#and made into a tool and/or experiment for humans to abuse their power with

[beaststarved]

WHAT TAROT CARD ARE YOU?

JUSTICE.

What would you do to ensure justice? You know full well I don’t speak of lofty ideals and courts and magistrates, dearest. What would you do to those that hurt you? If I dropped them in your lap, what would you do? What kind of pain could you possibly inflict upon them? You are right to do so. You are right to want to do so. Ignore the screaming, dearest, you are the hand of justice now, and they hurt you. Do not look too closely at their faces, dearest. You are within your rights. You spell out your own rights, now. Are you happy about it? Are you certain that this is the right person you hold by the hair? Does your anger hurt less now?

tagged by: @kaerinio u cute puta ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ tagging: @sanctissimx (leander + sen!), @sunderer (babygirl), @tearenola (juno!), @rotdame , @biskael , @sil3nth1lls , @remauriel , @zorkaya , @deathdates , + you !

[maybe-im-dark]

The X-Men as an Allegory for People with Disabilities: Why Logan (Wolverine) Represents Our Struggle

Mutants in the X-Men universe have long been recognized as an allegory for various marginalized groups. Often, people discuss them as symbols for race, gender identity, or sexuality, and while these are all valid and essential interpretations, there’s another group that rarely gets the same attention: people with disabilities. At their core, the X-Men represent those who society deems "different," and their struggles mirror the everyday realities of disabled people who face prejudice, violence, and the overwhelming sense that they don’t fit in.

In this post, I want to dive into why Logan (Wolverine)—arguably the most beloved X-Men character—is such a poignant representation of this struggle. Logan’s experiences aren’t just about mutant oppression; they reflect the same violence, exclusion, and dehumanization that so many people with disabilities have endured throughout history. His pain resonates on a deeply personal level because he embodies the way disability can isolate, alienate, and force individuals to question their humanity.

Logan: Beaten Down, Like So Many Others

Logan’s story is filled with unimaginable suffering, much of it inflicted because of his mutation. From being experimented on in the Weapon X program to living through countless wars and battles, Logan has been beaten down—physically and mentally—time and time again. He’s been tortured, treated like an animal, and used as a tool by people who see his mutation as nothing more than a resource to exploit. This is painfully similar to the way people with disabilities have been treated throughout history.

From early eugenics movements to the horrific medical experiments performed on disabled individuals, society has frequently viewed people with disabilities as "less than human," as subjects for abuse or as problems to be solved. Logan’s life, constantly fleeing, hiding, and surviving these abuses, reflects the lived reality of countless disabled people who have been denied their basic humanity.

The Alienation of Feeling Like an Animal

One of the most striking aspects of Logan’s character is how he struggles with feeling like he doesn’t belong. His mutation, which gives him heightened senses, superhuman strength, and animal-like reflexes, also makes him feel less than human. His feral rage, his sharpened claws, and his ability to endure pain make him question whether he’s more beast than man. This deep feeling of alienation is something many people with disabilities understand all too well.

Disabled people are often made to feel like outsiders, whether through physical inaccessibility, social exclusion, or the ways society "others" their existence. Logan’s sense of not belonging, of feeling out of place in the world and within his own skin, mirrors the internal struggles that people with disabilities often face. His story isn’t just one of physical power—it’s about the mental toll of constantly being made to feel like you’re different, and not in a way that’s celebrated, but in a way that isolates.

Physical Power vs. Internal Pain

While Logan is incredibly strong and seemingly indestructible, his true power isn’t his healing factor or his claws—it’s his ability to keep going despite the weight of his internal pain. This is one of the reasons so many people relate to him. People with disabilities are often portrayed in media as weak or fragile, but in reality, they possess immense strength to survive in a world that isn’t built for them. Logan, too, represents this paradox: physically invincible but emotionally scarred.

In the same way that disabled people have to fight for basic rights, recognition, and acceptance, Logan fights for a place in the world. His physical toughness often hides his internal vulnerability, but those who look closely can see the emotional scars he carries—the loss, the trauma, the battles that never seem to end. These scars make him relatable to anyone who’s been made to feel different or "less than" by society.

The Fight for Recognition

Logan, like all mutants, is constantly fighting for recognition—fighting for the right to exist, to be treated as more than a weapon or a threat. People with disabilities face this same struggle. Whether it’s fighting for accessibility, equal opportunities, or even the right to be seen as full people rather than their disabilities, the fight for recognition is ongoing. Logan’s story reminds us that the battle for acceptance is exhausting but necessary, that fighting for one’s humanity is a lifelong journey.

Conclusion: Logan as an Icon of Resilience

What makes Logan’s story so powerful is that, despite all the violence, abuse, and isolation, he never gives up. He’s survived things no one should have to endure, and though he’s scarred, broken, and often cynical, he continues to protect those he cares about. He becomes a mentor to younger mutants, helping them navigate a world that sees them as dangerous or inferior. In this way, Logan’s journey is one of resilience—a testament to the strength it takes to survive in a world that doesn’t always see you as fully human.

People with disabilities can see themselves in Logan because his story is one of constant struggle, of surviving in a world that wasn’t made for him, and of pushing forward despite the pain. He’s not just a superhero with claws and a healing factor—he’s a symbol of the fight for dignity and recognition that so many of us face every day.

Logan’s story shows us that even when the world beats you down, when society tries to strip you of your humanity, there’s power in resilience. There’s strength in continuing to fight for your place in the world. That’s why people with disabilities—myself included—find a part of ourselves in Logan.

[ephemeralzenith]

fate vs agency: altan trengsin and fang runin

The Phoenix outright states: ‘You humans always think you’re destined for things, for tragedy or for greatness. Destiny is a myth. Destiny is the only myth. The gods choose nothing. You chose.’ But is that true?

Altan and especially Rin were doomed by the narrative the moment Speer was razed, the moment they were whisked from their homes to a lab or an abusive household.

The thing is: nobody actually wanted them. They were dirty Speerly shaman trash; Altan was experimented on and Rin was abused for her entire childhood. Even in Sinegard, they were both discriminated against - Altan’s a freak of nature who is used for entertainment even if people fear him, and Rin is only her skin colour - even though they both worked so hard and DESERVED to go there. Nobody wanted them until they went to the Cike.

This fuels the anger that has been curated since they were literal kids. Of course they’re angry, and of course they don’t know how to express that in a healthy way - they’ve ALWAYS been abused, they’ve never known anything else. Obviously that doesn’t excuse some of the things they’ve done because of this anger (see: Altan’s abusive behaviour and Rin’s genocide), but the people around them, and society as a whole, failed them. There were two children, maybe Speerlies, but they were two hurt and scared children.

They did choose some things, but they were doomed the moment that Nikan decided to place them in Shiro and the Fangs’ hands. They were so angry, so hurt, so scared - they never would know anything else, really.

