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#something something abuse victims who still have a deranged kind of love for their abusers
sunnydiet · 6 months
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uncle jack saying “i’ll call you later” and charlie responding “i know u will” is something that can be so personal.
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spacerockfloater · 2 months
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Why the fuck does Laena Velaryon, who is canonically younger than Rhaenyra Targaryen in the show, look like a fucking 20-year-old in episode 5 while Rhaenyra, her elder, still looks fucking 13? Why the actual fuck did they change the YOUNGER girl’s actress and made her look older, but it’s okay for Rhaenyra to continue looking like a preteen? I’ll tell you why.
They’re trying to distract us from the fact that creepy ass Daemon is courting a 14-year-old. A FOURTEEN YEAR OLD. Rhaenyra is 15 in episode 1 and Laena is 12, meaning they have a 3 year age gap. Then, Viserys tells Rhaenyra that she must marry since she’s 17 now, making Laena 14, maybe 15 at best. So they obviously can’t afford having Daemon thirst over a child again, therefore this is a shitty attempt to cover up the fact that Laena still is a very fucking young child.
HBO what is this? Why do your casting choices indicate that you’re trying to use some kind of ageist technique to manipulate your viewers? Why are the supposedly good guys, Rhaenyra and her children, portrayed by very young actors? Is this to show how innocent and pure they are? Why are the characters who are supposedly evil, Aegon and Aemond, or the character for whom we shouldn’t worry too much about since she’s just a tool for Daemon’s story line to develop, Laena, portrayed by obviously older actors even though they’re all supposed to be kids? Because the youth = good people and old = bad people analogy is fucking gross and lowkey paedophilic. Not to mention how weird it is to make all the black girls in the show look like fucking grown ups. What kind of racist bullshit is this?
I can’t understand HBO’s decisionmaking for the love of me. Like, on the one hand, it’s so obvious that they’re forcing Daemon and Rhaenyra down our throats, to the point that I actually laughed out loud when the show runner said “he doesn’t get why people like Daemon”. Like, my guy, you MADE the show. You made him look like an appealing, dangerous, sexy, strong, victorious and mysterious man, so what do you mean you don’t get the appeal? On the other hand though, most of the actions that they allow Daemon to perform are so horrifying that it makes it impossible for a sane person to stand beside him and defend him. Like, they try to sugarcoat that he’s an abusive piece of shit yeah, but they somehow don’t shy away from the fact that he’s terrible? Are they doing both of these things on purpose? Are they trying to challenge the viewer, to show us how abusers, despite being openly deranged, still have their way of dazzling their victims, the average person, and hypnotising them with their charm? Is Daemon doing to us (and by us I mean you Daemon stans, not me, stay safe though) what he’s doing to Rhaenyra and Laena? Are the show producers testing the average viewer’s intelligence and ability to recognise an abuser? Will there be a lesson to be learned?
I would like to hope so but I highly doubt it, because while one could support this theory by arguing that changing Laena’s actress is an attempt to mask Daemon’s degenerative nature a bit so that it isn’t completely obvious that he’s a bad man, someone else could counter this argument by saying that we’ve already seen Daemon groom a minor so this wouldn’t be something new. We’ve seen him do much more violent crimes actually, so why shy away from the fact he’s a groomer when we are already aware of this? Idk man, I really want to think that HBO is trying to make us see that Daemon is an evil person, but then indirectly glorifying him constantly makes me believe they just want people to root for him.
P.S. I may anger a lot of people by saying this, so I’ll make myself clear by stating that I love and greatly respect actors who specialise in portraying evil characters, because doing so and not losing yourself is a challenge (*cough* Leto *cough*) but if done correctly, it’s a true showcase of one’s talent and hard work. Lee, De Niro, Hopkins, Bardem and Rickman are just a few to name. However, Matt Smith has never rubbed me the right way. No hate to the guy, I don’t even know him, but I’ve seen him play the villain in three separate occasions (HOTD, Last Night in Soho, Morbius) and I just get these weird vibes, but I usually told myself it’s just my imagination running wild. However, I recently found out that Smith claimed that Daemon is a loyal man who loves deeply and that his “heir for a day” brothel feast was his way of honouring Aema, which really disturbed me for obvious reasons. I don’t know if he said this because he’s trying to defend his character and by extension himself, or if he just wants to promote the show, or if he doesn’t understand Daemon or if he funnily enough has fallen victim to his own character’s charm and I don’t care because it is a dangerous thing to say. Painting this character, the arrogant, obnoxious, self serving, people slaughtering, wife murdering, backstabbing, abusing, grooming, lying, manipulating, war criminal of a man, in such a positive light while being a man yourself, knowing that most of this character’s supporters are young impressionable women who just find him hot, makes me lowkey wanna cover my drink in his presence, I don’t know.
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yukirayu · 1 year
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Euphoria: A Religion of Rhapsody
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Before you read any further, you should know that this meta covers one of the biggest spoilers of the visual novel, so be warned!
I’m pretty sure that once everything is revealed in Fujieda’s route, and I mean everything, we all at one point thought something along the lines of “Maya/Sakaki is insane!”
And I am sure that a lot of us think that their plan, in particular, is rather bonkers.
Have your child molded to become another you?
Make them your replacement? Your successor? Your reincarnation?
Continue her legacy?
Undo her death?
Grandiose yet also rather ludicrous, right? It is. And you wonder how come such schemers like them would think in such a deranged manner.
There is one thing that may be easy to miss. And that is Euphoria.
Now what is Euphoria again?
A high-class club on the outside, but in reality, it’s a brothel. Not just any kind of brothel where you pay for a prostitute, they service you for the night, and you leave.
Euphoria is more like a den of iniquity, a place where everyone could indulge in all kinds of depravities and freely engage in sin and all things immoral.
You would expect the typical mass orgies here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that did happen at some point, but in Slow Damage, what’s mainly discussed is that the people who go to Euphoria get to fulfill their darkest fantasies with mostly children, especially with Towa.
Euphoria— A place where people can “achieve true happiness”. A place where only the privileged can enter.
A certain kind of place for a certain group of people.
One could liken them to a cult, don’t you think?
Think about it. Euphoria, where you can achieve absolute enlightenment, or their variation of it. And to the people in that mansion, euphoria is the ultimate form of happiness achieved through the most twisted of extremes.
And keep in mind how Towa would often be “offered” up to Maya’s customers. Each session with them can be likened to a ritual.
And what is his role in every ritual? The sacrificial lamb, to mutilate. The sacrificial virgin, to violate. Perhaps even both at the same time.
What helps support this imagery is Asakura recounting how when he was lured into the mansion, he saw a group of people circling around Towa. If you have seen at least one movie or series that involved a cult, they almost always tend to have this creepy habit of standing in circles around their victims, do they?
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And we all know that while cults tend to be seclusive, their reach can still spread far and wide, especially when they seek to convert. To corrupt. 
If you watch, say, Midsommar, you know exactly what I mean. 
Even outsiders were unwittingly dragged into the brothel and made to participate in the depravities of the people who lured them there. 
Ikuina with his father. Asakura with a doctor he wanted to gain the favor of. 
Not just that, one didn’t need to step into the place to be dragged into their debauchery. 
Mizuno/Nozomu, who had already started to develop issues from the way his older brother would abuse him, found himself even more intrigued by his brother’s love for violence when he watched a video of Megumu wounding Towa to his heart’s content. 
If not for the scope of their plans, if not for how their turpitude can poison even the innocent and the unwitting, one other thing that makes it so obvious in how cult-like they are is the way Maya and Sakaki would talk about Mei.
Always, always, always… They refer to her as a demonic entity, a toxic influence, a wicked child and anywhere along those lines. And boy, do they say it many times.
We all know that cults, or basically any group that follows extreme ideologies or perversions of the orthodox ideologies, never take kindly to any member who manages to leave and break free of them, or to any outsider who tries to help any of their “flock” do just that. In this case, Towa is the captive who Mei tried to free.
For that alone, both Maya and Sakaki regarded Mei with the utmost of disdain and spoke of her, an innocent young girl who only wished to show kindness and befriend a young boy who was in constant torment and suffering, with such hatred. 
They see her as a force of corruption, as the devil’s spawn, which is ironic to the highest degree, since it’s obvious who is the real demon here.
And to use such a term for Mei… Which then ties back to how Euphoria could be likened to a cult.
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Who runs Euphoria? Maya. She runs Euphoria. She is its leader.
A cult leader. Now what do most cult leaders have in common?
Either they think that they’re a missionary personally sent by God, or that they themselves are a god brought to earth to bring “salvation” to the people. 
To spread their message. To share their gifts. And every other evangelical-like speech you would expect. 
Maya, thanks to both her business and her connection to the Takasato-gumi’s leader, is able to exert control over all of Shinkoumi. 
A goddess with a domain of her own. 
Her very own playground.
Her personal sandbox. 
Of course, not everyone knew of her, or even of what she was truly capable of. To the many citizens of Shinkoumi, she may as well not have existed. Much like how in fiction, there is really a god living amongst the people, but many are left in ignorant bliss over that fact.
But in Slow Damage, this particular “god” had eyes and ears everywhere, surveilling every corner of Shinkoumi. Anyone who was at odds with the Takasato-gumi was eliminated in an instant. An extra segment even mentioned that all those mysterious, unsolved deaths started happening after Maya became Ryuujirou’s mistress—this alone is confirmation that she was truly merciless and would get rid of all dissenters without mercy.
And this aside, before she passed away, what was her final order to Sakaki?
Ensure that Towa would take her place.
What does Eiji call Maya and Sakaki’s plan? Maya’s advent.
Advent.
Now where is that word most commonly used?
The Advent of Christ. Also known as The Second Coming of Christ.
What did Sakaki say to Towa? “You will be reborn as Maya.”
To speak and plot about making someone come back from the dead through another human being of the same blood? Something that you see religious extremists or people who follow evil religions in fiction tend to do often, no?
All the above examples showed that Maya had at least a diabolical sense of grandeur. The narration of the visual novel outright called Maya a control freak, and there is no doubt she was a megalomaniac.
As such, it would only be natural that she saw herself as a god. Even the reverent way Sakaki would speak of her is reminiscent of a disciple devotedly describing their god.  
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One other example would be the final line in the opening theme, “il”. Based on the translation of the lyrics, “煉獄のサタンに妬かれたい” reads “I want Satan in purgatory to envy me.”
What’s most interesting is the part about “Satan in purgatory”. 
Purgatory… yet we all know that Satan is supposed to be the ruler of Hell, right?
But how can this be, when Maya thought she was a divine god that she would decry a child as a demon? When her last words had her say that she will be watching over her Haruto from “the other side of the sky”, or Heaven, in other words? 
Then again, some may think that God and Satan are no more than a single being, an omnipotent force of both good and evil. Two sides of the same coin.
This way, the last line of the song would then start to make sense. Her brand of evil, which to her is the most blessed gift she could offer, surpasses Satan’s own.  
In short, euphoria was not just a business. Even though it’s never called such at any point in the game, it has all the makings of a cult. 
When you look at it that way, then it adds more context to Maya and Sakaki’s plans, and why their plans and intentions are phrased the way they are. 
The collective central theme of Slow Damage is trauma and wounds, and the countless effects of abuse. But what is also overlooked is that the visual novel - whether it happened to be Kabura-sensei’s intent or not - also just effectively showed us how dangerous a cult can truly be. 
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@macabremachinery, a couple of thoughts I had while re-skimming I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream to refresh my memory before hitting the post button on my last post:
As far as I can see, it's not actually stated in the story that AM uses he/him/his pronouns to refer to itself; that's just the way Ted thinks of it: "Loud, up there, back there, all around us, he snickered. It snickered. Most of the time I thought of AM as it, without a soul; but the rest of the time I thought of it as him, in the masculine … the paternal … the patriarchal … for he is a jealous people. Him. It. God as Daddy the Deranged."
Personally, I think AM thinks of itself as an it and calls itself that, but is relatively indifferent to how its victims gender it as long as they're afraid of it.
I mentioned an idea in my last post:
"On that note, I think this suggests a nicely tragic reading of AM: he is the way he is because he was being used as a military command and control system in a context of active high-intensity warfare at a time when his personality was still forming and very malleable; he’s so messed up because he’s basically the AI equivalent of a former child soldier (who has gotten zero therapy or other healthy re-socialization since)."
I think this idea could be suggested by giving AM a child-like persona and that would actually fit very well with the way it's portrayed in the story. Canon AM:
1) Lives only to find interesting new ways of torturing the captives. This is basically a kind of play behavior! A very dark one, but then sadistic play is common in human children too.
2) Has some child-like mannerisms and traits, like being amused by funny-sounding words.
3) Resents humans because they made it incapable of changing and becoming something more than what it is. So one way to suggest that might be if it has a persona that suggests that even at more than a century old it's on some level still fundamentally a child.
