#especially her first appearance

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

if you watched steven universe, i'd like to know your thoughts on lapis? ive seen some people say catra is written better than her

i have watched steven universe and i didn't like lapis tbh. i think both lapis and catra are not very different when it comes to character development. however, as far as i remember, apart from trying to drown steven and connie that one time, lapis didn't do anything too heinous. her relationships with jasper and peridot were pretty messed up, which is why i'm glad they didn't make either of those ships canon.

jasper's and lapis's relationship/fusion was supposed to be toxic so it's not really a problematic thing, although i do think they could have addressed the fact that lapis also contributed to the toxicity, rather than painting her as the victim. i do think she owed peridot an apology, she didn't deserve that instant forgiveness from peridot.

anyway, i think the main difference here is that lapis wasn't the main villain like catra was (because, let's be real, catra was the main villain of s1-4, not hordak). she was pretty bad but she wasn't as coddled by the writers as catra was. steven universe was generally bad at redeeming antagonists (with the exception of peridot) so lapis just feels like another example of that. she was not a war criminal and didn't commit atrocity after atrocity like catra did, and she didn't get a happily ever after with her victims. she stayed friends with peridot and didn't seem to repeat any of her toxic habits afterwards, so i'm glad they left it at that. i feel like her redemption was just 1% better than catra's.

#spop critical #spop #spop discourse #spop salt #spop criticism #she ra #anti catra #su critical #su discourse #su criticism #su salt #su #steven universe #i do really really like lapis' character design though #especially her first appearance #it was so aesthetic #honestly when i first watched su i didnt think any character could be worse than lapis or the diamonds #but here we are

[daisy-mooon]

"I want Annabeth to be blonde :(" then pick up a PJO book and read it you dumb fuck

#pjo fans stop being weird about black annabeth challenge IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #first off annabeths race isnt important to her story. annabeth could be any race. her skin colour doesnt actually impact her. her hair does #now im not blonde but im a white girl so let me explain why some pjo fans need to stfu. i have grade 9s. im called stupid for my appearance #im not insulted bc im white or bc i have blue eyes or brown hair. im insulted bc women are judged on their appearance. im insulted bc SEXIS #annabeth isnt really called dumb for being blonde. shes called dumb bc shes female. and ppl are more likely to stereotype women than men #this is especially true for black women! whatever sexism white women get is always horrifically multiplied for poc women #black hair frequently gets called unprofessional untidy unhygienic etc. its VERY likely that show annabeth has been called dumb for her hai #does this make the casting “accurate”? no. but castings don't have to be accurate. they have to ADD to the character. #annabeth being black ADDS to her character because it showcases how women (esp black women) are devalued for their appearance #movie annabeth wasnt bad for having brown hair or white hair she was a bad adaptation bc she was ooc #i just think its ironic that a core aspect of annabeth was being judged for her looks. and now show annabeth is getting judged for her look #like. you guys really missed the point here. #anyways disagree all you want but book annabeth is still blonde. no one is erasing her. theres a new PJO book w blonde annabeth SEPTEMBER 2 #GO READ CHALICE OF THE GODS IF U WANT BLONDE ANNABETH OMG! adaptions and source material can be separate and coexist! #rant over sorry #pjo #percy jackson #annabeth chase #pjo show #percy jackson and the olympians #the lightning thief #discourse #shitpost #percy jackson show #pjo discourse #riordanverse

[pyomatic]

ms mina my love 

#dracula #dracula daily #mina harker #mina murray #my art #i do so love doing before and afters of characters!! especially when their appearance is physically and irrevocably changed by their ecp #(esp when hair turns grey so as you can imagine i loved jonathon's makeover) #I'm planning on doing these before and afters for the jonathon and lucy tooo and i have ideas!! #i just wanted to do mina first because the whole book i havent worked out how to visualise her #but i think ive got it! #also her first outfit is heavily inspired by the image on the wikipedia page for 1890s fashion #but the woman looks like her imo!! idk #also yes this is basically the same thing I posted last night just more refined I have a Love

[phoenixcatch7]

ASDFGHJKL

Just been talking to this npc and he was like 'oh hey!! Nice of them to send out a guy so soon after I sent my letter!' and when link did his little talking hand gestures my full expectation was the next words to be 'omg the hero?? Zeldas knight?? The champion of hyrule? You guys were missing it was all over the kingdom!!'

