention, self-deprecation, panic attack, non-verbal, swearing, reference to injuries, bruises, implied depression, disordered eating, death mention. (If there is anything I was missed please let me know).

Logan was waiting at the window. He had hardly slept that night, recalling Patton’s promise to him, for him to return the following day to take him home. Home. He had never had a home before. His parents house was more comparable to a museum then a family home, filled with precious artefacts which he would be severely punished if he touched. Even his room was bare apart from the simple bed and desk though he spent more nights locked in the nightmarish closest, clawing at the walls and gasping for air. That was not a home. The Orphanage was not a home to Logan either, with the shared living space he was segregated within, he had no space of his own, the others had no care for his personal privacy or his possessions, they were violated and destroyed. That was not a home.

What would Patton’s house be like? Logan thought as he gazed wistfully out of the window and onto the street. He imagined it would be large, given the size of his family, but simultaneously cosy with decorative pillows and soft blankets draped across the sizeable couch. Toys and games scattered in organised chaos around the living area, Roman’s artwork framed and mounted on the wall, along side the family portraits - mostly of his children of course - each wall painted a different blindingly bright colour. A wide expense of kitchen, perfect for the preparation of a multitude of incredible dishes, producing an wonderful odour which would flow through the entire house, reaching every room and seeping through the walls becoming apart of the foundation. That was a home.

Logan had packed his minimal belongings the night before, all of his clothes, shoes and personal items fitting into a single rucksack, he placed underneath his bed ready to be collected the minute Patton arrived. But until then he was stuck, looking out of the window, while the other kids laughed and played around him though Logan didn’t take much notice but he was aware of the certain happiness which had entered the Orphanage since Madame Claire was arrested and they were free of her control. The common room didn’t seem so horrible any more.

Just as Logan paid no attention to them, they paid him no mind, which seemed to be a common occurrence since returning from the hospital. Gone were the nasty comments whispered behind his back or spoken within full hearing range, the 10 pm beating leaving him to pick himself up off the floor and treat his ever growing number of injuries. They treated him with a sense of civility, presumably out of thanks for taking the brunt of Madame Claire’s abuse and the one who led to her long awaited arrest. Perhaps Logan had also thought to harshly of his fellow orphans who were also facing cruelty at the hands of their supposed guardians and were mere products of their environment, as was he. They banded together for survival purposes, using a pack like mentality to serve as protection against any potential threats or danger. It was understandable. Had Logan been raised differently he expected he would do the same for the sake of survival in a world which had not treated them kindly. Logan remained separated, though now by personal choice rather then his fellow orphans hatred of him and they all lived in a strange sense of harmony.

Logan pressed his fingers to the glass in order to get a better view. The anticipation was killing him - figuratively of course - and every time he saw a pedestrian cross the street his heart leapt into his throat, only to sink again when a stranger was revealed instead of Patton. This occurred several times until he caught a splash of yellow, a yellow so familiar to him, it was the yellow rain jacket which had been worn on every single one of Patton’s visits and he couldn’t conceal the audible squeak of excitement as he leapt to his feet and near ran out of the common room for the boys dormitory to collect his rucksack with a sense of child like wonder he had thought lost but it didn’t last for long.

“And where do you think you are going in such a hurry, Lobot?” Brandon asked his voice thick with hatred and mockery. He was blocking Logan entry into the dorm, wicked grin widening as he approached. It seemed not all of his former bullies were content leaving him alone.

“Let me through, Brandon,” Logan demanded standing a little straighter in an attempt to make himself seem more imposing but Brandon only laughed.

“No, I don’t think I will, everyone else might have backed off but not me. I am only just getting started with you,” Brandon said taking another step forward as Logan took one back.  

“Your efforts will all be for naught as I am leaving you and this place today,” Logan announced raising his chin only for Brandon to bark out a laugh in response, the harshness of the sound causing Logan to flinch.

“Ha, don’t make me laugh. How pathetic are you to believe that man would want to adopt you?” Brandon spat backing Logan into the wall. “I bet he will just be like all of the others, they will pretend to love you, pretend to care for you and then…they will leave you,”.

“No, Pat…Mr Hart isn’t like that?” Logan exclaimed refusing to believe any more lies.

“No Logan, your dear Patton is exactly like that. He will see soon enough what a horrible mistake he made in choosing you and you will be back,” Brandon growled like an animal pressing one hand against Logan’s chest to keep him from escaping. “You will be all…alone,”.

Logan voice-box spasmed painfully in his throat as he opened his mouth to retort but no sound came out, with those five words Brandon had stolen his voice and he was helpless to defend himself, so instead he hung his head and awaited the first hit which never came.

“You will be back Lobot and when you do I will be here waiting for you,” Brandon said and smiled a final time before releasing Logan who stumbled barely catching himself as Brandon sauntered off, leaving Logan with a dangerous swirl of thoughts in his head.

You will be all alone.

Alone

Alone

Alone

Logan picked himself up and charged into his room, settling on his bed in attempt to settle his hammering heart and rapid breathing. He threw his bag across the room and run his hand through his hair again and again, wishing he could scream but his voice was trapped inside. He sat on the edge of his bed, running his hands up and down his arms as he fought an internal war and attempted to count through the breathing technique Patton had taught him, in attempt to control his quickening breaths. Until he heard a faint knock on the door, he silenced his choked breaths, fearing Brandon had returned to further torture him but when the door opened it revealed a boy…Noah he believed his name was. A small - far to small - quiet boy around eight or nine who Logan hadn’t heard say anything more than a few words. He wasn’t one of Brandon’s cronies but he hadn’t leapt to Logan’s rescue the minute he was cornered but Logan hadn’t expected him too.

Noah stared at Logan’s sorry state with a troubled expression on his face, Logan expected him to laugh, to berate him before running off to tell the others he found the robot crying but Noah did none of those things. Instead he closed the door, softly without making a sound, walked soundlessly over towards Logan’s bed and sat down beside him, risking short glances towards him every so often as Logan wrung his hands and rocked back and forth.

“A-are you okay?” Noah asked his voice barely louder than a whisper as he tapped his fingertips against his thighs. Logan was momentarily stunned, he had never expected one of his fellow orphans, the children who frequently bullied and were a source of years of torment for him, to attempt to comfort him. His head snapped around quickly causing Noah to flinch back at the intensity.

“Are you alright, I heard what Brandon said. He is a…bastard,” Noah repeated a little louder this time before breaking into a fit of soft giggles at the rude term he had used, lessening the weight on Logan’s chest slightly.

Logan nodded his head, as his voice had yet to return, perplexed by the suddenness of Noah’s concern.