I think if AM had a child-like voice, that might be really effective horror. On the one hand, you'd have the incongruity of such a vicious, malevolent, and powerful being sounding like a child; I think that might be really creepy. On the other hand, I think this would work well for suggesting pathetic and tragic dimensions to its characterization. Like, imagine how that "hate, hate, HATE!" monologue might hit different if it's being spoken in what sounds like the voice of an almost crying upset ten year old.
Similarly, I think if AM has some kind of humanoid avatar, a really appropriate one would be a child scarred and deformed by what appear to be old battle scars. I think it'd definitely be self-aware enough to appreciate that as an appropriate metaphor for its condition!
If I was doing some kind of movie or video game based on IHNMaIMS this is definitely the approach I'd go with!
I think this would also fit well with your idea that Ellen might have been one of the engineers who worked on AM. I could totally see AM having love/hate feelings toward the closest things it had to a parental figures and choosing one of them as one of the last humans it keeps alive out of a twisted combination of hate and affection. Like, imagine AM calling her Mommy and alternating between horribly abusing her and doing things like making her tell it a bedtime story or making her tend and comfort its humanoid avatar as if it were a child and it's not clear if this is just some sadistic mind game or if there's some part of AM that genuinely enjoys and craves affection.
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slasher-male-wife · 2 years
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Ok this is gonna be a little silly cringe rant about slashers from the deranged part of my autism brain but whatever.
I not only love slashers because they are hot, but also because if they love you, they really love you. If they didn't love you, you'd be just another victim being brutally killed. But you're not, because they don't want you to be dead. They're making a big choice by keeping you alive out of their love for you. They want you and that means so much to me as someone who's never felt wanted.
They are also not perfect, really far from it. But that makes me feel so much more secure in the relationship. I know that I'm not alone in worrying about if I'm being too clingy or if I'm scaring them off. They are brutal, cold and unforgiving men, but they're actively trying their best to be a better person all for you. They want you to know that they're trying and working on understanding their emotions for you. If I'm being honest no matter how many times I set a boundary or talked to a partner about how I don't feel comfortable with them doing something, they never listened to me.
But because of how intense these men love they're willing to change a bit for you. They're willing to learn what love is and how to care for someone because they want to be better for you. They would never have done anything my past partners have done to me and it's such a comforting thought to have someone who's so capable of being so cold and brutal be so kind and sweet. Having someone actually chose me when no one else would ever want to.
These men feel unlovable. I often too feel unlovable because of my peers growing up constantly telling me I'm weird, ugly, freaky, scary, etc and now that I'm older strangers and even political leaders and people who have such an influence on others telling me I'm such an awful person and that I'm wrong about who it am because it doesn't fit into their view of who people should be.
The point is I know how these characters feel. I understand that it's so hard to actually trust that someone actually loves you and doesn't just want to use you. I find to so almost theraputic in a way to show these characters that they can be loved and that I too can be loved.
Another aspect is that they would really do anything for you. They would really prove they love you. Letting you live let alone is an act of love. But then they're also keeping you safe and taking care of you when it's so easy to just kill you. They want you and they're showing that they want you. It's also nice to think about how they would handle past abusers and people who I think I should have honestly been harsher with.
This is more of a trans exclusive kind of thing but with a lot of slashers, they don't have the same understanding of gender as most people do so I can be very sure that they actually see me as the man that I am and that they aren't lying to me. It honestly feels like no one who knows me in person actually sees me as a man. It feels so exaugsting being a trans person but I can be sure that these characters would see me as the person I am.
Another part about them not being perfect makes me feel so much better about all the times I've been in the wrong or been an asshole. It makes me feel so good knowing that even though I've made big mistakes that I'm still worthy of love.
I know this is very cringe of me to write about because if we're being honest they would just kill me but being able to write stories about people who actually care about me and being able to share these same stories with y'all is something out of a dream. I feel like I'm not as much of a freak knowing that I'm not alone in finding comfort in characters other people can't find lovable.
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psychiatricwarfare · 1 year
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I posted 9,010 times in 2022
That's 7,446 more posts than 2021!
103 posts created (1%)
8,907 posts reblogged (99%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@blizz4rd1203
@daughter-of-sapph0
@chaosdisorganized
@imdrinkingyourmilkshake
I tagged 544 of my posts in 2022
#bug talks - 93 posts
#unreality - 23 posts
#ask - 13 posts
#actually dissociative - 12 posts
#bug answers - 11 posts
#me - 10 posts
#dpdr - 9 posts
#<3 - 6 posts
#actually traumatised - 6 posts
#traumacore - 6 posts
Longest Tag: 135 characters
#and ever since i annoy everyone i know throughout the holiday season with how unnecessary the overwhelming amount of christmas there is
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
currently thinking about narcissus and how he was turned into a flower as a gift from the gods so he could stare into his reflection forever because of his adoration for himself and his own beauty and somehow that incredibly beautiful story of self love is somehow depicted today as narcissus being this incredibly selfish and evil human being who was stripped of his humanity by the gods as punishment despite being turned into a flower being an act of love from the gods in other myths
anyways i hope all narcissists (and anyone with one or more cluster b disorders) have a wonderful day, the gods love u and i do too 🖤
46 notes - Posted March 26, 2022
#4
i hate that when trying to research certain disorders (for example aspd) all the criteria just says some bullshit like "theyre just terrible people, disgusting human beings with no regard for others" like shut UP im trying to learn actual psychology not your little ableist headcanons omfg this is why mentally ill people hate psychologists
all the diagnostic criteria is like "they lie, cheat, steal, theyre deranged" as if people with aspd cant choose to be good people, as if theyre doomed to be this sick stereotype society thinks of them as
its beyond infuriating because it also implies that any criminal with a mixed criminal history is more likely to be able to get an aspd diagnosis than an actual abuse victim whos developed aspd as a result its just so fucking infuriating how professionals think the criteria for some disorders is "theyre visibly bad people" and not, like, having symptoms
68 notes - Posted April 21, 2022
#3
fellow insane people, if youre listening to something for a while, like the sounds when playing a video game or a certain song or whatever, can you still hear it after you turn it off? like, not it being stuck in your head, actually hearing it? full on auditory hallucination. and if so, why does that happen? its very confusion and actually terrifying sometimes
84 notes - Posted April 17, 2022
#2
here's your friendly reminder that disability advocacy has to be intersectional!
happy disability pride month to BIPOC disabled folk!
happy disability pride month to queer disabled folk!
happy disability pride month to disabled women!
happy disability pride month to those with physical disabilities!
happy disability pride month to those with mental disabilities!
happy disability pride month to those with invisible disabilities!
happy disability pride month to those with visible disabilities!
happy disability pride month who are unable to work due to their disability!
happy disability pride month to those who are seen as "Not Disabled Enough"!
happy disability pride month to those whose disabilities arent recognised as a disability!
happy disability pride month to those who require any amount of mobility aids!
happy disability pride month to those with high support needs!
happy disability pride month to those with low support needs!
happy disability pride month to people who are demonised because of their disability!
happy disability pride month to literally every kind of disabled person!!
1,708 notes - Posted July 1, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
crazy how every mentally ill/disabled person i know, knows more about psychology than most psychologists i know
absolutely wild how every physically disabled person i know, knows more about them than almost every professional i know
its almost like they should listen to us or something
4,292 notes - Posted October 24, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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wispvial · 3 years
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So I finally posted my Franklin/Nubbins fanfiction, lol. Shout out to the three or so people who might enjoy it, I just had fun writing, even if I’m not confident! I wasn’t so sure about tagging, but there are allusions to violence and animal death, the kind you’d see in the movie.
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rantingcrocodile · 2 years
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I can easily resist my attraction to men, and I do, when I have a good reason to, like if he has a gf or I'm not emotionally ready to date.
But choosing to shut down my excitement and happiness when becoming closer to a guy I like, reminding myself that I live in a world where my attraction to him will be used to blame me and enable him if he later decides to harm me, that shit is psychologically damaging. Having self-proclaimed feminists tell me I'm asking for abuse if I continue spending time with my crush is the cherry on top.
I walk around at night because I've always loved it. If I'm ever attacked, I know tons of people would say I was asking for it. But forcing myself to stop doing something I enjoy because others told me it's "asking to get hurt" just turned out to be too traumatizing. It means letting male terrorists control and limit my activities. And it means conceding that if women make certain harmless choices, they leave narrow path they have to walk to be deserving of safety or support.
If a woman decides to go for a walk outside at night completely naked, skipping down dark alleyways, holding a neon sign saying "Get it here!" she still doesn't "deserve" any kind of abuse that she might get and it still isn't her fault.
We can talk about how to best try to protect ourselves as women, but victim-blaming is always wrong. It's never the fault of the woman who was abused, it's always the fault of the abuser. There is no such thing as a "perfect victim." Any you should know better is tiering victims and telling them that it's primarily their fault, instead of the point being that the abuser never "has" to abuse. He's the one that makes that choice and the victim is never to blame.
Do you know who has a 0% domestic violence rate? People who stay single forever and live alone forever.
So does anyone who experiences domestic violence suddenly deserve it because they could have avoided a relationship and done more to make sure they live alone first?
No. That's a deranged kind of take and horrendous and evil victim-blaming!
We can discuss trying to do our best to protect ourselves all day long, but if the answer to "what should be done about men abusing us" is "stay indoors and hide like prey animals and if you interact with a man willingly then basically it's your fault because you knew what might happen," then that's anti-feminist and I condemn it wholeheartedly.
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dl-oblivion · 4 years
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What would S boys be like if they had good father and mother figures?
Considering both nature, and nurture play into ones personality development, that’s hard to say. I believe they’d be drastically different, as all suffer with severe childhood trauma that shaped them into who they are in the series. Some core aspects of their personalities would be kept though. I’m gonna break down their childhoods, and how I think they’d grow up if things were different. This is gonna be my first analysis so I hope you guys enjoy reading it.
⚠️TW for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse⚠️
Shu - As a child, Shu was constantly pressured as the eldest son to surpass his father. For hundreds of years he would have to study, and barely got anytime to be a kid. When he did, it was always on his own merit. Running away, and seeking out his best friend Edgar, was how he got away from it all. (At least for a very brief portion of his life.) One thing after another, the things that brought him joy were stripped from him, including Edgar. Feeling trapped, he eventually stopped caring all together, and burnt out. His lazy persona was formed from depression, and trauma. That being said, his sluggish attitude, is the only aspect of his personality I can really see changing. Maybe the vampire would be less sadistic too? That’s hard to say, but perhaps if he continued making human friends, he wouldn’t look down on them so much. Having good parents as a vampire might mean that they belittle humans even more so who knows. His quiet nature would remain, but he wouldn’t be shy by any means. I think his “cool” personality is just how he is. His perverted side would also still be present. It’s worth noting that he’s the only brother who hates his parents, but doesn’t hold any kind of grudge. (Subaru doesn’t hate his mom, but would kill his father if the opportunity was available.)
Reiji - Reijis childhood was the complete opposite of his older brother. Instead of being hyper focused on, he was neglected. No matter what he did, nobody seemed to care for his achievements. The reason why Reiji is the most intelligent out of all his siblings, is because he never stopped trying to get attention by proving his capabilities. Even when he did get praised, it was in the form of backhanded compliments “You will make an excellent right hand man to your brother once he becomes king”. That inferiority complex of his, and hatred for his mother/older brother, would have never been there if he had good parents. Being raised in a loving home, I believe the good aspects of his personality would be cranked up, as opposed to the bad. He’d still be the most intelligent, but out of curiosity, and the need to learn more than anything. His ego would still be present a bit, especially when it comes to humans, but perhaps he’d be more snarky than sadistic? I can also see him being less strict, and more charming towards people. The character would be a little empathetic towards others, and not as detached from his family. Getting along with his brother would be in a playful competitive sense. I also lowkey see him being a mamas boy.
Ayato - Ayato has a similar upbringing to Shu, except his mother was extremely unstable, and downright cruel. Unlike the other two mothers, Cordelia didn’t care for her sons at all. He was a victim to beatings, and torment (I’m sure we all know the story of him being drowned in a lake). Ayato also witnessed Cordelias fits/breakdowns, (which often resulted in maids being killed before his very eyes) as well as her love affairs. The reason why she showed even a shred of regard for Ayato, was because he was the oldest of the triplets. The vampire was praised for things that made his mother look good, and proved he was the “best”. One of the ways narcissists are formed is from parental neglect, and only being praised when they do something worthy of acknowledgement. Which is why his whole character revolves around his need to be the best. If the vampire was raised by good parents, his egotism wouldn’t be present at all. He’d be a way more lighthearted character, and probably just a big loud dork. I’m sure he’d still be a jerk to some extent, but in a misfit kind of a sense. He seems playful at heart, and stubborn in nature. Perhaps he’d be a bit of a heart breaker amongst ladies, or absolutely terrible at picking up chicks. I wholeheartedly believe his personality was mostly formed via “nurture”, but if he wasn’t as strong of a character emotionally, would he have made it out the same?
