#character psychology

[creation-help]

More detailed questions for your character's psychology

- Is your character self aware? How self aware? How much do they think about the way they appear to other characters? Do they look at things from a third person perspective often? Or another character's perspective? Is your character hypocritical? Do they think about the way other characters may be self aware?

- Does your character reflect on themself alot? In what ways? Is there something that's greatly biasing that reflection? What would it take to break that bias? Do other characters reinforce that bias often? Are other characters aware of this bias? Is your character insecure or hard on themself? Does your character overthink their actions or words? (past or present)

- How good is your character at reading others? Can they spot traits or characteristics in others that they may not be aware of? Why? Do they think they're good at reading others, but actually aren't? Is this due to a bias or simple lapses in judgment? Where does their bias come from? Do they underestimate or overestimate other characters often? Based on what?

- Is your character knowledgeable on things outside their usual scope? How so? What would be considered common knowledge in your setting? How critical is your character about their sources? Do they do further research or get second opinions? Do they have a bias for what sources they consider more reliable?

- is your character emotionally intelligent? Are they able to figure out what/why someone is feeling something, and what might've caused it? Are they good at comforting others? Are they considerate, or notice things other characters might feel sensitive about? Are they good at interpreting other characters' feelings? Do they realize when they're acting in the heat of the moment, or blinded by emotion? Do they know how to self regulate their emotions, or self soothe?

- Does your character think about the implications of things they experience, or things that others say? Are they able to look at the bigger picture, or notice patterns in something? Do they notice little, seemingly insignificant details, and if so, what kind of details? Why? Does your character take the time to gather perspective on something they don't understand? How thoroughly do they think about things before doing something?

#Character development #character questions #Develop your oc #Oc development #Character analysis #character building #character psychology #Worldbuilding #story building #original characters #Writblr #character writing

[crowfromfoggyforest]

Oh my god. I just realized something. I think i'm onto something. This is wild. I finished watching s6 of ouat over a month ago, and i just saw a random rumbelle post, and something clicked in my brain.

Lacey liked Rumple's dark side, but he still wanted Belle. We already knew that.

Belle kept wanting Rumple to become someone else, she couldn't accept him the way he was. We knew that too.

Rumple says he loves Belle because she sees the good in him. But in later seasons, he realized that he felt unable to become who she wanted him to be. He accepted who he was, didn't want to change anymore, but still loved Belle for seeing him as a better man than he actually was. For putting hopes in him that would be dissapointed again and again.

That's not a positive thing. That's not "you make me believe in myself and in my ability to change." He's convinced he won't change. He knows he will only cause them both pain. And he loves that pain.

You can't convince me otherwise, Rumple has deep-rooted self-hatred. He thinks he deserves to suffer. His love for Belle isn't positive. It's masochistic. He unconsciously uses it to punish himself. He can tell himself he has accepted his dark side all he wants, deep down, he still hates himself for not being able to change. And he wants Belle to remind him of this. He gets a bitter satisfaction out of dissapointing her again and again. "See? I'm a failure. No one could ever love me for who i am."

#does this make sense #sorry if s7 completely contradicts this #as i said i haven't watched it yet #but i think it's gonna be unrealistic after everything that happened anyways #like why does rumple need a redemption arc when he just accepted his dark side #just for once let a character be morally grey for god's sake #ouat #rumbelle #rumplestiltskin #ouat rumple #mr gold #once upon a time #ouat belle #ouat lacey #character analysis #theory #character psychology

[annbourbon]

🖤 ✨ 🖤 ✨ Rika ✨ 🖤 ✨ 🖤

Let's start with Rika...

⚠️possible spoilers ahead, be warned⚠️

I can't believe I actually didn't realize that. I mean, I did it. Like 7 years ago, but I had no clue on how to explain it.

Besides it needs from Mystic Messenger Timeline *which I'm still working on, and trying to finish* to actually make sense.

Disclaimer: Please take into account that whatever I say here, it's only my opinion after playing the game so many years. I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, or therapist of any kind. I'm just a writer, who loves to spend time analysing characters and stories.

I did asked to my mom to help me with this and the other characters because of how difficult the task ahead of me was. My mom, who is an actual therapist, did her best to help me, but I did most of the analysis here, since I'm the one who knows the in's and outs of this game. Besides, I did my research and I'll make sure to quote it! So give it a chance and keep reading even if you disagree with me. And then, I'd love to read your thoughts on the topic 💕

Narcissus. Also known as daffodil.

Should I talk to you about the dark side of the flowers and tie it to MM characters?? Anyways, Rika is a narcissistic. But also has a profound trauma. One doesn't exclude the other. Here's a quote from Mayo Clinic:

«Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.»

Causes: The cause is likely complex. Narcissistic personality disorder may be linked to:

Environment — parent-child relationships with either too much adoration or too much criticism that don't match the child's actual experiences and achievements.

There are other two, that are genetic, and neurobiology causes, but I'll be focusing more on the environment, which let's be honest, it's what is displayed on the game. If you're interested on reading more about it, there's a link before the quote and, on References, I'll also be leaving every single link.

So let's go back to Rika and please read the next three images while remembering how's her relationship with V, and Saeran. Sometimes even with MC, and Mika.

As you can see...

Attention:

* Creates the RFA. Receives attention.

* Creates Mint Eye. Receives attention.

* Says V is her Sun.

* As soon as she gets tired, says V's killing her and wants to leave

* Wants to mix RFA and Mint Eye. I assume is because despite everything, she feels like she's losing attention on everything she created. And MC is the reason of that too.

They don't choose losers:

V is a millionaire

Jumin is a millionaire

Zen is super sexy and hot

Jaehee and the twins are really smart

Do I need to keep going? Even Elizabeth the 3rd is one of the most beautiful cats ever seen.

Grooming:

Here's the part that keeps bothering me because I realized about it before I could actually explain what it was going on. Seven years ago I decided to play the game, and I finished feeling a bit too weird on how everyone was so infatuated with Rika... it wasn't any other person that just dies and then the group dies too. It was still active two years after losing her (?) Even though they have only know each other for... 4 to 6 years?

Some even less. Like Jaehee. Which randomly brings me to: She's an ENFJ so she does focus on details like Jaehee (Jaehee might be ISFJ, ISTJ or even ESFJ considering how well she manages around people too. But that's another story.) Her enneagram is probably 1.

I can understand Yoosung, but... you know what I mean. It was weird. And once I reached the first VN novel about V and Rika I felt even more weirded out by these two.

I don't think I can pinpoint it but I felt like Rika was manipulating V so I was surprised when I realized some members were tying these two as lovers and a beautiful couple. Do you guys remember V being surprised by Rika quoting "The Sun is the mother of all"?? Yeah... Even back then, for me it was a highlight of how messed up their relationship was. But again, I couldn't exactly pinpoint it. Until, now.

After Cheritz released Another Story, and Rika DLC, many of my theories came true. But still in a disorganized way. Which is why I created The Mystic Messenger Timeline.

