#and people Alcina knows

[caitlynmeow]

I’m just realizing that my headcanon for Bela is being born on August 2 which is the same birthday as Rose and Daniela has both of them to celebrate on the same day which can be a challenge.

Bela is important to her. Very important. There is no way she’d skip her big sister’s birthday but she also can’t skip her girlfriend’s birthday because she loves Rose.

Bela’s birthday party is usually very extravagant and big. She doesn’t half do things and her birthday is always something huge. The party lasts all day, and even when it’s over (we’ll into the next day because it extends well after midnight) Daniela knows that she can’t just leave and celebrate with Rose.

Luckily, Rose is unlike Bela and doesn’t usually go for something huge.

Rose doesn’t have large numbers of friends, which usually means that the party is small and cozy. Honestly, it’s a stark difference from what Bela does.

So Daniela starts the day by celebrating Rose. She books her all morning and well into the afternoon. Yes, there is a party with their friends later, but she wants to spend time with Rose alone.

And Rose loves it.

It usually starts with Daniela picking her up in the morning and she’d take them to a hotel. She’d have booked a suite for the day, and the two of them can spend uninterrupted time together enjoying each other’s company.

They leave in the very late afternoon; Rose would celebrate with her parents before heading out with her friends. And Daniela needs to go home and get ready for Bela’s party.

It’s not very ideal, but Daniela loves both her sister and her girlfriend. It’s unfortunate that both of them are born on the same day, but she found a working solution.

[twilidragonrin-art]

An indulgent birthday present for me..

[randomnameless]

Why do the FEH devs insist on ignoring Nabatean lore so much?

I recently had a surprisingly cordial discussion on redshit with someone about the "nabateans = colonisers" take, and one of the main points raised was that the game was purposedly foggy around Nabateans/Sothis/their story because it would obviously favor a certain narrative (and thus make another narrative look, uh, not that marketable anymore).

To be honest, we still ended up with a product that had a lead go "this race and its blood* is the reason why the world sucks" and yet that lead is still marketable enough to have raunchy cipher cards and 5 FEH alts, so I actually wonder if, while pissing on that lore had that purpose, it was ultimately pointless since Supreme Leader can still sell goodies despite her incarnation in FE16.

And not only Supreme Leader - but the entirety of WC where we basically have 70% of the cast crying/complaining about their "mixed blood" or lack of and basically adding their 10 cents to the "this race and its blood is the reason why the world sucks".

I mean, can you imagine Sylvain selling any goodies and alts if Flayn replied to his "wah wah people only are kind to me and want to fuck me because I have Nabatean blood :(" by some uncharacteristic "good for you, I have to hide my ears, had to dye my hair, have to lie about my family because if the truth is found out about my identity, I will be hunted and vivisected like an animal and harvested for parts by people who call my kin abominations - just like what happens in the game where the same people who call my kin "abominations" ally with a classmate who calls me a creature and pretends I am incapable of human feelings based on my race".

FE Fodlan's main selling point is its cast of students, for various reasons, but even if I tried to kid myself, Nopes and FEH made it clears : students are the main selling point.

If you spare more time and attention to the Nabatean plot/lore, the students either grow from "likeable" to "despicable" or worse, you won't gaf about them because yeah sure, Hilda might be upset because people expect things from her due to her crust, but it would feel like a "peanut" compared to Seteth's irrational (granted, it's not so irrational since GW exists) fear that Flayn's newest friends would dissect her if they learnt she was a Nabatean, and being conflicted by finally letting her have human friends and form bonds she crave, or protect her due to the trauma from the genocide of their species.

Don't get me wrong, I love peanuts, I mean, not everyone can have a tragik of loaded backstory!

And yet, given how this verse's DNA is "can you fight against the red emperor who uwus about you", they had to add copious amounts of Earl Grey to their games so there's no clear-cut factions :

The "Your alien blood and its influence on the world corrupted it, so I want to reform it under my command" vs "I don't want to die and you oppose me due to my race and side with the people who genocided my kin"

is turned to :

"Your alien blood Crests and its your church's influence on the world corrupted it, so I want to reform it under my command"

"I don't want to die and you oppose me due to my race and side with the people who genocided my kin"

Sprinkle with the cast's hammering here and there that the "reforms" might be needed - but never develop on what they are - and add a few baseless and groundless takes as a toping (basically everything Claude says about tolerance and the general "isolationism/foreign policy" stuff) and you get FE Fodlan where the Red Emperor's war isn't seen as the catastrophe it is in the other entries from the series!

Now, for FEH...

FWIW, the F!F!Billy's trailer had them try to explain that Sothis was a bit pissed about her slaughtered/massacred children when Nopes never gave any reason about why she was pissed - maybe on Billy's behalf bcs Jerry's dead, but come on, she would indeed deserve the medal of the worst parent in the franchise if that was the case, since Billy can murder her daughter without Sothis taking over ! - but given that they cannot write/go against the source game those characters are from.

They tried a bit, with B!Supreme Leader and Hegemongard's FB, but then it stopped (because she had no "new unit" released since then lol) and I can understand why : Hegemongard came out before the Supreme Emblem, and Hegemongard hates dragons who are seen/perceived as gods by some of their human followers. Come FE17, and now Supreme Emblem accepts Alear because they are "one of the good ones". We can come up with HCs and details and talk about what are emblems or if Hegemongard's views were only hers at the end of AM all day long... But imo, Doylist wise, it still feels it's a retcon because the devs from the main games tried to scrap and remove the most "controversial" traits she had.

