#['why take the risk' he is literally actively suicidal]

[scxttershot]

I need everyone to take this quiz right now and reblog what element they get

[lena-thinks-too-much]

I finished reading the war games arc recently, and Dick is seriously going THROUGH it.

Like this is immediately after blockbuster. Dick is actively in a toxic relationship with Catalina. And his self esteem is lower than the pits of hell.

Also I think it's really interesting that Dick spends a lot of the arc trying to convince Bruce not to trust Tarantula. Which, obviously we as readers know why. But until Catalina is actively putting people at risk, Bruce kind of doesn't really pick up on it. And Babs does trust her either obviously, but that's more from jealousy than actually having a reason to not trust her.

And on top of the Catalina mess, and likely because of it, Dick is borderline suicidal the entire arc of war games. So much so that Tim notices and brings it up several times. Dick keeps running into fights without thinking, taking hits he could've dodged, and just overall being a mess.

Idk I feel like when people discuss wargames they focus a lot of Steph and Tim, for obvious reasons.

But wargames Dick really needs some love.

Literally.

[mdhwrites]

Is Amity a Good Person?

This is not if she's a well written character. A judgement of that is a part of this but the bigger point is just: Is Amity a 'good' person? Does she appear to actually care about others? Does she choose selflessness over selfishness? Etc. etc.

And part of this is going to be subjective. To some people, not being mean is enough to make someone nice. Other people will ask for a bit more, especially out of a fictional character. Hell, you can even see it with most fictional parties. The lancer character who is meant to contrast against the hero is usually a pretty dickish person but you might still call them good because even if they're cursing while doing it, they are still putting their life at risk in order to save a town or the like. Meanwhile, you probably wouldn't call Vegeta a nice person, even by the time of Dragon Ball Super because he is still mostly selfish, even once he's explicitly no longer trying t get stronger regardless of the consequences to others.

So what does Amity do that is actually nice?

...

........

Oh, were you expecting me to start listing things she does? Because I have bad news for you.

See, one hang up I have with going "Amity always wanted to be a good person and so even if she loses her drive, motivation, etc. she gains the personality of a good person," is that Amity doesn't do fucking anything to earn that. She isn't unpleasant. After S1, she isn't trying to murder people or actively bullying people but like... Cool, you upgraded from Mega Bitch to Background character. Why do you claim that's a new personality instead of the death of one?

Because being a 'good person' is actually more complicated than just not being an asshole. Being nice to your friends? Of course you're nice to your friends. You care about them (put a pin in it). Noticing when your partner is in pain and wanting to help them? You supposedly love that person, much like why you might be nice to family, so OF COURSE, you put in a little extra effort.

A good person, at least in a narrative, doesn't need the excuse. They help because it is the right thing to do and then their personality dictates how they go about doing so. Maybe they write wiki pages to share their knowledge in a free way so people can benefit from it. Maybe they help out at a soup kitchen because it gives them a chance to be more directly kind and they have the time for it. Or maybe it's just that when they see someone who is potentially having problems, they risk whatever it may lead to be asking this complete stranger if they're okay.

Amity doesn't do this. In fact, as far as actually giving a shit about anyone other than Luz, she's AWFUL at it. Hunter is her kindest moment to a theoretical stranger in the series but it is still characterized by her being suspicious, judgemental and not giving him a chance until the dude is suicidal and has drawn a dozen parallels between them. Even then, she does it as part of mimicking Luz, at least with the joke she immediately makes of how 'this always works for Luz'. Then you have poor fucking Willow. This is a girl that Amity abused, especially for her powerlessness and helplessness, for YEARS. Amity even knows explicitly why Willow should hate her. What her crimes are. But... Then 'good person' Amity, showing 'care' for her friend, treats her as powerless after having thought she didn't need to do shit to be allowed to come to Willow for advice (Labyrinth Runner and Falls and Follies respectively). That is TOTALLY someone who always just wanted to be a good person and is dedicating themselves to that instead of any of their old dreams and desires.

The only person or thing she puts any effort into post S1 is Luz. She doesn't care about anyone else besides that. Belittle Eda for not focusing on taking of Luz in a tangible way during Eclipse Lake? Check. Feel justified to give marching orders to literally everyone in the house just because she's Luz's girlfriend during that same episode? Check. Including Willow, who she has done NOTHING to make up for at this point? Check. Hell, even further: Not give a fuck about stopping Boscha while Luz could just step out of the splash zone around Willow during Winging it Like Witches? OF COURSE NOT. She only gets involved once Boscha's only focus is going to be on Luz.

That. Is not. A good person. Not if the only people who matter are those she deems are worthy of mattering. Changing from actively crushing those other people to just being entirely indifferent to them and their plights is not as a big of a deal as you all seem to think it is, not for it to become the only defining trait of a character's personalities and motivations.

Are they evil? Bad? No. But anything beyond nice is giving such a character a LOT of credit. A rogue isn't Robin Hood just because they only steal from the rich. If they're still lining only their pockets and the pockets of their friends with their thievery, they're still selfish and self centered, they just have code. That's called Lawful Neutral, or Lawful Evil, in D&D for a reason. Not any form of good.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[smileyvillainarc]

James Dark Mark Part 1

James takes the Dark Mark to prove to Barty that he doesn’t need to be alone in the world but Barty doesn’t believe him in the slightest. Sirius decides to intervene.

“He loves you fucking idiot!” Sirius screams as he grabs Crouch by his collar.

He wanted to choke him, punch him, literally do anything that would get the idiot in front of him to realise how stupid he was acting.

“Loves me?!” Barty shouted back in equal anger.

There was no way that Black was being that ignorant - after all their breakup was very public.

“Are you high Black? Because I can’t think of any other reason you’d be acting so delusional.” Barty paused for a second trying to calm himself down instead of throttling Black. Any other day he would be happy to throttle Black, but his arm was aching after the Dark Mark initiation and he couldn’t risk Black seeing.

“You of all people know why Potter dumped me in the Great Hall last week. After everything he’s gone through there’s no way he would love me - he can’t. I’m the evil that James doesn’t need in his life.”

Just saying those words made Barty feel pathetic. It wasn’t as though he had necessarily regretted his actions or the argument itself - it was somewhat inevitable. It’s just that every moment he spent without James left him desperately trying to fill a void that couldn’t be satiated.

Sirius was questioning why James dated him in the first place.

It was utterly infuriating that Crouch didn’t seem to get how much James cared about him, how he was literally willing to sell his soul to the Devil just so Crouch wouldn’t be alone. If Sirius hadn’t been so mortified by his decision, it would’ve been romantic, but no his best friend just had to be suicidal.

“Do you think James would’ve gone to the Dark Lord’s doorstep, begging to be initiated into his Death cult, the same stupid cult that killed his parents and are actively trying to kill so many of his friends for anything other than love?”

Note: It’s been a while since i’ve written anything so this is definitely a very rough piece but I hope you enjoy it! I’m thinking of writing a piece from James’ view and this thought process before doing this!

[2shebears]

I don't think I have the energy to keep on thinking of the guy who self immolated but I saw a post from yesterday that already has 20k notes saying something like he's "not here anymore because the ruling class decided genocide is fine if it protects imperialism." He's not here anymore because he killed himself, Susan. This is not 13 reasons why. The US could have easily been directly responsible for his death (he was active military) but in this case he set up a twitch stream and poured kerosene on himself and literally set himself on fire. like. batonroue.jpg

it also makes me think of the guy who stopped taking his AIDS medication until a local theatre calls for a ceasefire. I understand that there is a broader history of political self immolation in the modern era (post-WWII) but rarely do they occur across the world from the conflicts in question, and rarely do I see my peers hail them as productive martyrdom. I know we (rightfully) critique the US for sliding into authoritarianism but this is not a place where all forms of protest are a death sentence. choosing to swap out the rest of your life for this... I understand that he's getting the buzz he wanted, and that the shock factor is part of it, but it exhausts and scares me.

Another thing that gets me is that he was an active duty member of the air force. He must personally know people who have bombed innocents into dust. Maybe he himself has done that. and yet amid this entire over-inflamed media cycle he now thinks that the US's greatest sin and shame lies in a tiny west asian country the size of 2 LA counties stacked on top of each other. and that the best thing he can do is kill himself about it. And yes I am going to pathologize him because he made his life and now death a public deal. if that bugs you just look away. but this feels so in line with american gen z delusions of grandeur. he wants to be a hero so first he joins the military; surely that will be the adrenaline rush he needs. then his frontal lobe starts to gel and he realizes he's working for an imperial superpower, so he just fully pendulums over to being a radical and sets himself on fire.

And for the people trying to say this is about the irony that we glorify folks who die in war and pathologize and dismiss folks who set themselves on fire, I think my only responses have to be:

Self immolation is a modern (postwar) infectious phenomenon like school shootings; it's not a timeless tradition of human action or protest. it comes in waves and spreads by media coverage. it can be a real thing that other people do and still is extreme & suicidal behavior

We don't characterize going to war as extreme & suicidal behavior because conflict is sadly a staple of human civilization and our monkey brains create risk-reward cycles even before the dawn of nationalism. you always know that someone will die in the fight but almost nobody would go to war if it had the fatality rates of, again, setting yourself on fire.

I personally don't glorify people who die in war either. I feel sad mainly. I'm certainly not drawing political cartoons of their dying bodies. Or flash tattoos. Or flash tattoos of the cop who aimed a gun at them. Or russian constructivist style aesthetic graphics valorizing them. etc. etc. etc. I am going crazy.

anyways, I've been blocking folks who think it's okay to put snuff on my dash unannounced or glorify this as the morally correct action of a true believer. guys i love life & being alive. I have depression (albeit fairly well medicated) and i love life & being alive. and if you're reading this whether you agree or hate every word I said, I think you're better off being alive too. Please stay.

