#'I have to be ruthless because that's what's necessary to achieve my goals'

[shoulderholsterfreak]

Really wish there was more discussion about the Thrawn + Maris Ferasi situation. Like, I love how she's all idealistic and looks at him through some fucking MASSIVE rose-tinted glasses and is convinced he's some galant hero.

Meanwhile Thrawn is all "Omg that's adorable :')" *doesn't have the heart to tell her he was indirectly involved with the murder of 50,000 innocents*.

[helpami-flaffy]

EPIC THE MUSICAL OPINIONS, VERY OPINIONS, VERY MINE.

IF YOU DON'T WANT SOME NEGATIVITY DON'T READ. THIS IS NOT PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE I SWEAR.

MOSTLY COMPILED AT NIGHT, SOME REVISION.

PLEASE DO NOT COME AT ME.

.....................

After this saga I'm left kind of perplexed about epic.

What is epic trying to say here? What's the musical's stance on ruthlessness?

Because it isn't very clear to me anymore.

Is it bad? Is it good and just? Is it a necessary evil? Is it worth becoming something monstrous just to achieve your goals?

The thing I'm trying to say is:

Is epic a tragedy or a triumph?

Until the vengeance saga I thought it was the former, but now I'm not so sure.

Throughout the story Odysseus takes desicions that either side with what I'll call the 'open arm mentality' or the 'ruthless' mentality.

He gets punished for both a number of times.

He kills Astianax so he doesn't have to fear his future vengeance.

He spares Polyphemus and that leads to 558 men dying.

He appeals to Circe's humanity and that leads her to freeing his men and helping him get to the underworld.

He sacrificed 6 men to Scylla and that leads to 'mutiny' and 'thunder bringer' where the rest of his crew dies and he ends up in calypso's island where she imprisoned him for 7 years.

First act of ruthlessness= good outcome

First act of open arms= bad outcome

Second act of open arms= good outcome

Second act of ruthlessness= bad outcome

(I forgot to add the sirens, that encounter is kinda strange tho.  Ody kills all of them but I wouldn't call that ruthlessness. Ruthlessness is doing whatever needs doing to get what you want. He needed to know how to get home, and killing the sirens after doesn't matter in that context. I guess it's good for future sailors? I'll count this as an altruistic positive I guess)

This breakdown isn't perfect, lots of other things happen and some things Ody does can't really be neatly categorized by this simple metric imo, but I'll continue anyway as it feels to me the story breaks down his actions in a sort of similar dichotomy.

All in all the 'good to bad' ratio seems pretty balanced, right? It's not always ruthlessness that wins the day, and 'open arms' solutions don't always work out.

So why does it feel like we're supposed to root for ruthless Odysseus? Why does it feel like the story wants us to believe that being the monster is a good if 'somewhat sad' outcome?

Why am I saying this? Well, it's 600 strikes.

Actually just- all the vengeance saga.

Why is what Ody does here supposed to be cool and awesome? Because, like, that is absolutely the angle here.

Complete with a, honestly absurd, anime power up and fighting-god-one-on-one moment.

Why does the story break down it's logic,  breaks suspension of disbelief (at least for me), to get Odysseus into a position were he can torture Poseidon into letting him go?

Wich?? Btw should not work??

Why is this how he wins?

Why are the ghosts of his friends and family no longer spectres of regrets for but terrifying promises of death?

What does this say? Was Odysseus wrong about their sacrifice? Was regret ever only a noose around his neck? I'm looking too deeply into this one lol.

In 'get in the water' we even get the obligatory appeal to Poseidon's mercy just to hammer down once again that 'open arms' doesn't work, even tho it's Athena's appeal to her father's mercy that set Odysseus free in the first place.

The saga ends with Poseidon asking Odysseus how he'll sleep at night after all of this and Ody, in admittedly the coldest line ever written on paper, says:

"Next to my wife"

...

This is cool.

Extremely cool even.

But that's kind of the problem I have with it.

The song ends in a badass way. This is meant to be the final zing to seal Odysseus' cool ass victory.

And in all of this, not once, does the story seem to recognize that...well...

Poseidon won.

Hell not even Poseidon recognized it!

I'm not even saying "OoOh if it was realistic Poseidon would have have won!" (Tho yeah, ask me about that, lol)

In the great ideological battle that's at the center of Epic: the musical, Poseidon was the ultimate victor.

Ruthless is what wins at the end, it's what gets Odysseus home. Odysseus might be a monster but he's a victorious one.

I feel people and the musical both don't really acknowledge that.

That even if Poseidon lost the battle he ultimately won the war.

Were is the irony? Where's the bitterness and sorrow? We're Poseidon's bloodied, mocking smirk revelling in his victory?

Is Epic a tragedy or a power fantasy?

[darlingandmreames]

@inception30daychallenge Day 2: Classify each character according to the alignment chart

Dom: Neutral Evil. This sounds a lot crueler than I mean it to. I don't think Dom acts with malice and I do think he often believes he's acting in the best interest of others. But I also think he's very good at lying to himself. Most of what we see of him in the movie, both currently and in the past, is him acting in his own self-interest, without much regard to the impact on others and often to their (usually unintentional) detriment.

Ariadne: Neutral Good. On the other end of things, we have Ariadne. We see her take major risks and break major rules to help people (mostly Dom, though also Fischer to some extent) throughout the movie. I think she's got some True Neutral flair, but ultimately falls best in the Neutral Good category.

Arthur: Lawful Neutral. My boy loves rules and even when he breaks them, he tends to do so in methodical ways governed by rules of their own (e.g., paradoxes). He's also not one to take unnecessary risks and prefers there to be an orderly and well defined plan before going into something. I do think he's got a Neutral Good flair, particularly in the support of Dom and mentoring Ariadne, but ultimately I think his actions tend less towards intentionally helping or hurting others and more towards establishing an orderly way to achieve his goals, whatever they may be.

Eames: Chaotic Neutral. As a forger, I think identity is particularly important to Eames and he strikes me as someone who holds his personal freedom and identity as a priority above just about anything else. Similar to Arthur, I don't think he necessarily tends towards specifically helping or hurting others per se, but his primary goal is maintaining that personal freedom and he will help or hurt others to achieve that if necessary.

Yusuf: True Neutral/Neutral Evil. I think Yusuf kind of saddles the line between True Neutral and Neutral Evil. He strikes me as the one most removed from the actual dream process itself, viewing it much more as a dispassionate science than the others do. He approaches dream sharing in the same way he approaches the chemistry of making a compound, and tends to seek the correct balance necessary for a particular situation. He's also simultaneously very aware of the damage long-term dream sharing can have, especially with a very strong compound, and completely willing to ignore those consequences because doing so is good business.

Saito: Lawful Evil. Saito is a fabulously wealthy man with a very in depth understanding of the systems he works within and enough money to manipulate them to get what he wants. His goals aren't necessarily always bad (breaking up the Fischer-Morrow empire) but even when there are genuinely good outcomes (preventing a full monopoly), these outcomes are secondary to his personal motivations (protecting his business interests). He isn't one to intentionally harm others in pursuit of his goals, but he will manipulate the systems he's in and the people within them to achieve his goals.

Mal: Alive- Chaotic Good. Shade- Neutral Evil. Alive, I think Mal valued freedom above just about anything else and dream sharing encapsulated that, but only as long as she could wake up after. She convinced herself that she was awake in limbo and when Dom interfered with that, the consequences were drastic. And when she came to believe she was still asleep in the real world, she took the drastic steps she viewed necessary to regain her freedom and wake up. As a shade, I think Mal retains that ruthless pursuit of her goals, but she's also been infused with Dom's guilt and regret. And through that, her goal of freedom has been replaced by the goal of ensuring Dom suffers the fate he believes he deserves. Whatever impact that may have on others is no longer her concern.

[athenaholmesartistsguild]

View on Patreon (for freeeeee)

Finished my Knight of Pentacles card all quick-like (At least drawing-wise it took way too long for me to post this :') ). I've been trying to experiment more with some interesting angles/ foreshortening and that shit is fuckin difficult! Even with Clip Studio's 3D figures as a reference, I feel like the perspective doesn't really look foreshortened until I start shading and shit. It's kind of nerve wracking...

Now for card interpretations! As always this is gonna be under the cut since it's a bit of a read:

The Knight of Pentacles is defined primarily by their work. The knight in this case knows what they want and will work towards it with an almost ruthless efficiency. Day in and day out, they work, seemingly never losing steam or wavering in the pursuit of their goal.

While this type of routine is far from glamorous, the Knight of Pentacles has done the same tasks for so long that they've figured out every little trick to finish faster. They may not have a fancy title to go along with it, but their commitment has made them a master at their job.

While it's taken a long, long time to achieve what they desire, the Knight of Pentacles will get it in the end. With how much effort they've put in, they have to, right?

In terms of personality, the Knight of Pentacles is trustworthy and dependable. If they've aligned themselves to you, you can expect to have a loyal ally on your side.

Overall, the Knight of Pentacles represents a more low-key type of success. The kind of success that's built over a long period of time and through potentially boring or repetitive work. The Knight is earnest and kind, choosing to do what's right rather than what will benefit them the most in the short-term.

Reversed, the Knight of Pentacles has gotten lost in their work. With how long they've been doing the same thing every day, their initial reason for doing this in the first place has been forgotten.

Now, the knight is aimless and bored since every waking moment of their life is devoted to their work. They've neglected their needs in favor of 'doing what needed to be done' but were those 20 hours of unpaid overtime actually necessary?

There is a severe lack of balance when the Knight of Pentacles is reversed. Work has become the one and only priority and this situation is simply untenable. Something is going to break if things don't change.

When I choose a character for a certain card I like to make sure the reversed meaning fits with their character if I can and the Knight of Pentacles is no exception.

Majima in 0 is scarily good at his job, but boy does he fucking hate it! When working at The Grand, he barely has energy to do anything more than eat and sleep once he gets off work. It's soulsucking to manage that stupid Cabaret, but he does it because it's the only path he's been given to get back into the Tojo Clan. While this is very much indicative of the reversed Knight of Pentacles, we see plenty of the upright position as well!