For the other characters... Well, you see what Marianne is in FEH (but even in her base games), she's one of the few characters who reacts - in a way - to the partial history about relics and demonic beasts and all... only to give sad uwus to Maurice.

FE16 (and Nopes) refused to have any "student" character react to the Nabatean lore/reveal, about what are relics and all. There are no lines, Claude shared some knowledge in the explore section of VW's last chapter, but we don't have anyone muse or think or even talk about what are relics, what are crests, and what kind of fuckery their ancestors or the ancient humans of Fodlan did.

With that in mind, FEH can't do much : either they write Marianne in a retcon-y way like what happened for Hegemongard (and they're not afraid to piss on characterisation, look at Lyon!), or they flanderise her "character" and develop her around 3 lines she had in the game in her paralogue, and continue to give sad uwus about Momo when he was at best a guy who slaughtered and murdered so much that he abused the Nabatean turned into a relic to the point where he turned in a demonic beast even if he had a matching crest, or at worst, had been part of Nemesis's piñata party in Zanado and was something of a genocider.

Tldr :

Why FE Fodlan never gaf about Nabateans : earl grey + the marketable cast has to stay marketable and you can't sell peanuts at the same price you'd sell swordfish

Why FEH dgaf about Nabatean lore : they can't afford to retcon characters + they have to sell peanut alts with the same seasoning they had in their base game.

For what it's worth though, I think FEH is more daring than the base game(s) given how they gave more lines and screentime to Rhea - through her different alts - than GW. And they even designed her Halloween!alt's lines to piss on some of Claude's assertions, while the various FB involving members of the church also - indirectly - reply to some accusations thrown their way in FE16 when, FE16, never gave them an opportunity or lines to explain that those takes were full of dung.

*"but random, maybe she doesn't know that the crests she often decries is "dragon blood"!"

It's highly debatable, especially given what she and Hubert throw to Billy in CF - but even if she doesn't, Doylist wise we still have a character who, knowingly or not, says "this race and its blood* is the reason why the world sucks" and who is never called out on her prejudice. That's more of an issue regarding the general writing though, she has to be a red emperor and took pages from Ashnard's book, and yet, the player must still feel bad and want to romance her, so her mindest/goal cannot be looked at too closely, because, I guess, even the devs thought it would be difficult to romance her (thus sell goodies!) if more light was shed on the "blood from this race corrupts our people" schtick -> which in turn would also make characters whose backstory and gimmick rely on "crying about crests" be way less likeable, thus marketable and able to sell goodies.

[isas-bathbombs]

mario kart characters i think the dimitrescu sisters + angie would have as their main:

cass - toad

bela - daisy (second best character in mario kart wii basically, the best is funky kong but she would not be seen playing as him)

dani - luigi

angie - bowser jr

[phantasia69]

The Way CapCom Marketed Alcina

I find it so funny that CapCom really leaned into the hype around Dimitrescu when they released the demo. It was even to the point where, for the trailer of the actual game, it only includes the village and Castle Dimitrescu and then in the final few seconds they show Heisenburg. 

Like they literally don’t show anything about the other lords and they barely show Mother Miranda as well.

They created so much hype around Alcina (and her daughters), only to kill them in the very beginning of the game. 

Damn.

[highlifeboat]

Love the concept of the Dimitrescu's respective partners knowing how fucking terrifying and evil they are and just being chill with it.

Actually love the concept of their partners lowkey having corruption arcs. Like they love the power of having powerful girlfriends (Some more than others) and will use it to their advantages. They still love their respective girlfriends very much but like they gotta go a lil mad with power too cause they can just do shit now and it has very little consequence.

I want them all to be a little fucked up and evil is what I'm saying.

[milkiedimitrescu]

alright, how the fuck is my follower count going up so fast- 💀 nah am I that loved?

bro i have a feeling I'll be at 200 followers by the end of this year if y'all keep this up...

It's cause of my Alcina content or random content i know that for a fact.

[valleynix]

What do the maids think of reader?

...they're not the biggest fan of them LMAO

actually, most of them are pretty indifferent to the little mutated bird; they don't really care one way or another, but they do recognize their status with the Dimitrescus, so they try to respect that as much as they can

a lot of them actually prefer Reader over the Dimitrescus because they've been shown to be a lot calmer and more "human", and while they're prone to spiraling into their own head, they're still a lot nicer to be around at times 😭 there's really no threat of death or dismemberment for making a mistake, since we have seen Reader even come to their defense at times

that being said... there are quite a few that are now very unhappy with Reader's presence. more specifically, i'm talking about the ones Bela or Dani had slept around with and received bonus lei or weekends off from, and who now don't receive those things because both have their eyes/hearts on Reader

it's typically just the younger ones that would have an issue with Reader, though. the older maids who've been there a while and know the Dimitrescus don't really see them as anything more than another family member to take care of, while the younger ones are jealous of their relationships (because it could mean protection, more money, more days off, etc.) and having to clean up after the little idiot

(no one would dare try to harm them, though, no matter their feelings. it's quite obvious Cassandra is their little (tall and strong) guard dog and has made it very clear they're off-limits, unless someone wants to lose a limb for acting on their upset feelings. satisfying their jealousy/anger is not worth the risk of being harmed by a Dimitrescu)

[crowtrobotx]

I wonder what capcom would think if they knew about the Heisenberg ass headcanons

Cut to me calling HQ like “Hi hello Mr. Capcom? Help my little circle of tumblr buddies and I settle a debate - what kind of dumpy is Heisenberg rocking— hello?”

