#he also is... deeply cruel in a very targeted and personal way | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

abyssalzones · 3 months

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C-PTSD as a diagnosis makes so much sense for Ford because he really does fit almost all of the criteria, ESPECIALLY if you take the stuff in J3 into account in conjunction with his traumatic childhood (bullying, bad dad, etc.). It just makes sense in regards to his motivations and his issues with interpersonal relationships (like with Stan). Also buring yourself in your work (like he does) is a very common 'flight' coping mechanism to trauma in adults

I'm smiling like this right now

ford's whole.... mental health deal is extremely interesting to examine because Oh my god this man is the textbook image for "reacting to ongoing, continuous trauma". intentional or otherwise (I'm inclined to believe it's both).

like. okay hang on I'm about to get very in depth with it

I feel like there's no way this entire guy's life and in some ways his lasting identity haven't been defined by and constructed around various forms of trauma, maybe the most obvious and true-to-canon-intent being peer abuse/bullying from childhood. a lot of people downplay the impact of this type of abuse but it's... responsible for a lot of social ills in shocking ways. (if you're more interested in this topic here is an article my friend mer linked me a while back, it gets into it very deeply)

(a lot of this is going to be sourced from the wikipedia page for CPTSD [and my own experience Living with it] which I realize isn't very professional of me but Whatever this is tumblr)

one of the core tenets of ford's personality is that he's Different. he owns it, sure- his six fingers become a point of pride rather than something to be ashamed of- but they make it extremely clear that from a young age he associated being different with being a social pariah. ford's generation was characterized by notoriously cruel bullying, and anything that remotely made you stand out rendered you a target. ford could've been bullied for being nerdy and jewish (and failing to perform socially, ie dating) alone, having such an obvious mutation definitely was not winning him any points.

so it's honestly no surprise, when from childhood ford feels like he has One person in the world to trust and confide in, that he would go on to form very unhealthy attachment patterns typical of CPTSD. as you elaborated on regarding AvPD (which I know far less about but seems to have comorbidity with CPTSD): if you're hard-wired to believe socializing with others results in failure or betrayal, then you're not going to make an effort. but what does end up happening is that you're going to pour all of your trust and dependency into one person at a time, one person who is "safe".

previously, that was his brother. and it's not really hard to draw the conclusion from there that fiddleford was a subject of ford's attachment style, considering he was his One friend from college, and... one of Maybe two people ford is friends with at all who he isn't related to. he cites him as the only person he can possibly trust to work on the portal project alongside him, and he still can't bring himself to tell him the full truth, because he's terrified of losing him. I love their dynamic (I do think they were mutual best friends, and there was no small amount of trust reciprocated between them. "fiddleford was weird as hell too" is something I keep coming back to) and I don't think it's built on entirely unhealthy terms, but that kind of pressure is... setting things up to crash and burn.

enter bill stage left. back to "continuous yearning to be liked and accepted"- this guy knew that and made every effort to prey on ford's insecurities to reel him in as close as possible. this is what really pisses me off about the idea that bill was just "inflating ford's ego", because it's way, way more insidious than that. throughout the entirety of journal 3 we see ford reintroduce someone to his life he has a very positive relationship with (fiddleford) and how that trust gets gradually broken down by bill's influence "winning out" over their friendship. I think it's safe to say ford was already vulnerable: from the start, he'd been isolated in his research for six years (and it's unclear for how long he'd known bill by 1982), and bill proved time and time again to be someone who wouldn't judge him, someone who would praise him for his hard work, and perhaps most critically, make him feel like being different was something special.

like that's... that's really not good!!!! and that kind of thing works wonders on someone who has already settled with the idea that they're inclined to be alone just by design.

trying to put a cap on this. in relationships like the one he's had with his brother or fiddleford it doesn't even necessarily have to be ""toxic"" (vague term anyway) or outwardly bad to be built on unhealthy attachment patterns, and considering for a good chunk of ford's life his attachment to others can be characterized as "I can only trust ONE person at a time" it feels essential to any discussion of his CPTSD or canon trust issues. That is something that happens a lot in Real cases of CPTSD (hi) and only further snowballs into More trauma by leaving you vulnerable to manipulation and abuse (see: bill.)

I've been going on for way too long now and I feel like I've only scratched the surface of the thing I wanted to elaborate on sorry. that post traumatic stress disorder can complex

#lab notes #I woke up and had to answer this before anything else but I really need to Eat so apologies if this is all over the place. running on empty #edit: this is ok to reblog ! all of my gf theorizing/analysis is unless I clarify it isn't for whatever reason

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spacecasehobbit · 25 days

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Saltburn does have an important message that a lot of people seem to miss, which is that having sympathetic motivations or a sympathetic backstory doesn't actually negate cruelty or make it right to make other people bear the burden of your own insecurity and pain.

Oliver is a deeply sympathetic character, in that he's awkward and lonely and gets preyed on by a manipulative rich boy who likes to feel like a savior of friendless losers that he eventually gets bored of. Yet Oliver winds up dealing with this by climbing his way to the top of a pile of awful people, resorting to all their worst behaviors to get himself there, and the harm he causes is wrong regardless of the sympathy of his starting circumstances.

Similarly, Farleigh and Venetia are sympathetic characters who take out their own pain on other people (primarily on Oliver, during the movie).

Farleigh is the half black son of Sir James's wayward sister, both a part of the family and yet also treated like this definitely racist family's longest running charity project at the same time. He's constantly performing for his racist family, constantly feeling like an outsider in his own family, never quite as 'good' as them, never quite as 'worthy'. This does make him a deeply sympathetic character, but it doesn't make him any less of a bully towards Oliver (and, likely, other people we don't see on screen, since it's Oliver's story we're watching). He is deeply yet casually cruel towards total strangers, as a way of covering up for his own insecurities over the way he's treated by the Cattons. He's sympathetic, but he still causes harm in a way that isn't excused by being sympathetic.

Venetia, too, seems to have a very sympathetic background, from what little we see of her. She has a mother who gossips about her eating disorder and low self-esteem to relative strangers. Felix finds it completely believable that she would be wandering around drunk at night trying to kiss his friends, and he only thinks it makes her embarrassing, with no indication that this behavior should actually be worrying, if it had been true. She also doesn't seem to do anything with her life except hang out in her home developing drinking problems. She also hits on her brother's friends even while knowing that he will cut them off as friends if they sleep with her, and she responds to her own pain or rejection by lashing out with cruelty in return. Both times she feels hurt - whether by Oliver directly, when he picks Felix over her, or because she is grieving and Oliver is simply an easy target for her pain - she takes out her own hurt on Oliver by trying to make him feel small and hurt instead. It's sympathetic, sure, but it's not actually okay, either. It's sympathetic, but it's still cruelty for the sake of cruelty, and it's still wrong.

One moral of Saltburn is that returning cruelty with cruelty, whether it's revenge or cruelty turned on random strangers to assuage one's own pain, leads only to more hurt and pain and suffering.

One message of Saltburn that I'd argue is very important is that a person can be sympathetic and also still be wrong.

#saltburn #saltburn meta

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handweavers · 5 months

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my uncle was a complicated man who often made it difficult to be around him - he was frequently abrasive, struggled to give affection freely, and his love and concern usually expressed itself through a harsh and abrupt, stilted demeanor. he could be very angry a lot of the time, a deep seated rage and a callousness at times that stung and wounded. but he had a difficult upbringing, and it was easy to understand why he was the way he was. he was born during the japanese occupation of malaya during ww2 when my family was interned, and many members of our family and the sikh community were targeted for beheading and lynching by the japanese imperial army. my family was very poor back then, and repeated traumas and losses and abuse had hardened him. he struggled with alcohol addiction all his life, like most in my family, and he could be very cruel when he would drink.

but i'll never forget how he made an effort to take care of me and make sure i knew he loved me. the first time i returned home to malaysia as an adult, on my own, after being kept away for many years by my father, i had to reconnect with my family on my own, with my home country on my own, without his help or guidance. and my uncle showed me a degree of kindness that no one expected, and embraced me without hesitation when i came out as trans, and enforced that among the family. no one could go against him, he was the patriarch of the entire extended family, and his word was law. his approval of me meant even those who would have shunned me had to tolerate me or risk being shunned themselves - he held that much power. and when i was going to fly back to canada he called me at the airport just to tell me he loved me and that this is my home and my family and no one can take that away from me and that i belong here and he will miss me. he rarely spoke like that to anyone, ever, even his own children. it was deeply uncomfortable and difficult for him but he did it anyway because he felt like it was important, that i was important. and he took care of me in many ways over the years, and if it weren't for him i likely would have been/would be homeless and would never have been able to go to university at all. and now without him i definitely can't afford any of that and i'm not sure what to do with myself. he made sure repeatedly and consistently to communicate in whatever way he could to tell me that he cared, in his own ways, and to step in where my father could/would not.

the last time i saw him was in august of this year when we had lunch together, and he told me i did well and he was proud of me to be the one to finally bring my dad home, knowing how awful my dad is. he and i were the closest living relatives to my dad and the people who knew him best, and i could go to him for help when my dad was making things very hard for me and he understood. he was the only other person still alive who could wrangle my dad, who could 'deal' with him, set him in his place. my other uncle could do the same, and he also took care of me and made sure to check on me and remind me that i am a part of this family and that i belong with them, but he passed away when i was 19. now it's just me left to deal with my dad without either of my uncles' help, and no one else alive who knows what it's like to be tied to him directly in the way that we are. and i didn't get to say goodbye, and i didn't get to attend the funeral nor help scatter his ashes to the sea. when i go home every part of him will be gone gone gone and never coming back and there's nothing i can do.

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treeshroudrelic · 1 year

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Eggman's decision to not make a vaccine for the metal Virus beforehand or to test it more before unleashing it was good writing and makes perfect sense. His shortsightedness is a feature, not a bug.

Reading IDW for the first time thoroughly in 2023 is interesting cause I've heard that the scene below is commonly seen as bad writing which would seem so at first glance (I admit, I sometimes think so too) but it actually makes perfect sense and is brilliantly honest writing.