[gendergenius]

big hyperspecific to my life vent incoming

i have to be here for six more months. six more months of my fucking horrible roommate gaslighting my friend and making my boyfriend actively suicidal to where im consistently having to talk him down from doing it. i am having nightmares where my roommate breaks my things and kicks me out. my friend is too scared of them to do anything but act like they're still friends, which is encouraging the roommate to believe that my boyfriend and i are just crazy assholes when in reality all we've ever asked for is a relatively clean and relatively QUIET (because this roommate is constantly SCREAMING at their fiancee!) house and they're still insisting that we're the big fat meanies because we want them to be accountable for making the household a hostile environment. they always insist that we "talk it out" but every time we do they just deflect and refuse to take responsibility, then laugh at us when we get visibly upset. they literally argue like those jokes about men who think they're right as long as they keep a completely neutral tone of voice, and then as soon as you show a sliver of emotion it's OVER because you've LOST. they're absolutely impossible to reason with so i do not try i just keep my head down. but my boyfriend is still more or else sparring with them and engaging in arguments which i understand like in an ideal situation you're supposed to be able to confront somebody about issues but all it's doing is causing more trouble. my roommate is always involving my friend when he doesn't need to be and instead of telling them they're wrong and risk them having a meltdown, he just asks my boyfriend and i to back down because at least he knows we won't explode at him. this is terrible. why is this how im living. i thought my life was supposed to get better when i left home so why do i feel the worst ive ever felt

[theinsanecrayonbox]

oh boy it’s time for gay purple space cat space opera time! lol. why after 5 years did i suddenly get obsessed with this for like a week; who knows! but space cats, still love them. (and yes, Vex was doodled a year ago, but it’s been 5 years since any “real lore building” was done or Ven was even drawn, so it counts)

so, first is Ven and Jaks canoodleing in the hangerbay with a space blanket. second is a pregnant-with-Vex Ven

but the third installment, the main feature of this, is Siifa. oh boy, get ready for lore dumping

Siifa earned a nickname of “Wraith Slayer” in her time as part of the rebellion; she’s very good at what she does, and what she does is killing people. she’s melanistic, so she’s not exactly the best choice for infiltration subterfuge, however she does have a benefit to her that allowed her to get such a high standing; she’s not into dudes. this...is not exactly a pro-in the culture, but her “vow of celibacy and chastity” (as her the superiors like to claim it, to which she just rolls her eyes to) does mean that she doesn’t run the risk of falling to bearing kits, so it was worth investing time and effort into her training and cultivating the myth about her nickname. that being said, she did have a wife (not in any official sense, but everyone knows they’re mates, and fears her retaliation enough to not bash that where she might hear) named Thessy, who was not a field operative. her main partner for missions, and also kinda her best friend was a male named Aivon. they were sent on a literal suicide run though, neither expected to actually make it back alive, so as a final thing they did sleep together. the mission went as expected, but Siifa did (barely) return, while Aivon did not; Siifa also did get pregnant from that. Thessy was angry at first, and rightfully so, but with a little time to cool down she accepted it for what it was; she too had loved Aivon as a dear friend, was hurt by his loss, and well, at least this way the two of them could raise a kit together, and a bit of Aivon’s legacy would live on. Siifa’s superiors were not happy with this turn of events; after all, her refusing to bed males was supposed to avoid  this problem, and now she was refusing active fieldwork. thus, through some maneuvering from others, Siifa and Thessy got to be assigned to an alien settlement on the outskirts of occupied space, to take over as safe house keeper and information relay for the rebellion; it was far out of the Empire’s usual range, Siifa would still technically be working for them, but they could raise the kit safe and quietly enough for a spell before Siifa would be forced back into a more active role. however...that didn’t happen. one operative called Antrix had always had it out for Siifa, being very much outspoken against her sexual preference (you know the typical alpha dude that thinks he can fix any woman) and he just so happened to pass through their location, nearly blowing their cover and he was at a riot about the fact that “two queens were stuck out playing house”. Siifa nearly killed the guy, while very heavily pregnant mind you, but Thessy held her back and the two of them kicked him out of their home. not long after though, there was a bombing attack on the settlement, from the Empire, bent on rooting out traitors and culling for fresh recruits. Thessy died in the blitz, and Siifa was badly hurt and lost the kit. Siifa just knew that Antrix had something to do with it, it was too much of a coincidence; her superiors though wouldn’t believe her with lack of evidence. however, Antrix did turn traitor on them not long after Siifa was returned to full active duty; that was enough evidence to prove, so she was given the sanction to go for his head.

and now to how she entangles into Ven’s story (wow that was a lot so far lol). Ventis was on a way station/mining platform setup, training to be a repair tech, but also trying to teach himself how to be a pilot; he hacked his security clearance stuff to allow access to the hanger bays after hours to log simulated flight time (in fact, he altered a lot of his personal data), thus how he met Jakas, one of the generic guards. they hit it off, got intimate; the other guards caught wind of that, so they got Jaks reassigned off the base and ambushed Ven themselves one night. shortly after that, Ven discovered he was pregnant; he did not report that and avoided the medical center as much as possible, because if that was reported and logged he would be reassigned and never get through the training or get to fly...and his forging of his personal data woudl also be found out. his superiors obviously knew what was going on, but without a formal report, everyone just looked the other way and let him keep on working. ANYWAYS, he was up in the dark hours because of early labor signs (he didn’t know that’s what was going on at the time) when he ran into Siifa prowling the halls; she was leading a mission to the base to scrounge up information for the rebellion and concerning Antrix’s location (he might’ve been in charge of this place for a time?). she realized he was pregnant obviously, and would’ve just locked him in a closet to avoid trouble, but he quickly offered his help in hacking system locks before that came up, so she rolled with it. one thing led to another, others of her stealth team got sloppy and a fire fight started; they were pilotless, Ven quickly said he was a pilot, and despite members of her team (that had escaped to the hanger with her and Ven) saying that he was a liability and they should leave him, she over ruled and Ven managed to fly they out of the base as other things exploded (that was not originally part of the plan O.o) and of course, full labor started to kick in and thus panic. luckily by that point they were far enough out to escape detection, someone else could watch the auto pilot, and Siifa helped deliver Vex. so thus, returning to the rebel’s home base, Siifa was the main advocate for letting Ven stay on with them; as we know and see here, Ven was literally back to work right after having baby Vex, and kept him in a sling while doing so. Siifa was not a fan of that, and yelled at others for that. but you know, time goes on, Ven settled in, Siifa still hunted for Antrix, but would always check in on them when she was around; she basically became Vex’s godmother/aunt, and she loves him so much, and she and Ven have almost an older/younger sibling vibe at times. rescuing Ven and Vex was almost a piece of cathartic karma for her after all the loss she’d suffered. she even offered Ven, running Vex’s dna against Empirical files and going out to find his sire (for either reunion or vengeance, since he did tell her his history eventually) but he declined because that didn’t matter to him, Vex was his kit no matter what, and she couldn’t find fault in that thinking.

there’s a high chance she could be dead...she went off on a mission while back and hadn’t checked in in a long time. and Ven and Vex have been the crew on a small ship themselves far from base from a while too. but she could reappear, out of the ether, for a joyous reunion. who knows.

[hitchell-mope]

(Lillian Luthor’s Plan)

Kara: what the hell are you doing here?

Lillian: relax Mrs Danvers. I’m here to help. Not hinder.

Lucy: mhmm(.) A likely story(.)

Lillian (holding her arm up to reveal a baby Truth Seeker): oh but it is. You can rest assured that every word I’m speaking to you is the absolute truth.

Mon El: I feel like we owe those poor kids a hefty amount of financial compensation.

Lillian: you do. Andrea, come out of the shadows dear. I already know it’s you. And you are not to blame for what Leviathan or your father has done.

Andrea: does she know everything?

Karamel (exhaustedly): yes.

Lillian: well at least I’m on your side in all of this. I can help you put a stop to Lex and the imp.

Kelly: what about Esme?

Lillian: oh yes. The child. She’s a sweet little girl. And for what it’s worth I am truly sorry that she was caught up in my son’s machinations.

Alex: then why didn’t you take her and bring her back here.

Lillian: we’re all parents here Miss Danvers. Well. Apart from Miss Nal, Mr Ackerman, Miss Lane, Mr Olsen, Andrea and the children of course. And you know as well as I do that Lex would not have hesitated killing both me and your daughter had I interfered.

Carter: Ackerman?

Brainy: my human alias.

Carter: ohhhh.

Mon El: you said you were here to help.

Lillian: I am Mr Danvers. Believe me. I am.

Mon El: then cut the bullshit and help.

Lucy: I have several questions.

Karamel and Dansen: NOT NOW LUCY!

James: later Luce.

Lucy: but-

James (firmly): later.

Lucy (huffily): fine.

Nia: what’s your plan Mrs Luthor?

Lillian: your intention to use the satellite to give yourself a boost is logically sound but misguided in execution. Suicidal in fact. Both socially and literally.

Mon El: elaborate.

Lillian: everyone here knows you are not the governors favourites. She will not hesitate to shoot you down if she thinks your actions put the planet in danger.

Lucy: she’s right. The risk of it vastly outweigh the reward.

Kara: so what would you have us do?

Lillian: this is where Samantha comes in?

Samantha: me?

Lillian: yes dear. You. After. You have magic do you not?

Samantha: yes....?

Lillian: then it’s simply a matter of you transferring your magic to Mrs Danvers so she can fight Lex and the imp on an even playing field.

Nia: like Triassic Triumph!

Carter and Ruby: YES!

Lillian: explanation please?

Nia: Power Rangers Dino Thunder. Kira and Ethan have Conner their morphing powers so he could activate the Shield of Triumph.

(Everyone but Carter and Ruby stare at her blankly)

Nia: seriously? Were the only three who know that? Oh my god I’m young.

Lillian: yes. Yes you are. But more the point. Mr Ackerman. Would it work?

Brainy: theoretically yes. But from what Nia’s told me about that show it could leave Samantha vulnerable and temporarily depowered.

Mon El: I’ll bring Samantha back here, put here under a sun lamp and then fly back to cover Kara.

Alex: what about us? We’re Esme’s moms. She needs us.

Kara: you need to stay here. Help Cat Morgan look after Ruby and the twins and keep an eye on Lillian.

Alex: like hell we will-

Kara: this is not up for debate. The best thing you can do for Esme right now is stay out of it and let us rescue her.

Alex: but-

Mon El: she’s right. We’re all worried about Esme. But you and Kelly being there won’t be helpful.

Alex: we’re her mother’s.

Mon El: I know. That’s why you can’t be there. You’re not thinking clearly. It’s not a bad thing. In fact it’s extremely commendable. But it is a liability. Trust me. If it was Eddie and Tony you’d be benching us and you’d be right for it.

Kelly: he’s right Alex. You know he’s right.

Alex (reluctantly): okay. Okay fine. Fine. But bring her back. You had better bring her back

Kelly: or we will never forgive you.

Mon El: we wouldn’t expect anything less.

Kara: alright for this we need to split into teams. Mon El, Nia, Brainy, James, Samantha and J’onn. With me. The rest of you. Stay here. Guard Ruby and the twins and oh fuck.

Mon El: what? What is it? What’s wrong?