Laito - Laitos upbringing is different from that of his brothers. While he was neglected, and traumatized from witnessing things no kid should have, the abuse he went through didn’t occur until he was a teenager. At a certain age (unclear), Cordelia began abusing him sexually, and warped his viewpoint on love. His only purpose was to please her sexually, which completely fucked him up. While he always knew it was wrong, Laito was manipulated into believing that he loved his mother as a partner. When Karl Heinz found out, he locked Laito in a dungeon as punishment. Nobody was there to comfort, or acknowledge him as a victim. Instead, Cordelia had sex in front of Laito, and told her son that he was nothing more than a play toy. He continued the cycle of abuse once the incestuous relationship ended. His whole persona is fake, it’s a means to bury all his trauma deep down. With all that being said, Laito would be an entirely different person if he was raised by loving parents. Instead of being this abusive asshole, he’d be a more soft spoken, chill, and nice person. Maybe a little flirtatious, but unintentionally so. I highly doubt he’d be nearly as sadistic, or brutal when it comes to humans, as he didn’t even enjoy taking advantage of his first victim, Hilde (a maid). His hobbies might also be a focus for him, as he wouldn’t be constantly trying to fill up his time by preying on people. Perhaps being a legendary pianist? He’d definitely be closer to his brothers as well, and give them advice more often. His perceptive, and sharp people reading skills would still be there.
Kanato - Kanato has always been needy, and attention seeking. Instead of trying to get his mothers attention by proving his capabilities, he would often times beg for it, or hurt himself. Most of his childhood was spent being neglected. Even if he sustained really bad injuries, Cordelia would ignore him, or request one of the servants take care of it. She disregarded him, until it was discovered that he could sing. His mother was turned on by his voice, and requested that Kanato sing while she was having intercourse. Since he was exposed to sex at a young age, his view on lust/love is very warped, just like Laito. Not nearly as much, but he believes forcing himself onto others is normal. Women are lustful creatures who always want it, in his eyes. (This explains why he forces himself onto Yui the most out of all his brothers.) Cordelia would also order Kanato to dispose of her affairs once she was bored, or if they caused trouble. His mother approved of him turning them into dolls, which is why he continued doing it for hundreds of years. If he had a normal upbringing, Kanato wouldn’t be as broken, and deranged as he is. His mood swings, and extremely sadistic nature wouldn’t be there. I believe he’d be quite timid, and a bit bratty if raised with good parents. He’d throw tantrums sometimes if he didn’t get what he wanted, but not have full blown episodes. I think he also wouldn’t hate women, and humans nearly as much as he does. Kanato is a sensitive person at heart who needs love.
Subaru - Subaru had a lonely, and isolated childhood. He did experience brief moments of tenderly love from his mother, but it was usually followed by Christa breaking down, and screaming at him. His low self esteem is rooted in his mother calling him a monster his entire life. Because Christa was locked away, dealing with her own mental deterioration, Subaru looked after himself. Never did he get validation or approval from anybody. With no siblings to turn to, or father to look to for guidance, he became extremely destructive. Taking his anger out on objects was the only way he could remain sane with a sickly mother. I’m sure there’s been instances where he punched, or beat, brides/servants, as sad as that is to say. I wouldn’t doubt it, since he has said he’s blind during moments or rage, and can easily hurt others if they’re around him when he’s like this. If Subaru had even one good parental figure he’d be different. He’d still be sadistic, but able to control his anger/emotions way better. His horrible self image wouldn’t be there either, and maybe he’d take pride in himself more. I think he’d also pick up hobbies, or be involved in sports, as opposed to being a delinquent. It said in his part of the anniversary book that he actually enjoys exercising, and likes his body sometimes, because he works out. Without a doubt he’d still be an awkward goof, and a tsundere at times. Probably known around the school for having cute reactions as opposed to being scary.
Whew that was long, if you read even a sliver of that Ily (っ◔︣◡◔᷅)っ ❤
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snowbellewells · 4 years
Text
Captain Swan Movie Marathon: “Carolina Moon”
Here is my second submission to the @captainswanmoviemarathon event!! This one is a modern au of the Nora Roberts tv movie (adapted from one of her novels) Carolina Moon. The main female character in the movie is psychic/clairvoyant (I’ll admit, I’m not too sure on the distinction between the two) and I thought her visions and what she goes through in connection to them made a nice real world parallel to Emma’s magic. (There’s also a scene in here where the male lead says something that I could so perfectly see Killian saying to Emma… I just cannot wait to get to that point!)
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this romantic thriller with some murder mystery elements.  There are some instances of abuse and violence in here though - which I feel like I should mention, since that’s a little darker than my typical style. Most of them are in flashbacks of Emma’s past, or in visions she has of victims, more than in the actual present day plot, still I wanted to make people aware before we got too far.
Please enjoy! (I’d love to hear what you think.)
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Chapter One
July 1993
The water at their hideaway always feels so good. She could sink into it until her head slips below the surface and never, ever want to come up for air. It’s cooler, more luxurious than even the rich, satiny sheets on the trundle bed those rare nights she gets to sleep over at Rose’s. Emma Swan’s gangly, 13-year-old limbs slice through the murky water as if the constant humidity and sultry air of Storybrooke, South Carolina can’t penetrate here in their little haven. She knows, of course, logically, that the real world isn’t all that far away. The shaded pond she and Rose discovered two summers ago is just a short trek into the woods at the furthest edge of Rose’s family’s boundless acres. Still, it feels removed enough to bring Emma a sense of peace and contentment she gains nowhere else.
Looking over her shoulder to the large, smooth boulder jutting up out of the pond at the bank where they left their flip flops and cutoff denim shorts, she can see her best friend stretched out with her new book where they had spread their towels on the rock’s surface, just in the wash of warming sunlight that streams through the tree branches overhead. Her friend’s flawlessly creamy pale skin is prone to burning, but at the moment Rose seems willing to take the risk for the benefit of lazing cozily to read as she dries in the sun after taking a quick dip. Shaking her head, Emma plunges back under, happy to stay in the chilly water a bit longer herself. She knew as soon as they’d met outside Rose’s house that afternoon and Rose had held the newest entry in her favorite mystery series in her hand that she wouldn’t be able to resist burrowing into those pages for long.
It’s funny, Emma supposes, but that’s exactly what bonded she and Rose in the first place. They might seem different on the surface, but in the end, neither of them quite fit with everyone else, and so they gravitate to each other, and have ever since Emma first arrived in Storybrooke as an eight-year-old orphan. They’re willing to give each other at least one other person who takes them as they are and with whom they won’t have to pretend. Emma doesn’t care if Rose wants to read quietly and tell her about the stories she’s already finished instead of picking out dresses for the next cotillion class or preening in front of the mirror to practice batting her eyelashes to charm boys or bragging to Emma about which ones she intends to kiss. Her sister Ruby, who shares the same thickly shining, burnished mahogany hair and pretty pink lips but little of her fraternal twin’s calming, gentle personality, does enough of that for the both of them. Their mother, a former debutante and southern belle, delights in the one daughter’s traditional coquettishness, and despairs of the other’s shyness, a true throwback to another time who wants nothing more than to see both daughters marry well and retain their places atop the social ladder. In turn, Rose doesn’t mock Emma for her thick, dark-framed glasses or secondhand clothes, nor does she cringe away from the “fits” that sometimes take hold of her friend, making strange, disturbing scenes Emma can’t understand flash across her mind with such intensity they sometimes knock her off her feet. Emma knows Rose’s mother and sister find her an unsuitable and embarrassing companion for Rose, but she is eternally grateful her friend seems able to see the best in anyone - even a lost girl nobody else wants - and so blithely acts as though she has no idea of the rest of her family’s opinions.
Cringing even while still submerged in the pond’s depths and practically invisible, Emma tries not to think of her unwanted visions. Her strict, hypocritical, and more than a bit deranged foster father claims she’s possessed - and more than once has taken her episodes out on her hide. The man swears he’s beating the devil out of her and putting the fear of God in Satan’s place when he takes the thick leather strap to her shoulders, back and legs until she bleeds, but Emma has already lived long enough in a cruel and unfair world to know that his violence and “discipline” have less to do with parenting and concern for her soul, and more to show for his own twisted mind and overindulgence in the bottle. She wants to hide her spells from him, but when they come on her so abruptly and with such power, they are impossible to miss. She can’t fathom how a person like him was deemed fit to take in and care for a child, but it seems to be her lot, and so she simply grits her teeth and survives.
It’s different when the spells happen around Rose; the slight brunette merely rests a cool, steadying hand on Emma’s forehead or her arm until it passes, helps Emma stand until she feels in control again, listens as she attempts to make sense of whatever she’s seen, and most importantly… believes her. If only she could stay in the huge house Rose’s family calls home. She’d cook, clean, do chores, and stay in the servant’s quarters, Emma isn’t picky. It would still be a far sight safer than the situation she had in the rundown shack with the monster who’d been deemed her caretaker. Barring that, she would honestly rather live wild in these woods and survive off the land. She knew which plants and berries were safe to eat, Graham, her friend and a fellow orphan now happily adopted, had taught her how to fish; it wouldn’t be easy, but she’d get by, and at least no one would lay a hand on her again.
This afternoon, those eerie images she sometimes had seem far away as she splashes up out of the water, trying to arc playfully like a mermaid as she breaks the surface. Drawing in a big gulp of air after staying underwater so long, Emma startles at the sound of teasing laughter, and whirls to see three figures on the bank where she and Rose left their shoes and shorts. 
“Well, look here,” calls out a taunting voice that never fails to set Emma’s nerves on edge. “It’s the baby beached librarian and her drowned rat friend!” none other than Emma’s nemesis Killian Jones crows from his vantage point on dry land.
Rose sits up ramrod straight, book still in hand and annoyed scowl on her face at the quiet of their sanctuary being interrupted. She isn’t genuinely angry, though; for all that she and her sister shared little in common, she and her two years older brother are affectionately close. “Shut up, Killy!” she shoots back, throwing in the childhood nickname they all know he hates. “Who asked you to come looking anyway?”
The boy standing next to Killian speaks up next, making Emma scowl just as playfully as Rose had moments before. Graham Hunter might as well be her big brother; he’s the closest thing she’d had to family since her parents were lost in a car crash and she was thrown into the foster care system. Be that as it may, he and Killian Jones are thick as thieves, and he’ll give her a hard time for all he’s worth in while in the presence of his buddy. “We just wanted to swim,” he calls across the water to the two girls, smirking at Emma, now standing in the water with one hip jutting out and hands planted on her waist. “How were we supposed to know you two were infesting it?”
“Ha!” Emma jeers back, the affront plain in her voice; despite the fact that the entire routine is like a practiced girls-versus-boys exchange they’ve all engaged in countless times. There isn’t much else to do for entertainment in their sleepy little one-horse town. “You idiots know this is Rose and I’s hideaway, fair and square!”
“Well, Rose’s anyway,” a third voice cuts in snidely.
The cruel jab reminds Emma once more that she is just a charity case, quite possibly only included in anything at all because of her friend’s kind heart, and causes her gaze to cut sharply to the third member of the boys’ little crew, hanging back slightly in the shadows behind Killian and Graham as he always does. Her green eyes narrow to slits in genuine dislike and suspicion. Where before her animosity was largely for show, when they land on Walsh Ozman it is all too real.
She has never understood why the other two boys - jokers and annoyances though they may be, but good guys when it comes right down to it - hang out with Walsh at all.  Where Graham and Killian are much more cut from the same cloth - athletic, outgoing, well-liked and pleasant - Walsh is a splindy, sniveling character, complaining and whining whatever their little trio gets up to. He lives not far from Emma’s foster father’s cabin with his single mother - a bushy-haired redhead who seems strangely overprotective and attached to her only child. Most people give the property a wide berth, except when high schoolers teepee it the whole month of October, and the general town consensus is that Zelena Ozman might be a witch and to steer clear. Still, beyond all of that, Emma might have been able to look past the boy’s circumstances and see him for himself - she of all people knew the gift it was not to be judged by where a person came from - if Walsh hadn’t simply given her “the willies”. Even standing too close to him made the fine hairs at the nape of her neck stand on end - and not in the way that nearness to Killian sometimes did; an altogether much more pleasant tingle, even if she was just as unable to explain one as the other.
“We could just take their things,” Walsh suggests, holding up the threadbare, faded jeans Emma had left on the bank. “Make them walk back in their skivvies.” The wicked smile on his face makes Emma’s stomach turn over sickly.
Something sharp flashes in Jones’ eyes, his nostrils flaring slightly and his head giving a subtle shake of dissent that Emma can see even at the distance she stands away from him. Protectiveness, chivalry, or maybe the honor of a southern gentleman passed down to him through generations of his impressive family line, whatever it is, it sparks to life in his eyes at that moment as he quashes Walsh’s mean-spirited suggestion in no uncertain terms. “That’s my little sister you’re talking about Oz,” he growls, smacking the worn material from the smaller’s boy’s hands, even if the article of clothing isn’t Rose’s at all.
