#and on what the villains and evil is in this particular game

[mejomonster]

So I've been playing Sherlock the Awakened. I don't remember the tags for frogware sherlock so. Anyway. Forgot how much I loved this game, I'm halfway though.

I loved Chapter One for a lot of reasons, one being how you could get cases wrong or never know the Actual truth of the cases, because Sherlock is young and he can't Truly Know either. Or how the final case is how his mom died, and there is no real external closure because he can't ever Really know for sure, so the conclusion you ultimately draw is more about how Sherlock gives himself closure, which angle he gives it to himself, since there is no for sure definitive end. How his mom had mental health issues (and one of the horrors in Chapter One being the notes from her doctor about how she was treated which very well could've made her Worse, suffer More, but when i looked it up the treatments in 1800s were... pretty much what her doctor was doing, it was a kind of tragedy that was realistic for it's time and setting, and within Sherlock's life an unavoidable tragedy - his mom gets 'help' but the help possible is not much help at all and might even do damage, but it was the option available, and he lost his mom, and children can never do anything about things like that, beyond their control). And how the game extends the mental health theme, Sherlock has ptsd, Jon is an imaginary friend (he calls him a tulpa in The Awakened), a coping mechanism for Sherlock to comfort himself and give himself strength both as a child and now facing that lack-of-closure to tragedy and trying to provide it to himself. (A side note, I've been playing Crimes and Punishment and appreciate, again, that Sherlock can Get It Wrong in deductions... something The Awakened lacks, but I get why).

And then The Awakened (at least the newer version using the new young model of Sherlock from Chapter One), it takes bits of those themes of mental health, tragedy and trauma, coping. The opening reminds us of THIS Sherlock, who can insist there's an assassin plot against him when really it's just a book salesman with a crush on a florist, and a real person John Watson (a companion who is not imaginary, who's outside of Sherlock) who is reminding Sherlock his grip on reality isn't always great and he can work himself up into thinking there's things happening which aren't really there (in Chapter One, Jon both helped Sherlock internally remind himself of that and delude himself at other times). Sherlock has progressed and healed in some ways since Chapter One - he can recognize he has a tendency to delude himself sometimes, without Jon to help. He's a bit more comfortable making friends and relying on them (he's become open enough to not just befriend John Watson but actually trust him as a partner to rely on, which he was struggling to do except with imaginary-part-of-himself Jon in Chapter One), he's more open with compassion for others (he had that trait in Chapter One but he's quicker to offer it and realize when people are seeing him as cold/not understanding he means well). He has realized he may have some tendencies he'll have to live with (which hey I have ptsd, I appreciate a lead character also having it and knowing there's certain coping skills/things they do which are effected by those experiences and linger). He IS more self aware, self assured, has built some healthy safe-enough relationships with other people, is better at getting his point across and showing his care for people. (Great early moments of that is telling off the Lord Stenwick about how shit he is treating Kimiha, how much he Cares about solving the missing people case for the sake of the missing people's lives and their families).

I love how well this Sherlock, this particular version, works in such a story with unknown monsters (which Sherlock at first assumes must be himself deluding himself, because he has an awareness he does that and has before), in a story with people imprisoned for some traits others perceive negatively (in the asylum he relates to many of the patients locked up, he is one of them locked up for a time, he doesn't see Gerda and Heidi as particularly odd and he's been her with Jon in a sense already in his life, he relates to the patients in how awful the conditions are and the treatment and in caring enough to want such treatment stopped, in wanting to stop Gygax, in being horrified by the treatment of the human trafficked victims and that only resolving him more to want to stop the huge operation of suffering). Both the bits of unreality, and the very human monsters of the story (the perpetrators of the kidnapping, killings, trafficking), work very well with this Sherlock. (And the racism and dehumanizing being the key evil, in a story using these particular traits, is a solid choice I think in using these effectively and meaningfully).

[bigbuffelves]

can't figure out if mindflayer orpheus is good end or emperor is good end. kind of prefer mindflayer orpheus + Lae'zal in party so that he entrusts her to free their people and you can convince him to help

plus I want to kill Raphael anyway he's annoying to me

[spicymancer]

What was the process like for designing the ActiRangers, their civilian and suited forms? Their suits look so cool, it’s definitely clear you have a lot of familiarity with the genre while also having great ideas on how to innovate and add your own unique elements! Did they go through lots of conceptual iterations, or did they come pretty naturally? Any particular teams that inspired you, like SPD or RPM with their numbered members?

So the Actirangers started out as characters designed for a private little Tokusatsu OC jam I did with some friends! The design I submitted was Pink, (hence why she's kinda the main character of the story)

(Real name and certain background elements redacted for spoiler reasons)

So Pink's suit was the first one designed, hence how she's kinda the most basic of the Rangers. I had just got done watching Birdie Wing and Love After World Domination and thought it would be kinda fun for a golf themed sentai hero.

She was originally going to be ActiRanger 5 before I thought of the "Four/Fore" golf pun.

The rest of the team was then designed from there with each of their sports in mind and some general vibes.

I don't think they went through all that much iteration, though I will say since I tend to draw them in Black and White I sometimes mix up which parts of their suits are their color and which parts are black.

I wanted to give them each some kind of Power Weapon so I stuck to stick sports and also Table Tennis. (I am still weirdly fond of the old Penny Arcade Paint the Line comics)

As far as Power Ranger teams that inspired them, Mighty Morphin' is obviously the biggest inspo. (The Dan Mora run on the Go Go Power Rangers comics is awesome.) Time Force, S.P.D. and RPM were all on my mind as well.

For the Gambit Gang I was struggling to come up with a fun villain theme and eventually figureod out that the enemy to the "Sports" team had to be the "Chess Club". (Insert joke about polycules and board games)

Gray in particular was conceived at this point when I and wanted an Evil Ranger on their side. Chess Knights having a vague horse theme, he obviously had to be Polo! His design draws pretty heavily from Mystic Force's Koragg which is still IMO one of the sickest designs Sentai has ever cooked.

Wow that got a little more long winded than I inteded but I hope y'all enjoyed this little peek behind the curtain of the ActiRanger's development!

Thank you all for enjoying my silly OC comics and doodles!

[ventique18]

Already seeing posts that Malleus is disgusting (in a not-affectionate manner) for what he's doing to the Shroud brothers.

As you should! That's the entire point of the story; that manipulating people, feeding your ideals upon the unwilling, and forcing them to obey you is an actual evil thing and something that should be condemned, not romanticized! He's literally from an evil bloodline with an actual bitch of a mother. Again, that's the point of his character in particular. That he is an evil creature who happened to be exposed to kindness, liked said kindness, tries to live his life in said kindness, but occasionally reverts to his foul nature because he's not a perfect person. Because he doesn't yet completely understand how to navigate in this unfamiliar kindness.

If that message irritates you so much, then honestly this game isn't for you. And if I had a hand in influencing this story, I don't want twst to change anything about how his character arc goes. We need more characters who change from repulsive to struggling but slightly better, and not just fill the entire fictional universe with care bears type of men who go from kind to godly kind. He's a failure of a man, but he's trying to be better.

And I'd be damned if the final villain in a villain game is not an actual villain.