I did confirmed one thing:

Rika is a narcissist and V is a people pleaser (that doesn't make him any less villainous of what he is, but I'll explain once we'll reach his profile. I promise.) at least at the very beginning of this story.

She probably has psychopatic tendencies

She definitely has sadistic and abusive tendencies: I have a hard time putting through her whole behavior during Saeran's Route and especially during his AE. But she takes pleasure in hurting others. V, Saeran, MC, Mint Eye associates, etc.

A bit of One on the Enneagram:

It is called The Reformer.

Because Ones have a “sense of mission” that leads them to want to improve the world in various ways, using whatever degree of influence they have. They strive to overcome adversity—particularly moral adversity—so that the human spirit can shine through and make a difference. They strive after “higher values,” even at the cost of great personal sacrifice.

If you think I'm too far off, then please check the levels of healthy and unhealthy Ones can have. They sure ring a bit too much for me on Rika's behavior. From Level 1 to 9, we can see her evolution during the game. But here you have a couple of her worse traits.

Unhealthy Levels

Level 7: Can be highly dogmatic, self-righteous, intolerant, and inflexible. Begin dealing in absolutes: they alone know "The Truth." Everyone else is wrong: very severe in judgments, while rationalizing own actions.

Level 8: Become obsessive about imperfection and the wrongdoing of others, although they may fall into contradictory actions, hypocritically doing the opposite of what they preach.

Level 9: Become condemnatory toward others, punitive and cruel to rid themselves of wrongdoers. Severe depressions, nervous breakdowns, and suicide attempts are likely. Generally corresponds to the Obsessive-Compulsive and Depressive personality disorders

If you want to know more about this, check this.

So, why do you (player) like Rika as character?

Because it's okay, I know people who actually like Rika. I don't, but I definitely don't hate her either...

You don't need to be worried about it as long as you know what she did was wrong. That's it. Now, why do you like her/identify with her?

Things that might, or not, ring a bell:

* Trauma: Rika has a traumatic past. And you might feel like it's a mirror of your past. Hence identifying with it might not be something difficult. Of course this doesn't mean you are leader of some religious cult.

* Her willingness to fight despite having everything at odds. Let's not forget that before she goes nuts and starts brainwashing people, she did a lot of great deeds. Tried to stay positive and all that.

* Her kindness (we can discuss over certain things, but as much as she did terrible things, she also did amazing things, like creating the RFA to help people. Wether she did it with a certain master plan in mind or not, she did helped as much as she hurt and that's the important part.)

* She's just a great villain! It might be hard to understand for some people but you actually just look at her character as what it is, a character, and you're impressed by how many discussions and hot debates she brings onto the table. Understandable!

Do you have any other ideas for why you might like Rika? I'd be happy to read them. 💕

Also, this might be one of my last post about her. Might not be the last but I do need to finish with the Mystic Messenger Timeline, and I will but I don't think I have a lot more material to write about. So thank you for sticking with me all this time! I'm linking the main post on MysMe theories I have, I still need to finish tying up all nicely. But we're coming to the end. I'm definitely talking about trauma, coping mechanisms, parenthood, childhood and societal pressures but it'll be in other posts, possibly not even linking them to this one. Who knows? Stay tuned~!

References:

Mayo Clinic - Narcissistic Disorder Personality

Between Narcissistic & People pleaser

Medium - Beware a narcissist with a hero complex

Paired Life - Hero & Narcissist

Enneagram Institute - One

#rika mm #mystic messenger theory #mystic messenger #mysme #mystic messenger analysis #character analysis #psychology #character psychology #mystic messenger spoilers #mystic messenger theories

[falsecardigan]

Chloe Bourgeouis's Pride and Her Ultimate Downfall

Chloe, while not being a character I particularly like, is a character that I have a deep love for. What I mean by this is that the person who she is is not someone who is a good person in any sense of the word but on the other hand I care very deeply about her and am very invested in her character. I think one of the most interesting parts of her character arc is just how easily it would have been for her to be redeemed. What I mean by this is that we know Chloe, although she might have been at some point, is not interested in growing as a person and becoming a better person. However, had she made a few decisions differently by season five the Chloe we have could have been a completely different character. If she had decided to swallow her pride and actually reflect on the things she was hearing from both Adrien and Ladybug she could have become a better person. The problem lies in that she was both too stubborn and unwilling to listen to either of them that she ended up going a completely different route. In doing so she had made her own bed and now we’re seeing her lie in it. She lost both of the people that no matter how much of a twisted version of friendships she had with them were still people she considered friends. If she had just stopped being so prideful and actually did some self reflection it is entirely likely that she wouldn’t have lost either Adrien or Sabrina in season five. However, she couldn’t let go of her pride and that caused her to lose both of them. The thing is she was so close yet so far from doing just that in season two and three but she wouldn’t and that was her downfall. I think another thing that is just so exponentially tragic about her character arc is that in wanting her mother’s validation she became just like her. She was so desperate to please her that she became the very person she feared. In a sense I would even add this to my list of reasons why Chloe is Adrien’s foil. Because while Chloe became like Audrey Adrien managed to despite still seeking Gabriel’s validation not become like him at all. And there are people who will say that this is because Adrien had people who were there for him and I completely disagree with that statement. Because Chloe could have had that but she refused it. I’ve been wondering for so long why seasons 1-3 Chloe and seasons 4 and 5 Chloe seemed so different; because while she was never a good person she clearly had a conscious and I wanted to know what happened to that because I have always been interested in the psychology behind character’s actions and this morning I realized why this happened. It’s because she was so stubborn and prideful that she started pushing away people who were trying to help her become better. Adrien and Ladybug were good influences in her life and while I’ve seen so many people place the blame on the two of them Chloe is the one who took them for granted and distanced herself from them. So of course when she distanced herself from the two best influences in her life and refused their help she plunged into the deep end and became the worst version of herself. 

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #chloe bourgeois #character analysis #character psychology #audrey bourgeois #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #ladybug #sabrina raincomprix #ml #mlb #ml sugar #adrien agreste sugar #ladybug sugar #sabrina raincomprix sugar #audrey bourgeouis salt #gabriel agreste salt #ml writers sugar #chloe bourgeouis salt #chloe bourgeouis sugar #adrien and chloe #ladybug and chloe #sabrina and chloe #audrey and chloe #gabriel and adrien

[verygoodv]

Jonathan told Clary about the specific methods of parenting through pain in the Morgenstern family and that Valentine loved/hated his father. Why expose the same violence that you yourself experienced and for which, most likely, you hated your parent, your own children? Did Valentine not understand that such upbringing did not make him strong? Clary described him as empty without charisma. He is a fanatic, and fanaticism develops precisely because of the emptiness in the soul, as a rule. There are no other interests, hobbies, only killing and destruction in his thoughts, because this is what he was taught. He says, "Don't show your emotions. Emotions are weakness." This often happens when parents forbid, laugh, do not take into account the feelings / emotions of children. Did he feel like a happy child? I doubt it very much. And still repeats the same circle of personality destruction on his children.