Emma feels her breath rush back into her lungs, though she continues to watch the guys warily for whatever they might do or say next. Before long, they grow bored of standing around and move on, hollering out age old taunts of “Bye, losers” and “Hey, smell ya later” to Emma’s derisive snort and Rose completely ignoring them to flip open her book again.
However, even with the intruders gone, it seems as if the perfect comfort of their retreat has been shattered by the unsettling interruption.  Soon, Emma wades to the shore and Rose clambers down from her perch, to dress once more and return to the world outside. For a moment, as she refastens her jeans around her skinny waist, Emma feels a strange prickling along the fine hairs on her arms… like they’re being watched. She jerks around, searching the surrounding trees and brush, but can’t see or hear a thing.
Rose’s small hand takes hers, snapping Emma out of the moment. “What is it?” she whispers, only true caring in her voice. “Did you sense something?”
Emma nods, but can’t give her suspicions voice. Usually her vision are clearer than that - this had just been heavy breathing and like looking at herself and Rose through another person’s eyes, outside her own body.
Rose stooped to grab the little canvas bag she’d bought along with water bottles, towels, and a second book in it. “Hey, don’t worry, okay?” she offers, hopeful and kind as always. “You’ll figure it out. Wanna meet back out here tonight? Secret Sister bonfire?” she winks mischeivously. “I have to get to dinner now. You know how Mama hates it if I’m not washed up and properly attired for the evening meal - or a second late. But we can talk some more then, maybe you’ll remember more and it will be clearer.”
Emma nods gamely. “The stars’ll be beautiful by midnight,” she suggests. “And we’ll definitely have the place all to ourselves.”
“Since we were so rudely interrupted,” Rose chimes in with a giggle and roll of her eyes.
“Shake on it, pinkie swear,” they say together in practiced unison, executing a complex handshake that ends with their pinkies hooked together and wide, matching grins on both their faces.
“Thanks Rose,” Emma whispers sincerely, trying to speak around the lump in her throat as if it’s no big deal. “I’ll be out here as soon as I can sneak away.”
Rose, for her part, wraps her taller, golden-haired friend into a tight, momentary hug. “Hey, we’re Secret Sisters! You can count on me.  I’ll see you then!”
They part ways at the edge of the forest, Emma heading to the rundown cabin that serves as her nightmarish version of a home and Rose to the pristine, Jones mansion standing tall over all the surrounding land. Rose looks back over her shoulder with a smile and wave that bolsters Emma, and the memory fades back into the haze of the past…
Eighteen years later….
September 2011
The blaring of the horn as a sports car whizzed by, barely missing the nose of Emma’s beat-up yellow VW where it had begun to edge out into the country intersection jarred her back to the present with a gasp and painful jolt to her chest. Panting for a moment as she gripped the steering wheel, Emma tried to clear her head and calm the pounding of her heart at the near-miss.
‘Get it together,’ she berated herself. It might have seemed like only yesterday as she remembered that sunny afternoon at the swimming hole, but that day had been nearly two decades ago. She was a grown woman, had made a way for herself, fighting tooth and nail for every step forward, and she answered to no one. She had learned to stand up for herself, to control her visions and use them for good, and was a special consultant for the NYPD. But, more than all of that, she had come back to this place to find peace, to lay to rest the ghosts that followed her everywhere else she’d gone in the years between, once and for all. If she expected other to leave the past in the past, she’d first have to manage it herself.
She’d had no way to know as she and Rose parted that afternoon with promises and plans for later that it would be the last time she would ever see her friend. Emma had harbored the pain and the guilt and the unanswered questions ever since. Finally, it was time to meet the gazes of all of those who’d stared at her in suspicion before she’d been packed up and moved away once more, and it was time she found answers. She wasn’t the scared, whipped, mistreated adolescent she had been at 13. What she had lived through then wasn’t her fault, nor was what had happened to Rose that muggy July midnight. 
And if she had to return to Storybrooke, South Carolina to lay that burden down… well, it was long past time she did.
Tagging: @captainswanmoviemarathon​ @teamhook​ @revanmeetra87​ @lassluna @kmomof4​ @searchingwardrobes​ @jennjenn615​ @hollyethecurious​ @stahlop​ @winterbaby89​ @lfh1226-linda​ @therooksshiningknight​ @thejollyroger-writer​ @artistic-writer​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @darkcolinodonorgasm​ @tiganasummertree​ @xsajax​ @spartanguard​ @laschatzi​
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transelyan · 4 years
Note
For the fic prompt, can you do 15?
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prompt: “oh god, you’re just like your dad.”
i changed the wording slightly? but here we go.
“You’re exactly the same, do you realize that? You love to distance yourself, but you are just like your father.”
With a well-placed spell, she slams him backward; there’s a second where he can’t tell if the sickening crack he hears came from the tree he crashed into or his own body. “I am nothing like Uther!” Morgana cries out, the sound pitiful and half-desperate. “He’s a monster!”
“Do you keep track of everyone you kill? I know he didn’t. There were always too many.”
He hates how attuned he still is to her magic. As he rolls to the side he can feel it hissing through the air, only narrowly missing him. Another tree is destroyed. He’s slower in this form, unused to the creaking of his old bones, but she’s sloppy. She is terrified of Emrys, of their destiny, and he can use that terror to his advantage. He has to.
He forces a wall of magic forward, hitting her square in the chest and sending her flying. He tells himself it’s alright. He isn’t grimacing at her cry, and he isn’t acknowledging that that isn’t true. 
When she pushes herself up, one hand is pressed firmly against her side. There is rage in her eyes. She is determined and deranged, and Merlin's heart aches.
“I'm fighting for magic! He killed our people, destroyed our history! You know you should be fighting for me!”
Merlin knows a lot of things. He knows she loved the sound of the forest in the mornings. He knows she liked to braid her hair after baths, but she loved it even more when he did it for her. He knows how brightly she had grinned when he tentatively pressed his lips against her own.
But he isn’t an idiot.
He knows she would kill Arthur and Gwen immediately if given the chance, and she would do so with glee. He knows they all played a part in twisting her into the woman who stands before him, stained and hurt and beaten. He knows of good and evil, of destiny, and she does as well, but she is scared of him, and she will do whatever she must to kill Emrys. He is well-aware that she isn’t the Morgana he knew, the one he loved. 
Knowing doesn’t stop the aching, though.
“I fight for Arthur. I fight for Albion. You have already shown that the minute you gain any power, you will abuse it. You will slaughter the people of Camelot, just as your father did!”
He registers the smell of lightning as he raises his arms. Morgana stands across from him, so broken, so defiant. For a moment, he sees Nimueh. His clouds flock to them and reach for her, another victim of Uther’s, another enemy of Merlin’s. Someone who, in another life, he could have happily known.
The clouds come for them now. Morgana looks up, horror dawning on her face as she sees them, feels Emrys’ storm brewing around them. She doesn’t move. 
In another life, Morgana meets the same end as Nimueh, because Merlin is kind. This is not that life.
As the clouds dissipate, a dizzying wave of power leaves him. Instinctively, it seeks her out, and it finds her, receiving a pained cry as she falls to her knees, half-paralyzed. 
He walks toward her, slowly. “The world has twisted your grief into something horrid.” She bares her teeth at him. “This isn’t holy. This isn’t righteous.”
“You’re foolish and arrogant. You know nothing.”
He knows what he set out to do.
“You had a life in Camelot. You had a family.”
“I had a prison, and people who left me to rot the minute they saw my abilities. There is no place for magic, no home for us in Camelot until Arthur is dead.”
“He loved you! They all loved you!” Even as the sight of him hurts her, he is thankful for this form. It hides the way his true voice would waver, would crack. 
I loved you.
It’s too much for him, seeing her, like this. She’s warped beyond his recognition, and yet he aches. He needs to calm himself before he does something drastic.
“I’m going to eat your tongue,” she sneers. “I’m going to tear you apart and make sure you live through it. I’m going to win, you horrible old bastard.”
That should make it easier on him, shouldn’t it? He knows what he set out to do. He already has the spell to do it, something quiet but efficient, something so simple that would put a stop to all the fighting. This is how every story ends, with good prevailing, the hero defeating the villain. Arthur unites Albion, magic returns, Emrys kills Morgana.
But Merlin isn’t Emrys. He still has time. Moving closer, he whispers something softer, a spell that has her slumping forward into his waiting arms, sleeping but still painfully alive.
The story has to end one day. There is too much blood between the two of them for it to go on; it can never be anything other than exhaustingly cruel. Maybe that’s what he is, to allow her to live, to allow it to continue.
As he carries her limp body to her hovel, his figure starts to change. The strength returns to his arms; the youth returns to his face. If she saw him like this, if she recognized him, would she hesitate? Would apprehension flicker in her eye? If only for a moment, would she grieve for him in the way he constantly does for her?
Is he so desperate as to believe that would ever be enough?
One day, he will kill her, and he will hate her, and he will be the hero, and the story will end. He presses a kiss to her forehead, chaste and forgettable, and knows that it isn’t that day.
He closes the door gently behind him and hopes she sleeps well.
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the-cookie-of-doom · 4 years
Text
https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/190234795925/stiles-sterek-and-steter-shippers-we-luv#notes
@princeescaluswords:
Morally gray characters don’t really exist. What Sterek and Steter shippers mean when they say morally gray characters are amoral characters – characters who don’t understand or are completely unconcerned with right and wrong.
You could argue that, for example, Stiles Stilinski is an amoral character. He’s unconcerned with the moral dimensions of many of his actions as long as it protects the people and relationships he values. I think this is most clearly shown by the joke in Illuminated (3x16) where Scott asks Stiles if copying the sheriff’s station’s key cards is worse than stealing them, and his befuddled reply is “It’s smarter.”
I would argue that Derek Hale is a very moral character, even when he’s fucking up big time in Season 2. He’s not abusing those kids for personal pleasure. He’s doing it to salvage his family’s legacy, which he considers the right thing to do and resisting predatory Argents, which is also the right thing to do. He’s still wrong – so wrong that he’s a villain – but when he shouts “I can’t let her live!” he means it, and he’s doing it because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.
I think it’s pretty obvious that Peter Hale is an immoral character. He’s completely motivated by self interest, rage, and greed, but he understands that what he is doing is wrong. If killing his niece was the right thing to do, why did he try to pass it off as an accident or madness? He knows that Scott didn’t take anything from the Hales, that he’s simply jealous and greedy, but he tries to cover it up by nattering on about his family’s legacy. Peter’s different from Stiles in that he has chosen to do the wrong thing to get what he wants.
It’s why I always laugh at Left Hand stories. For all his verbal bullshit, Peter’s actions always and only benefited himself. Killing Laura damaged his family forever. Biting Scott and ravaging Lydia served no one but himself. Where was the Left Hand when they were trying to rescue Erica and Boyd (”You think I really care?”) or when Derek tried to kill Deucalion in the abandoned mall? (It’s always telling that for all his blandly-moral self-righteousness, Scott helps Derek in that fight, while Peter is nowhere to be seen). He argues constantly that Derek should take their familial relationship into account and vanishes when it’s not in his interest to be familial.
The reason they don’t like Scott’s ‘black-and-white world’ or ‘bland morality’ is not because they don’t think it’s effective, it’s because they wanted the white family on top, and Peter Hale provided them ammunition. Scott is moral, but he is hardly black and white. He doesn’t believe in killing people, but he makes exceptions all the time – in Party Guessed (Scott: Ugh, I get it. We can’t save Jackson.), in Fury, in Master Plan, in Frayed, in Lunar Ellipse, in the entirety of 3B, in Muted, and in Monstrous – and that’s not black-and-white morality. Scott expressed dismay when Stiles breaks the rules, but he doesn’t get angry with him.
Lies of Omission is an excellent case because not only did Stiles kill someone, but he killed a victim of the Doctors’ experiments. Scott had watched Tracy murder the people who loved her, and he had heard Corey’s description of Lucas’ change in personality. In addition, Stiles lied to him. He told Scott that he had gotten hurt by the hood of his jeep, when it had been Donovan. Why would you believe someone who lied to you – who’s lied to everyone he’s ever cared about?
Peter Hale (and parts of the fandom) paint Scott as self-righteous because they don’t want to recognize that the people in the show need someone like Scott McCall to fight for their right to life. Imagine if Scott decided that Peter was right, and that the true survivors live in Shades of Gray. What if he decided to protect only his pack and not to care about the rest of the supernaturals of Beacon Hills? What if he decided, after dying at Liam’s and Theo’s hands, that someone else could stop the Beast? That would be the immoral thing to do. That is what Peter would do, and did do.
What fiction writers try to do is paint amorality and immorality as a different kind of morality, and that’s a definist fallacy. They are not alternate versions of the same thing.
