#but the fact that canon is acknowledging her grief and trauma to this degree is good regardless I think | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

neonnoir-ao3 · 3 years

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Some Words of Comfort.

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of people (especially those who have read spoilers/are actively searching for leaked content) lament about their future reactions to the deaths of our beloved characters in-game.

We all knew this was inevitable, and that them living was not an option for the plot of the game, but the time has finally come to face it head-on.

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I understand that someone outside this community might be like “it’s just a game”, but I know it’s way more than that to many: the concept of a female villain that, to many, can be seen as sympathizable and even endearing, is a bit of a new concept— especially on such a large scale as this instance.

In addition, Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters have become a bit of a comfort item for some (with an emphasis on sapphics/wlw, from what I’ve seen personally) in the form of a large, protective, and caring hypothetical partner, or even just a maternal character one can appreciate simply because of her love for her children. Regardless, most of us are here due to some desire for comfort.

Take my own story with this community, for example:

(tws for death, covid, suicide, and general medical emergencies)

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Frankly, 2020 and the beginning of 2021 have ruined me. I lost two men who were the only two positive father figures I’ve ever had. The last of the two tested positive for covid and deteriorated within days, to the point where less than a week after testing positive, my family was making the choice to pull the plug. This all occurred days before Christmas and my birthday. On the first day of the spring semester, having not had the time to properly mourn my grandfather, my mother is in the ER for multiple days with an internal infection that doctors said likely would have turned septic if she had waited to come in any longer. This led to three surgeries throughout the next few months. (Oh, and one of my relatives quite literally dropped dead on that first day of class, too). I am also estranged from one of my parents, and they have been trying to contact my family: they have multiple untreated mental illnesses (severe NPD, bipolar, and more) and they are extremely aggressive in that state of mind and they are agitated extremely easily. That only brings more stress, along with resurfacing trauma and related emotions. Every moment of every day has been a struggle. So much so that I failed half of my classes voluntarily simply because I couldn't do them anymore.

To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t expect to be here right now. I expected that the pain of simply moving forward would have finally overridden my fears of death and that I would have already ended my suffering by now.

Then, in late January, I saw something trending on Twitter. About a new female villain in an upcoming horror game. And it went from there.

As cheesy as it sounds, this fandom and its content seriously saved my life. In the darkest of days, I’ve come to this tag for comfort. The oddest way I found said comfort was through those who were attracted to Alcina aesthetically. I have extremely long-term trauma related to being bullied and being the victim of a hybrid catfishing/'Oreo Game' on early social media by peers in middle school to the point where I do not think of myself as being able to be loved, let alone being worthy of it. Finding this community not only provided a great form of escapism (and opened a door into a fantasy world where I could imagine my own person vampire milf gf), but also gained a little bit of self-esteem (as many of you know, I share a lot of visual qualities with Alcina. -yes, I'm still kinda freaked out about it-) via seeing people where features/attributes like mine were actively praised and desired rather than insulted and pushed away like they have been until now.

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(okay sorry that kinda turned into a trauma dump but I needed to emphasize the fact that this community has seriously helped me during a really dark point in my life, and I know I can't be the only one with that sort of experience)

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What I’m trying to get across here is that, like many others, this community and its content have been comforting and therapeutic, and it really is more than just a game to us. It’s entertaining and even a form of escapism in these extremely trying times. We all have some degree of PTSD from surviving a literal mass plague— and this is something we're using as a method of coping. a distraction. a coping mechanism.

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With that being said, here are some ways to hopefully assist in lessening the emotional stress:

(please note that I am not a mental health professional and these may not be healthy coping mechanisms for everyone.)

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Understand that it’s just a game.

I know, this sounds completely counterintuitive, but it’s more or less about keeping your level of immersion down. Personally, I can’t do scary shit in general: I have to listen to music on low volume while watching dark ARG vids at night or when I’m alone because I get too into it, and then my paranoia kicks in. Sometimes just pausing for a moment and grounding yourself/reminding yourself that this is a video game: a jumble of code and 3D rendering that doesn’t have to affect your views/headcanons if you don’t want it to. Did your favorite character just get slaughtered? Nope, that 3D rendering of them just got un-alived, that’s all.

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Ignorance is Bliss/We are the Captain Now

Simple: Capcom can’t even pronounce Dimitrescu right, or even acknowledge the way it’s correctly said in Romanian culture itself. How can you trust them to give you a perfect canon? That’s the thing: with that logic, you can’t. What they say is true means little (if anything, for that matter) to your headcanons and preexisting ideas of the Dimitrescus. In short: fuck ‘em.

I’m currently seeking a double major in pop culture, and one of the cool things I’ve learned so far is affirmational vs transformational fandom. Affirmational is where official canon is seen as the law of the land, and followed to a T. Transformational is seen as much more inviting for audiences, allowing them to bend canon as they wish to fit their own creations. This fandom is obviously transformational, so take that game canon, rip it up, and get back to whatever you were doing.

Capcom’s canon is not the end-all, be-all. Far from it, actually.

Want to still acknowledge canon? Godmod your way out of it.

Character A died? It’d be a shame if they emerged from the rubble they 'died in' a few hours later, very beaten but alive nonetheless... how awful would it be if they sulked away, nursed their wounds, and continued to live... (/s)

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Ignore it completely.