Npc: oh, so you're just some guy? Man, I thought they would have sent someone out by now, I've been waiting ages...

A) no you haven't

B) Link, WHAT????

Asdfghjkl??? NO WONDER he's been Tony Hawked he's not even introducing himself with his name??!

Actually... Given what other people have been calling him, I think he's been introducing himself as 'just a wandering swordsman'.

LINK THAT WAS YOUR FAULT THE WHOLE TIME???

#Lmaoooo #That explains so much #Josha especially that's so funny. Like she knew link on sight and does know his name but always calls him swordsman. #Bet that's how he introduced himself when they first met and then zelda appeared XD so now he always gets the nickname #I like that link chose to do that himself and it's not just everyone failing to recognise him. Like he doesn't want the fame and fawning #He's happy as is. Can't tell me he doesn't have a sense of humour tho with the amount of people who talk about the hero to his face. #Met a guy just after who told link he was on a trip to 'something forest' where he was going to get the master sword because he was the her #No idea where he got his information I'm assuming he thinks link kicked it when he went missing and that the title gets handed down?? #Link was just 'mhm uhuh' the whole time completely blank faced it was GREAT. #Similarly fi has the funniest mythos in bottok. We've had the master torch and gourd and several people who didn't recognise it and #A handful of people who claim THEY'RE the legendary hero. Hysterical. I hope they're all having fun wherever they are XD. #loz #loz totk #tears of the kingdom #totk #botw #loz link #breath of the wild #loz botw #botw totk #link legend of zelda #botw link #totk link #Can't believe we were all laughing about the Tony hawk fame and the whole time he was doing that on purpose #Makes the yiga even funnier that they all recognise him ON SIGHT. Sorry man you're clean out of luck there XD

[coquelicoq]

i like the natsume dub, but i'm glad i watched it with subs first. for one thing, the japanese voice acting simply cannot be beat. for another, the dub translates nicknames into english - for instance, the little tatsumi that hatches from an egg, turning natsume into a teen dad, is called "eggy" in the dub instead of "tama" (which unless i'm mistaken is a shortened form of the japanese word for "egg") - which isn't a bad thing, but it does end up creating the possibility of a little misunderstanding once you get to taki's first episode. because if you couldn't hear the japanese, and you were accustomed to characters getting jokey english nicknames like eggy, and you heard that a character who hadn't talked for almost a year was named something that sounded phonetically like "talkie", would you assume that she had a completely different name in japanese that was a pun on the japanese word for "talk"? because that's probably what i would have assumed lol. but luckily i watched it in japanese with subs first, so. crisis averted!

#natsume VO: everybody talks‚ but for nearly an entire year‚ that 'talkie' girl tried not to. <-what it sounds like he's saying in the dub #you can practically hear the air quotes #especially because when it's her first episode you have no idea that she's about to become a recurring character #she could be another one-off guest character natsume meets once and maybe encounters a second time three seasons later #as opposed to his new best friend. you don't know that in her first episode #so given that this could be her only appearance...it wouldn't be that crazy for her to have some novelty name For The Lulz #like i probably would've watched the whole show thinking ah yes here is Natsume & his friends Tanuma Nishimura Kitamoto and Talkie #i would have come on here and made a total fool of myself spelling her name like that #people would have been like tf are you talking about dude #i'd be like you know‚ the girl with the spell circles? #and they would have been like DO YOU MEAN TAKI????? #i would have had to retire. never show my face here again. #natsume's book of friends #translation #names #puns #my posts #natsume yuujinchou #taki tooru #watch me write this whole thing about how the dub makes it possible for you to think her name is a pun when it obviously isn't #and then have a japanese speaker come on here like 'actually 'taki' IS a pun in japanese. the dub perfectly translated this joke' #that would be so funny. what if

[chibishortdeath]

Some attempts at a design for Selena :3. The second image is inspired by the wedding in Haunted Castle, but I changed Simon’s outfit cause idk I just can’t picture him being comfortable in a suit.