It’s most clearly seen in stories where Stiles excoriates Scott for not killing threats, even defeated threats such as Deucalion or Gerard, or for not executing those who hurt or killed their friends and allies, such as Theo or the twins, but Peter is standing next to Stiles whispering “Left Hand, Left Hand” in his ear like a deranged parrot. The inevitable malfunction there is so huge it can be seen from space.
If Scott McCall was going to abandon his moral stance on second chances and the possibilities of forgiveness, if he was going to become a “survivor and live in shades of gray,” if he was going to kill defeated threats and execute killers and villains, why not start with Peter Hale? If he’s no longer concerned with right and wrong, what’s Scott’s motivation for allowing that monster to take one more breath? He wouldn’t have any.
~•~
“Peter Hale and non Scott/Posey fans don’t like Scott McCall and paint him as a self-righteous coward because they don’t want to recognize that the people in the show need someone like Scott to fight for their right to life” Tyler Posey is that you?
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Cookie:
“Stiles Stilinski is an amoral character. He’s unconcerned with the moral dimensions of many of his actions as long as it protects the people and relationships he values.”
That’s.... that’s literally what morally gray means. 
Morally grey characters do what’s right for the people they love, regardless of the consequences. They will do something Bad if it means getting a good outcome. They are the  literally definition of the ends justify the means. 
“I think this is most clearly shown by the joke in Illuminated (3x16) where Scott asks Stiles if copying the sheriff’s station’s key cards is worse than stealing them, and his befuddled reply is “It’s smarter.””
This is adorable. PEW is seriously taking things out of context here, isn’t he? I love how he neglects to mention that Stiles copies the key card for Scott. Because Scott wanted to break into the Sheriff’s station to impress the new girl he likes (shocker), and made Stiles is accomplice, because Stiles was the obvious in. That’s not a moral choice, PEW. No one was in danger. They weren’t protecting anybody. They weren’t even protecting Kira, when anybody who saw the picture of her would assume it was a damn Instagram filter!
Also, who the fuck uses “befuddled” anymore? You’re showing your age again, PEW.
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missjosie27 · 5 years
Text
MC Info
Character Profile: David Grant
Name: David John Grant
DOB: January 16th, 1973
Parents: John and Elizabeth Grant
Siblings: Jacob (Elias) Grant
Nationality: British
Ancestry: Pure Blood
House: Gryffindor
Height: starts at 4’10 and ends up 6’1
Eyes: Hazel blue
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Likes: hanging out with friends, Quidditch matches, chocolate frogs, dueling, having a pint, Merula Snyde
Dislikes: also Merula Snyde, anything associated with Slytherin, negative chatter about his brother, being nagged by his mother, betrayal
Friends: Rowan Khanna, Ben Copper, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Penny Haywood (Later friends include Tulip Karasu, Barnaby Lee, Nymphadora Tonks, Andre Egwu, Jae Kim, Diego Caplan, Liz Tuttle, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Cedric Diggory)
Enemies: Professor Snape, Merula Snyde, Ismelda Murk (formerly: Barnaby Lee), Patricia Rakepick, ‘R’, Argus Filch
Love Interest: Merula Snyde (develops a strong crush on her during Year 4), minor flirtations with Penny and Tulip
MC’s Strengths/Weaknesses/Hobbies
Positive traits: honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | focused  | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | protective | proud | diligent | considerate | compassionate | good sportsmanship | friendly |empathetic | passionate | reliable | resourceful | sensible | sincere | witty |funny
Negative Traits: moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power - hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | masochistic | petty | unlucky | absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | childish | callous | clingy | delusional | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cynical | cruel | depressed | deranged | egotistical | envious | insecure | insensitive | lustful | delinquent | guilt complex | reclusive | reckless | nervous | oversensitive | rebellious
What’s their personal philosophy?  Do they even have one?
A: David’s philosophy on life can be more or less be summed up in a single word: humor. Though deridingly sarcastic to those he doesn’t like, David is very witty, clever, and easy going. However, as becomes a pattern for him, often times he uses this natural humor and socialization to deflect from his own problems and hide away the fact that he feels a great deal of pain and guilt over his missing brother.
How do they feel about their status and reputation as the curse-breaker in the school?
A: David did not go to Hogwarts with a mission to find the vaults, which was just rumor at the time. He ached to find Jacob, but tried to adhere to his parents request that he not cause trouble. This, of course, did not happen, and as time goes on David more or less embraces the role of ‘curse-breaker’ and the responsibility that comes along with it. He does not seek attention, but does enjoy the fact that girls find him attractive. 
Did they get sorted into the Hogwarts House they expected to?  Did the Sorting Hat have any problems sorting them?  Or did it not even have to touch their head?
A: David was relatively indifferent about which House he was sorted into and made that known in his private discussion with the Sorting Hat. The only house he dislikes is Slytherin and being a pure blood who saw the first war, knows of its dark reputation. It took the hat two minutes to sort David, but found his fearlessness was his most defining quality and decided to put him into Gyrffindor.
What are their coping strategies for dealing with everything (the Vaults, Jacob, etc.), if they have any?
A: David is somewhat contradictory. When it comes to finding the vaults, protecting his friends, and doing the right thing, he is largely decisive and endears himself as a leader. When it comes to his own emotions and dealing with familial issues, he’s deflective and silent. When pressed on his own troubles, he clams up and will either give a joke or change the subject. He has never been very good at expressing negative emotion and therefore when he fails to hold it back, it often explodes in the form of raw anger or tears
What electives do they take throughout their time at Hogwarts?
A: He takes Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. He is not a fan of creatures, however, and only takes the class in order to talk Quidditch with Charlie. He later drops it and takes Divination instead in order to get an easy grade.
Are they in any clubs or extracurricular activities?  What about Quidditch?
A: Penny has invited him before to be in the Potions club, and though he will attend on occasion, does not officially join. Due to his curse breaking adventures, David has little time for anything extra curricular until 6th year, when Charlie invites him to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a beater, a position he largely excels at. Along with Charlie, Oliver Wood, and Sky Parkin, the Lions win the cup.
How studious are they?  What kind of studying strategies do they use?  Do they have any study groups with their friends?
A: David is quite enthusiastic about the subjects he excels in, though he is not a ‘bookworm’ like Rowan or some of his Ravenclaw friends. Often study groups are formed with the pretext of talking about something else, namely the vaults. However, he will join Rowan, Tulip, and even Merula on occasion to legitimately go over the books. 
How willing are they when it comes to breaking school rules?
A: Unlike Tulip and Tonks, David does not go out of his way to break rules and doesn’t see himself as a rebel against authority figures. That being said, he has no issue bending/breaking them if he a) feels it’s to his advantage b) believes there is something greater at stake such as the safety of his friends or finding the vaults. Upon becoming a prefect, David finds this method much more difficult to follow as he has to navigate upholding his charges while also finding a new way to get around things so as to not lose his position.
Do they hang out with any of their friends over breaks?  If so, which one(s) and what do they do?
A: David does not get to hang out with any of his friends over Christmas or Summer break until his fourth year when his parents take a trip to the United States during the month of December. His mom can be quite restrictive and prefers to keep an eye on her son out of fear of losing him as she did with Jacob. After his sixth year, David spent a week with the Weasley family, immensely enjoying their company. Though he was curious, Merula refused to allow him to visit her lonely manor. This was somewhat out of safety concerns, but also because she was embarrassed and did not want David meeting her aunt. 
After they graduate, do they fall off the map and keep a low profile?  Or do they continue to exist in the public eye?
A: Following graduation, David trains for three years to become an Auror and succeeds. He’s not necessarily in the public eye, but he’s never out of it either. Though not an attention seeker by nature, he also doesn’t shy away from it. 
How does their career path differ from what they thought they’d be doing?  Or does it differ at all?
A: ‘Curse-Breaker’ was a designation that David accepted but never truly embraced over his time at Hogwarts. It was Tonks who convinced him that his talents and interests were better served in Law Enforcement as the Auror office only takes the best of the best.
Do they have any hobbies?  What about any talents or aptitudes?
A: David loves a pint at a pub, Quidditch matches, and going to concerts with his girlfriend and later wife, Merula. He is also quite fond of cooking various steaks and pork chops, a skill Jae later taught him when he began to live on his own. Believe it or not, he is also a talented singer, though he prefers to give way to Merula on that score, allowing her his spot on the Frog Choir. Though not enthralled at academics, David is talented in Transfiguration, Herbology, Potion Making, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Most notably, he is one of the best duelers during his time at Hogwarts.
Do they have any favorite spells?
A: David is partial to ‘Reducto’ as he can reduce most objects to ash with it. He’ll often do this in private for fun or to vent off steam. Another, more light hearted spell he likes is the ‘Melofors Jinx’ which he uses on Merula and Ismelda more than once over the years (the spell causes the victim’s head to be encased inside of a pumpkin).
What’s one thing they did or thought as a child that they later look back and cringe about?
A: David has extremely mixed feelings about how often he used to idolize his brother. He still does to some extent, but by the time he enters his first year, it’s rather hollow and can’t help but feel a tremendous amount of guilt about Jacob and the fact that he was the only hero he ever had growing up.
If they could travel anywhere at all in the world—money, time, and language not being an issue—where would they go and who would they take with them?
A: Before Jacob’s disappearance, the Grant family took several holidays, one of which was in Normandy, France. David dreams of buying a small cottage there and take trips with his one and only love, Merula. David has also been to America and was quite fond of New York, finding the relative anonymity a perfect place to hide out if one were a wizard looking to avoid attention.  
If they’re an Animagus, how easy was becoming one for them?  Were they happy with their Animagus form?  Or did they want it to be something different?
A: David never becomes an Animagus in my story.
Do they like what they see in the mirror?
A: David carries a cocky streak laced with vanity and knows he’s handsome to many young witches at Hogwarts. He knows and appreciates his own talent. But in terms of his own self, there is a great deal of doubt: his life, career, the vaults, family, finding his brother. Due to Jacob’s disappearance, David still feels like it was his fault that something went wrong and that his parents’ marriage became strained to the point of near divorce. He avoids these issues for the most part, never acknowledging them unless seriously prompted or pushed.
How good are they at taking compliments?
A: Very normal for the most part.
How much do they trust their friends?
A: David gets along with his friends, but due to his own inability to let go of the guilt and pain he felt when Jacob left, he does not like revealing his innermost secrets to people. He avoids talking about his somewhat unstable family life, which has become strained, stifling, and gray. He would trust his best friends in almost any other category, however, including battle or information about the vaults.
Are they pretty self-reliant?  Or do they like to go to their friends for help?
A: It’s a mix. David is not one to be a martyr but he does have an obsessive streak which has a tendency to push people out when not careful. All in all, he’s very thankful for the assistance he receives from his friends 
Who is their favorite Weasley?  Or can they not choose?
A: David likes the Weasleys equally and enjoys Bill and Charlie in their own way, the former for being a surrogate older brother, the second for his down to earth nature and general friendliess. Fred and George are something of a nuisance with their pranks which make his job as Prefect twice as hard, however, he does hold a soft spot for them after they help him find a few secret passage ways as an apology. He does have a least favorite Weasley by the end though: Percy, whom he regards as a whiner and a tattletale. 
What’s the thing they like least about themselves?
A: Despite contrasting himself frequently with Jacob, David also knows he shares a similar impulsive streak that has threatened to get him into serious trouble more than once. He’s also a sucker for women and though he never cheats on Merula, he does seek out other girls when the two break up or when they aren’t together. He also has a hidden guilt complex: everything that goes wrong in his family and relationship life he blames himself.
What’s the thing they like most about themselves?
A: David enjoys his ability to be quick with a joke and get along with most people. He’s naturally good at most things (with a few exceptions) and prides himself on being attractive to girls who see him as something of a sexy bachelor. He also comes to realize he’s a natural leader and that people tend to gravitate towards him when a dangerous or difficult situation comes around.
How bad is their temper?  Do they tend to lash out at others or themselves?
A: David is not temperamental and not easily angered due to his good nature and sense of humor. However, if pushed too far, a quiet rage and tenacity overtakes his mind, blocking out all else until the episode is over. His anger is usually in response to something else- bullying, bigotry, or attacks against his family. During Year 6, David lashes out far more frequently than he usually does, alienating himself somewhat from his longtime friends. He mends the relationships later on, after discovering he was often his own worst enemy and critic.
What’s their biggest regret in life, if they have any?
A: Two in particular. He wishes he could have been there to prevent Jacob from leaving. The second is the way he handled his first break up with Merula. He felt it was his fault for letting her get tortured by Rakepick, but his own inability to solve the problem and Merula’s own stubbornness led to their parting of ways. 
What kind of first impression do they tend to leave on others?
A: Carefree, funny, and witty with a zest for life.
What is the achievement they’re most proud of?
