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where-dreams-dwell · 6 months

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Roderick Usher is such a good bait and switch of a villain! You spend most of the show watching his ‘downfall’ and corruption, knowing that he’s going to become the monster Dupin knows him as. But you still want to believe he can’t be all that bad, and he somehow knows this and plays right into it until the very end

Roderick is telling his story and peppers it with all these asides and moments that make the audience feel some sympathy for him. That make us believe he either has good intentions beneath everything else, or originally had them and was corrupted by power.

He implies he truly didn’t know Ligodone was addictive: he tells Dupin ‘you belive the chemist when he you tells you the drug they made isn’t addictive, you trust your company not to abuse the use of that drug’. He reminds Dupin (and by extension the audience) that he ‘didn’t make the damn thing, I just sold it’. And then it cuts to show that the drug company was originally acquired by Roderick’s predecessor as CEO, who took his pitch for a pain free world and ran with it. This makes the audience feel some small sympathy for Roderick: not enough to think he’s a victim in anyway but it worms in there and makes him not as monstrous as he was a moment ago. It implies he is not solely to blame.

The audience see’s (we think) Roderick getting corrupted and swayed to the dark side of corporate greed. Brilliantly they show Roderick in present day acting in ways that seem in character for what we have learnt about him, and then flash back to the 70’s to reveal that those lines or attitudes where originally those of the old CEO who Roderick *hated*. It appears as if pure innocent and trusting Roderick who runs straight at injustice has been corrupted by the old CEO, has become the monster or villain that he once hated. It’s a small tragedy mixed in with a busy narrative but it impacts the audiences view of who Roderick once was. We interpret this as an originally good if naive man corrupted by power and wealth. Coupled with all those scenes in the 70’s of Madeline being more emotionless and pragmatic, pushing Roderick to be more manipulative and strategic, it appears as if he has been ‘forced’ or ‘groomed’ into his role against his original intentions. Part of the scenes we then spent in the 70’s is spent quietly mourning this version of Roderick, as we know it doesn’t survive his ascension.

But there are enough moments to imply that Roderick is still being an unreliable narrator. When Dupin first apologised for faking an informant, saying he feels that his lie had some role in the death of his children, Roderick’s first response is to run with that false impression. The way he responds to Dupin’s apology sounds like he’s gearing up to lay into him about his role in Roderick a children’s death, to double down and agree that Dupin does bear some blame for how they died.

And then one of his dead children appear to him. They make him pause, collect himself, and acknowledge what Roderik knows to be true: Dupin’s lie had no bearing on their death (his deal with Verna is the reason they’re dead) and any impact of that lie on their final fate is solely due to Roderick believing it and then placing a bounty on the supposed informants head. He turned his kids against one another, Dupin’s lie was just the vehicle. Roderik only voices this when he is forced to by his literal ghosts.

There are several moments when it appears his dead children are ‘keeping him honest’. When he’s getting off topic Perry or Leo appear to shock him and remind him to keep telling their stories. When he tries to downplay his part in the creation of Ligodone and argue that the horrors of its addiction are actually due to a street derivative which ‘hasn’t been FDA approved’ Camille’s appears behind him to force him to reconsider and eventually interrupts him so abruptly he trows a glass at her. When he’s lamenting Frederiks death and remembering him as a child not an adult (the last time Roderick was any kind of father to him) Fredrick takes over child/Frederick’s body to remind him of how he died and to get back to the story. It’s almost like he’s saying ‘you don’t get to remember me like this, you don’t get to miss remember and pick and chose: this is how I died and it’s because of you so keep going’. It’s only in hindsight so we realise this was Roderick trying to subconsciously control the narrative and change this confession, to reframe his actions and those deaths. And the kids didn’t let him get away with it.

Even Juno as a narrative device helps to hide Roderik’s rotten centre: she is such a bluntly honest and sincere person, she lends a little credence of honesty to Roderick. We think he must have some small good in him (albeit wrapped up in all the ‘old enough to be Juno’s father, makes the opioid she’s addicted to, doesn’t defend her from family cruelty’ BS of his ‘love’) as she is devoted to and loves him. Plus when we first meet her he states he loves her, he is always shown to be gently affectionate towards her, and even claims she is one of his ‘two favourite ladies’ along with his granddaughter who we know he dotes upon. But then at the very end his twisted horror show of devotion is revealed: anything close to love he holds for Juno is warped by her being a living totem of his product, something he can point to and use to further his cause. Juno is an object to him, one he enjoys complete control over. He has never seen her as a person in her own right, just a doll/puppet to prop up his drug empire, and he can’t separate her or his feelings for her from the drug she is dependant upon.

Added to this, towards the end of the show we discover that this ‘unburdening’ of Roderiks sins, this confession to a litany of crimes, which will give Dupin closure for both his life’s work and answers to Roderick’s betrayal of him in the 70’s… that isn’t even Roderick’s idea! Verna told him to confess. Even at the end Roderick isn’t mending bridges of his own volition.

And then his final revelation: he’s been lying the whole time, maybe his whole life, to everyone. He had always know people would die to ensure his success, that he would have to climb over ‘a mountain of bodies’ to get to the top and it never once made him pause. He wasn’t corrupted, he didn’t get poisoned by the old CEO and his views, he didn’t change to take on more of Madeleine’s views. He just noticed the best way to get work done and adapted.

Dupin had it right from the start: the only good that he ever saw in Roderik was a reflection of Annabelle lee’s. Like the moon has no inherent light of its own, Roderik hid his darkness behind the strength of Annabelle’s goodness until the time came when she couldn’t shine on him anymore. And he was revealed for the empty dead husk he had always been.

And Annabelle even said it herself, when then kids chose Roderick over her. They were starving and he told them to gorge themselves but he could never actually feed them, because he had nothing real to offer. Empty through and through, and just. So. Small.

#the fall of the house of usher #mike flanagan #fuck Roderik usher #spoilers #tfothou #roderick usher #unreliable narrators #character analysis #media analysis

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nonpracticinghumanbeing · 7 months

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So Izzy said a thing.

The thing seems to be a part of a redemption arc and makes him sound like a human rather than a monster.

The Canyon went wild with joy and jubilation. The haters are doing everything they can to rationalize the thing in a way that would fit their point of view. One of these things makes me feel like a part of a wonderful, welcoming, and very queer community. The other makes me perplexed, annoyed, and sad at the same time - in a way that feels very personal.

OFMD is an explicitly and unapologetically queer show. And not just that, it shows a variety of non-normative behaviors (Jackie’s polyamory, Geraldo’s humiliation kink, Lucius and Pete’s penchant for “having an audience” to say nothing of Izzy’s masochistic tendencies) in a completely non-judgmental way, making the viewer feel like all ways of performing one’s sexuality are valid.

Izzy wants to be a part of this world. For all his anger and manipulations, and (yes, let’s call him out for the sake of fairness) his abusive behaviors, he desperately wants to be a part of the world where he is free to love who he loves, in whatever way he is capable of doing so. No matter how much the haters don’t want to acknowledge it, this is ultimately a story about love. Both Con and Daddy Jenkins admitted Izzy is in love with Edward and the fact that the antis are willing to contradict not only the actor (who, may I remind you, was instrumental in shaping Izzy’s character) but also the showrunner is very symptomatic of the larger issue of how queer people have been treated in society.

No one in their right mind chose to become a pirate unless they had no other option. Piracy was fraught with constant danger and meant being an outsider everywhere. The only place one could be more or less safe was between people in the same lifestyle. In OFMD that is represented by the Republic of Pirates, where not being a pirate would get one in trouble. Sure, there is some violence but it comes with the territory and - much more importantly - it’s never motivated by someone being a pirate.

Izzy claims to hate the Republic - and for someone as repressed as him it makes sense. There are people being a different kind of a pirate than Izzy would like there - drunk, rowdy, and undisciplined. He clearly takes great pride in his work and has built his whole identity around being Blackbeard’s first mate. Seeing people be pirates while taking their responsibilities lightly doesn’t fit his worldview because he’s been taught that all of his energy should be spent protecting whatever freedom the pirates managed to carve out for themselves.

Someone once wrote that despite what the popular meme says, Izzy isn’t a real pirate dropped into The Muppet Treasure Island, but rather a hard boiled queer-coded character from a 50s noir movie dropped into today’s Pride. He’s had to keep vigilant against any threat for so long he hasn’t noticed that there was a way to be a pirate/queer and still enjoy one’s life. That one can like frilly robes and be a somewhat competent sea captain. That it is possible to pine for one’s boyfriend and keep one’s crew safe. That being soft doesn’t necessarily mean being weak.

He’s willing to do whatever it takes and sacrifice whatever has to be sacrificed (Stede’s life, Edward’s happiness, his own status of the loyal first mate) to keep his little pirate/queer world safe. It’s this conviction that puts him in the way of Ed and Stede’s relationship and makes him an antagonist. But - and it’s something the haters seem to be incapable of grasping - an antagonist doesn’t have to equal a villain.

Why does Izzy react so violently to Stede, exactly? Why is he willing to go against his captain's wishes in challenging Stede to a duel? Why does he sell Stede out, making a deal with the enemy in the process? Because Stede is a stranger infiltrating Izzy’s safe space. The English are a huge threat, sure, but they are easily identifiable from a distance. Stede seems to Izzy to be something far more dangerous - an outsider worming his way into the heart of Izzy’s world, where he can do truly irreparable damage. The English are cops who chase gay boys around the park. Stede has the potential of being an undercover cop sent into a queer bar in the 1930s to get the dirt on the patrons so they can be blackmailed and arrested.

Of course, he may not be that, but it’s a risk Izzy can’t allow himself to take. With his vision of what it means to be a pirate/queer he's sure he sees through Stede’s ruse. Now, I’m not trying to excuse abusive behavior, as some of Izzy’s choices were hurtful to everyone around him. But as a queer person I do have sympathy for someone (grossly) overreacting in defense of their safe space. Constant vigilance is an inherent part of the queer experience, especially for those living in conservative countries or remembering the times before the Pride.

Like, for example, Con does. Con, who - yes, I will repeat this because it’s super important here - played a huge part in shaping Izzy’s character. Con, who despite having a decades-long career where he often clearly gravitated towards queer characters, only got comfortable enough THIS YEAR (and thanks to this show and this fandom) to publicly come out. Con, who - as a friend wonderfully phrased it - is queer as in start a riot, not as in love wins.

And Izzy is the same. He is a start a riot pirate/queer in a show full of love wins pirates/queers. His way of being what he is is so totally different from everyone around him that it makes him an antagonist. (Sure, there are other start a riot queers in the show - Jim literally kills a man who wronged them and Lucius is very outspoken about his opinions in a way that makes him somewhat radical, but neither of them is as extreme in their ways as Izzy is and neither goes against the main characters’ romance thus becoming an antagonist.) But. The thing is, when you are a part of a minority, when you are being prosecuted and targeted for who you are, you need safe spaces. And those safe spaces need protection, because every freedom can be taken away if wrong people come to power. No doubt the queer movement would look much more tame and palatable to the bigots if we were all the love wins queers. But we desperately need the start a riot queers if we are to survive.

So yeah, you can say Izzy said what he said because he needs a structure and clear hierarchy in his life. He absolutely does. Some of it comes from his submissive and masochistic tendencies, sure (I wrote a lot about that, including a piece for the Above All Else zine). Some of it may come from neurodivergence (some people read Izzy as autistic, I’m not going to discuss this because as a neurotypical person I have nothing of value to say about it). But it also ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY comes from the desperate need to protect his safe space from outsiders.