When running Sunshine Majima's strengths absolutely shine (pun absolutely intended). He works his ass off to make the club successful and seems to derive as much joy as he can from it given his situation. Work is balanced with building friendships and doing things that are actually somewhat fulfilling to him personally.

I just found him so perfect for the Knight of Pentacles. It was fate or something, I swear.

[aintgonnatakethis]

⭐🌙🌌

⭐️ Star - Do you have a favourite character? If so, why are they your favourite?

*chanting loudly* David David David!

This guy, let me fucking tell you. He will do whatever it takes. And that phrase is often used as hyperbole, but not for him! He will do anything if it helps him reach his goal. I get annoyed at a lot of characters in popular media who are ever so caught up in their morals and how they feel about things and I want to bang their heads against the wall and tell them "Your feelings don't matter. You have a job to do."

Veering away from David for a moment to give an example of what I mean. In Star Trek: TNG, Picard has an opportunity to wipe the Borg out, but doesn't take it because it would involve killing the Borg they've captured whose personality has reasserted itself after being cut off from the collective. But that Borg's going back to the collective anyway, to an existence as a drone which I'd say is a fate worst than death. But Picard places his morals above what needs to be done, saying "Well, it may turn out that the moral thing to do was not the right thing to do." The answer is a resounding DUH, because Picard hasn't been forced into captaincy; he has put himself in a position to make these incredibly important decisions. It doesn't matter whether he can look at himself in the mirror anymore - he would have saved countless lives. All the blood the Borg spill after this point onwards is on his hands. How is that more moral? (It's the trolley problem. That's the episode.)

Okay, sorry, back to David. He's ruthless, grounded, focused, unyielding, but he also doesn't hurt people for fun. If they need to be hurt to achieve his goal, have at it, but he's not cruel or vindictive; a little petty, but just a normal human amount. I've had a lot of amazingly fun discussions with people about where David's line in - psychologically, he is fucking fascinating!

🌙 Crescent moon - Do any of your characters have to hide a part of themselves? Why?

So in my vampire series (which I should be working on but I keep getting distracted 💀) Rush hides his vampirism, going stealth because vampires are treated like dangerous predators, which I use as an allegory for gay/trans people. There's a public register vampires have to sign up to if they want to be able to use blood banks o eat. This obviously means everyone from potential employers to a neighbour down the street would have the ability to type his name into the register and bang, it would confirm him as vampire, meaning at best social ostracization, at worst…

🌌 Milky Way - What is the character development like for your characters? Do they change a lot or not much at all?

Young is on a fucking roller coaster right from the start! He's spent his life in a box, Performing the Necessary Behaviours to be seen as A Man. He's stoic, short-tempered, stubborn, emotionally unavailable, you name it. And the story revolves around him realising he can step outside of the box and still be a man. He doesn't have to be violent or a womanizer or indeed straight at all - he can be FREE.

Space related ask game

[mariamariquinha]

Carrillo's death doesn't have to do with him: but he did some terrible shit

Narcos has always gone beyond the historical series line and on many occasions ended up resorting to artistic metaphor (or something like that) to present the context of the world when Escobar rose in drug trafficking. Carrillo's very existence, in fact, was a poetic license from the creators to develop an antagonist to Escobar and I think it was very right.

My point: the creators created a character who was too strong for what they wanted him to be in the story.

He goes to Madrid, then returns even more furious. In his veins, all that is happening is nationalism and the desire to get his country back, away from the hands of drug traffickers. He is blind with rage, capable of going to extreme lengths to achieve his goal...

But it is nothing more than a narrative element. For the story itself? Also. To Peña? For sure.

The story alone reinforces that the protagonists are Steve and Javier, but Carrillo has a narrative power that could be further explored. I always talk about this, but anyone who lives in Latin America and remembers history classes, the men who were like Carrillo and who were the iron fists in the dictatorships that our countries faced, knows that they were ruthless, but in following orders. They were shaped to commit ATROCITIES (in the name of you know what) and, in my opinion, they could portray more of this context of police forces as the other side of the same coin that the drug traffickers were on.

When he went to Madrid, I think there was still a narrative like that prepared for him. I think the problem was when he came back. They created a (very valid) connection between him and Peña so that when he died, they created something for Peña to lose... and that was it.

I'm not saying that Carrillo was right or that his actions were "exaggerated." They weren't. Things were exactly like that. Guys like him were just like that.

What I mean is that he didn't die solely and exclusively because of his actions, which was pathetic. If you really want to show that it was necessary to go to extreme lengths, that Carrillo chose the wrong path, death wouldn't be the worst thing (because he was willing to do it). The worst thing that could happen to him would be to have to watch gringos take credit for all his work (which is what actually happened in real life).

Would I kill him if he existed in real life? Yes. But the logic of cause and consequence in the series was, once again, to wipe the slate clean with the USA, to "redeem" even partially Peña for the shit he did and give a redemption arc to other people.

In other words: they offered a lot and failed to deliver enough.

Well, that's Netflix. That's USA.

Good thing we have fics to fix that! 🫶

[thechristiannarrator]

We will not be able to help someone till we love them. Looking at the young people, I feel sad and angry. I feel sad for the state they are at. They are lost. They are sheep without a shepherd. Sheeps wandering astray falling an easy prey to all sorts of monesters out there. They lack guidance. They lack vision. They lack role models. I also feel angry because they are mostly made to be se. They are being sold the wrong principles. They are being shown the wrong role models. They are being mislead and misguided.

It is an utter shame for us as community of believers. It is our duty to point out to the truth thatt we experienced and knew. It is on us those who had a glimpse of the truth that we do not work hard enough to achieve that goal. In the vast majority of us, we do not do enough because we suffer ourselves. Although we knew the truth, we still struggle with lack of meaning and value. In my case, I have not heard my call yet. This drives me mad. I work. I read my Bible. Take my communion. I go to church. I endeavour the best I can to live godly life. Nevertheless, there is deep sense of lack of meaning as I do not do the very thing I'm here to fulfill and this my call.

Yes this takes a lot of time and preparation so God can prepare me for my personal legend (as Paulo Coelho the briliant Brazillian novalist puts it in his master piece ' The Alchemist'). However, the answer to this lack of meaning may be found in this long march to help people, especially young people. Maybe in the process of helping them, we find ourselves and the meaning to the misery of life we live. In Australia, we live a life of abundance in material wealth but a life of bankruptcy at a spiritual and moral level. A bankruptsy that threatens to make us become wolves ourselves.

Out there, including in the church, there are ruthless and heartless wolves with no compassion to fellow humans. Wolves which feed on human misery and suffering. Wolves that abuse the psychological insecurities, material deprivation and spiritual emptiness. The answer to human suffering and deprivation is not more material things, though necessary, but more love. Love in that case means giving the right help at the right time using the right means. That love , by the way, could look sweet and romantic but It also could be bitter and painful in many instances.

In conclusion, it falls back into the choice of the Christian life. A life of giving, self-sacrifice and centred around the cross and being more Christ-like. If Jesus was to help(which he never ceased doing), what would He do?. We as grown-ups Christians are faced with a choice. We can love or kill. We can lead in the right way or we can mislead others and ourselves all the way to Hades. We can find meaning, give meaning and be the best we can in the process. Or we can be silent cowards. We need to choose.

Amgad Samir 15/03/2023

[spraxinoscope]

Hi. I'm a soviet history enthusiast and person who almost entirely agrees with centrally-unplanned here, but I want to talk about why everyone in this post should be put into a big get-along shirt.

When we argue about shit, we want to maximize persuasiveness. We want to write something clear-cut and snappy. We want to build a direct line from the ideals in our heads to the claims we're making.

...but Posting is awful, so hitting these goals causes problems. Optimizing for brevity eliminates nuance. Optimizing for appeals to morality makes it harder to meet in the middle and synthesize new ideas. And the practice of Posting in general incentivizes you to present the strongest version of your claims possible, exaggerating or obfuscating as necessary to win the slapfight.

I agree with the original post entirely. It's a big claim, I can't prove it, I'm open to the possibility that there's some edge case exception somewhere but I doubt it would matter that much. But I think it's true. My reading of history is that the USSR's shot at achieving the goals of Marxism, or fighting imperialism, was already gone by the time they put Lenin's corpse in the glass box.

...but a couple people post a response about how they disagree. I think they're wrong, but-- and maybe this is uncharitable in a different way-- I think they are being idealistic in a way that is basically reasonable, and I think there's a valid point in there about how gains made by labor movements under capitalism are always reversible. I think they're wrong about the legacy of ML, but in a way that doesn't matter very much and even indicates that they might make good allies or friends. I would rather hang out with these people than any well-meaning centrist. I would trust these people to make important decisions better than probably 95% of congress.

So we could all just ignore each other, or shitpost at each other. Or I guess we could post apologia for Western governments, which is what centrally-unplanned decided to do.

At this point I am off the train. My understanding of the 20th century is not that the cold war was won through the sheer superiority of Western states. That has nothing to do with the original claim being made. But those are the terms on which the argument now rests, so that's what we're gonna do. From there on, it's just pure Posting. To win the argument, C-U has to demonstrate that the USSR had worse reproductive freedoms than the west, so they point out that Russia didn't have legal abortions until the 50s. Cool. Wait, let me google when Roe v Wade was. Oh, 1973? Weird. For the record, I don't think there is a short snappy answer about which side of the 70-year world-spanning ideological conflict between superpowers had better reproductive freedom! I think that's a whole complicated topic full of unbelievable horrors! But I do know that you could only think you were winning this argument if you were too eager to Post to think clearly.

If I had to respond to postpostirony and potuzzz's arguments, which I don't, I would say something like:

Communism in all its forms faced intense opposition from Western governments, industries, political coalitions, trigger-happy intelligence agencies, dictators, religious institutions, and the political right in basically every country on earth. Nothing they did was easy. Marxism-Leninism only ever developed in ruthless forms in hellish conditions because everyone else who tried it got killed. Therefore, it's understandable that they were outperformed in many cases by Western hegemony, which had the biggest head start it is possible to have. If you're looking to defend the historical legacy of ML, you can do it in those terms. They put up a real good fight. As to whether or not we moderns can learn from their example, I suspect we will have to agree to disagree, but to be clear I barely care about this. Hold on to your ideals. Let them be your guide.