Kara: we know where Lex is. We know where Lillian is. What about the other one?

Lillian: oh Lena. I forgot about here.

Kara: please tell me you killed her?

Lillian: what? No! Well. Not yet. She’s sedated. Heavily. She won’t be a problem for at least a week. If she lives that long. The dose was originally manufactured for stampeding zoo animals.

Mon El: well that’s. Helpful. I think. Shall we go?

Kara: I think we should before Lucy starts grilling her.

Lucy: don’t worry cuz in law. She’ll be answering my questions at gunpoint.

Lillian: well this is a slightly unfortunate situation.

Lucy: only for you.

Kara: everyone knows the objective. Winn’s in charge of the Tower. My team with me and-

Samantha: I don’t think I can do this. I’m still really new at this magic thing and-

Winn: Samantha. It’s okay. You can do this. I’ll be watching everything over the comms. I’m here for you. Always.

Alex: that and you don’t have a choice in the matter.

Kelly: not when our daughter’s in danger.

Mon El: we’re a team. You’ve been practicing. I’m your CO. I know you can do this. Trust us.

Lillian: you’re running out of time. If you’re going at all I suggest you go now.

Kara: c’mon. Let’s go.

(Mon El, Kara, Nia, Brainy, James, Samantha and J’onn all leave. Lucy turns to Lillian with a harsh smile on her face)

Lucy: my turn now.

Lillian: I’m in trouble aren’t I?

Lucy: yep

Lillian: ah crap.

(End of Lillian Luthor’s Plan)

[bohemian-nights]

Is the writers playing again with us or what? Ryan said audience is gonna hate the Blacks next season and yet it seems they're doing everything to make them look better than how they're supposed to be in the book (?)

Book Rhaenyra: Useless in the whole Dance. She does nothing but crying over her dead children and whining and rage over Daemon not returning to her.

Show Rhaenyra: More active in the Dance only they know how lmao in love with Daemon but after the choking who knows (?)

Book Daemon: Doesn't give shit about Rhaenyra or family, but only power. Cheating on her and ultimately betrays her for a younger woman.

Show Daemon: Idk about his feelings for Rhaenyra. He sends contraddicting signs, sometimes he looks a bit caring, many other times indifferent and at the end MAD at her. Yet he seems more loyal and devoted to family, defenitely cause of Viserys but it's like he feels to have a endless debt to pay cause of him or something? I don't see love but obsession and yet this obsession make him more sympathetic.

Book Daemyra: He takes her virginity, cause yes in the book Daemon actually sleep with Rhaenyra and there are witnesses who claims that and he does that FOR THE THRONE, while Nyra falls for him. Yes she's weird as hell. Anyway, only wife Daemon loved in his life was Laena. Never cheated on her and always respected her. He doesn't love Rhaenyra at all and only marry her for political reasons. The wedding is described as scandalous. Far from each others during the Dance except when they're taking KL, but whole time before that Daemon is at Harrenhal and after that at Maidenpool, in both occasions, riding someone else lmao By the end Darmon betrays her orders and suicide or faked his death rather than returning to her.

Show Daemyra: Daemon feels guilty and has no guts to sleep with her cause actually cares for Rhaenyra in his weird way, but he does. Daemon is bothered by Laena who says she knows she's the second choice cause she does know about his obsession for Viserys who pushed him on being obsessed with Nyra, what a mess, and before that Daemon even is flirting with a man right in front of her salad! Rhaenyra making soulmates speech and proposing to him, the Valyrian wedding to make them romantic. Dance starts, idk if he will cheat on her chance is 50/50 to me at this point, but leaks is saying she's reaching Daemon to Harrenhal. Nettles might risk to be cut out to make them some Bonnie & Clyde shit. Lol i don't understand when they say writers is pro Green cause they made Daemon & Rhaenyra much better than book, especially Daemon. He's way much worse in the book than in the Show. In the Show he seems more human and emotional, yeah he doesn't express emotions like the others, but in the book he seems the coldest emotionless mf till he meets Nettles. Only her has been capable to warm and melt that ice heart, so now im wondering are they gonna do that cause of Rhaenyra? I don't understand writers, i swear. I know ep 10 things went down bad, but according the choices they made currently it doesn't seems they want the ship to sank as canonically does.

Are we watching the same thing? Dumbnyra hasn't been shown in a positive light on the show. Daemon has been using Missy Anne. That’s been clear from the get go(people have just been ignoring it).

They started out with Daemon creeping on his underage niece. They have shown Daemon abandoning her on three separate occasions(brothel, her wedding, after dry beach sex).

They got zero chemistry. She’s had to beg his a** to marry her. Daemon literally abused Miss Maegor. He choked her out after she just gave birth, she was crying out for him and he ignored her, and he is only “obsessed” with her because of Gollum.

She’s replacement Gollum. He doesn’t actually want her(and her dumba** has daddy issues too which is why she’s hounding him and why she got giddy and started taunting him when she knew Gollum lover her now) and now he’s realizing Gollum wasn’t what he thought he was so he’s especially butthurt(and Mrs. Epps is afraid of his a** now).

This isn’t Boonie and Clyde or whatever other couple y’all want to compare them to.

S2 isn’t going to be Dumbnyra taking names and kicking butt(they are spending most of the season apart and it sounds like B&C will be a source of contention for them).

Dumbnyra both in the books and the show is not a romance. It’s never been a romance. It won’t be a romance.

They might be trolling a bit(to see people’s reaction to Nettles being cut), but Nettles isn't being cut from this show(s2 maybe, but not from the show). Valyrian Karen, Rhaena, Addam, or whoever else isn't replacing her.

[linkspooky]

Spinner, the Heart of the League

In response to Spinner’s short monologue about Dabi last week, there’s been a lot of (in my opinion) mischaracterization, of these words as misunderstanding Dabi, or even as jealousy. Spinner’s low self-worth is definitely a flaw he needs to overcome, because it leads him to doing dangerous things like accepting a quirk from AFO when he’s known to blow people up for defying him, and risk it all for Shigaraki. 

However, Spinner seeing the best in other members of the league is also his greatest strength as a character. What people are missing is literally nobody before this point referred to Dabi’s determination as a good thing. Just like Toga noticing and referring to Dabi as a kind person when he burns down the home of her childhood trauma, the other members of the league are basically the only ones who see any good in Dabi’s actions or frame him in any positive light. Everyone else sees Dabi’s lifelong determination as a problem that he should just stop and give up on his goal of bringing Endeavor to justice, Spinner is the only one who recognizes that Dabi’s convictions are his strength. 

1. The One With Everything. 

Spinner referring to Dabi as “already having everything” isn’t jealousy, nor is it mischaracterization, because the context of which is different from the way AFO, Endeavor, Shoto and almost everyone else refers to Dabi. Yes, Spinner is in fact viewing Dabi through the lens of his own lack of self-worth, but also in complex character writing flaws and strengths are often one in the same. For example, 

Dabi’s flaw is his tunnel vision the belief he’s had to do everything by himself, first proving to his father that he was worthy of being trained, and later on in life taking down his father. This tunnel vision has also led Dabi to spurn any attempt to connect with him, including other members of the league. However, Dabi’s tunnel-vision is also a positive quality, he has strong convictions he never gives up on, he got this far and survived by himself through his own hard work. 

“The past never dies” his unwillingness to forgive Endeavor makes him one of the few characters who actually wants to hold an abusive hero accountable. His anger can be a positive thing, because instead of just letting go, he’s actively trying to change the world, and this drive is compelled by traditionally negative qualities (need for revenge, unwillingness to let go). 

I went to length with those past two examples to show that what are considered to be character flaws are usually strength and weaknesses at the same time. Which is why spinner is not wrong, for framing Dabi’s actions in a more positive light. Yes, maybe Spinner misses out on the fat that Dabi is actively suicidal, but I think we should contrast the way Spinner refers to Dabi to the way literally everyone else does. 

SHOTO: YOU CHOSE TO BE A MURDERER ALL ON YOUR OWN. 

UJIKO: IDK MAYBE HE WAS JUST BORN EVIL BEFORE AFO.

ENDEAVOR: IT’S NOT MY PARENTING TO BLAME. NO IT WAS TOUYA WHO WAS SIMPLY BORN TOO STUBBORN TO GIVE UP ON TRAINING. 

I’ve commented on this in past meta before, but Dabi tends to get scapegoated by his own household and also the public to blame Endeavor’s actions in a more positive light. Rather than confronting Endeavor about his actions and putting a stop to him, it’s easier to just put the blame on Touya for being the problem child and refusing to let go of his training. 

Everyone around Endeavor constantly frames Endeavor’s good qualities while ignoring his bad qualities, to excuse his actions, well he’s a good hero so who cares about his family drama. The opposite is true for Dabi, everyone focuses on how Dabi needs to stop, without seeing the good in what he’s done, that he’s trying to hold heroes who have committed murder and crimes accountable. The focus is always on Dabi stopping, and no one seems to realize Endeavor is the problem maker, he’s the one who needed to stop and still has yet to change his behavior. Maybe Dabi shouldn’t stop considering Endeavor and Hawks received slaps on the wrist for murder (Touya did in fact, die as a child because of Endeavor’s neglect), buying a spouse, etc. etc. 

And I’d like to point out one final thing in regards to the relationship between Spinner and Dabi. Dabi has literally never been anything less than an asshole to Spinner. He calls Spinner by names he requests not to be called by, and doesn’t apologize. He belittles Spinner on his biggest insecurity. 

When Toga was going to leave the league behind to pursue Ochaco, Spinner was witness to Dabi pretty loudly proclaiming that he doesn’t care what happened to her, and it was Spinner who rallied the league and reminded the rest of them that they were all mourning Twice’s death. Spinner has been exposed to some of Dabi’s worst traits, he’s been pretty much nothing but unsavory around him and Spinner still sees good in Dabi, and more good than his family ever saw in him because that is what Spinner does. 

AFO set up Shigaraki to be a symbol of hatred, someone so broken and always constantly in a cycle of lashing out that everyone around him would only see him as someone to be hated or feared, a representation of the ugliness of society. Spinner was the first person to take all of that in, and still see the beauty behind Shigaraki’s actions. “The warped crumbling horizon... I’d never seen anything prettier” it’s not just Spinner falling in love with Shigaraki’s dream, it’s also a turning point the first time a character actually sees that Shigaraki’s destruction can actually lead to something, change, which is what motivated Spinner to start cosplaying Stain in the first place, a desire to change things. Every character before this characterized Shigaraki’s goals as just an empty desire to destroy, Re-Destro did, before him Chisaki, before him Stain. Spinner was the first to see that Shigaraki doesn’t just want destruction, but also a change to the society that excludes him and people like him. 