Eggman not having a vaccine to the Metal Virus and his solution to not getting infected is basically "just don't touch the zombots, forehead", does make him look incredibly shortsighted in contrast to Starline who is thinking of all the very probable ways they (Eggman and Starline) could get infected but these suggestions just get shot down as "nitpicking".

But here's the thing: Eggman's carelessness makes sense cause he's the idiot who decided that drowning the world in a horrific bio-mechanical weapon was a notion even worth entertaining.

It is utterly cruel, baseless barbarity, which is what Eggman is going for. That's why he took note to target the village that took him in when he was amnesiac.

Of course he wasn't gonna have a vaccine, the idea that anyone could be cured of being made his robot underling is something he refuses to entertain. Of course his solution was not to touch the Zombots, he sees himself as utterly above everyone else and thus the only person who deserves to retain his body and mind, why would he deign to even touch those below him?

Eggman's carelessness here isn't a bug, it's a feature.

It's also incredibly telling that Starline had absolutely no objections to the Metal Virus until he realized that HE could catch it. All these questions that he's asking Eggman about the safety of the virus were stuff that he should've been asking (both Eggman and himself) when he was first made aware of the project. Even after this argument he doesn't think to stop the virus because it's an evil blight that should never have been, but instead decides that it just needs to be pointed at the "right people", aka not him and Eggman, and enlisted the Deadly Six to try and control the virus for them via controlling them.

And of course, said plan failed and the Deadly Six took free rein of the Zombots, because you can't find a way to "sensibly" and "logically" rob the world's population of their bodily autonomy via bio-mechanical viral warfare. That's an oxymoron. Starline failed cause he refused to be a good person and try to eradicate or at least contain the virus. That's why the Super Sonic/Super Silver/Warp Topaz plan worked (yes, Eggman didn't pitch the plan on moral grounds either but at least he finally decided that the virus had to go, baby steps that he retraces).

Evil is inherently stupid, and there's no way to create a logical and sensible evil. Eggman and Starline are both incredibly intelligent scientists who are also deeply profoundly stupid, and that stupidity is inextricably linked to them being evil. Because being evil is for morons.

That's why the last panel in the page is Sonic making fun of them both. Cause they are idiots who suck and should feel stupid for thinking that using the metal virus was worth anything on a moral level.

#idw sonic spoilers #my ramblings #my meta #metal virus arc #dr starline #dr eggman #sonic the hedgehog #idw sonic #metal virus arc meta #long post

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blueguydraws · 7 months

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Russia, Israel and sharks

During history classes i think we all were thinking just how could have people been so cruel and dumb back in the day, salting the land, burning towns on the enemies land, targetting people based on the association of ethnicity. And everyone in the classroom was relieved how lucky it is that we are not that backwards anymore in the civilised world and age. We were also shocked how could everyone have gone mad and how the world turned upisde down during the 40 all over europe and asia. It must have been the genious manipulation of propaganda.

But no, we have to admit sadly that they didnt had to do much if anything, most people simply are just like that, they barely need a push to sucumb to that way of thinking, it doesnt take years of propaganda, but about 5 minutes of news.

A few months ago a man in egypt was eaten by a shark, the video is quiet disturbing, but then it came out that he was russian, living in egypt for about 4 years. And twitter immediately become full with such tweets:

And hundreds of extremely distastefull and sadistic comments celebrating this. If someone questioned them, they just wrote how many ukrainian died in the war if they even responded something coherent. When questioned what did he had to do with any of that, the best they could say is that well russians are evil annyway and he propably supported putin too. Its good that there is one less of them.

War footages were also all over social media, i saw a few where they put loony toons sound effects over deaths, of course bright text made it clear that those were russian soldiers (othervise no one could even tell) and you can have the luxury of laughing at it guilt free instead of virtously clutching your pearls. The ones where someone got bombed while taking a piss or sleeping got particularly many likes and retweets.

Acthual unga bunga bronze age mindset.

Collective punishment and gladiator games, things we tought we abandoned centuries ago, but it didnt even took anything for peole to immediately re embrace it with open arms.

At this point we have to admit that the reason for this is that its just simply part of human nature (not that) deep down. Wich makes sense after all. Humans have been existing for about 300 000 years, but we had our current socially acceptable moral system for about a hundred. Playing civilisation for a few centuries arent gonna be enough to weed out the instinctual cavemen out of us. Wich reminded me to this song by MARINA, "savages", it hit the nail on the head perfectly:

youtube

And while maybe war footage is not being shared here, this kind of behavior is definitely not absent from tumblr either.

By the way, talking about ukrain and russia, what do you even know about them? What is the diference between the two? The average internet activist couldnt have been able to point it out on a map before the war. Arent all the news regarding ukrain were talking about how the far right is on the rise in there? But suddenly it become my little UwU ukrain once the war started. My point is that for the avegare person around the world the only diference between the two nation is that one happened to attack the other not the other way around. If history would have went a bit diferently, now you all were laughing at the death of those same poor ukrainian soldiers.

I saw once a tweet made by a guy who just found out that many ukrainians, especially in the army, are deeply religious, and the country is very conservative, and said that he isnt sure he can fully support them anymore lmao.

It was also very cringe how everyone who didnt even heard about Zelensky before started to simp for a random middle eastern politican and made heroic edits about him for the sole virtue of getting attacked, its embarrassing at best.

Did you knew that he was in the panama papers by the way?

And now again with the conflict between israel, palestine and hamas. People just cant behave civilised.

I dont know what is so hard about simply having multiple opinions at the same time, you can easily agree that Palestine should be freed from Israel's influence while also condemning HAMAS.

Many people have been taking off their masks and it often comes from the most suprising groups.

I couldnt have belived that the time comes when people here will support a far right religious fundamentalist terror group.

"but yoU CAnT TelL tHE oprEsSed How REbeLL" I heard many times by now

Yes i can, for example rape, mowing down civilians and parading their bodies like trophies are simply just not part of any military operation and you shouldnt do it, idk why it is a controverial opinion currently.

Also do you think all the extremist groups in the middle east wouldnt want to kill all the jews annyway even if Israel would have been nice? Or you for that matter since i assume the average person reading this isnt a beliver.

The average liberal person with "they/them, ACAB, UwU" in their bio the second there is an armed conflict:

#palestine #israel #free palestine #russia #ukraine #zelensky #hamas #twitter #tumblr #history #culture #war

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yvtro · 1 year

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reposting this piece of meta i originally wrote in a response to someone who deleted their post.

jason became robin because he was inherently just and wanted to do the right thing even when batman ignored him. this is literally his origin story.

the pattern of him being naturally kind and sensitive to injustice preserves throughout all of his robin days. even when he was written by starlin – a writer who hated him on principle and wanted to make him as unlikeable as possible, he was still motivated by how much he *cared* about other people and how much he wanted to be loved. the incident with garzonas, for example – he chased him because he was so deeply traumatised by learning that a woman he knew for mere minutes committed suicide. the whole reason for which he wanted to find his biological mother – he wanted to be loved!

now, utrh (and some earlier flashbacks) already retconned a lot of this stuff to create the idea of the ‘angry’ or the ‘mean’ robin. that’s an issue especially when you consider how classist it is to insist that a child who was taken off the streets can have no other fate than becoming a criminal. but even there, in the utrh, jason was anything but cold. was his plan calculated, was it cruel in many ways and morally questionable? it was. was it cold? no. honestly, i just don’t get how you can read a scene in which a teenager offers his father an ultimatum between killing his killer or him and think it’s a reasonable, cold decision. on the contrary, it’s utterly delusional and desperate. if jason wanted to just get rid of the joker, he could – but he wants bruce to prove that he still means something to him. he wants to be loved. he cares.

“delusional” and “desperate” also describe his methods in general pretty well. i know it goes against a popular reading that jason is very down to earth and pragmatic because he’s intimate with the way crime and evil works. it is true, to a certain extent. but his aim itself, that is to do everything he can to minimise harm of other people, no matter the cost? is it not utterly delusional? and yes, he doesn’t agree with batman’s moral code. but the reason he feels so strongly about it is because they have essentially the same goal – protecting people, and he sees that batman sometimes fails at it. and jason cares so much, he can’t take any failure, he can’t let anyone be harmed, he takes it all personally.

even in jason’s villain era (I’m talking the battle for the cowl shtick for example) jason was anything but cold. his targets were always extremely personal. and that’s the content when he was written as a villain, it’s not even canon anymore.

it’s also pretty ironic that you say that he has a pretty strong sense of identity, given that he completely commits to being the red hood and doesn’t even have a civilian identity. and ‘red hood’ is a cruel reference to a man killed him, too. that doesn’t seem like a strong sense of identity to me, it seems like he sacrifices himself for what he thinks is right and like he identifies with his trauma so strongly that he can’t move on.

you’re talking of jason being ‘soft’ in fanon but that’s the point of his character in comics. he cares too much and it makes him cross the line. it makes him cruel. he’s a very interesting twist of an anti-hero archetype because of that: anti-heroes usually lack idealism, and act out of self-interest. their heroism is more of a side-effect of their actions. jay is the polar opposite: he is an idealist at the core and his heroism is what makes him defy conventional ethical codes. and I love seeing that, i love seeing him morally failing when his only goal is to be *moral.* what do you call an urge to keep other people safe, if not moral?

but the thing is, sacrificing yourself to become an authoritarian murderous robin hood will not change the world. i think at some point he would fuck up and harm people he intended to protect. and jason cares. so it would make sense for him to step back and consider his actions.

jason is no punisher nor deathstroke. he has a considerable baggage as a legacy character, and your reading completely disregards his original robin story. and that’s boring, tbh. because what makes him so appealing and tragic is that he is all of those things that he was when he was a robin still – an idealist, a protector, someone who cares. even the most awful plotlines point it out. i hated most of that specific plotline, but when damian said that jason is ‘the most emotional one’? facts.