[caitlynmeow]

Lmao okay so Cassandra and Daniela were the loudest advocates for having pets in the castle but Alcina always said no because it’s plenty of work for everyone to look after the three daughters and no one has the energy to do the same for pets (because tbh the daughters can’t do much on their own they have maids that literally do everything for them like they barely even dress themselves there is always someone helping them and this is just ONE example)

Anyway, years and years later, life made a full circle and one Cassandra Dimitrescu was asked by her very own daughters if they can have a pet. Cassandra took a moment to realize that if it’s not for her wife, this family would be in shambles because Cass can barely keep herself alive let alone her children. And then she realized that her mother was right. It is a lot of work already and having pets is not going to work.

Cass would rather die than admit her mother is right but she fully gets it now

[randomnameless]

Artbook stuff : on the ages of the elves !

+ Alcina, because she's always involved when we're talking about elves.

So they went with the "stop aging for a while" after hitting a certain age - but the base was "1 elf year = 3 human years"

Granted, we see old elves, and I think a NPC calls Bestrals "unclean" or "corrupted" or something, so it means that old guy knew Bestrals used to be elves (something Bestrals themselves forgot!) some 800 years ago or something : was he there and lived through it, or was it hearsay?

As for Alcina...

Confirmation that yep, she used the "rejuvenation spell" like Yahna, but since she's supposed to be even more of a badass than her student, she apparently "rejuvenated" herself more than once? Still, the spell was reaching its limits, so she decided to body surf instead, picking an unwilling Eltrinde as her host.

At first I thought it was to get in the body of the elf priestress and thus get access to her special magic/priestress stuff, but what if she just wanted a "youthful" body that would last long?

Oh well, I guess it's nothing really new for her, save maybe for highlighting that Alcina was a very powerful mage, so her switching to the Zenoiran cause must really have done something to the morale of whoever opposed her/the Cornians who thought they could rely on her...

[g-kat423]

.

[iloveelliefanfics]

You're mine, little one.

synopsis: you get mistreated by a maiden, Lady Dimitrescu gets the job done after making out with you.

a/n: i literally don't know what this is i definitely hate this lol. but I've been wanting to write about our lesbian vampire queen so why not. thank you so much for any type of feedback!<3 enjoy.

pairing: dom, possessive! lady dimitrescu x reader

summary: proofread! i take requests, pics are from pinterest, pet names used. wc: 1804

Alcina Dimitrescu had a reputation. A very well deserved one as she had worked hard for it. She was ruthless, heartless, cunning, and above all, dominant and bold. She had been ruling the valley for centuries as the Lady of the Castle, her power over her people unwavering.

The maidens under her rule trembled whenever she walked through the halls. They all knew what happened to those who had the misfortune of irritating their leader, or even worse making a huge mistake. She was their ruler, their protector, but if she had to, their punisher.

And yet, a single woman was about to flip everything upside down. You. Her cold exterior melted down once she met you.

You turned everything upside down, she had fallen in love with you the first time she saw you. She was very clear on wanting you. Alcina Dimitrescu wouldn't stop until she could claim you as hers. Always surprised you with little/huge gifts, flowers, anything. When you wanted something badly and she knew of it, she always made sure to get it done, if you were happy, she was happy.

This day was especially trying on the Lady. She'd had to deal with incompetent villagers and an abundance of paperwork in her study, making her mood all the worse.

By the time she'd finally retired for the evening, her head was pounding with a tension headache, which she tried to get rid of with fresh blood.

Lady Dimitrescu was sat at the head of a long table in the grand dining hall. Golden eyes scanned meticulously over a detailed map of the area, a pen clutched between slender fingers. The quiet of the room was broken only by the occasional scratching of tip of the pen against paper as she made annotations and notes.

The sound of footsteps caught her attention, her head lifting to glance towards the door. A smile curled her lips as she saw you enter. "My darling." The Lady breathed and a smile curled up on her face, as she set her pen down and held a hand out to you in greeting. "You have impeccable timing, my darling. I was just starting to get bored with finishing up some of this work, I am so glad you've come to see me, love." Rising from her chair, she made her way around the table towards you. Her movements were smooth and elegant, despite her tall figure. Her long legs closed the distance between you, her gaze roamed over you as she pulled you close against her chest, a small hum leaving her as she hugged you tightly, hands coming to rest on your hips in a gentle yet possessive touch.

She murmured into your ear, warm breath fanning over your skin. "Such a tease, you are. Trying to distract me from all this work I have to finish." She purred lowly, her fingers moving to grip your hips a bit more firmly. Pulling back slightly, she looked down at you with a heated gaze. Her eyes roamed across your face, lingering on the soft curve of your lips before meeting your gaze once more.

"I take it you have a reason for interrupting my work?" Lady Dimitrescu chuckled as she pulled you closer, again, her hands slowly beginning to wander over your form while she continued to nuzzle into your neck, her lips pressing soft kisses against your skin.

You get out of her gentle but firm touch, looking into her eyes. "I do actually..." You look away for a second, but it's enough for Alcina to sense that not everything is okay with you.

She took a deep breath, trying to reign in her anger somewhat. Her gaze fixated on you, taking in your every feature as she tried to assess any damage done.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, her voice taking a softer tone. Her hands moved to gently cup your face, her touch surprisingly gentle considering the burning anger that still flickered in her golden irises. "Ssh, my darling, don't you worry, tell me what happened." She whispered softly in a reassuring tone, gently running a hand up and down your back in soft, soothing motions.