[pomefioredove]

anyway I'm only thinking about this because I really like different origin explanations for yuu

(not as a theory, more like a "wouldn't this be cool?" thing)

canon yuu as we know them is our symbolic alice, right? the game is called twisted wonderland, the first dorm they deal with is heartslabyul, and similarly to alice in the disney movie and original book, they're a small, effeminate person lost in a world they don't understand, where they're in constant danger and never taken seriously

but I also really like the idea of villain!yuu

for this concept to work, though, it couldn't be a Disney villain whose already in TWST. no Frollo, no Maleficent, none of that. but it also has to be a villain who's different from the others. Yuu is our main character, after all, and it would be strange to have them be a run-of-the-mill villain, like... say, Captain Hook. it just wouldn't make sense

so they would have to be a villain that's quite different from the others, and they would have to be a villain who isn't well known in Twisted Wonderland. so, no "Righteous Judge" or "Great Seven" equivalent

they would have to have been forgotten. abandoned by history

now, we know that the Great Seven are remembered as heroes, but even minor characters have their folk tales and admirers, so being a niche villain isn't a good enough excuse. this villain would have to have been bad. worse than Frollo, worse than the Evil Queen, worse than Maleficent. someone so terrible that there were no survivors left to write them as a hero. someone so terrible that other mages had to cover them up

(I read a pretty neat theory about there having been an eighth member of the great seven who was eventually written over, which I'll link¹ later since I found it AS I was writing this, and the op and I had the same idea!)

but the theory essentially states that NRC originally had eight dorms, with Ramshackle being the forgotten dorm

in TWST canon, Ramshackle is based on the Mickey Mouse cartoons of the 30s (Lonesome Ghosts in particular) but it wouldn't be unrealistic to say that, if it had been an eighth dorm that was abandoned, especially if it was a very old one, it would have gone through centuries of renovations, just to fall out of use around the Victorian-equivalent era

then there's Yuu

and there are the questions: if they were a twisted villain, why do they have no magic? where did they come from? why are they here? and how do they have their memories, if they're from Twisted Wonderland?

I'll do one at a time:

!. The Question of Memory

canon Yuu is really interesting because they're so... well... Yuu. they're implied to have many talents, perhaps more than a normal person should have at their supposed age, they're strong, smart, and "less innocent than they seem", as Malleus said

but if Yuu was from Twisted Wonderland, then why do they have memories of home?

well... what if they were lying?

bear with me. now, maybe they could remember their past, and are withholding it, or (and this makes more sense to me), they don't remember their past and are pretending they do. why? because they have snippets of memory of who they once were, and they don't want anyone else to see them as that person. for any number of reasons

they could also just be confused and lost and trying to piece together their past, and is hoping that Crowley being able to send them back "home" will restore their full memory

okay, but what if "home" doesn't exist as they remember it?

Yuu is known to have "visions" of the past/future (which I will come back to), and it's likely that the only thing they remember about their "home" is the visions they have of it. the "home" they see is a place that no longer exists. and, as it was once ruled by a villain so evil that the world did everything they could to cover it up, there's no mention of it in history books. that's why Crowley can't find their home on a map or in a book

2. The Question of Magic

Yuu is canonically magicless. or so we're told

the Dark Mirror basically says that they have "nothing" in their soul. they can't cast spells or wield a magic pen

but they also have visions of the past, can connect with other realms, and aren't fucking dead, even after being hurt so many times, which, to me, can be explained by magic

Yuu has magic. they just can't use it

something could be blocking their magic pool, or they could have just forgotten how to use it (via the memory loss), or their magic manifests in other ways

I do really want to talk about Yuu's strength, though. I've had discussions about this before, because Yuu, despite being called small/weak by the other characters, is ridiculously powerful

here's the big thing: they don't die

six overblots, the prologue in the mine, book 6, glomas, playful land, the many in-school fights, the hypothermic conditions at Ramshackle, and Yuu is still healthy and alive

hell, they've probably been poisoned at least once. being friends with Kalim, Vil's overblot, and Lilia's cooking are all strong contenders

and they are. STILL. ALIVE!

maybe their magic isn't casting fireball. maybe it's something deeper. darker. maybe Yuu can't die

because Yuu is already dead.

3. How?

how Yuu even ended up in Twisted Wonderland is (supposedly) a mystery. at least, I don't think it's been explained yet...?

I'm gonna say it's not. for the sake of my essay

they don't know how they got here, and supposedly have no memory of the moments leading up to their arrival. where did they come from? why are they here? and how?

what if, bear with me, Yuu was dead. Yuu was dead, and something brought them back

the "world" they came from, the reason why their memories are so cloudy and vague, was actually the underworld

now Yuu is this undead thing, who was once an incredibly powerful mage, but whose magic is now being entirely used to keep them breathing and walking. so they can't be casting lightning bolt

(it would also be cool if Yuu had overblotted in a past life and that's what killed them but that's not a part of this essay)

being undead would explain how nothing kills them, why they can't properly wield magic (it's more like magic is wielding them, tbh), and why the Dark Mirror thought they had no soul

HOW they were brought back to the mortal world, I can't decide. there's so many good options- Crowley did some very illegal necromancy shit, Grim accidentally triggered something at NRC, or perhaps Yuu in their state of decay, used all their remaining magic to revive themselves, sacrificing their magic pool and their memories in the process. the latter being my favorite. Yuu necromancer

4. ...And Consequence

as we all know, shit gets weird at NRC after Yuu enrolls. I've seen a lot of REALLY fun theories about why this is, here's mine:

Yuu, being the absolute power source that they are, being associated with death and disaster and necromancy, is indirectly causing the blots by leaking so much fucking magic into their environment that it's making the more powerful mages like 10x more likely to overblot

that's it. they just attract death and destruction to them

5. Final Remarks

there are other little things I think would make this make sense. why aren't they afraid of Malleus (or, like anything)? because they're worse. much worse. and even though they can't remember everything, they know that

but the name! Yuu! that's not connected to any villains!

BUT IT IS, because "Yuu" is not their real name. it's supposed to sound like "you" because they made it up on the spot. it's almost as if... names are a source of weakness to powerful mages... and they're withholding theirs because they remember that

Grim could either be some rando Twisted Wonderland thing or he could be the source of their visions. I haven't quite decided yet

Malleus once says that Yuu is "not as innocent as they seem", which would make me wonder if he knows something the others don't. or if Lilia does. or even Silver. Briar Valley is medieval in many ways, and if anyone would keep record of a villain so evil and powerful that the rest of history buried them entirely, it would be Briar Valley

if Yuu did have an overblot, it would be bad. Idia Shroud bad. Malleus Draconia bad. worse, even, if Yuu is an experienced necromancer and can induce (and possibly manipulate) blot

6. The End

let me TLDR this: this Yuu is not "Yuu", but an ancient and powerful mage who necromancied themself back to life and ended up at NRC with a clouded memory of their past life. the ~figure~ they're based on was so horrible and destructive that they were intentionally forgotten, written over by the few survivors of their evil. this figure being so ancient that they are older than Briar Valley, so ancient that Yuu has visions of a "home" that hasn't existed in thousands of years

Yuu has a strong association with death and undeath, a means into seeing the past, present and future, and into connecting with other worlds. their home, their history, their ruler was forgotten, written over because it was so bad it couldn't be associated with anything but death and destruction

basically, what if Yuu wasn't Alice.

what if Yuu was The Horned King?

1 https://www.tumblr.com/valy-gc/746674187452792832?source=share

[velisle]

IKEVIL THEORIES

(CW: JP SPOILERS FOR VOGEL, ENG SPOILERS FOR VICTOR, SPOILER ABOUT KATE IN WILLIAM'S BLIND ROUTE. ALL OF THESE ARE SPECULATIONS.)

VICTOR'S BACKSTORY

• How do you know about this story, Victor? Did she tell you this herself? Or were you her Aide even when the Queen had just ascended to the throne? If so, how old are you actually? So many questions!!

• So Victor hasn’t told this secret to anyone else... Not even William, then?

• Also, why that child in particular? It sounds like he’s implying something here...

• What if he is the child in question?

VICTOR'S PROFILE

• Firstly, the “resent” section on the Villains’ profile usually gives some information that’s directly linked to their past

• This can be applied to the currently released routes: William with his “restrictions on freedom” and Harrison with his “corruption, police��� (Liam’s a different case here)

• In Victor’s profile, it’s stated that he resents “being excluded”. Therefore, it’s likely that he has experienced or witnessed an incident related to this in the past

• The most logical conclusion would be that it is related to his status as the Grim Reaper. It’s only natural if he were feared by others for his connection with Death. Perhaps, that’s why he acts cheerful and lively. So that people aren’t afraid of approaching him. However, it has been seen in events that he does have a hidden side to him — one that is much more dangerous —and he even mentions it in his bond story

• The other plausible conclusion is related to my previous theory that he was that child. Though we don’t know at which age he got his curse, we can safely assume that he’s been working in the palace for a long time, potentially before the Crown was created. In such an environment, it’s easy for him to be discriminated against by politicians and other nobles

• The lack of his last name can connect to these two conclusions. Maybe he doesn’t have one because he’s the Grim Reaper. Or... He had no family at all?