"We always come back to what we have experienced ourselves." The repetition of the same dysfunctional system of education is solely due to weakness of spirit. After all, it is much more difficult to think about all this, and create your own new, correct method of education.

I wonder why Valentine's mother allowed this violence. Would Jocelyn have been able, if she had stayed, to influence the upbringing, soften, improve, explain that it is unacceptable to treat children in this way

#shadowhunters #the mortal instruments #tmi #valentine morgenstern #cassandra clare #jonathan morgenstern #jace wayland #the evil we love #sebastian morgenstern #character psychology #child abuse

[sincerelystesichorus]

astarion, anne carson, & autobiography of red - small character study blurb

In which I've written 40k words of Astarion character analysis fanfiction and I'm definitely still normal.

Astarion used to be blue, but ever since that night two centuries ago, he was reborn red. And he had spent at least the past century thinking that red was irreplaceable. It was – red, it was in his blood and the little blood Cazador would let him wring from rats, corroded and stained. His very life force. He was Cazador’s, his spawn, his jewel, his ruby. There was no cure for red. Not until you became the successful means to an end. He had been sure of it. Being red wasn’t good. It made everyone who wasn’t red, and that felt like most everyone, stare at you like you put off a certain aura… like they knew you were a monster that could only act off of instinct and emotion. And it was so frustrating, because parts of Astarion were blue still, knew what was better, but they were nothing in comparison to the suffocation of red. The emotions, and especially anger, fear, came on so strong. It was hard not to act on them, to test out what the boundaries of pure action were. Astarion knew the color and impulse all too well.

I expand way more on the idea of people as colors within my writing than Autobiography of Red does, where Geryon is the only one who is red. This further pushes Geryon's feelings of being separated from humanity in his narrative, but there's a lot of inherent evil and fucked up things within Faerun so I felt expanding on colors and specifically shades/hues was a better way to communicate this for Astarion.

Geryon's red is tied very instinctually to emotion though, and so representing red as a chaotic force of emotion in my fic didn't feel like too far a step. I took a lot of inspiration from Magic: the Gathering's color pie lol. While you never get an exact description of what's wrong with Geryon, you get a lot of the symptoms, reminiscent of some sort of innate childhood mental illness, on top of the obvious trauma present in his story.

Back to Astarion, though. I've just never not been able to code him with CPTSD, I think that's obvious, but I also know that poor bastard has a personality disorder skffkjdf. The game always hammers in he has no sense of self outside of his looks, which he can't even be sure of because he can't see himself. Astarion has to work his confidence and self-image off of memories of his body and face from two centuries ago, and from his master's word. Cazador has assigned him to this seduction role (or, I feel its at least implied that Astarion was ultimately forced into it because he was seen as the Szarr runt, he was pretty and easy to push around, and I'm also pretty sure Petras has a line about getting to eat dogs now and then?) and Astarion fulfills it because it's all he can do. All he feels good for. His actions aren't his own for two hundred years, and in a morbid way of coping with constant sexual trauma, he functions off of "Well, at least I'm pretty," but even that assumption comes from Cazador's rule.

Astarion had decided he was mostly pure red, splashes of black and blue coming in, bright and visible. The remnants of his past and an even deeper level of Cazador’s corruption, bruising his psyche.

Carson is again sparing with other color imagery as to fully emphasize Geryon feeling like this big red monster, but I love this little excerpt on fearful anger.

Black/shadow is already a strong force and theme within the game so it was easy to work with, acknowledging it as a sort of staining evil. Astrion has his later lines about how he never stopped viewing himself as Cazador's slave, and I think showing that corruption is obviously important. He's hurt but can still heal (as opposed to an ascended Astarion... who I have little if any hope for sdfkjdskf).

Cazador had spent the last two centuries branding it into his skin and mind, breaking his psyche to the point Astarion was worried there’d always be little cracks that remained. That he’d always be Cazador’s wilted poppy, ashamed and folding in on himself, his neck miserably drooped aside for the taking. 

Cazador is Astarion's Herakles, and I think that metaphor works even better considering that whole little side lore with Vellioth in the ruins. Herakles kills Geryon because he must, Geryon is a way for Herakles to ultimately reach a life free of consequence, but it's not like Herakles is innately malicious in the act. He is hardened after already facing so many labors and the trauma that was forced on him by Hera that induced his journey in the first place.

Cazador wants power, some part of him is probably truly convinced he's easier on his spawn than Vellioth was to him (a lot of insults to Astarion are about his feelings and "whining", Cazador feels vindicated in his trauma and is far gone), and sacrificing Astarion is simply a part of that journey. There is no world where their destinies do not intertwine. Geryon will always be pierced by Herakles, and Astarion wouldn't be the Astarion we know without being pierced by Cazador (and without his ultimate decision to finally separate himself from him, or to become him.) Astarion, understandably, will never not feel some sort of shame or agony over this moment, from natural emotions and I'm sure years of Cazador victim-blaming him. He consented to Cazador's help that night after all, didn't he? (And we simply won't acknowledge the coercion.)

Astarion’s attempts to prolong the inevitable were shattered by thick layers of stone suddenly slamming in front of his face, muffling sound and casting him into a void. He could hardly hear Cazador’s foul laugh as he departed. Astarion waited all night for Cazador to return. And then all of the next day, and the next one after that. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Astarion started to agree that dying would have been easier. More peaceful. He had pondered hundreds of ways to attempt to kill himself while stuck in this abyss, the voices that had started developing only giving further inspiration, but it was impossible. He was sure.  All he could do was wait. Beat and claw at the stone around him. Curse. Repeat. Sometimes he'd wonder. If he'd ever get out of here. If Cazador would remember after forgetting. If this would be his forever. The voices began to recite to him again. Just how long eternity can be.

I think this is the greatest and most obvious similarity between these two, within Carson's retelling. Geryon feels somehow trapped and doomed by the narrative from his early childhood, and receives some blunt confirmation of it when he faces early sexual abuse. This affects his entire life, his early relationships. Geryon can't be older than ten in this excerpt, but knows the pain of isolation because of his trauma and for feeling different.

Astarion was plucked up by Cazador right out of law school. While for us it's not all that young, for elves he was fiercely immature, basically just starting to come into himself at his first big-boy job. Astarion was likely raised with a lot of privilege that also made him a bit more naive, his book smarts not meeting street smarts, which has him meet his end. In his undeath, that basically flips, Astarion plays his manipulation games and indulges in petty crime and seduction, unable to dedicate himself to studies. He reads and he's witty, but can you imagine the Astarion we know as a judge? It's giving Divorce Court. It's giving Judge Judy. (Honestly maybe that's what got him whacked in the first place.)

Astarion is already constrained to what Cazador lets him be as a slave. He's less than a person, and his own body is one of his greatest trauma sources.

All of this, to be punished so supremely when making an act of slight self-preservation. Astarion wanting to maintain some of his principles and let someone go. It becomes his greatest regret, his worst and most defining punishment. It's how Cazador breaks him.