#reposting it because it was a reply to the person who said that jason didn't have identity issues #and my other post referencing is has been gaining track #i think it's still readable without the context? you can guess what the person was saying #i'm too lazy to edit it so #here you are #jay meta #jason todd #dc comics

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egg-emperor · 1 year

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I for one enjoy your descriptions of Eggman canonically mistreating his robots. It's not often that his evil is spelled out in such delicious detail. It really is both ironic and shows how evil he really is. After all since his goal is to create a technological Eggman Empire and lay waste to nature , it would be logical to assume that he'd treat his robots well in a glorious robot kingdom . But he doesn't. He just callously tosses them aside when they fail him or don't meet his standards

Thank you, I'm so happy you enjoy reading them, I always enjoy talking about it as one of my biggest passions. ^^ Yeah we really need more acknowledgement, appreciation, and discussion for his evil in all forms and I'm here to help deliver as a lover of all of it!

Yeah I like how truly nothing or nobody else comes close to how powerful and superior he sees himself as the egotist he truly is. Even when it comes to his own creations, he won't make any exceptions and he can be just as cruel or neglectful towards them too. They're nothing more than creations to reflect his genius so he can boast it, and tools, slaves, or toys for him to use or treat like his playthings and then discard just like everyone else.

They have to reflect his genius, represent his brilliance, and serve him perfectly in the ways he desires, otherwise he feels malice towards them and will punish them horribly just as much as any other lackey, created by him or not. And he clearly never has much care in the first place beyond what they can do for him and how impressive and great of a creator they can make him look, as it's the only reason he can value any of them in any way in the first place.

He also has impossibly high expectations and standards of perfection, a dangerously short temper, and the desire to always feel superior and in control of everyone and everything which is why he wants to conquer the world after all, so people around him are bound to be mistreated, kicked around, or looked down upon in one way or another for some reason or another, no matter their intentions and how good they try to be for him.

I like to explore how he shows these things, how it influences his behavior, and how his methods and treatment varies from target to target and the process. It's very fascinating, how deep his egotism, selfishness, and self-centeredness goes and his desire for control and taking advantage of the usefulness of others until there's nothing left. And there's a lot of impact in the way that nobody is an exception to this in his life, not even his own creations.

Truly, the only person/being that matters to him in the end is himself. Everyone else is inferior, temporary, and disposable to him the second that he no longer has a need for them, they fail or betray him, or they think they can come close to his level of power/get in his way. He's truly evil and rotten to the core and I find it endlessly fascinating to explore his egotistical mindset and personality that's deeply ingrained in him and everything he does.

It shows in his personality, behavior, motives, actions, and interactions with others in many cool and clever ways, with some being more blatant and surface level than others, while others can be realized by delving in deeper and noticing more intricate details and patterns in his and it delights me to analyze it all. I want to understand him and what makes him tick and embrace it in every way, and that includes the darkest parts that make him who he is.

I'm glad there are people that enjoy how I write about him treating his creations, other lackeys, and people in general including all the evil and cruel ways. Because I love many of them but also love how much of a cruel bastard Eggman is and every avenue of his evilness and I really want to share my findings, appreciation, and creations based on it with the world. I really appreciate the interest for it and I'm grateful to have a supportive audience 💜

#asks #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #my post #badniks

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secretgamergirl · 1 year

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Can we talk about this sniveling little worm for a moment?

So I’m still locked out of my twitter account (and consequently bleeding followers on Patreon and probably going to freeze or starve to death soon) but people keep posting fresh examples of the new CEO finding new and innovative ways to run the whole thing into the ground, and while I’d love to check the actual ratio, of what I see, something like 80% of the statements people are pointing and laughing at come not just from standard out there posts, but stuff he’s saying in the replies of this particular little worm here. Which is odd for a number of reasons, but the thing is I have a pretty involved history with this particular random nazi loser that makes it feel extra surreal.

Once upon a time, starting around the summer of 2014, there was a big ol’ nazi uprising on the internet. Which came weirdly close to coinciding with when I started this blog, especially after I nuked some of the earliest posts for safety reasons, and as I certainly hope everyone knows I got pretty heavily involved in countering nazi BS, both independently and networking with other people fighting that particular good fight.

Somewhere in there, I wound up as part of a sort of combination support group/think tank/resource center for major victims of nazi crap, and that’s where I first encountered this particular little worm... and if it wasn’t clear I’m going to continue to refer to him as such for purposes of not coming up if he goes vanity searching. Among other things he has a history of stalking me which I’d like to keep as just history, you know? Anyway, the hell of a thing with it is he DIDN’T first come to my attention as a gross little nazi, but as an anti-fascist activist beyond reproach.

So that angle makes this tricky to talk about because it makes someone else look real real bad and I don’t want to go starting THAT fight, but there was an individual who was a major early target people were aware of and had a lot of faith in, and who frankly was an absolutely terrible judge of character and particularly vulnerable to flattery. So this little worm wrote some messages to that major target, who proceeded to present him to everyone else working to do anything about the whole mess as “one of the few good reporters out there on this” and later because of course this came up, talked him up as a “former nazi” when in reality there was nothing former about it, and he was just using this person’s susceptibility to boot-licking as a way to undermine anti-nazi things and/or make himself feel important by proximity to people who were in headlines.

Anyway, I’d never say anything this cruel about someone who isn’t a literal, wrote a high school essay about how much he loves Hitler nazi, but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was as generally worthless and oblivious as this little worm. Like, in the brief period where I interacted with him, I remember him coming to me for advice because he’d boot-licked his way to editor at a very minor game review website (I’ve held such a position) and a woman was complaining about being harassed by a coworker. Totally taken off guard by the only sensible advice anyone could give there, fire the creep. He instead wanted some magical trick to make this woman just somehow be OK with it. Shortly thereafter, there was basically no staff left, he’s trying to hire someone new to write for the site, and is deeply confused that nobody’s interested in committing to writing... I want to say it was 8 thousand-word articles per day, 7 days a week, for a grand total of 80 dollars a month. He was also thoroughly thoroughly convinced that all political unrest in the country would just stop completely the day a video game he was looking forward to was released.

I’d speculate on how he managed basic tasks to get through the day like meals and hygiene, but he’s highly infamous for ranting about his bed, keyboard, and various other things being covered at all times in ants and being at a complete loss as to what to do about it besides just crush them by sleeping/typing right on them. So, there’s that. Look him up and you’ll find plenty of other stories of just how jaw-droppingly bad at just existing and having thoughts this guy is.

This guy who the rich idiot running Twitter into the ground is discussing every single move he makes with. It’s just weird, right? He’s still this generally clueless, still an outright self-applies the term even nazi, still in deep last I checked with outright child sexual exploitation sites, and here he is playing evil vizier. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say he’s playing Brainy Smurf. So far as I can tell he’s just repeating all his bad ideas back to him and trying to rephrase them into something sensible enough to get a “yes, exactly!” back. I’d say bootlicking is the one thing this guy is good at but... no. People who are actually good at that sort of thing get something out of it, materially. This weird little clown just stays in the spotlight with no real benefit.

But the important thing is that yeah, the current head of what’s left of Twitter is actively palling around with a notorious neo--nazi and is enthusiastic about all his feedback. Heck of a thing to see.

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reallyprofoundkryptonite · 2 years

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Things I don't think I should really have to say about Krogan:

This man is 100% NOT STRAIGHT. He's either gay or asexual. Probably both.

Krogan would never, ever settle down with a woman (See number one).

He would never have children. He doesn't like kids. He doesn't like babies. Babies are Overstimulating and Loud and you cannot tell a baby nor a toddler to Quiet down because he has a headache

Krogan doesn't mind other people's kids, however. As long as they are above the age of like 4-5 (if they are well behaved and not screaming raging brat monsters, of course) and if not, maybe 12-13. Otherwise, keep them away from him. Krogan can handle a nasty 10 year old any day because he knows if they know what's good for them they won't bother him unless they want the shit scared out of them

Krogan is only cruel out of influence. He is not evil just to be evil. He is not a monster because he wants to be. He is not evil, he is a victim, and he is bitter towards other people because all other people have ever done to him is be cruel to him.

Krogan is a slave. Krogan is not with Drago willingly. He did not waltz off to go with Drago because he wanted to.

Krogan is a deeply traumatized individual. He likes to see other people in pain because it helps with his own trauma and is an inherently bad coping mechanisim- it is also a grateful way of thinking that at least it wasn't him that was being tortured.

Krogan is autistic. Source: I'm autistic and I see some of the traits of my own autisim in Krogan's character.

Krogan has stockholm syndrome. He has not left Drago because he is terrified of Drago, and the outside world. Drago is his abuser. Drago is also his only home, and Krogan does not think he has anywhere else to go. It has been drilled into his head that he doesn't have anywhere else to go, and that he will never be accepted by anyone else.

Krogan deals with chronic pain. I've watched certain parts of the show enough (ie wings of war;) and have noticed on some occasions that Krogan is limping. It's either chronic pain, or he was just beaten for some sort of failure on his end.

Drago is a very large fan of cruel punishments. Krogan does not just have a brand that marks him as Drago's property. He has many other scars from Drago's mistreatment .

Krogan is lucky to be allowed to grow a beard and hair. Slaves were typically completely shaven or had very short hair. Krogan is also not allowed to have hair that is very long or it all gets shorn off and he has to wait for it to regrow so he can continue trimming it himself.

Krogan is probably the most feral person you’d ever meet. While he’s usually able to keep his “oddities” at bay around people. Usually. He’s not always successful. Krogan hisses, spits, shrieks and roars just like any dragon. And similarly, when agitated, and without a weapon, he resorts to brute strength, biting, and making sure to draw as much blood as possible. When he bites, he often goes for the kill. If he draws blood, he knows his target is unlikely to live, as human bites are prone to transmitting infections like sepsis.

Krogan Is Not Stupid. Saying he is a complete and utter lie. It is untruthful. While he may not have the education and thirst for knowledge Viggo has, HE IS NOT DUMB. He is in no way, shape or form, a dumb brute. He can converse plenty fine. He just doesn’t want to. He’s an introvert. He doesn’t like other people very much, if at all. Krogan is also the deadly sort of intellect. Krogan is more akin to a wild animal in his intelligence. He knows how to survive, he knows how to hunt, he knows how to kill, and he knows how to feel empathy. In fact, he is extremely sensitive and aware of other people’s emotions. He just has no clue how to express his own feelings. He wasn’t raised around others enough to know what certain tones mean, what body language is- he shares more body language with dragons than he does people. He can read and write, not well, but he can do it. Krogan is hyper intelligent. Just not in the book smart or strategical sense.