And there is one more thing the haters conveniently forget about: OFMD is also a show about growth. It’s about Stede turning from a wooden puppet into a real boy and then into a man. It’s about Edward learning there is a life beyond the legend of Blackbeard and peeling off at least some of the leather. And judging from the trailer, it’s about Izzy learning you can be a start a riot pirate while being accepting of the love wins pirates in your life.

The more I think about it, the more likely I find it that Stede’s “I don’t care what anybody says, he’s actually a good guy” line from the teaser refers to Izzy. But even if it doesn’t, I am 100% sure the haters will be proven wrong. This show never relied on stereotypes and cliches. In fact, it actively does everything to break them (from Jim’s sacred quest for revenge ending up with them befriending Jackie to the only names that get mispronounced being those of white characters) while killing off the real enemies of the pirate/queer crew (Badmintons, Jack, Geraldo) and giving all its characters place to grow.

So, maybe one day we will all learn to love Izzy?

#ofmd #our flag means death #our flag means gay #izzy hands #ofmd meta #lol i got so pissed off at a really bad take on the line that i'm back to writing meta #thanks to remy for the start a riot / love wins thing!#i'm getting emotional again damn this show #queer representation

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ladyloveandjustice · 1 year

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I just watched Pop Culture Detectives critique as superheroes as reactionary and defending the status quo and villains as disruptors (even when their goals are wrong and authoritarian), and I think it did a fine job summing up the MCU, but I think it would lose something when if you’re doing a conversation outside that specific focus if you don’t acknowledge that there’s very significant times that WASN’T the case in early superhero comics.

For example, several early Superman comics have him actively disrupting society. He wasn’t a friend of the law early on. He destroys an entire “slum” and forces the government to rebuild better housing, and the police come after him for this.

He infiltrates a prison to expose its systemic abuse of prisoners.

He forces war profiteers to experience the terror of war firsthand until they stop.

But as the tweet thread I linked notes, this stops. Modern Superman often states he can’t interfere in wars because humanity has to sort out their own conflicts, that he can’t use his power against systemic issues because what if he becomes the power hungry god imposing his will on humanity? It’s interesting some comics posit that if Superman was more active about social change, he’s become the ‘invader’ Lex Luthor says he is. Especially if you consider Superman’s roots as an immigrant allegory, which makes it come off like he has to avoid being too disruptive or he’ll be labeled a ‘bad immigrant’.

There’s sometimes callbacks to the roots of Superman still, like the issue where he fights that cop probably (I was out of comics by the time that happened) but of course it’s pretty absent from the movies.

It’s also worth noting that Clark Kent is an investigative reporter (often exposing the crimes of billionaire CEO) which is an inherently disruptive job. PCD mentions that heroes do tend to be creative in their civilian identities but says it doesn’t seem to connect much to their superhero selves, but I don’t think you can separate Clark Kent the reporter from his superhero activity, because they’re often closely tied together, I mean he literally took the job so he could get leads as Superman.

Then there’s Wonder Woman, who was definitely a disruptor in her early incarnation. She was absolute here to spread Marston’s idea of feminism and have others follow her. She wanted to make more Amazons. She wanted a society where women had power. She would literally take her female villains and introduce them to the pleasures of femdom and BDSM reform them, convert them to her ideology, get them to join her ranks. The comic was CERTAINLY reactionary in other ways, and Marston’s feminism was flawed, but he wrote the comic explicitly because he was hoping for social disruption, that Wonder Woman would be the building block in the utopia he envisioned.

And there was some of that in SOME modern WW comics when I was into them- I was drawn to Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman because there was a huge emphasis on the fact she’s an ambassador for her culture, and diplomat actively working to change the world, someone who’s seeking social reform and has an ideology. However, it is true that even those comics were mostly about her reacting to threats in her superhero life. (And then in the movie’s that’s entirely absent- feminism isn’t bought up, she goes into hiding rather than mounting a social justice campaign.)

And then on the Marvel side of things. Cap fighting Hitler actually didn’t reflect the status quo of America when it came out. In-universe it did to a degree, because America had entered the war in the universe of the comic, therefore Cap was doing patriotism, but out of universe America HADN’T entered the war yet and it was controversial to take the stance we were definitely going to and sauy Hitler was bad. We all know the story of nazi-sympathizers coming to harass the creators and Jack Kirby declaring he would fight them. So there’s a very interesting dichotomy there!

Anyway, it’s interesting to see this discussion because it’s definitely a very minor theme in my own book about a girl who becomes a supervillain. Look forward to that, I guess!

#superheroes #dc comics #marvel comics #superman #clark kent #wonder woman #diana of themyscira

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wastingstarsss · 5 months

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What's your favorite part/element of Rumple's story arc?

SHSKSHS HOW DO I NARROW IT DOWN??? THERES SO MANY ELEMENTS I LOVE. Okay I’m gonna put this as a few points here.

My top favourite element, the first thing I thought of, is his relentless battle with himself for goodness. He is half and half, half himself and half the dark one. And he’s been this way for centuries, so of course it’s an ongoing battle that’s not easy to drop. He continues to fight it, continues to try to be good, even when he has moments of weakness. He picks himself up again and continues. Whether it’s for Belle or Neal, he doesn’t stop trying to be good. Isn’t that so human of him? Rumple believes himself a coward, but it’s so brave to continue to try to be good when you have a dark curse latched to your soul and the world is seemingly saying “hey, goodness is impossible.”

My second thought is how STRONG his capacity for love is. He takes the curse of the dark one for it. He battles against the curse because of it. When he becomes the dark one, one of the first things he does is end the ogres war and free all the children. He didn’t have to do that. Baelfire was not on that field, yet he did it anyway. He dies for love. He lives again for love. He continues to fight to keep his loved ones safe, even if that means he risks himself. He spends what, 300 years (?), living alone because of his love for Baelfire, because he’s so determined to find his son. And sure it causes some problems. He loses Belle because it’s either her or his magic, and his magic will lead him to Bae. He causes people to hurt because his capacity for love is so fucking strong, it’s never going to be a mild thing. It’s everything or nothing. He dies TWICE for love. And we can’t forget, before Rum became the dark one he gave what little he had to beggars and took care of his emotionally abusive wife, even when he could barely stand with aid. He crippled himself and ruined his reputation for love. His capacity for love fills him to the brim and I adore it.

Final point is: you mentioned his story arc, and he has many? It twists and turns a LOT. So far I’ve focused on elements but I think my favourite arc (and it’s HARD to pin down) is the bits with him and August in s1. And you might be thinking “Bella, that is a weird fucking choice” but hear me out. With August he faces what he’s feared for so long: that his son hates him enough to try and murder him. And he takes that wholeheartedly, actually goes to therapy for it, and approaches who he thinks is his son and delivers a heartbreakingly emotional speech. And even when he realises August isn’t Bae, after their little dispute, he reunites August with his father cause at the end of the day, Rumple is always going to be papa and he can’t stand to see lost children screaming out for their parents, whether that’s actually screaming out or a haunting look in their eyes. That moment of kindness? In the shop when he invites August in and Marco is there? He didn’t have to do that, but he did it anyway. Why? Because Rumple is a good man. He saw a lost child and it reminded him of his son, and isn’t that the point? Neal is his driving point. He is what makes Rumple good.

(Bonus arcs for your consideration: ALL of Skin Deep, the Neverland arc is hauntingly beautiful. And we get Goldstiltskin. Beauty in s7, oh- and that one moment where Rumple says to Emma “please, he’s my son” in s6 about Gideon. Heart wrenching. When he faces his mother and says the world is dangerous because of villains like her and himself- the tone in his voice and the look on his face!! I die inside. And finally, and this is more of a funny bit than a ‘deep’ bit, but that one scene in Underbrooke where he introduces Milah and Emma to each other always cracks me up.)

@martianbugsbunny thank you so much for the ask!! What are your fave elements in rumples story arcs?

#rumbelle #get rumple some therapy pls #papafire #belle french #neal cassidy #ask box #ask me anything #Bella’s thoughts #personal tag

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esther-dot · 1 year

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You know sometimes fans forget that Dany was raised by Viserys and he fed Targ exceptionalism and blood purity to her. He taught her that Targs have right to Westeros. Plus she is surrounded by toxic people who generally feeds her Targ propaganda. At many times she started emaluting like her toxic family. Yet they think that Dany an underdog shouldn't be punished by narrative. That her becoming like her evil family is reductive story.

I understand the discomfort fans have with some of Martin’s choices here, but he said that the Targaryens were inspired by the Ptolemy dynasty, which imo indicates he always intended to tell the story of the end of house Targaryen. I really don’t think he expected fans to believe Dany would be victorious and restore House Targaryen, simply because, it isn’t a good thing for people to liken themselves to gods or believe in blood purity. The fact that the fandom has ostracized those who point to such things as bad is…interesting.

At the same time, I do have a lot of sympathy for those who feel that it is offensive to write an abuse victim turning into an abuser. But, we can have objections to things Martin has written without denying what he’s done. I think that’s an essential aspect of engaging with this series, actually. Viserys is such an abusive, horrible force in Dany’s life, and I do think she could have been different / had a different end if she wasn’t so influenced by him/the Targ beliefs. She still has good instincts, the desire to do good, but it isn’t enough for her to reject all the Targ ideas he inculcated in her at such a young age.

I think it’s gonna get so much worse because the fear that “waking the dragon” inspires in Dany (and us!) because of Viserys’ abuse makes that an especially worrisome phrase, and while it features a lot in AGOT, we understandably start to see it far less as the series goes on until it pops up again from Dany’s own lips in ADWD. To me, that must be a deliberate choice on the author’s part to indicate where this is heading. I suppose the frustration is that it feels like Dany is doomed by her blood because we know she has better instincts. We know she doesn’t *want* to be evil, but Martin has talked about being the hero in one’s own story, the villain being the hero of the other side, and no other character has the potential to carry that the way Dany does. We either have people who are recognized as villains by everyone, heroes, and then those who are clearly doing bad things but people deny it means anything. The interest in having a psychological reason for why someone makes the choices they do (Cersei has them, Tyrion, the Hound, even LF…) means that we can relate and see them as humans, which is a worthy goal artistically, even though for some people, the abused to abuser take is too much.

I suppose what saves the story from being reductive is how many characters we have? As in, Jon is a Targ, and we know he will not give into the worst Targaryen impulses—this isn’t about blood. Sam was raised in a toxic/abusive environment, and he is kind and good — this isn’t a story in which your fate is written by your abusers. Bran was driven from his home and starved in the North but will ultimately have some hand in saving Westeros— this isn’t a story in which all those who are wronged are forever exiled / doomed to failure.

I know we all pick our favs and think “of this happens to X, the story is saying Y,” but it isn’t quite that simple, and Dany is only part of a much more complex whole.

#dot chat #sorry for such a late response anon!#anti daenerys

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crypt1c-gho3t · 1 year

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Portal and Feminism

okay because it was 12 years of portal 2 yesterday I thought my first official post should be my thoughts on feminism in the saga

the main problem is that a lot of the times in the media violence against women is used as a plot device to make a character stronger. it’s not empowering to be a sexually assaulted and/or abused but the media often makes these themes a “phoenix” moment for women.

and while it is satisfying to see women stick it to their abusers, This portrayal often boils women down to their only defining trait being their sexuality and the only real “motivation” for women to be powerful is having that sexuality threatened.