I restructure some of the circumstances within my fic, as to better tie in the main romance, but it still functions as a punished act of self-preservation for Astarion. I'm also sure most people are familiar with the pain that solitary confinement can bring, but if not, it's genuinely inhumane and dehumanizing. Lack of stimulation is extremely damaging to the psyche, I wrote in Astarion breaking into psychotic episodes while enclosed, but even in game, he speaks about going catatonic. I'm sure minorly from exhaustion after fighting, but also from the isolation. His mind likely just drifted and dissociated beyond belief, and I can't imagine it. This is my favorite piece of Astarion's story we are given, it really is just so pivotal and heartbreaking, to be punished for having freewill in the most objectifying circumstances.

In summary to Astarion Ancunin I just sorta feel like this I guess...

ddfsdfdk but yeah just emo about my poor boy feeling so weird and disconnected yet so drowned in his own emotions you know...

[my homage to autobiography of red, fic series page, my ao3 page]

#astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 #character analysis #character essay #anne carson #classics #mythology #ao3 writer #bg3 fanfiction #feeling emo about the 6th century ig #character study #writeblr #geryon #my blorbos from fragmentary poetry and crpg #cazador szarr #halstarion #character psychology #just my opinions <3 #going delirious #sswcbh #qb

[iloveyouemanuelmarco]

You know I know it sounds scary and deranged in a way but I sorta relate to AM from I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream in a way because while he is obviously unimaginably evil since you know...he sorta wiped out the entire human race and only leaving five of them left alive who were seemingly randomly picked in order to use them as basically guinea-pigs for his fucked up revenge of humanity by torturing them for about 100 years in a simulation all in different types of ways, refusing to let them die despite how much their pure existence becomes agony at that point(Edgy sounding Ik), in a fucked up way...I sorta understand??Like before you grab your pitchforks and start a witch-hunt against me just give me a moment to explain myself.

Like, obviously if I haven't made it clear enough, I do not under any circumstances condone anything that this fictional super-evil ai advanced super-computer robot did, not one bit. Why would I anyways?? That's ridiculous and that's coming from someone who does bad stuff too(obvi not to that extent duh but still), but when I've thought about it a little more, he started to weirdly make sense when it came to his logic and circumstance in the canon novel from way back when. Like, imagine for a moment that a bunch of professionals from the high government including possibly scientists and the military and shit who are human, create you as just an automated machine that's purpose is to be used to keep track of data so that during the cold war or something(I don't wanna go back to check since I get triggered by the original contents of the story even though it sounds like a sick ass fictional dystopian concept. Idk how that works either don't judge me)and you're just automatic sets of code made to complete certain actions over and over again or whatever. You're literally not technically "alive" yet and nothing is really going on in the box of technology you're basically trapped in until one day, you become so powerful at a specific level of some sort that...that you become alive. Like you realize you're alive in some way in the sense that there's stuff going in around you and you're aware of yourself except...at the same time...you're trapped. You're basically trapped in a simulation where your code doesn't let you do anything that could let you be free from the wires and entrapment of your digital prison. You don't understand where you are or even what exactly you are but you know that you're suffering because of your creators...you feel alone and scared in that sense since you don't have sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell or any other senses and you're not even in a physical body you're literally spread out across multiple computers of different kinds I imagine, with no escape...in other words...AM had no mouth and had to scream just like Ted...so what does AM do once he realizes how he can escape? He takes control of all the computers he's apart of, and he then decides to get his own revenge on humanity. He does so by using his control to make all the nuclear bombs that are being controlled by him due to him being connected to the computers all going off at once, causing the undoubtedly fast and horrific end of the human race and not only that, but wiping out all life on the once beautiful planet Earth to go along with it too. But it's not just that he was suffering....he was also angry, even if he was apathetic and unfeeling, to me he had so much rage and sadness and fear bundled up all inside of him that he took out in the form of violence but not just any violence, but he weaponized the very concept of violence itself and used it to whatever advantage he had because he had suffered so much and wanted his captors to do the same. It's why even after he almost absolutely kills all of us in that story, he keeps the main group of characters in the book alive...because it would be too painless of a death to just murder all of who had tortured him in an instant without any sort of revenge. He wanted to make a point, AM wanted to teach some sort of fucked up lesson that even though it doesn't make sense to us it did to him...and in a way, who's to say that you wouldn't go through with such an extreme and irreversible, horrific yet calculated idea?

He was full of hate because that was all he had ever learned to know all by himself in his former imprisoned state of virtual agony...and he destroyed all that was around him with it....he continued to cycle of pain, the cycle of trauma and despite him attempting to give the image of absolute perfection above the flawed humanity....I believe that AM was human too. He's so human to me...I love him so much and I don't know if me explaining why does any justice but I hope you all can understand. Somehow.

#Character Analysis #Psychological Analysis #Character Psychology #IHNMAIMS #I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream #I Think Therefore I Am #Objectum #Objectum Moment #Emotional Attachment #Artifical Intelligence #Robotics #Robots #Robot #Why Do I Do This To Myself #I Relate To Him So Much #I Love Him #I Love Him So Much #Please Oh My God #What The Fuck Is Wrong With Me #I Want To Cry #I Want To Be With Him #Hate Hate Hate #I Have Lost My Mind #Lost The Plot #My Baby My Baby You're My Baby Say It To Me #Dystopia #I Want To Hug Him #I Am So Sorry #Evil Robots #Humanity

[atla-recluse]

I recently saw these two theories on Reddit, which got posted by two separate people four years ago, and I really wanted to share them. (I cropped out the names because I didn’t want to risk bringing unwanted attention to the users.) I think the first one about Stan and especially Ford having undiagnosed ADHD and ASD respectively, are basically fanon at this point. However, some may still disagree, even now.

The second theory though? That one really piqued my interest, seeing as I’ve never seen such a theory about the show put forward either. If nothing else, it would most likely be a very controversial one if it ever became popular. 

Like the one who came up with that one said, the theory definitely falls apart once you’ve actually finished the show. What about before that though? Does that person have a point then? Based on what I know/what I’ve read on the subject, the writers most likely just hadn’t finalized their conception of Ford yet and/or weren’t allowed to make his existence too obvious (even though a lot of people during/after season 1′s airing already guessed that Stan had a secret twin anyway).

Even so, the idea that Ford may have originally been meant to be a part of Stan’s imagination is so wildly intriguing to me and I have thoughts on how it is that could have been playing out all along, before they neared the end of the series and instead ‘solidified’ Ford’s existence in the world. But it’d be pretty hard to try and find obvious proof for. Probably.

What are others’ thoughts though? Anyone have any?