• Let’s look at his other sections: skills — dancing, magic tricks, piano

• Dancing and playing the piano are typically the things you’d learn if you were an aristocrat. Especially at a young age

• This disproves my theory of him being that child. But you know what contradicts this? Sewing and baking/cooking are also one of his skills, though not written explicitly here

• You could argue that he learned to do those things for the sake of the Crown, just like with his magic tricks

• But it’s surely more interesting to think, what if he knew these things from a young age? As a means of survival. Because he only had himself for the longest time until Queen Victoria came along

• I know he’s exaggerating his feelings here, but what if it’s true? He feels so lonely, all the time, despite being surrounded by everyone.

• This is addressed towards Harry and Jude, but what if he said this to others before? To stop them from leaving 'cause they didn't want to be around him

• There’s already a lot of theories about the relationship between the Queen and her Aide. Siblings, lovers, friends or even that Victor is the Queen. Who knows?

• Side note: why is Victor always called as eccentric or a weirdo in-game? What has he done to deserve this? He’s just a silly lil guy (called the Grim Reaper)

DARIUS AND VICTOR'S DYNAMIC

• Moving on, here’s why I think Darius could possibly be the rival in Victor’s route or vice versa

• Appearance-wise, they both have contrasting colours. And contrasting personalities, for Victor at least

• Both Lynn and Nica also have whites in their outfits, however, Darius is probably the one with the lightest colours (his golden hair and eyes count too)

• Most of us imagined Victor would’ve been ruthless and wickedly evil based on his dark appearance (not that he isn’t; we simply haven’t seen that side of him). You’d never have expected a villain with the title of Grim Reaper to be some happy-go-lucky single father of 8, would you?

• Darius’ title (not officially translated) is something along the lines of “The Cruel Angel of Distrust”. He’s likely the type to be all polite and kind on the outside while harbouring twisted plans in his mind

• Victor is the leader of Crown whereas Darius is the Chief of Vogel; both organisations have cursed members

• Funnily enough, Darius apparently hates scones. Then there’s the long-haired dad who loves buttering up his scones with EXTRA butter

• Both of them are collecting the Cursed like Pokémon

• He won't hesitate to steal your girl

• Victor, despite his philosophy of freedom, subtly exerts dominance through his words and actions. It’s not that noticeable because of his carefree attitude, but it’s definitely there

• So how would Darius act?

PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON VOGEL

• Vogel appears to follow a uniform code to some extent, most noticeable with Nica and Lynn

• Both of them also have the Vogel organisation symbol separately on a badge like thing?

• Whereas Darius has his on the neck

DARIUS

• What in the world are milk puzzles? Does anyone have an answer? (I've received an answer by @/fictional-men-set-my-standard so thank you!)

• This actually makes me think he really likes the colour white. And by extension, purity. He's also the only one wearing gloves in Vogel (Lynn should be wearing gloves too, fingerless ones specifically)

• Proposal: Darius’ nickname should be Darry (or Darrie if you prefer that spelling)

• As previously mentioned, the “Resent” section of each Villains’ profile tends to be related to their past

• For Darius, it says something like “looking after living things,” which makes me think he could've had a pet that died because of him

• His weapon is interesting, the top part resembles the handle of a cane, while the end is sharp like a sword

• His line, “Hello, Cursed and all. Won’t you join me in creating a wonderful world?” is supposed to make him sound kind, but it’s giving the impression that he has a twisted sense of humanity

• Bet he has something against people who are not Cursed, or treats them differently

• Is he a noble by any chance? His whole look screams rich

• This might be an overreach but I NEED him to be this person from Kate’s childhood

• It could be anyone else but this just feels like it would suit Darius’ nature

• Childhood friend troupe with him aaaaah

NICA

• Both variations of his name are cute (Nika/Nica)

• His “Resents” are something like “deep affection”, which is ironic since he’s apparently a frivolous, cunning man who plays around with love. Does his curse involve something with controlling feelings?

• Maybe inside, he’s deprived of love. All playboys are desperately in need of love in their lives

• He sounds like a good rival for Jude, especially with his interest in money and power. Plus, he knows how to forge a person’s writing, which is handy for messing up contracts

• “I’ll play with you like a toy” — Alfons better watch out you’ve got a new competitor

LYNN (RING)

• And for Lynn, his “Resents” say something like “eating alone”? Which makes me think he could have spent a period of time where he ate all by himself, without Nica, at the dinner table...

• And yes, I’m calling Ring “Lynn” because it's much cuter

• His hobby of sitting in the corner of a room oddly reminds me of a doll (or puppet in this case) thrown away, forgotten

SWAN LAKE

• I’m not at all familiar with the story of Swan Lake, so I had to do some research first

• As with all fairytales, there’s going to be many variations and multiple endings, but I’m going to follow the general plot

• The story primarily involves Rothbart, an evil sorcerer who turns Odette into a swan and prevents the curse from being broken by sending his daughter Odile to fool the prince

• Darius’ last name makes more sense when you relate it to his curse, Rothbart, who was able to transform into an owl

• Befitting an owl, Darius also happens to have a sharp sense of sight and smell

• The organisation being called Vogel makes sense now since all their curses are from the Swan Lake, which heavily involves themes of transformation and birds

• Both Nica and Lynn seem to have the same curse, though I think it’s more fitting for Nica

• He is a sly schemer who manipulates feelings, just like Odile, who does it with the prince, by pretending to be Odette

• Lynn is described as Darius’ puppet, and he’s not exactly villainous, judging by his profile.

• His hobbies, skills, and likes remind me more of Odette, but of course, he can’t be the white swan, right?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT?

• All Villains have Curses based on the respective Villain of their fairytale (or an associated object like the magic mirror in Alfons case)

• Which makes me think... What if “curses” also existed for the heroes? What if, instead of being called the Cursed, such people would be called the “Blessed”?

• And they’d have “blessings” based on the protagonist or good guys of the respective fairytale. And their ending will always be happy

• Unless they try to escape it. You know, do things they shouldn’t. Opening secret doors, entering forbidden forests... And falling in love with Villains

Tysm if you've read this far into my rambling ⁠♡ And don't hesitate to interact and share your ideas on this because I would LOVE to hear it

[ot3]

Just curious, what’s your opinions on Kristoph and Phoenix? I see you reblog ship posts about them sometimes and I’m really curious about your opinions on their dynamic both inside and outside of ship stuff, because I didn’t really know how to interpret Kristoph in particular. I think he’s one of the worse villains in AA tbh, it’s been a while so I may be misremembering, but I just didn’t… get that much substance from him?

kristoph is certainly a really hard character for me to fully develop an opinion on in isolation. i think the only area where i'm capable of saying anything about him i can back up with significant references to the text is in regard to his relationship with phoenix, because that's where the meat of his character interactions are. and more broadly because as a #phoenixhead my primary means of looking at the entire franchise is how things relate to phoenix. if you'd like to read about my interpretation of phoenix and kristoph's relationship more specifically i've got a post on that subject here. i think it's a character dynamic that has a TON going for it relative to the screentime if you're able to disregard fanon and look directly at what's in the text.

but more on kristoph individually

kristoph suffers from the same thing that all of aa4's major characters and plotlines do: not getting another game. there was clearly more to the gavin brothers' story we didn't get and will never get, and knowing that there's Something there we have absolutely no means of predicting or unraveling makes it hard to theorize. he kind of exists in a quantum state for me where i can see a ton of alternate perspectives on his character's complexities and just buy whichever one i'm feeling at a given moment. i personally wouldn't say he lacks substance because every interaction he has with any other character is, imo, very compelling and gives me a lot to chew on. but he's a character that's all questions and no real conclusions for sure.

i don't think he's a cackling machiavellian serial abuser. i think hes easily the kind of person who has the capacity to be emotionally abusive and manipulative to the people closest to him without being Pure Evil. because we have so little on him it's very easy to portray kristoph as the kind of sinister that provides whatever OP's favorite flavor of angst is. and i'm certainly no exception to that; i just happen to be a person who is into maybe some subtler flavors.