Worry burned in her golden eyes, her hands clenching into tight fists at her sides. If anyone dared to touch you, theyd would meet the great Lady Dimitrescu's ruthless anger. Her body tensed, clearly ready to march out and confront the offender herself.

You take a deep breath before saying anything. "It's just that... One of the maidens started a rumor about me... about us. I know I shouldn't care but I don't want anything to happen... They also started mistreating me." Lady Dimitrescu's eyes darkened as she heard your words, anger and disgust filling her at the mere thought of someone mistreating you.

"Ah, my dearest one." She murmured, golden eyes shut as she relished in your presence, reveling in the feeling of having you in her arms. The Lady's large form was pressed firmly against yours, her body enveloping you in a reassuring embrace. Her arms wrapped around you protectively, her chin resting on top of your head as she continued to nuzzle into your hair.

"I have you now. No one will hurt you." Alcina murmured, her lips brushing against your temple as she spoke. She pulled you closer, as if trying to shield you completely from the world outside of her arms. All that mattered was being held by her, feeling her strong embrace and the reassuring beat of her heart against your ear.

Her hands began to roam over your form, fingertips tracing over the soft curves of your body in a gentle and comforting manner. Her touch was tender, filled with love and protectiveness.

With a soft sigh, she buried her face into your neck. "You're mine, you know that, right? You'll always be mine. I won't let anyone take you from me or make rumors about us. I'm going to handle it, my people will treat you like my other half." Her words were full of possessiveness and truth combined. She would do whatever it took to keep you safe. To keep you with her. No one would have you but her.

She pulled back again, golden eyes holding your gaze. "Promise me you'll tell me everything when something like this happens." She said, her voice almost trembling with desperation. She's such a fool for you.

"Of course my darling, I... I just didn't know how you'd take it." You look away kind of ashamed. You knew you should've said something earlier.

Relief instantly washed over the Lady's features, her body relaxing somewhat as she let out a shaky exhale.

She moved to grip your hips once more, using her grasp to pull you flush against her body. Her eyes roamed over your face, taking in every detail, as if trying to memorize it. "Good. You're mine, and just mine." The Lady gazed down at you for a moment, her eyes darkened with desire. She bent down, closing the distance between you in a sudden movement. Her lips met yours in a passionate kiss, claiming your mouth hungrily, fingers digging into your flesh possessively. She held you tightly against her, her body pressed against yours and the kiss dominant and demanding. Her tongue slipped against yours, the kiss a heated and possessive claiming of your lips. She tilted her head, deepening the kiss and giving a hint of her dominant nature, her grip on your hips never loosening.

The Lady pressed you firmly against her, her body trapping you between her and the wall behind you. It was impossible to escape when she had you like this, and she was more than happy to keep you right where you were. She broke the kiss reluctantly, moving back just enough to fix you in her intense golden gaze. Her tongue flicked over her bruised lips, and she gave a low growl of possessiveness.

"You're mine," she stated firmly, her voice low and heated. "All mine. No one else's. Say it."

"I'm yours, Alcina, all yours." You give in to her command, enjoying the effect she has on you.

The Lady's lips curled into a pleased smile. "Of course, dearest, of course you're all mine. I love it when you say it loud and clear." She smirked at you, loving every second of it.

One of her hands moved to cradle your face gently, her thumb caressing your cheek as she spoke. Her golden eyes darkened with promise, her lips still red and kiss-swollen.

She was utterly devoted to you. Your pleasure was her pleasure, and she would move the earth for you if you so wished it.

"Now, little one, i want you to know what it means to be claimed by me. You won't be leaving until I'm finished with you, darling." Her hands began to wander over your body, large fingers tracing every dip and curve with a possessive claiming touch. She moved to kiss and nip at your neck, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down to your collarbone. Her touch was firm and deliberate, as if she was mapping out every bit of you and claiming it for herself. Her lips and teeth continued their trail down to your shoulder, her breath hot against your flesh. Her body pinned you to the wall with no room to move, not that you wanted to escape. She placed a particularly hard bite on your collarbone, marking you with an obvious bruise. Claiming you as hers.

"Say it again." She breathed against your skin, her tongue darting out to lick at the spot she had just marked. "Who do you belong to?"

"I belong to you, Alcina, please..." You almost begged her to continue. A low growl of sheer possessive pleasure left the Lady's lips as she heard your response. "That's right, darling. You're mine. My love, my pet, my sweet little thing." The Lady's other arm moved to wrap around your waist, holding you tightly against her. She deepened the kiss, her tongue tracing over your lower lip. Her touch was gentle but possessive, her claim upon you never wavering. One of her hands moved to gently tilt your chin up, her thumb lightly brushing over your lips. Her gaze softened even more, and she leaned forward to press her lips against yours in a soft, almost chaste kiss.

She continued to nip and bite at your neck and collarbone, leaving small marks to remind you -and the rest of the world- that you were hers and hers alone.

"Now, my darling. It is time for me to get those maidens to their places, alright? Just stay here I'll be no longer gone than 10 minutes." She gave you another kiss then left to get the job done herself.

[river-of-wine]

I know I’ve mentioned this plenty of times before but I’m still kind of annoyed by how the fanbase just kind of completely declawed the four lords and placed the entirety of the responsibility for their wrongdoings on Mother Miranda.