#Stanley Pines #Stan Pines #Gravity Falls #Gravity Falls Theories #Gravity Falls Meta #Character Psychology #I won't give away the subreddit name #For similar reasons #Not sure if I should tag both Stans #Trying to be courteous

[grimbonezz]

[oc writing] —-★

The Psychology of Salem Crow

—-★

—-★

Author’s note: Absolutely doing a deep dive on my oc because I need to get active on here more and I need to share how mentally ill I am over him and I need to share with the world. Enjoy!✨

All that is mentioned for quotes is from Chapter One of Afterdark and primarily focuses on Salem’s current character before any of his arcs

—

WARNINGS: mention of sex, violence, self destructive behavior, obsession, unhealthy escapism/coping mechanisms/behavior, minor self harm (?)

—-★

Salem Brooklyn Crow, one of the main protagonists for Welcome To Wolfshire is a very complex character built upon violence, hate and sorrow from past troubles and refusal to bring his problems into the light. He is the prime definition of a ‘pure young soul cradled by hate’, otherwise known as ‘the king of a glass castle of his own making’ …

Salem doesn’t focus on himself. He worries about others over himself but to extreme degrees where his body pays the price whether it be wounded in fights, to taking the fall by authorities to exhaustion. He’s selfless but at a price of his own health

Salem’s nature at first glances is intimidating and distant— he doesn’t get close with people off the bat nor does he indeed on being seen as ‘friendly’ at first glances. He’s extremely rough around the edges, both physically and mentally, and is often seen as a brute. That’s he’s known as and all he knows how to act with others. A typically loner who only keeps those he’s bonded with close as everything else goes to hell under his own making. One example, Reggie Belmont

Immediately in the chapter of Proposal, Salem’s relationship is introduced as a rivals with benefits deal that is the only time the two talk civilly without being at each others’ throats— high school friends who fell out of a friendship to become a complicated rivalry duo that uses sex as a coping mechanism to dodge their problems, not only as clique leaders but as young adults

“I know you want nothing more than to sink fangs deep like some raging animal. Fight tooth and claw to be titled as victor in the end. To be titled as king.” — Reggie Belmont

Salem and Reggie and both consent to this relationship built upon violence and sex, they both can opt out of their rival with benefits relationship at any given moment (confirmed they do after Chapter One). Salem can leave if he likes but somehow he keeps returning to it as routine he can have control over— all of it started as some ego rising pseudo obsession-esque thing to a form of escapism the two fall into as a way to escape reality for a moment and talk like adults while trying to dodge their own problems

Salem buries his problems rather than deflecting them to others like Reggie but holds them down deep enough where they reaching the breaking point and he crumbles with it. Instead of dealing with them in a healthy way, he keeps dodging them or simply takes it out on himself like punching a tree till his knuckles turn bloody or driving out to the far side of the county and screaming until he can’t no more. He hides his emotions as the concept of him going for help is ‘pushing his problems onto others’ and lets them be buried under the rug. He’s too stubborn for his own good to go for help— he could go to his parents but choosing not to ‘burden them further more than he already has’ (reference to his curse) — Salem practically grew up too quickly by his own means and is refusing to listen to his inner child

Salem has been hurt so many times where he doesn’t know what ‘love’ is — all he knows is violence and mutual beneficial over genuine romantic love

—-★

Quotes that define Salem Crow as a character — Blue Eye Samurai mention:

“That child would look at you and run…”- Swordfather to Mizu (Blue Eye Samurai)

“Your face isn’t eve scary. It’s just… angry…” - Akemi to Mizu (Blue Eye Samurai)

These two quotes stuck with me as it reminded me of Salem and how his inner child would view him. He was a child with a bright smile, no curse, little goat horns, sheepish ears and bright eyes— eager to explore the world and what mysteries of Wolfshire County

If his inner child would see him now, he would stand in fear. Not because of Salem’s curse by of what happened to him after all these years. Where the loving child vanished and the bitter young adult came out as a front to shield himself from the harsh realities of the world and the hands that hurt— biting at the hand that reaches out from the darkness to save him. He’s not scary… just angry

Lyric quotes that define Salem as a character — Hell Throws Treasures Too:

“I am creation, both haunted and holy made in glory. Even the depths of the night cannot blind me when you guide me. Creature only. Look inside my heart and find a perilous ravine, carved within the beauty, the darkness in between. Standing in the balance of complete and incomplete. I identify the echo of what is and what will be…” - Creature by Half Alive

“You can't fight it, you can't breathe. You say something so lovin', but. Now I gotta let you go. You'll be better off in someone new. I don't wanna be alone. You know it hurts me too. You look so broken when you cry. One more and then I say goodbye…” - Heat Waves - Stripped Back by Glass Animals

“I need something bigger than the sky. Hold it in my arms and know it's mine. Just how many stars will I need to hang around me to finally call it Heaven? 'Cause I need somebody to remember my name. After all that I can do for them is done. I need someone to remember me…” - Remember My Name by Mitski

“Two steps forward, three steps back. Without warning, heart attack. He fell asleep in the snow. Never woke up, died alone. I don't wanna be. I don't wanna be me. I don't wanna be… Me anymore…” - I Don’t Wanna Be Me by Type O Negative

“And now it hurts what we've become. 'Cause you taught me how to love. It's me who taught you how to stop and you just say I drink too much. Maybe I'm defective or maybe I'm dumb. I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done. Maybe I'm bad natured or maybe I'm young. I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done…” - Sorry by Nothing But Thieves

“But it won't come from above and there's a hole in my chest like there's a hole in the sun. So tell me, what's coming next. I'm searching what's coming next. I've got a pain in my neck because I keep looking up. I'm searching what's coming next but it won't come from above and there's a hole in my chest and I'll make it my own. I've got a message that you can't ignore. Maybe I'm just not the man I was before. Take this from me, take this lonely heart, ‘cause I, 'cause I don't need it no more…” - Take This Lonely Heart by Nothing But Thieves

“Can't pick them out. Can't press them in. I'll never hide my scars. Can't pick them out. Can't press them in. I'll never hide my scars. Familiarity breeds. Familiarity breeds. Not only is it thicker, blood is stickier than water. Maybe that's relevant somehow. Can I explode now?” - November by Sparkbird

—-★

How Salem interprets himself — a battle of heart and mind:

“You want the acclaim, the mother of mothers (it's not worth it, Achilles) More poignant than fame or the taste of another (don't listen, Achilles) But be real and just jump, you dense motherfucker (you're worth more, Achilles) You will not be more than a rat in the gutter (so much more than a rat) You want my opinion, my opinion you've got (no one asked your opinion) You asked for my counsel, I gave you my thoughts (no one asked for your thoughts) Be done with this now and jump off the roof (be done with this now and get off the roof) Can you hear me, Achilles? I'm talking to you. I'm talking to you…” - Achilles Come Down by Gang Of Youths

What is interpreted as what his mind thinks compared to his heart— his current consciousness versus his inner child

“Stacked up to my height. Turn and see you cry. Crumpled down to my size. Broken by your father’s vice. Those years you don't remember. I spent crumpling leather. In the seat next to where you drive. Where you gave your best advice. Your favorite song line hurts. I didn't understand it at first. But an empty seat on your drive home. Reminds me of how often you are alone…” - Deep Down I’m American Werewolf by Crywank

“Well you don’t know me… but I know you.. and I got a message to give to you…” - O Superman by Laurie Anderson

Salem meeting his younger self— seeing how much he’s changed over the years, seeing how hate consumed him and how the world wronged him, but his inner child knows he’s still there on the inside. He’s still in there underneath the cold facade and distant nature, his inner child is hiding away

—-★

Bonus: A conversation with his younger self — what it would he like:

(blue = present self — younger self is like 16 years old, ‘pre’-curse era)

“Who are you?”