he's both one of ace attorney's most calculated villains, with poisoning vera's nailpolish being an incredibly cold maneuver that suggests a lot of foresight, and one of ace attorney's most brutal murderers, capable of getting aggressive enough in a moment to bludgeon a man to death with a bottle. i think kristoph can be understood as a character whose primary motivation is control, both over himself and others. there's that critical line in turnabout succession where he tells klavier he's out of control, and klavier says "whos control? mine, or yours?" his reputation is built on his ability to stay calm under pressure, and his ability to stay calm under pressure is built on his tendencies to preemptively engineer situations in his favor. the stuff with phoenix and the gramarye case represents what we can presume to be the biggest failure of his career.

i think this puts him very much in line with AA1's main villains. people like to compare him to dahlia a lot for obvious reasons and there's some fun to be had there but i think it lets people overlook how well he ties into AA1. redd white controlled the press and controlled the judges to get away with his blackmail ring. von karma controlled the witnesses to engineer his perfect cases. damon gant controlled the police and the evidence, and then controlled lana to control the prosecution. although those were all one-case villains i think kristoph justifies his larger scope in aa4 by the significant and longstanding personal connections he has to the rest of the main cast. kristoph represents the mirror image of those AA1 villains; aa1 shows the way the deck is stacked against the defense. kristoph shows what it looks like when someone tries to stack it in the other direction

i think kristoph plays an important part in the larger franchise by showing what corruption looks like from the defense's bench, and how this corruption takes a different cadence when it lacks the systemic power that the villains like gant had. i think his cold, calculated approach to defense works well as a foil to the type of defending we saw from phoenix who is all heart and charges in head first. i think apollo works well representing a sort of compromise between the two, being a little bit shrewder than phoenix but no less earnest. i think klavier, then, as a prosecutor who is much less aggressive than the previous 3 both personally and professional serves to further invert the expectations set by the trilogy in a way that's really satisfying.

is kristoph missing some pretty critical backstory that i would love to see? yeah. absolutely. but i think when you look at him as a story device rather than an underdeveloped character he adds a tonnnnn to the series. that said, i will die wondering.

[moodyvoid]

if the lov decided to have a movie night, what movie would each of them want to pick?

The League of Villains movie night choices.

Okay keep in mind I don’t know Japanese films so this is all coming from my own americanized movie knowledge. These are merely suggestions and there could be way better Japanese movie options for each of them!!!

Mr. Compress: I could see Compress having such a wide range of taste. Musicals, yes. Mafia movies, yes. True Crime Documentaries, yes. Heist movies, yes. Courtroom Dramas, yes. Old black and white films, yes. Any of these genres could work for him. I’d say movies like “Ocean’s 11” “The Godfather” “Les Miserables” and “Sweeney Todd”.

Spinner: Spinner is gonna like some sci-fi action films like “The Terminator” or “Alien” series. He’s also going to like the nerdier stuff like the “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” franchises. He also likes video game movies.

Toga: “JENNIFER’S BODY” — ENOUGH SAID. (romance, blood, girlies being bisexual.)

Dabi: I don’t see him watching very many movies, but he loves a good revenge plot like “The Crow”. Otherwise, any horror flick is also a good time for him. Sometimes psychological horror. Sometimes body horror. Everyone dreads when it’s Dabi’s turn to pick the movie. He tortures them on purpose. 💀 (Which he is very proud of— also, speaking of torture, he likes the “Saw” franchise).

Twice: COMEDIES like “Jackass” and “Stepbrothers”. Also ACTION COMEDIES like “Bad Boys” and “Hot Fuzz”. I can also see him liking some classic 80’s films like “The Goonies” and “Back to the Future”

Shigaraki: Similar to Dabi he also likes revenge movies, “John Wick” in particular— but even more similar to Spinner, MAKE ‘EM NERDY! “Kill Bill” vol 1&2. VIDEO GAME movies. “Resident Evil” “Silent Hill” “Mortal Kombat”

Yeah, they all argue every movie night.

The only ones not arguing are Shigaraki and Spinner bc their tastes are similar.

[sybaritick]

Absolutely thrilled to have stumbled across your 1972 security council rp tag. Legitimately exciting to know someone is into such a thing! If it's not too strange / personal to ask, would you be able to elaborate on what that entails and what's appealing about that specific rp for you? I'm curious but I can't quite get my head around it

I love talking about this stuff, so thanks for asking! I'm aware it's very weird but I think the reasoning behind it is surprisingly normal (in terms of how kinks develop).

I've explained this to a few friends on Discord so I will use those screenshots to assist me in this presentation.

so the backdrop to all of this is that I love to play the bad guy. As a small child in play-pretend games I would want to be the villain. I liked to be "it" during tag. As long as it's within the confines of a game/everyone knows we're just playing, I just like to be scary :)

But with this particular kink, I'm pretty sure it comes from some particular affecting experiences I had as a young teenager. I wrote my first Hetalia fanfic when I was 12 and then was very involved in model UN starting at age ~14. (I was really competitive about it and ended up even getting to a national competition once in high school, lol).

as a pretty weird teenage girl (now trans man) lot of my first experiences having crushes, or having someone else have a crush on me, were at model UN events. It let me feel powerful (because I was good at it) and I realized that having others act like I was powerful and threatening (in this ultimately harmless LARP type situation) was really hot to me.

(many such stories...)

I loved playing the US diplomat when I got to because obviously you get to play evil puppetmaster world power so I would lean into that and have fun with it.

The period of history I connected to most in terms of US interventionism was the Nixon era, just because there were so many examples during that period of the US trying to control the rest of the world. I ended up reading some Kissinger biographies (Kissinger by Walter Isaacson and Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power by Robert Dallek) when I was 18-19 and it really just cemented my obsession with the incredible harm he was able to cause and just how much of an affect he had on US foreign policy.

I'm particularly interested in economic coercion/the IMF and World Bank as instruments of US hegemony. Actually...

but ofc it's not just the 1970s, I like fantastical modern scenarios too:

(removed my boyfriend's name, sure it's just a first name but do they really wanna be in this post)

so yeah! tl;dr: it's a power thing, I like it in a D/s way. I got some wires crossed in my brain and "I like when people act scared of me [sexual]" became associated with "I like when people act scared of me because they're aware of the rotten machine of US global hegemony that lurks behind my words [sexual apparently]"

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

The Current event makes me smile since it kind of confirms a headcanon I had that the Great Seven have animated movies based on them. Makes me wonder about the plot of the movies

Disney should get on the Twisted Wonderland AU Animated Remakes. What is Ursula was a good witch, what if Scar was right to take the throne and did he take it from Mufasa? (Or whoever is the stand in for him)

The Evil/Beautiful Queen...actually GOOD?

Yeah, it makes sense! Since the Great Seven are historical figures and the stuff of legends, surely there would be popular media made in their image. It’s like how the Disney fairy tales borrow from stories in the public domain or how there are historical retellings and reinventions (Hamilton, anyone?).

I believe TWST has mentioned films based on their own stories and history before too, but purely in the animated sense rather than live action. In book 3, Ace and one of the Atlantica Museum guards talk about an animated movie based on the tale of the mermaid princess and her prince; this movie is said to have come out ~30 years ago, which corresponds with Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid. Ace compliments the movie’s soundtrack too way to stroke your own ego, Disney/j.

Later on in Tapis Rouge, the characters discuss other films based on the Great Seven, including one Queen of Hearts movie. A Sea Witch movie is also mentioned; in it, she “goes gigantic” and also sings as she brews potions. The Octatrio quite enjoy this particular film.

(Side note: Another anon once suggested to me that people probably also write fanfics of Neige and Vil since they’re celebrities… Think like “My mom sold me to One Direction?!” Wattpad kinds of fics, but replace One Direction with Vil or something. You can read those post here!)