Fate doomed not only Rin’s fate, but the possible future she’d have with Nezha. They loved each other, but they could never have each other. Rinezha are the star-crossed lovers, the Romeo and Juliet, the Pyramus and Thisbe, the fleeting touch, the only kiss, the necessary betrayal and the leaving one behind. They are a walking juxtaposition - fire and water, general who wants absolute destruction and government official/ruler who needs Nikan to be safe for the future, poor and rich etc etc. And yet, they have these soft moments because they know how war destroys; they love each other in spite of all of this, but they can never have each other, because Nezha is the last Yin left, and Rin will never live in a world where Hesperians rule her home.

The Phoenix (and Rin by extension, I guess) doesn’t believe fate exists - that there is a choice for everything - but literally everything ensured Rin and Nezha would never be happy and in love: their race, their positions in power, their ideologies, their families, their relationships with other people, their thought patterns, their beliefs, their relationship with their power/shamanism… literally everything would’ve fucked them up. And yet, here they are defying fate, only to fall back into it again. Love is not enough.

The same goes for Altan and Chaghan. They can never have a healthy relationship where Altan doesn’t die. Altan cannot live, he’s self destructive and miserable and angry. He lives only to destroy and when he isn’t destroying, he wants to die.

They could’ve made choices, yes, but nobody makes rational choices in war. They were limited by the tools society gave them, and yeah, they were awful people, but fate itself doomed them before they were old enough to think.

:(

[flock-of-cassowaries]

So my hot take on NBC Hannibal is that is is a remarkably and relentlessly cynical story, in that every. single. character. abuses the power vested in the virtue of their profession.

Like, all the cops, all the doctors, all the psychiatrists.

Almost all the murderers, too - the bee lady is killing clients, as is the mushroom man, and the social worker; Randall Tier and Mason Verger are using the tools / items available to them from their jobs to commit murder; and Tobias Bunch and Garrett Jacob Hobbs are transforming parts of their victims into materials they use / sell at work.

The only characters I can think of who are not show to be ludicrously unethical at their jobs are:

1. The pharmacist-colleague of the Mushroom Man whom Jack inexplicably screams at;

2. Will’s long-suffering s2 defence lawyer;

3. Georgia Mädchen and Abigail Hobbs (no jobs, Literally Minors™️);

4. The child-kidnapper from Oëuf (no job); and

5. The Angel-Maker (deus diablus ex brain-tumor).

…but of the law-enforcement / law-enforcement-adjacent characters, we have:

- Hannibal

- Jack (routinely flouts rules and does things that endanger his subordinates and which are probably illegal; which, points for verisimilitude, I guess)

- Zeller (leaks info to Freddie Lounds)

- Beverley (a bit more of a stretch, but I’m fairly certain showing an accused serial killer / mental patient confidential information on other crimes isn’t okay; and she definitely broke into a suspect’s house without a warrant)

- Chilton (the most unethical psychiatrist since the CIA stopped funding the Montreal Experiments)

- Alanna (starts out straight and narrow, but becomes willing to take on the role of her ex’s keeper - incredibly unethical for a psychiatrist, especially with a patient being held in custody)

- Will (again, starts out reasonably ethical, but then slides into such ends-justify-the-means nonsense as [1] defiling corpses; [2] traumatizing museum staff with defiled corpses; [3] knowingly eating human flesh; [4] warning a serial killer of his imminent apprehension; [5] attempting to use various serial killers as tools to kill and/or bait other serial killers; and [6] attempting to extrajudicially execute a serial killer [via cliff]. )

And like, technically, you could just read it as “Hannibal’s influence corrupts those around him”; that certainly seems to be the case with Alanna and Will.

(And arguably, that is how we’re supposed to read Jack, but… as the self-appointed president of the Jack Crawford Hate Committee - fuck Jack.)

I think Hannibal would certainly find it flattering to read it that way. It would appeal very much to his narcissism.

It’s also quite possible that was the writing team’s authorial intent, too.

But that is absolutely not how people work.

Hannibal would’ve encountered people who were just stubbornly immovable in their refusal to endanger patients / subordinates / whatever.

And people who just found him creepy.

People who got a bad vibe the first time they met him, and just refused to ever reassess their first impression - not particularly fair, in most cases, but there definitely are people who operate that way.

And sure, perhaps Hannibal would have just killed some of them, but… we never see that happen. It’s just everyone in Toronto Baltimore, in every profession, is apparently either just as laughably crooked as the real RCMP, or as corruptible as soft cheese on a hot day.

Tangential postscript:

This inspired me to read the Wikipedia article on “Controversies surrounding the RCMP”, and while I will not get into the horrifying details, this sentence made me laugh out loud:

“A subsequent public inquiry concluded that the RCMP was at fault, showing a lack of professionalism…”

Which like… yeah. Technically true.

Sort of like saying that Andrew Tate lacks a firm grasp of intersectional feminism.

But not incorrect, per se.

[bonefall]

Looking for advice since you're great with stuff like this: I'm struggling with how to have a character fundamentally change. A character in my cat story loses his memory and ends up working with the main characters to stop his own plan he made to destroy the world (and after the plan is stopped, he regains his memories). I want his time in the Starless to change him, make him less obsessed with power, but I'm really starting to struggle with whether or not that makes sense and how to work that.

Hmm.. well, first bit of advice I always give is that characters are not people. They are writing tools. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be "realistic" or that connecting to the human traits in the audience isn't important.

It means that a character exists to tell a story.

By "tool" I mean "machine." Every trait is a piston, and ideally they work together to drive your story along. What are you saying with each trait? What is your beginning point for the story, and their end? What do you want to explore? What do you want the audience to take away?

So if you feel stuck on a character, find the larger message you want to impart with them. The job they're doing in your narrative.

What do you want to say about power?

What do you want to say about why Character X wanted to destroy the world? Why was he wrong? What feelings and information lead him to that conclusion?

What is his redemption arc doing for your themes?

Every writer answers those questions differently. For example, I feel strongly that power doesn't corrupt, it reveals. When you finally have the influence to make others do what you want, you make them do it. I don't see "power" as being like... a magic, abstract thing, it's influence over other people, and those people are ALSO individuals with their own reasons for following the leader.

Digressing; what I'm getting at is that, as a writer, I have a lot of thoughts on power itself. I got this way with a lot of reading and interest on the topic. You might find it insightful to experience more art, essays, and commentary on the subject, if you ever get stuck, and develop an opinion you feel strongly about.

Not just about power, as broad writing advice.

Anyway.

If I was writing the character, these are the things I'd be thinking about specifically and changes I'd be making on personal taste. I don't know your full story enough so, hopefully it's insightful;

First of all I'm always SUPER wary of the "correct but demonized radical" trope. Does my villain have a point?

Am i just giving them a Kick-a-Baby scene to make them wrong when they should be completely right otherwise

What are my themes and tone? This is VERY important. Steven Universe is about family and emotions with low stakes violence; the Diamonds are essentially abusive grandparents that Steven is coaching through intergenerational trauma. They fit the universe they're in. Jack Horner does not belong in SU.

So I'd look at Character X's purpose.

Knowing me, I'd actually take out full amnesia entirely. I have memory problems related to trauma so I'm a lot more familiar with major, important details blotting out RIGHT when I need them. Enough that I can put myself in the shoes of someone like BB!Fallenleaf who remembers a lot but the details are fuzzy.

