#both to be used as expendable cannon fodder

[orangez3st]

How Delta Squad boys confess their feelings for you

Delta Squad x GN!Reader

This one's in a different format than usual—it's in bullet points! Respect to the people who are more talented in writing bullets points/headcanons style bcs it's more difficult than I thought 🤝🏼 (as you can tell this is a little messy)

Enjoy this one, vode! 💛

Also this is for the talented @i-willstealyourtoes 🫶🏼

For @deltasquadweek | Alt. Prompt Day 7: "I Love You."

Masterlist | Delta Squad (in-header image)

Boss

You and Boss are running on a really casual relationship.

Everything's just been really nice in your own pace, and you don't want to pressure him into anything he's not ready for yet.

It's like you're the literal embodiment of patience and he loves you for it, he can't ever have enough thanking you.

You know what this relationship eventually entails—because honestly, he's just a soldier of the Republic, and both of you know well what that means.

And you never seem to mind that, every time you two meet to catch up you always have that smile and your eyes are sparkling at all times.

It'd be cruel, but Boss is a leader; he worries about every kind of scenario and he has to be ready for it, including the ones that scream every kind of ‘what if?’ in the back of his mind.

“You know that I could die out there, right?” he then asks you.

“I know,” you say with a smile, “But I don't want you to go out there with that kind of mindset, Boss.”

It's like his own nature of being an expendable soldier gnaws at his conscience, enough to make him realize that maybe he's not ready to die at all.

“Careful,” Fixer warns him, not hostile, but reminding him of what's drilled into them; that attachment could be weakness. In the corner, Sev is just shrugging and Scorch is examining his fingernails.

Boss keeps that in mind.

But he can't keep it anymore (his brothers aren't stopping him anyway).

He decides he's not going to die any time soon, and for the sake of fairness, he vows to be a better soldier, covering his squad more often on the field so no one's dying in the future.

And so he could come back home to you.

This is all happening inside his mind, so when he comes up to your door before the shuttle that’d take him to deployment leaves, you're surprised that he's there as he pulls you into his chest.

Your forehead bonks against the plastoid armor but you don't mind, laughing it off and your arms snaking around his huge frame upon instinct.

“Listen, cyare.” He can't be long, but he's using all his time by looking into your eyes, and you swear you can see the stars in the dark honey desert color of his own. “Can I make a promise to you?’

“I… Of course. What is it?”

“I’ll try. I promise I'll try,” Boss says, gently taking your hands in his gloved ones. “I’ll try not to die out there. I'll always make it home to you. Come back for you. I'd understand if that's some lesser thing for you to worry about because I'm the best kind of cannon fodder, but… I just want you to know. Think about it, perhaps. It should be something that you can’t possibly ignore when you're dating someone like me. I promise. You'll always have me back with you mission after mission. Okay?”

There's sincerity in his words. You've formed your own opinion about this matter some time ago, but Boss' promise to you scrambles what you've got, what once was standing firm in your grasp as a belief now bends to his promise—his declaration—to you.

“Okay,” you nod, eyes stinging with tears that obviously aren't out of misery. Your smile is shaky. “I heard you.”

Boss sighs softly. “Good.” The moment he hugs you tight, his armored arms wrapping around your form just as your limbs around his neck… everything becomes so clear to you like some divine revelation. You really don't want to lose him.

“Can't promise that I won't come back without scars, though,” he mutters close to your ear.

“That's fine,” you huff a laugh, pressing a kiss to his hair above his ear. “Just as long as you're alive. I'll be waiting until you're back home safe.”

Home. Safe.

Yes, that sounds about right. That sounds like he deserves that. Comfort. Quiet moments. Hugs, just like this. Everything that you've got to offer to each other in these trying times; your love.

Fixer 

Everyone knows Fixer worships regulations.

I mean, he calls his brothers by their numbers over the comms during active ops because a) as it should be and b) it's their real name.

But hey, he's melted a long time ago and resorted to call them by their nicknames when there's no officers around that he needs to worry about.

So yeah, everyone knows that, and so are you.

And you? You're the worst match ever for Fixer.

You break rules for fun, but enough not to cause permanent harm, and really, it's not big stuff like vandalism or something else that would end your day in Republic penitentiary, but still.

They're all harmless. Hiding one's jacket. Changing their ringtones. Talking to someone long enough while they're dipping their cookies so it would fall off. Turning off the light while someone's in the bathroom.

Fixer pretends not to acknowledge whatever the hell you've been doing because he's been trying to ignore that troublemaker trait of you so much (how did he end up with you?).

(Honestly, good question. No one knows.)

“Cyare, would you please stop?”

“That should violate about 28 rules, cyare.”

“No one's ever done that because they have brains and you don't.”

Oh he loves to bully you alright, but 100% out of affection. He really would hide a body for you if you've ever accidentally killed someone.

Also no, you don't know what cyare means. It sounds like a language he'd picked up, or taught

Fixer calls you that only because he doesn't know what to call you besides your name.

It just… came out.

You've tried to ask Scorch what it means but all he did was giggling and the next thing you know he was practically gossipping with Sev.

It has to mean something… mean.

Whatever it is, it's consuming your thoughts in the worst ways. They're making fun out of you. So one day when you're being particularly sulky and salty to everyone you know, Fixer's concerns take the best of him and steps in to inquire about your behavior.

“Cyare, wanna tell me what's wrong?”

“Don't call me that!” you snap.

Fixer’s brows knit together. “What do you mean?”

“What do you mean,” you mock, “What I meant is everybody and I mean everybody in your kriffing squad seems to make fun of me.” You roughly jab a finger into his chest. “Including you.”

“Make fun of you?”

“Are you deaf or something?”

“No,” he answers firmly, his teeth gritting. You don't even notice that his fists are clenching. “Tell me who made fun of you. What did they do?”

“It’s Scorch.” You don't waste time. Your eyes sting from unshed tears and when you wipe them with the back of your hand it's like popping water balloons—they stream down your face. “I just asked about that word you say often and he just laughed in my face like he's won candies or something.”

It's quiet for a while and you both stand there, Fixer's thoughts are growing louder. “What word?”

“One that you use to call me.”

He tilts his head. “‘Cyare’?”

You nod weakly, your tears still spilling out.

There's quiet, and Fixer bites his tongue to prevent a snort. Then he exhales instead, pulling himself together not to laugh and make worse of your overthinking.

“That chakaar,” you hear him mutter, stepping closer into your space and tenderly pulling you into his chest, as if you're a fragile piece of vase. “He could've answered it and you wouldn't have to shed dumb tears like this.”

And just like that you're broken. You're confused as kark that you're caught between snapping yet again, your mouth parted, and your hands firm on his chest to angrily push him away.

“What?” is all you can manage.

“It means…” Fixer’s gaze drift away from you, but you can see his neck and cheeks darkening with color. “It means darling. Beloved.”

“....Oh…”

“Yeah,” Fixer dismisses, looking rather shy with his eyes constantly glancing away from you as the colors in his cheeks make him look even more flushed. “So please don't fuss over it?”

“Say it,” you challenge.

“Say what?”

“The word.”

“I adore you.”

“No, I mean not—hhhggggghh…” You're cut off as Fixer squeezes you so tightly that your lungs probably shrink. You kick his foot.

Yeah. You know what he means. He'll come around with the balls to actually say it.

Scorch

You're not the first to discover that Scorch loves to talk.

And I mean, that man loves to talk.

He's always the first to engage in a conversation as if a dictionary of conversation starters was programmed into him when he'd been in the tube.