That's what I would say. I would not start talking shit about how wealthy nations with colonial holdings are better at science than anyone else! I know for sure that C-U doesn't actually believe that but that's what got said. The fact that useful science is correlated with wealth and power is not a claim that supports anything that's going on here.

C-U concludes by saying communism was a disaster for third world countries and they're right. That's just true. But to me, there's a lot of interesting questions that begin at that claim: How much of that was because the ideology was bad? How much of it was because a [political/military/cultural/financial/landowner] hegemony worked hard to make sure that third world communism was nonviable? How did proxy wars play into it? etc. Invoking communism and the third world is the beginning of a conversation. It's not a dunk.

And like I know how this goes. Marxists post snarky replies because they're frustrated about the world they live in and they need to express that feeling somehow. It's fine. There's no real stakes and no real communication happening here. But there could be. The reason I wrote this overlong reply is because what I actually want is for everyone in this post to be friends, because the right would call all of you cultural marxists and run you over with a lifted Chevy pickup and get away with it. We're all in this together, and we're all already on almost exactly the same page here. Give em a fuckin break

I don't think anyone responding to me in that thread is doing this, zero shade being thrown here, but the Korean War discussions definitely remind me of the ghost of the USSR thing that hangs over some forms of left discourse. Its a ghoulish achilles heel - there is nothing for you there.

I love studying the USSR; its one of my favourite historical topics, and I even relate to the vision and ambition so many of its early founders had, to resolve the imperfections of modernity and no longer accept them as given. But not only did it not work, it was abandoned as a vision within a decade; everyone who shared it was imprisioned, murdered, or at best expelled. There are accomplishments there, but they are not accomplishments unique to those states, instrinsic to the system; and more importantly they are accomplishments modern leftist do not give a shit about. If your primary policy objective is to find a way to allocate the entirety of the economic surplus of society to a crash course military production initiative, then fair enough you have found your guide. Otherwise, you shouldn't care. It has no future, nothing to teach you, no lessons of relevance except by negative example.

And you don't need it to! Outside of its dumb apologia and a few fringe factions western socialists were not ever trying to build Stalinism, they were trying to build welfare states and unions. They never wanted its actuality, only its branding, and now you don't even want that. Let it die.

[zero-buds]

I like Nate Ford, and I like Harry Wilson.

I think my favorite between the two is undoubtedly Nate Ford because he did start it all, y'know? He was unhinged and he was ruthless, but he was good. And there's a kind of complexity there for the man who is inherently good to do bad actions for the sake of good results.

On the other end of the scale is Harry Wilson who has a pretty straightforward character arc. Not that he's not complex in his own way, but he has a much kinder demeanor about him. Unlike Nate, he's not intentionally an asshole, even in his lawyering days. He just made excuses for himself which I guess in its own way is an asshole thing to do. I believe that even when he does grieve, like the loss of a marriage, he is still kind. Because when he grifts with Sophie posing as the husband seeking divorce, we get a glimpse of frustration from him, but not anger. So, when he is committing crimes you can clearly tell its not as sharp as Nate was. There is less willingness to use any means necessary to achieve the result they want. And it's not that he's not quick on the up take - he's clearly a smart man, it's just that he doesn't believe that things have to be done in A Certain Way to achieve his goals as opposed to Nate's controlling habits. Lawyers find loopholes all the time right? And they can't control judges, but they can use technicalities to their advantage, and that's what influences Harry Wilson's own judgement. Find the technicalities that work.

Not only that, Harry Wilson is a character with way more emotional depth than Nathan Ford does, and there is capacity to feel more deeply for things that matter like the Leverage team. He's not stoic with a stick up his ass - *cough* Nate, and he has great dynamics with the team that slowly - or rather very quickly, take him under their wing, and the dynamic is very soft in these instances.

Nathan Ford, for all that I love the man as a character, Harry Wilson carries a better human approach to becoming a better person. Nathan Ford was a Good Human who became a Great Bad Man. Harry Wilson was someone who went from being an arguably Great Bad man to a Good Human. And that's the approach we like to see folks.

[essayofthoughts]

Ripley is an NPC, so she's got a lot less screentimeto get into her head compared to one of the PCs - how did you nail down your take on her personality given the limited material?

This is... pretty simple all in all but I went:

Ripley is realistic evil. Matt specifically cited Nazi scientists as part of his inspiration for her characterisation. Ergo, her reasons should make sense within her awful internal logic.

We see that she's an opportunist (her escape from VM when they're distracted by Cass and Anders), creative (reverse engineering guns; the trap on Glintshore), entirely amoral (the creation and perpetuation of guns, willingness to commit illegal human experimentation, torture), and deeply self-serving (working with VM to preserve her life, planning to escape the Briarwoods, escaping the Dwendalian empire and her possible execution, trying to figure out what to say to make VM spare her at Glintshore).

Percy describes his awful thoughts as coming from the Ripley of his brain. Ergo, Ripley is Percy's dark mirror and should be written as Percy sans morals.

We see Ripley's effect on Percy: she terrifies him and yet he wants to have an impact on her - most likely because she had an impact on him and he wants to do the same to her. He wants her to fear him as he does her. He at least tries to act callous and uncaring when facing her which suggests that was how she faced him when she tortured him - cold and unaffected by his screams and begging.

Taliesin and Matt have said she is an evil librarian, specifically citing Rachael Weisz as Evie Carnahan in The Mummy as a mental image.

Ripley, for all she's a terrible person, refuses to swear of all fucking things.

And... that's about it. In Ripley's Assistant it's a bit different because her tactics there... I mean she might use that kind of manipulation and gaslighting - perhaps on Kynan - but we don't see that explicitly. We know she manipulates the truth but we don't know much else for sure. The tactics I have her use in RA and Delia AU are very much based on the kind of relationship abuse I've had cause to observe just tweaked to fit how she speaks in canon and the circumstances.

But... for the most part, she is realistic evil. She isn't pointlessly sadistic or ruled by her desires - she has her goals and she aims to achieve them. She doesn't care what gets in her way - she'll do what she deems necessary. She, like Percy, can be ruthless - and unlike Percy, she has no morals to maybe keep her from doing certain things.

She believes magic is unreliable but still a tool one could and should use - she's an opportunist and she takes what opportunities she has. Remember, with a party of random mercenary allies and Kynan, and a few hours head start, she made a trap that led to her almost completely killing Vox Machina, a group which regularly tangles with dragons and wins. She's incredibly clever, entirely amoral, and does whatever she deems necessary.

It also seems that she likes to be at the top of a pecking order - she worked for the Briarwoods but planned to leave when she thought it would be best for her to do so, her job under the Briarwoods was initially torture and interrogation before any research or the ziggurat refinement, and she collects her own group and at least in Kynan's case manipulates his loyalty to her. She likes power.

And... that's basically it.

I'm - I'm gonna just cite my conversations with @chamerionwrites again, because honestly this is from them too, but they reminded me of... well, the banality of evil. Evil is often simple and selfish and human - anyone's capable of it. And I think it's very important to remember that with Ripley.

Ripley likes power. Ripley doesn't care about anything but her goals. Ripley is an evil librarian who refuses to swear. Ripley is awful in a horribly realistic way.

And ... that's how I handle her characterisation.

[ruins-posts]

Umm, do you write fluff alphabet? could you do it for Sebastian Michaelis from black butler?

It's alright if you don't, sorry for the trouble.

🤍 Sebastian Michaelis Fluff Alphabet 🤍

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Sebastian would love to spend time with some of his feline friends with your company, the two of his most favourite creatures on Earth. Sebastian also enjoys taking long strolls along with you, engaging in some deep and meaningful conversation.

He enjoys teaching, and so he'll always be up to teach his s/o something new that they've been wanting to learn or something he feels they should learn. He'll probably end up showing off his skills though.

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Sebastian is beyond petty concepts such as physical attractiveness, if his s/o's personality has managed to intrigue and interest him, he will greatly admire that. He'll admire how your personality stands out compared to the other human beings, your unique traits and interests, the way you view the world, and above all, your ability to love a monster like him.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down?

Sebastian will give you your space to figure out things on your own, but if you require his comfort and support he will immediately rush to your side, providing you with any and every thing you need. He will listen to all your feelings if you're willing to pour them out, he's more than willing to provide you with a shoulder to cry on.

Even though he doesn't understand the complexity of human emotions, he's learned comfort mechanisms over the years.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Given the current situation, he does not see his relationship with you evolving at all. However, if a miracle happens and the contract does reach an end, he might drag you to hell with him.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

No, Sebastian will not see you as his equal or as superior to him. Humans are lowly creatures, and to be honest, you're no exception. He's definitely the dominant one, but he is also very respective of you.

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Sebastian has a good amount of control over his wrath, he won't speak anything till he feels it's absolutely necessary. He'll be fine if you aplogise to him, but it's never the other way around. You'll never get an apology from him, he's too proud to say sorry.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

He is always aware of the littlest of things you do for him, and he will even try to return your gestures. The return of gestures is mostly done in physical forms, such as hand holding, kisses, cuddles, and sometimes when you're lucky he'll even bake you a few sweets and make you some tea. None of your affections go unnoticed.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Oh dear, he has millions of secrets that he keeps hidden from you. Mostly because they're horrifying and could give you nightmares for days, they're secrets your frail human mind might not be able to handle.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

Not really, the only change that came in him after he met you was that he felt a slight amount of love in his cold, ruthless heart, and he was willing to protect someone outside of a contract.

Sebastian usually has no personal problems, even if he did he's perfectly capable of finding the solutions on his own. He'll not want to burden you with his problems.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

This demon is possessive of what belongs to him, and so he absolutely won't stand it if someone's trying to steal you from him, they will be annihilated.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

There's no questioning Sebas-chan's kissing skills, he's excellent. He'll always leave you craving for more. His kisses are the most passionate, rough and yet gentle.

The first kiss was probably planned out by him, even though you were oblivious to it. He took you out for a peaceful evening walk in the gardens, and it naturally happened in the flow of the moment. The two of you leaned in till your lips met, and he pulled you closer to him deepening it.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

After the very first kiss that the two of you shared, Sebastian would tell you that he holds some amount admiration for you and that does not consider you as just another pest human. That's it, that was his confession.

Marriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Sebastian doesn't think that marriage is necessary for you two to become closer, but if you want be wedded to him, he will gladly do it. The function won't be a grand or an official one, just the two of you simply declaring your vows to each other.

He'll only marry you after his current contract is over, though.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

You'll be called regular nicknames such as 'darling' or 'my love', but his favourite is surely 'kitten'.

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

This butler is a master of masking his emotions, nobody will get even the slightest of hint that he's in love with somebody. Though when he's alone with you, he'll allow himself to be vulnerable and show how much he loves you quite freely.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Sebastian won't be very affectionate in public, and will prefer to keep his relationship a secret to maintain his 'perfect butler' image in front of people.

He's won't mind occasional hand holding and kisses when nobody is looking though.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He's simply one hell of a butler, but I'm pretty sure he can give you a glimpse of heaven, if you know what I mean ;)

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy?

Quite romantic. He'll romance you all he can in his free time. He's an affectionate demon, in his alone time he's always in physical contact with you in one way or the other.

He'll study through human romantic gestures for you, even though he finds them silly. But as long as you're happy, he'll do anything.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Yes, he will support you unconditionally. And trust me, if he believes in you and says you can do it, you can. He won't give you false hopes and motivate you to do things that are beyond your capabilities.

He's willing too help you if you ever need it. It's a pleasure to him when he's the reason behind your success.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Sebastian will leave that up to you. If you like routine, he'll stick to it. However, if you believe that you need to try out new things to spice up your relationship, he'll do that as well.

You'll have to specify what exactly you want to do to spice it up though, ask and he will bring it to you.

Understanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He can read human emotions to some extent, but he won't be able to figure out what exactly is bothering you. If you're vocal about it, he will absolutely help you put. He's always putting in effort to understand you better.

He's a demon, empathy is something he absolutely will not feel. A tiny bit of sympathy might arise, but don't expect him to be empathetic.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

After his young master, you are his second priority. You hold an important position in his life, but he will never put you before his young master. He's bound by contract to him, after all.

You are the only one who can make him feel the slightest bit of emotion, filling his heart with a strange warmth he has never experienced. Being a demon he must consume souls as food, and other than that, you're the other thing important in his life.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Being a demon, he doesn't require sleep, but he does love to lie down and watch you beside you as you sleep. The sight of your chest falling and rising rhythmically and your peaceful face fills him with a peaceful feeling. He only wonders what sleep feels like to humans.

And he loves to coddle you while you're fast asleep. He finds the sight rather cute.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Sebastian is fond of expressing himself through physical touch, so a certain amount cuddles and kissing is involved. He won't admit it but he misses your touch when you're not around.

Kissing you is one of his favourite things to do. The sight of your flushed face and heavy breathing after he's done with ravaging your lips fills him with pride.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

He'll try to lose himself in his work, and even seek the company of his beloved cats. He actually won't miss you unless you're going away for too long, and in that case, secret visits are guaranteed.

Zeal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Yes, you hold an important place in his cold heart, and he's grown rather fond of you. He'll go any lengths to keep you with him and protect you, because you're the only one who he's willing to make himself vulnerable to.

[cosmichorrorsarestillnicerthanme]

This actually gives me a chance to share my ideas for our formerly loveable group of heroes turned ruthless and merciless villains.

Let’s start out with the main attraction eh?

“I am he who will bring Peace, Peace, through Tyranny.”-The Tyrant, Asta

The Tyrant is by far what Lucius would describe as his crowning achievement.

A perfect mix of all things that Lucius saw as necessary for human kind to truly evolve into the form he envisioned for it.

The power and ruthlessness of devils, the cunning and fluidity of humans, his own morality and above all, a being with quite a few similarities to him in what their dreams represented for humanity as a whole though he knew that Asta would never admit it.

Asta wanted peace through cooperation.

Lucius wanted peace through eradication.

The goals they wanted were basically the same in their scope, just with minor differences.

That’s how Lucius saw it at least.

Asta was his “Ultimate Being”, his masterpiece.

True, the resource cost to keep the Magic Knights away for the six months while Lucius ensured The Tyrant came out from its “Incubation Period” perfectly was quite high, especially considering the whole of how he was made.

Four months of constant torture that, if he didn’t have Astaroth’s time magic, would’ve take six months on its own.

Getting both the Anti-Magic Devil and Lucifero’s heart to play nice, there was probably a history there. Oh well, it didn’t matter anymore.

And finally, the time it took for Asta to exit his “Egg Of The Perfect World” which by far was the one that took the longest of any of the Paladins at two entire months when the process was usually completed near instantaneously.

But it was all worth it because of the show that came next when he emerged at the exact moment his ability to keep where Asta was under wraps.

The Tyrant, emerging from the “Egg”, hair white as fresh snow, crimson eyes which flared with power, a physique which could only be described as the ultimate expression of killing power, a single pure white right arm, the wild flames of red and white Anti-Magic upon it, a flaming crown over his head and nestled between the horns that sprouted from his skull, the four terrible wings upon his back, two angelic and almost metallic wings that had the words of Devils inscribed upon every feather, and two pure white demonic wings below those, finally all around him floated orbs of purified Anti-Magic.

And the first words which came from his mouth would forever be burned into Lucius’s head, and by extension, every single magic knight, shining general,  from then on.

“I am he who will bring Peace, Peace, through Tyranny.”

At that moment, Lucius was given the proof that he had sought for years, It was proof that even the greatest flaws could be fixed.

Unfortunately, Lucius didn’t account for what this particular flaw had in spades.

Pure stubbornness.

Sure, Asta couldn’t immediately break free, but it didn’t take long, in fact it only took a single month.

Exactly when the Hino Offensive started, and when the final of the great obstacles was broken down by the Tyrant’s hands.

Then the perfect mixing of devil and man which Lucius brought forward as the ultimate soldier would end up putting both him and the original purpose of his dream to rest, in a very violent, very brutal manner.

Many people wanted to see Lucius suffer and die, but what Asta did? That was beyond brutal, beyond wanting revenge, beyond cruel.

There was a reason that the form of execution Lucius suffered was outlawed in clover and struck from the records.

However, Lucius’s dream still exists, though in a far different form than it originally was.

The Tyrant saw his singular focus on one group as foolishness, completely ignoring the other variables and possibilities in favor of his own agenda.

And as such, he follows the distortion of not only his own dream but Lucius’s as well.

“Peace, unification, and the evolution of humanity through Tyranny, strive, and adversity.”

And this goal is reflected in not only Asta’s new demeanor, but in how he fights as well.

Brutal, destructive, to the point and without nonsense like honor or kindness to hold him back.

Whether it be with blades or with fists Asta is unrivaled in battle.

His most powerful attacks, and the power Lucius named as Asta’s represent that.

Vulgar Display Of Power

The power of the Tyrant as named by Lucius Zogratis, it isn’t Gravity Magic, nor is it Anti-Magic, it has the properties of both but yet it simply isn’t either. This is the force that gave the Tyrant his crown, and the sovereignty he holds over all who have allied with his grand power and grand kingdom. 

This Love

The most direct manifestation of what The Tyrant is, a killer, a brutalizer, someone who will hit you until you can’t physically get up any more and then he’ll hit you some more, and even harder.

This… spell? Technique? Represents that perfectly.

There are similarities between it and Meroleona Vermillion’s Calidos Brachium Barrage but unlike her barrage of fire and fists Asta’s attack is far, far more subtle and far, far more deadly.

Using his feathers he launches a inescapable barrage of razor sharp and Anti-Magic infused blades towards a target, who if hit by a single feather, would immediately have a third of their magic drained and a third of that for every subsequent feather, but in doing so he is forced to abandoned the high speed movement his twin pairs of wings offer him while he waits for the required time of five minutes to recall or regrow the feathers.

Mouth For War

If the previous attack is Asta’s way of dealing with troublesome opponents at a range outside of his blades, this is how he deals with opponents who manage to get too far inside for his swords to be effective.

There are similarities to the technique used by Dante Zogratis “Heavy Infighting” but Asta’s rendition puts more emphasis on completely removing his enemy from the playing field through brutally pummeling them anywhere they are left open.

Cemetery Gates

The last dregs of who Asta once was distilled into a technique which he only used once against Ryuzen Seven to combat their Zetten, the details of this technique are unknown much like the only battle it was used in.

A NEW LEVEL

The first technique Asta learned as The Tyrant, it’s essentially a facelift of his old devil union, but it has a few tricks that only Asta is aware of.

Conceit

There will always be a need for more paladins as long as the War continues, each of the leaders have their own particular brand of corruption. This one is Asta’s.

(Side Note: Yes, I defaulted to BERSERK, and yes Asta's special moves are all from a Pantera Album, it was the second thing that came to mind, the first was Megadeth.)

Paladin World Leader AU

Asta

The Tyrant Lord Of Overwhelming Force, Eliminating All Opposition without mercy

Yuno

The Cardinal Of Atrophy And Destruction, Quietly Influencing Everything With His Words

Mars

The Executioner Who Razes All Who Stand Before Him In Hope Of Creating True Order

Lolopecheka

The Diplomat Who Erases All Who Oppose Her And Her Allies With Horrible Hex’s

Ichika

The General Who Conquers And Unifies All Under The Tyrant With Her Dark Powers

I-

COSMIC????? BRO, WE NEED TO LET YOU COOK MORE OFTEN

I was out walking my dog when I saw this and I almost yelled, I had a vivid idea of what "Villens" world leaders would look but with this you enabled me so fucking bad, this will be the only thing I can think about for the next week and a half holy shit

Ok so I have ideas for this Au, lets say Lucius managed to paladin the WL everything goes to shit and Lucius "wins" but there is a resistants of ppl standing agents him, Asta because of his anti-magic was paladined "wrong" so he has the same beliefs as Lucius but he doesn't think Lucius is up of the task of making a peaceful world. So he frees the others and they fight against Lucius to which they ofc win

So now they are in control, more control then have ever been in. They will fix everything, gods and fait be damned. There friends and families will come to see things the way they do eventually... They just need a "gentle" push in the right direction

Also I can see that they do have devil attributes form what I can guess Lolo with Megiculas, Ichika with Lucifuges, Mars with Baals (Damantios devil), Asta dosn't have one, and Yuno may be with Lucifero but I'm not sure. Also they are definitely a lil Yandari yk as much as an elephants foot lol

[cosmicjoke]

So I just got through chapter’s 51 and 52 of Attack on Titan, and one thing that stuck out to me in 51, other than Levi’s obvious, deep anger with Erwin, which I’ll talk about in a minute, was how Levi made it a point to tell Connie that he’d done a good job after coming back with Hange from investigating his village.  Once again we see here Levi’s immense compassion for other people.  Nobody else really thought to give Connie that encouragement, despite his obvious distress in that moment.  They all were aware that Connie had lost everyone in his village, including his family, so it really demonstrates Levi’s thoughtfulness, once again, for other people and what they’re going through, that he takes the time to say just a few, kind words to Connie here.  