So personally I think I could write this villan to be VERY funny lmao

"Hello. I am Gnagnathor the Destroyer."

"No you're not. He has three horns. You have two."

(DID I USED TO HAVE THREE HORNS?????)

I also just find it more resonant when a character still remembers what they did, why they did it, and is able to refute themselves with their own growth.

To me like... when a character remembers NOTHING to the point where they're not informed by their actions or history at all, how are they really still the same person?

in general though I find total amnesia uninteresting. I wish it was less popular.

What did Gnagnathor DO with his power? What did he WANT from it?

The simplest version of this I know is "Gnag was hurting and wanted everyone else to hurt too. Now that he has a happy place, he doesn't want that."

TO BE CLEAR THATS FINE. That's a REALLY common power fantasy and it's not automatically a bad story. It's popular for a reason.

Personally I feel strongly about the idea, though, that people with power don't change unless they lose it. There's no reason to.

People don't change until you break the environment that contributes to the behavior.

Especially with victims unfortunately-- the ugly truth is that a lot of problematic behaviors exist because they protected the victim from their abuser's actions. You need safety to really start to unpack that.

You can personally identify it and address it as much as you want, when your abuser starts to use That Tone you will still seize up. Just try to yank yourself back into your head when you're disassociating during a screaming session; your reward is raw distress.

That said, not all villains HAVE to have tragic motivators like that, or be ex-victims at all. Leveraging power to get what you want can be as ugly as just being taught the people you're hurting are subhuman.

Or making up justifications for why This Is a Good Thing Actually.

Some people will lash out violently when these justifications fall apart, because accepting it would mean they're Being Bad

Most people have an innate desire to Be Good. Like... the vast, vast majority of people. Some sense of morality is observable in all intelligent social animals; dolphins, chimps, elephants.

Tangentially, if you understand that people don't WANT to be bad and that the natural response to a scolding is defensiveness, you understand that convincing people of something is a LOT easier when you approach with kindness.

AND IN TURN: be wary of those who are flattering while trying to convince you of something. This is Manipulation 101.

So back to Gnagnathor

Do I want to talk about environment and how it changes him to be away from power? How traits that previously earned him wealth or influence are suddenly incredibly taboo, so he can't use them here?

On that-- HOW did he get his power in the first place? Re: I'm very wary of the "correct but demonized radical" trope.

Were his minions following him because they have serious issues and he exploited their desperation? .....are you centering the experience of the poor, sad abuser over his victims

Or are they ALL united over something important and legitimate? With the redemption of their villainous leader, how are you planning for that to frame all of their former followers?

(This is why redeeming minions is usually a lot more productive than doing it to the leader, imo. Redeeming Zuko means you can explore the familial legacy, the indoctrination of the Fire Nation's children, their justifications, the way systems make monsters out of people. Redeeming The Firelord would probably have caused Azula, one of his victims, to pick up his slack and now, suddenly, you have a VERY uncomfortable situation where Ozai is thrashing one of his abused children but Good This Time.)

(Not to mention that, again... why would he do this. He has power. He's doing what he wants and is used to this situation. It would be a numbskulled narrative choice.)

Aaaand that's about all I can say without essentially being a cowriter or editor. It's on you to figure out what you're trying to do and say here. I'm a good writer on this subject because I think about it a lot, which has lead to my strong opinions and point of view. Your art is a reflection of you.

[bestworstcase]

Salem isn't really the "evil" fairy godmother in my opinion.

I think it'd be more accurate to say that she's the fairy godmother who just gives you EXACTLY what you asked for, but the consequences of that desire are always still there good, bad and everything in between.

You want revenge for your sister? Okay, Salem'll let you beat her to death, but she's still immortal and will come back eventually.

You want to destroy your former home? Okay she'll help you do that, but it's your problem if you end up pissing off someone else and they decide to kill you because of your decisions.

Basically, she'd do exactly as the contract asks of her so long as you're handling it in good faith, but it's your job to read the fine print.

i mean

just because salem doesn’t operate like the villainous archetype she presents as (i.e. malevolently making promises she has no intention of honoring, stabbing her people in the back for no reason once they’ve "outlived their usefulness," generally having no understanding of human motivations aside from fear, etc) doesn’t mean she doesn’t actively hurt people.

she keeps her word unless the other party breaks their end of the bargain first (this is true even of lionheart; she asks him a question, waits for his answer, doesn’t turn to violence until he attacks the seer and tries to make a break for it) – and she deliberately, consistently utilizes fear and pain as tools of control. these things can coexist.

and with regard to cinder specifically, salem is in no way just sitting on her hands and allowing cinder to experience the natural consequences of getting what she asks for; she doesn’t want to keep her promise to cinder and she’s been throwing everything at a wall since v4 to see what will stick to wean cinder off wanting the other maidens – and when that fails she brings the hammer down and that’s the impetuous for the power struggle in v8. salem only budges on this because cinder demonstrates with terrifying effectiveness that she IS willing to literally die on this hill, and afterward falls over herself to praise cinder for showing a smidge of restraint in choosing not to obsessively pursue winter.

the whole multivolume conflict between cinder and salem is predicated on salem trying to wriggle out of the deal, by means that include intimidation and violence.

and like yeah she doesn’t lift a finger to spare people the natural consequences of their choices unless your name is cinder fall. but that’s. pretty secondary to the part where she hurts people if they don’t do as she says – whether physically (hazel, lionheart) or emotionally (tyrian). she is cruel. it’s evil to treat people the way salem treats her own followers. that she is, broadly, right about the gods, and correct in her condemnation of the huntsmen system as a vehicle for enacting the divine plan, does not and should not negate her abusing her associates.

that’s one of the central conceits of the story, that someone can be right and also do horrifically evil things in service of a just cause. rwby is far more unflinching in its commitment to this idea than most stories but it’s not like this is a novel concept. let’s not defang the narrative by ignoring salem’s literal on-screen actions.

like. the reason i argue that 1. salem hasn’t ever gone to war like this before and has in fact mostly not dignified ozma’s shadow war with her participation, and 2. has not made a systematic effort to wipe out silver-eyes as opposed to taking out a single very high-profile target who went around calling herself ‘the grimm reaper’ fifty or so years ago, is because both of these ideas—that salem has been warring with oz all this time and that silver eyes are rare because salem hunts them down—are unsubstantiated beliefs asserted by characters who expressly do not have all the facts, and do not really hold up to close examination.