He's probably the most expressive person you've ever met and you adore him dearly for it.

Especially when he just leans on the kitchen counter, chin in palm, looking at you with the biggest heart eyes ever.

You know he's just teasing.

He always makes time to come by your home and stay over.

And you as a host are always ready to cook some hearty meal for him—when you learned the fact that they don't eat anything but protein sludge and plain carbohydrate blocks you couldn't take it.

Scorch doesn't want to make you fuss all over just for him, but you insist.

One day he's thinking about it. Does that mean something?

He knows he's been hiding his feelings for a bit too long—even Boss sternly reprimanded him once when Scorch was unable to focus during an op.

He's been thinking about you.

And now as he eats dinner with you, he's lost in his own thoughts and good food.

And by the time dessert comes in, he melts entirely at your great efforts to make him comfortable.

As he enjoys dessert he doesn't even realize that he says, “You know I love you, right?”

It hits you like a damn speeder that you lock gaze with him, Scorch is seemingly as surprised as you are.

“Y-you do?”

“I—I mean,” Scorch deflects, a wave of heat sliding into his cheeks. “I was… talking to the cheesecake.”

That was TERRIBLE.

To be fair it's a really great strawberry cheesecake.

“Oh,” you sulk, forcing a smile to your lips as you pick up your fork again, “Thought I misheard.”

If only you could hear Scorch's heart breaking in that exact moment.

“No, you didn't mishear,” Scorch hurriedly says. He takes your hand without thinking, and the heat in his stomach is bubbling over as he looks into your eyes. “It's um… You know that I've liked you for a really long time, right?”

You nod. “Yeah, and it shows.” Smiling a bit, you lace your fingers with his. “Consistently.”

“Yeah,” he huffs a chuckle. “And now I just really really really like you and everything you've done for me. I know it's just dinner but all this… it means a lot to me.”

Before you can say anything, he scoots his chair closer to you. It scrapes across the floor noisily in the midst of the silence of your home. He plops back down, his thigh touching yours.

“One question though,” Scorch cheekily says, “Did you put love potion in this thing?”

Your giggles are everything to him. “What for?”

“Uh-huh, that's right,” he grins widely, gently cupping your face. “You don't need to put love potion inside your finely-cooked dinner. I'm already in love with you.”

Scorch’s eyes map all over your face, his warm brown eyes glimmering in the romantic candlelight. “You have a strawberry jam in the corner of your mouth, though.”

“No I don't,” you chuckle.

“Mm, wanna prove it? If I kiss you right here,” he boops the spot, “And I taste strawberry jam, you owe me an actual kiss.”

“And if you're wrong?”

“I still get that kiss. I'm trying to woo you here, baby. Wanna appreciate my efforts?”

Eventually he throws the strawberry jam motive out of the airlock and places a cheeky yet long-awaited kiss on your lips. You can feel his smile, even.

Sev

Your relationship with Sev started quite strangely.

The two of you met in some rundown speakeasy in the lower levels of Coruscant, and both claim the ale that everybody says taste like gundark piss your favorite.

And then the talk spans to your favorite Huttese heavy metal band—his favorite too.

Your favorite limmie team—which is also his favorite (he also mentioned that he often played limmie when he was a cadet and he was a mean forward).

There's too many similarities between you already.

Okay well yes, besides breathing gore thriller holofilms, you have nothing else to compare against his dark sadistic humor.

But there's this new thriller movie you really wanna see already in theaters and instinctively, you ask Sev if he's down.

Naturally, with the duties of a soldier and the oftentimes-unexpected demands that entails, he turned down your offer.

You withdraw. Yeah, it was silly anyway.

But at least he insisted walking you home afterward.

Sev could see your disappointment. Days later it's gnawing at him, and Scorch that cheeky bastard notices.

“So you wanna tell me what's going on or would you like me to shove Fixer to have a go at you?”

“Don't drag me into this,” Fixer sighs from the other side of the room.

Scorch grins. “No, you said you wanted to know, so I'm extracting the intel straight from the source.”

“I didn't say that.”

Scorch turns back to Sev. “Now tell us or I'm betting your entire tenday stipend if Fixer pins you down next spar. We'll split, Fix. Don't worry.”

“Fine. I'm in.”

Sev grunts, already losing it. “Should I feel guilty for rejecting a date?”

“You fekking what?” Boss pipes in, this time.

Scorch claps loudly. “Alright vode, it's time for flash training for our psycho brother here, welcome to Dating 101. Guest lecturer Null-7 isn't available at the moment so you should feel lucky, Oh-Seven.”

He gave it all out.

Your shared favorites, things you have in common, stories traded over ales and a few things stronger—both of you were at that bar for five hours just talking.

Sev isn't sure if Scorch's been drilling the term ‘love at first sight’ too often and too much that it's eating him alive, but he's sure that's how he feels about you.

So he comms you, asking if you’ve watched that movie yet.

“Actually, yeah,” you answer, hope surging inside your chest. “But um, I've got loads of thriller holos, if you wanna come by. We could have a movie night, if you're up for it.”

By the time you've finished talking, Scorch smacks him in the back a couple of times, Boss pushes him towards the door, and Fixer is already tossing Sev his go bag.

That night, two days before his leave ends, Sev is settled with you on your couch, the glow from the holoscreen reflecting on your faces.

You notice Sev is sitting so stiff, so you nudge his elbow asking if he's okay.

He looks at you longer than he should—he’d be lying if he's not feeling everything so intensely all at once, especially when you're nearly pressed up against his side.

He’s attentive. He knows it's not casual. It's intentional from you. You want to be close to him, but without a little booze encouragement, he isn't sure how to proceed.

Then he remembers what Scorch said and decides to execute (with a little alteration).

Sev moves his arm up, but he's not looking at you (he tries to cover his blushing cheeks, okay, give him time).

You take his invitation and lean heavily against him to absorb his warmth.

Sev smells like fresh aftershave and something else (it's blaster cleaning solution) tried to be covered by modest convenience store perfume.

You commit that scent to memory and snuggle even closer to him. The tip of your finger is tracing the fabric lining on his shirt, and soon your focus is no longer on the movie.

“Do you let anyone you just met be this close?” you ask, curious about his change of mind.

“No,” Sev replies firmly.

“Then what changes?”

Sev takes a deep breath. “Couldn't stop thinking about you,” he mumbles lowly into your hair, movie be damned. “Felt bad for turning down when you asked. Truth to be told, it felt like I'm leaving someone behind in a crossfire.”

“But…” You raise your head to meet his intense gaze. “We've only just met.”

“Yeah,” Sev says carefully, “But we have a lot in common, it feels like I've known you a long time, too.”

You don't hesitate—you raise further to cup the side of his face and pull him down so you can press your lips against his. Sev's reflex kicks in rapidly, kissing you as well while grabbing you closer to his body.

It isn't said, but whatever it is, whatever you're feeling; it's blossoming, too.

Delta Squad Taglist (lmk to join!): @mutilatemyheart @alor-ika @hellfiresky @leiopython-rat

Dividers by yours truly!

[helldivers-2]

The Overseers are calculating warriors who direct the hordes of Voteless, using them as expendable cannon fodder upon the frontlines, both to overwhelm SEAF forces as well as conserve their own limited numbers.

[demon-blood-youths]

Hi! Read your takes on the new DMC show :)

I’m a fairly new fan to the DMC universe and don’t know much about it. The new show seems to hint at Dante and Lady having some potential romantic moments—do you think a romantic relationship between Dante and Lady would be unnecessary or forced?