Remember: give it time. Once the game drops, there w be a wave of grief, but eventually, we as a community will recover, and get back to business as usual. Think about it like the in any way. Stay with the version in your head that makes you happy.

Get Creative!

If you're into creating fanart, writing fics, or even just posting a list of headcanons, take some advice from the late Carrie Fisher: "Take your broken heart, and make it into art". Make the fluff oneshot of your dreams! Draw the fanart you've been wanting to! dump lighthearted headcanons into the tags! Not only will it cheer you up, but sharing it with the community will spread the love!

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I know a lot of people are struggling with this emotionally (especially with the pandemic making entertainment like this even more important sources of escapism and coping mechanisms) and I hope that, at the very least, I was able to help comfort one person who reads this.

Remember: give it time. Once the game drops, there will be a wave of grief, but eventually, we as a community will recover, and get back to business as usual. Think about it like the flowers that bloom after major wildfires: after a period of loss, some beautiful can still come of it.

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💙

#tall vampire lady #lady alcina #lady dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #castle dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #dimitrescu daughters #dimitrescu family #dimitrescu sisters #cassandra dimitrescu #countess dimitrescu #house dimitrescu #resident evil #re: village #resident evil village #resident evil: village

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nicostolemybones · 4 years

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for give me a character: annabeth chase & nico di angelo. i love them

Annabeth:

How I feel about this character: in between. Sometimes I love her, sometimes things she does irk me, but that's kinda a sign of good writing- people are flawed and she's a kid. I'm very fond of her though- because I was always the smart kid and it felt nice to have a character be smart without the typical Nerd stereotype or the I'm Not Like Other Girls trope. She's allowed to be flawed.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Percy and Piper 100%. But also I see her with Reyna or Thalia or Rachel or Clarisse and I go feral, I just ship them a little less than I do piperbeth and percabeth. I also have a headcanon for like- a poly relationship (it'll take me a while to explain) because I'm a multishipper with everyone but Solangelo.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Brotp with Nico or Will or Leo because I feel like Annabeth appreciates different types of intelligence. She'll play chess with Nico or Mythomagic because strategy games require intelligence. And she'd talk with Will for hours about medicine because she knows she can learn from him. Also if they watch chick flicks Will cries more than Annabeth does. And with Leo she'll help him out in Bunker 9 and probably go to him for math help because Leo is incredibly smart and it's about time people gave him credit for it.

My Unpopular Opinion about this character: I don't really like the way she treats Percy sometimes. I feel like she undermines his intelligence sometimes, because she's Smarter Than Him, and Percy's intelligence is probably a sore point given his school record, like, it's probably his insecurity and I feel sometimes she could acknowledge it a little more.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character: more content on Annabeth struggling with her dyslexia and how she feels that conflicts so much with her work ethic because she wants to learn but words are hard and she constantly loses marks for correct answers because of her spelling. And Annabeth discovering audiobooks and Finally She Has A Way To Study Without Getting A Headache And Getting Frustrated so she listens to textbooks and theories and podcasts all the time- even when busy because it helps her focus- and starts her own podcast for other demigods struggling with school.

Nico:

How I feel about this character: he's my favourite. I mean. I absolutely love him. He struggles to fit in and he's struggled with depression and grief and I feel that. Also Nico was the second explicitly gay character I'd come across in literature and that really meant a lot to me even if there were things that could have been done better with him. Seeing him go from rock bottom to finding a family, working through sexuality issues, and finally finding a place of happiness through that gave me hope.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Will. I don't ship him with anyone else personally. Whilst I can see the merits to other ships, I'm attached to Solangelo for many reasons and I love the fact that they're canon and how casually it's mentioned that they're boyfriends. I love their dynamic.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Leo. They're both very much social outcasts who know how it feels to be terrifyingly alone in a bad situation. They both struggle with social interaction to some degree and feel left out. I feel like they'd be awkward at first until they realise they can relate to each other and I can imagine them both sitting down and talking about their hyperfixations or their pasts. Nico would pop by bunker 9 and offer his help because it fascinates him and Leo would learn how to play mythological and d&d to play with him.

My Unpopular Opinion about this character: Nico is allowed to be both canon and fanon Nico. He doesn't have to be one or the other. They can coexist. He can be sarcastic and polite. He can be super emo and loudly gay and also be closed off about it. Nico's character means a lot to different people for different reasons. Also Nico is allowed to be happy with his glowy boyfriend whilst also working through his trauma in a healthy way. He can be a complete nerd bouncing around and he can also be serious. He can be uneducated and naive whilst being intelligent. People are complex and multifaceted. Nico can be too.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character: proper exploration of his trauma and the effects it had on him. Also the physical effects of his trauma like chronic pain and chronic fatigue. Give me Nico training one day then using crutches or a cane the next or skipping training because he can barely get out of bed or give me Nico training in his wheelchair some days doing archery or teaching classes. I wanna see Nico who still struggles with depression and ptsd and trust and self care who is also allowed to be happy. Nico who is struggling with the effects of his trauma who has learned to live his life comfortably and who is learning to open up to people like Will.

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