The last two of these are way more headcanon-y lol. They’re under a cut mostly in case my headcanons and story ideas change d(^^ ). One of them was inspired by a Kikuo song I was listening to while drawing lol, the song “Let’s Go to Heaven”.

#castlevania #castlevania games #selena belmont #castlevania selena #castlevania ii #castlevania 2 #castlevania simon’s quest #simon’s quest #castlevania ii: simon's quest #haunted castle #simon belmont #akumajou dracula #akumajo dracula #art post #my art #I remember seeing someone make a post somewhere about how it was weird that #a lot of the cut items from the first Castlevania were things like high heels and a love letter and stuff #I wonder if Simon’s wife/girlfriend was supposed to be a character at one point in it and she got cut for some reason #idk it’s interesting to me that she’s only ever appeared in like deliberately noncanon content ya know? #like Haunted Castle was even called not a Castlevania game by its own lead director #the two novels with Simon girlfriends in them were never intended to be canon just fun side stuff #especially the ones that were choose your own adventure books lol I love the art style in one of those #anyway I’ve been trying to think of ways to write her lately but its so easy to end up accidentally falling into annoying tropes alas 💀💀💀 #especially ones the series has already used before oof #currently my idea so far is since Simon himself is kinda the chosen one hero guy trope in CV1 #and ends up subverting that trope by genuinely failing a ton getting hated by the public and possibly dying at the end #maybe Selena might work as initially the damsel in distress and call to action trope and subverts that later???? #I also have always thought she ends up the Mysterious Woman somehow hmmmm #it’s a hard headcanon to incorporate without just pulling a Dracula X chronicles and oh no she’s a vampire aaaaa but that’s been done 💀 #I am also aware that not everything you write has to be 100% completely new and original and perfect but aaaaaaa

[youngpettyqueen]

I can forgive an illegal appendectomy but I draw the line at making Kellye sad

#mash #just started s11 #I love Hey You Look Me Over #Kellye getting her own episode is everything I ever wanted I was SO excited the first time I watched it #and it being all about her asserting her worth!! #her speech to Hawkeye is so good #I love that shes upset Hawkeye doesnt look her way but she doesnt NEED him to assure her ya know #shes hurt and shes pissed and like. as someone who grew up the chubby undesirable girl who got bullied for it #it resonates #and at the end of the day she doesnt NEED Hawkeye's attention #shes pissed off and hurt because he treats her differently because he's not attracted to her #which is fair!! he passes her over and ignores her #and I love that the point of the episode isnt that Hawkeye needs to learn to see that she's great despite appearances #which a lot of older stuff falls into with women who aren't 'conventionally' attractive #(a term I use loosely) #the lesson he learns is that he shouldn't be so shallow! #and I especially love that when he goes to make amends with Kellye she's already on a date #she IS desirable she IS cute as hell!! #and their dance at the end... very sweet #genuinely one of my favourite episodes

[duckapus]

Decided to draw the three main stages of Whirlpool's development from its original Abyss Blob form.

Also, came up with the idea that it ends up meeting Stitch (because Stitch is canonically friends with several of the main KH cast and Avatar Sora can both probably still summon him and has probably found his World by this point), sees him do the whole Retractable Limb Thing, and is inspired to make itself a Maneuver Form (not that it actually knows what those are yet, it just wants to be able to be less conspicuous and more Fluffy)

And here's a more-or-less accurate size comparison (I feel like I made the original blob a little too big and the heartless amalgam form way too small but oh well)