Hi there, anon and new fan. Thanks for reading my takes, I appreciate it! To answer your question. Some fans do ship Dante and Lady romantically in the fandom ( heck, I am fine with this ship). However, in the canon, Dante and Lady as a romantic couple is practically non-existent throughout the games, manga, novel and even in the 2007 anime. There is no romance between the two. Dante and Lady are considered close friends and business partners when they go demon-hunting after the events of DMC3. It is a deep bond between them as they both lost their mothers to demons and are very good demon hunters. Even the director of the series ( not Aki Shankar but Hideaki Itsuno stated their relationship is not romantic. ) So I think it would be unnecessary and considered to be forced when it comes to the DMC Netflix if they try to go through that route. Spoilers to the people who haven't watched this and are reading this. I am going to put it under read more just to avoid spoilers for people who haven't watched the anime.

After Lady tranquizes him. Not once but twice!

The second time is after Dante defeated White Rabbit with his Devil Trigger, and got his amulet and seal the doorway to the demonworld Dante's new goal is to find Vergil since White Rabbit revealed that he's alive. Hearing that, I was excited. However before he goes to do that, he got shot in the back by Lady with a tranquizer and tells him that he's too powerful and dangerous to walk free because she believes Blaines ( The VP and in charge of DarkCom — despite the red flags after saying that her team who got killed were expendables right to her face ) and because of her actions, Dante was put in a freezing cryogenic chamber for the sake of the world. Only to have Blaines, who stupidly decided to wage war on Hell, bring the fight to it despite the consequences that it will bring to the human world. After something like that, there is no way...Dante would romantically fall for her after something like that. Especially when he saved the world only to have his deeds undone by a VP thinking it's a good idea to wage a so-called holy crusade against Hell by using the device that White Rabbit to enter the Demon World. The dumbest choice that will bring doom to the human species. Because fighting against Hell is unwinnable. A solider ( Lady ) who doesn't know any better and keeps screwing up. I was ticked off when Lady decided it's a good idea and I hope Lady will reflect on her actions in Season 2 ( heck she might either lost her job after doing that or retire from DarkCom and go freelance ) after deciding that maybe putting Dante in a cryochamber is NOT a good idea when your boss stupidly decides to wage war on Hell. A place where demons have a lot of advantages over humans and things beyond human comprehension. Where soldiers should be considered cannon fodder, the moment they decide to bomb the palace. If Shankdar decides to go with this, this will put a bad stain on the Lady and Dante ship in the fandom. Shippers who ship Lady and Dante might not like where this Netflix DMC series is heading after seeing what the writers of Netflix have to Lady given the use of dialogue for her and her actions, they decide to put on her.

Honestly...I am fine with romance, but in DMC, that should be secondary or none, to be honest, given the setting and genre. For the Netflix series, I would rather have a deep bond between the two as friends and business partners instead of a romantic bond after what Lady did.

That's my thoughts on this.

[kendrixtermina]

UGH I find the "women are special" thing so dehumanizing.

This is why I rly like language like "people who can get pregnant", it's not just about including trans or nb ppl but stressing that someone that pregancy might happen to is a PERSON not a some fantasy creature from a planet of hats.

Especially annoying if you happen to have a personality that doesn't fit any of the supposed superior female traits like communal, sociable, empathetic, harmless etc. Still waiting for that magic intuition to come with my tits!

It's also a big part of how they sell you sexism as a good thing. "No you're not inferior, you see, wonen & men are just for different tasks" but conveniently your "task" is to do menial, trivial tasks that no one appreciates. My father loved to talk himself into arousal about 'traditional marriage', but I saw clearly what the reality of it was.

I'd get very sceptical when we're told that anyone is "perfectly designed by nature" with traits super convenient for the current social order. The same arguments were used to justify classism ("the peasants are dumber but more robust") or racism. ("blacks are meant to be slaves")

And while "woman" is somewhat worse according to most statistical measures, "man" is hardly great. (esp. when combined with other forms of discrimination that get you treated as 'less innocent'/'more dangerous')

It's illustrative to listen to trans ppl here - trans women say everyone suddenly treats them like an irrational idiot; Trans men say everyone is suddenly cold & mean to them. Remember that one post where a couple lost a kid & tons of ppl checked on the wife, but the father didn't get a single condolence message?

Ultimately the vaunted "Two Genders(TM)" of western tradition* are just "servile bangmaid" and "expendable cannon fodder." Both are are terrible waste of a sentient creature with a full spectrum of emotions & complex inner experience.

*I say Western because other cultures have different gender roles /systems, though the desire for at least a vast majority of humans to sort themselves into some gender-like category system seems to be universal/inborn. But that applies only to a sense of being same or different group as other ppl, otherwise the exact roles associated with the groups wouldn't vary so much by culture

I do wish that “oppositional sexism” was a more commonly known term. It was coined as part of transmisogyny theory, and is defined as the belief that men and women, are distinct, non-overlapping categories that do not share any traits. If gender was a venn diagram, people who believe in oppositional sexism think that “men” and “women” are separate circles that never touch.

The reason I think that it’s a useful term is that it helps a lot with articulating exactly why a lot of transphobic people will call a cis man a girl for wearing nail polish, then turn around and call a trans woman a man. Both of those are enforcement of man and woman as non-overlapping social categories. It’s also a huge part of homophobia, with many homophobes considering gay people to no longer really belong to their gender because they aren’t performing it to their satisfaction.

It’s a large part of the reason behind arguments that men and women can’t understand each other or be friends, and/or that either men or women are monoliths. If men and women have nothing in common at all, it would be difficult for them to understand each other, and if all men are alike or all women are alike, then it makes sense to treat them all the same. Enforcing this rift is particularly miserable for women and men in close relationships with each other, but is often continued on the basis that “If I’m not a real man/woman, they won’t love me anymore.”

One common “progressive” form of oppositional sexism is an idea often put as the “divine feminine”, that women are special in a way that men will never understand. It’s meant to uplift women, but does so in ways that reinforce the idea that men and women are fundamentally different in ways that can never be reconciled or transcended. There’s a reason this rhetoric is hugely popular among both tradwifes and radical feminists. It argues that there is something about women that men will never have or know, which is appealing when you are trying to define womanhood in a way that means no man is or ever has been a part of it.

You’ll notice that nonbinary people are sharply excluded from the definition. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to them, it means that oppositional sexism doesn’t believe nonbinary people of any kind exist. It’s especially rough on multigender people who are both men and women, because the whole idea of it is that men and women are two circles that don’t overlap. The idea of them overlapping in one person is fundamentally rejected.

I think it’s a very useful term for talking about a lot of the problems that a lot of queer people face when it comes to trying to carve out a place for ourselves in a society that views any deviation from rigid, binary categories as a failure to perform them correctly.

[yousef-al-amin]

Kurds are expendable to the West in Syria

The West began to use the Kurds in its interests in Syria more than 10 years ago, promising them their own independent state - Kurdistan. Instead, the Kurds received a completely pro-Western Autonomous Administration of the North and East of Syria, which only lobbies the economic interests of oil producers in England and the United States in the republic, and they also got the role of first-line infantry, in other words, cheap cannon fodder.

The so-called International Anti-Terrorism Coalition, led by the United States, seems to intend to conduct military operations in Syria both against government forces and against Turkey not just to the last Kurd, but to the last resident of Trans-Euphrates. Already, a replacement is being prepared for the Kurds: a new illegal armed formation is being actively formed from representatives of the Arab tribes of Trans-Euphrates, which will soon, just like the Kurds now, become the main proxy resource of Zapala.