This abuse also enforces the point that you have to become more masculine and drop feminine traits in order to become stronger and more powerful.

women do not need to go through abuse in order to be considered powerful, being a woman is powerful enough. being feminine is being strong

This is where portal comes into play. I’ll start with what i’m sure you all guessed i was going to bring up first but in the actual games and mods every main playable character is a female (portal 1& 2 and portal mel stories) or doesn’t have a specific gender to interpret( portal 2 multi player & portal reloaded).

in addition to this one of the main “villains” is also a woman. in the first game she is given no redeeming qualities but gets “redeemed” anyways showing fleshed out characters with interesting character development and even though this development get erased (sry caroline) it’s GLaDOS’s choice and not somebody else taking it away or making that choice for her

most importantly the women in this game are influential. The classic comparison of “can this character be replaced by a lampshade” doesn’t apply to the game. whether she’s a villain or a playable character everything is biased off the decisions women make and their influence.

and while there are male side characters(the cores) the portal women are never shown to be dependent on them for coming up with solutions to problems or saving them. In fact the cores are very rarely shown to do anything that isn’t driven by what the portal women do.

the fact the chell isn’t pointed out to be a woman, she is mainly a blank slate except from the player views her through portals, is also a prime example of this feminism because it isn’t calling attention to the different ways that men and women act it forces you to focus on not the gender of the character but of the actual gameplay

now i know nothing about game development and in the mod mel stories it may have been simpler to keep the main character a female when designing. but the choice to keep mel as an olympian and how they chose to portray female olympian instead of a male shows the dedication to having powerful woman “outside” the game and inside the game meaning that she was already strong but was made even stronger by what she went through in aperture.

and yes, they do go through hardships and are exposed to many challenges yet they are never shown to be abused or sexually assaulted. they have their “phoenix” moments anyway

anyways thanks for reading and another great example of this is Ashoka Tano and her journey!

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sapphicbookclub · 8 months

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Author Spotlight: Tamara Jerée

Check out this wonderful essay on sapphic, Black, paranormal romances from Tamara Jerée. Tamara is the author of The Fall That Saved Us, a current club read out today!

As writers, we often hear that we should write the book we want to read. For me, that’s meant writing into a niche that feels largely unacknowledged. The more descriptors I stack—sapphic, Black, paranormal, romance—the shorter the list of books becomes. Finding darker sapphic romance by and about lesbians of color is hard. Stepping into a bookstore, I often feel like there is still a narrow range within which the publishing industry will allow us to exist. Readers don’t seek out our books in the same ways. Especially when compared to the diverse range of literary experiences for white women, I feel the lack.

I can immediately think of a few adult titles that fit into the Black sapphic paranormal romance genre. There’s Darknesses by Lachelle Seville, a romance featuring a sapphic Dracula. I was excited to find that Fiona Zedde, whose contemporary romances kept popping up as a recommendation for me, also writes paranormal romance. Every Dark Desire is the first in her vampire series. (If you’re interested in a comprehensive list, Tuesday Harper maintains a searchable database of Black WLW books here. I stumbled upon some new titles for my TBR!)

In lieu of paranormal romance, I often find myself reaching for sapphic horror to fill out my moody reading list. The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan is an F/F erotic horror novel set in Singapore that follows a maidservant and her vampire mistress. House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson is a gothic horror novel that doesn’t call its vampires vampires but nevertheless satisfied my need for bloody, brooding sapphics.

I’m compelled by erotic horror—and horror that winks at the erotic—because it confronts our personal and cultural fears and, in doing so, leaves us with nothing more to be scared of. Here, look at our depth and ugliness and resilience and strange pleasures. Ultimately, look at how we survived. Those darker elements influence all my work. I want the catharsis of safely staring down weird and terrible things. When combined with the structure of romance, the guaranteed HEA reassures. Maybe you’ve been through a long night, but you deserve happiness.

I want to talk about the first novel in the Black lesbian paranormal genre that ever made me feel seen as a writer, the one that sank its teeth into me and made me think this is possible; this is where my work wants to be. Published in 1991, The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez follows a queer Black vampire through the antebellum era and into the present before casting her and her chosen family into a speculative future. The novel isn’t a romance, but it does catalogue Gilda’s lovers through the ages—who she chooses to bring into immortal life and how they care for each other in a hostile world.

In the introduction, Gomez discusses how nervous she was about the book because lesbians in her community were skeptical of the rep. Attaching something taboo like vampirism to a Black lesbian protagonist? It was risky. Their concerns remind me so much of the debate in queer circles today over what depictions of ourselves and our communities are proper. We worry about writing people like us as villains or monsters because it would give fuel to hegemonic perspectives that are already eager to see us as deviant and evil.

As one of those readers and writers who finds power in reclaiming the monster, of being an antagonist to an unjust society, I’m thankful for Gilda. And I’m so glad Gomez took the risk. It’s empowered me as a Black lesbian writing romance that confronts heavy themes of mental illness and healing from abuse through a paranormal and fantastic lens. In my debut novel The Fall That Saved Us, Avitue—the succubus love interest—is an unrepentant villain, a sexy bad girl unafraid to show her teeth to a world that’s hurt her. She’s a monster because others have said so, and she wears the title as a badge of honor. The main character Cassiel, however, views Avitue as a savior—from her scarred past and a stagnant present.

The Gilda Stories expanded for me what we can be and do. There’s an infinite number of Black stories we can tell. Black people can be anything we want, including the hot lady monster who gets the girl.

#booklr #wlw books #lgbt books #book recs #sapphic books #diverse books #guest post #the fall that saved us #black sapphic paranormal romance #fantasy

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novabl · 7 months

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Resolutions in Saezuru

In general, there is a feeling that saezuru is coming to an end soon and it really does feel like it as the conflicts are heating up. I wanted to make a post about all the “villains” Yashiro and Doumeki will have to deal with in their journey to be together.

1. Inami: he is a huge personal villain both Yashiro and Doumeki have. I have said it before that he is the physical embodiment of all the fears Doumeki has about being like his father as we see when Inami is first introduced and in the most recent chapter. And he is Yashiro’s rapist used to show how Yashiro has been stuck in a cycle of abuse for decades at this point. Based on what he has told Doumeki in chapter 54, I don’t think the last chapter is we’re going to see him in. I can see him being a contender for the final boss role along with Misumi lol. He also has a lot of power as he is a detective and in the specific division focusing on organized crime so he can use his resources to build cases against Doumeki, he probably wouldn’t do that to Yashiro for now. I see many people wanting Doumeki to hurt him seriously but again nothing good will come of that. I have said that Inami telling Doumeki about Yashiro’s impotency is like when he walked in on his father raping Aoi. But beating his father got him a 4 year prison sentence. I am not sure why anyone would want him to go through that again. Ultimately, Inami is for Yashiro to beat as he does mention that he has the information upper hand. If Doumeki does act oddly towards Yashiro because of Inami, that could be the push he needs to break the cycle.

2. The yakuza conflict: after rereading and jotting down a summary of the yakuza conflict, I believe it comes down to Kai and possibly Okuyama. The reason why I hesitate to definitively say Okuyama is involved is because Kai mentioned that the kumichou (Okuyama) is currently unaware of rising tensions between his group and the sakura group. The kyoukusekai also seem hesitant to go against Yashiro and by extension the doushinkai due to their partnership. Though it was mentioned that Kai got out of prison recently so he could have been unable to be a part of the kidnapping so we’ll have to wait for clarification on that. The way I understand it is if Okuyama was involved then there is an expectation of a war to happen. If he wasn’t and Kai was the ringleader, the conflict should calm down once he is dealt with. Yashiro also should, in Doumeki and the Sakura group’s eyes, not be interested in Kai. Yamakawa is the one with the money and once Yashiro gets his money then for all intents and purposes his role should be done.

3. Misumi: it seems like he is thought of the final boss. As we progress in the story, I think it is a toss up between Misumi and Inami. Misumi isn’t technically a villain but he doesn’t like Doumeki. He is also trying to get Yashiro to join back in. I know there are thoughts that he is somehow behind all of these conflicts. I personally think that he is not since the story would then be overrun with the yakuza conflict and become more of a crime story rather than a romantic one. I could be wrong but I don’t think that Misumi is currently the mastermind. I don’t like Misumi but I think that he does care for Yashiro and him saying “he won’t forgive Yashiro if he doesn’t join again” can be interpreted in other ways. It could be seen in a controlling parent way where he is trying to pressure Yashiro but he won’t hurt him if Yashiro doesn’t listen. Misumi is also for Yashiro to deal with as he has been a controlling, questionable parent figure in Yashiro’s life since he was a teen. Doumeki can’t fight Misumi for Yashiro considering the power Misumi has. This particular conflict can represent Yashiro being steady and strong in what he wants (being with Doumeki out of the yakuza).

Those are the 3 main outer conflicts that I can think of right now and along with Yashiro and Doumeki’s inner conflicts all need to be addressed before the end of saezuru. I have mentioned multiple times how I think Yashiro and Doumeki need to evolve on a personal level so integrating the conflicts to that was helpful for me. Hopefully it helps other see or raise a discussion.

#saezuru tori wa habatakanai #saezuru

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rose926 · 2 years

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To be honest, I never post on Tumblr, but I just wanted to talk a little bit about this Helluva Boss show.

I recently watched all the episodes and read a lot of the episodes’ comments, and holy crap, the people in the comments are either blind, refuse to be up-front, or care for lousy shows. I read comments stating bullshit like “I love this new Striker villain” or “Blitzo’s backstory keeps getting more interesting. Just like this show” or “I’m so glad Stolas stood up to his wife. He’s the best character.” After reading a bunch of these flat admirations with no real substance, I'm curious if me and the comment section just watched the same video. To me, the show felt very lacking and unprofessional. I couldn't wrap my head around where all of this praise was exactly coming from.

Overall, I do not understand what this show is trying to truly be. The pilot made it seem like a workplace comedy, yet the latest season two episode had the impression of a childish drama. It appears that Vivziepop isn’t aware that there is a way you can make characters interesting or empathetic, without transforming (given the appearance of the pilot) a sitcom into a fanfiction film and adding misinterpreted character trauma and abuse. Or rather she just doesn't have the creativity or skill to undertake another “realistic” way for the audience to relate to her characters.

Another example of this victimizing route of pity, is in Hazbin Hotel’s “Addict” music video. In the video, Vivziepop anticipates the viewers to feel curious about Angel Dust's past and feel empathy for him. According to the music video, Angel gets sexually raped by his boss during his occupation as a stripper, and he suffered some mental breakdown of sorts. This certain “trauma tool” of earning character compassion that Vivziepop uses is extremely nonsensical, ineffective, and amateurish. I firmly didn’t give a shit about one thing that was happening in the music video, considering it felt so juvenile. In fact, I recall turning my phone off halfway through.

In general, the mature concepts of Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel are flung around without any real thought behind them, other than to make it appear as an adult animated show and intend for character depth. Sorry, but swearing, sex, abuse, substance abuse, and gore, doesn’t automatically makes a supposed adult show HEARTILY for adults. You want to appeal to adults? Well then, I would start by trying not to partially exploit and mishandle mature concepts. This is not all my own nitpick, but the one I recognize others may have when watching. I can definitely see how certain people may get offended by the show in the regard of maltreatment to said concepts. Not everyone, just particular fully-fledged people.

Regardless, I think Vivziepop taking the turn she did in the latest Helluva Boss episode is bad for the show’s continuation. I doubt she had deeply thought ahead about where to take this show before introducing attempted story complexity with season two’s episode. If that is the case, Helluva Boss will become farther wonkier than it is thus far. I’m no genius, but I’m sure one would need to be absolutely positive where you want to take your story, characters, and plot during elaborate story fabrication. If not, then your entire narrative will get hopelessly lost and lose sense. Knowing Viv’s writing, I don’t think she has the ability to brainstorm both previously and profoundly, and logically connect the dots within the episodes.