(ozpin was at the highest point ozma has ever achieved when salem utterly, completely thrashed him, and she’s wiped two kingdoms off the map in less than two years, and she made it look effortless. ozma hasn’t been successful in fending her off for thousands of years; she simply hasn’t been trying. likewise, silver-eyed warriors are culturally expected to devote their lives to fighting grimm until they die, of course the trait is rare, and there is zero indication so far that salem made any attempts on summer’s life—you know, the silver-eyed warrior who worked for ozpin?—prior to summer deliberately seeking her out. it makes far more sense to conclude that salem is indifferent to silver-eyes as a class and picks off specific individual silver-eyed warriors who threaten her interests. also they’re supposed to be VANISHINGLY RARE, i promise salem does not have a cellar full of dozens of silver-eyed victims floating in vats of grimm goo, where would she even find them all.)

arguing that she Doesn’t Do things we literally see her do on screen numerous times is just flatly countertextual. we can acknowledge that her evil actions are in fact evil. it’s fine

[greenqueenhightower]

I can understand why people like Rhaenyra. I can understand why Alicent isn't to everyone's taste. I still don't understand how she is so hated for behaving like a human considering the gaslighting and abuse she's been through, and how she has much less free agency than Rhaenyra. It was reading through the horrific and vitriolic extreme takes on Alicent that made me side with her. And something about Rhaenyra and her mean diehards just remind me so much of white feminism. I feel like it's no coincidence I see way more WoC tending to sympathize with Alicent, as a WoC myself. The gaslighting and watching someone else consistently get away with things you wouldn't while being trapped in a cage is all too relatable. The rules dont apply to Rhaenyra and Rhaenyra only. And seeing Rhaenyra being the only one in the narrative made to look extra sympathetic (like the double birth scenes, as if all births aren't horrific and like Alicent didn't give birth even younger too). I also hate how despite their efforts in diverse casting, black actors are just backdrops or tools to make Rhaenyra and TB look better and how they're disposable to move the plot forward for her. This matter has been brought up in the TG subreddit thank God I was not the only one who saw that. Now it seems like they're even butchering B&C to absolve TB. 🙂🙃 Girl I am not ready for the blind Rhaenyra dickriding and Alicent victim blaming to come this season. You'll know it'll be misogyny and double standards all around. The suffering Alicent endured in Season 1 will be even more disregarded.

Hi anon! 💚

Alicent isn't to everyone's taste because to understand her character, motivations, and aspirations, one needs to take the whole show as context, instead of some stand-alone scenes that provide dissatisfaction or lack the "wow"/"badass" factor that the average got/hotd viewer is used to.

I understand how Rhaenyra's character appeals to people because she is the female Targaryen heir, desires the best for her children, and is determined to honor her cause and her late father's wishes to serve the realm. Rhaenyra believes so much in herself; Alicent doesn't. Rhaenyra's overconfidence, her "flouting to do as she pleases" is what is so attractive to a lot of viewers, me included, because, well, she doesn't give a damn. She can go against the conventions of her time because she has already entered the game in a good battle formation, has the means, and is ready to play it (I'm trying to go for a chess analogy here as we saw in the promo, bear with me).

Alicent on the other hand, has entered the game as a foreigner. She did not wish this, she has no historical ties to rulership, no dragon blood to base her confidence on, and no pride in taming and riding wild beasts. She is common as Rhaenyra is exotic. What Alicent has and brings to the game is "honor, duty, sacrifice." These values alone make Alicent compelling and intriguing because they are very subtle qualities and principles that one needs to notice to comprehend her character. They are not as easily identifiable as riding a dragon or slicing a wild boar.

Yet they are equally powerful, because as Rhaenyra plays the game in the open field, being free to make her own decisions, unstoppable in always getting what she wants and being able to claim it herself, Alicent plays the game behind closed doors, in septs, praying to the seven, following directions, seeking council, and moving strategically. Rhaenyra's battle is more visually impactful, but Alicent's is equally moving if one cares to observe and understand it properly.

Therefore, what you are saying about WoC standing by Alicent makes perfect sense because the motivations and experiences as well as the feeling of always having to try twice as hard to achieve what is simply given to others is a point of connection for WoC.

You also very poignantly highlight the show's "humanization" of Rhaenyra through two birth scenes, because again, she is this exotic being whom the audience loves to aspire to, but we must also not forget that she is special while also being human. Alicent's suffering in S1 very much humanizes her in my eyes and is precisely also what distinguishes her from a commoner. She becomes a strong woman who doesn’t shy away in the fear of danger, learns to hold her head high and pushes forward the interests of herself and her children. The hate Alicent receives is uncalled for, and it stems from a misreading of her character, despite being the most interesting character in hotd in my opinion.

I’m glad you decided to stan Alicent after reading all the horrific takes about her! There are so many people in the fandom who want to vilify her, but there are also many who totally connect to her and sympathize with her character, like queer people, WoC, etc.

I didn’t like what the show did with black characters in s1 either. They served mostly as props and had brutal deaths. For S2, it does seem as if the show will want to downgrade the events of B&C and continue emphasize the narrative of Rhaenyra’s superiority (and the Greens and Alicent will be blamed and hated a lot this season), but I honestly stopped reading leaks and spoilers because they affect me a lot. I’d rather wait and see what the producers decide to do with their portrayal and then comment on the events. I’m so scared about B&C though and how this will affect the Greens’ arc and their perception by the public, but again, I’ll be standing by Alicent’s side till the end lol. 💚

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

I just wanted to say that I am really envious of the way you write the Vees. As someone who struggles with making characters woobiefying and with characterization in general, I appreciate how you can write these characters perfectly that the show didn’t have time to portray. I didn’t have a specific request, but now I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how to analyze and write a character, even if you have a personal bias towards them?

Awww thank you so much ❤️ I don't have like any degree in literature or anything that would give me credibility in giving writing advice, usually I just go with the flow. But I'll do my best!

Imo the most fundamental thing is the way you think about characters. In fandom spaces, we very often see them as "people we like" - hence all the discourses like in Valentino's case "if you like him it means you are a bad person". I think that woobification is influenced by this cognitive dissonance caused by liking characters that should be unlikeable. For me the way out of it was giving up "characters as people" mindset and changing it for "characters as tools". Bacause that's what they are - tools you use to build your narrative. When I say I love Valentino I don't mean I would shake his hand - I mean he's my favourite toy I can do multiple things with. And it's his flaws that make him so much fun. Because outside of the comedy genre, narrative cannot exist without conflict. The more flaws a character has, the more conflict it causes. That's why villains are such a powerful driving force for stories (here are some great essays about it: 1, 2). Put any character in the room with Val and you have an interesting bit not only because of the usual character differences that could happen between eg. Vaggie and Husk but also because stakes suddenly become high. What will he do? Will he hurt them? We saw what he's capable of. Will he be nice? Man, that's even worse because it means he has his own motive to be nice. What might it be? That's what keeps the audience engaged with your writing. Extra points if you give him some human weaknesses or conflicting desires. When it comes to characterization, nuance is the key. That's why I love VoxVal so much - two characters that are absolutely awful but they are fiercely in love. How could Valentino be capable of simply caring about someone but himself? What kind of human is buried underneath all this evil? So much to unpack here. Nothing I'd like to experience but everything I'd like to see from a safe distance. Consider: would you even like the Vees so much in the beginning if they were just other guests at the hotel? In the show, neither of them has a single redeemable quality. And yet, here we are.