2. Spinner’s Heart is his Strength

So marketing and merchandise has set up the league trio to be Dabi, Himiko, and Shigaraki. However, I would say the actual writing of the story (Ie the characters with character arcs), sets up the three main protagonist of the league of villains as Shigaraki, Spinner, and Toga. 

Between the three of them a nice little alchemy triangle is set up. In brief, most of the time the main characters of a work are divided into three categories. The characteristics of a “Mind” character are obvious, they’re the logical thinker of the group, the planner, seperated from their emotions. While the main character is usually a heart character (think in the case of Deku / IIda / Uraraka, Deku is clearly characterized by his good heart), in this case Shigaraki is a mind character more than anything else because the main focus of his character is how detached from his emotions he is, his agency over his own mind (AFO literally tries to mind control him). 

That would leave Spinner and Toga. Toga is someone who looks like an obvious heart character at first, she sucks blood, she falls in love, however I would say Toga’s entire character complex revolves around her lack of a heart. Toga doesn’t have anyone to love, and anyone who loves her, so she mistakenly searches for those two things in order to “fix” herself. However, a deeper analysis of Toga’s character will reveal she finds much more satisfaction in her platonic connections with the rest of the league which are altogether healthier, than the strangers she develops crushes on and stalks. Toga’s power is also to transform her body, into anybody else she wishes to be, in true Mystique from X-men fashion. 

Which leaves Spinner as the heart. I mean, people already constantly comment on this, the way Spinner’s complete and utter devotion to Shigaraki is written, is the way most female shonen leads are written in regards to their male counterparts. If there are two lead characters of a work, protagonist and supporting protagonist one will be marked as a mind, the other as heart, corresponding as the emotinoal counterpart to the minds rationality. It’s not always male mind / female heart, but female characters in general tend to be written as more in touch with their emotions, and more actively empathic towards other people. ANYWAY. All of this to say, readers have already noticed how much Spinner is invested in Shigaraki’s emotions and well being, even going so far as to protect them, like he’s acting like SHIGARAKI’S HEART or something... idk...bro... seems pretty gay. 

A lot of people tend to act like Spinner worships the ground Shigaraki walks on and that’s all there is to his character, but no, Spinner is just extremely emotionally intelligent and capable of understanding emotions in Shigaraki that Shigaraki himself isn’t understanding. Spinner often acts as the voice to the emotions Shigaraki is repressing. He will even get confrontational with Shigaraki about it, when he noties something Shigaraki doesn’t seem to notice. 

Shigaraki is just as disatisfied as the rest of the league here with the poor state they’ve been living in and their lack of progress, but Shigaraki won’t ever voice it, because he’s a repressed little baby (this is the proper academic terminology). He relies on Spinner to act as his heart for him and actually confront him about the emotions he’s feeling. 

Spinner also doesn’t just act this way in regards to Shigaraki. I would say previously Twice was the heart of the league, seeing the good in everyone’s actions, focusing on the league as a group of friends above all else, but as a part of Spinner’s character development in reaction to Twice’s death, Spinner has almost comletely stepped into the role Twice previously inhabited of giving everything he has to be of use to the league, and seeing the good in the league’s bond with each other. Spinner and Twice even share the same flaw of low self worth, Twice doesn’t see a life outside being a crimminal in the league of villains, Spinner views himself as the most expendable member of the league. However, that trait is both a positive and negative, because it’s that exact insecurity that also drives their protectiveness for the league and their determination to help their friends.

Another common trait of heart characters, they tend to be both strong and weak of heart. Spinner is weak of heart, because he lets his insecurities get to him and constantly belittles himself. However, he’s strong of heart because he can remain such a caring person after everything he’s been through, even in the case of the event that pretty much shattered the bond between the league, Twice’s death, the loss of Compress, AFO taking over, Spinner is still desperately working to protect both Shigaraki and the rest of the league. His lack of a self makes him not want to take care of himself, but his lack of a self also makes him want to take care of others. 

So people point to Spinner’s low self esteem and say it’s a problem that’s causing him to critically misunderstand his friends, but it’s more complicated than that it’s just a part of who he is with both positive and negative aspects. For example, you have to look at the way Spinner views the league in comparison to the way everyone else does. 

Yes, Spinner might be slightly mischaracterizing Toga’s desire for love as freedom, but also he’s also the only one who engages with her and talks with her, and doesn’t dismiss her as crazy. Dabi just thinks she’s an insane girl until right before the second hero war arc. Spinner asks questions about Toga’s love, because he views her as a person and wants to understand her, he doesn’t just reject the idea of her chasing love from the outright. Spinner’s remarks are humanizing because he actually listens, in contrast to how dehumanizing the heroes can be. 

There’s no, BUT IF YOU FEEL THAT WAY, YOU MUST NOT BE HUMAN. There’s no characterizing Toga’s flaws the same way Dabi’s flaws are characterized. They’re not a human being, just a villain to be stopped for exhibiting those qualities. So yes there’s the ‘you’re so free’ line, but there is also the fact that immediately after Twice’s death, Spinner is the one who recognized her grief over Twice and the desire for the league to stay together. 

The heroes only see Toga as the destruction she causes. Twice and Spinner are the first characters to frame her actions in any sort of positive light, and give value to her emotions, and motivations, to see past the destruction she might be causing in her lashing out. That’s the power of this scene. Twice calls Hawks out, because he only sees villains in terms of the destruction they might cause or the threat they present to society, and not as human beings who are just as capable of empathy and kindness as any other human. Twice was the only one who recognized that Toga had the ability to do just more than destroy, she could reach out and help people, she helped Twice and that meant something to him. She’s not just a serial killer, she’s also a little girl in pain capable of sympathizing with other people’s pain. The ability of the league members to see Toga as more than just the serial killer she presents herself as, is pretty telling of their bond. Compress goes from being a solo act in the league to constantly babysitting her and checking up on her. Spinner goes from not understanding her, to telling her that he mourns Twice’s death the same way she does. Even Dabi, very recently started to realize that Toga was more than just a murderer, she was someone treated horribly by her household. 

This is in stark contrast to the heroes who constantly say shit like. 

“Yeah, I’m looking at the destroyed city scape to remind myself that these villains aren’t people.” (I know that Uraraka is still debating what to do about Toga, but seriously how messed up was the implication of that before Deku actually spoke up that he wanted to see Shigaraki as a child in need of saving too.)

So, yes Spinner does tend to put other people on pedestals in order to belittle himself, but that’s not all there is to his character. Spinner is the heart of the league. It’s because he believes his own heart to be empty (almost full on tin-man style) that he is not only constantly trying to take care of the emotions of other people, but also acting as a humanizing force for all of the league. 

People bring up Spinner’s decision to put the hand on Shigaraki’s head in the first place as what allowed AFO to start taking over, but that’s not really true. What allowed AFO to start taking over was... the fact that Ujiko was already planning to do that in the surgery. Remember, the symbolism for that last remaining hand is two-fold. Yes, the hands are representative of Shigaraki’s trauma and the past he’s trapped in. 

However, the hand on his head is also theorized to be Nana Shimura’s hand. Nana Shimura, the same one who after testing Deku on his willingness to kill Shigaraki, also requests him to save the last remaining member of her family. Even in the hallucination itself the above panel appears in, Shigaraki is shown to have mixed feelings on whether or not he wants to remember or forget his family. He first appears as a child saying he’s forgiven Hana, and apepars quite affectionate for his mother, and it’s not only until he’s reminded of his father’s violence appears again that he shifts back into his adult self and rejects all of his family. 

Destroying the hands in Deika was not in fact the final moment of Shigaraki’s character arc, because the solution is not for him to just destroy his past trauma. If Shigaraki let Tenko, and his connection to his family die entirely, that would be doing exactly what AFO wants him to do. He’d cease to be Shimura entirely and become “Shigaraki” the next vessel for AFO. This is symbplized from the fact that despite him destroying the ahnds, one of them revived from the wreckage still. 

And of all people it’s Spinner who finds that hand. Symbolic of Shigraki’s last connection to his past tauma, despite his desire to be rid of it and destroy it. So yes, Shigaraki’s rage is what allows AFO to manipulate him, but that’s not all it is. 

Spinner was the first and only to see the beauty in Shigaraki’s rage, his destruction, because he’s right to be angry about a society that excluded him and continues to scapegoat both him and his friends rather than confront it’s own flaws and it’s own heroes. Shigaraki doesn’t rage because he’s an empty force of destruction like AFO has tried so hard to condition him into. While Spinner putting Shigaraki up in order to keep putting himself down might not be the healthiest thing in the world, it’s also important to remember that Spinner is one of the few characters genuinely invested in Shigaraki’s well-being, who desire him to live past all of this. (Toga showed concern for him too while he was writhing around on the ground in pain. Dabi didn’t show any concern at all, and that was when AFO gave him the you have no friends speech, so it’s my opinion Dabi’s lack of concern for Shigaraki in that scene was to show how cold he still is to other members of the league and how that’s a flaw). 

 It’s because Shigaraki is still human, his rage comes from the part of him that values his friends, is angry about the way he was treated by society, it’s because he cares that he rages and that human part of him is what cannot be discarded. Trauma isn’t something you destroy, you just, live with it. 

There are two characters who are invested in saving Shigaraki, one of them is Deku, the other is Spinner. These two characters are also, coincidentally, the hearts of the trios they inhabit. (Idk even if you think Uraraka and Iida and Deku aren’t the canon trio then the other trio set up for Deku is with Bakugo and Todoroki and he’s still the heart in there). It is Spinner and Deku who are constantly thinking of other people’s emotions first before their own, and reaching out to protect their hearts. If it’s Spinner’s flaw to have no regard for his own well-being and not to value himself enough, he also shares that flaw with Deku. It’s the two of them acting as the heart for different aspects of Shigaraki that are going to save Shigaraki in the end, because Spinner cares for Shigaraki’s adult self and believes the way he currently is isn’t beyond salvation because that’s what Spinner does, sees beauty in the empty, destroyed horizon, and Deku is the one who recognized that Shigaraki’s past self deserved better and he’s still a child in need of saving. 

The line AFO uses to manipulate him is specifically a Deku line, and also the central theme of the series. “Everyone can be someone’s hero.” Deku was already a hero when he was just a faceless quirkless kid in the crowd, Spinner when he was just a random NEET with a desire to change things was already a hero, because it’s not powers or a costume that makes a hero but the ability to reach out and try to save others, and that’s what Spinner and Deku do. 