It’s… interesting this event specifically has Vil promoting a live action adaption of an in-universe animated film about the Beautiful Queen—an animated film which was the first full-color animated movie AND it originally released close to 90 years ago. They also reference the funding issues that Disney suffered while producing Snow White + inviting bank employees in to preview the movie to acquire more investments, stating that the studio that made the animated Beautiful Queen experienced the same. The in-game live action is even slated to come out “NEXT YEAR”. They’re not being subtle here with TWST’s references to their own version of the irl Disney Snow White (the live action is coming out in 2025, the OG is also almost 90 years old, etc.). I wonder if the EN server will actually get Tapis Rouge around the time of the irl release of Disney’s live action Snow White as part of a promotional campaign? 😂

UPDATE: There are even more not-so-subtle references to Disney animations in part 4 of the event, including discussion of cel animation, rotoscoping, adding blush to the characters, and how Disney brought in real animals/observed the “real thing” to help with animating similar scenes or subjects. They also cheekily say that most animation nowadays is CG 💀

I know some books under Disney publishing try to show alternate tellings or show the villains in a more sympathetic light, but I don’t know that they would ever commit to fully animating a film like that. It definitely would not happen in the style of traditional animation, Disney no longer seems well-equipped to handle that task 😔 I feel like it would also be pretty niche or might not get overwhelming positive reception with recent audience calls for “true bad guys” instead of twist or sympathetic villains (though I’m not sure what percentage of people watching Disney actually have this opinion).

I do wonder how those “AU” films would work though…? It wouldn’t be as simple as suddenly turning the G7 into “good guys”. The scenario and other characters would also have to drastically change. TWST doesn’t necessarily make the original “good guys” “bad” in a world where the villains are historical figures; we still hear plenty of positive or neutral stories about the achievements of the mermaid princess and other Disney heroes.

There are also times when the same story diverges into multiple separate stories that seemingly have no connection to one another. For example, there is a story where a princess marries a street rat (clearly referencing Aladdin) and they live happily ever after in spite of the difference in their social statuses. However, there simultaneously exists a story in which the Sorcerer of the Sands saves a princess from being deceived by a fake prince (also referencing Aladdin). The same goes for the mermaid princess (Ariel)—there is both a story referring to a “mermaid princess” who married a human prince and also a different story (clearly still pulled from the same film) about a mermaid who made a deal with the Sea Witch to find true love but broke her contract in the end.

Very cool idea, just not sure where it would lead or it it’s feasible or worth it monetarily for Disney.

[lizzy06]

Shigarakai Tomura(Shimura Tenko) x Reader Fic Recs!! (Tumblr/Ao3/Wattpad)

My Hero Academia Fic Rec Masterlist

The Mushroom Cloud✨ by @oreosmama (oneshot, angst)Shigaraki promised to come back for you in that warehouse. Promised to save you, pinned under exploded debris that crushed your legs to nothingness. The ambush wasn’t supposed to happen, but neither was the explosion that occurred after. “Fine, you can come. But if your ass gets blown up, don’t come cryin’ to me.” [COMPLETED]

blind date |Part 2 ✨ by @scary-grace (humor, fluff)After endless failed attempts to help Tomura up his game, his friends have settled on their last resort: A blind date. Even before you show up, it's not going well. [COMPLETED]

Enchanted✨✨ by Cheeky_Kitsune(fantasy au, fluff) (Name) is out collecting herbs for her mother when she meets the one and only ‘evil warlock’ that her village fears. However, instead of being evil and menacing, he is simply a grouchy man that saves her from touching a poisonous plant that mimics the appearance of the herb she was sent out to retrieve. [COMPLETED]

No, You Can't Kidnap Me From Work✨ by darlingdove (oneshot, soulmate au, fluff) Having your soulmate be the one and only leader of the League of Villains can be difficult at times. Especially since he's so clingy, and as a civilian, your interests can sometimes clash. It was this random Monday night in particular that made you start to realize the position you were in. [COMPLETED]

Smile✨ by kingyohno (oneshot, angst) Shigaraki learned early on that life tended to pick favorites, and that he wasn't one of them. Unfortunately, neither was she. [COMPLETED]

Gentle Hands/ tumblr✨ by @alaskasmonsters/alaskasmonsters (hurt/comfort, angst, fluff)with a quirk like shigaraki’s physical touch had never been something another person had trusted him with. the fear of what he could do proved to be too great to get close enough. everyone was scared to touch him…everyone but you. [COMPLETED]

Delicate ✨by TheINFJReader (oneshot, fluff, angst) The good news: You are returned to the League of Villains relatively unharmed after being taken as a hostage. You get to see your boss again, the person that you secretly love the most. The bad news: The other villains gave you truth serum when they took you. It has yet to wear off. [COMPLETED]

Play To Win by sanchoyo(oneshot) The league of villains are robbing a bank in the middle of the day on a Tuesday. You're a hostage, and you've caught the attention of their leader. [COMPLETED]

Room for Two by afictionalwhore(oneshot, fluff, single bed trope) Perhaps the worst part of the setup was right across from the TV: a single bed in the middle of the room. [COMPLETED]

Atrophy & Rally ✨by Emrys_Aaryn(soulmate au, angst with happy ending)Soulmates and soulmate marks have been around forever. One another can even feel injuries or strong enough emotions. However, when quirks became more prominent, soulmate bonds warped. [COMPLETED]

Touch ✨by @tooruluv (oneshot, angst, friends to almost lovers) Tomura Shigaraki was independent, individualistic. Yet, he was a leader. So, why is it that he had a weakness? A stupid girl who spent entirely too much effort in trying to touch him. [COMPLETED]

The League by @bnhascribbles(oneshot, idk man) “Do you think we’re bad people?” [COMPLETED]

Messy by @bnhascribbles (oneshot, fluff) Your kisses aren’t that sloppy.[COMPLETED]

Sweet by @leychin (oneshot, fluff) Its just ice cream. [COMPLETED]

Hand Held by tinybunboy (oneshot, fluff) Shigaraki needs some gloves so he goes to his favourite tailor. [COMPLETED]

Fits Like a Glove by tinybunboy (oneshot, fluff) Shigaraki needs a new suit since the LoV is getting higher in the ranks. Kurogiri suggests you. [COMPLETED]

Burden by KitsuneMariko(oneshot, fluff) All Tomura wants is to have a relationship as normal as the ones in video games. Why can't he just have that? [COMPLETED]

Darling Won't you by sanchoyo(oneshot, fluff) During down time with Tomura, he lets you take care of his hair.[COMPLETED]

Ready Player 2 [[Original]] by MoontheCreator(enemies to friends to lovers, angst, hurt/comfort) xXDecay_GodXx is just as villainous in the gaming world as he is in the real one, but somehow he's acquired a best gamer bud™ named RaticalRex404, who knows him better than anybody else. Except for the small fact that he's Shigaraki Tomura. [COMPLETED]

Your Body Is My Melatonin by Babetacular (oneshot, fluff)After you drunkenly stumble into the wrong room to sleep, a suspicious pattern emerges that causes you to question your relationship with your boss. [COMPLETED]

Pinkies First by PetuniaWinters(oneshot, fluff) Tenko gets lost when shopping with his father, and you’re there to help! Whether he wants it or not. [COMPLETED]

A Boy in Need of TLC by LolliPopKiki(oneshot, fluff) You finally manage to get chapstick/lotion on Shigaraki after he got into a scrap. You underestimate how intimate the situation gets. Eep. [COMPLETED]

Tomura Shigaraki X Reader: Love At First Sight by BelladonnaBear (oneshot, fluff)The title speaks for itself. Tomura falls in love with you at first sight and wants you. [COMPLETED]

Caught in the Cold Rain by oREDACTEDo (oneshot, fluff) Tomura was having a bad day--he always had a bad day. A freezing cold night out in the rain numbed his anger but left him empty. Good thing a stranger like you was willing to share your umbrella. [COMPLETED]

Limitations by KitsuneMariko(oneshot, fluff, jealousy) Tomura is bad with handling his jealousy. [COMPLETED]

Touch by orphan_account (soulmate au, fluff)In a world where touch reveals your soulmate, one boy's quirk prevents the most basic necessity of soulmates, further twisting his already tormented mind. [COMPLETED]

 Climats d'amour by sanchoyo - An AO3 series. [COMPLETED] 1.Warm Healer by sanchoyo A romance with the nation's most notorious leader of a crime organization? It's more likely than you think. 2.Starcrossed Losers by sanchoyo A one-shot, non-canon spin off of Warm Healer. You and Tomura find yourselves transported to a universe where he and the rest of the league of villains are heroes, and he deals with it poorly. 3.Hourglass by sanchoyo A requested one-shot prequel to the Official Sequel, where All For One seemingly finds the two of you. 4.Cold Love by sanchoyo Sequel to Warm Healer!