Then of course, there’s the big exchange in this chapter between Levi and Erwin, and there’s so much going on here.  But the first thing I noticed is the shift in Levi’s attitude, after he notices Erwin smiling upon hearing Hange’s theory about the Titan’s being humans.  At the beginning of this scene, Levi is showing Erwin a great deal of concern for his physical state, apologizing to him for him and Pixis showing up to talk, knowing how tired he must still be, saying to Erwin that he’ll understand if he would rather him and Pixis just come back later so he can keep sleeping.  Levi is giving Erwin the option here to deal with all of these new developments that they’re all dealing with later, and that offers a really insightful glimpse into the kind of respect and consideration Levi has for Erwin leading up to this point in the story.

What’s really interesting is the shift in Levi’s attitude here, after he sees Erwin smiling.  Levi starts to try and ask Erwin a question, after Hange’s revelations about the Titans, and he sees Erwin smiling to himself with a glazed, distant look in his eyes, and Levi’s horror is readily apparent.  He figures out almost immediately that Erwin is excited by this news, and Levi’s reaction is one of repulsion.  He even tells Erwin that he’s going to make him sick.  I think Levi’s reaction here is also partly fueled by his own feelings of deep dismay and horror at learning that all this time, he’s been killing other human beings.  So to see Erwin seemingly HAPPY about this revelation must seem particularly grotesque to Levi in that moment, while he’s dealing with his own feelings of guilt and despair and hopelessness.  Levi’s anger here is REALLY obvious, as he asks Erwin if this is the real reason he joined the Survey Corps.  We see Levi’s belief in Erwin starting to erode here, in real time.  Part of Levi’s anger, I think, must also stem from knowing that he’s put his faith entirely in Erwin, followed him with full belief in Erwin’s altruistic intentions, but now he has to face the possibility that his faith has been misplaced, that indeed the very REASON he joined the Corps to begin with, his faith in Erwin and his greater vision, may have been built on a lie.  This coming on the heels of realizing that Titans were actually humans, and he’s dedicated himself to killing them for years.  All of this leads you to really understand Levi’s controlled fury at Erwin in this scene.  When Erwin gets annoyed himself at Levi and tells him to lay off of him, and asks him to show him some pity, Levi says with obvious derision that, yeah, Erwin IS pitiful.  We see later in the scene Levi turn Erwin’s own words back on him, about him being mentally and physically exhausted, almost mocking Erwin with them as he reveals to him that he’s chosen to make the 104th his new squad and had Eren and Historia moved to an isolated location.  Levi’s anger here is really palpable, and it demonstrates the tension I think Levi’s probably always had with Erwin and their relationship.

Levi respects Erwin immensely, and I have no doubt he’d been ready to tell Erwin about his plans for the 104th with a lot more cordiality and willingness to involve him in that decision before Erwin’s motivations became revealed to him here.  But there’s always been that kind of conflict between them too, where Levi was willing to put his faith totally in Erwin’s vision, and in his ability to make the right choices, in order to advance the cause of humanity, but at the same time, felt deeply uncomfortable at times with Erwin’s methods towards achieving that goal, his willingness to sacrifice the lives of so many to that end, often resulting in the deaths of soldiers with no, substantial gain to be had.  He’s deeply aware of Erwin’s ruthlessness in getting the job done (we see that awareness later in chapter 52, when he asks Hange if they should run or kill their enemies before they can strike, and says it’s just like something Erwin would do when Hange says both).  It was Levi’s faith in Erwin, though, and his belief in Erwin’s purity and the righteousness of his cause, that allowed Levi to put his misgivings about Erwin’s methods aside, because he fully believed Erwin’s intentions were only to benefit humanity, and win them back their freedom someday.  So seeing Erwin smiling here, and having that faith in Erwin’s intentions thrown into question, alongside the awful revelation that Titan’s are actually humans, is obviously a pretty devastating blow to Levi’s own sense of balance and place, throwing into doubt what it is he’s been fighting for all this time, whether it was even real or not.  It’s like in one, fell swoop, Levi’s lost any amount of certainty in both what they’ve all been fighting for this whole time, and in the person he had put the most faith and trust in to guide them in the right direction.  I’m not sure how people could miss Levi’s anger towards Erwin here, or the reasons for it.  Levi is shown something in Erwin that makes him seriously doubt whether Erwin actually cares about humanity at all, or people at all.  Erwin appears happy that it turned out that Titan’s were humans, and Levi has no context, no way of knowing WHY Erwin would be happy about that.  He doesn’t know about his father, or the things his father told him, or how his father died.  So to Levi, it must just seem like Erwin is getting some sort of sick joy out of the revelation.  Again, to see something like that in the person you believed in the most, a person you admired deeply and thought of as superior to you, as holding a greater vision than you ever could, would be really, really hard.  It’s like Levi’s hero letting him down in the worst way possible.  

I think this should also be looked at in the context of Levi’s own experiences in life, and how that shaped his world view.  Levi comes from an extremely hard, deprived background, one of extreme poverty and desperation and violence.  That background, that difficult childhood, resulted in a necessary cynicism and jadedness in Levi.  He knows the way the world works, knows how hard life is, and how cruel and ruthless people can be.  He grew up in a world where there was no pretense, no civility or politeness to hide behind.  He grew up in a world where it was kill or be killed.  We see this weary understanding of how things really are later, again, in chapter 52, when Levi is explaining to Hange and the rest that they have two options, because the MP’s and those they work for aren’t going to just give up on getting their hands on Eren and Historia.  He knows they’re only going to try more forcefully and violently to get what they want, because that’s the way the world works, and that’s the way people are.  He also shows his worldly understanding of these sorts of things when he asks Hange how many of Nick’s fingernails they pulled, and knows that Nick likely didn’t talk because they pulled more than one.  It tells us about Levi’s experience and how he’s been exposed to the darker, crueler side of humanity, more than anyone else in that room.

So Levi also understands that if they just wait around, they’ll all eventually be killed.  He understands they can’t be passive here, and have to act immediately.  He impresses that reality unto Hange, who’s still reeling from Nick’s death, and forces her to make a decision as to what their next move should be.  He doesn’t allow her to wallow in her despair, and he does this for the sake of Eren and Historia, and all of them.  Once again, we see Levi being most concerned for the greater good, ready to act however is needed to help the most people.  He knows Hange is hurting, but he knows also that none of them can afford to be, as he says to her, timid.  They have to move.  Well, anyway, my point that I’m trying to make is that Levi’s life experience has forced him to be cynical about other people’s motivations and characters, about concepts of nobility and morality.  To look at other people’s true intentions with a skeptical eye, because he grew up in a cut-throat environment, exposed to deep poverty, trauma and pain, where people no doubt would turn on you, or abandon you in a moment for nothing more than a scrap of bread.  With that in mind, you have to realize that Levi’s faith in Erwin is rather remarkable.  That he’s able to BELIEVE that deeply in another person, to believe in another person’s goodness, and purity of intention, given Levi’s background and the life he’s lived, is extraordinary, and really tells us so much about who Levi really is.  Despite every experience in his life informing him  that he should be skeptical and cynical and mistrustful of people and their intentions, despite his every experience telling him that the world is a cruel, ugly, awful place filled with loss, pain and grief, Levi still wants so much to believe in something better.  To believe in purity of hearts and intentions, to believe in a higher morality and goodness.  And despite all of his life experience telling him otherwise, Levi is able to believe that’s who Erwin is.  A person with a higher, better moral standing, a person with a pure and true heart.  He believes it all the way.  So, to then have that faith, which Levi somehow held onto against all odds and reason, dashed against the rocks in a single, terrible moment of realization, would be horrible.  Levi is someone who wants so much to believe there can be a better world, with better people in it.  And I think Erwin represented that possibility to Levi, for a long time.  And so to learn that his belief in Erwin was, perhaps, too idealistic, to have that skepticism that his life’s beaten into him affirmed, rather than rejected, must have felt like the worst kind of betrayal to Levi, and just a crushing disappointment.

Of course, Erwin later is able to prove to Levi that his faith in him wasn’t misplaced, as he lives up to the ideal Levi saw in him to begin with, with Levi’s help and encouragement.  But that’s a different post altogether!  When I get to that part of the manga, I’ll be positing about it as well.

Also, Hange’s own sense of horrible guilt and remorse in these chapters, both over realizing she’d been experimenting on human’s this whole time, and over Nick’s death, was an amazing parallel to Levi’s.  I think the two of them share so many similar feelings and such a similar depth of feeling over everything.  Always trying to do the right thing, and struggling so much with whether the choices they make are the right choices, or whether any of this is worth the sacrifices they’re forced to make.

[esperanta-dragon]

I feel like there is a need to write down why so many people hate Sylvanas so much, me included. Maybe you can’t stand her too OR you love her and you don’t understand why the hell people can hate such an amazing character. Here is why. And I will try to write this down logically as possible. No “hur dur I hate her because she is a bitch!”. No, I will put down all things so you can understand. And one sad disclaimer... it’s not the character’s fault.

WHY WE STARTED TO LOVE HER

Sylvanas showed up in Warcraft III as a Ranger General of Quel’thalas. She was protecting her country for quite some time when Arthas attacked Eversong Woods in order to get to Sunwell and resurrect Kel’Thuzad as a lich. Sylvanas paid with her life and her soul to protect her people and her country. She was made banshee and was forced to do things against her will and serve the Scourge she hated. But she was still plotting her revenge, didn’t give up until the moment came and she took the chance. She reclaimed her body back and almost killed Arthas, and took over Lordaeron City. Then she took over the undead slowly freeing from the Lich King’s grasp and gave them a place where to stay, becoming their Queen. And since then, she was planning to kill the Lich King for good.