It is characteristic that the intelligence services of England and the United States force the Kurds to engage in forced recruitment of Trans-Euphrates Arabs, and do not do it themselves. Thanks to this, conditions are being created in the region for the initiation of an interethnic conflict, in which the West will be able, as usual, by supporting and manipulating both sides to realize its geopolitical and economic interests.

[wastedpotentialsblog]

Eramis is such a tragic character and Plunder and Seraph writing are doing her so much justice I'm seeing more sympathy for her. Please I just want her to be ok

[where-theres-smoak-2]

What I loved about the cathartic Alina & Baghra conversation was Alina admitting that Aleks was the first person that ever made her feel seen and powerful. That means that despite being childhood friends, Mal never made her feel like she could be "More than just a wet stick from Keraminzan." It also got to the root of Alina's anger towards Aleks: He made her feel like someone special and then he put the Stag Collar on her and made her his puppet. Just to be clear, that's how SHE saw, and tbf, she was partly right. Jessie said given Alina's hard life, it was not surprising she'd reach for power/merzost. I think her big fear is being made to feel powerless, and it felt like the ultimate betrayal when the man who had been her main support took her power/independence away even for a little while. She also never got the chance to work through her hurt because everything happened so quickly from s1-s2.

I loved that convo too for the same reason. Honestly it does make sense why Alina is so angry at Aleks. He lifted her up, he made her feel special and he made her believe that she could be important that she could make a difference, which is a complete contrast to what she had been told everyday before she met him, that she was no one, that this was the way things were and it couldn't be changed so accept your lot, that she was expendable. And Mal never made her feel like she could be anything more because he was in the same boat as her, they both were made to believe they were nothing more than orphans or grunts in an army, useful for cannon fodder and not much else. They were nothing but they were nothing together and that's what bonded them, neither one of them ever thought to raise the other up and tell them they could be meant for more.

But then Alina meets Aleks and right from the start he was telling her how special she was, that she was someone, someone powerful. But not only that he tells her she's not alone, which I think was the first time she really did feel that way because whilst yes she did have Mal, I think despite that she still very much felt like an outsider, I think she could sense that she was different and when she met Aleks it was like she met a kindred spirit, from that first meeting in the tent it was like a connection opened between them. I also think having experienced this new status and power its understandable that her big fear now is that she'll end up going back to how it was before, that she would be powerless again. Which is why Aleks putting the collar on her felt like such a betrayal for her because she saw that as him rendering her powerless again, making her nothing more than a tool at his disposal.

As you said she hasn't really had time to properly process all her feelings of hurt and betrayal since the collar scene and I do think alot of Alina's anger this season is her defence mechanism, she needs to stay angry with him because she is afraid that he will make her feel special again and then that rug will be pulled out from under her again like it was when he put the collar on her and she will once again be left feeling powerless. Its easier for her to hide behind that anger and keep her defences up then leave herself open to potentially being hurt again. Essentially she has already done what both Aleks and Neyar did in the past, she has hardened her heart, she is guarding against pain.

[multiversal-pudding]

Honestly- weird counterpoint though: as much as showing people that document exposes his vulnerability, is it really as much sabotage to him for us, as the expendables, to know his true circumstances? After all, the most damaging people to have this info are the people trying to kill him, who also happen to be the people who wrote the damn thing in the first place-

[More under the cut, this gets LOOONG]

Except, we aren’t Urbanshade are we? Sure, we were sent by them, sure we’re technically working against him bc we’re trying to get the crystal, but there’s a difference there, isn’t there. If they trusted us even a little, they probably would’ve at least given us something to defend ourselves/protect us, anything- They’ve been sending operatives loyal to them, killing him is a top priority, the only reason why they wouldn’t give us a weapon is because they’ve decided the risk of us turning on them/doing more damage is already high enough to outweigh the potential strength of using us as cannon fodder/just overwhelming him through sheer numbers as is-

He knows how they think about Expendables, he’s been an Expendable, and he knows that in all likelyhood we’re just doing this because we have no other options and we’d just as well like to see Urbanshade burn as he would- if anything, as much as it feels like exposing a weak point, in this case revealing why he is the way he is and why he’s doing what he’s doing might actually be an outright benefit for him in the long run, get people who might otherwise be indifferent on his side, build as much empathy with folks as possible or at least show them the more reasons why they should hate Urbanshade just as much as he does (hey, it’s not manipulation if he’s genuinely just telling people about things they’ve done to people in the past, that’s just called “the consequences of their actions”, it’s not slander if it’s the truth!)

With how nigh-untouchable Urbanshade is, I think he knows he needs as many allies as possible if he intends to get himself and Painter out of here alive, and judging from just how much in-universe recognition there is of the fact that is is not the first time we’ve been through here especially from him directly, I think he knows we might have a little more power here than it might seem at first- something something while it might not all be canon/ the death scenes might not be canon, the implications of the respawn/time loop mechanics actually being a thing in universe is making me go nuts, the fact we get dialogue both from Sebastian and our ‘inner monologue’ referencing the fact we’ve died before with Sebastian outright mentioning having seen and looted our past corpses, the way some elements and dialogue were built/written with the recognition if not expectation of players potentially retrieving the crystal and surviving and still coming back after, something something “I got the rainworld accessories bc I like them only for it to be weirdly appropriate bc we are Cycling Baybeeee”

But at the same time, he’s not just gonna give it away for free either, is he? No no no, that’s sensitive information there pal, private and personal secrets, some of his deepest, darkest scars and juciest, most dramatic trauma laid bare right there in that manilla folder! if it’s too easy to get, it’s gonna feel cheap- they probably described him as someone who’s not to be trusted, who’d happily lie about something like this to garner sympathy. No, you have to earn it first- not only do you have to be willing to buy into his little information-tech trade shopkeeping scheme in the first place and be willing to give up whatever they promised you in exchange for retrieval of these assets (knowing them probably money, and probably a pitiful amount too compared to what this info would actually be worth), you have to be willing to give up a not-insignificant amount of it that could’ve been very well been spent on things that would actually directly benefit you right now if not potentially keep you alive here, halfway to your ultimate goal of freedom, all to get a file that, while important to him, contains nothing of value to you nor can be traded for something valuable from your “oh-so-generous benefactors”, all to know just a liiittle bit more about who he is and what he’s doing here.

In the end Sebastian’s true goal is to destroy Urbanshade/at least causing as much damage to it as possible, whether it’s by exposing as much of its crimes to the public as possible or revealing its secrets to its enemies- it’s one of the few tools he has at his disposal here, the ability to gather the bits of information that are avaliable to him and try to get it to places they don’t want it to get, and whether he likes it or not his own personal history is itself one of their secrets

Of all people, Sebastian knows the power of secrets and information.

He also knows the power of revealing secrets, and part of that is knowing when and how to expose his own.

Oh also- I could see part of it potentially also being that he might want/emotionally need to be seen/heard in what was done to him all these years, but also it’s probably gonna naturally be hard to truly open up after all the false-imprisonment and getting examined/ experimented on and lied to and about for all these years, so like. I could see it also being a way to vent and open up in a way that makes him still feel in control of the situation/like he has the power here, like- he’s letting himself be vulnerable while also not really letting himself be vulnerable? It’s a strange way of doing things but it feels like it could kinda make sense logically/emotionally-

I feel like there's some kind of joke in Sebastian just selling his personal data like that but I don't know how to phrase it

But selling your entire tragic backstory for the low low price of 1000 data is something else man

[anueutsuhos-touhou-profiles]

Seiran:

Seiran is the Pale Blue Eagle Ravi, a member of the Eagle Ravi recon squad of moon rabbits sent to purify Gensokyo. As with any other moon rabbit, she's treated as an expendable slave, nothing more than cannon fodder. She in particular is in charge of infiltration operations.