In my opinion, I think Helluva Boss should be manifested as an erratic, doltish, (yet charismatic) comedy sitcom. The show takes place in literal hell. If I was in charge, I would make the world enticing by its vast oddity, and ludicrous hellfire anguish. When people think of hell, they think of torture. Where even is the hellish part of Vivziepop’s version of hell?

Of course, Vivziepop can take the show wherever she desires, but that’s how I think it would work best and be the most interesting.

Similar to what I aforementioned, my belief is that Vivziepop is heading into things that she does not fully understand how to handle with her poor script writing. As the show progresses, more people may realize that she isn’t capable of running a thorough tv show. I mean, the first three episodes were convoluted as fuck so early. Therefore, it isn’t a big surprise that she was a pretty incompetent showrunner far before the latest episode. What I’m trying to say, is that she was always incompetent. It will probably just become more evident over time to some of the people who aren’t currently grasping it.

Don’t get me wrong, there are things in Helluva Boss that are done right, and hell, the idea had great potential. However, the things that the show is rather successful in doing, is overshadowed solely by the writing and inconsistency. No offense to Viv, but I am 16, and I believe I could write just as good of a script (if not better) for at least half of the episodes that are out.

Maybe some people genuinely are interested in the show, despite if they see the frailties, and that is fine. Although, the amount of mollycoddling this show (that is clearly far from perfect) gets is absurd. It is not an opinion that this show is not very well done, it is a fact. The fans need to stop overindulging Helluva Boss and start giving it some honest pros and cons, otherwise Viv will not be able to recognize and fix what it is that’s broken. That’s the only way this show may get better; straightforward criticism. If the fans that see the faults keep on spoon feeding their umpteen kindnesses on a show that doesn’t require it in its ongoing state, it’s incredibly plausible Helluva Boss will grow a poor reputation, even beyond its fanbase.

#helluva boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva critical #anti vivziepop #vivziepop #vivziepop critical

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waldensblog · 1 year

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Reading Ruin and Rising

So I have finished The Grisha Trilogy! Overall, I quite enjoyed the book series after watching the show, and I will continue on to the Six of Crows Duology and then the King of Scars Duology. Below the cut are my thoughts on the final book in the trilogy.

TL;DR: -I liked how Alina grew more ruthless, really was full fledged. Her ending is tragic. -The Darkling basically won, and was taken down by his weakness: love. Still a Darklina stan, what a tragic romance they had. -I like Nikolai overall, and his ending is likewise sad, as he now is possessed. Kind of Darkolai ending for him. I like Nikolina too. -Mal isn’t the literal worst the entire time, but I’m not a fan of him still. I think he was not a true amplifier but a curse to whatever Grisha killed him. His happy ending comes at the expense of literally everyone else’s and the good of Ravka. -Story is overall a tragedy. A good tragedy, but a tragedy nonetheless.

Alina: Although she once again starts in a position of weakness, underground, recovering from the Chapel fight, I found myself loving the start. Alina’s developed into a morally grey and ruthless character, and I love this. She’s stuck with the apparat, but biding her time.

Her tether scene with the Darkling shows how far she’s come. She reached out to him, which surprised him, and stroke his face, taunted him with their love story - hell yeah, it was a very strong start for me.

When escaping the apparat, she almost kills (again), but only ends up branding someone. Again, loving this gray and ruthlessness, and all the inner thoughts about how very much like the Darkling she is becoming.

Alina eventually meets back up with Nikolai and they’re at the Spinning Wheel, where she trains more with Baghra, and gets stronger and stronger. During the escape from the Spinning Wheel, she uses the cut to kill someone, for the first time. She is disgusted with herself in part because yeah splitting someone in 2 would be pretty gorey, but also because of how... easy it was, how good it felt. She knows she’s going down a dark path, and I personally love to see it - because it breaks the hero archetype, giving her more an anti-hero arc.

I’ll discuss the ending itself further below, because I have a lot of thoughts on that, but to keep it brief here: the end of Alina’s story is, to me, tragic. She’s a tragic hero to me. I overall like her character, though I definitely have gripes about her at times, mostly, the Mal addiction.

The Darkling: My favourite still. The Darkling is to me an anti-villain - he does bad things for the right reasons. In another story, he may have been the anti-hero, not the one Ravka deserves perhaps, but the one Ravka needs (*Batman theme plays*).

The Darkling has basically won by the start of the story. He’s ruling Ravka, he can expand the Fold any way he wants, the King is on the run. He can ensure Grisha safety, stop the wars... he’s won. His weakness is what he always said: wanting, or more specifically: love.

When his mother jumps off a cliff, it’s because she knows this. She knows he would go after her - try to stop her from dying. Alina feels him try to pull her into the tether afterwards, and can feel his overwhelming grief. She refuses the call, but she knows. And in the Fold, when Alina loses her power - she doesn’t need the tether to feel his grief. Her metaphorical death there was too much for him. It wasn’t only about loneliness, but love. He wanted to rule with her - he wanted to his soulmate by his side. He wanted a partner. He goes about it poorly - having learned cruelty and abuse from his mother, and never breaking the cycle.

It was clear to me that they loved each other deeply as much as they hated the fact. In the tether, when he kisses her neck as she’s against him, the attraction, the pull, is very strong. At the end, she’s crying as he dies, and he just looks at her and is happy to know at least someone will mourn him - that he was loved.

I absolutely lose my mind about the fact that his body was burned alongside Ruby’s-disguised-to-look-like-Alina’s, because that was absolutely not for Ruby - who probably would not like that - it was not for him - because he probably wouldn’t like that either (though would be happy she respected his wish to burn the body) - it was certainly not for Ravka, who complained about it - this was for Alina. Alina asked for a Grisha effigy of herself to burn next to him. Her metaphorical funeral. Side by side. The immortal rulers of Ravka that could have been. As she watches this, she whispers his name in a sob. Dear.God. what a tragic lovers-to-enemies romance this is. I do wish there were more tether scenes, but I loved the ones we did get.

Nikolai: Nikolai starts on the run, and without tether scenes, we don’t get to see him for quite a while. When he finally does show up, I cheer. Yey! Our pirate prince is back! I loved all the scenes with Alina, and found their chemistry intriguing. I do feel that they could have been happy together, King and Queen of Ravka - a Grisha Queen which may have helped bridge the gap between Grisha and otkazat'sya, even leading to a Grisha king if they had a son. Certainly, that’s what both Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising were saying was supposed to happen. I would have accepted this end, even if it wouldn’t have been my favourite, because it would be a bit status quo-y. As good a King as Nikolai may be - a great one with Alina at his side, he is still ultimately a monarch, and a mortal man. His descendants may not been as good - we could hope, if they’re Grisha, that they would be. He would have died as Alina remained ageless, so this would still have a tragic end for her. I like Nikolina, but it’s still a second choice to me after Darklina. I did have a pretty big gripe about Nikolai at the Spinning Wheel though: when it came to Genya. Sure, it’s great that he took her side, but his punishment to his father is so... what a slap on the wrist. Oh you abused this woman, well off to a warm retirement you go, I’m the King now, dad! To me, the fact that he didn’t stand trial kind of tells me the nobility will always get away with more under his rule than peasants would. He may not be the Worst, he may be a good and great king - but at the end of the day... a monarchy is still a monarchy.

The Darkolai vibes here were great - fucked, but great. The Darkling saw Nikolai at the spinning wheel, Mal too - and could have a) killed one or both, b) infect them with nichevo’ya. He specifically targeted Nikolai for option b - instead of killing the King, instead of killing Mal or infecting him. Why? Jealousy because Alina showed interest in him? Because he never saw him during tether scenes and therefore knows Alina does have genuine feelings for him? Or because... secret option C? I mean the tendrils down the throat is bit... not-hetero. They both ultimately want the same things, and in another story, another life, they may have been allies. At the end, Nikolai is still ultimately scarred, and the shadow demon-ness is not gone. A part of the Darkling lives on inside Nikolai’s body, so we... sort of have a Darkolai ending, don’t we?

The Darknikolina-ness of no tether scenes when she’s with Nikolai, the shadow demon and emerald ring, trying to cure via her light, the tendrils down the throat. My god. I am still on about this, yes. Imagine the possibilities...

Mal: Mal was not the literal worst in this book like he was in Siege and Storm. He’s finally gotten past being a drunk, angry, asshole, and now sees himself as a tool in a war. I’m glad he’s had some development, and that he’s accepted a position as not-Alina’s-lover. I find his tracker abilities absurd at times - what the hell do you mean he can target a beetle and shoot it to make a bomb explode?! WHAT? What in the world does that have to do with his being the firebird anyway? On that note, I posted this elsewhere, but I have a theory that Morozova’s third amplifier - the firebird - Morozova’s daughter and her bloodline, so Mal - is actually not a true amplifier, but a curse. Any grisha that dared kill the firebird would lose their powers, and a bunch of nearby otkazat'sya would get them. Kind of a monkey’s paw situation (you want power? wish granted - they get the amplified power, not you). Not that Mal would know that. I also think that this curse is partially why Alina was so drawn to him. It’s a bit tragic really - they think it’s a sincere affection, but it’s really the amplifier, a trap, pulling her in, luring her. It’s unfortunately dismissed immediately by Mal when Alina brings it up - what if everything between them was just the amplifier? I personally think it was. I also maintain that he was very much a drug for her. He wanted to carve out her power, and in the end, he basically did. She goes back to being “useless” Alina, and unhappily staring out a window, longing for her powers. Once again, Alina tries to tell us she is happy - despite the evidence suggesting otherwise.

The ending: I’ve already touched on the ending above a fair bit, but to summarize, I interpret the ending as a tragedy. Alina is a tragic hero - she tries to make things better, but she didn’t fix Ravka, there are still wars, and people still hate grisha. She loses her powers in the process, dying a metaphorical death and burning herself alongside her soulmate who she killed - our anti-villain, the Darkling. Nikolai is scarred, possessed, and left to rule alone, as Alina removes herself from society, sadly looking out the windows at the sunlight and wishing she had her powers, as Mal - the only happy one at the end has succeeded in keeping her weak. I know many hate the ending - I don’t, but it’s because I view it as a tragedy.

#Grishaverse #ruin and rising #grisha trilogy #darklina #nikolina #darkolai #darknikolina #anti malina

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norringtondeservestheworld · 10 months

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Connor RK800 and Jaime Lannister: different characters with the same arc, but one work while the other don’t

It’s honestly driving me insane how similar and identical are the arcs of Connor RK800 from Detroit: Become Human and Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones so yeah, now I’m gonna do an entire post (or meta?) about it. It’s gonna be long.

A little background for people who know only one of these fandoms.

Detroit: Become Human is about a future where robots are slaves of humans who abuse and torture them, so they started to “wake up” rebelling and developing free will and emotions like living beings. So the society who sell them create Connor, a very advanced robot designed to stop them.

Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy story set in a fictional world about different powerful families that fight with each other with wars and machinations to destroy each other and gain more power and the throne. Jaime Lannister is a member of one of these families.

These are two very different stories, but so are Connor and Jaime. They have opposite characters, goals and priorities: Jaime always put romantic love above anything else, while Connor doesn’t give a fuck about romance. Jaime is good in communicating with others: he knows how to talk to certain people, can read a room (at least sometimes) and he understands when is being mocked, while Connor is socially awkward and doesn’t really understand when someone is mocking him or someone is sarcastic.

And yet.. they both:

1) have the same beggining

2) are grey characters

3) have an obsession to overcome which is needed for them to develop as character (and if they fail to it, they both gets the involution and the “negative” arc)

4) have the same evolution (or involution, it depends of which arc we are talking about) and the same ending

1) The same beggining

Both these characters start with a child falling from a considerable height, but while one is causing the downfall of the child, the other is trying to save the kid.