Krogan is a sufferer of PTSD. He has depression, and he has anxiety. He also preforms self harm when he is stressed because he was never taught proper ways to deal with his emotions. In all, Krogan is a mental wreck. If you catch him on a bad day, or during a flashback, he will be absolutely fucking terrified of you, even if he knows one hundred percent that you mean him no harm.

Krogan is a Victim. He is not a monster. He was made out to be one, however. His violent tendencies are only him lashing out because he’s scared, confused and alone. And possibly more.

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yeetus-feetus · 6 months

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re-watching Nimona for the hundredth time now, and the more I watch it the more I can pick out very important scenes that are relevant to what's happening in the world now.

I just want to recommend that everyone go and watch it a few times, the first time to just enjoy it, and then another few just to understand the meanings woven into the narrative.

The first few times I watched it, it was about identity. Trans identity for the most part, because I saw myself in Nimona. All the little mentions of "why can't you just be a girl?" "Can't you just hide it?" Oh you're a boy now?" I was able to see myself and it helped me. It helped me a lot to see myself, and the whole thing was very well executed. It was a really good trans allegory, for transmascs like myself and gender fluid / non-binary / gender non-conforming people. I cried the first time I watched it because of how close to home it hit. I cried when Nimona said "sometimes I don't know what scares me most, the fact everyone in this kingdom wants to run a sword through my heart, or the fact that sometimes I just want to let them". And I understood that feeling. I understood what that was like, how alone it made me feel.

Then I watched it a few more times and I saw another big issue shown was Capitalism. The way leaders will lie and fear monger to get their own way. The way leaders will obsess over things they think are bad and try to push that onto the masses. The way leaders will demonise certain people for their own gain. How leaders manipulate the masses and abuse their power.

I watched it again and suddenly I was glaringly aware of Balister himself. The way men of colour, and lower class citizens in general, are mistreated and immediately seen as untrustworthy. I saw how unfair that was, I saw how cruel it was. I also saw that even other people wronged by the system can end up accusing others wronged by the system because it is so deeply rooted in society to treat certain people as threats. Nimona and Balister have a lot of differences and they don't see eye to eye at first, Nimona still thinks he's a criminal and Balister still thinks Nimona is a monster. But they learn that these things aren't true, they learn to accept each other despite the small-minded society they live in.

I watched again recently, and something new caught my attention. Something truely blinding in the face of what is happening in Gaza right now. It was when Ambitious asked "what are we doing?" In a hopeless voice, after expressing worriedly to the advisor that shooting into the city would kill all the innocent people, but she had simply waved him off saying would "kill the monster". The fact that she was willing to kill all those people, families running in terror through the streets, just so she could kill one person whom she deemed was evil. It hit me, how relevant that scene is right now. And it is obviously painted in a bad light, that the advisor doing this is wrong and immoral and she is the bad guy. She is in the wrong for shooting into the city, fully aware it will kill all those people who did nothing wrong. She is fully willing to kill all those people, just to kill one person in particular. And not just any one person, this is a target that the institute created! This is the the person Glorith painted as a monster, she created the target! And we all know that's wrong!

Then that line was spoken again, as Nimona had completely given up, "I don't know what scares me most, the fact that everyone in this kingdom wants to run a sword through my heart, or the fact that sometimes I just want to let them".

It hit me then. We all feel the same suffering under descrimination. I'm not the only one scared of swords. The people in Palestine fear sword everyday, that are constantly having to choose to continue on, to not give up and let the world run swords through their hearts.

And this is why movie and books, and media in general, is so important! It reveals to us things that are extremely relevant! It's why we need to stop book bans, it why we need to stop services from removing movies that are 'controversial'. Because things like this make people think and Capitalist Colonisers hate that! It makes them uncomfortable. They don't like things bringing attention to what they are doing wrong!

So watch more movies like Nimona! Read more books about oppression and the way colonialism is destructive! Learn about the poisonous lies of capitalism! Explore controversial subjects and learn! Please please learn that what is happening in the world right now is wrong! What the US is doing is wrong! Anti-trans bills, genocide in Palestine and the Congo. Racism towards people of colour, especially men of colour. We need to open our eyes to the truth and QUESTION EVERYTHING!

Go watch Nimona for me.

And don't stop protesting against active genocide.

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furiousgoldfish · 3 years

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Tactics of narcissistic abuse

Love Bombing & Mirroring are tactics to gain your favour. These will come from a narcissist you’re just getting to know and they’re trying to convince you they’re your perfect partner, soulmate, best friend, ideal lover. Love bombing is showering you with over-the-top affection and support, they’re likely to see what works best on you, then give you just that. They’ll convince you that you’re special and make you feel special, whether it’s with attention, gifts, promises, love phrases, or making you look and feel very good in front of other people. If they can spin this as fate or destiny, they will. You have one lucky coincidence? It’s destiny that you met. They’ll create the image of ‘it’s us against the world’ and convince you that they’re all you need to never be alone, unappreciated or unhappy again. They will say phrases like 'We were born to be together’ or 'You’re the only one who understands’ and make you feel like you’re in a romance film. Mirroring is the way to convince you that they are just like you, your perfect match. They do this by pretending they want the same things as you. All of your opinions will be shared, your desires will be their desires too, however you want to live, that’s now their ideal life too. If you want children, so do they, if you want to live in a cottage, so do they.

These will be repeated until you feel like you finally got something perfect from life, you commit to them and trust them completely. You will become lenient with your boundaries and disregard minor red flags, because hey, you finally found love, or someone like yourself who makes your life better. These are crucial to keep you around for a long time; the illusion of happiness and perfect companionship you always wanted will keep you holding onto them in hope that things could once again, be this perfect for you. You will not want to let go of them even after the love bombing and mirroring is long gone. Love bombing and mirroring are not indicative of how they’re planning to treat you once you’re committed to them; as soon as they feel you are ready to fight for a life with them, roles will change and you will have to endure escalating abuse from this person, endlessly.

Scapegoats and people badly damaged by trauma will often not get the full love bombing or mirroring, narcissists will be able to win our devotion by acts of basic decency, small thoughtfulness and acting tolerant of our trauma symptoms, this will feel like everything to us, and once we decide this is a good, special person who makes us feel safe and we’d do anything for them, they’ll turn and exploit us endlessly.

Only way to spot this on time is: there will be a little voice of suspicion in your head going ’Isn’t this actually a little too perfect to be real? A little too convenient and ideal?’ and you will not want to listen to that voice. You should listen to it. It’s your instinct, trying to tell you something is off. I won’t blame you if you don’t. Most people won’t just walk away from their ideal partner because things seem 'too perfect’. But, get suspicious at least. Alert to red flags.

Enablers and Flying Monkeys

Narcissists can’t abuse if they’re on their own; they will work hard to build a reputation and charm people who they can later use for purposes of enabling, triangulating, controlling, scapegoating and smear campaigns. Enablers, or Flying Monkeys, are people who are either admiring the narcissists, want to be in narcissists good favour, are trauma bond and scared of the narcissists, are emotionally manipulated or simply too cowardly to point out that the narcissists is wrong and cruel. Most people will fall under the influence and want to be on narcissists side because it’s easier, tempting, feels safer, and doesn’t require much thinking. Narcissist will sometimes emotionally manipulate people to go do their dirty work; they will cry about how they miss their runaway children so flying monkeys would harass and judge children for running away, they will invent stories of abuse and insanity of their spouse so people would shame and judge the spouse who the narcissist is abusing. They create environment in which they can keep abusing and other people will jump to defend, justify, victim-blame and further confuse the victim. “They had a hard life”, “They’re your mother/father/uncle, you have to forgive them” or “He’s not that bad” are the phrases you’ll hear from enablers and flying monkeys. The term “Flying Monkey” is taken from the Wizard of Oz, because the Wicked Witch owned an army of brainless flying monkeys who would do her bidding – much how narcissists do with their enablers.

What enablers are doing is absolutely wrong. They should not be ready to defend abuse, or excuse and justify it, or believe and act on smear campaigns, not for any reason. They are hurting and isolating the victim, and regardless of how much they suck up to the narcissist, they will eventually become the targets too. Victims are right to cut out enablers just how they’re right to cut out abusers. You do not have to suffer for their cowardice or stupidity.

Triangulation is a form of abuse where narcissist brings another person into the relationship in order to bypass your boundary. For instance, you refuse to speak to the narcissist, so they send your family members, friends, or their friends, to talk to you about how much you’re hurting the narcissist and how cruel and unfair you’re being. Or, you’re trying to set a boundary in your marriage, and suddenly a friend or a relative comes talking to you about how unreasonable it is to set such awful boundary and to think of your spouse’s feelings and how bad they have it. Narcissist may try to use you for triangulation too, for example, they might tell you 'Go tell your sister she should do xyz and she’s making a mistake, she’ll listen to you’. It’s implied you agree with the narcissist, and that both of you are doing it for the sister’s good, when it’s more likely the narcissist is trying to force this person to do something they’re deeply set against and would only serve the narcissist. Narcissists will use their children to triangulate a marriage, they will often 'gang up’ other family members on their spouse, or one of the children. If you’re the victim, you’ll find yourself cornered, isolated, and in doubt whether you’re doing the right thing, trying to establish a boundary. Narcissists will also often show affection, compassion or even love to a third person simply to make you jealous and worried that something is wrong with you since you don’t get the same treatment. It’s what creates an illusion that the entire world is agreeing with the narcissist and no matter what you do, you look unreasonable for fighting them.

Narcissists will sometimes invent completely boogus scenarios and try to terrify people into doing their bidding and believing they’re right. As if the world will fall if narcissists don’t get what they want.