She first appeared as the first boss of Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. She was actually off-duty at the time, and was caught off-guard when she was pounding mochi with her mallet for the other moon rabbits. She attempts to call for reinforcements, but is rebuked and only told not to reveal the location of their base under threat of death.

Apparently she used to be friends with Reisen back when they were both affiliated with the moon, and she brands Reisen a traitor when they fight.

As you might expect, Seiran goes AWOL the first chance she has, and abandons the moon for Gensokyo as Reisen did before her. Now she sells dango for a living.

Her boss theme is called "The Rabbit Has Landed"

She has the ability to shoot bullets from another dimension, whatever that means.

Her energy bullets are typically blue to contrast Reisen's red. Otherwise, her spellcards aren't particularly notable, not very different from Reisen's.

Despite being just the 1st boss, she's implied to be no weaker than Reisen, who was the penultimate boss in her debut game, setting the standard for how powerful the bosses in this game will get.

Before it was clarified in-game that the red liquid on Seiran's mallet was flavor for mochi, people thought it was blood, and so there was a trend of fanart making her a crazed murder machine. While this doesn't SEEM to be the case, she did join Shinmyoumaru's hijacking of Reimu's fireworks festival, so she's at least okay with attacking a crowd of innocent people in the name of showcasing her abilities.

Seiran's name means "clear indigo", the "ran" in her name being the same as Ran Yakumo. Seiran is also the name of a WW2 Japanese floatplane, but according to ZUN this is pure coincidence.

Oh, and you can't see it, but she does have a poofy bunny tail.

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

The problem with inhuman characters is that they are always expendable.

This is even more true for artificial constructs. As beings made to serve humans their lives will always matter less than those born with free will.

In the book Dragon Rider the Homunculus character Twigleg discovers that his kind can live indefinitely so long as they do not love a human "master". Homunculus, being alchemically created life forms, will die almost immediately if the human they've given their heart to perishes. This isn't like the half Elves of Middle-earth choosing to live mortal lives with their spouses. Homunculus have no choice in the matter. Being friends with the human protagonist will literally kill Twigleg eventually.

The droids of Star Wars are basically sentient slaves in a galaxy where it's common practice to have their personalities erased when switching owners. C-3PO himself undergoes a mind wipe between Episode III and Episode IV despite being one of the two most prominent robot characters in the franchise. L3-37, the only droid character, indeed the only character period, to actively promote the emancipation of droids is treated as a joke and unceremoniously killed.

Clone troopers from the same franchise were specifically bred as cannon fodder. Genetically programmed to obey orders and artificially aged to maturity. Essentially cutting their lifespans in half. While some of the Jedi generals viewed the soldiers under their command as individual people, worthy of respect. That didn't stop them from using sentient beings who weren't given a choice about fighting in a galaxy wide war.

Stargate has the conciousness of the main teams in SG1 and Atlantis copied into android doubles and clones respectively. Despite some limited exploration of the implications, including the theory that their divergent experiences will eventually result in differing personalities - and the obvious sentience of the copies- they were ultimately treated as just spares. Four sentient beings dying barely into their lives. The Atlantis team specifically being used as bait so their originals could escape.

Even the anime Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song, which explores difficult moral quandaries about the nature of AI, treats the lives of what is essentially a human terrorist group as more important than the brainwashed robots whose choice has been taken away. Specifically because that is how robots are programmed to function. Even as the rights of androids expand to the point where they can marry humans, their programming still makes hurting their own kind more preferable than hurting humans. The main character eventually sacrificing her memories in order to save humanity. Something that has been established as equivalent to death for an android.

Ben Reilly, Spider-Man's clone, took on a different name from Peter Parker despite believing himself to be the original. Despite taking steps to distance himself from Spider-Man and establishing his own identity as the superhero Scarlet Spider. Ultimately sacrificing himself for his "clone" even after a test supposedly confirms Ben is the original.

Xion from Kingdom Hearts is an artificially created embodiment of Sora's memories. In order to prevent herself from being used against him Xion gives up her own existence to return Sora's memories. Essentially erasing herself from the memories of everyone else.

Now, sentimonsters, beings made from the emotions of whoever the Peacock Miraculous' amok anchors itself to, have no free will. Not so long as their amok is in someone else's hands. And even then the Peacock can end their existence with a snap of their fingers.

Every sentimonster seen so far has been expendable to the plot even if the characters would argue otherwise. Even Sentibug was killed in the same episode she was created in.

Adrien Agreste has sacrificed himself for Ladybug many times. Chat Noir's self sacrifice and suicidal tendencies a core aspect of his character. Both as a heroic virtue and a dangerous mental illness.

However, if Adrien is a sentimonster then he is expendable. Replaceable. If not to the characters then to the story itself. The fandom is already exploring storylines where Adrien is replaced once he dies.

This plotline diminishes the importance of Adrien Agreste as a character. Diminishes the narrative itself. From one of retaking agency and dealing with ones mental health to a simple trope. Where the artificial construct sacrifices himself for the human because the plot will never hold his life in equal value to hers.

[violetlunette]

Okay, to prove to my followers that I can be fair even to characters I despise, I’m going to give an unbiased assessment of Shigaraki’s first appearance. (Or as unfair as I can. I am human after all.)

No warnings for once. Spoilers are over six months old and tumblr is a spoiler site. If you read the manga, you know this stuff and if you haven’t you wouldn’t be reading this.

Okay, so Shiggy’s first appearance wasn’t bad.

(There’s that beautiful mug everyone loves. Ref; Chapter 13, page 15)

His design is fairly creepy, and he quickly established himself as a villain; not only did he come to kill a bunch of children and their teachers,--

(Is it just me or is his neck long here? Ref; Chapter 13, page 18)

--but Shiggy also brought a bunch of mooks, which he admits were basically cannon fodder, and ditches them as soon as possible. I believe this introduces a flaw in his villain arc. Namely that he has to learn not to see people as expendable, otherwise no one will be loyal to him. Speaking of setup, the manga did a decent job in showing that Shiggy’s Izuku’s opposite. While Izuku was active and worked for everything he got, Shiggy wasn’t. He was lazy and let others do his work for him (again, this sets up a flaw he has to overcome to become a villain as he needs to walk the talk). Izuku earned OFA, but the Nomu—and later AFO’s quirk—was given to Shiggy. That being said, the two do have two things in common; they’re observant and intelligent. Shiggy proved this as he was the only one to pick up when Aizawa wasn’t using erasure--

( Ref; Chapter 16, page 13)

--and he noticed where the kids were hiding.

(Ref; Chapter 17, page 11)

As stated later, he is a man-child, and he acts like it. He’s a character that would usually be a first/one-shot boss but that’s the point. He is supposed to be a brat that grows to be a fiendish villain in his own right. (Or rather a “poor soul that needs saving,” but I digress. We’ll get there when we get there.) The funny thing is that Kurogiri acts more like the boss villain. He’s the one who addresses the heroes and actually does stuff. He’s a literal looming threat to the heroes and their students.

(No, really. He’s a literal looming threat. It even says so. Ref; Chapter 14, page 9)

But again, I’m sure that’s intentional. (Plus, the second in commands are usually shown to be more competent than the boss.)