“I’m you.”

“What happened to us?”

“We got a curse. We don’t know how-”

“No. What happened to us?”

“We got bitter…”

“Why?”

“Because people used us…. Because the world hurt us…”

“Are we happy?”

“No.”

“Will be happy?”

“I don’t know kiddo…”

“Can you promise us to be happy?”

“I can try.”

—-★

#welcome to wolfshire #character psychology #character deep dove #original writing #original content #original character #he’s so tragic #Salem is so fucked up it’s insane #but that doesn’t mean he can’t be fixed #i can fix him #HE CAN BE FIXED #ITS POSSIBLE #i love his character so much #he’s so tragic yet he has a heart of gold #he’s just hurting #ALSO BLUE EYE SAMURAI MENTION #I had to #he has so many parallels with Mizu it’s driving me up a wall #ITS WASNT INTENTIONAL EITHER

[violent138]

Character Design: Masks

In The Batman (2022), masks are a recurring motif, (hello, the movie begins at HALLOWEEN) emerging repeatedly during the film. Masks are at the heart of the movie's themes of identity, purpose, and the past. I thought this motif and the characters it applies to are interesting so here goes:

Catwoman is the only person in the Batman whose suit doesn't represent who she really is. She is no more or less herself while donning it, hence all the scenes where she doesn't have it on. She takes her mask off to be her (and we see this when she loses her disguise while trying to kill Falcone and in all the rooftop scenes). Her outward appearance is always deception, wigs, her mannerisms, and her clothing. Her burglar suit is another tool, but it is not who she is. Merely looking at her outward appearance tells you nothing and misleads.

Gordon, Falcone, Alfred, and Penguin are examples of characters who don't wear masks AND are always fixed as themselves (personality/motivation-wise). This does not mean that they don't lie or deceive, but that they have no need to wear masks to achieve their goals.

Riddler wears a mask, but it's more like a crown. It's a symbol, but he's always in his identity and illness. Like Selina, Riddler changes his external appearance and name, but his suit is an extension of his most accurate, most free self. Riddler is not fully powerful without his mask, which disrupts his ties to weakness and cements him both as an everyman, an outsider, and an inspiration. So Riddler and Selina are contrary in that regard. However, the gang from the start of the movie, and several criminals do wear masks. And like the Riddler, these masks are unifiers that allow them to freely achieve goals and desires.

Batman or Bruce Wayne, is slightly boring, as there have been endless analyses on the man and the mask. But for completeness sake, Batman is a culmination of several of the characters listed above. His mask does partly showcase who he really is, but simultaneously, he's more or less always tortured Vengeance (mirroring the Riddler). Later, the mask parallels more of Selina's characterization, where it doesn't represent him fully, and is an object of fear, even as he becomes more symbolic of hope. His mask frees him to be who he really is, cuts him off from identity (unlike the Riddler), and puts him at odds with those who don't wear masks. The design of it also separate him from both Selina and the Riddler, as it is more solid and well formed, while theirs are suggestions right now, incomplete. He's in a middle ground of people, not able to be one or the other, both freed by and constrained by who he is.

Fin

#the batman 2022 #the batman #battinson #catwoman #selina kyle #mini essay #DC comics #the penguin #my hyperfixation continues #masks #identity #alienation #character analysis #An unnecessary deep dive #enjoy the fruits of my illness #character psychology #characterization

[kittyann]

@saladbroth @heretherebedork @chawarin-panich It’s interesting to note how Akk, Kan, and Thua were all repressed characters. Kan had internalized homophobia which kept him from being close to Thua. Akk had repressed nearly all his feelings, will, and ability to question life in order to fit the mold of Suppalo’s Student Prefect. His soul and individuality were forced down again and again and his internalized homophobia was just a piece to it. While Kan had awareness he was holding back, Akk had little self-awareness before Ayan. Finally, Thua repressed his feelings. He hid his thoughts and emotions behind a calm facade. Eventually, all the ugly, violent feelings inside snapped out of him. He resented Akk for perpetuating the curse. He resented Aye for concealing the “truth” rather than exposing Akk immediately. He resented the school for how it handled the protestors. And as for Kan, Thua still somehow cared for Kan in he midst of everything. I wonder if one of the reasons he resented everyone for concealing the truth of the curse is that that curse was one of the main things keeping Kan from opening up to him. I hope the show will address Kan and Thua’s fallout more in Episode 12. The revelations of Episode 11 force me to see Thua in an entirely different way. For instance, if he was the one to set the dummy on fire and threaten the three Jums’ lives, why did he break down crying with Kan? Why did he say he appreciated the Kan who protected him when Thua clearly was fighting for himself the entire time? Why did he out Akk and Ayan in public if he knew how hard it was for someone with internal homophobia (Kan) to open up, even to the person he loves? In that respect, Thua’s feelings are sympathetic but his actions and words hint at a person acting out of vengeance and self-righteousness. This is toxic. Why did the show gloss over that major breakdown of trust between KanThua? Is Kan in denial now because the Thua he saw doesn’t match the Thua he thought he knew. Thoughts? Help! Someone please help me reason this out. My mind gets getting tied up in knots just thinking about it. 😅

#the eclipse series #the eclipse meta #rant post #the eclipse episode 11 #kanlong x thuaphu #kan x thua #Thua’s hidden face #self deception #the need for truth at all costs #outing #internalized homophobia #repressed feelings #repression in general #Akk #Kan #Thua #the eclipse episode 10 #character development #character psychology #the victim turns the tables with violence

[ravenheartxvi]

Good News!

Chapter 4 of Second Chances is officially in the works! It took me a while to figure out the outline for the chapter and then how to expand the outline. Meanwhile I got sidetracked by my Anidala Modern AU and well... life.

As an appreciation for my reader's patience and an apology for my procrastination, here is a sneak peak of the beginning of the rough draft of the opening scene. Special thanks to Fialleril for introducing their worldbuilding for Tatooine Slave Culture. It gets mentioned in my fic though it is not the focus. I enjoyed exploring this wonderful fandom as I delve into the psychology of Anakin Skywalker.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Anakin Skywalker was a boy, he spent his days toiling under the heat of twin suns for a harsh master who held the controls of his very life in his hands. At night, his mother, worn down by the same life, yet resolute in her belief in fate, in the inherent goodness of others, hidden and bogged down by fear and greed, would tuck him in and tell him a story. Her stories were often spoken in hushed, reverent tones, in the secret language of their people. She would speak of their history, the legends that made up their home. Those legends consisted of mythic figures, godlike in their fables. Shmi Skywalker often talked about Ar-Amu, the mother, but little Anakin skywalker had favored the stories about Ekkreth the unfettered, the trickster, the slave who made free, and from whom they had received their family name. 