Pillow Fort by WingsFlamesAndThirium(oneshot, fluff) Some members of the League complain about their blankets going missing, so Shigaraki comes to confront you about it. [COMPLETED]

A Silent Confession by Chibitami (oneshot, fluff) __ has a crush on Tomura, but her Quirk prevents her from telling him. So, she finds another way to show her feelings. [COMPLETED]

Not so Bad by dearbraus (oneshot, fluff) Your boss gets sick and isn’t taking care of himself. [COMPLETED]

In Your Sleep by Marshmallow_Rainbow139(oneshot, fluff)Tomura think he killed you in your sleep. [COMPLETED]

it’s nice to have a friend by @inu-mxki (oneshot, college au, fluff) There wasn’t an exact moment in time that he could pinpoint when it began. It just kind of appeared one day, this warm, fluttering feeling, then it made a home in his chest and never left. [COMPLETED]

Safety by @kageyuji (oneshot, fluff) The League doesn’t care about the mission anymore; now, you’re their number one priority. [COMPLETED]

Online Love [Yandere Shigaraki x Reader] by ddarkerdreams (yandere) Shigaraki finally gets the chance to meet you after being your friend online for months, confirming his feelings of obsession. [COMPLETED]

something new by BonnyDoe (oneshot, fluff) You’ve been dying to show Tomura your Quirk, because you know it’ll better your relationship. [COMPLETED]

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Why do you think The Arcana always leads towards “ Killing the bad guy “ is wrong?

Because if you kill Lucio in Muriel route & Kill the devil in the Nadia route ( and I’m not 100% sure but I think you can kill Tasya in Portia reversed route ) you get the reversed route.

Do you think because it was a game +12 and up?

Do you think maybe they wanted to push that “ Killing is not the way there’s always another option “ route?

Do you think they were trying to do the “ If I kill you I’ll be just as bad “ trope?

Or something else entirely

Moving on from that, Do you think these should be considered reversed routes? Is Muriel killing Lucio justified after what he put him through? Same with Portia and Nadia? Do you think the punishments each antagonist and/or villain gets in the game is justified/deserved?

Just something I had in my head :)

-🥥

Hey coconut anon! My answer essay is under the cut xD

Honestly, it's hard to say. The second three routes get a little ... gentler, as far as downplaying darker themes, when you compare them to the first three. In Muriel's upright route, you end up defeating the Devil with festival games, while in Asra's upright route, you purposefully lead Lucio to an icy lake so he can drown, only to watch him get devoured by eldritch horrors. Death of the antagonist doesn't necessarily seem to be the deciding factor of reversed vs upright.

The theme that the two different types of endings do revolve around is growth vs stasis, with a particular focus on community. If you consistently pick decisions that challenge and empower your LI to face their shortcomings, you're headed towards an upright ending. If you consistently pick decisions that coddle or enable your LI's flawed tendencies and/or a poor relationship dynamic, you're headed towards a reversed ending. (e.g. Julian caving to self-sacrificing tendencies vs letting others fight next to him, Asra choosing the path of least resistance and isolating vs uncomfortably confronting evil, Nadia choosing control vs letting others help her, Muriel isolating and surviving vs forming community and pushing for happiness, etc, etc)

Killing plays into that as far as making a choice that doesn't give the LI room to grow. For Muriel specifically, it harkens back to his time as a gladiator and turns him back into the person he's spent so long trying to forget. Meanwhile, Lucio's death in Asra's upright ending is the result of him refusing to run away from their problems anymore, developing the courage to confront the person who's caused so much pain head on instead. Meanwhile in Nadia's route, killing the Devil has less to do with murderous intent and more to do with her choice to take all power and decisions and control on herself, rather than depend on others.

I will say in the last three routes, there's a much bigger emphasis on avoiding killing and keeping things a little more lighthearted, but that appears to have more to do with a change in the context the project was happening in than the intentions of the authors themselves. Hope this helps, friend!

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi! Do you have any tips how to not lose interest in a story and be enough interested to start/do write if? Personally I just get hyperfixated on a story idea I have, do the brainstorming, even the planning, sometimes world building and if I get serious I make lists about almost everything but never end up writing even if I have interest still, but at most cases at the point I could start writing I just loose interest and get bored of a story when I'm done figuring out what it'll be about and maybe because I don't really like thinking about the climax or the end of the story...

Hyperfixation on Planning Story, But Can't Write It

I do have some tips on rekindling your interest in your story, which I'll link below, but first I think it's worth addressing the specific issues you mentioned: that you don't like to think about the climax or end of the story.

Have you thought at all about why you feel that way? There are a few potential reasons I can think of:

1 - Your story doesn't have a conflict, so your story doesn't have a natural climax or ending. Stories revolve around conflict, or in other words a problem that needs to be solved. This problem could be in the character's heart and mind (internal conflict), in the character's situation/life/world (external conflict), or you can have both at the same time. Many stories these days have a parallel internal and external conflict. Stories are ultimately about someone (or a bunch of someones) trying to solve a problem. In order to solve that problem, they need to reach a particular goal or accomplish a particular thing. The bulk of the story will be their struggle to reach this goal as they overcome the obstacles along the way. The climax of the story is where they face down the cause of the conflict once and for all, whether that's a villain (like an evil wizard or corrupt corporation) or a force (like illness or a natural disaster) and try to solve the problem once and for all. Everything after that is the aftermath... whether they succeeded or failed, patching up their "wounds" from the "battle" (again, it doesn't have to be actual wounds or an actual battle), and settling into the post-conflict life. That's your ending.

2 - You have a conflict, but haven't figured out how it would be resolved, so the climax and ending are fuzzy. If you have a conflict but aren't sure how it would be resolved, it might help to think of the conflict as a problem that needs to be solved. For example, in The Hunger Games, the conflict was the Hunger Games Event... the problem was that Katniss volunteered to compete which put her life at risk. So the solution to the problem was to survive the event.

3 - You know what the climax and ending are, but you are enjoying the characters and world and don't want the story to end. This is one I think many writers can relate to. It can be really hard to let go of a story when you've enjoyed writing it, have gotten attached to the characters, and feel comfortable/familiar with the world. It can also be a little scary to think about diving into a whole new story. But, we do have to learn to let go of stories when they're finished and let them come to their natural conclusion. You can always go back to the world and characters, even if just for yourself, later on. It wouldn't be weird to write "fan-fiction" of your own story, and many writers turn these kinds of stories into prequels, sequels, companion series, and companion short stories that their readers enjoy, too.

Here are some tips for getting excited about your story again if you just need your motivation rekindled:

Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write 5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! Getting Excited About Your Story Again Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists Feeling Unmotivated with WIP

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking | ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[galactic-rhea]

in regards to your padme post, what if padme WAS put into the space monk order and groomed by the literal devil alongside anakin? How do you think she would've turned out?

#you can't put tags in asks #but I'm doing it anyways #padme and anakin are some of my favorite star wars characters

The galaxy is fucked. That's it, thanks for your ask. /hj

The thing is that Palpatine is so...insidious (lol) that I fully believe he could groom anyone to be a Darth Vader if he has the opportunity.

Look at Luke, with Luke it didn't work because he didn't have years of manipulation and Luke did have more stable relationships and less all-consumming insecurities compared to Anakin, and a much less dogmatic understanding of bieng A Good Jedi (tm),,,AND LUKE STILL ALMOST FALLS.

Even if you want to take the sequels as canon...He also didn't have the time to groom Rey for years, and still almost succeds.

Padmé saw Palpatine as a sort of political mentor but could realize she was being played, but Palpatine didn't warp her into world-changing views.

But regarding your question, I think it would depend a lot and there's a lot of factors playing, like: Do she and Anakin bond? Why did Palpatine pick her? Or is this a reverse situation? Was she also brough as an older kid or was taken as a baby?