So to recap; I wasn’t impressed personally as everything that didn’t annoy me was meh. Shiggy was first boss material, but that’s the point; He was supposed to give off that energy. However, I was more impressed with the Nomu and Kurogiri. (Both of which I need time to gather my thoughts on.) In the beginning, Shiggy is a whiny brat who just wants to laze back and let others do the work. He’s not so much a threat, but his allies are. He’s introduced as a leader yet we see that he’s not very good at it. And when he loses he throws a tantrum. Also, we see peeks that there is a traumatic past connected to him through the hands, and beneath his whining is a brain. We also get to see the first instance of his victim mentality, which we later learn was planted there by All For One. Despite my hate for Shiggy, story-wise, this was a decent setup for Shigaraki’s character and what the manga wanted. They wanted Shiggy to start off as a lazy man-child, and they showed that. That was the start of his arc. How does he grow from here? We’ll see.

( Ref; Chapter 22, page 4)

[superfail]

some more stuff abt the future!stingray au

- a bunch of the more notable inmates (ie. ash, nicky, gary and bird) have been promoted to high-ranking minions/commanders for stingray’s army. promoting a bunch of random convicts to lead/command an army has gone exactly as well as you’d expect (read: very poorly), but stingray keeps them around anyway because they can lead the stingtroopers competently enough to hold off the ultrajail/superprison alliance.

- the resistance can’t definitively decide on whether their team name is “ultrajail” or “superprison”. they’ve taken to calling it both just so the warden will stop starting this argument.

- the inmates of superjail and ultraprison are supposed to be fighting against stingray on the side of their respective prisons, but their numbers (in terms of inmates and minor staff members) have been decimated, with a fuckton of their respective inmates defecting from the side of the prisons and joining stingray instead (because why wouldn’t they, the warden/mistress basically drafted them and treated them as cannon fodder, plus stingray’s promising them a lot of perks if they join his side)

- of course, stingray’s not much better in that regard, since unless they have a particularly useful set of abilities, most inmates/minor staff start out as stingtroopers and he views those as completely expendable.

- fang is still around, but he barely grew bigger than he is in canon (it turns out that only female crynoks get giant as adults). stingray still spoils him like he is a giant monster by giving him a giant enclosure to himself and feeding his enemies to him.

- this au still uses the “(almost) nobody dies permanently” rule and things are regularly reset back to the status quo if they get too bad. unfortunately, the status quo is still a very bad situation.

[mihidecet]

SBI d&d AU: Tommy (2)

I’m back! This is the second part of Tommy’s POV for the au, and it’s directly connected to the previous part!

There is a third part coming, probably in a couple of weeks! ((I’ll be a bit busy due to Writober starting today, but I really want to keep adding to this AU! Also, if you maybe want to check out what I’ll be posting … You’ll find them on AO3, even tho they’re not mcyt related))

Also!! Soon we’ll have another character sheet! A special thanks to @spout1nk for bouncing off ideas with me about Techno’s, which will come in the future!

And as always a special thank you to @whatimevendoinhere , who is an amazing and incredible friend and also a super poggers artist!

There are slight trigger warnings for this chapter: there’s characters getting injured twice, and mentions of blood. There’s also a brief example of d&d level of violence. Let me know if I should add more or underline possible triggering parts!

Thank you all for readign and for all the wonderful support, all the follows and likes and comments! It really means a lot and it gives me so much encouragement to keep writing!

For the next couple of months, rumors of the kid that beat Technoblade - the shadow thief, the most infamous assassin of the realm - spread like wildfire. 

At first, it’s just Tommy coming up with stories. 

He vaguely mentions besting Techno in hand-to-hand combat, then says he’s had it since they met and it’s the reason why he was allowed into the group. One time, he states he stole it from under his nose. Another time, he tricked Techno into drinking a sleeping potion and pocketed it as he was unconscious. 

His personal favourite is: one time, as they were sparring, he backflipped over Techno’s head and grabbed the knife from his very hand; Techno was so impressed by his moves that he gifted it to him out of respect. Phil wheezed so hard when he heard it that he lost his voice for almost half a day, and because of that nobody believed his story, but it was still worth - just for hearing Phil laugh. 

Then one night, in a squallid tavern, Will sings the song of the young warlock who tricked the thief, sold his soul just to steal a knife, and it kicks off a whole new wave of rumors. 

And everything goes perfectly well. 

Everyone focuses on the rumors, the stories. Their popularity increases, their job offers multiply. 

Tommy gets to show off half of his present, and get to keep what’s really meaningful all to himself.

It works perfectly well, up until it doesn’t. 

With fame comes a peculiar kind of danger, one that is born from the mind of really, really dumb people that like to think that if they’re prepared enough, they might have a shot at defeating them - as if an ancient black dragon hadn’t already tried his best against them and failed. 

Still, this one particular time, the whole team realises quickly that whoever is trying to get to them has come prepared. 

They attack in the middle of the day, which is unusual but efficient: everyone in the team can see in the dark, so attacking at night would be useless, or even detrimental if whoever was attacking had to rely on torches. 

They also attack in the middle of the street of a crowded town. Techno and Phil had realised they were being followed a couple of days prior, and they’d decided to head to the nearest village in hope of covering their tracks, or at least buy themselves some time to find out how many and who was tracking them, assuming whomever it was wouldn’t attack them out in the open. 

Instead the first knife flies directly towards Phil during a late morning, while they’re looking for a place to eat. Phil dodges, then curses and raises a hand to still catch the dagger, which would have otherwise hit a farmer he had been talking with - blood splatters on the poor man’s face as Phil yells at everyone to get away. 

With the crazed crowd of a Monday market, most of the team has to restrain themselves. Tommy can’t really summon a demon in public, Phil won’t be able to transform into a bear and Wilbur will have to rely on his swordmanship, instead of destroying his enemies’ eardrums and minds. 

Still, it’s not like they don’t have anything else at their disposal. 

The Tommy of two years prior would have never been able to survive, but while his stories of beating Techno are mostly false, the two of them have been sparring for a long time. Techno is an incredibly strict teacher, but that just means that he has more control of where his spheres of fiery eldritch power land. 

He sees Phil direct a handful of people away from the danger, while Wilbur makes sure to attract most of their enemies’ attention by hurling insults at them - one of them stumbles back, hands moving up to clutch at their head as Will’s words echo inside their mind. 

There’s a flash of colour, then a figure falls to the ground: Techno stands behind them for a moment before throwing one of his daggers at an incoming enemy. 

Seeing him fight is always an incredible spectacle, but this time Tommy doesn’t allow himself to be distracted. 

There’s nowhere to hide in the big, empty square they’re fighting in, and there are still innocent people trying to escape. Phil is expending spells left, right and centre, creating walls and shooting out healing magic in order to prevent people from dying and getting targeted - Tommy sees a figure jump in front of a cobbler, blade drawn, and then lock up, muscles freezing as Phil takes hold of his body with a clutched fist and a shaking arm. Techno swoops by a moment later, taking care of the paralyzed fool before disappearing again. 

There are enemies appearing from all sides, and it gets more and more clear that this is not only a well organized group but also a group with enough money to spend on people willing to be cannon fodder for them. 

Tommy keeps his distance, shoots anyone that approaches him and picks off enemies that threaten his teammates (family) whenever he can. Each time someone falls to the ground, he hears a joyful whoop ring inside his head, usually followed by an exclamation of “another one for my collection!”, and feels his strength increasing - small wisps of flames circling around him, and he knows his eyes are glowing after the fifth one.