Society at large will often enable abusers; you can call out abuse and be rendered a 'killjoy’ because people prefer to enjoy cruelty together with the narcissist than to oppose them. Narcissists are capable of rousing a whole gang of people to turn against the victim and to aid in their abuse; this is scapegoating.

Gaslighting is a form of abuse where the abuser attacks your sense of reality. They will usually do this to obscure and deny acts of abuse. “I never said that” “That didn’t happen” “That’s not how I remember it” “You imagined it” or “You’re crazy, I would never do that!” are common gaslighting phrases abusers use for events that absolutely happened, and they absolutely remember. It’s even more powerful if they get other people to agree that you’re insane for remembering a past event of abuse. They can sometimes try to convince you that something didn’t occur while it’s still happening. This renders your intention of calling out abuse impossible; you’re now debating whether the event even happened and your sanity is questioned.

The point of this is to drive you into insanity; prolonged gaslighting will make you doubt your own memories and senses, and you will no longer be secure in your own point of view or version of reality. You will not be able to fight abuse, because you will get stuck on wondering if it’s even real, or if you’re making it up. Narcissist wants not only to abuse you, but to control your perception of it, reaction of it, and to disable you from telling anyone and being taken seriously. Smear campaign and gaslighting ensures that everyone thinks you’re lying to make problems, even you.

You can attempt to block gaslighting with phrases like 'That was not my experience’ 'I know the truth and I am not debating it with you’ ’ Don’t tell me what happened, I was there’ or ridiculing them for thinking it would work, but sometimes abuse will escalate if you refuse to play along, so be very careful with them.

Baiting, Projection and Scapegoating

Baiting is the way narcissist finds out which triggers will work on you. Types of baits are: Scaremongering, Accusations, False Claims, Guilt-tripping, Victim-playing, False Hope, or Intrigue. They will use these to elicit either fear&anxiety, or guilt&responsibility. You are likely to get pulled in and respond emotionally to these, and thus the narcissist will discover which one of these is most triggering and they can use it to either control you, or to affirm that they can still get you riled up, scared, guilty – they feed on being able to provoke these, it makes them feel powerful. They can later use the same trigger to push you into guilt and fear if you try to resist their control. If they continue doing this to you for a long time, you are likely to develop self-doubt and anxiety about your own persona. Way to counter this is to grey rock them.

Projection is a primitive defense-mechanism, where a person feels uncomfortable with their behaviour or thinking, so they accuse someone else of it to deflect the bad feelings from themselves. This can feel the same as baiting, but narcissists do it without realizing they’re giving you the information about what they’re actually feeling and doing. For instance, a narcissist will accuse you of being self-absorbed after they start feeling uncomfortable with how self-absorbed they are, they will start to call you selfish when it comes to their mind how selfish they are. They will accuse you of the exact shit they’ve been doing whether it’s lying, manipulating, faking for attention, cheating, exploiting, lacking compassion, stealing. These claims will feel like they’re coming out of nowhere at first, but eventually you will wonder if you’re really like that, and accept their projection on yourself, believing to really be as bad, or worse than they are. Even though they’ve done 100% of these things, while you have done none of it. This can also be countered by being aware what is going on and grey-rocking them. Deflecting the blame back to them will not work because they’ll either deflect it back, or throw a tantrum and insult you.

Scapegoating is the most vicious abuse narcissist can inflict on their victims and is designed to completely break a person’s spirit while creating power out of terror. Scapegoating doesn’t only serve to terrify and control the victim; it shows everyone what the narcissist is capable of, causing them to go very far to avoid becoming the next scapegoat. This creates enablers, flying monkeys and other benefits for narcissist to enjoy, while the scapegoat is isolated, not believed, and often shunned by the community to show loyalty to the narcissist.

Scapegoat will be blamed for every narcissists flaw, accused of provocation and creating trouble, shamed for their likes and interests, humiliated for their appearance or needs, their work will be rendered worthless and any pain and injury will be treated as if the scapegoat deserved it, or wanted it. Nothing is out of bounds to criticize or belittle in the scapegoat; flying monkeys will do it too, to either affirm themselves with the narcissist, or because they too crave power by stepping on someone defenseless. If a narcissistic parent decides to scapegoat a child, the other parent might stop caring for the child, and agree that the child deserves only to be neglected and shunned. The illusion narcissists create, of entire society agreeing that a person is irredeemable, deserving only of pain and ridicule, has turned people to suicide.

Scapegoat absorbs all of the narcissist’s malice, cruelty, sadism, baiting, projection, guilt and tantrums, so other people in the environment can get some relief and can use the scapegoat as their shield. You can be chosen to be a scapegoat for challenging the narcissist and standing up to them, for refusing to scapegoat someone else, for seeing thru them and showing any potential for undermining their authority, if narcissist is jealous of you, if narcissist feels threatened by your intellect, compassion and emotional depth they lack. And often, you’ll just be chosen because they’re in position of power and you’re unprotected. If you’re their child, a lonely classmate, employee with no high reputation or lots of friends, a minority, different in the way of sexuality or behaviour, anything that is easily used to sway a group of people against you. Narcissists will make sure to spread a smear campaign filled with lies against you, so that nobody would align with you, or believe you if you try to counter their word.

This type of treatment is beyond anything a human being could deserve, and devastating for the victim’s self esteem and sense of reality. After surviving a scapegoating situation, people might not want to find themselves in any social setting anymore. They might start believing themselves to be unlovable and defective. There is usually no way to counter it or fight your way out, unless there’s a higher authority who could side with you, or there’s a way to physically remove yourself from this environment.

Grey Rock, Hoovering and No Contact

Grey rock is a way to counter baiting and projection; narcissists learn and thrive on our emotional responses, it gives them a thrill to be able to send us into rage, terror, disbelief, shock or panic. Grey rocking means you give zero emotional response, and thus prove yourself very boring and a bad source of narcissistic supply. So, regardless of what egregious threat, accusation, claim or insult they make, you just reply with 'mhmm’ and look completely disinterested. You reply with one-word sentences, say 'sure’ or 'yup’ if they accuse you of something or try to fearmonger, answer questions with 'maybe’ or 'I don’t know’, agree with whatever bs they’re pulling out of their ass without caring, refuse to get pulled in or baited, give them no significance in the conversation until they leave. It is very hard to do, because they will up their game and even fly into rage to get a response, if they feel entitled to it. In some cases they might resort to violence. Often, they’ll keep changing the tactics until something works, and if nothing does, they’ll feel dejected and go find another source of supply. If they feel like they can’t get to you, this undermines their imagined power over you.

No contact is the only way to truly win against a narcissist; if they can’t reach you, they can’t manipulate or hurt you. This means no responding to messages, no letting them know where you live, blocking them on every service, and in most situations, even the enablers have to be no contact, because the narcissist is likely to send them into triangulation and use them to get to you. If you’re unable to go no-contact with a narcissist, a lot of people opt for 'low contact’, which means you only hear from them once a year, or once every 6 months, insufficient for them to gain control over you, and you grey-rock them all the way, and never share any personal info that might be used against you. Hoovering is something a narcissist will do to you after you’ve left them. They might leave you alone for a long time, then suddenly send a message saying they miss you, or they’re thinking about you and wishing you could do xyz together. They might also influence another person to tell you 'x misses you, they wish to see you again, they’re doing bad without you’. This is done to remind you of the 'good times’ and an attempt to draw you back in, as you’re supposed to have forgotten all the abuse already and be ready to take them back. It might come as outrageous expectation or denial of everything bad that happened – that’s because it is. All you have to do is grey-rock this, not respond, and enjoy in knowledge that even if you can’t ensure revenge, you can take yourself away from them, and they will never have you back.

Sources: Baiting, Scapegoating, LoveBombing, Gaslighting(video), Projection(video), Triangulation, Mirroring(video), FlyingMonkeys (video), Hoovering, Grey Rock

#narcissistic abuse #scapegoating #psychological abuse #narcissistic parents #emotional abuse #gaslighting #love bombing #mirroring #baiting #projection #triangulation #flying monkeys #enablers #this took 3 days to write wow #did you notice tumblr beta has a character limit???#i had to turn it off to be able to post this #i don't want a character limit on tumblr #let people read

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dialovers-translations · 3 years

Text

Diabolik Lovers DARK FATE ー Laito [MANSERVANT ENDING]

ー The scene starts in the hallway of Eden

Yui: ( Aah, I can’t...I’ve reached my limit...! )

( It’s hot...I can barely breathe...It feels like my throat is burning up... )

( Laito-kun, save me...!! )

Laito: Bitch-chan!! I’ll be right there...!!

Yui: ( Laito-kun... )

Laito: Kuh...It’s too heavy...It won’t move...!! (1)

Yui: Laito-kun...Run...! Quickly...

Laito: ...

Yui: At this rate...

*Rumble rumble*

Yui: ( It’s...too late... )

ー Yui loses consciousness

Laito: ーー Bitch-chan!!

*TIMESKIP*

ー Yui wakes up in the Church

Yui: ーー !!

...Was that...a dream just now?

( What a strange one at that..I feel as if I’ve been dreaming for a very long time... )

However, such a thing would never happen in real life. I can’t believe I had a dream about falling in love with a Vampire...

Sounds like something pulled straight from a fairytale. Fufu...

ー Approaching footsteps can be heard in the distance

Yui: ーー ...!

My old scars are still aching when they should have long been cured...

The burns have completely healed though...

( Even though, ever since that day... )

( ーー Many decades have passed... )

Laito: ーー Yui.

Yui: Laito-san. You came to pick me up?

Laito: Why don’t we return to the living area soon? It gets quite chilly in here, so it’s bad for your health.

Yui: Thank you for always looking after me.

Laito: Oh no, I don’t mind it.

Yui: I’m always troubling you because of these legs of mine...

Laito: ...

Yui: Laito-san?

( Laito-san always makes a sad expression when I say that. )

( He must pity me for sustaining severe burns and losing my memory in the fire... )

Please don’t make that face. I...I’ve been saved by you many times.

So please don’t waste your time looking after me.

Laito: ...Yui...Let’s not talk about this.

Yui: Laito-san...