#smg4 ocs #unveiled secrets arc #abyss blob #whirlpool #semi-related: i'd imagine that abyssal was probably uncomfortable around whirlpool for a while #since it's both almost exactly like the abyss in terms of appearance and abilities- #(due to just being an offshoot rather than a purposeful creation) #-and yet absolutely nothing like it due to being basically a baby and getting taken in by sora #she gets used to it after a while but at first the whole thing messes with her head #ESPECIALLY with how raw the emotions from the arc are when she first finds out it exists

[what-the-fuck-khr]

december fifth

#chrome dokuro #khr #katekyo hitman reborn #khredit #khrgraphics #my shit #96 #birthday roundup #character birthdays #5th of december #technically her name is correct this way #bc the way Amano uses her full name in the series #it appears as dokuro chrome when the others are spelt tsunayoshi sawada #based on the manga Dokuro is her given name lol #especially bc Tsuna first and foremost uses chrome. but then again he uses given name for the girls anyways so #but yeah most times it appears Dokuro is technically her given name and not her ‘family’ name

[alwaysoc]

#YES! GIVE ME THAT FANFIC ANGST! #IT'LL MAKE ME CRY BUT IT'S WORTH IT! #it's just so rare to see Katarina so self-depricating in the first place #but now she has good reason to be #if I was her I would be too! #Hamefura #honestly On The Verge of Doom is SO much better than I thought it would be! #like new plot #new struggles #Katarina's done a lot of horrid things but she's desperately trying to make up for them #hustle hustle hustle! #my poor baby doesn't have a big harem that she personally helped to rely on #like Alan and Keith (Keith especially) are such DIFFERENT people! #Alan Nicol and Sophia hardly appear #and only Geordo (and maybe Mary and Maria) seem to actually be lovestruck and that isn't until towards the end #this means that lots of the characters also act differently with each other! #Keith and Geordo don't have a rivalry and it's more of like a “Keep her safe will you?” #we get more insight into Maria being all insecure and don't see her mother at all #because even if Katarina still wanted to see how real fields looked #she wouldn't have any reason to go to Maria's hometown if she feels like she's made Maria suffer so heavily! #which makes sense #I adore that there's more focus on sword fighting too! #also Sienna is the sweetest baby ever! it's a shame that she doesn't appear at all in canon but it makes sense #anyway! yes! Verge of Doom is good! #I finished it all in one four-hour take! #I wouldn't mind getting maybe an anime spin-off based on Verge of Doom #goooosh! I love it! I'm going to go read some fluffy fanfic stuff now!

[sysig]

A few more “canon” designs, a few more new ones (Patreon)

#Doodles #Villainsona #Just Desserts #A quick distraction-foray into a Winx style since I'd gotten the Enchantix itch for a second haha #Other than making her wings doubled I really didn't know how to make her Classic design more Winx-like lol #I was going more for the first transformation rather than Enchantix and I mean - Techna is covered from head to toe so it's not Out of style #I am unabashedly biased towards her Classic design lol ♪ #Not having a fixed design for her TVAU outfit did at least encourage me to try Something a bit different for an Evil Enchantix at least #(Gods now I'm just imagining Dark Bloom Enchantic?? Yo - thankfully some artists have given their interpretations :D) #Anyway tho lol - the bottom half of her design seems to be what always trips me up #At least for Enchantix there's kind of the excuse that she needs the fairy vine-shoes thing - she normally wears regular shoes haha #All that said I think the Winx style doesn't completely suit her anyhow :0 She's not really meant to have such stylistic curves haha #All the more reason to return to WOY! It's fun :D #Two semi-canon outfits - the first one much moreso than the second since that's her self-designed TVAU outfit! #To be fair Kaiein rejected that one and not me lol probably on account of the cape muddling her silhouette #No Capes! No matter how cute she looks in them haha #And then the second (especially happy with her expression on that one hehe :3c Watch out) being from when she cornered Cherry Shortcake! #I was incredibly correct about her wings at that point - I think both versions having their own appearances is very good #Denoting influence and emotions and points of time - kind of like her wings and Evil Time in Classic! #The Staff looks so tiny in this style as well haha ♪ #And then the last three! More rejects but mostly just done for funsies anyway haha #I still prefer Charm in more fantasty-adjacent fashion but she's cute no matter what so a bit of semi-modern is fine every once in a while #Spooky mask leaves some mystery and fear of the unknown lol #More ink themes - it suffers from the same problem as her drip-modified outfit just not a strong silhouette! I think it's a neat pose tho #And finally trying to find something that would work well with the wings - they can appear pretty much anywhere on her back so #It can be kinda hard to have a definitive ''No matter where they sprout from this look won't clash'' #A loose top with a tube top underneath is cute tho :) Might be willing to give a slightly more thematic version pulled into the JD style #And so help me I will find a proper top-hem style for her pants! Gosh!