When it comes to writing characteristics it's also important to watch characters from different perspectives - that helps with giving them nuance. Let's take Vox. People seem to like and respect him, he's obviously an influential figure (he has a lot of social power). But from Alastor's perspective, he's just a pathetic little attention-seeking looser (he has a fragile ego and lowe self-esteem). Yet his assistant seemed to be scared shitless while talking to him (he had done things that made people from his closer look aware that he's dangerous). Angel knows he watches his abuse and hangs out with Valentino (at best he's indifferent to other's suffering, at worst he enjoys it). Carmilla doesn't respect him but they are on terms good enough, Vox wants to do business with her (he's a competent business partner). For the rest of Vees he's smart enough to listen to him but at the same time he's their cringefail naurospicy bestie. Add all of those perspectives together and you have yourself a multidimensional character that can interact with other elements of the narrative in vastly different ways. Also, from that point you can build up, asking yourself other questions "What would they think/do/say?".

Also, the last thing: every character needs a clear goal that influences all their decision. Choose it and always keep it in mind. Bonus points: a character has two main goals that are contradictory. When I write Vox he has two goal: power and adoration. He always has to choose which one is more important to him because while he has measures to achieve great power, some things that he would want to do are socially undesirable. In Valentino's case: hedonistic pleasure and immediate gratification vs love for Vox that demands sacrifices and compromises.

So anyway I hope that will be helpful to you <3 And don't be too hard on yourself when it comes to writing, not everything must be Game of Thrones. Especially in fandom spaces, sometimes we all want to indulge in some simple fluff or crack.

[feralkwe]

I'm like. I'm sorry if your (op of that one posts) parents sucked or whatever but personally, as someone who's parents did somewhat monitor their internet activity and still track my location, I'm really grateful they did/do that??? It saved me from a lot of trouble and it makes me feel safer knowing that they can generally see my location 😭

i absolutely wish we lived in a perfect world where that sort of thing was completely unnecessary. and ofc there are terrible people who are abusive and controlling and a danger to their own children who would use privacy invasion as a tool for those ends. i would never dispute that.

but "there is no non-abuse reason" is an incredibly dangerous blanket statement that is not only reductive and unhelpful to the people that op thinks they are protecting, but flat out incorrect as well. i will not make assumptions about that person's life and whether or not they have been a parent, but it seems a safe bet they have never been in my situation, which is sadly not rare in the least. they would sing a different tune if they had been, otherwise they would be a shitty and negligent parent, which is as bad as an abusive one.

and no, i am not going to elaborate on what that circumstance or experience is/was. that is not mine alone to share. that is the place where my now adult child gets to have their absolute privacy. they get to decide who gets to know their story. people like that op and those who reblog their opinions are gonna have to trust me. if they don't, i can't help that, but i am unburdened by regret because i succeeded in my job despite the cost.

tumblr very much is the "parents are the enemy" website. i get it. many of us grew up with parents who made terrible mistakes, didn't know what they were doing was actually bad, or yeah, were outright abusive and controlling. but also many of us were just kids who had needs that were met by parents making decisions for our well being that we didn't like. that very much happens. that's part of the responsibility of being a parent/caregiver. we were unreliable narrators in many ways, through the ignorance that sometimes accompanies youth and inexperience. context matters, and it is an unfortunate truth that it is sometimes difficult fully have all of it.

i don't say any of this to excuse abuse or to diminish experiences. it's a fact that abuse happens. neglect happens. we should be vigilant in following up when things seem off. we should listen to children in order to ask the right questions to find the truth of a matter. there should, frankly, be more checks in place to ensure parents/caregivers are not abusing their power and that they do not get to treat children like property. we as a society, especially in the u.s. where "parents rights" is often code for "forcing a child to adhere to a strict set of religious rules that strips them of their human rights," fail children every day because we dismiss them outright and deny them their free will in situations where their will is absolutely harmless and even vital to growing and becoming full and independent individuals.

but also sometimes a minor child's free will stupid and is absolutely going to lead them to a deadly place, and it is absolutely our job as caregiving adults to step in and say "no" so they can learn and live.

there is a difference because we live in a world full of nuance, and "this thing is always an act of abuse" is unhelpful to the point of ignorance, absurdity, and yeah, danger. i would have been negligent as a parent had i acted any other way. i am beyond tired of seeing otherwise intelligent and reasonable people propagate such an unnuanced opinion uncritically, especially people who have never had to face those circumstances that i and many other parents have endured in the name of preserving our children's lives. i know they are well-meaning, but their experiences are not universal. it serves no one to pretend they are.

i sincerely hope they never have to face those things, but i'll be absolutely damned if i am going to be painted with their broad brush of ignorance because they have the privilege of their innocence.

[nacrelysis]

on the akasha terminal & the archon quest

i want to point out that the original function of the akasha terminal, per nahida's words, is "to compile people's wisdom in the name of their archon."

wisdom is sacred in sumeru. in that sense, the akasha terminal was sacred not because it was created by rukkhadevata, but because it created an archive of knowledge for everyone to use. because it made wisdom - and the pursuit of it - accessible. because people could voluntarily offer their experiences to the akasha in the hopes that it could help any one person now or in the future.

the sages bastardized that. they turned the akasha from a sacred archive for the common people to a method of dependence, to the point that it was almost too easy for them to abuse it. all it took was any person in power at the akademiya to rewrite the code, and then they had all of sumeru's dreams at their disposal - eventually, they had all of sumeru's people at their disposal. these sages didn't see the common folk as people. they saw them as deposits of knowledge they could farm again and again, down to the last child, as long as they could achieve their hubris.

and here's the thing - i think i recall that eleazar is fairly well-known amongst the population. it's not common, but it's not rare. so the fact that the sages knowingly put people with chronic illness into a mentally strenuous and never-been-done-before time loop for their 'human god' makes it even more vile.

but, like, that's the point, right?

the sages don't see the people as people. they don't see their workers as workers. they don't see their scholars as scholars. the akasha never did anything except provide the means for their greed.

to them, it was only ever the akasha terminal - a tool built by rukkhadevata to help sumeru survive without an archon, yet twisted into a malformed reminder of a dead god and a refusal to move on.

(gee, i wonder what parallel that has in our current reality...what's a technology that could be used for collective good yet abused by people in power, transforming its function into a sorry replacement for the vivid and invaluable fragments of the human experience? a technology useless without its collection of knowledge and art it takes from humans, yet credited as the original source of wisdom? a technology weaponized to dehumanize artists and writers and any form of labor in favor of profit? wow, I WONDER WHAT THAT COULD BE.)