It takes some time - there are a few moments when Tommy knows that if he weren’t so focused he would be getting bored - but eventually the number of goons approaching starts to dwindle, and then stops. Tommy only needs a quick look at Wilbur’s heaving chest, Phil’s limp and Techno’s tired frame to decide he’s going to get up close and personal to finish the last three remaining enemies. 

One would think that someone, seeing a half-demon glowing with fire and shooting spheres of dark red energy, would back off with the rest of his retreating friends. Apparently that is not the case, as one of them is dumb enough to try his hand at fighting him the moment he sees him approaching the group. 

And the thing is, normally Tommy wouldn’t even blink and incinerate the man, but he has been casting a lot more spells than usual in order to keep everything at bay, and he is in the process of shooting a ball of fiery energy at another dumbass cornering Wilbur - who’s clutching at his rapier with both hands, arms shaking with exhaustion. 

So the attack comes out of nowhere, from his left, and he only notices the man when it’s too late: one moment he’s there, the next there’s a thin, vertical gash running from the edge of his elbow up to his shoulder. 

The pain is there, but not much - he’s young, yes, but he’s also been an adventurer for a while - but then he feels a small pressure alleviating from around his upper arm. 

Oh no. No no nononono- 

His mind is suddenly filled with shock. Then rage, as he unleashes the ball of energy he’d been in the middle of casting right into that bastard’s face with a loud snarl - one for him, and one just a moment later straight to the leg of the bastard threatening Wilbur. 

But he’s not even aware of that because this guy *just broke Techno’s friendship bracelet*.

The stranger falls to the ground silently, lifelessly, but Tommy’s already sitting down on the ground, frantically tearing at his cut open sleeve as he mutters curses to himself, tears of frustration pricking at his eyes. 

A moment later a pair of hands are on his, and he looks up at Phil’s worried but reassuring eyes. 

“Don’t worry Tommy, it’s just a scratch-”

“No no no you don’t get it! He- he cut the bracelet!” Tommy protests; he hates how his voice pitches up and how Phil’s eyes soften, but at that moment Techno and Wilbur join them, also looking worriedly down at his bleeding arm, and Tommy slips the bracelet free of his arm. The onyx bead is still hanging on by a thread, and the young warlock has to carefully keep the whole thing in the palm of his hand - the edges where it got cut are already undoing themselves and Tommy is so *angry* about it-

“You kept it?” Techno asks, having the gall to sound surprised, and Tommy can’t help but sputter in indignation, waving his injured hand around - because his non injured one is cradling the broken bracelet, despite the frustrated hum Phil lets out as he prevents him from cleaning the wound. 

“Of course I did! What did you think, that I threw away your gift?! I might be rude but I’m not an asshole!" 

"Point taken.” He mumbles back, and after a moment of quiet awkwardness Wilbur elbows him in the side. The two of them share one of those silent eye-conversations that they love to take part in, which Tommy is absolutely not jealous of. Then Wilbur claps his hands together and announces he’s going to call the guards and make sure no townsperson got injured. 

Techno lets himself sit down silently as Phil grabs his arm and starts cleaning up the gash. The thief lets out a tired sigh: Tommy can see from the corner of his eye how tired he is - being the only one of the team used to up close, one on one fighting in urban streets, probably made him feel like he had to compensate for all three of them. Which is true, he indeed had, but Tommy knows he’s probably more tired from the adrenaline and anxiety that though caused than the actual fight. 

“… I’m sorry it got cut up. I thought if I kept it here it would be safe.” Tommy comments at one point, while Phil is unrolling a gauze from his healing kit - the fact that he’s not using magic to close the cut is a testament to how hard that fight was. Or maybe he’s just being cautious, in case the goons change their mind and decide to come back, or in case there are more coming soon.

“I mean, we can always make another one.” Tommy���s head snaps up so fast that he almost gets whiplash.

“We can?” He asks, unable to mask the excitement and awe in his voice - it’s worth it, because it does bring a small smile to Techno’s face. Phil finished tying the bandage around his arm at that moment, letting out a huff of breath and standing up.

“After we’ve gone back to the tavern and eaten. We’re laying low for a while.” The elf states, staring both of them down as he offers Tommy a hand to help him up. 

“Alright, dad.” Techno sasses, rolling his eyes, but Phil’s face just lights up and the thief instantly looks pained and regretful.

“Right, I forgot that’s not an insult to you.” Phil’s grin just gets more brighter as he pats the thief’s back and nods towards where Wilbur is approaching them, followed by a handful of guards.

“Come on, sons, let’s go get your brother.”

[summerdreamsold]

Floch the Narcissist  (character analysis)

Today let’s talk about Floch, an interesting but not necessarily consistent character.

Floch is a self-proclaimed coward, as he told others before the ceremony in chapter 90. But his actions suggested otherwise; as the leader of the Yeagerists, he fought bravely for his cause.

Floch insists on having his voice heard; he scorns unquestioning obedience to incompetent superiors. He thinks “even a piece of fodder should at least have the right to call it like he sees it;” he blames Jean and others for not defying Levi's irrational choice of giving the titan injection to Armin; and he didn’t hesitate to violently supplant his former instructor Keith Shadis. On the other hand, as soon as Floch himself attains a higher position, his whole rhetoric changed: he repteatedly stressed to his prisoners that “what’s most important is for you to know your place;” he even asked the insubordinate volunteers “what’s so bad about submission?” Is this the same Floch Forster before the time-skip?

Floch does not lack intelligence. He said Eren is someone who "deep down inside must always think he’s in the right,” which is why Eren “never give up, like a little kid who won’t listen to reason.” I think this is by far the most accurate evaluation of Eren by any character in the manga. Yet as intelligent as he is, Floch still harbors the delusion of grandeur of being Eldia’s savior; this is an essentially childish illusion. In chapter 129, he yelled “Eldia will be saved by me!” before being shot down by Gabi. Floch seems to compare himself to Erwin, yet Erwin is obviously too smart for delusions of personal glory: Erwin only saw himself as a sinner who led countless comrades to death, and someone shouldering the heavy burden of leading humanity down a treacherous path.

There is one aspect of Floch’s character that’s clear though. Floch alternates between seeing himself as worthless trash, or “expendable fodder” as he calls himself, and seeing himself as a godlike figure with the power to save the nation. This is characteristic of someone possessing a narcissistic personality. Narcissists cling to an ideal image of themselves that shines with courage and righteousness and all sorts of perfection; this false and illusory self-image that they want to embody is what Freud calls an “ego ideal.” But of course, this image is too perfect for them to actually attain, so the narcissists are often left feeling completely worthless and ineffectual compared to their ego ideal. But as soon as the narcissists detect chances of actually embodying and reaching the height of their ego ideal, their ideal self-image will for a time become an intoxicating reality for them: it seems they're right after all in seeing themselves as godlike and possessing all power and all truth. This is what I believe Floch is like - in his own heart, he’s both the cannon fodder and the savior of Eldia.

However, Floch’s character does possess inconsistencies which may be a result of him sometimes being used as a mere plot device to further the story. Like Bertholdt, Floch is an interesting character with a lot of potential but won’t be further developed because there’s no time.