The fact that Jaime is trying to kill the boy while Connor is trying to save the girl doesn’t mean that Jaime is the villain and Connor is the hero. It’s more complex than that.

Jaime is trying to kill Bran because the boy just saw him having sex with his twin and if he says to anyone what he saw Jaime and his sister would have died. He did it to protect their lives. It wasn’t really about Bran. It was about him and Cersei.

On the other hand, Connor is trying to save Emma not because he cares for her or wants her to be safe, but because it’s his mission. He is a police android who knew really well, even before his arrival on the scene, that his mission was saving the child at all costs. If his mission was killing Emma he would have done it. It wasn’t really about Emma. It was about the mission.

2) are grey characters

Being in both fandoms, I noticed that Connor is way more popular than Jaime in terms of liking a character, while Jaime is more known as a character than Connor because Game of Thrones is more famous than Detroit: Become Human. Jaime is really loved by a part of the got fandom, but the other part look at him as selfish and evil because of everything he did, while Connor is loved by 98% of the dbh fandom, but in truth Connor’s actions aren’t better than Jaime’s actions. I think this happens because:

a) Jaime’s actions are motivated by his incestual and toxic relationship with his sister, so I think some people tend to dislike him more not for the actual actions but because of their disgust about the incest part

b) Connor being socially awkward. There is this tendency to see characters who are socially awkward being always sweet and cinnamon rolls because they aren’t good at communicating with others

In the first case, Jaime’s actions aren’t worse than Connor’s, are only more disgusting which is different and for the second option, Connor isn’t socially awkward because he can’t hurt a fly. He can and he will. He is socially awkward because he is an android created to be a police officer, so they gave him good combat skills and the intelligence he needed to deal with deviants (that’s how are called the robots who developed free will and “woke up”). I assure you, he isn’t awkward when he has to deal with them. Connor was created to do this. He isn’t an android created to make friends, so why bother to give him social skills?

Let’s make a recap:

What Jaime did:

a) tried to kill Bran to protect his relationship with Cersei. But did Bran die? No.

b) threatened Edmure and his kids to return to Cersei? Okay, but did Edmure die? Again, no.

c) fucked Cersei next to their son’s corpse who just died. Disgustingly disgusting. But again, someone got hurt? Someone died?

d) killed his cousin to return to Cersei. Okay. Fair. One person died.

Let’s talk about Connor now. He:

a) Manipulated and lied to deviants to accomplish his mission

b) can kill Daniel, the Tracis, Ortiz’s android, Rupert, Cloe, Simon, Markus, North and a lot of other androids (and humans too) to accomplish his mission

c) can kill Hank, which is the closest person he has in his life, to accomplish his mission

Connor is not a baby. He is a fucking terminator who can destroy anything that it moves to accomplish his mission. Yes, Detroit: Become Human is a game where the actions of the characters are decided by the gamer, so he can do these things or don’t, but if you decide to make him do these things you never got the feeling he’s out of character. Because he is not.

Yes Jaime is what he is and did the things we know, but Connor too did some messed up things. And I’m pretty sure he killed more and caused more pain than Jaime.

At the end of the game, when he has to locate Jericho to stop the leader of the revolution of the deviants, he is able to remove the head of one android he killed to use it against an another android (killed by Connor too) to get the location of Jericho and after that he drops the head as it was nothing.

But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who is worse between Jaime and Connor. What I am trying to say it’s that they are both grey characters. They both started as negative characters. Yes, Connor too. Because even if you choose every possible good and positive choice with Connor, he is still a negative character at the beginning. He is a very advanced robot at humans side (humans that are clearly the villains since they are the ones abusing and torturing robots) which priority is hunting androids who just want to be free. It doesn’t really matter if he isn’t the one to kill them, because he knows really well that if he succeeds (and he wants to succeed) they get killed.

That’s why both Connor and Jaime have two paths in front of them. And what path they’ll take it depends by the next point.

3) have an obsession to overcome which is needed for them to develop as a character

Both Jaime and Connor, despite starting as negative characters, have the potential to have a redemption arc, but this is up to them and to get it they have an obstacle to overcome: their obsession.

For Jaime the obsession for Cersei, for Connor the obsession for his mission.

This obsession is what motivated their story and all their actions. It’s there from the beggining. From the moment they tried to kill/save the child. Jaime did it for Cersei. Connor did it for his mission. Every “negative” thing they did was because of that. In the last point, where I made a list of the bad things they did, you can notice all these actions were motivated by that.

To both of them happened things during the story that could or couldn’t change them: Jaime had it with Brienne, a noble and honorable warrior who reminded him who he wanted to be and for the first time in his life he developed a romantic attraction toward someone who wasn’t his sister, and Connor had it with Hank, the human police officer he worked with who had a way more “human” approach to what they were investigating.

For both of them is really hard to overcome it because it’s all they know for most of their life (in case of Jaime) or are programmed to do it (in case of Connor) and it isn’t only something they had in their heads. Both of them got manipulated by people (Cersei for Jaime, Amanda for Connor) who did the best they could to convince them there wasn’t anything else to make sure they remained in this cage for their own interests.

To prevent them from becoming their own person and being free to be who they want to be, and not what they want them to be.

This it’s the Jaime and Connor arc. Becoming their own person. Choosing for themselves. Be free from the manipulations. And the two arcs they have in front of them are just one in which they succeed, and one in which they fail.

4) have the same evolution (or involution, it depends of which arc we are talking about) and the same ending

Both Connor and Jaime have the potential for a redemption arc because even after all those bad things they did because of their obsession, they did good things too. They aren’t monsters.

Jaime saved Brienne risking his life and saved her from being raped. He also saved milions of lives by murdering the king, even if that meant getting the nickname of Kingslayer.

Connor can save Hank. Can choose to not kill the Tracis. Can choose to not kill Cloe. Can help Markus to save North.

They mostly did all these things when they were away from the toxic person who brings the worst of them (Amanda and Cersei) but near someone who bring the best of them (Hank, Tyrion and Brienne).

And the best part is that all these good actions they did went against their priority: for Connor saving Hank means letting the deviant go, when catching him was his mission. Jaime returning to Harrenhal to save Brienne means delay his coming back to Cersei, when Cersei is the most important thing to him.

Despite both having all their life surrounded by this “obsession”, sometimes they decided to do the right thing even if that meant going against what mattered to them the most and their own interests.

This didn’t mean that they weren’t obsessed anymore, it means that for a moment, their desire to be their own person was stronger than their obsession.

But it was just a moment.

Connor and Jaime, for most of the story, are in a “limbo” where they pass from doing bad things because of their obsession (most of the times) to doing good things because they want to (few times). During this part of their story, it doesn’t mean that if they do a bad thing they’ll go to the negative arc and it doesn’t mean that if they do a good thing they’ll go to the positive arc, because none of these decisions are the definitive one.

It’s the decision they will take in their climax scene is the one that determines their future, their arc and their ending.

a) They decide to do the right thing which go against their obsession in their climax scene because they matured as characters for the better -> Their strenght and everything and everyone they faced was enough to overcome their obsession -> they become their own person letting go forever the obsession -> Positive Arc

Jaime: Book!Jaime is currently having this arc in the books, where is pretty done with Cersei and doesn’t even think of returning to her knowing really well she needs him. And this is also the arc Show!Jaime was supposed to have in the series.

Connor: Deviant Connor is the arc Connor will have if he overcome his obsession. He will become a deviant (meaning he outpassed his programation and became his own person) and will join the revolution of the androids, the very same revoution that he was created to stop (and he was obsessed to stop it, since it was his mission). He will infiltrate in the society that creates androids freeing all the robots who are there (and they are a lot) and helps the cause. In the end, he will help robots getting rights as living beings and he will be free to be himself with a person who actually care for him (Hank) with their relationship being stronger.

b) They decide to do the same bad things they did at the beginning being once again slaves of their obsession -> everything and everyone they faced didn’t change them showing that they didn’t matured and didn’t learn anything -> nothing will never be as important as their obsession -> Negative Arc

Jaime: Show!Jaime got this (or at least D&D thought he got this). He received an opportunity to have a better and new life, a life with Brienne who loved him and in doing so he was able to be himself, but he ruined it to return to his obsession who almost got him killed few days before because he wasn’t able to overcome it. So he returned to his obsession (Cersei) and dies.

Connor: Machine Connor is the arc Connor will have if he fails to overcome his obsession. He too received an opportunity to do the right thing, to help his people and be free, but he ruined it to continue his mission. So he will kill everyone who stands in his way (Hank too, who was the closest person of his life) to murder the leader of the deviants. If he fails, he dies. If he succeed and he is able to kill him, all the deviants will be destroyed (meaning there will be a genocide of his own people) and androids will return to be slaves for humans for ever. And Connor will die, because he accomplished his mission so he isn’t needed anymore. Connor is intended to die either way if he goes to this path.

Both Jaime and Connor, if they have a failed redemption arc, return to their old manners and how they were at the beginning, and both died. So..

Why an arc work and the other don’t?

Why an arc is appreciated and considered a sad but good storyline and plausible with no characters being ruined while the other is hated by everyone with all the characters who are involved being ruined and OOC?

For multiple reasons actually.

1) the climax scene

The scene where the character finally take a definitive decision and his path is chosen can’t be a random scene because it’s not a random scene. It’s the scene where the destiny of the character is chosen, so it has to:

- be important and people who are watching it (or reading it if it’s a book) must know it and feel it that something big is coming

- every factor (the music, the acting, the dialogue etc) must be cured for that scene

The climax scene they chose and wrote for Connor work perfectly because has all these requirements:

a) Connor and Markus are two of the main characters of the story but never actually met each other before this scene, so from the moment you realize they are in the same room and they actually met you know something big is gonna happen. Moreover, we know Connor is there to kill the leader of the deviants, which is Markus, so you also feel tense because you are gonna see two characters you got attached to being an enemy to each other because they are at opposite sides so again, something’s gonna happen.

b) The music is fitting for the scene, the acting of Bryan Dechart (Connor’s actor) is good as he entered sure of himself but the more Markus talked the more Connor realized he was right so he becomes less secure until he is full of doubts and all the dialogue is about him having to make a choice about who he wants to be. And as if that weren't enough, Markus ends it with “I think the time has come to you for ask yourself that question” and “it’s time to decide” making perfectly clear that this choice is gonna be definitive, and he is saying it not only to Connor but to us too.

Now let’s see the Jaime one.

a) It’s important? I have absolutely no idea. It doesn’t look or feel important.

b) the music is fitting? There was music? I honestly don’t remember. I can’t notice the music because I’m busy to try to understand what the fuck is going on. The dialogue is fitting? What dialogue? All Jaime is saying here is a list of the bad things he did because of Cersei (including lies since some things he says didn’t happen that way just to confuse who is watching even more) and “She is hateful and so am I” like?? What does it mean? This is not a dialogue. This is putting random words together to do a sentence. The acting is fitting? Lmao of course not! Waldau’s acting is really confusing??? Why he looks sad? Why all he is saying is that he is a bad person and not a word about who he wants to be? This isn’t a grey character who decided is path, this is someone who feels guilty for something he did in the past and wants to be reassured and or he feels like he deserves pain and death because of it. Well if this is the case, than this is a totally different topic that has nothing to do with choosing between overcome an obsession or succumb to it. Fuck, it’s been 4 years since this scene, and I still don’t understand what the fuck is going on and what they wanted to show. What the fuck I am watching?? Can someone explains it to me?? Hello???

This doesn’t look like a climax scene. And it doesn’t look like a climax scene because IT’S NOT.