[arwamachine]

I am absolutely obsessed with Sherlock’s relationship with his own life throughout the series. From “risking [his] life to prove [he’s] clever” in ASIP to being willing to shoot a bomb if it meant taking Moriarty down with him in TGG to, you know, literally jumping off a building in TRF, he is very careless with his own life and more than willing to throw it aside. He voluntarily chose an exile that would lead to his death in HLV and was actively suicidal in T6T. Which makes the culmination of his arc in TLD so beautiful to me—here, he recognizes the worth of his own life, his attitude switches to “your life is not your own, keep you hands off it,” and, at the end, literally proclaims “I don’t want to die” with tears in his eyes. It is genuinely lovely to see Sherlock realize the importance of treating his own life with care.

…which is why it is all the more frustrating when he is right back on his bullshit in TFP, threatening to kill himself instead of Mycroft in a bluff to Eurus.

In summary, TFP is the fucking worst.

[valwentinefics]

I’m saving you - Dark!Helmut Zemo x F!Reader

A/n: Hey guys It’s your friendly neighbourhood Zemo simp Aur. Law class is kicking my ass big time so sorry this took so long for me to post. I really like dark Zemo so if you’d like to send requests that’d be really nice but I can’t promise they’ll be out fast! Also the gif on this just makes me go AAAAA. Not sure if I like this or not, but I loved the concept and it was a request so it’s being posted anyways.

Warnings: Zemo is basically a yandere, kidnapping and drugging, mentions of Zemo’s family’s death, past suicidal Zemo, swearing.

Word count: 1736

Plot: It was difficult for Y/n not to fall for Helmut Zemo and soon she would realize it would be even more difficult to get away. When she tells him he can’t protect her from everything he knows he has to find a way... even if his methods are unconventional. (Takes place during episode 4 of tfatws, cannon divergent and possible part 2)

Y/n laid in Zemo’s bed, her fingers gently tracing the small scars from knives and bullets that littered his bare torso. His warm earthy eyes watched her with soft adoration as she laid her head on his chest, sighing contently as his hands ran through her hair. This was something that happened often between the two and Y/n arguably loved it more than the sex that came before it. It was nice laying in the quiet. The only sound that filled the room was their breaths or Zemo’s occasional quiet and rough humming.

Y/n had been apprehensive about Zemo when she first met him. She had never before encountered him in person but he was a popular topic on the news when he was arrested and tried for what he had done. As a friend of Bucky she had originally been against the man, giving him harsh glares whenever he spoke or came too close to her, but eventually against her better judgement she began to develop a fondness for him. It was hard not to when he would talk to her oh so kindly with his beautifully articulate accented voice, or how he’d look at her as if she was the only person in the room when she spoke. His intelligence and various skills attracted her to him even more, and Y/n found herself falling for the man before she even had a chance to breathe.

She lifted her head off his chest and sat up, running a hand through her hair to try and fix it from the messy state it was in from their previous activity. Y/n sent a smile to Zemo, her arms in the air and back arching as she stretched before getting off the plush bed, walking around the room to gather her clothes.

“Where are you going, Liebling?” He asked sitting up, a few unruly bits of hair falling into his face. She was the only one he would allow to see him like this, soft and not well put together.

“Well, me and Bucky have plans to walk around and see if we can find out any information about the Flag Smashers.” She said casually, pulling on her clothes.

Zemo’s body tensed. “I’ll come with you.” He said as he picked up his clothes that had been discarded on the ground and putting them on as he found them.

“No, two people is enough, any more and it’ll look weird.” Y/n explained, placing a hand on his chest to stop him.

“But what if you get hurt, you know what they’re capable of.” He countered, his eyes wandering over her face, filled with concern.

Y/n let out a soft laugh. “You know, you won't always be able to protect me from everything Helmut. I’m not fragile, have some faith in me.” She pressed her lips against his for a second before walking out, not seeing how his eyes hardened as her words sank into him.

Helmut Zemo had lost everything before he found Y/n. Formerly the leader of EKO Scorpion, a Baron of his country, and a father, Zemo had it all until it all came crashing down. Literally. When the dust settled upon Sokovia he wasn’t only looking at the ruins of his country, but of his life and everything he had achieved. After that he was consumed by vengeance and sorrow, dedicating what he believed and intended to be the last year of his life to avenging his late family. When he was put into prison he felt no joy for how his plan worked, only numbness as he waited patiently, anticipating his eventual death. However when Bucky assisted his escape and brought him to the mechanics where his eyes met Y/n’s, he suddenly found a reason to stay around longer.

Zemo ran his gloved fingers through his hair, his jaw clenched as he thought to himself. He couldn’t lose Y/n, she was the one thing he had. He had lost so much previously that even the thought of losing the one last person who belonged to him was almost enough to send him into a frenzied state. Y/n’s words kept echoing in his head, mocking him as he stood. He had to do something, he had to find a way to protect her from everything. 

-

Y/n laughed at Bucky’s joke as the two walked back into Zemo’s home, a smile plastered on her face. She was unaware of Zemo’s glare burning holes into where Bucky’s hand rested on the small of her back. Y/n didn’t see any issue with how close she and Bucky were, even leaning more into his larger body to steady herself as she slipped off her shoes.

“Y/n, how did it go?” Asked Zemo who laid on the couch, his voice sounding tense.

“Nothing productive.” She sighed, waving to Bucky as he quietly went to the room he was staying in. He didn’t like being around Zemo more than he needed to which she understood.

“You should have let me come along, I’m good at getting information.” Zemo said, standing up. His movements were smooth and confident. She admired how he always stayed and looked in control no matter the situation. “Would you like a drink Liebling?”

Y/n nodded in reply, heading to the couch and sitting by the arm rest, enjoying the simplicity of the situation. Just two lovers enjoying a drink together. It made her feel awfully domestic and she enjoyed it. In another life maybe they could have lived like this everyday, quietly enjoying each others company, but it was an unrealistic dream. She was a friend of Bucky and Sam, she would never truly experience peace and safety. There would always be a villain threatening someone, and Y/n would always have to help stop it.

Zemo walked back over, handing Y/n her glass and placing his on the coffee table, freeing up his hands to pull Y/n into his lap. They stayed in silence, Y/n enjoying the whiskey. She downed it quickly, noticing Zemo must have gotten her a different type than usual, it had an odd aftertaste but she didn’t mind it enough to bring it up. It was calming being with Zemo, so much so that her eyes grew heavy, and she leaned into his chest while letting out a content sigh.

-

The sound of soft music gently pulled Y/n out of her sleep, her eyes squinting as they adjusted to the bright light coming from a window and falling onto her face. The place she was in was odd and unfamiliar. The realization that she had not fallen asleep here and her arms being bound tightly behind her back with a soft fabric sent waves of panic through her body as she jolted up, looking around the room. Where was Zemo and the others? Were they safe? The room itself didn’t seem dangerous, the furnishings similar to that of a nice hotel. It was tidy and well kept which almost made it more frightening than it would have been if it was dilapidated.

“Hello?” Y/n called out, moving to the edge of the bed, her feet dangling off as she was about to stand up when the door creaked open, revealing Zemo. Relief flooded her body as soon as she saw the man, instantly feeling a little safer.

“Helmut, where am I? Why are my hands tied?” Y/n looked at him questioningly.

Zemo smiled at her as he approached. “This is all to keep you safe.” He said, his hand tucking some stray pieces of hair behind Y/n’s ear as he stood before her.

His words confused Y/n. “What do you mean this is to keep me safe? Helmut what’s going on?” She struggled to free her hands. Something wasn’t right here. The feeling of dread ate at her stomach as she watched him.

He shushed her softly, his hand gently stroking the soft skin of her cheek. “Stop struggling, you don’t need to worry about anything anymore. I couldn’t handle the thought of you getting hurt any longer. I knew I had to do something, I can’t lose you too. Maybe I slipped something into your drink, I apologize for that. It was a necessary evil to get you here, where you could be safe with me.”

Y/n’s eyes widened as she stared at the man in front of her, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily upon her. “Helmut, why the fuck did you kidnap me?” 

“Don’t look at me with such fear Y/n, it hurts me.” He frowned. “From the first time I looked in your eyes I knew you were different from the rest. You just have a quality about you, something indescribable that draws me to you. I was lost, suicidal, every day I spent waiting for death, until I looked in your eyes and found something to live for. The thought of you getting hurt… I just can’t even stomach it. You’re all I have and I can’t lose any more people I love.”

His words scared her, sending a chill through her body. “I won’t tell anyone if you let me go, I won’t leave you either. We can pretend this never happened!” Y/n pleaded desperately as her mind raced. 

Zemo’s hand tightly gripped her jaw in anger, his gloved fingers digging into her skin roughly. “Don’t speak like that, I’m risking so much for you right now, a little gratitude would be nice.” He growled, before exhaling, letting go as he calmed himself down. “Apologies, I suppose I do understand where you’re coming from, I know what it’s like to be locked away. Liebling, I promise to you that I will never hurt you. I’ll give you everything you could possibly desire. All I ask for in return is your love.”

A sob escaped Y/n’s throat, tears falling down her face. Zemo pulled her into his body as if she was made of glass, his arms tenderly holding her against his warm chest. “I want to go home.” She cried.

Zemo sighed. “This is your home meine Liebe. I’ll cherish and care for you. One day you’ll learn to appreciate it, and we’ll have a perfect family. You’ll thank me for this once you realize I’m saving you.”

[maxwell-grant]

Cass wouldn’t even begrudingly tolerate [the Black Bat], because she’s even less lenient than Bruce on killing and far more willing to throw down.' - THANK YOU for remembering that.

Cass is my favorite Batfam member, the only one really that I have an active interest in reading about. I'd be incredibly ignorant to not bring bring up such a crucial aspect of her characterization. And even if I didn't personally care for her, well, last thing I'd want is to be another source of frustration for Cass fans. Lord knows there's enough of those to go around.

mousebrass also asked: On that note, how do you imagine a meeting between Cass and the Shadow going?

Fair warning: This one took me 6 hours to write, and it became a hell of a lot longer than I imagined. I liked Cass a lot, but I never quite realized I had this many feelings regarding her until I was tasked with writing this, and a lot of things clicked for me regarding my plans for The Shadow thanks to this ask. @mousebrass, thank you. I mean it. I think I may have found something here I've spent years looking for. Hope you enjoy the post.