( I don’t have much time left...I’m well aware. That the end is near. )

( But, once I pass...I... )

( ーー I will be able to meet him. )

On certain CGs, little black roses will appear on the screen. If you click on them, you get an extra line of dialogue.

“All of this is my crime and punishment I should bear...But still, you’re quite cruel.”

“The man you loved deeply, huh? ...You must feel for him very strongly.”

Laito: Hey, did you think about what I told you the other day?

Yui: The other day...You mean your proposal?

Laito: Exactly.

Yui: ...

Laito: Is it him?

Yui: I’m sorry. I just can’t forget about him. My late lover who passed away in the fire...

Laito: ...Even though you can’t even recall his name or face?

Yui: Yes, however, I can tell. Even if I can’t recall what he looked like...My heart vividly remembers.

There was someone I loved very deeply. So...

I can’t be with you.

Laito: I see...

Yui: Um...So please, stop worrying about me.

Laito: No. I will stay by your side. It’s my duty to do so after all.

Yui: ...?

Laito: ーー You can live here, because I’m here to protect you.

Yui: ...Right.

Laito: ...! I’m sorry. There’s no deeper meaning behind it. ...I didn’t choose my words very well, huh? My bad.

Yui: No, you’re exactly right after all...

Laito: ...Well then, let’s keep the chit-chat at that and head back?

Yui: Yes. ...Laito-san, you’ve got some blood on your arm?

Laito: ーー This is...nothing, really.

Yui: But...

Laito: It’s fine.

Yui: I see...

ー The scene shifts to a back alley

Laito: ーー Kuh...Haah, haah...Uu...

( This is bad. I can’t control my own urges. I haven’t had any blood in days... )

( At this rate...I won’t have the strength to chase off those Demons who come to target her... )

Haah, haah...Uu...

Fuck...!!

*THUD*

Pedestrian A: Hey hey, have you heard? They say Vampires appear in town!

Pedestrian B: Haah? Vampires!? I have no idea what you’re talking about?

Pedestrian A: No but, remember how someone was murdered in the nearby park? Apparently a Vampire was behind that case.

The dad of one of my friends is a police officer and according to her, they discovered two holes on the victim’s neck and they had been drained of all their blood!

Pedestrian B: Eeh~!? No way! It was definitely some freak who did that!

Pedestrian A: Right? We should be careful too.

Laito: ...Haah, haah...

( I don’t give a flying fuck about some human girls...as long as I can protect her... )

( I’ll suck their blood as many times as I need to. )

( Back then, on the day of that fire, I vowed I would protect her. )

( No matter what lies ahead, regardless of what kind of pain and suffering I have to endure... )

( I will protect her. I told myself I wouldn’t have another drop of her blood. )

Because...That’s the least I can do for her.

The only thing I’m capable of...as the person who loves you, yet also destroyed you at the same time...

I love you, Yui.

ーー THE END ーー

Translation notes

(1) Thanks to the vagueness of the Japanese language, the dialogue does not specify what is heavy. However, I assume that Yui has been caught behind something and therefore cannot get away herself?

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #laito sakamaki #dark fate #diabolik lovers translation #dflaitoending2

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stxleslyds · 3 years

Note

It’s very interesting to see your thoughts on Winnik cause personally while I like that he made jason a bit unhinged and fun in utrh his other characterizations of his were eh at best. Like why would jason not care about the world and why would he take over the drug trade of all things considering his history. I feel like Winnick had a very surface level understanding of Jason. There was a lot of his past to explore but it wasn’t explored that deeply. Plus I absolutely HATED his Bruce and talia characterization. And how he wrote Talia in both utrh and lost days was absolutely disgusting and his explanation for why he did it was that Jason loves Talia and that they were both messed up ppl??? Which is where I can’t forgive him. I feel like he was a one hit wonder because ever since utrh his Jason story started to go downhill. I also feel like it’s because DC doesn’t know how to write a character that’s from a poor background and that’s a huge disservice to Jason. I do hope that Rosenberg or another writer (hopefully female) does a good job on him. He’s been suffering under shitty writing for so long. Sorry for the long ask I really enjoy reading your posts.

Hi Anon, thank you for sending your ask!

Well, this is a great question because I love giving my opinions on Winick’s UtRH and Lost Days. I know those books (or some moments in them) are not everyone’s cup of tea and I had and have some problems with some of them but I have also come to understand them or even accept them as a writer bringing up a morally grey area in his books and doing it well (or at least I saw it that way after re-reading and researching a bit about his thoughts on those matters).

This is going to be a long post (I suppose) because there is a lot to cover and I want to let you know in a clear way why I think that what Winick wrote works beautifully for Jason. I will try to answer this as coherently as I can, so I will talk about the points you made in your ask separately so I make sure I don’t forget anything.

Let’s begin!

“Why would Jason not care about the world?”

I assume with that you meant about what happened in Bludhaven when Chemo was dropped there by the Society? That is valid but that really wasn’t Winick’s fault (I believe), that whole thing was shown in the book because back then the Bat-related books were more interconnected and that was what was happening in Dick’s Nightwing run at the time, which I think was used to explain why Dick suddenly stopped helping Bruce in Gotham.

And then I think Jason and Bruce watching that happen when they were having that conversation on that roof was very well planned out. I think Winick used that opportunity for Jason to be his peak level of little shit and make Bruce feel bad about not arriving in time to save another one of his kids. Even though Jason later revealed that he never blamed Batman for not arriving in time to save him, I believe Jason said that about Dick to make Bruce hurt more. Jason was trying to make Bruce stay in Gotham so either Bruce or him killed the Joker that night. Winick on the other hand had to finish his story, him branching out and having Batman go to Bludhaven would have benefited absolutely no one either, and it just didn’t fit the story that was being told in Under the Red Hood.

That’s why I think that Jason reacted that way to the Bludhaven and Chemo situation. If by caring about the world you meant something else let me know! (He obviously cared about Gotham in UtRH and other people in Lost Days).

“Why would he take over the drug trade of all things considering his history?”

Well, I have to be honest with you Jason wanting to control the drug trade in Gotham makes absolute sense to me, and even more when I think about Jason’s past history.

Jason and Bruce have always been (to me) clear opposites in various angles, and in UtRH, Winick talks about that a little bit too.

Batman was created to eradicate crime from Gotham after Bruce witnessed the death of his parents, that was the tragedy that set him off, and even though it was tragic and awful he had everything outside of his parents, he had a home, a support system, people that cared and gave him love, and money. He never had to be in contact with the cruel reality that was Gotham. We know through various stories that Gotham is deeply rotten and corrupted.

But Jason did know how corrupted, rotten and devoid of hope his city really was, he lived in the streets and in an abandoned apartment alone because he didn’t trust the police or social workers (he didn’t believe the system was helpful). He had seen his mother die at the hands of drugs after his father was sent to jail due to his criminal behaviour. Probably his father was a drug dealer and was the person that got his mother into drugs, (I believe that was later made canon, I might be wrong). But why did he do that? Maybe because he came from a poor and complicated background and nobody wanted to employ him so the real bad people of Gotham, like Black Mask, Cobblepot and many others, saw his vulnerability and his desperation to make money and they gave him a job as a drug dealer.

Considering that Jason was made out to have very deep problems with people selling drugs in schools and all that, I can estimate that maybe one of the big Drug Lords at the time employed Jason’s father when he was barely a teenager, that way he earned money, he stopped going to school and sold drugs to his peers so the bad people could control more people while they were vulnerable.

If all of that is true then Jason wanting to control the drug trade in Gotham, by becoming a Drug Lord himself, makes perfect sense to me. I mean let’s talk about this, what were his other options?

Kill every drug lord?

What if that set off a gang war in Gotham over who got to be the next big Drug Lord? I mean, it would be like real life, if someone dies in that sort of position there would always be someone else to take their place. Drugs are clearly (in Gotham) a great way to get money and power.

Also, if he killed all the drug lords then what happened to the people that were working for them, how could Jason help them get another job?

Explode every warehouse and facility with drugs in them?

And then what? Wait for Black Mask and the others to buy more and put a target on his back? Maybe kill some innocents so they can send a message to Red Hood that if he keeps destroying their drugs or whatever people will pay for it?

Maybe all the drug lords would come together and kill the Red Hood themselves, what could one man do against everyone else? Black Mask and the others had vulnerable people on a payroll, if they stopped working or went against what their boss said they would have been killed and then families would still be vulnerable and desperate to survive in Gotham.

Come forward as Jason Todd, the not so dead son of Bruce Wayne, and start a campaign against drugs?

Jason would have ended up dead in seconds, everywhere you look there are corrupt people. What could have been the point of that? What could have Jason be able to give families like his so they could stop living under the control of drugs and Drug Lords?

Jason being a Drug Lord himself was the best option because Jason KNOWS the reality of Gotham and Gotham’s people. His way of dealing with drugs could control the drug trade in the first 10 years and then eradicate it after that time. His plan was genius!

Jason knew that for people not to suffer as his family did, he had to take the slow and hard path of becoming the thing that he hated the most. He needed to attack the monster from within. So, when he made his first move he controlled the street-level dealers, he told them “I will protect you from both Black Mask and Batman if you stop dealing drugs to kids and in schoolyards if you do that, you are dead”, it is genius! By being clear about not wanting to have kids and high schoolers involved with drugs he set out a new path where those people weren’t forced into drugs and driven away from school. And that’s the way Winick made us see Jason’s not so new morals, he protects Gotham’s kids and he will kill you without hesitation if you endanger them.

From that he built, Winick made it clear, at first Jason would convince the people working for other Drug Lords to work for him if they followed his rules (and he offered them protection!). If Jason worked on the drug trade, he could have controlled who was inserted in the drug life or could have made it exclusive to the rich or club exclusive. In his intention of taking over the drug trade, he could have moved drugs away from Gotham’s most vulnerable.

And if he employed those vulnerable people, he would have made them work for him on other levels, that way those vulnerable people still had jobs and were protected from people like Black Mask. And in due time, fewer young and poor people would be involved with drugs or the drug trade.