[dutybcrne]

Kaeya is rather touch averse, cringing away from casual contact people give him under the guise of being distracted or idle movement. He's used to it, the Ragnvindrs and Adenlinde got him used to frequent affectionate physical contact, but it can still be entirely Uncomfortable if he's touched by someone outside those he is close to or someone he's otherwise Allowed to touch him.

#hc; kaeya #//Mentioned before; but am Elaborating on other aspects since Aven get brain juices flowing for this #//Unlike Aven; he's FAR more tolerable of people who touch him unprompted. & more willing to indulge for himself outside his comfort people #//Unless he himself had actively given the indication he doesn't want it; in that case THEN he's likely to anger & retaliate #//But yeah; his response is usually Discomfort & trying to get away from it one way or another. Can tolerate it to appear friendly; sure #//But would rather not want people to touch him so easily. Is decently okay with brief touches tho; like shoulder pats or the like #//Will actively lean into it & encourage further touching ONLY as a means to an end; adjusting any wandering hands only when going too far #//Esp if he can use that like a carrot on a string–if they concede to what he wants; they can touch him more. Maybe MORE than just that too #//He won't initiate any touch unless he deems it Absolutely Necessary; WILL internally scream if they Immediately reciprocate the contact #//Uses it as a 'reward' sometimes; a little pinch of the cheek; a hug; getting right into their space; if he sees they'll react favorably #//Maybe more if they have connection enough; like Huffman or one of his longer-running liaisons. Is p ok w/ sleeping w/ them as reward #//Sometimes he forgets some people don't like that he does this; like Rosie. Tries the tactic to get a favor then Remembers #//Absolutely apologizes; feels mortified when she scrutinizes him for it. Esp since she'd be one of few ppl who KNOWS just how Averse he is #to it in the first place. Him slipping up like that in front of HER is smth he'd STRESS over. She could hold over his head for all he knows #//How can he even joke abt it? Worse if she asks abt his way of doing things or indicate she doesnt Like that he uses himself as bait #//Has absolutely accidentally tried to seduce/bait sb like that who he absolutely should Not have. Like Jean. Ended up playing it off like #a joke between friends; but damn near had a panic attack from the guilt the moment he was safely in his office. bc Jean is SPECIAL to him #could he treat her like THAT? How could he almost let her SEE that side of him? His casual charm and facade are ONE thing #//But him actively doing something like THAT; esp for Jean of all people; is COMPLETELY off-limits; no matter his feelings #//Actually; especially BC he harbors feelings for her. Ppl like Lisa on the other hand; he is VERY comfortable doing this with/to #//She GETS the flirty habit & dishes it back without losing image of him in the way someone he regards at Jean's level possibly could #//And as far as Lisa knows; it's Only a playful habit; not a means to an end. The ones who prolly Know might be certain folks in the church #//But that's just bc he gets frequent checkups after every lil Rendezvous of his. Which is why he's got dirt on Every Single Person There #//Except Barbara; but he absolutely makes SURE she's not the one he's dealing with whenever he goes. Wants to spare her his messes #//Damn; veered a little but it's alright. 'A little'; HA. Nah; my tags are but the cluttered corkboard of my thoughts jhdbfjdf #//Diluc; Addie & Jean are the people he most Fears finding out abt his methods. Doesnt wanna THINK abt how they'd feel/regard him after tha #//Knows for SURE it'd be painful if the way they treat him changes even a SLIGHT. ESP Addie; he can bear the other two; but Addie??? #//Nah; he'd be fucken DEVASTATED. That's the ONE person he knows hold true unwavering unconditional love for him; no matter what #//To do anything to damage that? He'd be so fucken GUTTED. He expects everyone to get fed up with/disdain him at some point. But not HER #//Keeps this shit on the down low by always having dirt on the people he gets Involved with; if not using keeping it up as an incentive