The Baker family are great, I love them, they’re an incredible unit of antagonists who are intended to be very sympathetic, at least for the most part. Jack and Marguerite in particular have lost all control over their minds and their bodies, turning into extremely violent murderers and cannibals who threaten and attack their own family, kill anyone unfortunate enough to come across them and, especially in Marguerite’s case, lose complete autonomy over their own bodies. Marguerite turns into a walking bug hive who’s only purpose is to feed her family and birth her new children. Jack is an unstoppable murderous force of patriarchal violence who has so much fun chasing down and harming his victims, which in the Daughters DLC includes even his own daughter. The exception to this is obviously Lucas, who has been cured of his infection and his acting of his own free will. All of this is caused by Eveline, everything Jack and Marguerite do controlled by her, and yet Eveline is just as sympathetic as the rest of them. She’s a ten year old girl. Even Jack, who has watched his family and their victims suffer because of her infection, doesn’t seem to hold any of it against her. She just wants a family of her own, after all. It’s a complex and tragic situation.

The four lords, while I suppose being similar in structure, are not the Baker family. Not in dynamic, not in character, not in the kind of tragedy that they embody. I could talk for a while about just how completely different they are, but I don’t know if I really need to.

The Baker family are so tragic because they were just innocent bystanders trying to help a woman and a little girl they found in a shipwreck out in a storm. That’s the only reason they ended up in the situation that they were in. While the lords have similar origins, being victims of Mother Miranda’s experiments to bring her daughter Eva back, an important distinction between them is that in the case of the lords, all four of them are still acting of their own free will. Yes, Mother Miranda has undeniable power over them. She leads the cult they are part of, she has control over the village, she is their superior. However, I really dislike when every negative action by the lords is pushed onto her, as if the lords are not all grown adults who are for the most part acting independently of her.

With Alcina, she is the head of her own extremely brutal crimes. I think a lot of people have forgotten quite how horrifying the situations of the maidens are, possibly due to the prevalence shipping between Alcina and the maidens, and though we have minimal information what we do know is very frightening. Alcina uses her work force like livestock, draining them for their blood in a cellar full of horrific torture devices, and leaves their corpses to shamble around, armed and ready to attack any unwanted guests that have slipped out of the daughter’s clutches so that Alcina still doesn’t have to do her own dirty work, given how highly above everyone but Mother Miranda she appears to view herself as. While yes, Alcina does need human blood to survive, her methods are brutal, and none of this has been enforced upon her by Mother Miranda. Similarly to Jack on occasion, she takes a great deal of pleasure in hurting and attacking Ethan as he runs from her. Additionally, everything she does to Ethan is against Mother Miranda’s request. While yes, it is retaliation after he killed Bela, the part I often see people leave out is that Alcina is equally as upset that he entered her property and was attempting to steal from her, and she isn’t just after him to kill him.

Alcina has also been an active participant in aiding Mother Miranda with at least one experiment, considering that I’d how she got her daughters. While I’m sure her strong admiration for Mother Miranda and Mother Miranda’s power over her has absolutely had an affect in this, that’s not something I’ll deny, Alcina is still a grown woman and in her written entries about this shows no qualms about her participation in this. Her general attitude towards others, using young women as a good source and turning men into scarecrows, also leads me to believe that she does not exactly care who gets hurt or taken advantage of when it comes to her and Mother Miranda’s personal endeavours.

Donna and Moreau are the two more sympathetic people within the four lords, but they are not innocent. To start with Moreau, he’s desperate for Mother Miranda’s approval, as well as the other lords. He’s insecure and lonely, and he’s doing what he has been instructed by Mother Miranda when it comes to protecting the flask. However, he does also take quite a bit of joy in trapping Ethan in the reservoir and swimming after him with the intention to eat and kill him. Moreau though, given his conditions and circumstances, is the one I think is the least to blame for what he does.

Donna is hard to discuss because we know so little about her. Her parents are dead, as well as whoever Claudia was to her, she communicates through Angie and she can cause those who enter her house to hallucinate. According to Mother Miranda, Donna is severely mentally ill and that is what has made her an unfit vessel. I think a lot of people took this to mean that Donna is unaware of what she is doing, that the hallucinations she is showing Ethan are frightening, but after having been a fan of this game for years I just can’t agree with that anymore. Donna intentionally lures Ethan into her house with visions of his supposedly dead wife. Donna is going after fears she likely knows Ethan has, making him relive Mia’s death, take apart a mannequin of her, listen to her voice panic over something being horribly wrong with Rose, all building towards the horrifying baby that chases him through the house. There is no way Donna doesn’t understand how what she is showing Ethan is distressing, especially when you consider that, given how she can make herself appear and disappear at will within Ethan’s vision and that Angie is sitting in the hallways stationary and unspeaking, Donna was likely close by Ethan at all times and could see and hear his frightened reactions to what she was intentionally showing him.

Donna’s death is upsetting, but Ethan was not just chasing her down and killing her. Donna was attacking him, or at least she was controlling her dolls to do so. It’s still a hallucination, but Ethan doesn’t know that. When faced with a threat that is keeping you trapped and trying to end your life, you will likely try to get away or try to fight back, as Donna is doing to Ethan after he starts to attack her and Ethan is doing to Donna when he thinks his life is still in danger. I would also like to remind everybody that Donna communicates through Angie. What Angie is saying, that’s Donna. Angie doesn’t talk or move once she’s dead, it is Donna who controls her.