Red Hood employs poor people and makes them not sell to other poor people or kids, he pays his employees good money so their families make a better life for themselves and their kids go to school, they are all protected by the Red Hood and his team (Jason could have trained others and make a team or gang that focused entirely on security), those people then get to retire with their families far away from drugs and maybe Gotham too.

I mean, Winick never did those things but I think that was the way he was thinking about it, he really set a golden path for future writers, his story had to finish Jason’s dilemma with Bruce and Joker but then his life as the Red Hood continued. And it could have been good if other writers used the characterization that Winick had given Jason: protector of children, killer of rapists and everyone that endangered women, children and teenagers. All of that was thrown away for a mythical fight with Ra’s al Ghul for people that were as trashy as Ra’s.

“I feel like Winick had a very surface-level understanding of Jason”.

I have to disagree. I think he understood Jason’s character before his death well and then built a grown-up version of him with those morals more developed after he suffered more and then saw how the world and Batman’s ways hadn’t changed after his murder.

We are talking about post-crisis Jason here; he was sweet and he loved being Robin but he also saw the world differently from Bruce and Batman. He lived a very different life than the one that Bruce lived when he was a kid. Jason even said that he “could fend for himself just fine” and that he had “graduated from the streets of crime alley”.

To me Winick understood this completely, he knew that Jason had had close contact with how drugs could affect people and what a criminal record could lead you to, but he also understood that Jason was a survivor of "crime alley" and all its worst people. He probably knew of things that people were doing of he saw them happening. He knew how to protect himself from those things but understood that not everyone could do it. And when Batman took him to Ma Gunn’s school Jason learned that Batman was ignorant of how awful and manipulative Gotham’s people could be. Ma Gunn wasn’t running an orphanage or cool school; she was teaching children how to steal and harm others. He hated it, he was “okay” when he was alone and now, he was locked in with older kids that beat him and Ma Gunn who was exploiting children’s vulnerability.

I assume Winick took that and maybe decided that was the moment when Jason knew that even if Batman was trying to do good, he still didn’t see Gotham (or that side of Gotham) for what it truly was.

When Jason became Robin and worked along with Batman, we could already see that Jason thought very differently about what should be done with rapists, and abusers of all kinds, Jason saw the world differently when he was a kid and a teenager and then after his death, Winick used that to build a Jason Todd that as a young adult still saw Gotham for what it truly was.

“There was a lot of his past to explore but it wasn’t explored that deeply”.

I am really confused by this (and I am very dumb), did you mean that his past before his death wasn’t explored? Because that was not the point of this book, the information was already there with Jason’s previous appearances in comics, and even then, Winick explored through flashbacks in UtRH how he saw Jason and what it was that Jason thought about crime.

If you didn’t mean that and you meant his past before the events of UtRH but after his death then, well, I would say that Winick couldn’t have fit that in UtRH but he did write a story about that time in 2010 when he wrote Red Hood: Lost Days.

“I absolutely hated his Bruce and Talia characterization”

I will only talk about the Bruce part here because you mentioned Talia later in your ask.

To me his Bruce was perfect. I really think that his characterization of him was spot on, but maybe I am biased because I don’t like Bruce at all? I suppose that you are talking about Bruce’s characterization in those last moments in "crime alley" with Jason and Joker? And how he decided that making Jason drop the weapon by throwing a batarang to his throat and saving Joker was a better option than Jason killing the Joker?

If it is that then I would love to see what you think Bruce would have done at that moment because I didn’t really see Bruce using a gun (in any way) as an in-character thing for him, and even though DC has always danced with the idea of Bruce actually killing somebody I know that they wouldn’t have him do it, and even less when it comes to killing the Joker.

I mean, Bruce brought back Joker from the dead when Dick finally killed that piece of shit so, yeah, I don’t know.

I feel like Winick was trying to show just how loyal and squared Bruce is when it comes to his own no killing rule. Jason wasn’t asking for Bruce to go on a killing spree he just wanted Bruce to kill the Joker and he didn’t. Winick even had Bruce say that about him not wanting to kill one person because he felt that if he did that, he wouldn’t be able to stop and I think that’s pretty true. Maybe it is a bit too much but I don’t think it’s a lie.

“How he wrote Talia in both UtRH and Lost Days was absolutely disgusting”

That is absolutely valid, listen, if you didn’t like how he wrote her at all I really can’t say anything against that. My first real and solid contact with Talia’s character was in that book, so when I read UtRH I really liked how he wrote Talia in that, it seemed to have that aspect of Talia’s love for Bruce being so strong that when she saw Jason was alive, she wanted to help him so Bruce could see how much he loved her. It is messed up but I believed it fitted her character, she had good intentions but her reasoning was a little bit wonky.

With Lost Days, I thought that her character was well written, she isn’t a hero and she isn’t a villain, she is just a player in the game that is the League of Assassins and that world. That obviously changed up until we had that scene happen between her and Jason, I was grossed out and I didn’t understand why that had happened which leads me to what you said next in your ask.

“His explanation for why he did it was that Jason loves Talia and that they were both messed up people”.

This is a part of the interview where Judd Winick answered a question about Jason and Talia sleeping together. The interview was done by Sara Lima in ComicVine’s podcast.

“SL: Why did you decide to write the romantic scene between Jason and Talia in Lost Days?

JW: For those playing at home, Jason Todd, at the end of Red Hood: Lost Days, and Talia slept together. I did that because it was really disturbing and to shine a light on the fact that these are not really well people. A lot of people didn’t like that, which was correct. “You weren’t supposed to like that. That was supposed to be, ‘oh God, stop that, what are you doing?’ It really was. As well as, for Talia, her reasons, being that Bruce had wound up inadvertently killing her father and she was ragingly angry with him and went from love to pure hate and still loving him at the same time. And Jason, given the opportunity to have sex with just about the only woman who Bruce has had sex with or really cares about, ‘Yeah, I’ll go there.’

SL: He’s like, ‘yeah, cause I hate that guy.’

JW: Yeah! ‘I hate that guy!’ And I think that Jason probably had the hots for Talia. She’s hot, he doesn’t exactly have a lot of relationships going on – It’s not a good thing for either of them. These are two people who murder people, two people who are screwed up, screwed up emotionally. There’s this question that why would he do that and Talia only loves Bruce. She might only love Bruce, but she does have sex with other people because that’s just sex. And we’re all grown-ups here. I think those who shake their fist and get angry at this kind of thing might be some of our older readers. I’m an older reader, but I acknowledge the fact that people aren’t that chaste and grow up: people have sex. That’s why I ended it like that; It was messed up.

Maybe it was in another interview or something but this is the only time that I have seen Winick talk about that and I don’t think he mentioned Jason loving Talia but he did say said that “These are two people who murder people, two people who are screwed up, screwed up emotionally”.

When I looked it up, I found that someone that is described as screwed up is a person that is “emotionally disturbed”. That description is one that I feel is valid for both Jason and Talia at the time, they both had a lot going on and were fighting some demons so maybe it’s not a nice thing to say but I can’t say that the statement isn’t true. Or at least that’s how I see it.

When I came across that interview for the first time, I wasn’t expecting Winick to apologise for writing that interaction but I did want an explanation so after he said, “A lot of people didn’t like that, which was correct. “You weren’t supposed to like that. That was supposed to be, ‘oh God, stop that, what are you doing?’ It really was” and “for Talia, her reasons, being that Bruce had wound up inadvertently killing her father and she was ragingly angry with him and went from love to pure hate and still loving him at the same time. And Jason, given the opportunity to have sex with just about the only woman who Bruce has had sex with or really cares about, ‘Yeah, I’ll go there.’”

I felt like that was enough, granted I didn’t like it and I still don’t like it but I don’t see it as Winick writing something disturbing with evil intentions, I just see it as him writing these two morally grey people doing some very morally grey stuff.

This is not me saying that this is how things have to be taken, I know and understand many people who absolutely don’t like this at all and that’s valid. I am not here to change your mind about that, personally when I read the why he wrote that I felt like that explanation was enough but that is just me.

“I feel like he was a one-hit-wonder because ever since UtRH his Jason story started to go downhill”

I think Winick was only meant to write Jason’s comeback to comics, around the time he was writing Outsiders and Green Arrow. And there was also the “Infinite Crisis” (Winick wasn’t involved with that one) event going on in the middle that explained some stuff like how Jason was resurrected which was explored in Batman Annual #25 in 2006 (like a year after the UtRH book had come out and it was also written by Winick). Then with the popularity of the UtRH book the animated movie was made (written by Judd Winick) and because that was coming out DC allowed Winick to write the six-issue mini of Red Hood: The Lost Days in 2010.

The UtRH story didn’t go downhill, DC simply couldn’t handle that level of mature storytelling at the time, just after that event ended DC was already planning on changing stuff and then the New 52 came years later.

Winick’s Jason even made an appearance in Outsiders #44-46, there Red Hood wanted to help the Outsiders break out a good man (Black Lightning) out of prison because he hadn’t killed anyone (it had actually been Slade). Jason/Red Hood’s characterization and story going downhill wasn't on Winick, it was on DC and their lack of interest in making their characters complex and dual.

“DC doesn’t know how to write a character that’s from a poor background and that’s a huge disservice to Jason”

Absolutely. But in my case, I do think that Winick did work with Jason’s background very well. To me, he set a path and no one could follow it but I might also be horribly wrong.

I also hope that Rosenberg does an amazing job! I absolutely love his work, as I have said before he is super funny and isn’t scared of writing characters who kill. I feel like he will bring back the sarcastic little shit that Jason once was but he will also bring back that sense of seriousness and dedication that Jason has for the work that he is doing. Rosenberg even showed us some of that in that prelude to Task Force Z in Detective Comics, I absolutely recommend them if you haven’t read them, issues #1041 and #1042 were the ones with that backup story.

I can see that we have very different opinions but that’s just a part of the comic world, we all perceive these comics differently and that’s valid! I am glad you enjoy reading my posts and I hope that even though we have those different opinions you were still able to enjoy my answer! If you think that I misunderstood anything that you say please let me know, sometimes my brain just doesn’t click.

Hope you have a fantastic week!