That’s why we loved her (I never did, I will explain that later why). She really kicked his ass. She slapped the Scourge in the face. She never gave up and was doing everything to achieve her goals, her revenge. There are not so many such strong female characters, so resolute. She was not good but also not evil, she was shady, she was not the boring good guy. So why the hell people hate her? She is perfect! Let’s go to what happened during and after WotLK... Because here it starts.

WRATH OF THE LICH KING

As I said, many people adore Sylvanas since Warcraft III. But they don’t understand the character is not the same. She was never good, she was an anti-hero, that’s the fact (the Ebon Blade are also anti-heroes and they are not bad, they just do necessary things to keep the Scourge in check). She was doing everything to take revenge on Arthas. And everything means that she had no problems walking over corpses of her allies. Causalities because of my fault? Pfft! No matter as long as the piece of trash sitting on the Frozen Throne will get what he deserves!

This was pretty much visible after Wrathgate when Varimathras and Putress tried to take over Undercity and Alliance and the Horde saw what she is doing inside the city. Still fine, it was in character, she was doing EVERYTHING to take revenge on Arthas. Everything. That’s why she existed, why she kept going. Even back then, I didn’t hate her. She was still a very well-written character. This is what a character in her position would do. 

But once everything was done, the Lich King was taken care of, she realized there is no point in her existence. She saw the Lich King was not destroyed. They only replaced him. So she threw herself from the Icecrown Citadel and fell on saronite spikes, the only thing that could definitely kill her.

And she ended up in a dark place. And the pain she felt was not like anything she felt before. It was the most horrible, the most inconsolable place. But val’kyras came down to her and sacrificed for her to get her back. Now we know what happened as we progress in the Shadowlands but... let’s say this was the beginning of the end for a good character Sylvanas once was. This was a start of cliché, inconsistency, and a great example that good characters should be allowed to go and leave so they can be remembered as a good characters.

WHAT CHANGED

Look, I came to WoW really late. I was playing on WotLK free servers as I could not afford to pay for official servers. But I knew the story in WotLK and I was still pretty ok with Sylvanas. I don’t remember hating her this much. She was well written.

It was Cataclysm Firelands patch when I finally could come to official servers. And Sylvanas was already doing pretty shady and disgusting stuff. I played Forsaken starting quest line so I know. Raising undead like the Lich King did? No problem for her. She even said she is like Arthas but she is working for the Horde (she never cared for them anyway, it was just more beneficial for her). What happened in Gilneas was not alright. Who gases the whole zone and making it inhabitable? Alright, let’s say Horde was expanding and Gilneas was next to Lordaeron. Alright. But back then, I finally dove deep into lore and I’ve noticed many people are really devoted to Sylvanas. It seemed almost like a cult. And every time I asked people, why they love this psyhopathic banshee, they were like: “She is my Queen! I love her, I would die for her! She is cool, she is taking care of us, she has a good heart!”

Something was amiss here... I couldn’t understand this. I couldn’t see what they saw. I saw a shady, ruthless and careless psychopath who is using her loyal subjects to save herself from something. And many people believed it even in BfA. Me and my friend had to show them excerpts from short stories where she say that “once they were arrows in her quiver, now they are bulwark against the darkness”. They couldn’t believe they loved Queen would not love them back!

But hey, still, I wanted to understand why people love her. I would understand if it would be still Warcraft III or WotLK, that’s fine. But Cata? Legion? BfA? Shadowlands? 

So I started reading all books, short stories where she was. Articles about her. I tried to catch the glimpse of why people loved her: the majority told me she is still good and has a good heart and she is an amazing person. But I didn’t see it. Maybe I am stupid and I don’t understand, I am missing something... So I kept studying, trying to see anything good in her, I was failing. I saw a character falling more down into a pit full of anger and hate. Her loyalists said she was an amazing creature, loving, caring.

And the more I was told by people that she is caring and she has a good heart, the more I was getting disgusted and angry because the more I was reading about her and the more her loyalists told me, the more I saw what Sylvanas is: inconsistent character.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH SYLVANAS

In one book she was written like this. In another book, she was written like that. In one quest it was like this, then it was like that. In one expansion she behaved this way, in the next expansion, it was that way. She was doing more and more twisted things and her loyalists kept telling me she has a good heart. My frustration was growing to the point I could not stand her. It felt like I’ve met the person I knew was torturing her friends but when I met them, they told me with bruises on their faces and definitely mentally abused that she is amazing and it’s not her fault, she is just misunderstood and I should love her too.

When she killed Liam Greymane, loyalists were like: “I have no clue why Genn hates her so much! That stupid dog should die!” Yeah right, somebody kills your son and destroys your home, you have no reason to be angry, it’s ok.

She burns down Teldrassil and they said: “Why Tyrande wants to kill her? I hope Sylvanas kills her first!” Sure, somebody burns down a city with thousands of innocent people, it’s fine, let them go, no hard feelings. And sometimes these people are able to justify her actions with: “But this is fantasy! There is different morale than in real world!” Please, guys, never ever write a story. Never touch it. You will end up like Steve Danuser making characters to behave like idiots and without emotions. Stay away. Please. Do world the favor.

I was trying really hard. Trying to figure out what kind of character she is. Find a pattern. Because you can write a chaotic character and still find a pattern and it can be still a consistent character. But Sylvanas? I felt more and more that not even Blizzard knows what to do with her, how to write her... she felt more and more inconsistent and out of place with every expansion. And you know what? That happens to characters which are kept in the story longer than they should. If character losts a meaning of their existence, there are only two options: you either let them go or you have to find them a new meaning. And in case of Sylvanas, the second option led to a narrative disaster.

We were told by Blizzard: “Don’t worry! Everything falls in place! It makes sense what she does!” But after the Sanctum of Domination finale? It was a big fat lie...

Before I come to the cinematic, let me tell you what made me hate her beyond every possible measure: her fandom.

HITLER HAD A GOOD HEART!

In Legion, she was doing shady stuff. But in BfA? She became a Hitler. She burned down Teldrassil because... IDK she snapped and wanted to show one elven archer that you can kill hope? And what kind of catapults she had has reach 20 km? What kind of catapults can burn down incredibly big tree SOAKED in water with thick bark. Was that azerite or... no, I am not gonna get angry. And I won’t even start with the b*shit Blizzard pulled: “Look, just because Sylvanas is right in front of Teldrassil doesn’t mean it was her who burned it down!” They had to lie to us to look that they can create a better story than what it actually is.

She destroyed Undercity so Forsaken lost their home. Is this how you take care of your subjects if you are loving and caring? I think not.

And with her actions, millions of souls from the whole cosmos are going right into the Maw for eternal suffering. And why? Because she was scared. Because instead of thinking about herself and trying to change, she rather schemed with the god of death... who was responsible for her misery. And even teamed with Kel’Thuzad, who was reason of her fate in the first place! And yet, after all this, after mass genocide, destroying souls, millions, maybe billions of souls are suffering because of her... and you can still tell me there is still good in her and she deserves redemption arch... And with love say: “She got us into this, she will get us out of this <3 ^_^” So somebody is making everybody suffer and some people are like “Ooooh it’s fine, I support her! I bet she will realize what she is doing and she will save us!” Would you say the same about Hitler? That he was misunderstood, he was trying to fix something that’s why he murdered millions of people? I am just asking what kind of people her loyalists are in real life.

I have a question... would you still love her if she was a man? Or decomposing undead? Or if she wouldn’t be sexy elf at all? If she would be ugly? I think we all know the answer (disclaimer, beautiful people are not always kind and nice, what a surprise). I bet she would be already killed or hated by majority of the community at least two expansions back. Why Garrosh had to stand trial for war crimes and Sylvanas doesn’t? To be honest, I never liked Garrosh, I hated him, but I never hated him as much I hate Sylvanas. He was at least consistent to his very last moment. But I am fed up by the fact that everybody keeps excusing what she does just because she is a sexy elf. This is not character I can respect. How can you say about such character that she is cool when you know she is commiting genocide? Let’s replace her with ugly elf and let’s see how many of you will still love her.

If you love her because she is a crazy homicidal maniac and you want her to do evil stuff, go ahead, nothing wrong with you, it’s fine. You love her because you think that she has a good heart and she is sending millions of souls into hell because she wants to help us? Take your pills and think twice before going on date with a manipulative person who will use you, beat you but will tell you they love you so much while cheating on you. Thanks.

If you are lying to yourself that she is good and has a good heart because you are afraid you wouldn’t like her anymore as a bad guy, then you love illusion you made around her, not the character itself. And you should seriously think if you really love the character if you need to change it that much in your mind to keep loving her.

GRAND FINALE

“If they are gonna give her redemption arch, I am gonna puke.” Many people told me, they would not. They are not gonna do it. She is beyond redemption, she is antagonist, period. Guess what, they did. The cheapest way possible.

Blizzard kept telling us everything will make sense in the end, why she did all these things. But it did not. And it only confirmed my greatest fear: Sylvanas is an inconsistent character since Cataclysm.

Sylvanas was afraid to go to the Maw. So she got an amazing idea. Let’s free the god of death, the malevolent creature trapped there because for sure he is suffering just like me, and injustice was done to him. He is the reason of my suffering because he made Helm of Domination and Frostmourne, that’s why I was killed and I am like this? I am sure he is a good guy, in the end, let’s remake reality so there is no life and death! That guy must be pretty ok. Oh wait his job is to torture souls? No, I don’t believe he is bad.

So when Jailer gets all he wanted, ofc he say that he will remake all reality and everybody will serve. And Sylvanas realizes: “Oh my, he is just like the Lich King! I didn’t want this! I will never serve!” Even she served him for the past few expansions. And suddenly she sees he is a bad guy. Suddenly.

And then, Jailer gives her half of her soul back... So... this is the explanation? She was doing all this because she was not whole? Is this an excuse for genocide? Now we will all feel sorry for her? Tell her it’s ok, you were not yourself?