Because Jaime had already his climax scene.

a) it’s important? Well yes. The time tells us it is. This is a series and this scene is happening at the end of a season so people expect it to be important.

b) The music is fitting? Very. You could feel it in your bones. The dialogue is fitting? Yes. They don’t talk directly about Jaime and him having to take a decision, but it’s related to that because we see Jaime and Cersei arguing about something and Jaime realizing he had enough (just like Connor in his climax scene is realizing who he truly is) and he decides right here not because he has to but because he is 100% sure of what he wants and decides with zero regrets.

This climax scene was setting Jaime on the positive arc, because he overcomed his obsession. His obsession is Cersei and the sexual relationship he has with her, but here he decides to leave her, and ending the conversation saying “I don’t believe you” and by the acting, the voice and the movements of Waldau, which is excellent, we know he meant “I don’t love you anymore”.

All of this is even more accentuated by this scene that happens soon after that:

Cersei and the relationship with her being the obsession of Jaime means that if he kisses, sleeps and starts a romantic relationship with a different woman (which he did) after he spent the 40+ years of his life always being loyal to Cersei is the ultimate, irrefutable prove that he got over it. It doesn’t matter how much he loves Brienne, if he still obsesses over Cersei it couldn’t never happened. Never. You can’t make him overcome an obsession and then return to that obsession in a minute. This is not how writing works.

But since Benioff and Weiss don’t know how to do their jobs, after these two scenes (the climax one and the second which accentuated the path Jaime is in) they put the scene they think it’s the climax scene, when it’s just a scene that doesn’t work narratively after the two I just mentioned. Which add another problem:

the decision the character takes in the climax scene is definitive and irreversible. You can’t just put a climax scene where the character decides and then one second later make him change his mind all of sudden. Him passing from a good action to a bad one was supposed to happen before the climax scene, when the character was still grey and still couldn’t decide and the reason both Connor and Jaime decide without doubts and regrets in their climax scene is because they both have no doubts and regrets anymore.

In Detroit: Become Human, every action Connor did and every word he says after that scene is convinced, there is not even a shadow of a doubt, no matter which arc is in. Despite the game giving you the choices of what to do or say, you’ll never get a choice of Connor helping the deviants if he is Machine Connor, and you’ll never get a choice of Connor helping the humans if the is Deviant Connor. Because it’s irreversible. There is no going back.

So what we got was a mess and both arcs of Jaime being ruined even before they started.

2) OOC

Both Connor and Jaime being grey characters for most of the story means that is possible to write them a good written arc where they remain in character all the time without putting forced things and making them say and do something they wouldn’t, no matter if they are in a positive or negative arc.

Connor remains himself and in character for the entirely of his arc (no matter which arc is). If he is Machine Connor so he has the negative arc, his character doesn’t get reduced to a caricature and he doesn’t lose his intelligence or badass moments, and he still says and does things that Connor would have totally said or done.

The fact that now is Machine Connor doesn’t mean he is a sociopath who doesn’t care of anything else, it does only mean that everything always comes after his obsession (the mission) because that obsession is and will always be until his death is priority, everything else is after that. That’s part of the reason his character isn’t ruined. He still cares for Hank for example, and when he dies, he looks troubled and in one case he is the one to kill him, and he does it because Hank gets in the way of his mission, which matters more, so he did it, even if he still cared about him.

He also doesn’t become stupid all of sudden because he is intended to die. Machine Connor is smart enough to know that the best way to kill Markus is finding a sniper rifle and the right roof and he is smart enough to know that if he gets interrupted the only way for him to accomplish his mission is killing who interrupted him or killing himself after saving his memory so the next Connor will know what to do. He also doesn’t have to move to the other side of the country in two seconds with the story being set in the same city, so he is where is supposed to be without resorting to absurd and improbable teleporters. Machine Connor gets emotional and poetic scenes without getting ruined to force them.

Jaime, from the moment he left Brienne to return to Cersei (so from the moment the writers think his arc begins) becomes a totally different person. He starts to say and do things that contradict his character, the writers were able to destroy years spent to create this character and who he is with a single sentence. Everything that was important to him apart from Cersei disappears, and the things that made him an interesting character like killing the king to protect the innocents have zero value now, because “actually I never cared for them, innocents or otherwise”. Cersei isn’t his priority. Cersei is the only thing he cares about, because the writers deleted every single other part of him and at the end, he isn’t even a character anymore.

He doesn’t only lose all his intelligence, but simple common sense too, all to force scenes that could have happened in a smarter way, like him having to get unnoticed to get to Cersei and yet he shows his golden hand which is the only one to have in all Westeros, just to get caught and have the scene with Tyrion. And of course, he is able to arrive to the other part of the country even before characters who left before him in a blink of an eye because the writers decided so and fuck logic.

3) Realistic reactions to the characters around them

Both Show!Jaime and Machine Connor have, just before the end and their death, a scene with a character they care about and who cares for them: Tyrion for Jaime and Hank for Connor. In both cases, the way they write the main character it expands to the other character too, meaning that since Jaime is OOC, Tyrion becomes OOC too to force the scene the writers wanted for them, while in the other case since Connor is in character, Hank is in character too, and it’s the scene that is written in a way to be plausible because of these characters, and not the opposite.

Jaime got caught in his way to return to Cersei and he meets Tyrion. The last time they talked Jaime was still in a relationship with Brienne (which lasted weeks, let’s remember that) and Tyrion expressed how happy he was that Jaime was happy with Brienne because he cares for Jaime wants him to be happy while now is in front of a tormented Jaime who left Brienne, the same woman that was making Jaime happy, to return to the one that abused and tried to kill BOTH OF THEM, and he decides to.. help him to return to Cersei so he will return to be miserable and probably die (and he will)?

The writers were so desperate to make a scene of them hugging to make watchers cry sad tears that forgot in which situation these characters are, with who they are and what we know about them and what type of relationship they have with each other and with Cersei. It would never ended with hugging. Why Tyrion should help the brother he loves to leave what made him happy and return to the one who hurted both for all their lives? Once again the characters are ruined by forcing a specific scene, a scene that because of it meant nothing to me. Yes, Jaime and Tyrion had a beautiful relationship and a great bond and I love the scenes where they show how close they are. But these aren’t Jaime and Tyrion anymore. So I feel nothing (and nope, I’m not going to create gifs of that idiotic scene from that cursed episode, if you wanna see it just go to Youtube).

Connor and Hank have a very strong relationship too, but they remain in character. Hank wanted Connor being himself and freeing himself from his obsession (just like Tyrion wanted Jaime to be happy, with Brienne) but on the contrary of Tyrion, Hank didn’t forget who he was because it was “convenient” so he has the realistic reaction he was supposed to have, and because of that this time there aren’t gonna be hugs and sweet words, but a fight.

With “fight” I don’t mean they’ll gonna scream and push each other, with “fight” I mean a real fight, that will end only with one of them killing the other.

Machine Connor is gonna follow his mission and killing everyone who stand in his way (in this case, unfortunately it’s Hank) even if he cares for Hank and Hank is not gonna let Connor kill the leader of the androids because it’s not right and by now he knows that the only way to stop him is to kill him and he will, even if he cares for Connor. And they both know it.

And that is what makes the scene powerful and way more emotional than a fake hug between two fake characters who became the shadows of themselves. It’s real, it’s tragically beautiful and sad, poetic in a way (a robot fighting for humans and a human fighting for the robots) but it works.

Of course having Jaime and Tyrion fighting to death wouldn’t make sense. Connor and Hank are doing it because they had a different relationship from them. They knew each other for less time and even if they care for each other, they had a rocky start so them having this interaction is fitting to them. Jaime and Tyrion are siblings who cared for each other since ever, so their clash couldn’t be that violent, but they had to have a clash. Tyrion being disappointed in Jaime and refusing to free him was enough. But we all know what we got, right?

In conclusion, I’d like to say that I made this meta first to analyze Jaime and Connor as characters because I find really interesting they had so much in common and also because I’m fucking tired of people saying that “Jaime’s arc was perfect you simply didn’t get the happy ending you wanted for him” because Machine Connor arc is the prove that is possible to write a failed redemption arc which is satisfying and appreciated, and Detroit: Become Human is written by David Cage which isn’t the best screenwriter in the world, but he is in the Olympus compared to the writing of D&D.

Machine Connor and Show!Jaime have exactly the same arc (and the same ending), the only difference is that one is written well and the other isn’t, and it’s really crazy thinking of how the writing of a fucking videogame which isn’t even that famous is better than the finale of one of the most famous series in the world.

#jaime lannister #connor rk800 #detroit: become human #detroit become human #dbh #braime #jaime x brienne #dbh connor #anti twincest #anti jaime x cersei #anti lannincest #my first try do write a meta lmao I am so nervous #I put the braime tag because it's mentioned but it's mostly about jaime as a character #it's insanely long I'm so sorry #thanks to everyone who is gonna take time to read it #anti d&d #characters' analyses #kinda #anti got

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likely-moony · 2 years

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hi, how are you?

Can I request some general headcannons for Peter parker?

I had a lovely anon request yander peter headcannons and like the idiot I am, I deleted it by accident lmao :c

So this is my best impression of that request.

Fool-proof ~Peter Parker~

Fool-proof

Paring: Yandere Peter Parker x Reader

Type/words: General Headcanons (I’m so bad at writing headcanons, sorry if it eventually just spiralled into a story!) ~ 984 Words

Synopsis: Just some yandere spidey headcannons, y'know?

TW!!: Yandere-Themes, Yandere Characters, Abuse Of Power (Supernaturally, Scientifically??), Mentions Of Rape, Obsessive Notes, Unhealthy Obsession, Force, Forceful Relationships, Mentions Of Kidnapping, Treasspassing, Obsessive Characters, Unhealthy Feelings.

Masterlist

Rules For Requesting

Taglist

Peter is an absolute sweetheart.

He’s everything you could possibly want in a man,He's loving, caring, and considerate, and he always does everything to please you.

But these traits really speak for themselves after he meets you.

Doesn’t matter how you are as a person: Extroverted, friendly and open, or introverted, shy and helpful, Peter will still be interested either way.

At first, he would approach you by doing little things like sitting in chemistry class right in the spot which would cause him to become your partner, constantly passing the ball to you during p.e, offering you notes if you missed a class, just small things like that.

It kept Peter satisfied for quite a while, but of course, the urge for more is etched into the bones of everyone, especially Peter, and more than anything if it involves you.

Quickly, those small things began occurring more often, and soon he began advancing.

He became your friend!

Peter would cling to your side like his life depended on it, well it kinda did, he could barely do anything without you.

But if his plan at trying to become your friend fails, then he’d skip a step and become something more.

Your secret admirer.

At first, you found his act very sweet and cute, unsure of who bothered to put so much time and effort into trying to court you in such a humble, adorable way.

But we’ll get the worst of it later…

Now, with his spider-man suit on, Peter is ready and excited!

He can finally approach you without seeming all weird and flustered, and if his Peter persona isn’t working, he can simply use his spiderman side to earn some cool points with you!

He would first get this idea while patrolling the neighbourhood.

You know, it was a normal patrol.

Helping old people cross the road, getting kittens out of trees, the casual.

It got quite boring until his eyes landed on a certain someone.

You.

And luckily, but not so luckily at the same time, you had found yourself in dear danger.

Whether it be a robbery or someone attempting rape on your beautiful body, Peter, or shall I say, spiderman is here to save the day!

He’d swoon into the scene in a fashionable manner and cooly take the villain down.

From then on, he’d get to know you very well, both as spiderman and Peter Parker.

And while he was building up his spiderman self and bettering himself to impress you, his notes at school started getting very weird.

Very protective.

Very possessive.