“That is…good, I guess…Um, I just wanted to say sorry, we were all jerks to you,” Noah admitted both the confession and apology shocked Logan to the point he had almost entirely forgotten about his altercation with Brandon.

Logan shook his head quickly in response.

“No, you did everyone a favour in…getting rid of…her,” Noah stammered out as if the memory of Madame Claire plagued him still just as it did Logan.

Logan shook his head again, slower this time, momentarily confused by how he assisted in any way.

“Still, thanks. It helped,” Noah said his voice returning to it’s soft whisper as he bowed his head, long hair falling into his eyes.

Logan pointed to his own injuries and bruises before motioning to Noah who nodded before he had even finished his motion, he sighed and lifted up his shirt, which was far to big for his tiny frame, revealing a large and painful looking bruise across his abdomen and ribs.

“She found out I was the one who led Miss Maggie to seeing your bruises, it wasn’t the first time it had happened,” Noah admitted lowering his shirt, then fell silent again. This moment of consolidation between the pair felt significant as if a break through had been made in forming a relationship, perhaps a tentative friendship or at least an understanding of each other. “Uh, Maggie wanted to see you. That is why I came up, I think that guy is here,”.

Logan startled. Patton. He had completely forgotten about Patton. His throat spasmed painfully as he raised a hand to it. He couldn’t meet Patton like this, he was supposed to be going home with him, this was supposed to be a momentous occasion and not to be ruined by his over reaction to the words of a bully. Noah seemed to notice Logan drastic change in demeanour as his expression once again changed to concern.

“It will be alright, if this guy is a good as I have heard, you will be okay,” Noah said laying a tentative hand on Logan’s shoulder. “And don’t worry about your voice, it happens to me all of the time, okay?”.

Logan glanced up at his strange new acquaintance curiously, he didn’t know any of the specifics of Noah’s past, he knew that like his own it certainly wasn’t good. He had been hurt by the people who were supposed to care for him and that lead him here, where that abuse only continued. Just like him.

“Are you ready?” Noah asked standing and extending his hand out toward Logan, who nodded and took it graciously, allowing himself to be assisted before taking a final deep breath, collected his bag and followed Noah down to the foyer where Patton would be waiting for him.

“Logan, you are here,” Maggie exclaimed when she caught sight of Logan, she paused for a moment presumably taking note of Logan’s dishevelled appearance and her expression swiftly converted to one of concern as her gaze flitted between Noah and himself.

“Logan can’t talk right now but other than that he is okay,” Noah said who glanced towards Logan as he explained briefly the situation which Logan was incredible grateful for. Noah’s voice had quietened again but not to the extent where he became impossible to understand.

“Are you sure, Logan?” Maggie asked a hint of worry present in her tone as she presumably studied him, he nodded in response and the tension eased from her shoulders somewhat. “Okay, well, are you already to head off?”.

Logan glanced over to where Patton was stood for the first time since arriving in the foyer, he was dressed as he typically was with a sheepish grin stretched across his lips. Logan imagined he had worried Patton also and an overwhelming feeling of guilt crawled over him as he averted his gaze to his floor, clutching his bag tighter to his chest which didn’t escape the notice of Patton who had been becoming increasing perceptive these days.

“It is alright Logan, you can take all the time you need to say goodbye,” Patton said throwing him a smile when Logan eventually worked up the courage to meet his eye.

Logan turned to Noah first who was in the process of attempting to sneak away, presumably believing he was interrupting, he caught his eye and smiled as it was the only form of communication he could manage. Noah returned the smile, speaking his goodbyes without words but they reached Logan nonetheless. He believed perhaps in a different time and place, without the burden and memory of their pasts a top their shoulders and the fight for survival, the two of them could have been friends, close friends, able to confide in each other and share common interests but fate hadn’t been kind to either of them. Logan hoped Noah would to find his ‘Patton’. Next he turned to Maggie, the woman who had fought and advocated for him even in the moments when he did not earn or deserve her support, she had been his only ally in this lonely place and every day he was eternally grateful for her company.

“I told you so,” Maggie giggled as she wiped away a few tears, referring to the open day where she had told him to not lose hope, the very day he met Patton and that day had led him to where he was now. “I don’t know what I am going to do without you, reading isn’t going to be nearly as fun but don’t you worry about me, you won’t get a rid of me that easily. You may be entering a new and exciting chapter of your life but just as I told you before, circumstances may change and we may be apart but I will never leave you, Logan,”.

Maggie was crying openly now, Logan too was fighting back tears now and then he did something entirely out of character. He threw himself into Maggie’s arms, squeezing tightly just as he felt hers wind around his slight frame, holding on just as tight. Eventually they broke apart and she pressed a final kiss to his forehead as he left to stand by Patton side.

“You are welcome to come over any time you like, you too kiddo,” Patton said Noah jolting in surprise at his mention then smiling and nodding in response.

“Thank you Patton,” Maggie said dabbing at her wet cheeks. “Goodbye Logan,”.

Logan smiled once again and waved as he left with Patton, leaving between the Orphanage he had spent the last two years of his life, where he had been tortured and tormented for simply being. He was leaving that all behind and beginning a new life. Logan Baxter would become Logan Hart…he only hoped he would live up to the name.

Patton could barely contain his excitement as he drove home, Logan sat in the passenger seat just like he had imagined though not present in his fantasies was Logan’s silence. Noah hadn’t explained what caused Logan to become non-verbal and Patton hadn’t pressed the subject any further, hoping in due time his voice would return to him, instead he attempted to fill the weighty silence with his soft humming along to the radio as he snuck glances at Logan every so often. He was staring out of the window, presumably studying his surroundings as he fidgeted unconsciously with the cube in his hand, nervousness present in his rigid posture and frantic hands.

“Hey Logan, I know this is a massive change for you and I want you to feel comfortable and safe, so I don’t want to push you into anything you don’t want to do or talk about and please tell me if I am doing something wrong or making you uncomfortable. Your happiness is my top priority,” Patton said after an elongated silence. He knew breaking down Logan’s walls would be difficult but he was determined and wouldn’t give up so easily. “The kids are all pretty excited to see you again, they want to give you a tour of the house and show you your new room, we can also go shopping for clothes and some things to decorate your room if you like?”.

The conversation continued to flow with Patton firing out different topics and statements while Logan reacted, nodding, shaking his head and even smiling at some points but despite the lengthy car journey Logan’s voice still hadn’t returned which sparked a negative swirl of thoughts. What if he was being to much? Going to fast? What if Logan had changed his mind and he didn’t want to be adopted by him? Patton cut off the dangerous downward spiral of negativity with a few deep breaths, Emile’s advice ringing in his ears and shooting a smile towards Logan who had paused in his observations to eye Patton’s change in demeanour curiously, in an effort to appease him.