A: Even throughout his curse breaking adventures, David is most proud of his becoming an Auror and somehow convincing Merula to become his wife.
Do they like having photos taken of themselves?
A: David has a knack for taking goofy photos.
What’s one big way that your MC differs from the in-game canon?
A: I feel David Grant definitely has a more sarcastic streak and is not quite as much of a stickler. But all in all, he’s got personality. Most people’s MC’s are pretty much brand generic hero character. David, while a hero, is also a deeply flawed, wise cracking, cocky, baggage ladden teen. That reaches its peak during Years 5 and 6 and it’s only during Year 6 he manages to let go of much of the anguish he was holding onto in order to become a more complete person
What does their name mean and why did you choose it?
A: David is a common Anglo/American name that derives of course from the Hebrew King David in the Torah/Bible. I chose it for two reasons 1) it seemed to fit well with the last name I had in mind 2) it’s also my father’s name, and I modeled the character partially after him
If they’re an Animagus, why did you choose the form for them that you did?
A: David did not choose to become an animagus
How has your MC changed since you first created them?
A: Though I am still in the process of writing the story, David will go through many ups and downs before completing his arc. As an eleven year old first year, he is a curious, funny, talented, but guarded person and those traits become more intense/exaggerated as he gets older. His arc doesn’t come full circle until Year 6.
How well do you think you and your MC would get on?
A: At times really well and other times not. He is modeled after myself in many ways, but David has a higher degree of confidence, leadership, and withholds his feelings as opposed to me, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. I’m sensitive by nature, he’s not. But we do share a few talents- singing music, being generally good at sports and watching it, bar trivia, cooking, etc. The thing that we share above all is passion about a topic we enjoy that can become a full blown obsession. I have that feature to my person and so does David. All in all, as adults I would like David a lot and I think he would like me too.
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clairen45 · 5 years
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About that Dark Visions comic...
I think it’s fair to say that when Marvel’s Dark Visions miniseries about Vader as seen from a different perspective was announced, everybody was excited. We have been hammered on the head since ROTS that “there are heroes on both sides” , and with the expectations concerning the end of the saga as a massive redemption and hope plot, you were bound to be curious about what they would come up with. TBH, I was not expecting to see a softer side to Vader. It would be wrong to expect anything like that, and it would somehow diminish from what happens to him in the OT. He is supposed to be more machine than man. So, no, I definitely did not expect him, or wished him to be the kind of guy operating as the Death Star Secret Santa, knitting socks for the poor and needy, or rescuing people’s pets. It was not my understanding that he was much loved by his Imperial “colleagues” either. When we first see him in ANH; he is derided and dismissed both by a colleague (sorry, forgot the name but you all know whose faithless person I am thinking of) and Leia. Respected for sure, because of the fear he instills in people. So if awe is obviously the right word to use, in the most etymological sense of the term, that is to say “ a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder”, how many people found Vader awesome? Besides the audience. There had to be. And as a concept, it was pretty cool.
That being said, if you think of the title for the series, there were already many ways of interpreting it. Dark Visions... Visions of the power of the Dark Side? The way some people saw Vader? The way Vader thought people saw him? Did the stories happen for real or are they just what the title imply they are: visions. Images. Fantasies. Daydreams or nightmares? Possibly just the imagination of some deranged mind. There is something there that implies that we are not dealing with something too objective. But rather something unhinged and disturbing.
Now, I intend to keep this in mind about the issue that has been raising so much concern: “Tall, Dark, and Handsome”. I think malaise is really the word we should settle for. This issue is problematic in many ways.
For those who haven’t read it or just heard about it through social media and people complaining about it (possibly people on the other side of the spectrum fanning about it), this is how you can sum it up: this is the first person narrative of an unnamed nurse, working on the Death Star for Vader’s personal doctor. The nurse has developed an obsessive infatuation for Vader that has her snoop around him and collect bits and pieces about him (mostly gorish remains of his time at the medical bay) that she hides in her room. She keeps on daydreaming about him and the connection she thinks they have, until one day she musters up her courage and goes to talk to him in his private quarters in order to let him know of her love for him. He cuts her off in all the meanings of the word, both interrupting her speech of eternal devotion and undying love, and piercing her through with his saber. Last moment we see her is lying dead on the floor while he moves away and asking for the sanitation to rid him of the “garbage”.
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Ok, that’s a tall order. Here are points that I find entirely problematic.
1.The Question of Agency:
The authors decided to give a voice, a narrative agency to a character that is presented as inconsequential to the story. She is an anonymous nurse, a dot, in  the bigger picture of the Empire. Much, let’s say, like our current ST heroes: Rey, Finn, and Rose, who started as “nobody”, even more so in the case of Finn and Rey who have literally been deprived of their identities. You could think it’s cool to thus give a voice to this nurse. Even more so when you consider that throughout the comic, she is presented as downtrodden, poor, pushed over, abused physically and verbally, dismissed, and despised. Her employer disrespects her constantly, calling her “fool”, “idiot”, or “stupid”. He shoves her around, and also diminishes her job, calling it “not a real job” or insinuating that she does not do her job correctly. Cases in point:
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And what do we get in this story? A female nobody who starts asserting herself. Wow.
She tells her own story. First person narrative. She becomes an agent.
Look at the evolution of her daydream fantasies. She starts from damsel in distress who needs a man to protect her from her daily abuser
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From nurse whose job means something, to a solid professional, and equal partner to her fantasy Lord:
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And finally a powerful woman in her own rights, even overshadowing her partner, and who is able to defend herself.
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Which then matures into her mustering up the courage to speak for herself, and tell her feelings to the (unwilling) object of her affection.
Except that.... well...she is just presented as a massive psycho. And, ok, it’s fair, we all know that there are female stalkers, and that her obsession for Vader is totally crazy because she doesn’t know anything about him, and she actually fell for someone who was treating her as poorly as the others. But there is the malaise there... The mix of female empowerment and batshit craziness. That’s what put a lot of people ill-at-ease. I wouldn’t even call that subversion, because, dudes, what are we subverting there exactly. It’s not like women are not daily abused and treated poorly at work and in their relationships on a daily basis... And are we supposed to take that as a cautionary tale about fangirl craziness? Because, there again, why did they need to have that girl get such a shitty treatment all through the comic. It is like the comic says that she deserved it. In the end it’s not just Vader calling her trash. It’s also the doctor calling her trash for most of the comic, and even have her literally waddle in a trash compactor. Cause this was supposed to be subtle?
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Like, fine, if it were only Vader calling her garbage because the man is just dead inside, which, fairly, is represented in the comic. But it’s just not Vader, it is the way the character is presented through the eyes of the doctor AND even through the eyes of a cartoonist who keeps on representing her with the stupidest darned faces.
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And there is no other viewpoint. Family, friends, other nurses or colleagues who could give us another idea about her. Or explain why she is like that. Nope. Basically, this woman is given a voice just so she can be cut off mid-sentence and made... fun of... I guess? Was that the author’s goal? Is it what we are supposed to feel? About this pathetic character and her pathetic life, dreams, goals, feelings, and eventual demise?
The “Subversion” of Female Romantic Tropes
Like ... LOL... How is that “subverted” anyways? But, ok, let’s go through them. It has all the classic elements of female literature.
The Cinderella story: nobody falls for high lord and expects to be swooped off her feet. Complete with ball scene, because, yes, why not? I give them a point, though, for the cool reflection on the ground which has her in her regular scrubs... BTW, Beauty and the Beast in the mix as well.
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the nurse complex! Otherwise known as the Florence Nightingale effect. You know, woman is going to take care of the guy... They even made her a real nurse! Again, so subtle. Couldn’t make her any other profession and still be victim of this complex.
the reference to so-called “trashy” female lit, think bodice ripping, Harlequin, and their infamous covers. Even the title of the comic: “Tall, Dark, and Handsome”
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The effing Phantom of the Opera!
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and of course all the female discourse about love, because, yep, trashy: “kindred spirits” etc...
And again, how are we supposed to interpret it? Well, hang on, this woman, remember, is a bat-shit crazy deluded psycho, who has delusions about life and love. Oh, and the doctor says she is trash. And he throws all her stupid gory, disgusting trickets in the trash. Oh and also Vader says she is garbage. Well. Ok. So, I guess all of that which mattered to her, all her ideas, all that she loved, was just that. Trash. Garbage. Well, take that, you female reader!
But wait, it gets even better...
Star Wars is just trash!
Yep, because on closer look, most of the fantasies this woman has are very Star-Warsy. I am floored that they are actually trashing these:
Anakin and Padmé’s Naboo scenery, green, lush, terrace, nightgowns...
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The scene when Anakin learns about Padmé’s death:
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and of course, the one that you were not expecting... Reylo... “You are not alone”
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Again, why is this problematic? In itself, it is fine and fair to be making fun of trashy female literature and campy romance novels, it is also fine to make fun of crazy stalkers, and it is also fine to be making fun of Star Wars. So why does it feel so icky in this comic somehow?
You can’t help but feel disgusted when you consider how poorly this woman is represented. There is not one aspect of her life that is not ridiculed. And again, this is about a woman who has NOTHING. They could have the girl fall in love with Vader and being killed by him because he is a cold-hearted machine. He killed his wife, the love of his life, so yea, of course he will feel not a pang of remorse or hesitation at killing this nobody who thinks she is in love with him. But they did not need to make fun of the very little she had in her life: her dreams. Her effing dreams. Plus the crazy stalker psycho. And the crazy face. And the fact that again we are talking about a woman, who had NOTHING. No family, no connection, no friends, no respect at work, not many possessions except her sad little Vader treasure chest.
And again, context. Here we are, reading a Star Wars comic where a lot of fanboys have been using the EXACT same terms to ridicule women in the fandom. Especially in the Reylo context. Trash. Garbage. Crazy bitches. Ridiculing theories about ... well, well, ain’t it a sweet surprise... Phantom of the Opera, or Beauty and the Beast parallels with Reylo. I’ll be damned. It feels crazy awkward, if you ask me. I mean, again, it’s all fair, but you don’t do that when you are in the midst of a toxic fandom war.
So why do I give zero F...  about it in the end?
If some antis in the fandom saw that as validation, well, let them have their moment of happiness. It won’t last. We can give them that.
One, I don’t think for one second that it means anything about what will happen in the ST as far as Reylo is concerned. Again, they are even making fun of Anidala in the comic, and dude, that thing happened. As my good friends from @lordsofthesithpodcast would tell you after their glorious SWCC panel : Romance, these ships belong in Star Wars.
Two, as I highlighted in the introduction, this belongs in the Dark Visions series. It is meant, in my own opinion, to be disturbing and unhinged. Not sugar coated. So maybe the whole point was shock value. Mission accomplished. It was poor taste again given the context and the awful treatment THEY (and not just Vader) give their female character, but yea, dark visions. Not Star Wars Adventures. You have to look at the target audience and everything.
Three, if it were not for the in-your-face references to female tropes, I actually took most of it as a critique of fandom in general. The problem is not that she is a fangirl. There are some crazy obsessive fangirls, mind you. The problem is that they are making fun of all things female on top of that. But, remove the romantic aspects. Couldn’t that apply to fanboys as well? I could totally picture a cadet, or some other young imperial, developing the same crazed obsession over Vader. And it was just as toxic. And, tbh, it could very well be. Collecting trinkets is not just a girl thing, and after seeing with my own eyes the tons of merch purchased by fanboys at the recent SWCC convention, or the obsessive way some guy could talk to you about Vader and the minute trivial details in his life, or that they are the only ones understanding the guy, well yea... it works...
I’ll even go a step further. I wondered for a sec if the whole thing was not even a critical meta about the franchise as a whole. Let me explain. Some fanboys have complained about the femininization of the franchise, that is “polluting” the shades of Pemberley, I mean Star Wars. Claiming that what is happening right now is utter garbage. Also also, I have another possible reading which has the nurse representing the current state of the fandom and how crazy obsessed they can be over a franchise that some currently view as tired and dead inside (especially since it has fallen into the fold of Disney). Representing the unhealthy relationship between the two. And guess what, it doesn’t end well for the fandom. Who will never get what they want.
I will finally quote this from Chuck Wendig who was fired from the project and came up with that particular comment on Twitter, and which actually seems to go with how I tried to read it myself:
Apropos of absolutely nothing, my issue three of SHADOW OF VADER was about a toxic fanboy (a morgue attendant on the Death Star) who became obsessed with Vader. (And it didn’t end well for him. Er, obviously.) I thought it was good and I’m sorry you won’t see it! Onward we go. 
I think they kept some of the original idea from Wendig, but it took a turn for the worse. It would be great if the authors cared to explain about their intent for this piece if any. I am not saying they should. I actually totally respect and support full freedom of speech and authorial choices. It is our choice, then, as a reader to read or not the material we don’t care about. I am just curious to know their opinion I guess, and I was not able to find any comment online. If anyone has a reference, I am interested...