If we simplify it to "She was the one super strong in the force so Palpatine picked her for apprentice", yeah, I think we would have had Darth Amidala, perhaps less ruthless and murderous than Vader, more subtle and way more cold, but...idk, look at the other people Sidious got his hand into (Maul, Dooku).

If Padmé and Anakin had bonded, and Sheev had wanted Padmé as his apprentice, then I bet he would've find some way to get rip off of Anakin and anyone close to her, isolating and cutting away any ties to love or comforts is first and foremost.

Even if Anakin had been another apprentice to Sheev, then Palpatine was in for just some fun games and see how to get one of his apprentices kill, betray or in some way get out of the picture so only the best one remains.

Sheev is an incredible villain because he's always playing 4D Chess and he adapts his plan on the go.

When it comes to AUs like this, I think we're talking about the very human and sad nature that is being vulnerable to manipulation, no matter how smart.

Sometimes we want to think "oh if it hadn't been Anakin, if it had been -insert goodie good character-, things would've changed", but the fact is that no one is infalible. Groomers change their game and attack the weakness they see and adapt to their victim needs, and Palpatine is terrifying in that regard. And is a supporting system what helps people to get out.

Padmé is brave, smart and competent, but guess what, so was Anakin. And I think Palpatine would have exploited her weakness if he had chosen her as a victim instead of Anakin. But so would have anyone else. If Palpatine had chosen Obi-Wan, or Ahsoka, or Quilan, or Ayla, whatever, then we would have ended with a sith apprentice anyways; with their own particular personality and quirks, of course, and less unhinged perhaps because one of the biggest things in Anakin/Vader's views is that he was a slave and he sees the world in a very particular way, but yeaaaah.

If I must think of how could an evil Padmé would be...I think she would be very methodical and unlike Vader, she wouldn't be submissive to her "master" at all, she would plot against Sheev and harbour lots of hate and very little loyalty to him. She has the mindset of a queen, not a slave. In a way, that would make her more dangerous.

And I think she would ha v e some sort of…possesive views? Like, idk how to explain, kinda like how a queen sees a bestiary? Awesome, scary and cool beast to keep in a nice sanctuary, but they belong to her. I get this idea because of that bit from one of the novels, where she thinks that Anakin is like a vine tiger, dangerous and capable of murdering anyone else "but that runs to put his cheek against her and pur.r"

But like Anakin, then anyone can turn back as well and get away from the manipulation, and a sith Padmé could as well!

aLSO, before anyone says something because I'm starting to know how this fandom works... no, I'm not absolving Anakin of guilt, because victims can become abusers and should be held accountable. However, I am praising how terrifying Palpatine actually is when you think about it, literally any other character could've become what Anakin became had Sheev (or any other groomer, tbh) decided to play the cards that way.

Sorry for the long rambling I thing i sidetracked a lot, I hope at least it's a good answer nkljgndfjkgdfg

[mswyrr]

THG is the only pop culture story I can think of where the heroes (Katniss and Peeta) are disabled* and their happy ending doesn't require that they be "fixed" in order to be happy. IMO, part of why there's such controversy over the ending of the books in particular is that Collins wrote the pov of Katniss as a woman who is content and loves her life and her spouse and kids, but she's still very clearly mentally ill (and arguably somewhere on the spectrum). She has coping strategies and her life is good, but she will never be "normal" and Collins doesn't let the audience think that.

The one part, where she talks about how she handles the darker days, when she's really struggling, never fails to move me:

I’ll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I’m afraid it could be taken away. That’s when I make a list in my head of every act of goodness I’ve seen someone do. It’s like a game. Repetitive. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years. But there are much worse games to play. (Mockingjay, 332)

It's hard to express how important that is to me. Someone doesn't have to be "normal" to lead a good life. Someone doesn't have to be "normal" to have a life worth living, to give and receive love in good ways.

And, so, when people look at the villain in the prequel and say "he's just crazy, that's why he's evil. He's just a psycho, he's nuts," it's so out of place, it's so dissonant to me -- I think that's absolutely not the kind of story Collins would tell, given her prior handling of disability.

I don't think she's suddenly turned into a Victorian writer where you can know someone is evil because they're disabled because the writer thinks disabled people are warped creatures incapable of doing anything but bringing evil into the world. And the way people assert this, as if it's the pure, wholesome, most politically advanced reading of the prequel, is just - it doesn't compute for me. I don't understand how people get there.

I studied (for years) the treatment of mentally ill people in the mid-20th Century US. It was horrific. US forced sterilization and eugenics laws actually inspired N/azi Germany's forced sterilization, eugenics, and mass murder campaigns against mentally ill and disabled people. Nice, normal people have repeatedly convinced themselves that torturing and killing disabled people is how they will "purify" their society - they've done great evil in the name of rooting out the people evil is supposedly located within biologically.

Is it so hard to believe that people with normal brains do evil? Is it truly so impossible? Even in a story where the Games are about how a lot of people, the majority of whom are neurotypical, can be brought, via media presentation and entertainment techniques, into taking pleasure in their participation in evil? It's so hard to fathom that evil can't simply be located in someone being "psycho"?

Ballad already has Dr Gaul, who is evil and clearly neurodivergent. If Snow is too then the message starts to get kind of worrying? IMO, Coriolanus is more effective as a kind of “everyman” as an 18 year old - an example of the incentive structures (rewards and punishments) and propaganda that motivate “normal” people to go along. Of course, he will later become something far worse than that, someone who takes control of this thing, who uses his intimate knowledge of it and his insight into other “normal” people to make it worse, but that’s not the part of his life we see the most of. The part the book focuses on provides what I consider a powerful depiction of how ordinary people are acculturated into corrupt societies.

It's fiction so there's all kinds of interpretations that the text can support and exploring those is good. It's a stronger text because it has ambiguities and can be interpreted more than one way. But the intensity of some of the rhetoric is an unsettling contrast to what I've thought, for over a decade, Collins' themes and pov are as a writer.

*Shame on the films for removing Peeta's physical disability, though; in the books he lost a leg during their first Games

[tom-failure]

Hmm, how about Rika for that character ask game? 👀 And I'll throw in Zen as well, feel free to babble about him as much as you want <3

HO HO HO someone actually wants to hear my hot takes!!! Well, you’re in for a treat, my friend *cracks knuckles*

Rika

favourite thing about her

I’m gonna be hella controversial here, BUT my favourite thing about Rika is the lengths to which the game goes to justify her. HEAR ME OUT. This is the treatment always reserved for male characters. They are the ones getting coddled, loved, and redeemed (cough Jihyun Kim cough Jumin Han cough Saeran Choi). And Rika doesn’t even (arguably) get redeemed! She gets justified! The game explicitly tells you: ‘forgive her, or you’re a rape/pedophile apologist’. And hoo boy, that’s refreshing to see, especially in a game as misogynistic as MysMes.

I support women’s wrongs in this case. Raped women can have little a death cult. As a treat.

*mic drop*

least favourite thing about her

Hmm, I don’t know! I think Rika is a really good sympathetic villain. She’s sleazy, creepy, and at times plain terrifying. Recently I was chatting with a follower and we talked at length about how scary of an all-permeating presence Rika is/was to the RFA. But on the other hand, she has solid motivations for what she does, she has a pretty coherent (if fucked up) philosophy she follows, she’s well-rounded as a character!

I think the only thing I don’t particularly like about her is the voice performance and the whole Mika schtick. Rika doesn’t need someone nudging her towards the idea of a death cult to make her, as a villain, sympathetic. With all she’s been through, she is already sympathetic enough. And it’s enough that she takes her fucked up situation and turns it around to her advantage in this MORE fucked up way. It’s way more interesting.

And on the voice performances, I have very particular opinions. Rika’s strikes me as poorly acted oftentimes. Even taking into account the difference in mannerisms familiar to my Ukrainian ear VS the actress’ Korean.

favourite line

I love when, between being completely unhinged, she says incredibly sane stuff like this:

Like, SHE’S NOT WRONG!!!! Say it louder, queen!

But also…

brOTP

Honestly, I’m not sure Rika can truly have friends. I don’t think with her levels of fucked up, she could really keep such an arrangement. She can have followers, and she can have lovers, but I think, ultimately, she has never seen a normal equal relationship to such an extent that she wouldn’t know how to maintain it. So I guess it’s a blank here.