“I am so happy you are here Logan ,” Patton said watching as Logan’s pale complexion blushed and Patton outwardly squealed. “Aw kiddo, you are so cute,”.

Logan spluttered and pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and turning away in a mock annoyance as Patton laughed at the display. They would be just fine. As a family, they would support each other through all difficulties which may arise and through times of both light and darkness and come out stronger together. He had faith they would be okay.

 “Well kiddo, we are here,” Patton announced as Logan shrank back, his former apprehension returning. “Come on, you have nothing to worry about, I promise,”.

Logan nodded and collected his belongings, walking cautiously behind Patton as they approached the large house. It was surprisingly big and well-maintained, particularly the front garden; a luscious green lawn, a combination of wild flowers and potted plants skillfully arranged in an explosion of colour and pleasant fragrances, bees buzzing happily from flower to flower. Azaleas, freesias, geraniums, hydrangeas and others of all varieties in full bloom. Logan couldn’t recall the last time he had seen such a breath-taking garden, evident from it’s appearance it was well-loved by it’s carer. Upon entering the house they were met with Roman, Virgil, Declan and a man he did not recognise, waiting in what Logan presumed to be the general living area from the choice in furnishings and the ‘homey’ atmosphere.

“We are back, did you miss us?”Patton said as Declan rushed into his arms and Patton lifting him, balancing the toddler on his hip but the others attention was all turned upon Logan.

“Welcome Logan, Patton has told me all about you. I’m Emile, kind of the honorary uncle,” Emile explained as he extended a hand to Logan which he took out of politeness, Patton had informed him of his rather strange relationship with Emile - who had a rather unnatural hair colour - that he was in fact not related to the family in any way and was actually Patton’s close friend but took the place of the children ‘uncle’ as Patton had no siblings himself. He also explained that Emile was a therapist, a field which Logan found fascinating but struggled himself to comprehend and for an unknown reason he felt somewhat self-conscious in the presence of a therapist who may easily be able to read his expressions and mannerisms. “Do you how do?”.

“Just ignore that,” Virgil said seeming to note Logan confusion in regards to the grammatically incorrect statement. “Long time no see,”. Logan merely nodded in response - as it was all he in the moment could do - which gained him a rather strange look from both Virgil and Roman he could not decipher.

“Well now you are here, let us make haste and begin the grand tour,” Roman proclaimed with a dramatic sweep of the arm. “Come dear brethren, to our first location the living room,”.

“Unfortunately, I will have to miss the tour, I am needed back at work but I was nice meeting you Logan,” Emile said before saying his goodbyes and exiting as the tour commenced.

Beginning in the living room - where they were already stood - Roman began retelling the several stylistic choices with Patton chiming in every so often as Virgil collapsed onto the couch, Declan crawling over to nestle in beside him. The living room was moderately sized, open-planned leading to the dining and kitchen area through an archway, with a staircase leading to the second storey on the left. The walls were a pale blue with a single yellow accent wall which held the majority of the decorations, picture frames and a sizeable shelf holding; various miscellaneous knick-knacks, books and a large framed family portrait. Furniture filled almost all available space, from the enormous couch which sat in the centre of the room, adorned in decorative cushions and the softest looking blankets Logan believed he had ever seen also in a variety of bright colours and interesting patterns, a similarly styled armchair sat adjacent to the couch. Toy and games congregated in a organised clutter in each corner and no space was left unfilled by personal items which only someone as unique as Patton would own. Light flooded into the room through the wide open windows and a pleasant aroma of lavender was emitted from half burned candles laid on the coffee table. 

Moving on, into the kitchen and dining area, the bright theme continued with the walls painted this time a much brighter azure. A sizeable dining table, seating eight, filled the majority of the room with each seat covering colour corresponding to the favourite colour of a family member, a glass vase filled with wild flowers similar to those seen in the garden acted as the centrepiece. To the right, was the gigantic and well-loved kitchen, from the first look it was evidently Patton’s area of the house with a matching soft grey and baby blue appearance. Appliances and baking supplies covered the expanse of counter-space, a variety novelty items such as cooking utensils and cutlery were proudly displayed and a overwhelming amount of cookery and baking themed puns were littered throughout the kitchen and Patton’s consistent giggling only grew louder. To the left, held a bathroom and utility room, both of which Roman purposefully skipped instead excitably rushing upstairs to where the bedrooms were situated.

“My room first!” Roman announced bounding down the hallways passing several other doorways, pausing in front of the one decorated in several brightly coloured stickers referencing things Logan did not recognise.

Roman’s room was much like Roman himself. Dramatic. With crimson walls, accented with white and gold, decorated in a variety of signed posters, artwork and other theatrical adornments, a queen size canopy bed sat against one wall with a similar red and gold coloured bed-spread patterned with tiny crowns fitting with the ‘princely’ theme, a stuffed dragon toy sat proudly at the head. Opposite from the bed was a desk which previously may have been white but years of paint spills and bored doodles had permanently stained it, drawing utensils and half-finished drawings were strewn across the workspace in a haphazard mess which Logan desperately desired to organise. One wall contained a wardrobe overflowing with clothes, costumes and other miscellaneous items Roman presumably felt some sort of attachment to, mindless mess; purposeless knick-knack and aesthetic pieces were scattered across all available surfaces. The room had an overall sense of organised chaos, nothing at all like Logan’s old room with its pristine walls and no personal touch or flair as Roman’s had, personalised to fit Roman’s identity flawlessly.

Secondly, Virgil and Declan’s shared room, slightly smaller than Roman’s room but still moderately sized. Each brother’s section easily identified by the choices in colour and style. Virgil’s segment of the room was considerably darker than Declan’s with deep purple walls plastered with posters unlike Roman’s, handwritten notes pinned up and string lights hanging above his bed as a secondary light source, his bedspread was of a similar colour with a grey stuff donkey and a skeleton doll tucked beneath the sheets and a soft grey weighted blanket sat, folded on the edge of his bed which Logan believed was commonly used to reduce anxiety and stress in order to improve sleep. Virgil’s room also included a desk, though far neater than Roman’s still contained a considerably number of stationary spread across it, at the back portion of the desk sat a collection of journals varying in size and colour, stacked orderly via these characteristics creating a satisfying gradient affect. Adjacent to the desk was a bookcase which Logan took particular interest in, it contain numerous titles and authors he himself was familiar with specifically those focusing around gothic fiction but there was also a considerably number of modern poetry books which took him by surprise. Virgil had fewer belongings than Roman though a far greater number than himself, a guitar had been balanced against his night-stand which held a pair of purple headphones, a locked notebook and a miniature book of poems. The room was less visually distracting as Roman but just as stimulating as Logan studied his surrounding, theorising from Virgil’s withdrawn disposition he spent a great majority of his time spent in his room where he could freely express himself.