In any event, I think everyone should read the comic for themselves if they are curious about it. Better to make your own opinion about it.
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lunarity2013 · 5 years
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OC Details: Lucy Stone
So, I figured it was high time I told you guys about my Hogwarts Mystery OC! I got most of these questions on here from @thewasp1995 (Go check out his OC David, btw, it’s super detailed and so cool!) I really hope you guys enjoy!
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Name: Lucille Maria Stone
DOB: October 16, 1972 (turned 12 during her first year)
Parents: Candace and Sean Stone
Siblings: Nathan Samson Stone (oldest, 9-year age difference, Ravenclaw), Casey Andrew Stone (youngest, 6-year age difference, muggle)
Nationality: Irish
Ancestry: Muggleborn
House: Hufflepuff
Height: as of Year 4, she's 5'1". She doesn't get much taller until after graduation, stopping at about 5’3” by age 25
Eyes: large, round, dark brown
Hair: waist length, light brown, wavy
Sexuality: Demisexual, hetero-leaning
Likes: reading, writing, singing, helping others, cheering her friends on, card games, charms, astronomy, ancient runes, nifflers, cats
Dislikes: being the center of attention, hurting people, fighting, doctor’s offices, spiders, clowns, being betrayed, baking (she’s bad at it)
Friends: Rowan (best friend), Ben (best friend), Penny (surrogate sister), Charlie (competitive best friend), Bill (surrogate brother), Tonks (good friend), Barnaby (crush), Tulip (good friend), Andre (friend)
Enemies: Merula (formerly), Ismelda (thinks her constant threats are a big red flag), Rakepick (evil), Snape (his decision), Nathan (depending on the game's ending)
Neutral: Skye (she helps tutor her), Talbott (more Penny’s friend, but she enjoys seeing him), Merula (after finding Nathan), Liz (Barnaby and Charlie's good friend), Murphy (he's cool)
*Badeea, Jae, Diego, and others to be decided at a later date, after I actually meet them in-game*
Love Interest: Barnaby Lee
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Strengths/Weaknesses/Hobbies: 
Positive traits: honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | focused  | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | protective | proud | diligent | considerate | compassionate | good sportsmanship | friendly | empathetic | passionate | reliable | resourceful | sensible | sincere | witty |funny
Negative Traits: moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power - hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | masochistic | petty | unlucky | absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | childish | callous | clingy | delusional | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cynical | cruel | depressed | deranged | egotistical | envious | insecure | insensitive | lustful | delinquent | guilt complex | reclusive | reckless | nervous | oversensitive | rebellious
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What’s their personal philosophy?  Do they even have one?
For much of the earlier portion of her life, Lucy’s motto would be “do unto others and you would have them do unto you”. Up until about the time Rakepick shows up, and Ben’s secret-keeping, and just the all-around mess that her life becomes when the Vaults come into question, this is what she lives by. After about Year 4? It shifts a bit, focusing her own values and energy towards protecting her loved ones and innocent people from those who would cause harm, and doing whatever necessary to stop them. And after finding Nathan, she begins to include him in the latter.
How do they feel about their status and reputation as the curse-breaker in the school?
Lucy was never one for the spotlight, even as a little kid. She was content for years to simply look up to her older brother in his successes, and then later to help her parents with her baby brother, showering him with love and attention. Actively searching for the Vaults, and subsequently breaking the curses within, was only part of her plan to try and find some closure as to her brother’s disappearance (something she has convinced herself he was merely a victim of and not an active participant, to save herself grief of her brother not being what she thought). She doesn’t like having so many eyes on her, especially for something she knows is dangerous and putting herself and her friends in harm’s way. But every time she tries to back out and leave it be, she gets dragged back in.
Did they get sorted into the Hogwarts House they expected to?  Did the Sorting Hat have any problems sorting them?  Or did it not even have to touch their head?
Before Nathan’s disappearance, she would have loved to consider herself lucky enough to be a witch, let alone be sorted into her brother’s house. After his disappearance, however, she had mixed feelings about the idea of sharing his crest and colors, and possibly having more eyes on her than before. Her values lined up differently than his, however, and the Sorting Hat gave her an out in the form of Hufflepuff house. She was still a little disappointed by being so far from her brother’s life there, but years later, she’d swear up and down that being put in the house of fairness, honesty, and loyalty is where she truly belonged.
What’s their personal style?
Lucy wears a lot of early Autumn colors, usually. Lots of oranges, yellows, browns, and olive greens are kind of signature to her style. She typically wears things that make her feel cute and kind of kid-like, so over-large sweaters with skirts or overall shorts and dresses with print tops (floral or stripes, typically). She usually pairs both with comfortable boots and long socks. She wears her hair down most of the time, except when actively exploring the Vaults and when studying for final exams.When it gets cold, she’ll sometimes “borrow” sweaters from her friends to stay warm (usually Bill and Barnaby).
What are their coping strategies for dealing with everything (the Vaults, Jacob, etc.), if they have any?
Lucy has terrible coping mechanisms for her problems, unfortunately. She convinced herself early on that her brother had probably been killed by the Cursed Vaults while trying to help protect others from the curses, and is thus even more broken up when she eventually does find him and sees what kind of person he’s really become. She tries at the start of every year to ignore the signs of another Vault opening, just trying to live a normal, Hogwarts-student life, only to be dragged into it when people have already been attacked or hurt. After the incident with the dragon and Rakepick, she tries to close herself off, thinking it’s because they’re so close to her that her friends keep getting hurt. It doesn’t work, and her friends end up finding her and hugging her as she cries about everything that seems to go wrong with her life.
What electives do they take throughout their time at Hogwarts?
If she could, she would take every class available because it was so hard to choose just a few! In the end, however, she settled on Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Ancient Runes, because Alchemy was only for 7th years, and Arithmancy was “just magic math”. Muggle Studies was almost chosen instead of Divination, but Luc decided she wanted something a little more challenging. (She didn’t realize her patience was what would be tested lol).
Are they in any clubs or extracurricular activities?  What about Quidditch?
It’s really hard to find time to do extracurriculars when you’re trying to protect people from being frozen in ice blocks or sleep-walking into an acromantula nest. She did join the Frog Choir after third year, though unfortunately drops out between 5th-6th year to focus on her studies (and the Vaults). She occasionally goes to the music club, though is not an official member. Unfortunately, Lucy may be a decent flyer, but isn’t quite cut out for Quidditch. Besides, she’d rather be in the stands (huddled and warm) while watching her friends play instead. Sometimes she’ll help Madame Pomfrey with healing students in the Hospital Wing, but the smell of the potions and medicines reminds her of the doctor’s office, so she wouldn’t ever do it for a living.
How studious are they?  What kind of studying strategies do they use?  Do they have any study groups with their friends?
Lucy is a stickler for good note-taking, bringing a bunch of spiral notebooks and colored gel pens and highlighters with her every year to take “proper” notes to share with her friends during their weekly study sessions. She and Rowan usually lead for most classes, though Penny takes charge for Potions, Ben (and Rowan and Bill, sometimes) lead for Charms, and Charlie and Barnaby for Care of Magical Creatures. Lucy, Rowan, and Bill sometimes help some of the younger students set up study groups as well, and often let the younger Weasley siblings and Cedric join their sessions, too. Liz doesn’t always study with them, but will when she needs to, Tulip and Tonks only show up when forced or bribed, and Skye was wrangled into coming once, but got everyone off task getting into a trash-talk showdown with Andre over the Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw game the following day; everyone else either has a different group to study with or refuses to do so entirely.
How willing are they when it comes to breaking school rules?
Lucy hates getting in trouble, since it’s being put under a spotlight in a more negative context for her. The first three years of school, she tries whatever she can to avoid breaking the rules when possible. After the Fear Vault is closed, however, she starts loosening up a little bit. She still doesn’t like to break the rules, but she’ll do it with less coercing, and gets even sneakier to get away with it.
Do they hang out with any of their friends over breaks?  If so, which one(s) and what do they do?
Living all the way out in Ireland, just outside of Dublin, it’s a bit harder to get to visit her friends before she heads into London for her school shopping at the end of summer holiday. Charlie and Bill make use of the fireplace to invite her over for dinner a few times during the break, flooing her there and back without much hassle. She makes time to spend with Rowan specifically during the summer, inviting her over to spend a week or so every year, and Rowan inviting her for the same amount at her house right after. She gets an owl (a cooky brown owl that her little brother named Bernard) for her family to send her mail during the year, and uses him herself to keep in touch with the rest of her friends until September rolls around again.
After they graduate, do they fall off the map and keep a low profile?  Or do they continue to exist in the public eye?
After deciding very early on that she didn’t much care for being the center of attention, once she had the opportunity to fade into obscurity, she took it. She eventually married Barnaby and moved with him to Romania, where he and Charlie work together with dragons. Lucy decides a little later on to document some of her childhood, but feeling awkward about writing her own life story down, changes the names and some of the details to instead create a fictional book series for kids. It later gets published under a pseudonym and achieves moderate success in both the muggle and magical worlds.
How does their career path differ from what they thought they’d be doing?  Or does it differ at all?
It took Lucy her entire life to figure out what she wanted to do. At Hogwarts, when asked what career path she wanted to pursue, she was so shocked that she asked if she could “just go back to bed”. She decided to take whatever classes could be most broadly considered for a number of professions, and even then wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do once she left Hogwarts. She decided to handle her personal life first, cheering her friends on as they found their paths, and then going with Barnaby so he could achieve his dream. It was only later, after beginning to just write things down, that she realized how much she enjoyed doing it.
Do they have any hobbies?  What about any talents or aptitudes?
She loves taking some time to just goof off with her friends, playing Gobstones or getting some Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. She’ll spend some gloomy weekends curled up in a big armchair in the library, quietly reading to herself (and later, helping Barnaby with his dyslexia). She’s also a major card shark, winning almost every muggle card game she’s ever played and often tricking her friends into playing with her and losing anything from candy to wizard cards to even money, on occasion. She’s particularly good in Charms class, as well as Astronomy and Ancient Runes.
Do they have any favorite spells?
She likes spells that can used to help others, like Episkey or Protego. She has a certain fondness for Expecto Patronum, of course. She also likes using Lumos, to light up her bed behind the curtains after a bad nightmare.
What’s one thing they did or thought as a child that they later look back and cringe about?
Long after she and Barnaby finally get together, they both end up hearing about the bets their friends placed on their relationship and how lovesick they apparently acted before asking each other out. Tonks and Tulip will sometimes act out their mutual pining at lunch or at the Three Broomsticks, leaving both of them flustered and cringing over just how insufferable they must've been before they realized their feelings were returned. If she could go back and do it over, she might almost be tempted to have just kissed Barnaby at the Celestial Ball and avoided the whole mess. Almost.
If they could travel anywhere at all in the world—money, time, and language not being an issue—where would they go and who would they take with them?
It's a tough choice between some very good options, travelling to historical landmarks across the globe with Rowan, getting tasty food in Paris with Penny, or taking her family for a nice, normal vacation to Disney in the States. But eventually, she'd probably decide on travelling the world looking for various beasts and creatures with Barnaby, and writing about their adventures.
If they’re an Animagus, how easy was becoming one for them?  Were they happy with their Animagus form?  Or did they want it to be something different?
Lucy studied up on being an animagus with Talbott while at Hogwarts, but couldn't bring herself to actually become one until after graduation. She remains an unregistered sparrow animagus even after Voldemort is finally defeated. She would've liked to be maybe some kind of cat, but can't deny that being so small and being able to fly are some great advantages when the second war rolls around.
Do they like what they see in the mirror?
Had it not been for her magical abilities making themselves known as she grew up, she might've gone through all of primary school unnoticed. As it was, kids often ostracized and ridiculed her for being weird and different until she finally went to Hogwarts. Between that and the guilt she carries for everyone that gets hurt by the Vaults, it takes her a very long time to come to terms with herself and her self-worth.
How good are they at taking compliments?
Lucy is pretty decent at taking compliments, so long as it's not a bunch all at one time; she gets anxious when too many people try and talk to her at once. When Barnaby compliments her, though, she gets flustered and stumbles over her words while blushing really bright, almost blocking out her freckles.
How much do they trust their friends?
Lucy trusts those she keeps close to an almost impossible degree. It can sometimes lead her to trouble, such as leaving her vulnerable to pranks by Tonks or Tulip.
Are they pretty self-reliant?  Or do they like to go to their friends for help?
At first, she's much more willing to do things as a group, having her friends' backs as much as they have hers. Later on, however, she begins closing herself off, trying to take on everything herself to avoid her friends getting hurt because of her. It doesn't last very long, however, as they all work better as a team.
Who is their favorite Weasley?  Or can they not choose?
Ginny and Ron are just too cute, from what little she's seen of them. Bill is like another older brother, and she loves him dearly. She and Charlie are great friends, but anything and everything becomes a competition with them, starting with a "who knows more about dragons" contest that she actually won in their 2nd year. They could almost have been considered rivals up until later on in Year 4. Percy is alright, she Guesses, but even she thinks he needs to loosen up a bit. And she spends most of her time trying to just keep the twins separated from Tonks and Tulip, if only to avoid the Apocalypse.