Lastly, Heisenberg. I think Heisenberg is the one of the four most entrenched in headcanons. Headcanons are fine, I am never in this post trying to suggest they aren’t, but my issue comes in when people use them to try and change the canon of the game. For example, it’s fine to believe that Heisenberg was experimented on by Mother Miranda as a child, but that isn’t canon. It’s fine to believe that Heisenberg mourned the deaths of his siblings, but that isn’t canon. The opposite is, with Heisenberg not viewing the cult as an actual family and being very openly mean to all three other lords, even Donna and Moreau who seemingly haven’t done anything to slight him. While his goal of killing another Miranda is a very understandable and sympathetic one given what she has done to him, using a six month old baby as a weapon and trying to bring her father into the mix only to try to get him killed when he denies him is not. I cannot overstate quite how little Heisenberg actually cared for Ethan and Rose’s safety when it came to his goal, and given that we are playing as Ethan, Rose is the priority.

Heisenberg has built an army of corpses he has presumably stolen and desecrated. This is kind of fucked up actually, and done completely independently of Mother Miranda. He also puts Ethan through a very dangerous lycan gauntlet before he even reaches the factory, which makes it even stranger to me that people seem to interpret Heisenberg’s deal as something that would have benefitted both him and Ethan and as if he ever had Ethan’s safety in mind.

All four of the lords have tragic aspects to them and there are definitely reasons to sympathise with all four. They’re victims of Mother Miranda, who knows they will all be killed. She wants them to be, giving her less to deal with by the time she has Eva back. They never meant anything to her. Not Alcina or Moreau, who were desperate for her attention. Not Donna, suffering from her unspecified but apparently severe mental illness. Not Heisenberg, who was seemingly her favourite creation. However, all of them are grown adults who do their own bad things independently of her.

And it’s fine to still like them. It’s fine for them to be your favourite character. It’s fine to have happy or nice headcanons about them or want to kiss them or be their friend or to want them to have survived. It’s fine to like characters who do shitty things. It’s to be expected in a game series like Resident Evil. It’s a horror game series. People are going to do bad things.

I just find it so boring when people take away all their bite. What makes a character like Lady Dimitrescu so fun it’s that she’s completely over the top. She’s campy and ridiculous, her castle layout makes no sense, she’s got three kids made of swarms of flies dressed like a set of goth triplets, she’s a lesbian who’s castle is full of naked statues of women, she turns into a big dragon and laughs maniacally while flying around and trying to eat you. She’s evil and it’s fun. It’s the same with Heisenberg. He’s a campy show off with a fun voice and a massive hammer he never actually uses. He can control metal. He looks like a cowboy. He pronounced Miranda in a funny way. He talks to you over an intercom while trying to get you killed. They’re fun and evil and they fight over who gets to kill Ethan like they’re two little kids. It’s absurd.

What makes a character like Donna so scary is that she’s silently working in the shadows, unassuming at a first glance and unseen for most of the time in her house. She is the least threatening of the four upon first glance, and yet she has undeniably the most frightening part of the game. Pretending as if Donna is completely unaware of what she is doing and babying her like she is an incapable child waters her down completely and takes away from the effectiveness of her character.

Villain characters are great! They’re very often the highlight of the story they are in, and they aren’t real! The four lords especially are often so completely exaggerated in what they do as well. It’s fine to like villains! It doesn’t make you bad! Characters can be bad people and you can still like them!

It’s just frustrating seeing a group of very fun and exciting villains, all designed with different aspects of horror, all over the top and campy and stupid and fun, all doing their own set of fucked up things, watered down to a set of poor innocent victims who have never done any wrong ever. If you want Jack and Marguerite, take Jack and Marguerite. Lady Dimitrescu loves killing and eating women and Karl Heisenberg turns corpses into soldiers. They’re bad people and they do comically exaggerated bad things. If you can’t stomach liking a character like that, horror is probably not the genre for you. Unless it’s Resident Evil 7, I suppose, but apparently tall women aren’t hot when it’s Marguerite Baker crawling on the walls.

[seraphdesire]

Regarding Donna Beneviento and her characterisation in the fandom, I think it's important to note that she really isn't the shy awkward adorable blushing mess that everyone depicts her as being.

This got long but I did a mildly extensive read on her character under the break! :)

Here are the notes I took a screencap of, written by Mother Miranda, which talks about the suitability of Donna being a vessel for Eva:

There's the evidence you need that she is severely mentally ill, so babying her just feels... wrong anyway, all things considered.

Note - "and has divided her Cadou among her dolls in order to control them from a distance." While I'm on my 3rd replay of re8 I still don't fully get how the Cadou works, but what I think is essentially happening is Donna is literally splitting off parts of herself and putting them in her dolls.

The main one being Angie, of course.

I always used to consider Angie a separate character entirely but she's linked deeply to Donna on a very personal level. Considering what she's like and what all the other dolls are like - loud, funny, sarcastic, rude, etc - and how Donna is literally the one directly controlling Angie (that's the only way she moves lol, because Donna is carrying her places. Which is also why, when you kill Angie, the illusion melts away to reveal that you've actually killed Donna), I think it's safe to say that's what her actual personality is like.

Also, her only spoken line of dialogue? Please listen to it. For those who are hard of hearing, like me, she says: "don't leave... I can't let you."

Bearing in mind the way she speaks? Her tone? She sounds confident imo. Determined. And perhaps even a little angry at Ethan for thinking he can escape her.

Just a last addition as well, can I say that her abilities as one of the Four Lourds is genuinely evil? Everyone else has physical intimidation - Alcina has her height and her claws and mutation, Heisenberg has his ability to control magnetic fields and metal, and Moreau can mutate into that huge fish-with-legs thing that vomits something akin to acid? Oh yeah and he can swallow you whole too.