OTP

I think Rika with an evil fucked up MC is very *chef’s kiss*. V can suck it. And those two could be gay and do crime. Admittedly, I didn't pursue that ending, although I wad tempted, but I like the concept a lot.

But also, I love the dynamic of JuVRika and how they make each other worse, dragging everyone around them down with them. Those people are entangled in all sorts of manipulative and hurtful dynamics, and they all latch onto each other and refuse to let each other go. Truly a dysfunctional family, a toxic polycule, don’t join them when they spot you across the bar.

nOTP

I don’t have any strong negative feelings about Rika being shipped with anyone. Gonna be controversial again, but I don’t even judge people who see something romantic in Yoosung’s feelings for her. Go and indulge your toxic fucked up ships with my blessing.

random headcanon

Hmmm, don’t wanna repeat myself with the headcanons I already posted about her. I think a not-before-mentioned one that I really enjoyed was the one that came to life when I was talking to that follower about the Zen post. They said that Rika was down to solicit Zen for sex (maybe with V watching/filming/taking pictures) when they roped him into the RFA. And I’m seriously considering this possibility.

unpopular opinion

ANOTHER ONE?

Okay, here goes: I think Rika held way less power in her relationship with V than is often attributed to her. She was pretty much homeless and barely an adult when she was proposed to after just a couple months of barely knowing each other by some sort of a rich boy heir. She was severely mentally ill and she had pretty much no power in that relationship whatsoever. Without V, she would never have gotten access to those rich people and their resources, I don’t think. Yes, Rika made her fucked up decisions herself, but V made her SO MUCH worse beforehand. I think Rika is often blamed for what is actually his part.

song i associate with her

You are in luck! I make Spotify playlists for all characters and ships that interest me!

But if I had to pick one, probably On a Wire by Belasco

Shot myself

A final gaze

Through the glass of the watch

That you engraved:

‘To my love, my eternal love’...

‘YOU LIED, YOU BITCH’ —

I screamed from above.

And you,

Yeah you,

You wanted more than to fill a room with careless lies,

And you,

Yeah you,

You were the apple, no, the cause of my strife.

favourite picture of her

This one for the sheer memetic possibility.

Zen

favourite thing about him

I absolutely LOVE his backstory, even though it is so little explored. I love how dark it is and how it perfectly explains all of the shitty takes he has on the world and all the shitty habits he inflicts on the people he loves. I love his tragedy, I love how dark of a character he actually is, and how he came out of that hell so flawed, and yet undeterred. I love how rough around the edges his past has made him.

And oh, don’t get me STARTED on the voice performance. Best in the game, no contest.

least favourite thing about him

His route. I can’t STAND the whole premise, and I think it ruins him for a lot of people.

I’m also peeved by the way fandom doesn’t treat him seriously, but that pales before the treatment Yoosung is given, so I don’t think it’s worth elaborating on.

Yeah, the worst thing about Zen is his route, where he gets accused of raping a woman (poor boy gets his life ruined by an evil female, amirite, happens all the time), you gotta believe he is in the right there with no proof whatsoever (because women are evil and always lie, especially about rape, you know), AND THEN he is forced to reconcile with his shitty family that bullied him and let people harass him, to the point that he preferred to become homeless and a criminal??? And he never ONCE gets called out on his actual shitty behaviours?! Babes?!!

favourite line

This one on Jaehee route.

It’s so little yet so poignant. It is such a fleeting little thing, but it encapsulates his character in its entirety: lonely, hurt, yet caring about others first and foremost in his own clumsy ways; guarding his own wounds from others lest they suffer even a little bit of what he’s been through by proxy.

That guy makes me Feel Feelings.

brOTP

Zenhee! Or Zen/MC, specifically Joori, the MC I came up with and Jaehee’s girlfriend. But if we’re talking canon characters, then Jaehee. They would make each other so much better! Their friendship has so much potential! Zen would care for her in the very way she needs, I think his overbearing care is a perfect match for her self-neglecting self, and don’t get me started on how much he hypes her up! I saw a very good post recently about Zen wanting to be the older brother figure his own brother couldn't be to him, and here, I think, he could really shine. And Jaehee, with her reasonable and level-headed approach, would really give him good advice and bring him back to earth. She, too, can be overbearing with her care, but to beat Zen’s mind, set in his ways so hard he can’t look up? Yeah, that would work on him.

In general, it would be fun to see Zen have friendships with strong no-nonsense women, because he himself has strong enough a character and big enough a personality to offer them something cool and interesting, but also he really needs to be called out on his bullshit more.

OTP

…do I need to answer that? I’m THE Yoozen ambassador in this fandom, I am proud, and I’m still going strong. Yoozen/Zensung is THE ship ever, and I stand by it.

They care about each other a hell of a lot in canon, they compliment each other and stand up for each other, and I think they’re pretty much the only real friends in the whole RFA. And given Zen doesn’t let anyone close, the fact that he often invites Yoosung over and likes it is just very telling to me. The way they rely on each other and care for each other, despite Zen (and, arguably, sometimes Yoosung, too?) having no normal ways of showing it OR accepting it, makes my heart flutter. They talk about each other very tenderly to MC, too.

Also, I think they’d be incredibly good and healing for each other. Yoosung is very emotionally intelligent, empathetic, and insightful, and in him, Zen has a delicate and loving presence that he doesn’t have to explain himself to too much. Yoosung accepts him and wants to actually offer him warmth. And Yoosung’s open and kind enough to invite openness and kindness in return. He sees Zen for the big-hearted person that he is, and he could bring it out to shine.

And Zen is already so willing in canon to be the shoulder to cry on for Yoosung, to be good to him, he already wants to support him, help him, care for him, but he does it in all the wrongest and pushiest ways, hitting right into Yoosung’s own trauma. Yet, for all his forcefulness, Zen would give Yoosung the love that he craves: big, dramatic, and romantic. He is the protector, and he would do his damnedest to shield the softness in Yoosung, yet he would be the greatest inspiration and support for him to become firmer in his own personhood.

Besides, Zen with his fighting responses has the love that can complement Yoosung’s in its self-sacrificiality, and it’s just such a delicious dynamic for me.

nOTP

I am in general very faithful in terms of ships, so I’m not into any ships besides Yoozen that include Zen or Yoosung. But if we’re talking stronger feelings? Definitely Zumin. I am NOT into the trend of seeing outright hostility and saying, ‘yeah, that’s love right there’. I am old-fashioned like that.

random headcanon

I headcanoned extensively about Zen, both here and on Drawingmen, but the absolute pet headcanon of mine is the guy he had ‘too many firsts’ with, the unseen presence that prompted Love Story and that haunts Zen in all of my fanfic, but particularly Down Bad and The Wolf. I am currently writing a fic centering them both, and I even have a playlist about them now.

unpopular opinion

Romantically, I would not wish Zen upon any woman at all whatsoever. Zen has internalised the street code, he is EXTEREMELY prone to overcompensating, and he’s so desperate to be a beacon of masculinity (as an overcompensation, too, ironically) that he is bound to hurt people. His explosive character is just asking for trouble, and with the way he mellows down for the MC on his route… yeah, I know men like him. It never lasts long. I would not wish for any woman to deal with a man like that in a relationship.

song i associate with him

I got a Zen playlist, too, but it’s long and I haven’t filtered it in a while. The one song I would pick… probably Leave Me In by Zahl. 

It's all right if there's a battle tonight.

I'm right here and I'm ready to fight.

I swear I'm gonna kick daylight,

Serves him damn right.

So go on say your prayers,

But say them when I'm not there,

Cause that god, if he's there,

All he had for me was fear

And also, lately, Rokas by JUUK. After I drew that art with Zen’s hands over the years. Nothing quite particular about him in the lyrics, but it is now The Vibe.

You conceal your arms,

I conceal mine.

favourite picture of him

The CGs where he has Yoosung in his lap:

If I had a penny for each CG with Yoosung lying in Zen's lap, I'd have two pennies, which isn't much, but funny that it happened twice 😌

If you got this far, just letting you know I love you <3 Thank you for giving me the opportunity to ramble!