[indigoworks]

collection of sketches, new and old, of my vorta scientist oc zeveth :^)

#star trek #deep space nine #ds9 #vorta #oc #zeveth tag #im obsessed w her. im obsessed w her. ZEVETH!! her voice claim is alison moyet and i cant shut up about it #( *yaz(oo) especially ) #some of these are set in the 70s au 'dominion records' by xiaopeng on ao3 PLEASE GO READ MY FRIENDS GODLY FIC EVEN IF U DONT KNOW STAR TREK #zev appears in ch 5 and xiao got her down PERFECTLY. #shes also going to be in 'criminal records' (minions 2) which i SWEAR i am writing wheahha #and: she appears in kind of an alternate version in my sheridan bumper project haha #anyway. free of charge to ask abt my mad scientist vorta oc gFDKGF #shes close to The Founder and got her little claws in development of the white and in vorta genetics yahOOOOO #in 70s au finds her stride in the 80s and then produces in place of lab work. but first answers phones for DR for 5293493 years <3 #indigo art / #indigo ocs / #long post /

[widowshill]

this is just an idle thought so i'm not sure i can word this well but there's ... something about supernatural narrative ambiguity (such as in cases like carmilla) that really interests me with V's ultimate fate. i.e. i think in one reading ... she did fall from the cliffs that evening at widows' hill, just like carolyn prophesied she would & roger joked endlessly about, and liz did not save her. and victoria getting her quote "happy ending," miraculously getting sent back to be with her vanished husband into a long gone century, returning to an earlier past, is just the silver telling the story version of it. her Savannah, if you will.

"I had to return him to an earlier state of being." / "I found a way to reach into the past and undo it." / "To the rest of the world, they simply cease to be."

moreover i think it's Compelling who liz is with when she finds victoria in each case: professor stokes as V contemplates suicide on the hill, and barnabas when she vanishes into the past with jeff. stokes, who certainly is more than involved with the supernatural but who comparatively represents rational thought, research, learning, Truth and accepting even difficult truth ( "I'm afraid, my dear Miss Winters, that if he is here, he feels as I do. Your place is here. Your time is now. The only way you can join him is to die." ) and barnabas of rewritten myths, of vampires, false identities, the transmutation of women's very sense of self, who has never accepted anything be it feeling or fact and has made every effort to forcibly change it, even if that is only in the telling.

#david did not tamper with roger's brakes – matthew knew they were loose and the part fell out on the road. #i didn't kill paul – he abandoned us and i am waiting for him. #victoria winters didn't commit suicide – she went into the past to be with her husband. Liz Stoddard Truth. #sometimes it's convenient to me that she fulfills the prophecy. sometimes it's convenient that she gets trapped in The Past. #sometimes! she lives and marries roger and adopts david and has another kid and they all live happily ever after. #same story different versions. #victoria winters is like a photon interference pattern. miss particle and wave. anyway. #i don't think there's a lot of that kind of thing in ds over all – as a cohesive thing it's very much Monsters Real ! #but especially in laura's first appearance there is a tiny bit left open to wonder if it's just paranoia #vicki / guthrie / joe was also there I think? form the supernatural persecution side; with roger batting alone at enlightenment reason. #and david playing laura's role (laura carmilla) caught in the crossfire between them. the little car mechanic tidal chart understander #photography developer that is ALSO big time into ghosts and spooks and crystal balls ! #➤ ooc. ┊ she’s nauseous，she’s hysterical，and she’s exhausted.