Donna, on the other hand, doesn't have physical intimidation like that. She only has the threat of psychological damage (which makes sense considering she's severely mentally unwell). When Ethan goes through her gardens and has to solve the puzzles in the house, she makes him hallucinate about his wife whom he thinks is dead, and about his baby who is somewhere in this unknown country with a bunch of mutants who only have bad intentions.

It's even worse in the Shadows of Rose DLC imo. As Rose, Donna makes her hallucinate the bullies from back home, being called a freak and a weirdo, made to relive the worst moments of her life. And the puzzles too? Hell. Having to actually recreate the scenes of her bullying with wooden fucking dolls. I remember feeling really sorry for Rose while playing through that part.

And yet Donna is still "the uwu baby" because what? I don't know. People love to declaw female villains just because they're attractive (looking at Lady Dimitrescu here). They love to reduce the characters down to their looks and not consider their actual lore or background or the role they play in the franchise (looking at Leon especially...)

Which, ya know, of course people are allowed their headcanons for characters and Donna doesn't get enough screentime to really have her personality even thought of, let alone to be made canon. But I think it's fair to say that Angie and Donna are basically one and the same because they're literally the same Cadou.

This is a quick reminder that you are, of course, allowed to disagree with me. Everyone has their own opinions and that's fine. If you would like to politely debate about this in my comments or in my DMs, or even in my asks, then you're more than welcome to! Please remember debating and arguing are two different things though.

If it really irks you that bad then please scroll, it's not hard. If you don't want to do that then feel free to block me - the button is free of charge after all and should be used more to cultivate your feed to your liking.

[angelique-stoleurdiscord]

𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲

(Lady Alcina Dimitrescu x F!Reader) [Lady Dimitrescu comforts Headmaiden!Reader during a stressful breakdown] ~Anxiety attacks/Hurt/Sad themes/Dissociating/If you are sensitive to or gain anxiety/mental breakdowns when connecting with online bad scenarios, please leave, I know they can be upsetting as hell and annoying to deal with. Please don't be afraid to cry if you need to, just promise you won't do it alone <3, love you all :3 ~ ~Little use of Y/N, grammar may be poor, misspellings probably frequant, Reader is over 30 (roughly 36-38), Reader overworks when stressed~ ~SFW~ ~ ~

Keeping more then 50 maids in line was hard. Not impossible, especially when you're as stern and strong as yourself. ... At least that's what you try to tell yourself. You love working for The Countess of Castle Dimitrescu after serving for years and years, but occasionally, some days just become a little bit too much. Today just happened to be one of those days.

Currently, you were cleaning windows in The Lady's private chambers, thoughts dancing about in your mind. This week had been full to the brim with bloody messes, incompetent maids and idiot moroaică managing to bust down the diningroom door, however the hell they manage to do it without being sliced to ribbons by The Mistress was anyones guess.

You had somehow managed to slip out of focus for a moment as the screams of what sounded like a male from the dungeon rung through the castle. Considering how long you had worked in Castle Dimitrescu for, the screams of maids and occasional hunters always managed to make you shudder. You didn't think you'd ever get used to it.

Unfortunately, thinking about what the daughters of The Lady were doing to whatever daft minded gentlemen attempting a break in at this time of year was being put through, did nothing for the bubbling anxiety creeping its way up your chest. You knew several of the people who had endured the wrath of Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters, however, you never really had too much of a relationship with any of them. You preferred to keep to yourself whenever you weren't handing out tasks and intructing newer maids of what to do. Still, the screams that echo through the kitchen everyday were less then appealing.

The more your mind wandered the more distracted you became. You went from wiping down windows to staring over the terrace. The longer you stood there thinking about your week, the more frustrated and upset you became. A million questions running wild in your head, What on earth had Ingrid been thinking? Sneaking into Miss Bela's chambers after forgetting to wash the girl's sheets. Why were the moroaică being so disruptive and- and loud?? The moroaică is one thing, the maids another, but also the thought of this repeating process; waking up, more dead maids, more new maids, more girls to train, repeat. It was stressful, and you were getting tired of not taking the breaks you were being offered every so often. But what were you meant to do? Maids don't train themselves, unless The Lady would control her daughters before they kill every last maid in one day.

Of course, you had nothing against The Lady or her daughters, you adored the 3 girls as if they were your own children, but seeing as you had been taking care of all of them for over 15 years, that was probably expected. You read to Daniela often, helped Cassandra keep things organised in the armory, and spoke with Bela whenever she was hovering around the kitchen. You really just loved to spend time with the girls whenever you could. The Lady had taken a liking to you over the years as well. You would normally sit down for tea or wine after a days work to talk with her whenever she was free, and even paused your work whenever you crossed paths in the hallways. However, as of late, you had been distancing yourself, and The Lady definitely noticed.

By now, your hands were trembling, but you snapped out of your thoughts and kept doing your chores anyways, trying to ignore the fact that you were close to spilling frustrated waterfalls. You didn't know what you were specifically upset about so why were you panicking? You can't be the person who helps take care of the entire Castle if you can't place what you're even upset about. Too busy drowning in your thoughts, you hadn't heard the chamber door swinging open, or the clicking of heels that followed.

The groan you let out was muffled as you lifted your apron up to wipe your face of the few tears that had managed to pass the dam currently built behind your eyelids. Your hands covered your face, shielding whatever was outside the window from seeing your annoyance. , , My dear, is something the matter?" The all too familiar voice snapped you out of the current state you were in.