I'm thankful that this scenario is only really taking place in a hypothetical fanon where both characters can get a fair shot, because I wouldn't trust DC with this premise. I don't trust DC with either of them as is.

There's a lot of ways that this crossover could go on about taking place naturally, initially because Cass is already connected to some of Batman's pulpier elements, due to her connections to Lady Shiva and the League of Assassins, and one could connect Cass to Myra Reldon (who really should just be race swapped if ever brought back so she can stand out as the cool character she is, without the yellowface gimmick holding her back). There's two things I think are crucial to making the most of this idea, and the first of which has to do with the subject of killing. I usually don't like to come up with hypothetical team-ups for The Shadow that focus too much on the fact that he kills, because it's far from the most significant aspect of his character to focus on, much of it is written from a wrong understanding of the character, and it never amounts to anything other than perfunctory. But here, not only is it completely unavoidable to discuss, here there is actually a very, very substantial grounding as to why this has to be such a big part of the story.

The first and foremost thing that's gotta be established to everyone reading that doesn't know already is this: Cassandra Cain, more so than Batman, more so than any other DCU hero, has a tolerance towards murder lower than zero, and this is completely non-negotiable. She will throw herself on the path of an assault rifle to stop men trying to kill her from accidentally killing each other. The defining moment of her incredibly grim backstory is that she was trained from birth to be the world's greatest murderer, and her first kill traumatized her so badly that she has pivoted as far away from that as possible. I stress a lot that the Shadow should not be written as the trigger-happy maniac comics made him into and that the pulp version killed mostly to defend himself and others, generally left criminals to the police if possible, offered plenty of second-chances, had stories dedicated to the rehabilitation of criminals and so on, but none of this would matter to Cass.

Cass has literally chosen suicide over the prospect of living with murder on her hands time and time again, and The Shadow kills. When he kills, he does so without remorse, with unshakeable certainty. He hates death, he doesn't want lives to be at risk in the first place. But people will die if he doesn't do anything, and what he can do, what he exists to do, is turn the tools of evil against evil, and murder is the oldest tool of evil there is. He doesn't kill because a war scarred him, he doesn't kill because he's got a demon in his soul, he doesn't kill because he's mentally off balance, he doesn't kill because he's evil or sadistic or arrogant or anything of the sort. He kills because the men he fights chose death when they sought to harm innocents and fire guns at him. He kills because he is Death itself.

Regardless of how compassionate he is or can be, regardless of the fact that he's motivated by a desire to protect people, regardless of how justified he is, he is still dropping corpses and laughing maniacally doing so. Cass's real arch-enemy isn't Shiva or David Cain, it's Death, it's the thing that she's fundamentally most opposed to. And guess what The Shadow gets compared to often enough? Literally the very first line of the very first book where we get to see him, this is how we are introduced to him:

So the premise here is that we are taking a character who is defined by her fundamental opposition to death with every fiber of her being, who understands death on a level no other human being does, who is traumatized and hard-wired to detest death at all costs and to choose suicide over it, and asking her to team up with The Grim Reaper.

Even if he received the most abject lesson conceivable on the sheer wrongness of murder, even if he does put down the guns around Cass out of respect for her, he cannot protect his agents and others if he cannot shoot or kill those who try to harm them, and the protection of the agents is absolutely non-negotiable and not at all something he's willing to fuck around with by trying out gadget kung fu superhero alternatives. The Shadow has chosen to throw his life away for their sake time and time again, and no matter how appaling or disgusting Cass finds his deeds, even if he concedes that she's right and should be right on all accounts and that he is fundamentally a monster who has no right to judge others, he would not concede on his mission and he would make it very clear she would have to put him down violently to stop him from protecting others this way, and death has not stopped him before.

And to be upfront in case there's anyone who doubts it, Cass would kick The Shadow's ass, if they had to fight. She is the strongest fighter in the DCU, she lives and breathes fighting and combat in a way no one else does. And The Shadow's not one of those characters who is supposed to be invincible and the best at everything all the time always, he can and does lose fights and scrapes to people far less adept at it than Cass. He's a great fighter, obviously, he hauls bigger men than him through doors and was disabling people with Vulcan neck pinches decades before Spock, and he would definitely have an edge in other areas, but he's out of his league here. Frankly, I don't see The Shadow raising a finger against Cass unless she's been brainwashed into killing people by bad writing. Not because she's a woman, that doesn't really stop him from dealing with evil. But because, for one, she's practically a child compared to him age-wise. Two, he'd obviously know beforehand of her capabilities and how futile it would be to fight or even provoke her. And three, the Shadow's whole thing is knowing. The Shadow Knows and all that. Knowing comes with understanding.

He'd understand very quickly that there is no way someone this young could grow so quickly into the world's greatest fighter without horrific treatment that no one should ever be subjected to. He'd see the movements too practiced and quick, the self-control, the strength and speed far beyond even the trained warriors he's seen, the places where she's been scarred and is good at covering it up. Assuming he doesn't already know about her life story, any meeting between the two would lead to him very quickly figuring out that there's something much deeper about her opposition to killing than just moral reservations, something deeper than Bruce's own gun trauma.

Denny O'Neil's 2nd Batman and Shadow story was about The Shadow secretly helping Bruce overcome gun trauma, and Bruce rejecting The Shadow's intentions to hand him a gun. And to make it clear, people tend to assume that The Shadow only helps people for utilitarian reasons, which is not true as I've tried to demonstrate many times now. I don't want to convey that he would want to help Cass overcome her trauma just so she could be more efficient or something, absolutely no, he'd help her because he helps people in any way he can. I think a story with The Shadow and Cass might involve a similar premise, The Shadow understanding that she has been traumatized very deeply by death and refuses to accept it on any terms, trying to help her overcome it, only to learn that she does not want to "learn" anything she doesn't already know, that she has weaponized her trauma into a source of strength, and wishes nothing more than to help others with it.

And here's where we get to the part that allows the two to be on less antagonistic terms, because one thing that also very strongly defines Cass, at least the Cass I like reading most, is her stubborn, almost desperate need to believe in the best of people, that people can and will change for the better. Like The Shadow, her strength too is knowing, it's perception, the things that she knows about people that words cannot convey. Just as there are many things The Shadow would grow to understand about her that others would not, there would be many things that The Shadow would not be able to conceal from her. Things that no one but her would figure out. Things that, despite her age and lack of experience compared to him, he would have to defer to her knowledge on, which reverses the usual dynamic The Shadow has with people. And perhaps one aspect of that reversal, it's that maybe it's she who winds up secretly manipulating The Shadow into overcoming a deeper issue.

Cass's perspective on killing is shaped not just through trauma, but from a painfully intimate understanding of not just what happens to someone at the time of death, but the cost of murder upon the human soul, the ways it warps people into things they never should have been. Killing is a deeply, deeply serious matter, much more so than fiction seems ever willing to go into. Of course we suspend disbelief for fiction, there's nothing wrong with that, but if a story starts asking questions, starts poking holes into fantasies, they should not be disregarded.

And so it begs a question: How has it affected The Shadow? Is he really as remorseless as he appears to be? Is the fact that he's only killing evil people really of that much use? What's the cost of living as someone who has to know so much about so much evil in so many hearts? Knowledge never comes without price, and knowing evil is his tagline. When he enlists Harry Vincent, he makes it very clear that he has lost lives as he has saved them. From when is that regret coming from? What lives did he lose then? Is he saving people by damning his soul or merely prolonging the inevitable by piling corpses on another end of the scale?

If there's a character that could meaningfully start bringing these questions forth, who could ever truly get The Shadow to stop and reveal things to the audience he never would otherwise, maybe Cass could be that character. A girl who was raised to be a monster, who is treated as a monster and an aberration in-universe (and even outside of it), and turned that into a strength she uses to help others, who cares about everyone and refuses to let others be dehumanized as she was. Who better to know what lurks in the Shadow's heart?

Sometimes when I get an ask, I bullshit my way through infodump walls of text until I can structure it into something vaguely resembling a point. And sometimes, and I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes I get a very, very clear word on my mind related to it before I start writing, that almost seems to be a beacon pointing where I need to get to, and I work my way into getting there. Once you sent me an ask about crossing over The Shadow with Cassandra Cain, the word that came to mind the very second was Language.

It's an interesting relation the two have with language. Language is of course a very substantial part of Cass's character, who does not process language and linguistic development the way most people do, and instead reads body language to the point of superpower. Many stories revolve around Cass's relation to the concept of language, the help she may require from others in getting around things beyond her upbringing, and ways in which she has mastered beyond anyone's scope. Though she is mute, language is her power, what makes her what she is, and she is someone that Batman freely admits could kick his ass if she ever felt like it.

For The Shadow, language is also his power. He speaks all languages and connects allies all over the world, he is an expert ventriloquist, he is able to project his voice beyond what's physically possible, he can imitate voices perfectly to the point of being able to conduct group conversations single-handedly well enough to fool even the people whose voices he's imitating, much of his presence and terror and manipulation are done through his voice, arguably the very reason he exists in the first place is entirely because a radio actor's voice performance was so good and captivating that it tricked people into thinking the character was a real star and not just a glorified narrator. The man you cannot see, but only hear, the perfect hero for radio. And then of course the laugh, which I have a whole separate post on and which, in many ways, acts as a substitute for language in the novels. He uses the laugh so often as a substitute for statements or words, even to himself, that it's pretty much his own personal language. And language is at the core of how he deals with people, as he knows the right language to use to manipulate and move and help them. He knows what to promise, what to reveal, what to omit. He knows what to say, how to say it, when to say it. Language is the strings by which he puppeteers the world around him (and he can talk to animals, at least of one kind).

The Shadow and Cassandra Cain have mastered two different types of Language as throughly as anyone can possibly master them. The Shadow can talk a group of hardened criminals into killing themselves, Cassandra can punch a heart into stopping without killing it. The Shadow echoes his voice "through everywhere and nowhere at once" to whip crowds of thugs into frenzies, Cassandra outraces missiles and was tanking bullets as a child. The Shadow can lie and usurp lives so masterfully to fool even the families of those he's passing off as, Cassandra is a living lie detector who gleams inner conversations from miniscule reactions. The Shadow can speak every language known, Cassandra is the greatest master of the world's most universal language other than music. The two are supposedly human, but every now and then, something comes along to call that into question because of the things they can achieve. They cannot hide secrets from each other the way they do to everyone else. They are driven by a deep desire to help others, to make something out of the circumstances of their lives. To weaponize that which dictates they should be evil and monstrous into a relentless force of good.