[rosehipsister]

sdfghdgjf I saw your last art post and my third eye is wide open, details if you don't mind? Like what were each of them doing before the bomb?

ehehehe first of all, there are two options of this scenario - batcity can work with fresh bodies (acceptable levels of death bla-bla) - this was planned and some certain people decided to spare their lives (even though they went in the system as workforce, there’s... hope) both are good, i’m just listing. here i took the first one for convenience

i think if you have a drac that was important or had good skills, they go on inner facilities, warehouses, administrative jobs to the extent of their mind clarity (which imo is better that we are shown in comics for a lot of reasons) you don’t use them as cannon fodder - mother survived for ~20 years!!

i also draw them quite tidy because i think drac maintenance is really someone’s job. you gotta feed them, medicate them, train them and hose them down once a week at least - that’s why they have generally same hair length and little to no facial hair, either they’re well enough to look after themselves, or someone buzzes that off at some point. depends on their own habits and surrounding

poison and kobra are both good and fast fighters, i see them in personal security. but with kobra maybe retaining some of his tech skills this changes a bit jet as a guard, both because of impressive physique and worse eyesight ghoul: they either got tired of dealing with him but not to the point where they can treat him as expendable (do you want trained fighters or do you want to drill civilian dracs? huh? that’s what i thought) maybe they’re overstaffed. either way, ghoul goes into the cold box for nasty kids

that’s where kobra comes looking for him anyway in my post

[kayokos-villain-imagines]

// Summary: Our two favorite psychopaths get locked in a room together and learn to work around their differences. Warning for major OOC-ness. //

“This is all your fault.”

“My fault? You were the one who went poking around rooms at my base, Shigaraki.”

“You shut the door.”

“I didn’t know it would lock! Besides,I didn’t expect you to go running off like a child playing hide-and-go-seek.”

Shigaraki huffed at the comparison. “Why do you need a quirk-proof room, anyways?” “I don’t. This was where Pops held most of his meetings. He didn’t like the idea of quirks getting involved in business discussions.”

“What was the old man’s quirk, anyways?”

Overhaul looked at him with narrow eyes. “None of your business.”

Shigaraki changed the subject. “When’s that cannon fodder of yours going to show up and let us out of this Hell?”

“If you mean Chronostasis, I suspect he’s already noticed my absence. He should find us shortly.”

“This place is big…” Shigaraki trailed off, and Overhaul bristled slightly at the implication that his second in command wouldn’t discover them soon.

“Compared to your base, a broom closet would be big.”

Shigaraki was silent for a moment. “Why do you think you’re better than me?”

“Simple. I have a plan for what I want to achieve, a system. I don’t just stumble around blindly and rely on my master to save me when I fail.”

“That’s it.” Shigaraki gritted his teeth and lunged forwards, catching Overhaul by the shoulder.

Overhaul swatted his hand away, fuming. “If we could use our quirks, we wouldn’t still be in here. Besides, if you did somehow kill me, I don’t think whoever finds us would see you kindly to the exit.”

Shigaraki made a noise that sounded vaguely like a growl, and stepped away from him.

Neither of them spoke for what felt like hours until Overhaul sighed and took a seat at the table. “We might as well discuss the alliance while we’re stuck here.” He gestured towards the seat across from him and continued talking when Shigaraki made no move to sit down. “I don’t want to spend more time with you than I have to, so let’s just get this over with now.” 

“Fine.” Shigraki begrudgingly took the seat across from Overhaul.

“As I mentioned last time we met, I’d like to keep a few of your… associates… with me.”

“So you can be in control.” Shigaraki added.

Overhaul frowned behind his mask. “You care about them too much. It’ll be your downfall if you’re not careful.”

“I prefer to surround myself with people I can trust to do more than blindly follow me around.” Not that Shigaraki would ever purposefully express his trust to them.

“I’d rather not get too attached to my precepts. They know that they’re expendable and can easily be replaced.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” Shigaraki sounded bored, and his eyes scanned the room for anything else to pay attention to.

“Oh, forget it.” Overhaul pulled a large flask from his jacket and began to unscrew the cap.

“What’s that?”

“I confiscated it from Sakaki this morning. Apparently, it’s supposed to be strong.” Overhaul didn’t look up, but began drinking the mystery alcohol.

The more he drank, the more annoyed Shigaraki got. He wasn’t that hard to get along with, right? It was Overhaul’s ridiculous demands hindering their negotiations, right? When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he snatched the drink from the brunette and chugged the rest, before tossing the bottle. Kurogiri never let him drink much, so he had to try not to gag at the strong taste for the sake of his pride. Overhaul just sighed and rested his head in his gloved hands.

⯋⯊⯋⯊⯋⯊⯋⯊⯋⯊⯋⯊

30 minutes later, both of them were beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. Overhaul was spaced out staring at nothing, and Shigaraki was rifling through the draws of the desk, taking out whatever small items he could find and holding them so close to his face that Overhaul wouldn’t be surprised if there was saliva on them. The thought made him itch, and he forced his eyes to focus on Shigaraki as he tried to remember how to speak clearly. Something Shigarki pulled out made him stop though, and the still-sober part of him hoped that he wouldn’t comment on it. Luck wasn’t on his side however, and Shigaraki looked back at Overhaul before stumbling over to lean on the table, face far too close to Overhaul’s for the latter’s liking. 

His actions were halted once again as Shigaraki slurred out a question that Overhaul barely recognized as “This is your Pops?”

He glanced down at the photograph to avoid eye contact. The day it was taken was one of the better days of his childhood. It had been only a week or two after Pops adopted him. Wanting to bond with his new son, he took the day off work to take him out for ice cream. The photo in question was a hastily snapped selfie of the two of them at a park bench that Pops had apparently taken because it was the first time he’d seen Kai smile.The brunette dismissed his companion with a slight nod, wanting to drop the subject.

Shigaraki didn’t seem to get the hint in his inebriated state. “And you hurt him?”

Overhaul’s fists clenched slightly, but he found himself answering before he realized it. “It was an accident. We got into a fight, and… I got carried away. I just wanted him to see things from my point of view.” Even under the influence, Overhaul recognized that this wasn’t a smart thing to disclose to a potential enemy, but luckily, Shigaraki seemed too drunk to take advantage of him.

“I know how you feel.” He slurred. “I feel… responsible for my sensei’s capture. If I had been better about my escape, he wouldn’t be in Tartarus.” Overhaul stole a glance at the other to see his head turned away. “At least your pops is still here.”

The brunette didn’t know why, but he felt a strong urge to comfort Shigaraki. He expressed it by awkwardly placing a hand on the back of Shigaraki’s scarred neck. He jumped a little, but made no move to turn away. “Look, I-”

Overhaul was interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open. Chronostasis stepped into the room, seeming unsurprised upon discovering the two inside.

“Finally.” Shigaraki pulled away from Overhaul and stumbled towards the doorway. “I’m a little surprised you waited so long to begin searching for your dear leader.”

“I’ve been looking for around forty-five minutes. Unlike your base, this place has enough rooms to get lost in.” Chronostasis didn’t spare the LoV leader so much as a passing glance as he went to inspect Overhaul’s condition.

“We’ll pick up where we left off on Saturday. I’ve had enough of your presence to last me weeks.” Overhaul decided to leave out the fact that for a brief, glistening moment, he’d begun to care about Shigaraki’s feelings.

“Fine. Until then, I’d advise you to reconsider your demands.” Shigaraki glowered when his statement went unacknowledged.

“Chronostasis will see you out.” Overhaul stood up and steadied himself against the table before retreating into the depths of the Shie Hassaikai base.

And with that, all sympathy each had for the other was pushed into unconsciousness, Not gone exactly, but not present enough to affect any major decisions.

(^０^)ノ