(it starts with a and ends with i)

however, during traveler's fight with shouki no kami, nahida uses the akasha terminal to collect data from all 168 loops of the battle and asking the people of sumeru to help devise a way to defeat the balladeer.

so. the thing is. that she asked.

she didn't brute-force it. she didn't leech the information. she didn't threaten them to sit down and run calculations on how to make the shouki no kami fall on its face.

nahida has all the power to do that - even more than the sages had - and yet she didn't. she used the akasha for what she herself created it for... voluntary compiling of knowledge, with consent from the people, for intent of collective benefit.

the sages first used the akasha terminal to further their own arbitrary, illogical, selfish goals, regardless of the toll it took on the people.

nahida is both the first and last person to use the akasha terminal, and she uses it to secure sumeru's safety. the akasha was only the conduit, just as it was always meant to be...a tool, not a crutch.

shouki no kami wasn't defeated by a god's wisdom, by technology, or by even the traveler alone. that battle belongs to the people of sumeru.

i dunno. i think it's cool that the sumeru archon quest also has an underlying message regarding the use of advanced technology in the process of creation.

and, like, totally not in the light of current events, but i think it's worth remembering that the exploitation of people...is always a choice someone actively makes.

[roo-bastmoon]

"I can't stand your kumbaya OT7 fake cheeriness. Be ffr."

First and foremost, I will always advocate that you police your own experience. PLEASE mute / block / unfollow me if my posts (and just my personality in general) are causing you distress. I never wish to be the source of problems in the world. So go with my blessing.

But second...

I hope you know there are some really good REASONS why I'm so "kumbaya" right now.

In my 44 years living on this space rock, I have:

--had a vicious abusive alcoholic parent who broke my nose when I was a kid

--been through my parents' nasty divorce that left us so poor we lived out of a car and ate one meal a day so our cats could have cat food

--developed disordered binge eating because I believed it was necessary during my semi-pro ballet days

--was sexually assaulted by a partner who professed to love me

--had not one but TWO diagnosed narcissistic bosses who made my beloved workplaces hell for years

--survived (so far) uterine cancer which took away my ability to ever be a bio-mom, something I'd always wanted for myself

I look at this laundry list of trauma (for which I am seeing a WONDERFUL therapist) and think to myself:

"Even so, I've lived such a cushy, privileged, safe and happy life. I've got four higher degrees; I've traveled the US and through Europe; I've worked on creative and charitable projects that I'm proud of; I've got a small band of wonderful real-life friends who stuck by me for the past 30+ years. It's been a good and meaningful life."

But I am TIRED of drama and I've had a lifetime supply of harsh words and meanspirited discourse. I'm just so fed up with it. I'm allergic to it now.

I'm not saying we should allow hate and harmful behavior to slide. But here on the internet, we have the power to block and remove anything we don't want to see or be a part of. I WISH we could do that in real life, where the stakes are so much higher.

So for my part, after being in all kinds of internet fandoms since 1999, I've come to the conclusion that I will not hang with mean girls, I will not feed trolls, I will not fight with antis, and I will TRY not to pop off on people who upset me (sometimes menopause gets the better of me, I admit it). Rather, I will just redirect my focus to what brings me joy, I will follow my bliss, I will take revenge by living happily.

And keep in mind... People are human. Fans and members alike are going to have bad takes, bad attitudes, bad days, bad habits. The question is: are they willfully causing harm? If yes, intervention is necessary. If no, then a little grace might be more useful.

I come from three generations of teachers and one of the most important things they've said to me is: Shame is not a teaching tool. It might temporarily change someone's behavior, but more often than not they double down in order to counteract embarrassment. If you want good results, thank a person for trying their best, acknowledge they are likely struggling, and invite them to be the better version of themselves you absolutely know they can be. Sometimes that works.

With ruiners, it doesn't. They just want to ruin things. Ruining things makes them feel powerful, because they cannot create; they can only destroy. It is their only talent. Ruiners invade a space and absolutely delight in ruining it for everyone else. It's a disease and I don't know the cure. The only way I know to counteract a ruiner is to stay in your space and LOUDLY be joyful, be cheerful, focus on what you love, and drown out their vitriol and hate with compassion and love.

So THAT is why I'm so "kumbaya cheerful OT7." Even on days when I would love nothing more than to thrash and whine, I'm trying my best to be a good little oyster and filter out the toxins, so this place remains focused on what matters: supporting BTS and enjoying ARMY.

If after knowing all that, I'm still not your cup of tea? I totally understand and I really don't mind if you need to mute me. This blog is just a hobby, just a place I come to escape the stress of work deadlines and house renovations and sick kitties and my own health issues and real life problems. Probably that's why you're here too. It's meant to be fun and enjoyable. I'm sorry if you don't like me, but... I'll never change all my colors for you.

So go follow your joy and find like-minded blogs. You have my blessing. And maybe we'll meet each other again on down the road, and we'll both be in better places, and we can walk together by then. Either way, you deserve to be happy.

Love, Roo

[bardic-tales]

Good morning. Insomnia has kept me up tonight, so this meant that I worked more on those headcanons I was writing about before I tried to go asleep. I have been watching Final Fantasy 7 Aerith's voice actress play through Crisis Core, as well as her current live streams of Rebirth.

Some of the quotes and circumstances have made me want to write a little headcanon about them and how Bianca would react.

Content Warnings: Abuse, body horror, experimentation, infertility, medical trauma, pregnancy loss, PTSD, forced artificial insemination, forced artificial insemination, torture, vivisection.

Cissnei once said that "wings symbolize freedom for those who have none," and for Bianca, her wings symbolize anything but freedom. They were not born from divine grace but from unspeakable torment. After being skinned alive by her father, Azrakiel who has named himself Asmodeus, her wings erupted violently from her back, a grotesque testament to her suffering and the depths of her hybrid blood. Initially, they were seen as a celestial gift, a symbol of divine connection or power, but to Bianca, they have always represented something far darker. They are a constant reminder of the pain she endured, an outward sign of her cursed nature, something that should have remained hidden under her skin. They are not her freedom; they are her prison.

The emergence of her wings sparked the interest of humanity, their gaze turning from awe to fear when her divine origin failed to save them from the chaos of the world. They sought her out, hoping for divine intervention, only to be disappointed when her Creator remained silent. In their disillusionment, they turned on her, blaming her for the lack of miracles, as humanity was unable to comprehend the true horror of her existence. Her wings, once a symbol of hope for those seeking salvation, became a target of exploitation.

It was not long before Shinra’s Project N, under the watchful eye of Hojo, sought to harness her blood, seeing in her a potential to birth the next weapon, as well as stabilize the Jenova cells. Her divine essence was twisted by the cruel infusion of Jenova’s cells.

For a year and a half, Bianca endured Hojo’s experiments, her body becoming a lab rat for the scientist’s obsessions. Her wings were part of the reason for her suffering, as they caught the eye of Hojo, who believed that her unique blood might be the key to slowing the degradation of SOLDIERs. He infused her with Jenova cells, hoping to turn increase her chances of producing a child between her and Sephiroth. He inseminated her with his son’s sperm, but the pregnancy was not viable.

However, it was his assistant, Diana Ravenscroft, who pushed Bianca’s suffering to its limits. Diana was obsessed with immortality, seeing Bianca as the answer to curing all of life’s ills, and thus, subjected her to unimaginable horrors—vivisection, bloodletting, and endless experiments. In Diana’s eyes, Bianca was a mere vessel for knowledge, her wings no more than tools in a twisted pursuit of perfection.