Language is the root of understanding. And if nothing else, as impossible as a conciliation of their approaches to crimefighting may be, I think there could be an unique understanding between the two. Perhaps, and this is a bit crazier a concept but one that seems to be where I might have been heading towards all along, even Cassandra Cain finding a calling away from the frayed dynamics of the Batfamily, away from the Bat's looming presence, to become The Shadow's successor, swearing to uphold a mission of justice through non-lethal tactics while he stays on the backseat guiding her. If The Shadow could trust the safety of his agents and the protection of the innocent at the hands of someone as capable and selfless and good-natured as Cassandra, I think he'd be all too happy to be able to trust someone in such a manner, to no longer be the Master of Darkness, but instead to serve the next generation that's weaponized darkness without submerging in it. To achieve, and perhaps return, to his strongest, highest self: A disembodied voice heard, but not seen. Once again the narrator, not the star.

It's a concept I've thought about very extensively for the years I've been a Shadow fan, but now it occurs to me that, if I had to appoint a successor of The Shadow, someone who could take up the mission but shine on their own right, even improve it with the right guidance and circumstances, it would be Cassandra Cain. The Orphan, The Shadow of the Batgirl. Daughter of the greatest assassins, meant to be the world's most lethal murderer, instead pivoted to being one of it's greatest heroes, but never allowed to shine as she should. But in the darker, less restrictive and wilder world of pulp heroes, in The Shadow's world, a beacon would shine all the harder. Perfect strengths attached to perfect opposites, joined together for a greater good, unstoppable after together having weaponized that which most take for granted: the power of language to move worlds.

[shadyteacup]

If you’re still doing requestsssssss how about a hcs of Dazai x fem! Reader who is like Midari from Kakegurui 😌

Ooh thats a nice one! Yes love, I'm still doing requestss

And I'm so sorry, this is so late... also it's very long n I'm not exaggerating. It's not even funny I'm so sorry

I'm Crazy, But I'm Free

Dazai x Fem!reader who is like Midari

• You and Dazai probably met during his days at the port mafia.

• I can imagine the mafia capturing you because of how much trouble you were causing in a casino.

• UK, when big businesses pay gangsters for security?? Yeah, similarly the casino you were playing at, has paid the mafia.

• You were already banned from many other casinos, as your games either end with you gaining a lot of money, or begin with a dangerous condition.

• Many people were quite afraid of you, and wanted to avoid even being in the same room as you, as they couldn't handle the severity of the danger you pose with every game.

• Anyways, so you were warned by a few members of the mafia twice, but you, being the fearless adventurer you are, flipped them off and continued to seek a life threatening game.

• So then the mafia decided to use violence, and cornered you in a dark alley. You pulled out your beloved gun.

"Well, well, well! Do you boys want a fight!?", you excitedly point the gun at them.

"Put your weapon down, Ms. L/N. We are here to warn you for the final time. Stay away from this casino. Further misbehavior will lead to dangerous consequences."

You hum, thinking up a plan.

"How about this. My revolver has 5 bullets. And there are five of us. How about we all take turns to shoot blindfolded!"

You excitedly shove them in a circular arrangement.

"I'll go first! The rules are that every person gets a chance to shoot from the center of the circle. If the bullet misses, everyone takes a step ahead, closer to the center."

You explain, grinning at the men clad in all black.

"If a bullet hits me, I'll agree to your terms. If it hits one of you lot, then you can't stop me anymore. What do you say?!"

The mafiosi were weirded out by this. What if you had a good aim, or an ability that allowed you to shoot them with your eyes closed? They didn't have much intel on you, and only knew you to be a girl from a rich background, who had come to Yokohama for higher studies.

"That's enough. Grab her-"

• Thats when our boy showed up. Dazai was curious when he overheard some of the men talk about some 'fearless girl that had flipped them off even after two rather threatening warnings.'

• So he had decided to tag along, staying in the shadows, until now.

• "I think it will be a wonderful idea. Play along, gentlemen. I want to see where this goes."

• You shot, and missed. So did the other guy. Then the other one. Now, the circle had shrunk really small. You were almost in the line of fire at this point. There was an 80% chance of getting shot.

• "That's enough." ,Dazai said, as he walked to stand in front of you.

• "You are daring, aren't you. You're not afraid of death."

• Staring into his eyes, you saw a reflection of yourself. A dark, lost soul stared back at you.

• "In fact, you arranged this little game to ensure that you got hurt. You perfectly planned it out, and ensured that as the circle gets smaller, you would be in the direct line of fire."

• "You missed the first shot on purpose, didn't you?"

• He had seen right through your game.

'What's this guy's deal?', you thought.

"Why would you stop the game when it was at its peak? Hah? Whats wrong with you, man?!", you angrily grab his collar. "I was just beginning to have fun, and here you are, ruinjng it!"

• Taken aback by your bravery, he just blinked at you.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, obviously, idiot. But that doesn't give you any right to interrupt our game."

"Oh? So who do you think I am."

You give him a 'baka janiono?' look.

"You are their leader. Probably an executive of the mafia, judging by your expensive suit. Why?"

The thoughts running through Dazai's head were along the lines of :

'Just who is this girl? How does she know about the mafia? Surely my men weren't dumb enough to tell her who they work for. How does she know about my position? She surely didn't just guess that, right?? And why the fuck does a student have a gun? Does her family have connections within the underworld? She obviously doesn't fear death. Will she be a good addition to the mafia?'

• "What are you thinking about, baka? Answer me."

• He smiled sweetly at you, and firmly gripped your wrist, pushing it off his collar.

"There's someone who would like to meet you"

Before you can retort back, he continues,"You seek adventure, do you not? You want to feel something worthwhile. Something akin to facing death, something that will give you an adrenaline rush. I can give you all of that. If you come with me, that is."

• Mori was shocked when he heard about what had happened. He agreed with Dazai's decision to make you join the ranks. He needed such fearless crackheads in his organization.

• He paired you up with the double black, making you an executive too. You hadn't quite agreed to his terms, but he had offered you to just accompany the ginger and the brunette on a mission. And had let you make the final decision .

• You three had to go to an abandoned warehouse, where some people were tampering with the mafia goods. There, you saw how sadistic Dazai was. How manipulative and bad he was. It made you fall for him. Hard. Plus, you realized the risk of being a mafiosi. It was quite thrilling.

• When you got back, you had screamed at mori to let you join. Quite literally begged. And he, ofcourse, agreed. You hadn't even given him a chance to threaten your life, which was the usual norm, when a valuable asset wasn't willing to join the ranks of the feared organization.

• You trained with dazai. And purposely got hit. It turned you on. But you never mentioned anything, in fear of being rejected.

• Dazai, ofcourse, noticed this, and one fine day, confronted you about it. You told him just how much you love him. He was always intrigued by your sadistic side. He saw a part of himself in you. The daring, brave, smart side of yours was something so similar to himself, yet unique. You were seeking the same thing that he was, that is to feel something. He felt sadness, and loneliness, and he never had a purpose in life. You, someone who had it all, a good family, a great marksheet, and a pre set goal in life, were willing to give it away, just to feel something. He, someone who was stripped off of a normal childhood, was never given the opportunity to choose. He used to think that maybe he was to blame. Maybe if he had had better luck, he would have gotten a good childhood, a purpose. But now that he knows you, a genius, smart person, who had it all, but threw it away, he realized that maybe life really is worthless. Maybe, he wasn't to be blamed. And that, oddly enough, made him feel better. To know that no matter how much lady luck favors him, life would still be fucked up, and that it wasn't his fault, made him hate himself less.

• And so, you two became a thing.

• Let's just say, that both of you are equally freaky.

• You want him to dom u, and he gladly accepts

• You guys try it all... I mean, especially with guns.

• I can imagine you both sitting at a boring meeting, when you decide to edge him on, and you're not even touching him. Your gun is.

• You both claim atleast one spare room on every floor of the building, for your.... activities.

• You are like his praise queen.

• He loves that.

• Always rough. Always. And you guys are into spicing it up.

• Anyways, you both never decide to commit double suicide.

• Thats because dazai wants a beautiful way out, while you want to feel the thrill of facing death. You don't really want to die, you just want to know the feeling of almost dying. You want to feel something exhilarating.

• When Dazai decides to leave the mafia, you are all for it. As long as you get to stay by his side, you were ok with it.

• Like Midari, you are a very perceptive person, and can easily guess what's going on in someone's mind. Dazai was easy to read for you, as his thoughts were pretty similar to your own.

• You were smart, cunning, and could read peoples mind with ease. So it was pretty easy for you to guess what's going on in Dazai's mind, sometimes even predicting his next moves.

• You really fit in with the ada, coz that place is filled with crackheads, and you and dazai are no exception lol

• Also, you get along with Yosano really well.

• Like, if you weren't so loyal to dazai, you would have become Yosanos slave. So would i ngl

• Anyways, you and dazai always mess with kunikida. You two prank him till the breaking point. You two are such a menace in the office. Always skipping work, slacking off, but really shining when it comes to actual detective work, like solving mysteries.

• You are a valuable asset to the ada, coz 1. You are smart and 2. You can intimidate the enemy into giving in, thanks to your sadistic games.

• You are also a very good companion. You can easily understand what the other is feeling, and end up comforting the gang.

• I can imagine you roasting Kunikida for being such a nerd, but at the same time giving him accurate and well needed advice .

• You do the same for your bf, and the two of you have many late night convos about topic that Dazai had never discussed with anyone before. Because no one had quite understood him the way you did.

• Midari is actually a pretty deep character, and just like her, you have many layers. There's the sadistic side, the goofy side, the careless side, the intelligent side and the insightful nature.

• You would be his perfect partner, as you'd support his crazy, reckless ideas, but at the same time keep him afloat, and prevent him from drowning in his own thoughts.

[muninnhuginn]

Thought I’d list out some interesting characterisation points for Sang-woo. Mostly just observations but with a few of my personal opinions chucked in. Spoilers for all episodes below cut.

Ep 1:

He has a reputation of a “genius” which has hindered him more than it has helped.

He’s also in serious debt and no one close to him seems to be aware at least in part because he’s been hiding it from them.

Ep 2:

He raises the option of a vote from the rules they signed. And yet, when it comes to his time to vote, he still votes to stay.

He doesn’t have money but he still spends. Notably he also makes sure Ali has bus fare despite having no money himself. It’s hard to tell in retrospect whether this is kindness or him trying to play the role he’s expected to. I err towards legitimate kindness considering they both know he’s heavily in debt due to episode 1, but can’t rule out it being a role thing. Something about how he always wears a suit when in the outside world despite his financial position being so bad (alongside his “genius” reputation) does read like he’s playing a part so that people don’t find out how badly off he truly is.