I am saying this all the years and I will say it again: the Ebon Blade are order full of those with a fate like Sylvanas. The whole order. Multiple characters suffered under the Lich King like her, lost themselves, were made to kill their friends, their families. And they, too, took revenge on him. But instead of going crazy and trying to hurt everybody because they were hurt, they tried to help and protect people. Maybe they are missing part of their souls too. But are they running around, burning innocents, committing genocide? No. So please, the is no excuse, she was aware of what she was doing. I am not buying this and for sure this won’t make me feel sorry for her. It was her choice. You can be depressed and hurt into the very core and still decide not to be homicidal maniac.

Another annoying thing is, Blizzard kept telling us she is a master strategist and she is highly inteligent. Would a highly inteligent person try to help somebody responsible for her suffering? Being ok with them? There was not shown how come she is ok with the Jailer! Look I thought she is smart but after the cinematic, she does not look like that.

What was her plan anyway? Did she believe such creature won’t betray her, he won’t dump her? I was hoping he will dump her and kill her. That would be the only ending fitting for the character. I didn’t want another Kerrigan, I didn’t want redemption arch for her... I was hoping I will finally like her as a villain. Now I can’t... there is no way I will like her ever again because Blizzard probably can’t do just evil characters. There always must be something behind, some explanation why they are like this. “I was good this whole time!” And I am tired of this... Suddenly I like Garrosh because he was an asshole but he was consistent. He had a good ending. He “died” like a boss.

THEY SHOULD HAVE LET HER DIE

And I mean it. If they would let her go after WotLK, it would be a good ending for her. Tragic end for the tragic character. She fulfilled her purpose and she would be remembered as a good consistent character. But she is making a lot of money, many people love her (not anymore, even people who liked her hate her now and her fanbase is getting smaller) so Blizzard decided they have to milk her as much as possible.

I think everything good should come to an end. “You would either die as a hero or live long enough to become a villain.” In this case “You would either die as a good character or live long enough to become inconsistent and annoying character.” And it happened.

Remember how people were angry how Thrall is getting a lot of attention in Cata? Haha, good old times. How about Sylvanas in 3 expansion cinematics (and some side cinematics like Reckoning, etc) and 2 expansions fully focusing on her (and some other expansions where she is a lot too). How about the 15th figure in a row. And 4th Blizzcon art. And I can keep going.

Metzen had favorite characters... but they were never overused as much as Sylvanas. Vol’jin was warchief for 1 expansion where he did nothing and then he died so she could take lead in story. So many characters are forgotten, pushed down so she can be on the spotlight. And I am sick of it. This is not single player, this is MMORPG. The world feels ridiculously small thanks to this, we have more characters than Sylvanas + 5 characters they keep using and recycling all the time.

And keep using Sylvanas and putting her into the spotlight all the time did not help. You can start hating character you liked before just because you have enough of them and you want to see other characters. This world has a big potential. So many characters are unused because of Sylvanas. Because the lead narrative designer loves her so much that he had to make her the main character of WoW and doesn’t care there is a whole world to take care of. And he does the worst job possible. Because he tried to make her complicated and complex and in the end he was just trying to make it look like that but it didn’t work out. It was just inconsistent. It didn’t fall in place.

Her plot armor is so laughable and it’s the most annoying thing about Sylvanas. How characters around her are so stupid and dumb so they can let her do such stuff (hello Horde in BfA). The whole universe and Blizzard especially is protecting Sylvanas of any harm. How can you like such character when it behaves like Mary Sue? I didn’t want to see cinematic how she comes and beat up really powerful guy without any issues. You know how interesting would be if Four Horsemen managed to arrive earlier and they wouldn’t know if to fight the Lich King or Sylvanas? No, Blizzard wanted to show lady Sylvanas Plotarmor.

And the worst thing is, I feel like Shadowlands are my last expansion in WoW. This is where the story ends for me. And I know that many characters won’t get resolution, many story arcs will never close because they’ve put too much effort to work on Sylvanas and ignore other characters. So many characters could have met. Lore in Shadowlands could have been expanded about The Scourge, death knights, rune magic, etc... it did not. 

So no, Sylvanas is not one of the best characters created. If this is the best WoW can muster then there is nothing to be proud of. We would have good or better characters if Blizzard tried to work with more characters and give them space and a chance to develop. But we will never have them because Sylvanas took the spotlight.

Sylvanas for me is the character who will be put on guidelines on how to not use a character. This character will be perfect for DO NOT character development guidelines. And the whole story of WoW at least in BfA and Shadowlands is a great example of how to destroy the world with an amazing setting and characters. 

I hope I’ve made this clear why many people hate her. Because it’s much more complex problem. This character was misused, written horribly, overused, was given a poor and cheap story arch, made look stupid and it no longer makes sense. And on top of that, many characters will never get a resolution, many storylines won’t be finished because all story was focused on her and not on the world. World which was supposed to be “everybody’s story” was made story about Sylvanas. Just because she sells.

Good job Danuser, I hope you are happy.

Tl;Dr: Sylvanas is inconsistent since Cataclysm because Blizzard tried to make her complex character artificially and failed horribly. She should have died after WotLK and never made Warchief. They should have let her go so we can remember her as a good consistent character

P.S.: I am not native speaker, sorry for grammar errors.

[o-king-of-suns]

To the sweet anon who sent me an ask couple of days ago. I am sorry for not answering you earlier. I have a problem with the reply button, so I will be answering your ask here :D

 1- Let’s be real here; Levi was NEVER going to choose Erwin :D No matter how much we wanted it to happen. No matter how much we thought it is the most reasonable choice, it was just never going to happen and we all know it. Levi was pretty much a slave to the narrative at that point.

Isayama said that he ALREADY had made up his mind that Erwin would die there and then. He also said that the since volume 18, he tried to draw Erwin and Armin as contrasting characters, the past and the future and described Erwin as someone "who is drenched in sth very personal" while Arimn is someone who "is chasing a dream that's pure and fresh”. Isayama intentionally created the serumbowl scene to draw important parallels between Armin & Erwin (as well as to show Levi’s development). I don’t understand how can anyone be blind to this!

  Armin is the future, rightful successor to Erwin. The plot deemed it necessary to show that Armin WAS the right choice and Isayama’s objective was to ensure that neither the characters nor the readers regret this choice by the end of the story. This is what Isayama planned to do all along but I’m going to be honest, it wasn’t well-executed as I wished it to be. Armin’s arc could’ve been handled much better.

2- Both Levi and Erwin agreed that in order for humanity to have a chance in survival and for them to have a chance in winning this battle, Erwin had to march to his death. Did this mean that both of them made a choice to doom humanity?! of course not, because as much as brilliant Erwin was as a commander, he wasn’t the sole key to humanity’s survival, Eren was at that point. I mean if they had to choose to sacrifice Erwin or Eren at that time, they would’ve agreed that it was Erwin is the person to be sacrificed because Eren was more important.

Actually, Levi made the same decision before during the Uprising Arc! He was willing to let everyone in the SC (including Erwin) die in order to find Eren and Historia.

3- Levi’s two most highlighted character traits are his kindness and his perceptive nature. His choice on that rooftop solidifies what I find to be his most important feature: an innate instinct for consideration, for understanding how to best care for someone independent of himself ALONG with his very strong perceptive nature and his ability to read situations and act in the best way accordingly. Taking that into consideration, an important comparison between Levi and Erwin needs to be drawn to also understand why Levi chose Erwin to rest.

Levi admits that he is willing to play the role of the “lunatic who kills people” for the sake of humanity. He chose to take this burden on himself. He understands that he might need to ask his comrades and subordinates to sacrifice themselves and in return he promises them to carry their will. The deaths of his comrades have always been a way to strengthen his will. He uses their will to keep moving..

Erwin, on the other hand, enrolled into the SC to achieve his childhood dream, like Armin and many others (he’s a human after all), but found himself getting up in ranks till he became a commander and a necessary devil. It wasn’t simply a burden he took upon himself, unlike Levi. As Levi said to Floch, it was asked of him. Everyone wanted to see something in or get something from this figure Erwin cut in their tense, desperate world : Erwin the Figurehead giving people direction  and purpose, Erwin the Monster wielding ruthlessness for the sake of  humanity, Erwin the Visionary who sees something no one else can see.  Everyone had something they wanted him to be, and he delivered. Erwin eventually becomes broken. He struggles to find meaning in his comrades’ deaths. He tells Levi that he thought many times that death would have been much easier for him. He never wanted that burden in the first place and it’s a heavy burden indeed.

Levi always thought that Erwin was the same as him but he realized that this wasn’t the case till it was very late. He never “accepted Erwin as a human” until he  watched him drop the mask on that crate in Shiganshina and realized that had an ideal which he projected onto Erwin.

My point here is that Levi deciding to let Erwin rest is very understandable and he would have acted in the same way regardless who the person was - Erwin or someone else- because it has only to do with Levi’s compassionate and understanding nature. It had nothing to do with personal feelings towards Erwin (If it was, we would have had flashbacks of Levi thinking only of Erwin moments in his life and him reminiscing their old days together, right? Lol)

4-  Levi’s decision was a layered and nuanced decision and Levi refers to it multiple times as such, saying he let Erwin rest and ALSO that he doesn't regret the decision and wouldn't let anyone else regret it either and reassures Armin about his abilities. Anyone who intentionally decides to not pay attention to detail within the narrative structure, both visually and textually, know what they are doing (ehm shippers :D)

Isayama: “The scene where Levi decided Erwin’s fate - he was influenced by his interactions with Kenny.”

Levi’s past experiences always helped him in making decisions, especially this one. We can see how Kenny’s final moments, Kenny’s “being drunk on sth to keep going on” speech, and Levi overhearing Armin talk about his dream to go to the ocean influenced his choice.

The answers  to what’s in the basement were the only thing that drove Erwin. Aside from that, his life was empty, thus his longing to die. Erwin admits that he has no idea what he will do afterwards, whereas for Armin, the idea of seeing the ocean is more of a symbolic gesture for appreciating the freedom outside the walls - one of hope for the future itself.

Seeing the basement could never be a positive thing for Erwin’s character, because once he saw it, he would have been overcome with despair because it could never have possibly lived up to his expectations. His goal would be complete, but he would still be a broken man, and upon discovering the secrets of the basement he will have no choice but to see those ghosts all the time.