Declan’s section of the room was arguably smaller than Virgil which was understandable given the age difference and their difference in needs. The bed was smaller with barriers on each side presumably for protection purposes, the blanket was a intense sunshine yellow and perhaps the softest blanket Logan had ever witnessed in his life, it was also filled with stuffed toys, the largest being a yellow and green striped snake which engulfed much of the bed along with a variety of others. A lime green beanbag chair sat in the back corner of the room which similarly held more soft toys and on the left of the bed stood an appropriately sized cabinet, holding games, books and yet again more toys. This section provided a sharp contrast in colours given the harshness of Virgil’s area but also contributed a cheerful brightness to the otherwise dark room.

Separated from the other bedrooms was Patton’s, it was simple, modest but filled with memories, picture frames adorned every baby blue wall and surface, containing moments of importance immortalised in frozen images. Award and certificates, photo albums stacked high, set proudly on display. His own large bed was covered in a plain grey bedspread and a solitary stuffed dog sat the head. Despite its simplicity Logan felt largely at ease in Patton’s room as it held the same soothing air as Patton did as if Patton’s spirit had been built into the foundation of the house, his personality stretched throughout the many rooms, filling each of them with the same sense of comfort which Logan had grown to need.

“Now lastly, welcome to your room Logan,” Patton announced as he open the final door just across from Virgil and Declan’s, to the right of Roman’s.

The room was large, far larger than Logan had expected and already painted and  furnished with deep navy blue walls and a bed pressed again one wall, dressed in a tartan bedspread of varying shades of blue and sat in the centre was a simple stuff bear. On the opposite wall a dark wood desk which provided plenty of workspace for studying, on each side was a similarly coloured bookcase, stretching high to the ceiling, half filled with books, titles some of which he had read others of which he recognised and remembered seeing in the book-store Patton had taken him to some while ago now though still granted him enough shelf space. The room as contained an empty wardrobe waiting to be filled, a bedside table barren expect for a solitary reading lamp. Logan glanced around the room…his room with amazement and a hint of fear. All of this was his, he could hardly believe it, how much this must of cost to organise for his coming? It was far to much. He wished he had his voice to tell Patton so, he would be content with an undecorated closet, spacious enough for a simple bed and desk for it was all he required but as the thought of the cramped and narrow closet entered his mind his throat tightened further.

“It is pretty bare at the moment but over the weekend we can go shopping, you can choose some decorations and buy you some more clothes,” Patton said with a smile but Logan struggled to return it. Patton would be spending more money on him, he had done far more for Logan than anyone else had, simply being allowed into his home and accepted in his family dynamic was enough. “Well, that is the tour finished and I am starving so how about I make dinner a little earlier tonight?”. The answer was a excited exclamation from Roman, Virgil and Declan.

“Excellent, Logan do you like spaghetti bolognese?” Patton asked and to be honest Logan did not know, the meals at the orphanage rarely changed and while living with his parents he was kept on a strict diet but in order to not displease Patton he nodded.

With that Logan then found himself directed back downstairs and into the dining area, taking a seat beside Virgil who was scrolling through his cellular device, while Patton worked in the kitchen to prepare their meal. Roman who had sat diagonally to Logan, vibrated excitedly in his seat, Declan who sat adjacent to both Roman and Virgil balanced on his knees mimicking Roman’s excitement. Not long later, Patton had completed the preparations and set his plate of food down in front of him. Logan allowed the delicious smell to fill his nostrils as every one else dug in before doing so himself, pasta was always a difficult food for him to eat as it was nearly impossible for him to separate it into matching halves so he kept to his ingrained rule of only eating half of whatever he was provided but he made an effort and when he did he struggled to stop. He couldn’t recall a time when he had ingested something so delicious.

“So Logan, I have a very important question for you. What is your favourite Disney movie?” Roman asked pausing in his consumption to the phrase the serious sounding question. “You do know what Disney is, right?. Presumably gauging Logan’s confusion from his blank expression, another shake of the head gave him his answer.

“You don’t know what Disney is!” Virgil exclaimed appearing to be in a state of shock at his admission which only added to Logan’s level of perplexity.

“God, you are so uncultured,” Roman sighed his gaze returned to his meal until his eyes once again lit up. “Hey padre, can we have a movie night, we can show specs here all of our favourite movies?”.

“I don’t see why not, lets do it,” Patton said with a grin and Roman and Virgil both hurried to finish their meals before leaving the table in order to begin their preparations for the ‘movie night’ as Roman referred to it. “Don’t worry Logan, they just get a little excited. Are you finished?”.

Logan nodded, pushing away his plate with approximately half of the pasta left on his plate, Patton eyed it with a strange look before sighing and removing it with his own, in order to clean them. How stupid. Logan should be washing dishes, not allowing Patton to do it for him. He stood abruptly and made his way over to the sink where Patton was stood, to take over the job of cleaning them.

“Don’t worry about this kiddo, you go and sit and we will get started soon,” Patton said directing him to the living room while he continued cleaning.

Only a short while later, after all preparations had been made; suitable treats and refreshments provided, soft blankets tossed across their laps and films had been selected, one per sibling and a fourth chosen by Patton that he believed Logan would appreciate. They began with Roman’s pick, one of the earlier Disney films, named Sleeping Beauty which told the story of a Princess who was sent away to live in the woods with some supernatural beings and then returned sixteen years later, only to become cursed and fall into a deep sleep so a prince could come and save her. Thought the premise was rather outdated and somewhat offensive the animation style was appealing and the musical numbers enjoyable, it became evident to Logan why it was Roman’s favourite relatively quickly as he jumped up to perform every song as Virgil berated him, throwing pieces of popcorn at him. Virgil choice was The Nightmare before Christmas though it was not near any of those holidays, the plot was rather strange with some rather frightening Halloween creatures attempting to ‘steal’ Christmas by kidnapping the fabled Santa Claus and in the middle Virgil and Roman broke into a debate regarding whether or not the film should be classified as a Halloween or a Christmas film. Though Declan’s choice may have been the strangest of all, The Jungle Book in which animals could talk and a jaguar tasked himself with returning the main character to the ‘man village’ as he was being hunted by a tiger, though Logan believed Declan may have only like the film because of the inclusion of a snake as a character despite the character in question being a villain who did make an attempt on the main characters life. The final film chosen by Patton particularly for Logan, piqued his interest. Big Hero Six, in which Hiro an incredibly intelligent child with an aptitude for robotics loses his older brother in a fire and with the help of his brother’s invention a healthcare robot named Baymax and his friends forms a superhero team in order to discover what happened to his brother, initially seeking revenge but later finds forgiveness and by the end everyone bar him was crying at the ‘death’ of Baymax. Though the bitter-sweet ending was lost to Logan he appreciated the heavy inclusion of science and robotics and by the end he found himself enjoying the film.