His scene in the bath, very much set up as pre-suicide. He always intended to die if he didn’t win because he couldn’t face living otherwise.

(Personal opinion: The point at which he chose to vote to stay is when he decided he was either going to win or die. Notably, he loses his glasses after this point.)

Ep 3:

He figures out the game they’re going to be playing but doesn’t tell Gi-hun though he clearly considers it. Sure, it may be that he’s unsure of his conclusion, but for all his insecurities about his reputation, he really doesn’t strike me as anything but confident in his own conclusions. So he lets Gi-hun take the fall and potentially die without Gi-hun ever realising he could have saved him. In this situation, it’s not that Sang-woo would die if Gi-hun didn’t so it’s not outright the same as the Ali situation later on, but there are definite similarities in how he lets someone else potentially die and gets away before he has to see the consequences of that.

I will say that staying quiet is very different from actively manipulating a situation to get someone killed so I do still see this as much milder than the episode 6 example. Or rather, episode 6 is a clear escalation from episode 3.

Ep 4:

“Our team already has enough girls”. Like, uh... if I’m being generous he was thinking the next task may be strength-based, but it was just as likely there would be a game that would involve crawling through small spaces or something where men on average would have been a disadvantage. If I’m not being generous? Well, it speaks for itself.

Ep 6:

He gets desperate and starts using his previous instances of legitimate kindness as ammunition to Ali about why he “deserves” to be the one to live. He’s panicking and desperate so I wouldn’t say you can take these as his “true” thoughts all along, but it’s definitely stuff he’s thought before without acting on.

Him choosing to trick Ali is where he solidifies the “me vs. him” mentality introduced in ep 3 that then follows him through the final episodes. If it’s the choice between him surviving/winning (and those are literally the same thing to him) and someone else dying, he’ll choose himself to live every time.

Ep 7:

Me vs him continues with the glass maker. They were on a timer so if the glass maker didn’t decide on time then he risks losing by running out of time and so he acted to prevent that and to guarantee the final step on the bridge was clear.

Ep 8:

Similar story again to previous to episodes. He thinks tactically in terms of the votes and how the two remaining players could force the game to end. Which means one of them needs to go out of the picture or he’s out of the game, which makes him desperate. Gi-hun then leaves Sae-byeok to try and get help and there’s his chance.

His hand shakes and he’s clearly out of it after he kills Sae-byeok.

Ep 9:

Culmination of the character beats laid down in ep 2 with him choosing to die if he can’t win because he couldn’t face living in his situation.

General observations:

His cleverness isn’t just a case of tell not show. Even when he’s desperate he’s very tactical about it. The trick with Ali, pushing the guy onto the next piece of glass on the bridge, the fact he had counted and realised that Gi-hun and Sae-byeok had a majority to be able to leave the game and that’s why he acted.

At the same time, he’s very sensitive about his reputation as a “genius” and though it’s never outright said it’s very easy to infer that this reputation likely stopped him from seeking the help he very clearly needed or even confessing to his mum (who was incredibly proud of his achievements) what had happened. Instead, prior to the series, he was actively avoiding her. Obviously desperation is a key motivation for most of the players, but there’s something to be said in Sang-woo’s case for shame being a driving force behind that desperation.

As an extension to the suicidal contemplation he goes through, Sang-woo very much sees winning the game = living and not winning = dying, which colours a lot of his decisions, especially once you get near the end. With ep 8, he saw that Gi-hun and Sae-byeok together could stop him from winning/living and so killed Sae-byeok so that he wouldn’t lose/die by virtue of not gaining the money.

[not-poignant]

I was lurking in the discord, but I was wondering what exactly about Ef would classify him as a "soft client" to Dr. Gary? Is it just because he recognized that Ef is incredibly capable of loving underneath his trauma? Or like because he hadn't had like extreme cases of violence for a period of time? Or is it just like a combination of everything haha

We’ll probably have to give some actual context to Dr Gary’s job here, which I know I’ve done before but I can’t be bothered looking for the ask/s so I’m going to do it here in more detail.

Just a heads up that there will be a frank discussion/detailing of very disturbing themes which will include the malicious rape and murder of minors. (I.e. things that we do not deal with directly in the Spoils of the Spoiled universe at all). Mentions of client death by suicide.

Dr Gary is a specialist psychologist who actually focuses in on the clients that no one else wants to see. That doesn’t include people like Efnisien. Dr Gary sees the teenagers who have been raping their parents or terrorising them for years because it’s fun, he sees the juveniles who have raped or shoved foreign objects into their toddler siblings and killed them through mass internal bleeding, and felt nothing else about it except ‘well I ruined that one and now I think I’d like to find another one.’ He sees teenagers that are resistant, usually hit every part of the Macdonald Triad, have often/usually killed already, or have certainly raped before in a malicious or serial fashion, and almost always express no or minimal remorse for their actions.

They are manipulative, pathological liars who have very little interest in respecting the mental health system or psychologists, they often don’t want to get better, or show minimal interest in getting better, and they have a high recidivism rate (i.e. rate of going right back out there and committing crimes). A significant percentage of Dr Gary’s clients have eventually gone on to commit suicide or end up in maximum security prisons.

But Dr Gary is - due to his own personal interests, and due to his set of skills - suited to specifically helping these people, and also, he has a strong belief that everyone deserves some form of assistance, and that no one should be refused genuine psychological help just because other people believe they should be, as an example, put to death or sent to jail forever. Especially - to him - when they’re teenagers or young adults. He recognises that just because people don’t want to deal with these teenagers, doesn’t mean they don’t exist, or they don’t deserve help. He recognises that most of society will wash their hands of them and pretend they don’t exist, and he will metaphorically push his sleeves up and get to work. He strongly believes that ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away, and jailing the problem is rarely effective on its own.

This is one of the reasons why he falls back on ‘I don’t believe in good or bad people, I believe in good or bad actions.’ If he can reduce the rate of criminal activity, or change the action profile of these clients, even if they still want to behave maliciously, he considers himself on a successful journey. But it also means he works closely with juvenile detention facilities, created Hillview himself, and works closely with outpatients. (As well as in consultation, teaching, and sometimes working in court cases as a specialist). There’s a reason Mack has desk alarms and a sophisticated protection system and it’s not because of people like Efnisien; though Dr Gary wouldn’t see the most dangerous ones at his private office anyway.

I’m sure, when Dr Gary started out, he took more of a mix. But he soon distinguished himself as someone who was not only willing to take on those clients, but was actually more able to get results because his compassion is genuine (let’s be real, psychologists are only human, and a lot of them - despite their best efforts - are still going to really fucking resent someone who raped and murdered a toddler for the lolz), but so is his Take No Shit attitude. So after a while, he was only getting referrals for the most serious clients. And then he had so many of those, he had to assemble a team of specialists, and that was basically how Hillview was born.

In the end, his spectrum of clients were among the most difficult and some of the most dangerous. When Efnisien antagonised Dr Gary by saying ‘how have some of your clients not tried to kill you’ Dr Gary was probably thinking ‘oh, they have, they have.’ I like to think Dr Gary actually has a giant scar along his flank from a time when he was much younger, hubristic and under-estimated one of his clients, and that after that he got a lot more serious about his work and also his willingness to have security standing nearby when he’s working with the most serious ones.

Even his team of specialists take difficult and high risk clients, but Dr Gary is just known in the system as taking the worst of the worst (kind of like how Mikkel is known as being a public defender of domestic violence victims specifically). And these people do get known in the system. A lot of psychologists either won’t take on certain clients or do very poorly with them because they don’t want them or don’t have the tools to handle them or just are manipulated by them. So juvenile detention centres, lawyers, other psychologists and psychiatrists and facilities begin to get a bead on the specialists who will actually help, or at least try. And then they call them incessantly, forever. Dr Gary is a busy, tired man who tries to take at least two weeks off a year to sit on a beach and stare at the water lol.

Efnisien by comparison to Dr Gary’s other clients, molested people his own age - led to it by coercion, never raped anyone, and tortured animals. That’s still terrible, absolutely, but by comparison, he’s just not anywhere near the same calibre as any of Dr Gary’s other clients. He’s someone who is capable of remorse and demonstrated that before Dr Gary ever met him. He’s someone who literally has stopped hurting all animals and people by the time he’s placed in the hospital. And a quick interview with Dr Gary revealed he wasn’t a ‘psychopath’ as Gwyn thought he was, but someone with Pure O and complex PTSD who was exploited into acting on intrusive thoughts by an abuser (which we learn at the end of Spoils of the Spoiled, when Gwyn realises that Efnisien probably never would have grown up the way he did if it wasn’t for Crielle and it makes him very sad). As soon as Dr Gary realised that, he was like ‘oh no, turf him onto someone else, that’s too easy.’

The only reason he took him on was due to a complicated set of factors, including guilt and remorse that Efnisien was molested/sexually assaulted in Hillview by the psychologist that Dr Gary referred him to.

But being referred to Henton in the first place doesn’t mean Efnisien doesn’t have serious mental disorders (he does), and it doesn’t mean Efnisien doesn’t need serious care (he does), he just doesn’t represent the bulk of Dr Gary’s high risk clients. He’s an outlier. Efnisien feels his feelings and ultimately is a very soft person, not just a soft client. He wants to please everyone, he actually hates hurting people, he’s nervous and shy and fidgety, he’s sensitive and responsible and empathetic, and his biggest misfortune was needing to please a psychopath growing up that he was completely dependent on in order to live, who constantly reminded him that he was abandoned and that he’s only worth loving when he’s good (i.e. doing what he she wants), so he had no other choice. And his story or journey is literally the uncovering of his real self, or the self he is without being under the influence of Crielle. And he rebelled against that influence under his own steam, and she tried to kill him for it.

I also think Efnisien is helping Dr Gary realise that he maybe doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life working with ‘the worst of the worst’ just because no one else is equipped to handle them. Even if it can be rewarding at times.

These days he’s building a curriculum to educate more psychologists in aberrant psychology, and developing genuine compassion in the face of aberrant and malevolent behaviour and holding a centre in the face of that, and looking to spread the load a bit more, and work more as a supervisor for other psychologists who are learning how to deal with these clients. He’s realised that clients like Efnisien make him feel a lot more hopeful about the human race overall (not that he was ever a nihilist), and that maybe Efnisien shouldn’t be the only one. But we’re never going to learn that in the story, because it’s not a ‘Dr Gary story’ lol.