Very driven.

Very... obsessive.

What you once found cute started to turn into your worst nightmare.

What you once kept as a little ray of happiness on sad days and clung onto, reading it over and over again in your mind, you now didn't even bother to read and instantly chucked it in the bin.

Back to Peter, he feels very giddy, he's getting really close to you, but he still has to be careful.

As a safety, he’d have three routes with you. The ‘Peter Parker’ if you don’t fall for his spiderman stunts where he will do anything, even tarnish his reputation in front of you as spider-man for you to like peter.

The ‘Spiderman’ if you find yourself finding severe distaste in Peter, where Peter will continue to make you fall for him as Spiderman.

Yes, you'll eventually fall in love with him as spiderman, and you'll be a great couple.

But of course, he won't be able to lie to you forever and hide his identity, so at some point, he will reveal himself to you.

If you like him, then great! You’ll marry and have a happy life together with loads of kids, two dogs and two cats!

If you say no… Poor Peter. He needs you in his life. He’s desperate for you, constantly.

If you leave him, it would feel like ripping a part of his soul out.

So he does what’s best for you and uses his spiderman stealth to sneak into your room when you're asleep.

But not just for any old reason.

Peter has a personal mission now that needs to get completed.

He finds you, peacefully asleep in your bed, kisses you on your precious lips and forehead, gathers the stuff you will need, and writes a runaway note in your handwriting.

(Peter isn’t always a superhero, he has hobbies too… Like learning and impersonating everything about you…).

He slings a bag across his shoulder, picking you up gently so as to not disturb your peaceful slumber and escape to somewhere where no one will ever bother you again.

And finally, the ‘Suprise!’ in which everything is going really well, you like both his peter and spider man personas so he reveals himself to you early, and you both marry!

It’s a fool-proof plan!

Every route has an ending that he’s satisfied with, so there’s no problem.

But just because no matter what he does, you’ll eventually have to fall into his arms and cry out your love for him, doesn't mean he isn’t going to put any effort into courting you!

He’ll do his best.

As a Secret admirer.

Then a friend.

Then maybe even a best friend.

And if he makes the right moves, then as a boyfriend.

Then a fiancee.

And then a happy husband.

And if things get lucky (Don't avoid it, eventually it must come...) a brilliant father!

And through all these crazy stages of life, Peter will always be there by your side as a shoulder to lean on.

It sounds so wonderful, doesn’t it?

A happy ever after...

Hope you enjoyed it <3

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #tw yandere #soft yandere #yandere headcanons #yandere imagines #yandere x y/n #yandere spiderman #yandere peter parker #spiderman x reader #peter parker x reader #spiderman #peter parker

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thebeetleball · 1 year

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sorry need to be abnormal over my favorite horror game rq since its the sixth anniversary. the first little nightmares' ending is the opposite of the prequel's but it's still just as grim and i'll die on this hill.

specifically, i'm thinking about what tarsier posted in celebration of the anniversary and how they captioned it;

getting thus out of the way right now i do Not think six is the lady, i think that theory only ever came to be because of the thin man and mono's situation and if you hold it up to any scrutiny it falls apart, but i do think they're deeply tied to each other in a more . symbolic way? i do not think six takes the lady's place at the end of LN1, i think she escapes from the maw and leaves it to rot, as it deserves, but she doesn't really leave it.

as the game progresses, six's hunger drives her to eat more and more disturbing things; bread, raw meat, a rat, a child, and finally the lady herself. not only that, but her musical cues changes over the game as well. there's multiple different tracks for hunger and six's own theme undergoes a dramatic shift, with part I being droning instrumental and quiet, nervous humming, and part II having a more upbeat hum contrasted against overbearing an brass instrumental, in both tracks the humming is eventually either cut off or drowned out by the music. in the comics, there's a repeated theme about six not knowing who she is, most notably the hunchback girl's line about how you don't know what you'll see if you look in a mirror.

there's an emphasis on change and not knowing yourself when it comes to six, and it confirms for me that despite their endings being tonal opposites, both of the little nightmares games are about cycles; just in different ways.

LN2 is about a little boy who wasn't able to escape a cruel, abusive environment, and eventually grows up to be another bitter adult, another cog in the machine. LN1 is about a little girl who was able to escape the environment that harmed her, but not without taking a piece with her. childhood trauma changes you, you're not the same person you were before it, you can leave your house but your house doesn't leave you.

the six who held mono's hand and hugged nomes, or played with toys at the playground, is not the six who lashed out and left him behind or the six who devoured other people just to survive. the six who was running from the adults that operate the maw is not the six who took the lady's powers. at the end of the story, six sits exactly where the people who hurt her did, she wasn't able to remove herself from the maw's food chain, only scale it and become the apex predator. she changed, the maw changed her, like all trauma does.

which isn't her fault at all, full stop the obsession some people have with portraying six as evil or malicious, or even worse, deserving of what happens to her in LN1, is appalling to me. i genuinely can't fathom how you can play a game so clearly about childhood trauma and abuse and come out of it putting her and mono in "bad victim vs good victim" roles. there's no right or wrong way to be a victim, there's literally only just victims, the real villains of the story are the adults who put them in this situation in the first place.

six isn't wrong for killing the workers aboard the maw, but it's still deeply sad to me that the story plays out the way it does, that the circumstances are what they are. LN1 ends with her going up, out into the sun where everything is bright and golden, but she's all alone and she's taking apart of the lady with her, she couldn't survive without taking from the lady, she couldn't survive without having to become someone else.

tldr; you know that scene at the end of chirin's bell? "what they saw was neither wolf nor sheep but some unknown creature that made their blood run cold?" yeah.

#SORRY TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWS ME FOR LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE I'M ILL ABOUT THESE GAMES #and I'm Sick of acting like all those ''I love characters who are romanticize victims'' aren't six she's not evil she's nine #🐝.txt #little nightmares #child abuse/#ask me to tag #long post #you spend so long in the dark.......you're neck deep in the cycle of trauma and abuse and even though you've made it into the light #you brought some of that darkness with you #s/o to sidney for fueling this the discord convo made me cuh-razy

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infinite-magenta1891 · 8 months

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Alfred Ashford and queerness, an analysis

So, Resident Evil Code Veronica. It’s a game that has the community split on whether it’s one of the best or one of the worst games in the series. I personally love it, but there is a point to be made that it does have quite a few flaws in how its story and gameplay was handled, and with the newer RE remakes that have all been widely praised by pretty much everyone (some more than others,) many people have been clamouring for Code Veronica to get a similar treatment to the others, giving it another chance to show off its potential.

In all of these discussions of a remake, one thing that I see as being ignored is the character of Alfred Ashford and his rather tragic story. In a nutshell, it is a story about a child who is born of a heinous eugenics experiment and is neglected by his father for not being born with what he was looking for, becoming obsessed with the only person who ever showed him any sort of affection, and eventually losing his mind after she leaves, developing a separate personality to cope, and becoming a monster.

However, this is not what we see in game.

In game, Alfred is a walking queer stereotype who’s entire character is based around an incredibly transphobic reveal of him dressing as Alexia in her absence and being a source of horror not because of his circumstances, but because he was, *gasp*, dressing as a woman! How disgusting!

Now, I probably shouldn’t need to explain why this is a problem. It’s both incredibly transphobic and ableist and utterly destroys anything else that this character could say.

It’s also something that I’ve never really seen people talking about in any Code Veronica remake, only a few actually talk about this issue in a constructive way. Most are more along the lines of “Oh yeah, that’s a problem, capcom better do something about it.” Which isn’t really all that helpful considering the subject matter, but here’s the thing.

I believe that Alfred’s story can be reworked into something that doesn’t just get rid of these unfortunate implications, but turns them on their head to make it a story about queerness rather than discriminating against it.

First, the crossdressing isn’t the only place where you can put Alfred’s queerness on display. Consider: Alfred was neglected and ignored by his father for his lack of intelligence, sure, but what if that wasn’t the only thing. What if it was also because he began displaying some form of queer behaviour and, as part of a horrible eugenics conspiracy, didn’t take it too kindly, maybe even full on physical abuse against him for displaying it. This not only could emphasise why he latched onto Alexia like he did, but also show why he also displays such an obsession with the military as well, choosing a ‘masculine’ career in order to avoid more harassment from his father, but this doesn’t work because Alexander just doesn’t care. Alfred was born wrong and as such he has no love for his son, only scorn. It also makes their experiment on him not just horrific for what they're doing to him, but also triumphant for getting rid of his abuser, but this is not the end for this story.

Soon after, Alexia leaves in her cryostasis and Alfred is not only alone, but in a system that also hates him for existing. Umbrella is probably also just as queerphobic as Alexander, if not even more so, but they can’t just get rid of him due to his status in the company. So they stick him on Rockfort and keep him there in order to stop him from ruining their plans or reputation, which causes Alfred’s mind to shatter under the stress and isolation, leaving him a broken, monstrous wreck of a man.

(They also shouldn’t make Alfred any less of a villain due to this, in fact, having him be even more cruel and sadistic could also make his story even sadder.)

However, Alfred cannot exist in a metaphorical vacuum of queerness. In order for this to work and work well, the rest of the game must work to emphasise this theme with the other characters. Have Claire and Steve empathise with him not just due to his madness, but also because of what caused him to break in such a way, have Alexia’s love come from not just his praise, but also because he’s the only person who truly understands her. Have all the other Umbrella employees look down on him and hate him for it. If Capcom wants Alfred’s story to work, then queerness has to be up there in this game’s themes along with ‘family bonds’ and ‘shooting zombies and big monsters in the face’

In conclusion, I believe that the only way to make Code Veronica’s story not queerphobic besides just cutting it (which would be boring,) is to make it about queerness rather than treating it like it’s disgusting and unnatural. Besides, if done well, then Code Veronica could go down as one of the best stories in gaming.

#resident evil #resident evil code veronica #alfred ashford #alexia ashford #code veronica #steve burnside #alexander ashford #claire redfield #This also has the advantage of emphasising resident evil’s bigger themes of eugenics #If I catch anyone trying to be homophobic or transphobic on this post I’m gonna ram your face into a blender #lgbtq #analysis

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sea-owl · 1 year

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Oh my gosh how did I not see it before. Portia is the perfect candidate to have someone isekai as! Might have to steal this idea later though lol. As for Michael and Simon I have a thought on that. With Portia making a name for herself as a business woman, no doubt Agatha Danbury would take notice and invite the baroness for tea with Mary Sharma where Kate and Simon meet and become quick friends which leads to Simon meeting the others. At some point this also leads to little Gareth joining the group.Philip meets Michael when he’s 12 at Eton and brings him home one summer and ever since he’s been apart of the family. Plus it lead to Portia gaining a business partner in Michaels mother and aunt. Now villain stories.

Simon: a man abused by his father leads him to grow cold and unfeeling despite being a rake. Not the biggest villain in the series, but Anthony seduces his mistress Sienna away from him, he decides to get revenge on him by seducing Daphne but refuses to marry her after they are caught kissing in the garden leading to Anthony killing him in a duel (though it was often debated in forums that Simon purposefully lost and was suicidal).

Michael: After his fathers death, his mother dealt with her grief by staying at his cousins house and doting on her nephew while frequently comparing her son to the future earl and having him fall short. As a result, Michael doesn’t tell his mother when one of maids starts touching him inappropriately when he’s 13 and later forces herself on the younger boy. All this leads to Michael being obsessed with his cousin John, viewing him as the perfect person, while trying to find comfort in the arms of many, many women. When he meets Francesca Bridgerton he falls in love at first but seeing her married to John causes him to go mad but rather than hurt either John or Francesca, he commits suicide instead.