Following the movie night, Roman and Virgil retired to their rooms and Logan collected a book from his rucksack before returning to the living room and sat beside Patton who held a drowsy Declan in his lap, gently running his fingers through his curls as Logan observed him.

“Are you okay Logan?” Patton asked a hated question of his as he rarely understood his own feelings. “You have been quiet all day,”. Logan pressed two fingers against his throat, communicating that his voice still hadn’t returned despite all his efforts but he still could scarcely make a sound.

“It is okay, this is a massive change and you are adapting to a new environment which will take time but please I want you to tell me if…” Patton was cut off.

“Dad!” Virgil called from upstairs. “Roman is being an idiot,”.

“Am not, you are the stupid one!” Roman shot back. The noise seemed to startled Declan to let out an ear-piercing cry as Logan slapped his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the incessant crying. Patton leapt up, immediately cradled Declan to his chest, rocking him back and forth and murmuring soothing words of comfort in an effort to calm him but to no avail. The cries only increased in volume as did the anger-fuelled bickering upstairs, the painful noise scraping against the inside of his head.

Patton seemed to note Logan’s growing distress at the influx of noise and he called upstairs as he continued to try and quiet Declan but his efforts were unsuccessful in solving the disagreement between Roman and Virgil and their argument only grew louder as they spat degrading nicknames at each other. This pattern continued for another few minutes until Logan recognised the signs of growing panic in Patton manner and expression as he found himself unable to settle the distress of Declan or the conflict between Roman and Virgil, the sight unsettled Logan it seemed unnatural for Patton’s typically happy disposition to be maimed by anxiety. So Logan did something entirely unlike him, he stood up, removed his hand from his ears despite his own spike in anxiety at the increased noise level and held out in arms.

“Oh, thank you so much, kiddo,” Patton said grateful, once he realised what Logan meant by the action and gently lowered the still screaming and squirming child into his arms before hurrying upstairs. Logan sat down with a wriggling Declan in his lap. Now what does he do now?

 “Now, I want you both to apologise to each other,” Patton said somewhat sternly to Roman and Virgil who shared the same shame filled look. Their argument had been resolved quickly through both of them sharing their sides and opinions while the other listened and by the end both understood the other feelings.

“Sorry,” Virgil grumbled sinking further into his hoodie.

“I must also apologise for my words,” Roman and extended a hand out towards Virgil. “Truce,”.

“Truce,” Virgil repeated taking his hand, a small smile creeping onto his face.

“Yay, now I need to go and save Logan from D…” Patton paused he didn’t hear screaming and crying any more, which was unusual. If Dee was having one of his meltdowns it typically took up to half an hour to calm him down. What if something had happened?

“Logan!” Patton called out as he hurried downstairs, followed by Roman and Virgil but his worries were dispelled instantly as he heard Logan’s soft voice reading to Declan as he sat nicely in his lap, babbling along to Logan’s words.

Patton’s heart swelled with pride as he, Roman and Virgil moved silently to sit and listen to Logan’s telling of A Study in Scarlet, the very book he had explained to Patton the day they met. Logan’s voice was low and calm a little shaky in some areas from lack of use but it worked in settling Dee from his outburst in a matter of minutes. He was incredible, quiet and conscientious, so mature for his age though Patton knew that was the result of years of abuse and it would take time for Logan to fully open up to him but he was determined and willing. After all Logan was a member of his famILY now.              

Once Declan began to drift in and out consciousness in Logan’s lap he stopped, closed his book and then only noticed Patton, Roman and Virgil’s presence, intently listening to him as he read aloud. It felt natural as reading and immersing himself into a new world through the words written on a page was a way in which often calmed himself after his own moments of infrequent upset, to begin reading to the wailing child and it worked, he quieten almost immediately and at one point attempted to read along though most came out as indecipherable nonsense. He felt his face heat up at the attention he was receiving and unconsciously curled in on himself in the hope they would move their focus elsewhere.

“I think it is someone’s bedtime,” Patton said taking the limp toddler from Logan’s lap. “Say goodnight, DeeDee,”.

“Night-night, Lo-Lo,” Declan mumbled waving his gloved hand in Logan’s direction.

“Goodnight,” Logan said unsure of what else to say. Once Declan had been put to sleep, Roman and Virgil departed shortly after, retiring to their own bedrooms, leaving only himself and Patton left in the swiftly darkening living room, illuminated by lamp light.

“Thank you Logan, for helping with Dee,” Patton said with a warm smile.

“It was a simple task, I have done nothing to deserve your thanks,” Logan admitted glancing down at the book in his lap, only realising now it was the very book he had been reading and explained to Patton the first time they met which felt so long ago now.

“No Logan, you did something for me, no matter how small a thing it may have been, you still did it though it made you uncomfortable. So, thank you,” Patton explained decreasing the proximity between them. “How are you feeling?”.

“I am a little…overwhelmed though I suppose it is to be expected going through such a significant change but…” Logan paused unsure of whether or not to continue but with a encouraging prompt from Pattopn he did. “You are not the first potential guardian to…show interest in me. It was at my previous orphanage, I had been there for a year at this point and a young couple began to visit me. They were both pleasant and kind-hearted people, they came to see me weekly and as the orphanage policy, organised a week long transitionary period where I would live with them in order to see if I was the correct fit for their household. It was my fault they changed, I became difficult, a burden on them, I was not the same child they had met at the orphanage and I was treated as such. When the week was finished and I returned to the orphanage they promised they would come back to see me the next week but I never saw them again, I do not blame them for their actions, they were deserved but that experience I believe has somewhat affected my own behaviour and I merely wish to apologise for it in advance,”.

Patton was silent and for a moment Logan believed he may be regretting his decision to adopt him and bring him into his family with his new insight into Logan’ past and behaviours and was planning to return him to the orphanage the following morning. Thankfully, he hadn’t yet unpacked his belongings in preparation for this moment. But instead of the anger he expected to follow at this admission, tears appeared in Patton’s eyes.