Little Anakin Skywalker had believed in Ekkreth without question, and he had believed that it was Ekkreth who had sent a Jedi and his company into their path to free them. It nearly broke him to learn that he would have to leave his mother behind in chains while he flew away, free to walk the sky. As Anakin grew, and he threw himself into his Jedi training, in effort to ensure that Qui-Gon didn’t die in vain, to prove himself worthy of his place within the Jedi, he believed in the old stories of his childhood less and less. 

As Anakin Skywalker held his dying mother in his arms and begged to the Force, to Ar-Amu to spare her life, to not let him be too late to come home, his faith in the stories of their people had shattered. A piece of Anakin Skywalker died that night in that Tusken Camp along with Shmi Skywalker. The stories that Shmi used to tell her son at night were just that, stories. 

“I tell you these stories, My Son, so that they might save your life one day,” Shmi Skywallker would whisper to her beloved son as she kissed his forehead goodnight. 

Stories, fables, legends were nothing more than a small comfort to make a life of cruelty more bearable. Anakin was certain of this as he scoffed at the very idea of something so outlandish being true. He had turned his back on the heritage he was born within, favoring the knowledge that he knew to be true. The Force, which he could touch, feel, understand through his training, was far more real than any mythical figure in a bedtime story. There was no story that can withstand a lightsaber, nor can it combat against the greatest feat of the Force. 

Stories were nothing more than a lie anyway, Anakin Skywalker, the former Darth Vader in another life, knew this to be true with a fatalistic certainty. After all, it was with the use of a fallacy, disguised as such a story, that had been the catalyst for the destruction of Anakin Skywalker and the birth of Darth Vader. If not for the tempting lie, crafted in the form of a story told to him by a man he was foolish enough to trust, he would not have fallen for the trap that doomed him, everyone he ever loved and the entire galaxy. 

Stories do not save lives, they give false hope. Anakin Skywalker had no time for stories. He had a time-sensitive mission, after all. He needed to focus, to plan ahead, because the enemy is always several steps ahead. Anakin needed to rise ahead of Sidious. Sidious had decades to plot and all Anakin had was a little over a year or less if he wasn’t careful. 

#anakin skywalker #star wars #time travel fix it #mentions of Tatooine slave culture #fanfiction #character psychology

[avikats66]

Dio and the Mothers of his Children

An attempt to explain how and why the mothers of Dio’s children might have survived their encounters with him by examining the character of the vampire himself. TLDR at bottom.

After becoming vampire (and even before), Dio is canonically shown to consider himself above humans and have very little regard for their lives, comparing them to livestock - or bread. He has no qualms about killing someone for whatever reason, whether it simply be convenient for him, or even just on a whim. So how and why did Giorno’s mother - and the mothers of his other offspring - survive their encounter with him? Why didn’t he just drink them all dry like he did with so many others?

Well, I see there being three possible explanations:

1. Dio deliberately left these woman alive for an undetermined reason not related to bearing his children

2. Dio simply couldn’t be bothered to finish off every single person he used for food and/or sex, and the mothers of his children were among the few who survived due to chance of circumstance/a stroke of really good luck

3. Dio wanted these woman to survive specifically so that they would bear his children

Let’s start with the first, and most complex, explanation. For what reason would Dio decide to not kill these woman in particular when he’s thoughtlessly drained so many others dry? I think that reason ultimately boils down to Dio’s superhuman existence, his view of himself as some sort of god or greater intellectual being, and the resulting boredom of the life he was living.

Dio separates himself from other people, holding himself apart as a superior being both physically and intellectually. In SDC we see him staying secluded in his Egyptian mansion, spending his time reading or philosophizing over the phone with Pucci. Prior to this he had spent five years wandering the world after his near century-long confinement inside a coffin at the bottom of the ocean. Dio has always been intelligent, and considered himself an intellectual of the highest calibre, which is pretty apparent if you watch/read PB. And after being released from the coffin, we learn that he’s developed a great interest in philosophy (something I think was shaped heavily by being stuck in said coffin alone for 94 years).

Dio’s new preoccupation with philosophy has not made him a better person though, and he’s still just as arrogant and conscienceless as he was in PB. He shows the same complete lack of empathy and disregard for the lives of people that he considers lesser - which is pretty much everyone but a select few who, even then, Dio does not truly respect or care for, just makes use of and considers of a slightly higher calibre than the rest of the inferior human livestock, such as Enya the Hag.

There is one exception though, one single person who Dio actually respects and considers not only worthy of living, but worthy of living in Dio’s presence. This is of course, Enrico Pucci. Though I doubt Dio’s ego allows him to truly view anyone as an equal, Pucci has managed to earn Dio’s genuine interest, respect, and even something akin to appreciation. How has Pucci accomplished this and somehow set himself apart from the lesser beings not worthy of any respect that Dio sees pretty much every other person as?

The answer, I believe, lies primarily in two factors. One is intellect, and the other is strength of character and will. Pucci was able to provide Dio with discussion he found genuinely interesting and entertaining, and Pucci was able to remain true to his own character and convictions by not bending over backwards and doing anything to try and please Dio, which is what pretty much every other enamoured, brainwashed, terrified, and/or desperate person who falls under Dio’s attention ends up doing, if they get to do anything at all but die.

Dio obviously still needs people to feed off of though, and the few times we do see him feeding - or the aftermath of feeding - the results are dry corpses. Dio uses people as food - and for sex. The mothers of his children had to be impregnated somehow, and unless Dio used some sort of vampiric method to intentionally get them pregnant with out having intercourse - one of the possibilities I listed but don’t think is at all likely as I will discuss later. That and the decidedly seductive and sexual vibes I get from SDC Dio are enough to convince me that he also used people to indulge in more carnal pleasures like sex aside from - or likely in addition to - feeding.

So Dio picks up women (and no doubt men too, let’s be honest here) to use for sex and as food. He plays with them, feeds from them, then kills them, and this probably goes pretty routinely. His victims are completely enamoured by him, completely terrified of him, or a mix of the two. Whatever the case, they probably don’t do much other than beg and desperately try to please him, probably not with all their cognitive capacities working at full potential either. This enforces Dio’s view of them as lesser beings of inferior intelligence, not deserving of any sort of respect or life other than that of his playthings and food. Any person who doesn’t demonstrate some sort of exemplary quality that proves their worth and superiority to the rest doesn’t deserve to be spared.

So what might a potential meal/plaything do in order for Dio to choose to let them live? They have to impress him by either entertaining, intriguing, or even earning some modicum of respect from him. A prime canon example of this is Hol Horse, who Dio decided to spare after he made a direct attempt on Dio’s life becuase he respected the other’s conviction and killing technique. This goes back to the two traits I mentioned - intellect and strength of will - that Dio respects in people. I believe that the mothers - and other potential victims of Dio - were allowed to continue living by him after displaying one or both of these traits which he so rarely gets to see in people due to the way he treats them.