Bianca's wings, in the end, came to symbolize more than just exploitation—they marked the depths of her own internal conflict. The suffering they caused, the experimentation, the blood spilled in Hojo’s lab, and the mockery of her once-divine nature left her bitter. While others might see her wings as beautiful or majestic, Bianca sees them as a reflection of everything that has been taken from her. The purity they were meant to represent has been corrupted by the brutal hands of mankind. They are both a burden and a weapon. They are a physical manifestation of the chaos within her. Every time she spreads them, she feels the weight of her past, and for a long time, she wished they had never existed.

As her bond with Sephiroth deepens, Bianca begins to see the wings in a different light. They are still a curse, but they are also part of her power. They are both her burden and her strength, marking her as an agent of change in the universe’s twisted fabric. Though she still sees them as a symbol of her broken past, she now recognizes their potential to help her fulfill her ultimate goal—ushering in the destruction of the omniverse and the birth of something new. In this sense, her wings have become a twisted kind of freedom, one forged through bloodshed, suffering, and defiance. They are no longer just a curse but a weapon to wield, a testament to the power she has gained through pain and betrayal.

[ddostoyevskyy]

❝𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍❞

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐄: The Act Of Judgement!

Ranpo Edogawa

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒... Mentions of abuse, sexual assault, double meaning words/sentences.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒... 613.

SERIES MASTERLIST

There’s something that a person with no money and no connections could not afford, something unreachable and ignorant. A privilege that only those whose rich can achieve. Something a person can do violence and anything. Justice. Something that even me, a child came from violence and sexual assault couldn’t even reach. It’s only a word with seven letters, yet it holds such power to ruin a life, to ruin one’s dreams and beliefs. And, Justice, as a dream that can turn into a nightmare.

The power that it holds were unmatched. It took me some time to be able to reach this privilege, to be able to taste the success and a smell of terrible end of journey just to see a new beginning in life. The pain I went thru just to reach my dream to fight for justice and serve for the people is something I cannot ever forget.

I became a subject of knowledge, a prisoner — chained up and locked away from the expectations. I was born to gaze at the harsh reality of the world and a harsh grasp of a man that has me wrapped around his fingers; I couldn’t escape him, I couldn’t run away from him, I couldn’t do anything as I was maneuvered as a puppet subject. I was trained to be enourmous and something dangerous — although, not like a certain someone he raised as a killing machine, I am more.... special as he says while he has my fragile jaw between his hand in a tight grip.

My ability was made from chemicals — my ability was made by my own father, an alchemist, a scientist.

I could only survive in the wrath of injections and chemicals with the help of the beeping machines and apparatus on my body. I am not made of machine, although I was supported by it — I knew, I am not something inhumane; what they did to me as a child is what in out of the world. I was slapped by the harsh reality of people with gifted abilities and how the world works with children and women. The power imbalance of both gender is what makes me nauseous.

The knowledge I held is something out of the world. Common sense is what I hate, people being oblivious and ignorant is what I despised. Lastly, people whose justice are not yet served is what I fight for.

I was trained to be intelligent. I was trained to be a tool for manipulation. Although, I managed to escape him, the scars left on my mind and the traces of my father’s experiments is something that was imprinted in my very being — all in while tainted my life as a human.

I was told to be wary of people’s behaviors. I could tell their lies and sincerity, the flaws within their words that oppose with their actions. I was told to be watchful and observant. The only way to find the truth for revelations, even though it’ll hurt — even though it’ll ruin me, as well.

I was born to fight for justice, to serve people and to prove one’s innocence or guilt in the eyes of a judge. I was born to fight in my own battlefield; the trial court — to fight for the victims and punish the criminals with my own gun; the raw evidence — that only those who deserved to be pointed at the head are shot thru their skull.

I am not born to kill, yet my hands are already tainted blood before I became one with justice.

Most people fell in love with proffesionals, but I fell in love with justice — justice I’ll call a certain detective.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved 2023 © ddostoyevskyy. Do not repost without permission or plagiarized.

[will80sbyers]

I feel like the csa metaphor for Will and El is there without any doubt as is the conversion therapy stuff for Henry, like it's all there, but it isn't meant to be happening to the kids in the real sense of the story... I think they will keep that as a subtext structure also because that is inherent to the horror genre in a way, they always use rape as a fear tool in these stories so I feel like almost every type of psychological horror story can be read in that way in the subtext... and this one is clearly based on a narcissistic stalker, abuser & serial killer and the cycles of abuse around him...

Brenner's abuse is the thing that made him start killing humans instead of only animals and made him go from a disturbed child to a full on murderer and abuser of others, but he chose the path of violence after that because he wanted to stop feeling powerless in his life

he wanted power and control of the world around him and he's lost in his own narrative of being sort of a saviour in a way because he believes he can free the people he chooses from their suffering in that life... or at least it's what he wants others to think

but in reality he's taking pleasure in the killings for himself because he's releasing his anger and at the same time he's gaining pleasure from torturing other people that were already vulnerable with visions and watching them suffer and despair before offering them a way out of that despair

he never felt something that is real joy in his existence, he told us he felt bored of being human with his whole monologue, like everyone was just waiting to die and there was no point... but people that can experience emotions and don't have depression or other conditions don't really feel like this- that's born from being in a state of almost complete apathy, personally I believe that he was like that before his mother brought him to Brenner, he never felt love for his family and he never felt loved even if his father is shown to be a guy that seems to really care about his kids... and this just because he literally can't feel that, he was born like that ( hence the metaphor of relating to being gay that I don't know if they will make explicit or not for Henry, I feel like there is a chance they will if he interacts with Will but I'm not sure... also I don't know if I want this in the story explicitly but that's my taste in stories talking )

but anyway gay or not, he doesn't know love and uses only anger and pain and that's why Eleven is more powerful than him, she was able to feel love from her mother and after that from all the people that have shown her love like the kids in the Party, Hopper, Joyce, her sister etc

same thing with Will, he is so so loved too and I think this is what is going to save him again if (when) Henry attacks...

I think this is what saved Max the first time she was attacked, she remembers the people she loves and the love she felt for them and focused on that and was able to overpower Vecna and even take a piece of him down, literally destroying part of him because she saw Lucas and Dustin and Steve and remembered they were there for her and focused on that

the second time she got overwhelmed by her own guilt and self hate and lost hope, and she kind of confessed she wanted this plan to kind of fail herself... I feel like Max must choose life herself if she wants to be saved in the next season and I think she will because she realized she wasn't ready to die and she wanted to live when she was killed

unfortunately the only way Henry can feel something close to joy is when he kills someone, he's not able to feel the real thing and at this point he doesn't want to... it would be very weird for me if the Duffers gave him any type of redemption at this point and I don't think it would be right to do it after what he did in the story

[charmspoint]

Sanguine Friday 1

In which I do my very very best to every friday post at least a little something about the original story I'm toying with, Sanguinary Waltz.

This week I bring you the blurb and the brief summary for the idea.

Next week I'll introduce the male lead.

Questions are welcome!

-

Blurb:

The gods are dead. Their angels brave the world like abandoned children. Vampires rise in droves, threatening to become to dominant species on the planet.