“Logan, kiddo, no,” Patton whimpered a sound which made Logan’s heart seize up. “You aren’t my possession or something to be returned at my choosing, you are my son and it my job as your dad to love and protect you no matter the circumstances or how difficult it may be. Those people…they should have done the same, attempted to understand your behaviour instead of punishing you for it. I promise you, I will love you and care for you like a dad is supposed to, that is my promise to you,”.

“Okay,” Logan whispered unsure of what else to say, there was a swirl of emotions within his head and chest, none of which he understood. His eyes stung with unshed tears and he scrubbed at them in the hope they would vanish but to no avail, one rolled down his cheek.

“Can I hug you kiddo?” Patton asked arms already outstretched when Logan nodded, needing the warmth and comfort of Patton’s arms as they enveloped him in a sense of security and he never wanted to leave them.

They sat curled up together, Logan burrowed within Patton’s arms until he felt himself growing weary, a yawn breaking from his lips as Patton suggested with a tired giggle he go to bed. Now in the bedroom. No, his bedroom. He undressed, replacing his day clothes with his pyjamas and prepared to go to sleep but the bear tucked beneath the covers caught his attention. Logan took it from it’s position against the pillows, tracing his fingertips across the soft grey fur. How strange that Patton’s same comforting nature was imbued into this lifeless toy. He had never owned a toy before, his biological parents thought them frivolous and a distraction from his studies and the Orphanage’s were to be shared amongst all of the children but he never saw the appeal of them until now. Logan hugged the simple bear tight against his chest, using it’s paw the wipe the wetness from his cheeks and he fell quickly to sleep, underneath his new sheets, in his new bed, in his new room, in his new home and new family.

Logan slept peacefully for the first night in years.

Notes: Noah is a new and completely unintentional OC which I have fallen in love with, so if anyone would like some headcanons for him please let me know.

Also, the Hart house is somewhat modeled after my own house.

And lastly, I am in need of information of how American middle schools work as I am from Scotland and I have no idea. Thanks.

Tag list: @poems-art-darkness-n-more @i-do-not-dislike-fudge @alex-cain @tacochippy @mason-does-a-thing @darkrainbow333 @amber1594 @falseh0od @lovingcreatorstrawberry @callboxkat @anxiousangel121 @comicsimpson @harrypotternerdprincess @cobythinks @whatschooldoesntteachyou @fandomkitty8 @coloursintheblur @read-write-inspire-repeat @clinicalawesomeness @deceit-sanders-deserved-better @scared-ghosthunter

If you would like to be added to the tag list, have a question about the series and it’s characters or you simply want to say hi, please do not hesitate to send me an ask or a message.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

There is something people can’t talk about regarding the Dalish

So let me talk about something, and I don't know how to preface it so let me just come right out and say it.

I feel like there's this unspoken rule that the Dalish can't be criticized, and there also seems to be this unwillingness to ascribe negative traits to their culture that we would otherwise assume of other cultures, fictional or real.

I say this because I *feel* it. I feel as though I can't write anything critical of Dalish without people assuming that I'm somehow an imperialist or something, that I'm badmouthing an indigenous group because *that's just what's been done*.

Let me try to explain.

So we have the Dalish, a group of people whose plights and history can be equated to that of the Jews (rumors of blood libel and child sacrifice, forced conversion, their brethren being sequestered in ghettos in the cities, frequent victims of attempted annihilation, scapegoats for mishaps that happen in human villages and such); indigenous peoples (living in non-urban societies that worship polytheistic deities, the original backstory prior to the revelation in Trespasser aligns with slow erosion of their culture through human settlements and disease, victims of attempted annihilation, considered barbaric for their rustic lifestyles); and Romani/Sinti (nomadic, located on the outskirts of established societies, also victims of scapegoating). 

Okay, we got that out of the way. We have that established.

But can we also be completely honest with ourselves and say that the Dalish are NOT a monolithic group of people but also have cultural variations? The only things that tie them together is the fact that they are elves that worship Elvhen gods, they wear vallaslin, and they are nomadic. That's basically it. That's all we really know about them from that. Beyond that, the canon, the creative minds behind Dragon Age, and the offical outside sources like art books, novels, and comics clearly establish that there are differences in dialect, relationship with humans, their views of magic, and even their views of sexuality.

That last one is what I want to talk about most.

This is a game series that has been a refuge for non-straight people. The universe is accepting of LGBTQA people in a way that few other game franchises, if at all, have. I get that. I understand wanting to preserve this great source of representation and acceptance that runs through the game's universe. There is also the turning of stereotypical fantastical racism on its head. The parallel between the treatment of the Dalish and indigenous peoples is great politics. I love learning about it. I love talking about it in the context of the story and as a reflection of real-world history, but...

What I'm trying to get this conversation to point to, really, is the fact that I see that people are unwilling to entertain the idea that some Dalish clans may not in fact, gasp, be necessarily LGBTQA-friendly, but more specifically, Lesbian-Gay-Asexual*-friendly.

It seems to be a kneejerk reaction to assume that a marginalized group will accept another marginalized group, and there's somewhat of a real-life precedent for it, given that gender roles were less strict in certain native tribes than in Europe, what with two-spirits and similar concepts. Now that is very valid, and there may indeed be Dalish tribes that believe in that sort of thing...

When the controversial user FenxShiral was still on here, he answered questions about language and Dalish culture. These were all his headcanons, and some of the ones where he offered his opinion on how the Dalish viewed certain sexualities drew the ire of some members of the Dragon Age community.

If I remember correctly, he said that not all clans accept homosexuality, and asexuality is also considered odd. People thought he was being homophobic and acephobic.

But here's the deal, and let me try to expand upon this without sounding too ADD.

-- If we go all the way back to the Old Testament of the Bible, there is a lot of talk of who can't sleep with whom and how you can sleep with this person and why you can't masturbate and all that. Now think of the context: These are tribes emerging to carve out a stable civilization. Death is commonplace. Famine, drought, war, and disease is commonplace. Infant mortality is high, on average. Grown adults die off easily. For the sake of the tribe or clan surviving, babies need to be made and be made regularly. Let's ignore the institution of marriage for a moment because that's about property and assuring a family line is kept intact...there is no room for gay people who are unwilling to make babies in this society. There is no room for asexuals* who do not want to have sex or have children. There is no room for people who do not want to do what's "best for the community" and give up their personal happiness for the sake of the tribe or clan. That is the fact of the matter.