You immediately whipped around, drying your face in the process before mumbling out an apology, not bringing yourself to meet The Countess's gaze.

, , I apololgize M'Lady, I didn't know you'd be done working so early." , , Look at me when you speak, draga." Alcina's voice was stern, but not to the point that it made her sound upset. More, concerned?

Reluctantly, your eyes trailed up her dress until you met Alcina's eyes. Upon noticing your tear streaked cheeks, The Countess's eyebrows furrowed. She took only a step foward before bending down to meet your height, her hand raising to your face as she took your chin in her hold.

, , Now. Tell me what bothers you, darling, your face is red."

Her eyes definitely showed concern, as this had been the first time in a while that she had seen you in such a weak and vulnerable state. At this moment, you would give anything to just spill out all your problems, but you passed that thought off, still wanting to avoid Lady Dimitrescu in any way.

, , It's nothing that should concern you, M'Lady. I don't want to put anything else on your plate." Just as you were about to ask to leave, you were pulled by your wrist towards The Countess.

Your breath hitched in your throat as she led you to the couch next to the window, sitting down before she lifts you up onto her lap. From the angle you were sitting at, you could see yourself in the vanity mirror. Of course, Alcina was right, your face was red.

, , M'Lady—"

, , Draga mea, how long until you stop avoiding me and my daughters?" She too, was looking at your reflection in the vanity mirror.

You opened your mouth to speak, but truthfully, you didn't really know what to say.

, , What's going on in that pretty little head of yours that's made you so distant, hm? Don't think I hadn't noticed it all when I saw you trying to evade Daniela the other day. I hope you don't think that just because your one of my most trusted maids, you have the right to keep things from me. You live in my home, therefore anything that happens with you—" She points to your chest, of which was rising up and down a lot quicker then before. , , -Is my concern whether you think it is or not." The Mistress looked deeply into the reflection of your eyes, as if trying to search for an answer. This woman always had a way with words that confused you just as much as it comforted you. Alcina had been so caring and sweet to you in the past, (thanks to the little amount of mess ups you made compared to the women who had been brought to The Castle along side yourself all those years ago) on your journey here in Castle Dimitrescu, she had managed to break down a lot of your mental shields, the shields that kept prying eyes at bay.

Your foot started to bounce nervously up and down and with a hesitant sigh, you started to rant about all the problems on your mind. How you thought that maybe you weren't working enough, and that you didn't deserve all the time you get to spend with the Dimitrescu's. Tears eventually broke out as you continued to lay all your troubles out in front of you. Alcina just sat and listened to you, rubbing your arm with her thumb and nodding understandably every now and then, not that you could see yourself or her anymore, Alcina had pulled you into her chest when you started to cry. By the time you had stopped rambling, your eyelashes were wet with tears, and your eyes were puffy and red.

, , Sweetheart, if a maid isn't doing their job correctly then you should be telling me, so that I can deal with it." She brings her hand up to your face, brushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear. , , As for how much you work, I think the fact that you have been serving this Castle much longer then any other maid could survive here for is proof enough of your worth for me and my daughters. Besides, we don't care what you're worth. Do you enjoy my daughters company?" You nod slowly, leaning into The Countess's hand. , , I enjoy every second of my time with the girls. They're angels, if you wipe off the blood on their faces. I just- I just think that perhaps I dont do enough to earn their—." You're silenced when a leather gloved finger is pressed softly to your lips.

, , You're overthinking. Darling, my girls could very well see you as a second mother, they adore you just as much as I do, and I don't think I see them as happy as they are when you're around them. When you're stuck in a Castle for as long as you can remember, you start to get bored, draga. And don't you dare go forgetting that. You treat my girls as if their human beings, not some psycho witches that hunt and kill for a living. I've seen the way you look at them, you love them, you know you do. And they love you too. Now what makes it so hard to see that?"

A second mother? Well yes you treat them as your own sometimes, but you never wanted to say outloud that you loved them in that way, in case of what The Mistress might think. But now that you're hearing her say it, it all feels like a dream. You would do anything to protect Alcina's daughters. You never had interest in having children, but you always had a maternal instict when you came to know the Dimitrescu daughters.

, , You're stressed, draga mea. I hate seeing you that way." , , I'm- I'm sorry, I just— This week has been so rough, I thought maybe working more would get my mind off of everything—" Alcina grabs your chin, turning you to look at her in the eye.

, , My dear, the last thing you should be doing when you're stressed is working. You should be resting, instead- Not- Cleaning windows, sweeping, cooking- I hate to see you do that to yourself. I've known you too long to treat you as just another maid, just take care of yourself more. Can you please do that for me?"

You begin to cry again, burying your face into her chest once more. You start to mumble out apologies over and over again. Alcina comforts you through your tears, wrapping her arms around your body and drawing shapes on your back as you let out choked sobs and soft whimpers. Eventually, your tears stop flowing and they turn into quiet yawns. Finding amusement in your tired state, she begins to run her fingers through your hair.

, , Very tired now, aren't you..." Her voice was soft and quiet. She began leaning to the right, slowly lowering herself further onto the couch, with you laying on top of her. At this rate, you were too tired to deny her warmth, so you just lay curled up on top of The Mistress, welcoming the sleep that finally stole you away.

, , Someday, draga mea, you'll open your eyes and realize just how much you mean to me."

thAt is the first time i have written smth like this :^

lemme know if you want more, bc i already hate this :D