#jason todd #red hood #robin jason todd #utrh #red hood lost days #jasons characterization #dc comcis #asksss

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ruby-whistler · 3 years

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You've probably talked about this kinda thing before (I'm willing to hunt down the post if so), but I'm pretty new to your blog and I'm curious; what makes you like c!Dream so much? Other than, like, his potential - or the skill that went into writing him - I mean specifically as a character, what causes you to sympathize with him as opposed to others like Wilbur or Quackity?

If it's personal you obviously don't have to answer! I've just read tons of posts like that from c!Tommy apologists and I realized I'd never read one from the other side of things (so to speak) and I think you present your ideas and stuff rly well :p

Alright, I’ve made a couple of replies like this, but this one is going in the masterpost to later link it to people - thank you for your interest, and I hope you don’t mind this one being a bit detailed.

Initially, on more of an emotional level, the answer to that question would be Dr3. It was how I got into Dream apologism, it justified my compassion for the character, and made me feel more comfortable where the rest of the fandom was overwhelmingly negative.

The c!Dream that people portray seems unsympathetic, and pretty fitting on the surface - a relentless manipulative villain with an insatiate thirst for power who threw away his friends in order to gain control over others for the sake of being on top.

Until you actually look into canon, and do some analysis, and realize that's,,, rather far from the truth.

See, the thing about c!Dream is, that he's a person much like anyone else in the story. He's not a "villain" or some morally black character only because of his actions. It's all about context, which doesn't excuse actions, but it might explain them and make an impact on the way we view the character himself.

In this fandom, people usually look at him, and then throw both accurate characterization and any of that context out the window.

Because power, and hurting people, and chaos isn't his goal or his motive. It's a means to an end. Everything is a means to the end to this character, including himself, which I find fascinating.

Is it wrong to do? Yes. Will it get him closer to his goals? Yes? Then he's going to do it, no matter who gets hurt in the process. No matter if he gets hurt in the process.

And this ruthlessness is not inspired by cruelty, this efficiency isn't out of enjoyment. It's out of genuine attachment and perhaps even desperation, but that's difficult to get into.

He's had such a downward spiral into doing continuously worse things - and for what? For control? For power? No, he never cared about that in the first place, why would he start now?

Do you know what he did care about?

His friends. The server. The people he feels responsible for.

c!Dream's goals have never been selfish at all, no matter how much people try to paint it that way. His ends were always for others - considering how likely the theory that he got himself locked up on purpose is, that enforces the sentiment even more.

If he didn't care about the server, why would he fight against L'Manberg and then list his reasons for it always as reasons "we" had? He pretty much never used "I" when talking about it, I know because I counted it.

If he didn't care about the people, why would he stand against Schlatt - despite understandably still despising L'Manberg - and actively support them in getting their country back when he could've just left them alone? Schlatt wasn't hurting him. Wilbur taking a tiny piece of land wasn't threatening him.

Manberg was threatening the server's peace, which is why he fought against it. L'Manberg threatened (and ruined) the server's relative peace and unity, which is why he fought against it.

It was never him fighting to control the server, it was him fighting for the server and the people in it, even if he ended up hurting them in the process, and that's pretty clear from analysing his motives before the second season.

And yeah, his thinking is flawed, I noticed - but cc!Dream has confirmed his goal in the end is for everyone to get along and, well, stop hurting each other, as well as him having an "ends justify the means" mentality.

And I guess that silent realization of - hell, he cares - was what drew me to have such a strong attachment towards the character.

So thinking about him forcing himself to do all this terrible stuff - about him being stuck powerless inside a cell, hurt over and over again - about just how desperate he must've been, alternatively, how ready to sacrifice himself he must've been back at the Finale.

If you recontextualize the story from c!Dream's perspective, it all falls into this picture of someone who wanted to protect people more than anything, and who cared more than anyone, and ended up losing everything, not entirely by his own fault, but because of the cycle of violence he was actively trying to stop.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Dream is incredibly selfless both in his overarching goals, and in his smaller more immediate ones. He will, more often than not, put himself in a disadvantageous situation if it means his friends or allies aren’t caught in the crossfire or harmed.

His relationship with his friends - Punz, George and Sapnap specifically - is incredibly tragic. He wanted to protect Punz, he showed genuine concern about him, he was willing to have one less person on his side just so that people wouldn't target him.

He wanted to protect George, but he hurt him in the process, because he was too caught up in being in the right, and Sapnap was distraught thanks to Tommy telling him that Dream doesn't care about him, and Quackity who despised Dream was there to fan the flames, so they fell apart rather easily.

He wanted to protect the cat, and he failed.

He wanted to protect Techno, stand up to Quackity, and he failed.

If you think about it, he failed to protect everyone miserably.

Alright before I break down sobbing incoherently - as you can probably see, my sympathy towards c!Dream doesn't come from him being a good person to any degree, more from just incredible amounts of sadness.

You see, c!Dream is a very reserved character, and he puts up the "cruel scary villain" front on purpose, and he doesn't talk about his emotions on purpose. However what we see of him is pretty much enough to classify him as a rather tragic character.

Most of his actions, with enough context, shift the way I think about the character in a more positive direction only because if I like the way a character is written, it's going to bleed into my feelings for the character himself. Ruthless villains are my jam. A character being fun to analyse and too complex to complicate further is pretty much the only thing I need to become attached.

Did I mention the prison arc yet? I cannot see a character suffering and not be sympathetic, I don't think that's a thing with me. Healing arc potential, isn't it?

A lot of people also relate to the character on a deeply personal level! Trauma responses such as cutting people off and emotionally isolating yourself, trying to regain control of your environment or to get back the past, some people even relate to,, what's being done to him during the prison arc. There's definitely some amount of projection going on, but I'd say I only do it to a degree where when I'm depressed I'll start relentlessly posting about a healing arc.

It's just hard to see a villain with good intentions hurt and alone, even if he's done terrible things, and not feel some amount of empathy. Most people don't care to see him that way, but my blog's mostly a place for those who do.

Anyways, here are some essays to check out perhaps if you've read this far that elaborate on some of the points further-

[ x ] [ x ] [ x ] [ x ] [ x ] [ x ]

- and here's an explanation like this from a fellow Dream apologist. Might be useful to get multiple perspectives on the subject. Feel free to also send asks if you have any questions! That's what I'm here for.

#dream smp #c!dream #dreblr #my asks #angeloncewas #long post #thanks for the question! :]

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coldgoldlazarus · 2 years

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Do you have any Lariska headcanons

Uhhh

Hmm

- Lariska doesn't really have a deep tragic backstory or anything, (probably not a great history either though, she had to learn to fend for herself and become so good at killing somewhere after all) and her approach to her work for the Dark Hunters is very practical. To quote Tex from RvB; "I wouldn't say I'm a mean person, I just get paid to do mean things. And I think it's important to enjoy your work." There's no excess of sympathy, but there's not especially any malice or evilness behind her actions either; she's just really good at what she does, and those on the recieving end don't really register, for better or worse. That being said, if she's sent after a target who's legitimately corrupt she'll take extra glee in removing them, and is otherwise quite kind to innocents as long as they're not her mark.

- She's definitely watching The Shadowed One closely at all times, waiting for a moment to strike and take him out. However, unlike many others in the Dark Hunters who are doing the same with the intent to take over afterwards, she's not hungry for power; it would be purely personal because of her arm, and then she'd leave immediately to let the power vacuum sort itself out without having to get caught in the crossfire.

- I don't necessarily ship Daggerspider myself (since I see her as an gay) but I enjoy the content for it from everyone else anyway? Lol. But at any rate, her friendship with Nidhiki was legitimately important to her, and after he died in Metru Nui and the aftershocks of the Cataclysm wound down, she was one of the first to jump at the chance to make the Brotherhood pay for his death. She went to a very dark place for a while, and became a lot more cruel and a lot less discerning about her victims for a while, until the grief had run its course. She doesn't regret the results, but it's also not a version of her she's proud of.

- Lower-ranking members of the Brotherhood sleep in fear to this day, wondering if the poisonous assassin would return for them.

- She's affiliated with the element of "The Green"/Jungle, and while nowhere near a Toa's level, does have some limited ability to influence plantlife as a result. She's too twitchy and impatient to really do anything long-term with it, but it's how she easily cultivates the poison for her knives. She would also be the type to frivolously wear a flower behind an ear if she wasn't in the middle of the Social Darwinist Hellhole that is the Dark Hunters HQ, where something like that would be seen as a sign of weakness. But she's done it on missions at least, a few times, and left the flower behind as a playful calling card with high-profile targets.

- (This kinda gets into some tangential Roodaka headcanons, tldr Roodaka started out young and naive wanting to make Xia less shitty, before gradually losing sight and turning into the corrupt manipulator we know today) Lariska attempted to befriend Roodaka as well, early on, interested by her backstory and intrigued for similar reasons as she would later be with Nidhiki. However, over time it became clear how deeply hypocritical and self-serving she had become, and her mutation of Nidhiki was the final nail in the coffin for Lariska's interest.

- Lariska and Krahka had a way of just narrowly missing one another in Metru Nui over the years, but after Teridax's takeover and the following battle on Spherus Magna, the two would finally meet for real, and it would become a whole whirlwind adventure-romance thing that would culminate in Lariska finally killing The Shadowed One and leaving the Dark Hunters for good.

- (Krahka's a bicon and still also with Onewa. Lariska's cool with this. Onewa has more mixed feelings given Lariska's reputation and history, but has given his blessing as well, with obvious caveats about staying on good behavior and whatnot.)

- Being both feline and reptilian in nature, along with the aforementioned affinity for plants; while Lariska is in constant motion for most of her waking hours, she has a weakness for napping in sunny spots. It's probably a good thing Odina is so gloomy, keeping her from letting her guard down, but after the move to Spherus Magna, she'd become a lot more relaxed.

- Lariska has absolutely said "nyaa" by accident at least once. No witnesses survived to tell of it.

#not a reblog #bionicle #bonkle #bonkles #Lariska #thank you for the ask!#I love how initially I was like 'uhh I don't know what to say to this I got nothing'#and then I wound up with all this #asks

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