A lot of LGBT activism and thought intersects with individuality and personal autonomy. "I am LGBTQA. What I do sexually is my business. I owe nothing to no one else." This is a very MODERN way of thinking, this idea that you should make yourself happy and that people should leave alone what does not affect them.  Tribes and small-knit communities are not very individualistic by nature because they require full participation and equal amounts of sacrifice from everyone in order to keep the wheel turning, to keep the clan alive. These are societies that do not have an excessive amount of people that could do with 10% of women not getting pregnant or a few men choosing not to impregnate people. They can’t survive a major upset that could suddenly wipe out half their tribe and have one in five be unwilling to help resupply people.

As for the argument of "Well, what if they are gay and are willing to get someone pregnant/become pregnant, but still want a same-sex lover?" I would say that religion could likely come into play. Either the society will say "okay, I'll allow that cuz kids are getting made and that’s what I’m asking for" OR they'll say "doesn't matter, sex is for procreation only". 

But going back to the Dalish and homosexuality. We have no proof that all Dalish are LGBT friendly. In fact, I would argue that it is the direct result of the small number of them that AT LEAST SOME CLANS would be less inclined to allow clan members to remain exclusively in same-sex relationships because it would mean fewer Dalish children are being made. That's going to be two women not carrying children and two men not impregnating. The Dalish are always struggling to keep their numbers up. On the one hand, the cities are dens of disease and violence, on the other hand, the Dalish have to contend with the elements, wild animals, and the wrath of local lords and peasants who want to run them off their camping grounds. Then there are those who wish to leave for the cities, or who fall in love with city folk. It is implied that certain tribes consider clanmates who match up with humans or non-Dalish to be "half-breeds" of a sort, "traitors" to their People, and it varies as to whether children of this union will be accepted by their Dalish family (as far as I know, this contrasts with the typical custom of North American native tribes who would readily accept mixed race children into their tribes).

The Dalish love children because children are great, yes, but also because they are a living future legacy. Someone who refuses to impregnate/get pregnant is not acting with the future survival of the clan in mind. Same thing with someone who is gay and does not want to carry a child or help conceive one. Now there may perhaps be a window open for the gay uncle or aunt to help rear children, but the Dalish obviously have developed a culture that values lots of kids because it is an unmistakable sign that their customs and traditions will carry on into the future.

So I guess what I'm trying to get at here is that not just the fact that the Dalish may be less tolerant of gays than you want to believe, but that being against homosexuality may not have anything to do with reasons like "gay sex is eww" or one's faith but that it could come from a utilitarian or pragmatic standpoint, cultural or existential or what-have-you. It's the same reason why the Tevinter Imperium is "anti-gay". It has nothing to do with the fact that homosexuality is bad, necessarily, because like in Greece and Rome there were context-heavy situations where it was allowed and tolerated, but because being exclusively homosexual and refusing to even pretend to "marry the girl" and have a kid jeopardizes this particular society's eugenic-based infrastructure: The upper class NEED to breed with each other to have perfect mages that will breed with other perfect mages to have more perfect mage children. This maintains the status quo and the hierarchy. As an Altus you can have a boytoy elf slave, you can probably even canoodle with a man of a lower class because you have that social superiority, but you cannot canoodle with another Altus because it's distracting both of you from your duty of siring children.

Now I’ll bet I’ll get people coming out of the woodwork accusing me of trying to justify homophobia or acephobia, but I’m not. I’m Bi and I guess a bit Asexual. I’m trying to explain why it is not homophobic or acephobic to entertain the idea that some Dalish clans may be more leery of gay or asexual* clan members. Again, the Dalish are not a monolithic group. They are a bunch of different elf family groups that have rejected the Chantry and human civilization. Beyond that and a few cultural staples, they operate fairly independent of each other and developed their own way of maintaining their autonomy and existence.

It is like how anti-capitalists are also not a monolithic group. The only thing they share among them is their rejection of capitalism and perhaps even share reasons why they hate it. Beyond that, the proposed alternatives vary widely from socialism to anarchy. 

*  Specifically, those who are sex-repulsed/disinterested

[kikiofthevast]

Fanfic I have downloaded on my phone

I do recommend all of these and read them fairly consistently.

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Sanders Sides

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A Lovely Night - Peter164

Summary:

Virgil has a boyfriend, a dramatic, over the top, self absorbed boyfriend. But his dad doesn't know. He asks for some help from a trusted adult. This trusted adult just happens to be his teacher. But it seems that there always has to be a secret boyfriend in the family when his dad starts dating.

Genre: Fluff and Smut

Ships: Prinxiety + Logicality

My Thoughts: Fantastic, and you can skip the smut chapters without missing anything. It's a good, pretty healthy, supportive romance on both ends and I love reading it, it's so nice.

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Powerless - patentpending (on Ao3) (Tumblr: @/impatentpending)

Summary:

“People like us,” Logan had once remarked to Virgil. “Are statistical anomalies.”

(Almost) Everyone in the world has powers. As for those who don’t, well, they’re such a small part of the population - only 0.04% - why would anyone care about them?

Ever since he realized what people mean when they call him Powerless, Virgil Sanders has tried to fight back against the system that oppresses people like him, Patton, and Logan. When Patton’s bakery is targeted in a hate crime, he finally snaps. With the help of a mysterious sponsor, Virgil becomes a villain, ready to remake a broken society. The only thing standing in his way is the world’s most Powerful (and infuriatingly charming) superhero: The Prince, who is hiding the fact that his gilded life isn’t as perfect as it may seem.

Genre: Angst

Ships: Prinxiety + Logicality (with background OC+OC)

My thoughts: Without a doubt one of the best fanfics I've ever read. The author likes to keep readers on their toes and surprise you around ever corner. Every part of the plot is well-executed and enjoyable, and you can feel the emotion of the characters.

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Horizons - triggermoreliketiger (I know they have a Tumblr but I don't know what it is)

Summary:

The life of Roman del Rey was planned to the bits. Born in a wealthy family he was supposed to take over his father’s business. His last moments of freedom? The journey abroad. He couldn’t have predicted that when he would come back, everything he knew was about to change.

On the opposide side of social ladder, the genius inventor- Logan Sanders was struggling to make it through another day. His only chance? Get himself a sponsor rich enough to fund another year of Logan’s work. He couldn’t know that his last chance would blew up right into his face.

Genre: Angst

Ships: Prinxiety + Logicality

My thoughts: Holy crap I love this fic so much you wouldn't even believe. I adore the way everyone is characterized and Virgil and Patton are probably my favorites on that front. Just go read it, you won't regret it.

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Patton's Break - Shay_Nioum (Tumblr: @/sidespromptblog)

Summary:

When Patton snaps one day, it directly affects Logan. A misunderstanding on Patton's part, and a broken heart on Logan's.

Genre: Angst

Ships: Platonic Logicality

My thoughts: I read this whenever I need to cry. It's such quality angst and I love it a lot. Logan is trying so hard, poor boi.