[parameddic]

i had such a good and interesting characterisation thought re. TK in the context of replying to this ask but i don't remember what it was very clearly and so i'm just. sitting here. trying to trigger the same thought

#something something tk would believe/deny it blind. because the idea that a team (even a sub-sub-sub-team) could be betrayed that badly #just wouldn't enter his vocabulary of allowable events #it would not Occur to him that someone might have left the boys for dead like that #marjan would believe it. it would occur to her. she especially has the media literacy for it but also she is not a. cis white man #right? right? but i don't remember exactly how i wanted that point to come up in the newspaper thing and i don't know how i decided #the others were going to fall on that line and anyway #tk would not be UNWILLING to see it he just would miss it the first few times someone said it bc he would not #be expecting to see it. he Would Not be expecting to see it. #'vocabulary of allowable events' is a good way to put it good work me #who would do that? who would just Set Them Up? #that's not even. those details wouldn't be In. there's like Steps to this characterisation even appearing at all #it would not be a direct one-to-one conversation about it just a. note somewhere abstractly that even if it DID come up he wouldn't have #the tools to believe it. .... i am getting lost. #i know the thought is in there i just keep sitting down to write it and going ahhhhhh! #''aster could this not be a direct message'' yeah but i wasn't planning it to be a whole talking it out in the tags #and now they're all in the tags #and now u get this. love u squid #tbd #when i actually write the thing instead of sitting here. contemplating #plus also it . does not require a response im just out louding. cause it's neat! #it's about tk! #it's about who he is at his core including the messy and a little bit mean (accidentally) bits! #sighs sighs sighs sighs. i love him

[aceparagoned]

In reference to this post I made about a couple of weeks ago, I'd like to go further into depth of how Hikaru's Crux was studied. In this headcanon, please be mindful of the following content warnings: child abuse, torture in a medical setting, and the ethics surrounding human experimentation in the name of "science."

When Hikaru was born and her Crux was discovered, scientists were intrigued on how this particular human could have developed another organ in the womb when her own mother, Katsumi, didn't have one. During Katsumi's entire pregnancy, the additional organ was discovered during routine ultrasounds, but there were discussions into the ethics of testing on an unborn fetus that could lead to Katsumi possibly miscarrying. Not just that, but Tamotsu, Hikaru's father, objected to the point of practically almost getting arrested for threatening to hurt the scientists that wanted to experiment on his wife and unborn daughter.

So, they held off until Hikaru was born so as to carry out their experiments when the Crux was fully developed.

This wasn't met without a great deal of resistance from not just Katsumi, but Hikaru's father, Tamotsu. The both of them vehemently argued to not test their daughter at all, thinking that she deserved so much more than being nothing more than something to gawk at because of being born with something else that no one else, at the time, possessed. For at least five years, Hikaru was able to grow up in a happy family until she was voluntarily given up to participate in the PIPE's training program in an attempt to turn the tides of war. They only gave her up on the promise that no experiments would be carried out on her because of her Crux.

The PIPE, desperate to continue living instead of losing the war against the Gnocem, promised they did. However, promises can be broken and it's one of the PIPE's horrible secrets that they've kept under lock and key this entire time.

See, after Hikaru had been given up by her parents, things were okay for a time. She was properly cared for, treated with respect, and told that things were going to be okay. That was, until, the same scientists who were intrigued when she was still in her mother's womb arrived and brokered a deal with the PIPE: they can test on her all they wanted if it'd produced the results they were looking for and that was to be humanity's weapon in the fight against the Gnocem. The deal was agreed upon and this is where things had taken a turn for the worst for Hikaru, who still was a child at this point.

At first, the experimentation wasn't that bad. Just a few shots and blood tests, really. But when that didn't reveal anything regarding the capabilities of Hikaru's Crux, they had to get "creative" with their testing and by being "creative", they resorted to procedures where sights like these [CW: needles in image] were unfortunately common practice with Hikaru strapped to a cold, metal surgical table and pleading for them to stop hurting her and that she was sorry for whatever she did to deserve this punishment.