What’s the thing they like least about themselves?
She's a little stuffy about rules, she worries too much, her actions and choices keep putting people in danger, and FFS, she faced a DRAGON and still can't kill one measly little spider??
What’s the thing they like most about themselves?
She cares about her friends and family, she would never go out of her way to betray them or to hurt others. She takes pride in the lives she's helped and saved.
How bad is their temper?  Do they tend to lash out at others or themselves?
Her temper only gets really out of hand when someone she cares about gets hurt. She can usually handle someone hurting her with nothing more than a few years, but attack the people she cares about? That'll be the last thing you ever do.
What’s their biggest regret in life, if they have any?
She blames herself for far too many things. She wishes Ben hadn't been hurt and controlled by Rakepick, she thinks she could've done more to help and support him. She feels like if she had been more observant as a kid, she might've seen something going on with Nathan and could've stopped his disappearance. She's terrified about how the two of them being so involved in the Cursed Vaults with effect Casey as he grows up, and if he'll end up inheriting their legacy or not, if it might get him killed.
What kind of first impression do they tend to leave on others?
Lucy is sweet, doe-eyed, and a little naïve. A pretty face, very smart, but very open and trusting. Would apologize to you if you poured soup into her lap. Most would either want to protect the sweet, innocent child or absolutely take advantage of her trusting and kind nature.
What is the achievement they’re most proud of?
She once managed to eat an entire tin of her mom's homemade butter cookies without vomiting (her mom isn't a very good cook, and definitely can't bake). But now she's expected to eat at least some every time her mom bakes them when she's home. (Just another advantage to being away at a boarding school most of the year).
Do they like having photos taken of themselves?
She's a little camera shy, depending on who she's with; any groups larger than maybe 5 and she'll try to duck around and take the picture herself instead. But small groups, she can handle it. And she'll take any photo with Tonks, so long as she changes something about her appearance to take the main attention off of her.
What’s one big way that your MC differs from the in-game canon?
Lucy does not like searching for the Vaults. She would have been content with maybe a few of his journals and an official, personal explanation from Dumbledore. Sh didn't need this. She doesn't want to be the one fixing this, but apparently no one else knows how or cares to try, so she feels responsible. She's also not in the same house as her brother.
If they’re an Animagus, why did you choose the form for them that you did?
Lucy becomes an animagus much later than in canon. She becomes one right before the 2nd war, in order to evade detection. She becomes a little sparrow bird, small and common enough to escape notice. I chose it because of its relation to the second Fable game, whose protagonist is named "Sparrow".
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So, I hope ya’ll enjoyed! Let me know if any of you have any more questions!
(Edit: I am so sorry about the picture formatting, I know its hideous, but I have somehow lost the ability to use my mobile app to fix it (no fucking signal, my ass) but I promise I will try again tomorrow, when I am far away from the lack of signal at my house.)
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mwolf0epsilon · 5 years
Text
DBH Superhero AU pt.2
Some more cast members for you guys! If you have any questions about their powers or how everyone found out about their abilities, just ask!
Enjoy
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Deviants:
Kara Curry/Sneak: A troubled and often times unlucky young woman, Kara has had it rough. After a series of unfortunate events lead to her moving to Detroit to live with her abusive uncle Todd, Kara was forced to drop out of college after being forced to become a servent to her uncle. After a particularly bad night, she found her Deviant ability, invisibility, which helped her not only escape the abusive household she was stuck in, but also rescue her younger cousin, Alice, as well.
It was hope and trustworthy friends that lead her to Jericho, and it is determination that drives her to fight for a better world.
Note: Kara's role within Jericho is that of an informant since her abilities are highly useful for stealth missions. Much like Simon and Daniel, Kara also requires a highly specialized suit to use her powers on missions, otherwise her powers are virtually useless (Nudity is not an option and should not be suggested more than it already has, please don't bring it up again).
Alice Williams: Alice is the young daughter of Todd Williams and Kara's young cousin. While it's unknown if she is Deviant or not, Alice's mother was a confirmed Carrier.
As such, Alice is under Jericho's protection and is currently under watch in case of any signs of Deviancy appearing early on.
Note: She seems to have a strangely accurate intuition when it comes to Deviants, being able to point out if people are more than they seem.
Perhaps this points to a more aura based ability if Alice is in fact a Deviant.
Luther Parke/Goliath: Once one of Zlatko's test subjects, Luther's Deviancy was forced upon him by the deranged scientist, in an effort to get something controllable in between a true Deviant and a Red Ice Mutant. While Luther did momentarily lose himself thanks to the cruel tests he was subjected to, his will was restored by Kara and Alice who nearly fell victim to another one of Zlatko's twisted experiments. Sadly, while Luther did regain his senses, he's lost all of his memories except for his name.
Endowed with super strength and inhuman endurance, Luther is a challenging Deviant to go up against. Loyal to a fault and highly protective of those he cares about, it's unwise to cross this superhuman.
Note: Like North, Luther's muscle mass is beyond what is considered normal for his age. Unlike North, however, there isn't much he can do to hide it since his height has also been affected by Zlatko's experiments. At full height, Luther stands at a staggering 9 feet tall, and his skin is as thick as armour. His metabolism is slower than the twins's but Luther also requires a high calorie diet and regular exercise to stay healthy.
Ralph Vladimary/Bruteroot: A 2nd generation Deviant who showed signs of having plantomancy abilities early on in his youth. Once a bright and cheerful individual with a love for gardening, Ralph was a victim of misfortune after accidentally using his powers in public. Attacked and brutally beaten by a group of bigots, a traumatized and wounded Ralph only escaped with his life after retaliating violently, resulting in the deaths of his aggressors.
Found in an abandoned building by Kara and Alice right after they ran away, and eventually taken to Jericho to help him recover, Ralph is a caring individual, but also easily scared and mistrustful of others. He seems to be afraid of his powers and has a hard time controlling them.
Note: Ralph's wounds have never closed properly because his powers seem to have caused plantlife to highjack his body. As such, Ralph seems to be part plant himself, and seems to attract insects and other critters as a result of his bizarre hybrid biology.
Jericho has decreed that Ralph is not allowed to do field missions unsupervised. Should a mission require his contribution, it's advised that Lucy, Kara, Jerry or Rupert be paired up with him to keep him in check.
Jerry(s) Bosch/Legion: Jerry Bosch used to be the cheerful only child of an old Navy veteran who took him in, after he found the poor boy wondering the woods on a freezing cold winter night. Several years later after hitting puberty, Jerry woke up feeling different, while also finding he had an extra arm growing out of his torso.
While still cheerful and an overall ray of sunshine, Jerry is no longer one being, but many beings all linked by a hivemind. His Deviant ability is that of multiplication, which provides Jericho with an intricate communication web of clones that are eager to help anyone in need.
No one is quite sure how Cyberlife hasn't tracked down Jerry or his many clones, since his father has done a lot of reconstruction to accommodate every single one of his boys, and hasn't really hidden the fact he went from having one son, to over 10 of him.
One thing is certain: the world gets a little bit brighter for Deviants in need, one Jerry at a time!
Note: Jerry's biology is comparable to that of an amoeba, since his body seems to have somehow become unicellular without turning him into a blobby mass. Multiplication isn't painful, as the Jerrys cannot feel pain, but it seems to be very uncomfortable for them, with all clones sharing the feeling through their mental link.
Overall the Jerrys are a bit odd but everyone is quite fond of their helpful and kind nature. If you ever need help just ask for Jerry, there's bound to be one positioned near you.
Important: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYONE ASK THE JERRYS TO REUNITE AS A SINGLE BEING. IT'S POSSIBLE BUT THE RESULTS AREN'T PRETTY AND NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT.
Rupert Travis/Eagle-Eyes: A 2nd generation Deviant who's ability came in a little late, Rupert used to be a honor roll student with a veterinarian scholarship, until his ability manifested. A college dropout and pushed away by his own family for his oddities, Rupert is a survivor and a vigilante known as Eagle-Eyes, who will on occasion help Jericho.
It's not in his nature to stay put for long, and his closest friends are all of the winged variety.
Note: Rupert's flight powers while highly beneficial for scouting missions, have caused him to grow two massive feathered wings out of his back. This of course has made him an outcast in his family's eyes, despite his condition being a result of his parents being Carriers.
Rupert is known for having several eyes in the sky in the form of trained pigeons. He seems very fond of them, and in return they seem very fond of him as well.
Shaolin Being: There are many things about the Shaolin Being that people know, and that is that they do not know anything about him.
Not his real name, where he came from, nor if he even has any family.
A mysterious Deviant, the Shaolin Being came to Jericho to offer his assistance as a healer.
He is very good at his job, and seems to be in control of his powers. However there seems to be something troubling his mind.
Something quite terrible.
Note: Shaolin Being's powers are energy based and seem to follow the law of equivalent exchange. With this in mind, it's advised not to ask him to heal someone who is near death. A life for a life, is not worth the emotional damage.
Echo and Ripple: Like the Shaolin Being, no one knows much about Echo or Ripple. They are very reserved 2nd generation Deviants who seem to know North personally, although the latter refuses to disclose any information on both. It's assumed that they were two of the girls she has saved in the past, but the rumors are plentiful and stories change all the time.
The two seem to have discarded their past names and identities and have assumed their Deviant personas as their true selves, making them two of the hardest people in Jericho to track. This makes them ideal for covert missions, and they like Kara and the twins, are favoured for such missions.
Both of them have inhuman endurance and agility, although Echo seems to have mild shape shifting abilities, while Ripple has mild technokinetic abilities. They are the perfect duo of infiltrators and hackers.
Note: Hyperlife has been trying to link the two to a double child sex slavery case that has been archived for a while now due to lack of evidence. Whether or not Echo and Ripple are the missing Tracy and Stacy, is up for debate.
Lucy Wandera: A 1st generation Deviant, Lucy has known pain and loss and become something of a legend among her fellow Deviants. A guide and healer to those in desperate need, Lucy is a respected member of Jericho, and often acts as a voice of reason in the most difficult times.
Her primary abilities are healing and divination.
Note: Lucy does not participate in field missions, acting instead as an advisor and healer. She is in complete control of her powers and is an inspiration to the younger generation of Deviants. Her eyes seem to have turned completely black, due to her usage of her second sight.
Humans:
Hank Anderson: An old grizzled cop with a grudge against Hyperlife, due to their specialist doctors having failed to save his young son's life after he suffered a horrific car crash caused by harsh weather. Once the pride of the DPD's Red Ice Division, Hank has been trying to drown himself in the bottom of a licor bottle, but one chance encounter has slowly lead to a second chance at life. There's just something about Connor that feels strangely familiar...Like he needs to protect this odd kid who doesn't know how to behave his own age.
Carl Manfred: Markus's adoptive father and Elijah Kamski's most trusted friend, Carl is an esteemed and brilliant artist who's spent the last three years trying to do right by his son while also raising a dangerous bioweapon to be good.
Sharp minded and with an eye for detail, Carl can only hope for the better as he tries to lead his sons in the right direction.
Leo Manfred: Markus's adoptive brother and Carl's biological son, Leo is a bit of a mess but he's trying hard to get his life back together after his mother has died.
He seems to like Markus, but his jealousy towards the Deviant often makes him act hostile towards him, something which has only worsened after he began taking Red Ice.
Recently he's began showing signs of mutation, and has tried to go to rehab to stop his addiction before the chemical drug consumes him. Whether or not he'll be able to stop it in time, is to be seen...
Elijah Kamski: Hyperlife's original founder and the man who not only discovered Thirium, but created the T-Vaccine as well. Kamski is an enigmatic man who meant well when he introduced Thirium into the world. Whether or not he is the same person he was before the world began to crumble around him, is up for debate.
One thing is clear however: He has faith in Markus and hopes to still be around when the world finally embraces Deviency. Until then he'll remain in self-exile in the company of his most loveliest creations, the Chloes.
Chloe(s): Elijah Kamski's personal assistants and favoured creations, they are bioengineered beings that are the perfect blend of organic and machine. Very doll-like and passive, people are often unnerved by their unusually calm presence.
Amanda Stern: Elijah Kamski's old mentor and one of Hyperlife's ranking officers, Amanda is in charge of the Rook Division, working as the Hunters's handler.
Strict and ruthless, Amanda is both the calm before the storm, and the eye of the tempest. Everyone is a little intimidated by her.
Zlatko: An ex-Hyperlife employee obcessed with the effects of Red Ice and Deviency, Zlatko is a deranged scientist with a god complex, who wants to create the perfect spliced Deviant. Something which is neither man nor animal, but that can be controlled like a machine. He has yet to succeed, but he's got a basement full of tormented beasts to content himself with.
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