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Ace Attorney

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The Phantom's Curse - gen

Summary:

Everyone knows the story of the Phantom; usually mothers whisper it to their babies to get them to behave, or it's told around the campfires of travelers. What they don't know, however, is that it is very real, and the Phantom could be watching at any time, from any set of eyes.

Genre: Angst and Adventure

Ships: Wrightworth/Narumitsu

My thoughts: I'm a sucker for pirates. I love the way this fic was written and executed you you should go read it. Also: don't be me and waste time being suspicious of Kristoph because he ain't evil in this. Still a bit of an ass, though. All the references to the cases were nice and the whole plotline was just so fun and enjoyable.

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A Beautiful Thing - wrightgotwronged

Summary:

"The Girl was offering me a way out...and I was desperate enough to believe her,"

Private Inspector Phoenix Wright is given the case of a lifetime when the mysterious Dahlia Hawthorne walks into his office. With a missing girl and murder on his plate, Phoenix is caught in a whirlwind of confusion and deceit. His past coming back to haunt him in the form of the District Attorney doesn't seem to help either.

Genre: Angst and Mystery

Ships: Eventual Wrightworth (Brief Phoenix/Dahlia)

My thoughts: I adore this fic. It's got a good, substantial mystery, and though most people can predict some of the turns it takes, it's a fun ride and 10/10 would read again.

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Turnabout: Bloodline - MalikRuttingAssassinAss

Summary:

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth collapses at work in the midst of a heated trial. What comes from his hospitalisation throws both his and Phoenix's worlds into mass confusion, exposing forgotten family secrets, a murder, and uncharted feelings.

Genre: Angst and Smut (with a side of Fluff and Comedy)

Ships: Wrightworth/Narumitsu

My thoughts: This is a fantastic storyline, Phoenix is also kind of an idiot for the first bit but it's still really entertaining and nice.

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The Turnabout of Hazakura - MalikRuttingAssassinAss

Sequel to Turnabout: Bloodline

Summary:

Losing patience with the so-called "gift" of his lineage, Miles Edgeworth, along with Phoenix Wright, seeks the tutelage of the Nuns of Hazakura temple. Whilst hoping to control his "gift" with a punishing endurance regime, a horrific murder is discovered within the Temple grounds, and the evidence points towards one person.

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, and Smut

Ships: Previously established, also developing Phoenix/Miles/Simon

My thoughts: This fic is incredible and I agree with Miles on the reveal of a certain plot point, honestly. But the mystery is well-executed and I just love the inclusion of Shi Long Lang (even though I haven't played either of the Investigations games).

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sleep no more - prinsipe

Summary:

Blood is thicker than water.

Or: Klavier deals with the aftermath.

Klavier’s first memory of blood went a little like this: the turkey at the family dinner, the worn handle of the knife, and Kristoph’s brown hands.

In retrospect, it was those details that stuck out at him above all else—the family dinner, because it was the first and last of its kind, the worn handle of the knife because it made him think of how it looked like it was made for the grooves of Kristoph’s hands, and Kristoph’s hands because they moved in a way that made him think he was born for the kitchen, not the courtroom.

(Of course, as a child, it had slipped his mind that knives weren’t just used for cooking.)

Genre: Angst and minor Hurt/Comfort

Ships: Pretty Background Klapollo, implied past Daryan/Klavier

My thoughts: A very long but a very good fic. I love the way everyone is characterized, and honestly this is one of those stories that you get more out of it if you read it aloud. Klavier is just alone, and I love the way Apollo slowly helps him get back up.

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Damage Control - pantswarrior

Summary:

After an emotional reaction from Phoenix following Edgeworth's return, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death in truth. Fortunately for Phoenix, he doesn't quite succeed - and both of them have to learn a few lessons about communication.

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Ships: Wirghtworth/Narumitsu

My thoughts: This is such a good story, but things have to get worse before they get better so read the tags and proceed with caution.

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Lost in a Lie - court-ships (virtualbrownie)

Summary:

Miles Edgeworth learned to kill when he was a newborn, and he learns to love it at the age of six.

Genre: Angst and a bit of Horror

Ships: None

My thoughts: This is really dark, but I really like it and you should definitely proceed with caution. Warnings for character death, murder, animal death, and blood.

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Intermetamorphosis - Jessepinwheel

Summary:

Or: Five Times Miles Edgeworth Didn't Know What Was Wrong With Phoenix and One Time He Wished He Didn't.

Or: God dammit Phoenix, stop shoving evidence in criminals' faces, or at least invest in a recorder.

Or: The story where Phoenix dies, but that doesn't stop him from being an ace attorney.

Genre: Comedy and Angst

Ships: None

My thoughts: This story is ridiculous but it's the good kind of ridiculous. There's just something so bizzarely funny about this happening that you just laugh at Miles's ignorance. Okay, that sounds mean, but really Miles?

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Turnabout Santa Claus - lostangelssong

Summary:

A Christmas trial that could have been.

Genre: Comedy

Ships: None

My thoughts: It's literally just Miracle on 34th Street. That's all it is. But it's so gosh darn funny and ridiculous that I had to recommend it.

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The Rise and Fall of the Stalk Trucy Wright Club - SlashPrincess15 (slashprincess15)

Summary:

Trucy Wright is a weird girl who makes all sorts of claims that cannot possible be true, at least that's what her school's student population believe. It all changes however when she starts getting picked up from school again.

Genre: Comedy and Angst

Ships: None

My thoughts: Such a nice fic, honestly. It's pretty funny, and the interactions Trucy has with the people that come to pick her up are fantastic.

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The Realm - Farris

Summary:

It started off normal and innocent enough: a welcome home party for Iris.

But when a demon comes slashing through, bringing a world of ghosts and crazy with it, Maya Fey has no choice but to stand as Master to save her friends and restore balance to the Afterlife. Unfortunately, she's not Master yet. Nor is she sure she wants to be, given all that's happened to her and her family. Oh, and things only get worse when she discovers she must face a series of Trials to prove herself and her worthiness of said Master title.

Still very bitter about Kurain's role in DL-6, Miles Edgeworth finds himself having to come to terms with spiritual powers as he tags along to the realm between this world and the next. And then there are the monsters. And the gods, his father, and the Trials. Not to mention something is very much wrong with Wright... like the fact that he's not dead.

Genre: Action, Adventure, and Angst

Ships: None

My thoughts: Definitely in my top 10 favorite fics, if "A Beautiful Thing" is a 10/10, then this thing is off the scale. Also Gregory being a Good Dad™ deserves it's own book.