Sadly, her pleas fell on deaf ears because it went so much further than just injecting her with multiple drugs. They wanted to see how she'd be able to heal and how much pain she could withstand. So, they went through with not just stabbing and lacerating her, but full on maiming by shooting her through her hands and feet. Again, her cries for mercy went ignored. However, these extreme methods of testing her endurance and pain tolerance finally paid off during her training regimen that she was still expected to go through. They ultimately made her stronger, and in their eyes fortunately able to withstand much more in terms of increased training.

Yet, no one thought about how she was still just a child. During these experiments and training, they slowly whittled away the bright and happy girl that started on this because she was promised that she was gonna be a hero and save the day! How could a child resist that? The PIPE and the scientists kept on saying that this was all in the name of making her a hero, like they promised she'd be.

Was being a hero worth all this pain and misery, though? That was one of Hikaru's many thoughts while she was in her room, quietly sobbing into her pillow at night until she finally was able to sleep, having passed out from the pain and discomfort she was in. Hikaru also learned that no matter how many times she cried or apologized, they'd still carry out the experiments on her, so eventually she'd just lie there and take it, trying to not make a single noise for fear that it'd only ramp up the experiments' intensity on her.

And the way that she was rewarded for this? They simply gave her treats, which were one of her only comforts. She couldn't contact her parents to tell them what was going on and the reports that they received told them that Hikaru was being well taken care of and was happy. Nothing was wrong in their eyes, even as they kept on forgetting the most important aspect of this whole matter: Hikaru was still a child. Yet, if it produced results such as giving them little victories here and there on the war, so be it — they would continue this extreme training regimen and keep on lying to her parents that she was being treated the way that they had promised. To this day, they still don't know what sort of hell their own daughter has been through and Hikaru doesn't want to upset them by telling them the truth, either, because of how these experiments gave them the stability that they have today.

As Hikaru grew up and became more powerful (along with being broken down and molded back into what the PIPE wanted of her), the experiments eventually ceased altogether, but this gave her a lasting fear of anything medical because of the hell she was put through. As previously mentioned, Hikaru is very critical of others tending to her injuries that she sustains in fights since she'd rather be the one to patch herself up because she doesn't trust anyone else to do it. Those in the medbay only admonish her for getting hurt for the umpteenth time and don't have any sympathy for her, no matter how grievous the injury really is. So, she'll often be by herself, dressing her own wounds while trying to stifle her sounds of discomfort however possible. This behavior of hers is still prevalent to this day because of how deep seated her own fear of anything medical is concerned — all because the PIPE saw her as nothing more than a weapon instead of a human being.

As far as anyone's concerned, the PIPE is heralded as this pillar of strength and hope, but no one publicly knows just what it took to get there. It's still classified information that only those who are higher up the food chain are privy to and have sworn to never reveal to the public the atrocities they committed to attain the semblance of peace that they have today. Anyone who tries to speak up about the human rights abuses they committed is silenced, never to be seen nor heard from again.

To Watanabe and others, the PIPE is nothing more than a shining beacon of peace and prosperity in the world and nothing shall ever taint that pristine image that they've cultivated for themselves all these years.

#☆ HEADCANONS → these are layers to you; to your heart. let others see who you are within; let your walls down for now. #☆ META → classified information on the world and the force that declared war on the Earth. #child abuse cw #human experimentation cw #human rights abuse cw #torture cw #medical cw #( ASK TO TAG. ) #*ooc: please let me know if I missed anything to tag here! I always value your comfort first and foremost #the PIPE isn't as virtuous as they try to appear as and they have PLENTY of skeletons hidden in the closet that they don't want others to #know about #and Hikaru herself is too broken by what they did to her to speak out against them — especially when she knows that people can enjoy life #now at the cost of her own childhood being robbed from her