Gareth: Another boy who was abused by their father and thus turned to a life of debauchery. Felicity hires him to seduce and ruin Hyacinth but along the way he falls in love with her and decides to kidnap her to Gretna Green only to be killed by her love later on. After befriending Agatha (well more like business frenemies) she casually mentions how one of her acquaintances heard about Gareth’s father drunkenly bragging about how he treats his young son. Cue Lady Danbury removing Gareth from that house and Simon taking him under his wing.

Lucy: Abused by her uncle and his friend, engaged to her gay friend who turns a blind eye towards how her uncle and his father touch his betrothed, her only light seems to be her best friend Hermione. Hermione doesn’t care that Lucy isn’t a pure maiden and takes her under her wing. Actually Hermione is the real villainess, with Lucy as her minion. Hermione, jealous of how Gregory Bridgerton has moved on from her, has Lucy try to seduce Gregory away from his lady love. But seeing his kindness towards her, Lucy warns the girl Gregory loves of Hermione’s plan and takes her place, resulting in her dying in a carriage accident. Of course, Hermione then lies to Lucy’s brother that Gregory Bridgerton planned his sisters death and the two scheme their revenge. Yeah Portia couldn’t care about Hermione much, but she will be damned if she doesn’t save Lucy! It’s actually quite easy, all Portia had to do was prevent the accident set up by Lucy’s uncle to kill her parents and her uncle is tossed in jail while Lucy grows up in a loving home and Lucy instead befriends Felicity and Gareth.

Will this work for how it ties in?

I should be fair to the others and give them an in with Portia's wayward home for villains. Original post here.

The first post will have Kate, Sophie, Phillip, and Penelope’s book villain backstories.

(Also I love seeing people create their own versions of my aus or adding on their own head canons. If anyone feels inspired please feel free to write or draw or whatever medium you want to use. Then tag me! I want to see it!)

Ok so here are my interpretations for their backstories/How they were as villains in book order:

Simon: Simon Basset is the first villain in the series. Being deemed useless since his birth his father basically had him locked away and isolated. This took a massive toll on his psyche and made him paranoid. It did not bode well when Simon’s father realized he could torture him more by throwing him in school where he would never be alone. Simon traded one prison to another, only this had horrible neighbors. The worst of these neighbors was Anthony Bridgerton. Anthony and Simon never got along, while Anthony acted as a teen boy would Simon was jumpy and was constantly stuck in survival mode. The final straw for Simon was a prank gone wrong and had broken the one thing Simon was able to smuggle from his mom. Fine, if Anthony did not care for other’s precious things, then Simon would destroy what was precious to Anthony. One ruined sister could ruin them all. Doesn’t Daphne debut in a year or two?

...

Michael: Michael Stirling is the villain in the 6th book in the series. Much like Kate Michael turned cold after being constantly found lesser compared to his cousin John, but unlike Kate he wanted that warmth back. Michael first thought that he had to be perfect like his cousin. When that did not work, Michael had tried to get it back through losing himself to debauchery. But then he met Francesca Bridgerton. Francesca, John’s fiancé, brought back the warmth that Michael craved so dearly, but she was engaged to John. John didn’t need this warmth like Michael did though, John had others that gave him warmth like Michael’s own mother. Michael needed that warmth, Michael needed Francesca. The night before John and Francesca were to wed Michael objected and stole the bride

...

Gareth: Gareth St. Clair is the co-villain of the 7th book in the series. The second, illegitimate, son of Baron St. Clair, his adopted father had seen it fit to neglect him to the point where he was living in poverty and starving. Despite Baron St. Clair’s attempt to kill him Gareth somehow miraculously survived. Desperately wanting the life of his much-loved older half-brother, Gareth had made a deal with devil. Felicity Featherington was back and wanted revenge for the execution for the only family member she loved and loved her. She thought a sister for a sister was fair. She seduced Gareth with the promise of the missing Whistledown money and the title if he helped her kill Hyacinth Bridgerton.

...

Lucy: The final villain in the series is Lucy Abernathy in the 8th book. A fan of the Featheringtons’ work she modeled her killings after by exposing her victims scandals and carving them into their bodies. If they just so happen to be suitors Hermione rejected and if people looking for a connection led to her, well no skin off Lucy’s back. Hermione shouldn’t have used her just to fuck with Lucy’s scum brother. Lucy supposed she hasn’t always been this way, but after the death of her parents she had become numb. It didn’t help that her uncle kept selling her to the highest bidder. The challenge of the hunt was the only thing to give Lucy a thrill, and she just set her sights on her biggest challenge yet, Gregory Bridgerton.

Now let me see how we can add the others in:

Simon: Simon was back in London for five minutes before his beloved godmother pushed him into her carriage and set out for the countryside.

“Aunt Agatha where are we going?” Simon asked her.

“There have been some rumors whispering about and I want to see if they are true,” Lady Danbury said, almost cryptically.

Simon knew he wasn’t getting anything more out of her so he just settled in and waited to see where they ended up.

Simon didn’t know what he was expecting when they pulled up to a country estate but what greeted him and Lady Danbury was nothing he could have imagined. The only way he could really describe it was chaos.

There were two girls practicing shooting with shotguns, they looked to be the oldest and youngest of them.

Three girls, two red heads, and a blonde, all about the same age, sat in a circle with different art supplies and they seemed to be drawing a boy who sat in the middle of the circle wearing nothing but a kilt.

The last group seemed to be the calmest as they were only reading until Simon listened in and heard that they were acting out different death scenarios for some sort of story they were creating as they went along. The book they had was on different poisonous plants.

Sitting under a tent with a pitcher of lemonade between were two women who Simon was guessing were the mothers to at least some of this brood.

“Lady Featherington,” Lady Danbury called.

The red head of the two women looked up, surprise on her face. “Lady Danbury, this is a surprise.”

Of course, his aunt didn’t even tell the host they were coming. She did love her dramatics.

“Simon, go introduce yourself to the other children. You need more friends,” Lady Danbury said with a wave.

Simon sighed, but then tensed up. He feels like he’s being sized up. Turning around he could see all the groups stopped what they were doing and were openly staring at him.

The one wearing a kilt came up to him and began to lead him to the others. “So we hear you need more friends.”

...

Michael: 13 year old Phillip had done half a year at Eton before deciding absolutely the fuck not. He would get a better education at home, and it was cleaner, and in the countryside. He takes his crazy ass best friend and his pseudo sisters before dealing with these animals again. The only saving grace about this place was his new friend the 16 year old Michael, and Phillip was about to pull a Penelope and drag Michael home with him. Phillip wrote to Portia that he was coming home and bringing a guest.

During the next break Michael had indeed gone home with Phillip, but that was more to do with the fact if he went back to Scotland he would have to listen to his mother and aunt dote on John again. Michael loves his cousin, honestly, but dear god could it get annoying. Besides Phillip’s home sounded interesting, he said he was a ward, and that he was the only boy in the house.

So Michael went to visit, and then never left. Phillip was right, there was a better education to be had here, and he quite enjoyed the shenanigans he got into with Phillip and the girls. Portia did force him to write home and visit once in in a while, but now that he wasn’t constantly around his family all the time Michael found his relationships with his family improved greatly.

...

Gareth: Upon the return to London Felicity is feeling lonely. Which is understandable, Kate, Sophie, and Prudence were all just launched into society, Philippa is getting ready to for her own debut next year, Phillip is getting ready to go to University, and Penelope and Edwina are looking at possibly starting to make business transactions under their mothers' guidance. It also didn't help that Felicity was the youngest at the age of 7 while the next two closest in age to her were 14.

One day Felicity comes across a ten year old boy in the park trying to read. Felicity was confused, she was only 7 but she could read better than him. For over an hour she sat with him and helped him get through a few chapters. When Felicity asked why he was struggling so much the boy told her that his father never taught him nor let anyone else teach him. Felicity gasped, education was important in the Featherington household, and then immediately took him to Portia.

"Mama this boy-" Felicity stopped herself and turned back to the boy. "What is your name?"

"Gareth St. Clair," the boy answered.

Felicity nodded and then turned back to Portia. "Mama this boy's father refuses to teach him how to read!"

Portia recognizes the name and immediately began scanning the boy over for any injuries. He was too skinny, she could see his ribs through his clothes, and his skin looked pale. The boy honestly looked like a stray wind could blow him over. No wonder Felicity dragged him to her so easily.

The next time Portia saw Lady Danbury she mentioned that her daughter had met Gareth, but the boy didn't seem to be in good health. That sent Lady Danbury after St. Clair where she immediately removed Gareth from the household and into her's. She and Simon began to try to play catch up for all the things Gareth was neglected for his health and education. Gareth went over to the Featherington household a few times a week to get some reading lessons from his new friend Felicity.

...

Lucy: Like Gareth Felicity had discovered Lucy. Portia could tell Felicity was getting bored at home now that Gareth was at Eton, so she signed her up for a watercolor class. There she had met Lucy and Hermione. Over the course of three months the girls had grown close. Close enough that Lucy felt comfortable enough to ask an important question.

“Felicity, do you know how old your sisters were when they first got their monthlies?” Lucy asked in a hushed whisper.

Felicity thought about it. The only one she could really remember when they got their first first monthly was Penelope and she had been about 13? Yeah, that sounds about right. “About thirteen.”

Lucy looked surprised, and disappointed. “Oh.”

Felicity’s new sibling senses kicked in. “Why do you ask?”

Hermione answered, “Lucy’s uncle said when she had her first monthly she would be ready for Haselby.”

“Hermione!” Lucy exclaimed.

Hermione’s answer didn’t sound right to Felicity, who had gone home and repeated it to Portia. Portia marched down to the Abernathy household and left with a new ward that same day. No one’s quite sure how she did it. They did know however that Richard could visit his sister, but should their uncle step a single foot on their property Portia will let Felicity use him as target practice for her shotgun.

...

For those that need a quick flow chart here’s the official order everyone joined the family and their ages. If they weren’t there in the first part when they probably should have been after this we’re just gonna ignore it and pretend they were:

Phillip became a ward when Penelope dragged him home when she was 8 and he was 10.

Michael comes to visit and just never leaves when he is 16, Phillip is 13, and Penelope is 11.

Sophie is taken in as a ward at 16. Penelope is 12, Phillip is 14, and Michael is 17.

Kate is 19 when they meet the Featherington. Penelope is 13, Phillip is 15, Michael is 18, and Sophie is 17.

Simon meets everyone about six months after Kate was introduced. He is 25 and everyone else is roughly the same age.

The year everyone returns to London Simon is 26, Kate is 20, Michael is 19 Sophie is 18, Phillip is 16, and Penelope is 14. Michael went traveling to India based on Kate’s stories, and Simon is busy with running Clyvedon. They were there for the first ball though.

Gareth also gets introduced the first year back in London. He is ten when Felicity finds him and she is 7.

Finally Lucy is 10 when Felicity, also 10 befriends her. Simon is 29, Kate is 23, Michael is 22, Sophie is 21, Phillip is 19, Penelope is 17, and Gareth is 13.

The year the Bridgerton boys ask the girls to dance Simon is 31, Kate is 25, Michael is 24, Sophie is 23, Phillip is 21, Penelope is 19, Gareth is 15, and Lucy is 13.

#if you haven't guess yet kate sophie and lucy get aged up a little bit and gareth gets aged down #this is just to make it a little bit easier for me to try to move them around the plot if i age pair them with a bridgerton #also portia being reborn in bridgerton even before her memories come back does have some dominion affect #villianess isekai au #bridgerton spouses #villian spouses #simon basset #michael stirling #gareth st clair #lucy abernathy #i think i went a little bit overboard again

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