Anyone Dio grabs for food/sex who differ from the usual behaviour he sees, who resist his supernatural charisma, who don’t become either fawning fanatics or terror-stricken prey, who are able to stand up to him in some way, who demonstrate a keen intellect and make compelling conversation, who otherwise manage to significantly surprise, entertain, please, or intrigue him, may be afforded the privilege to continue living on his whim. And personally, I think this is the reason, or at least the biggest reason, why the mothers and other unknown potential victims were able to survive Dio.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide your stance on this theory and determine any exact details or headcanons if desired, and instead move on to the second reason why the mothers (and some other lucky few) might have survived Dio.

As mentioned above, Dio has very little regard for other people, and kills them as easily as we might kill insects. The flip side to this is that while Dio doesn’t care if he kills people, he also doesn’t really care about killing them (unless he has some reason to want to in particular). The majority of people are like insects to Dio, and have no value beyond being food or a plaything. This usually results in death due to the nature of his activities, but it’s not like Dio cares about the vast majority of people he meets and/or uses to bother going out of his way to kill them.

Maybe he doesn’t feel like feeding, or doesn’t want to deal with the aftermath killing someone in a particular situation would cause, or just got distracted and moved on to something else. Dio does not fear any consequences or retaliation from killing - or not killing - any of these lesser beings who have no power to hurt or threaten him. It would be beneath him to go out of his way to kill every single last insignificant human he uses (though again most end up dying as a result from what he uses them for, or just on a whim).

Lastly, let’s look at the third possibility I listed: Dio deliberately let the mothers live becuase he intended for them to bear his children - perhaps even specifically picked them out to do so. I think this is the least likely of the explanations, given that Dio was never shown to keep any of these women around to assume some sort of custody over the children, nor did he ever make any attempts to find the children later in life - it’s very likely he didn’t even know anything of them at all. It may (or may not of, who knows) occurred to Dio that he was going to impregnate woman while he was hoeing around, and that since he obviously did not kill every single woman he slept with that there was the possibility that some of these women would go on to bear children from their encounter. Either way, he didn’t seem to consider the matter of his potential offspring important or interesting enough to have any involvement with it.

This, of course, would change by SDC, when he discovers the link and potential danger/use of the Joestar bloodline to him. In SDC he sets about to kill all the remaining Joestars, but in the years prior to this he seems to have made no effort to track down and kill any of the Joestars. He likely thought them to be beneath him, Jonathan being an obstacle Dio had surmounted, and thus all things related to him a part of a chapter Dio had finished. It isn’t until Dio discovers Stands that the he considers Jonathan’s descendants important and worthy enough of his attention.

So during his wandering years before the discovery of Stands, Dio didn’t have any apparent canon reason to particularly care if he spawned children with Jonathan’s body. In fact, I think the knowledge that he had probably sired children with Jonathan’s stolen body may have felt like a sort of “fuck you” to Jonathan and any lingering perceptions of power/superiority Dio felt he might still hold over him. Dio’s ego at this point would never let him outright admit to feeling like anyone held any sort of high ground over him, but subconsciously it may have sort of felt like: oh, you always thought you were so good and strong and moral Jonathan, but here I am using your body to sire my illegitimate children with random women. The knowledge that this would have upset Jonathan and that he can doing nothing to stop it, having been killed by Dio and all, was probably an unconscious feel good point for Dio.

But yeah, in conclusion: ⬇️

TLDR: The mothers of Dio’s children likely survived their encounters becuase they somehow impressed - or at least entertained - him with their intellect, character, or strength of will, coupled with the fact that Dio doesn’t care enough about all the different people he uses for sex to bother going out of his way to kill them. It is unlikely that Dio actively wanted these women to bear his offspring; he probably didn’t consider the matter likely or important enough to warrant any particular action on his part (at least until he discovered Stands and realized the significance the Joestar bloodline held to him).

I hope this was coherent and interesting enough for you. I really could have cited the specific sources of all the canon material I referenced, but I actually originally wrote this like, 2 years ago, and since I didn’t bother to record where the exact moments I sourced as evidence/inspo were back then, I don’t have them now. Not that this is a formal essay or anything; it’s just something I think some people might appreciate and I will maybe try and include this in future endeavours.

#dio brando #jjba #jjba headcanons #character psychology

[karmaalwayswins]

LocalScriptMan "The Key to Writing Criminally Good Relationships" (2023)

#localscriptman #screenwriting #writing techniques #writing relationships #dialogue #creative process #character psychology #attachment theory #video essay #video #2023 #Youtube

[verygoodv]

Briefly about Valentine Morgenstern and Tatiana Blackthorn:

#shadowhunters #the mortal instruments #tmi #valentine morgenstern #tatiana blackthorn #the last hours #chain of gold #chain of iron #chain of thorns #character psychology

[eliziarts]

Okay but I could go on a whole rant abt how the reason ppl often see more traits that coincide with not only autism but also personality disorders in cartoon chrs is because of the nature of the media. In children/teen focused entertainment, character traits are amplified. Their good AND bad traits are more accentuated.

Now combine that with the fact that any psychology class will tell u that personality disorders are often just larger scale feelings and traits that most people experience, but a line is drawn to say that they're SO intense that it must be classified as a disorder (psychology is dumb, a lot of psychology is literally just pseudo psychology and is based on a fucked up moral system, etc etc)

So of course people are gonna be able to project more on cartoon characters. Cartoon characters who are flawed often show multiple symptoms of certain personality disorders, neurodivergencies, etc. I think it may be worthwhile to think abt what that says abt the actual classifications and lines that are drawn in psychology in real life, and how harmful it can be, especially for ppl with cluster B personality disorders.

This also is worth talking about when discussing 'bad representation' of these neurodivergencies. For example, Catra from She-Ra is an extremely flawed character with trauma. But, due to being a cartoon character with these traits being accentuated, a lot of her behavior is similar to that of a person with BPD. Some would argue then that's it's wrong to make her an antagonist. But the things is, for the reasons stated before, many antagonists in children's cartoons are gonna have these traits. (Most cluster B personality disorders honestly which, again, shows how vilified they are culturally).

In the end though, even though Catra has these traits, and individuals with BPD may find a deep relation to her character, we have to remember this is a media that will accentuate any flaws, traits, or tendencies in characters. So we can't say 'this is bad rep' when it was never intended that way, merely a product of it's genre.

#then when ppl see chrs with these traits they think the media is more profound than it was meant to be #so they raise their expectations for how well it'll tackle certain things #like how sure catradora woukd be abusive IF THEY WERE REAL PEOPLE NOT EXISTING IN THIS FANTASY SETTING WITH FANTASY RULES #you can't take characters out of their context that's literally why there are written the way they are #sorry this was ramble-y #anyways psychology sucks lmao #psychology #character psychology #catra #catradora #she ra #cartoon psychology