As an angel, Prinnsal knows that serving one being you know is better than testing the teeth of thousands you don’t. Freshly reeling from the betrayal and death of his own god, he throws himself into a service of a vampire. Duchess Eliza is everything nightmares are made of, sadistic, hungry and all too intently interested in using her new pet to social climb through the bloodthirsty world of her kin. With angels struggling for survival on one side and vampires trying to establish themselves on the other, the two enter a deadly dance of love, blood, and most importantly, utter obsession.

Summary:

The story is set in an alternate realty, in a world created by a group of gods. The gods initially made two groups of beings. Angels, who were their servants and nothing more than mindless, soulless tools for their will, and humans who served as more advanced toys of gods, able to make their own decisions. Most of the gods were satisfied with this, aside from the goddess of beauty, Lurza, who couldn’t make peace with her creations wilting and dying. To combat this, she made a new species, vampires, who she sent to earth to turn other humans and establish an era of eternal life and beauty. The gods fell into combat over this, most of them opposing Lurza’s plan, aside from the god of industry who had been courting her for centuries and who ravaged his own cities to provide aid to her cause. The war of the gods ended with all of them dead, with Lurza killing her lover to establish absolute control, with angels of all other gods left behind by their masters and the vampires allowed to freely rule over the world, increasing their numbers every day.

The story centres Prinnsal, an angel of the god of industry, trying to establish his own selfhood while surviving in the ravaged world left behind by the war. Prinnsal is bitter with his god because the years before the god’s death were filled with abuse and monstrous experiments to respec the angels under his rule. He had left the city his god had stationed him in, but not without being followed by one of the last angels to be created, still functioning on dead orders to keep her kin in line. To seek shelter from his pursuer, as well as the vampires that would more than gladly have him for breakfast, he enters into a deal with a low-ranking vampire, Duchess Eliza. In exchange for her protection, he gives away his life to service and acting as her walking blood dispenser.

Duchess Eliza wasn’t the first vampire ever created, but she was amongst them, as her family had been slain by the beasts some eighty years ago, turning them all. She is a devout worshiper of Lurza, often hosting parties and scarifies in the goddess’ name in order to appease her. Vampire society is split into strict social ranks and Eliza’s own is relatively low, so she dedicates herself to social climbing and power trips, trying to secure a firm grasp on the newly emerging horrors of the world. She sees a bragging right in Prinn. While most vampires do enjoy angel blood as a delicacy, it is hard to get by and most of the angel blood bags are prisoners being slowly drained in the basements. An angel on a leash is completely unheard of and therefor the deal grants her immense social benefits, along side the more material ones of fresh blood. She fully intends to eat Prinn if he becomes boring or useless to her agendas.

This is a story about struggle with identity. Developing one as an ex-tool and retaining one as a corrupted monster. It’s a story about evil, about people willing to do the unspeakable as long as it brings them to the top. It’s a story about love. Or maybe less love and more so obsession, worship, hunger. It’s a story of two people very determined to bend the world to their will if that is the only way they can survive it. A romance story. A horror story. A corruption story.

[beevean]

Impossible Mode: favorite aspect of Lenore's character :)

Her design, easy. She's not hot in the slightest, but she is very pretty, with a design that reminds me of a fusion of Dahlia Hawthorne and the Succubus from LoI, and I really like her blue dress in S4, it's cute and it fits the idea that she's feeling melancholic, all while tying her to Hector's new blue uniform. The weakest part is only her lack of theme - IMO she should have had, like the characters I mentioned, a butterfly/moth theme to echo the idea that she uses her prettiness to attract others to her, and not a generic "winter princess" concept that isn't elaborated on at all. Still, I completely understand, as much as I cry bloody tears when I see pictures of it, why so many women love to cosplay her :P

... oh, that's not what you wanted to hear, mh? Well, I really do like her concept. I like the idea of a vampire who wants to bridge vampirekind and humankind and uses human skills to do so. I like the hints that she might resent her vampirism more than she lets on, and that's another reason she tries hard to look human (aside from the manipulation purposes ofc). I like the idea that she constantly fights against her own kind who sees her as weak and stupid for her methods, which causes her to not only double down, but also revel in ever shred of power and respect she can gain. I like the idea that her emotional empathy which makes her more similar to humans is what makes her more dangerous than someone like Carmilla, or any generic vampire who sees humans as livestock: she knows where to hit to wrap people around her finger. She believes herself to be a good person because she is "kind", because she takes care of inferior creatures, but in reality, she's just as power-hungry and callous as her kin, maybe even more so: she doesn't desire world domination, but she enjoys power over singular people and she is not afraid of breaking minds and hearts to earn it. I proposed the idea of using Lenore to explore the moral dilemma of vampire love, and how similar to human love it could be: maybe Lenore really loved Hector as much as a vampire could and we can't blame her too much for what we see as selfishness and sadism, but that would make her no different than an animal unable to rise above her insticts. Nevertheless, she is a scarily accurate depiction of an abuser who will trap you in a stifling, unbalanced relationship and then expect you to thank them for all the scraps of kindness they managed to sweep off the table, and it works because Hector is so, so starved for any scrap of appreciation. And, in a well written show, her status as an underdog within her own council would have made her slightly sympathetic, or at least explain some of her most heinous actions, like beating Hector to an inch of his life for daring to underestimate her, or raping the slave ring onto his finger, ruining weeks of gaslighting and manipulations, as spite against Striga for underestimating her skills. Again, in a vacuum, I do like the idea of her and Hector bonding over their experiences and because they are they only ones who listen to each other, after being surrounded by people who look down on them and only see them as convenient tools. I get the concept behind Lenector, I do!

Lenore could have been an evil version of Rosaly. If Rosaly was taken advantage of for her infinite pure kindness, and she stubbornly doubled down on it because it was the right thing to do, and she was naive and innocent and eventually found the right man because of it, Lenore would feel the weight of being the "weird" one, and resent it, and only perform a mimicry of kindness with her limited vampire understanding. She could have even been relatable, in her own way.

... well, this is the idea. The execution is absolute dogshit, and Lenore in S4 is still the same selfish, sadistic abuser she was in S3, who reduces her own rape of Hector to a "problem to be solved", gets angry when called out and only grants him affection when he retracts his resentment, never once shows any concern about Hector's mental state, only his physical safety because he's still her damn pet and not a real person, and then ragequits out of life because her sorrow is more important than anything else, including the man who mutilated himself out of his slave ring and then still crawled back to the person who put that ring on him in the first place. Except that now I'm not expected to jerk off on her, but to feel sorry for her and see her as the only genuinely good vampire of the setting, as if S3 had been all a fever dream... or worse, justified.

But yeah, I really like Lenore's concept for an anti-villain, and she deserved a story written by someone who understands that rape and abuse are wrong even when it's a pretty woman dishing them out and when said abuser is kinda nice to you. Why do you think I keep coming back to this character, and not, say, Carmilla? Because she could have been so intriguing, so complex, if only the writers cared less about the mommy fetish and bullying Hector into a shell of a character.