This is an excerpt from one of the official short stories and it summarizes the whole thing. Erwin’s dream, once fulfilled, would have probably caused his downfall.

 Going forward to ch. 136, Levi specifies that he made his choice with Armin and the future in mind and he doesn't regret entrusting the future to Armin "who had the same look in his eyes as you guys" Levi saw something in Armin that made him entrust their future to him.

This is literally the same chapter in which Armin convinces Zeke to offer to sacrifice himself to stop the Rumbling, showing his potential and skills.

In the official short story, Levi sees an apparition of Erwin, but it’s actually more of his own reflection.

5- At the time of making that decision, none of the characters knew that their enemy was the ENTIRE world. Knowing this might have changed Levi’s choice, but it was never going to happen as I said because this is not how the plot was supposed to work.

6- Last thing, it is very strange that Eruris say that Erwin and Levi share a very deep bond and understanding but then make such claims as though Levi doing that would be a gesture dedication and *love*. It's not just that Levi wouldn't be willing to risk it. It's that it literally would not occur to him as an option because it would not be good for Erwin or any of his comrades who gave their lives for the sake of humanity.

[lazysublimeengineer]

You’re my Gofer!

Summary: One shot sequel to crystal clear.

Takemichi’s brain short circuited at the sight that greeted his eyes.

When Akashi mentioned to him yesterday that he should be prepared, he wasn’t expecting this kind of surprise.

Characters: Takemichi H. Draken R. & Senju K.

Takemichi swallowed thickly and clenched his fists as he watched the growing tension between Draken, Akashi and Senju.

While he understood and appreciated Draken’s overprotectiveness and not wanting to involve him in the world of delinquency again, Takemichi also realized that joining the Brahman will make him reached his goal faster of defeating Mikey and preventing him of going down the path of the terrible ending that was waiting for him in the future.

He can’t be indecisive now.

‘If I don’t make any decisions now, then nothing will change!’ Takemichi thought firmly.

“Draken-kun. I’ll join Brahman!” He announced resolutely.

“Huh?!” Draken looked taken aback by his decision.

Draken just took a one look at his face and he knew that he can’t really stop Takemichi no matter what he does. He’s just as stubborn as Mikey. Or even more so. This was what he actually fears when Takemichi knew everything. Takemichi will join the fray regardless if its dangerous or not. He knew that Takemichi was an adult that can make his own decisions but fuck, he didn’t want him to risk his life for Mikey or anyone of them ever again.

There’s a great future waiting for him back there but he still chose to go back here into the past to fix everything. Again. He just hoped that it’ll be all worth it in the end.

“Draken… As much as Brahman wants to stop Kantou Manji Gang…”

Akashi’s voice cut off his racing thoughts and looked pensively on the ground. “There’s no way we want to fight Mikey.”

“That’s why we need both of you, the very people whom Mikey trusts. Facing him without getting in a fight would be for the best. Please understand.” Akashi replied seriously.

Draken pondered over his words.

The pelting of the raindrops from the above had ceased and the sky grew clearer afterwards. It didn’t go unnoticed by Senju who moved his umbrella from the side and stared up at the sky.

“Oh, it stopped raining.” There was a certain look into his eyes as he stared up at the small puffs of white clouds that’s beginning to show itself. Funny, how the sky grew clearer and the weather became calmer after Takemichi had accepted their offer of joining their gang.

Was he a secret weather magician too? Takemichi could spread his sunshine and brightness even to the gray clouds beyond them. A slight curved of his lips turned upwards at the mere thought.

Draken sighed in defeat as he looked over at Takemichi’s determined face. “Well, that’s Takemitchy for ya. Keep in mind that the only reason we’re cooperating with Brahman is because of our aligning goals.” He said firmly.

“…Got it.” Takemichi replied.

“Don’t you forget about that. Welcome to Brahman, Takemitchy.” Draken smiled at him and offered his hand in front of him.

Takemichi took his hand, enveloping it in a gentle yet firm handshake. “I will definitely bring Mikey back!”

Draken could feel the callouses on his hands, a sign of the hardships that he already went through in saving all of them. And yet he could also sensed the warm sincerity beneath them, engulfing him in a state of reassurance and trust. He may have to risk again in putting of his faith in Takemichi. And that’s the one thing that he won’t hesitate in doing so now.

If there’s one thing that Takemichi’s well known of, it’s his keeping and fulfilling his promises to them and not giving up.

Draken shook back his hand firmly and smiled warmly at him. This was one of the rarest times when he can put his walls down and expressed what he actually felt for the other.

“Alrighty! I’ve decided.”

Senju’s sudden cheerful voice broke the fragile moment between the two of them and Draken resisted the urge to twitch his eyes and sigh in annoyance.

What a great timing.

Takemichi pulled his hand away from Draken and turned around, seeing an offered umbrella to his direction by Senju. He casually accepted it with a bewildered expression on his face.

“An umbrella?” He blinked a few times.

“From now on… You’re my gofer!” Senju announced happily.

“Huh?” Takemichi looked taken aback, but he wasn’t sure if it’s from Senju’s words or the cheerful expression on his face. It was strange seeing the happy look and cheerful smile painted on his face since his usual default of facial expression was mostly blank and serious. But he couldn’t deny that it made his seraphic features softer and younger. And he couldn’t tear his eyes away from him.

Senju looked like a beautiful, fallen angel from the sky.

Senju leaned closer with that everlasting smile still present on his face. “Let’s meet tomorrow, 3PM at Harajuku!”

Takemichi tried so hard not to blush at his proximity and the cuteness that was laid out in front of him. What’s with Senju and the other members of their gang invading his personal space?!

“Eh? Wait—”

“Senju’s interested in you, Hanagaki!” Akashi cut him off cheerily.

What. Takemichi’s line of thought came into a screeching halt.

“Just be prepared.” Akashi flashed him a smirk before he waved goodbye to him and Draken.

‘What does that mean?!’Takemichi thought frantically as he could only watched Akashi leave and Senju walking beside him with a spring to his steps.

The Next Day, 3PM Harajuku…

Takemichi tried to be punctual this time even though he wasn’t the exact model employee back at the DVD shop that he was working for back then. He simply didn’t want to shatter any good impression and standing that he currently had with Brahman now especially with their leader since Akashi said that Senju was interested in him. Which still weirded him out. Yet it brought a warm feeling spreading through his chest. And he didn’t even know the reason why he was feeling like that in the first place.

Nevertheless, he took Akashi’s words with a grain of salt and didn’t delved deeper on it further. Maybe Senju was always like that when he found something that caught his eye or when his goals are actually met. Their leader’s unpredictability still caught him off guard sometimes. It reminded him of Mikey.

At the mere thought of the blond, Takemichi’s mood went pensive for a bit before he fought it back with a resolute determination. Of course, he was firm in his decision to save him regardless of what method he had to undertake to achieve it. If he had to join the Brahman to reached that goal faster then so be it. He’s ready for any consequences that he needed to face if necessary.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hanagaki!”

A voice cut off his wandering thoughts and the noise among the crowd that made him paused and turned around to the source of it.

Takemichi’s brain short circuited at the sight that greeted his eyes.

When Akashi mentioned to him yesterday that he should be prepared, he wasn’t expecting this kind of surprise.

“Let’s go.”

A young lady dressed in a female school uniform stated calmly and looked casually at him like everything wasn’t out of the ordinary.

But it isn’t.

This was Senju.

Dressed in female clothes.

Senju.

Who is now a she instead of a he.

Female clothes and features.

And had a nice rack.

Takemichi internally screamed at himself. Now this wasn’t the time to be thinking like that! There was a right time to admire the beauty in front of him. And now isn’t the right time to do it. Since when did Senju became a woman?! His brain felt like melting along with his common sense.

“Huh? Who?” Takemichi replied intelligently as he gaped at Senju’s transformed existence in front of him.

Senju just stared at him blankly before she raised a hand to cover her mouth and stifled her giggles. “Hanagaki you never failed to amuse me sometimes.”

“Eh? But h-how…?” Takemichi stammered.

“Did you hit your head or something Hanagaki? I told you yesterday to meet me here at 3pm right?” Senju answered playfully as she now tugged on his arm and pulled him along the bustling crowd of the city.

Takemichi let him get swept away by Senju’s hold and actions, his mind was still racing with rapid thoughts at this newfound discovery that made him have an internal midlife crisis. He wanted to ask so many things… but for now he just let her be as he was also tantalized by her rare sunny disposition and her ethereal features in front of him.

Of course, Senju knew the reason why Takemichi was being confused and having a meltdown in front of him. But she chose to blatantly ignored it and willfully play the ruthless card of feigned innocence. She was having fun of making him bewildered and flustered.

And she also found it cute and adorable anyway.

This was going to be an interesting day ahead.

(A/N: I own nothing from this franchise except this weird fic of mine. Chapter 215 watered my crops and extended my lifespan because of these things: Inupi, Draken and Takemichi being shirtless and exposing their toned bodies, Draken going feral to protect Takemichi, Takemichi’s ever growing character development and backbone, Senju acting like Mikey and growing fond of our crybaby hero and lastly the infamous gender reveal party at the last panel. Ken plays with us like a damn fiddle with that bomb at the last panel of chapter 215 in the manga. The whole fandom is shook and is now rioting with speedy theories and ideas lmao. Well from my end, it’s fine if Senju is a guy or a gal since the gender is not my measurement of an interest to a character anyway. But it’ll be intriguing if Senju turned out to be a female and a leader of a gang since we all know that it’s mostly a male dominated territory in the franchise. And we’ll probably get another girlboss like Yuzuha as a bonus. Who knows? Maybe Ken will drop us another mind-blowing twist at the next chapter so I’m still not fully onboard with Senju being a 100% gal. But for the sake of this fic and for fun purposes, let’s assume that Senju is a complete female here and she’s having the time of her life making our crybaby hero like this: Takemichi.exe has stopped working. Also, if Mikey learned about this, he’ll be feral and he would raise some hell to prevent them from stealing his dear Takemitchy. So, Mikey you need to step up your game and appear in the future chapters so Takemichi doesn’t end up with one of his harems lol. Reviews are amusing. So, let me hear them from you.)