#but in the games GUN is and always has been morally neutral

[movie-robotnik-positivity]

I actually like the idea of Team Sonic forming a temporary alliance with GUN, it makes sense, but I hope they're still responsible for Shadow.

Imagine Walters feeding Sonic a different story, painting Shadow's origin as an unfortunate accident. Only for Sonic to later find out that what happened wasn't an accident, GUN was using him to fix THEIR mess.

[thepunkranger]

Resident Evil Characters - A Summary

Note: This is entirely my own opinion and said with a heavy dose of humor

Please enjoy

Chris Redfield

OG

Started as a twunk

Became an angry gorilla man???

Alpha Male™️

Punches boulders

Wants you to marry his sister

Smoker

Hide yo kids, hide yo wife

Rude to wait staff

2/10 - Just a guy. Hit him with your car

-

Jill Valentine

Other OG

Arguably better main of RE1

Master of Unlocking

Bisexual Bob™️

Butch

Supercop

Once got mind-controlled into going blonde

Rocket Launcher babe

PTSD

Big Strap Energy

Giant anime gun

10/10

-

Albert Wesker

OG Baddy

Sunglasses

Thinks he’s cool

A little too into Chris

“What are we going to do this game, Albert?”

“What we do every game, Alex: try to take over the world”

Matrix jacket

Maybe a vampire?

Looks like my uncle (derogatory)

4/10

-

Barry Burton

Bear

A+ line delivery

Just happy to be a part of things

Wishes his daughter would talk to him

Comes through in a pinch

Got lost on his way to The Last of Us

Father figure

Not dead out of sheer dumb luck

8/10

-

Rebecca Chambers

Baby butch

Sees the best in everyone

Autism be damned, my girl can work a shotgun

Sporty

Mommy Domme/Babygirl switch vibes

Sweet coffee addict

Doing fine, thanks for asking

Awkward thumbs up

9/10

-

Billy Coen

Bad Boy™️

Never bothered to take off his handcuffs

Tattoos

Mullet???

Moral standards

Strong silent type

Whole situation could’ve been avoided by just talking about his issues but no

Queen fan

7/10

-

Leon S. Kennedy

If a golden retriever became a human and then got kicked every day of its life

Having a really bad first day

Into dominant women

Dumb 90s haircut

Uses comedy as a coping mechanism

Hair grows in direct correlation to his level of angst

“Hey demons, it’s me, ya boi”

Sexy

Dog lover

Certified Good Boy™️

Fucked up a perfectly good rookie is what you did. Look at it, it’s got depression

15/10

-

Claire Redfield

College student stuck in the zombie apocalypse

Soft butch

Humanitarian

Forced her brother to teach her how to knife fight

Really into motorcycles

Leather jacket

Rocket Launcher babe #2

Always has at least one adopted child with her

10/10 would ask to babysit

-

Ada Wong

Mommy. Sorry. Mommy- sorry. Mommy-

Grappling hook

Badass spy

Emotionally distant

Soft spot for cute cuddly things (Leon)

Femme fatale

Book lover

Chaotic neutral

Crossbow 😍

Could step on me and I’d say thank you

Rocket launcher babe #3

10/10

-

Sherry Birkin

Goosebumps protagonist

Worst parents ever tbh

Surprisingly good under pressure

Please someone get this girl some therapy

Supergirl

Smartest person here

One hell of a shot

The trauma is immeasurable

Somehow still doing fine

Loves her weird adopted family

8/10

-

Carlos Oliviera

Himbo

First POC main?

Went from three polygons and a white boy haircut in the original to actual gorgeous South American hunk in the remake

Lost his accent along the way for some reason

#1 Jill simp

If Dug from Up was a guy

Only trustworthy person in the whole series

Just wants to help

Gorgeous gorgeous hair

Loves strong women

Hakuna matata

Touch-starved

10/10 would peg

-

Steve Burnside

Twink

Who is this sassy lost child?

Hot Topic employee

Into Claire (she’s too old for you bud)

Choker

Thinks he’s edgy

Whiny

Daddy issues

1/10

-

Luis Serra Navaro

If Puss in Boots was a human

The Most Extra™️

Luscious flowing locks

Definitely into bondage

Used to work for Umbrella

Trying to make up for it

Don Quixote references

Bisexual

Good with his hands

Praying for a threesome with Leon and Ada

10/10

-

Ashley Graham

Basic white girl

Always getting kidnapped

Master of Unlocking #2

Razor flip phone

Ada Wong bisexual awakening (same)

Good with a wrecking ball

Makes Leon catch her every time she has to jump a ledge (also same)

Would like to go to Hot Topic, please

7/10

-

Sheva Alomar

Player 2

Second POC main

Bad AI

Too good for her game

Willing to go on a suicide mission with a guy she just met

Left handed

Deserves a better stylist

Only good part of RE5

Literally my girl got done so dirty just give her another chance please

10/5

-

Moira Burton

“It’s not a phase, dad!”

Probably gay

Weak arms

Skillz

Box dyed her hair at least once

Simple Plan playing in the background

Childhood trauma

7/10

-

Piers Nivans

Trying his best

Appreciates a good steak

Sick of Chris’ bullshit

Good with a rifle

Just a good man

German Shepherd boy

Self-sacrificing

8/10

-

Jake Muller

Wesker’s son

Daddy issues

Who invited Ronan Lynch here?

Quips for days

Bad boy

Loves the type of woman who can kick his ass

The Most Edgy™️

9/10

-

Ethan Winters

Husband of the year

Trusting

Surprisingly chill

The most basic white man in all of RE

Hands? What hands?

Functionally a lizard

Would still love you if you were a worm

Just casually knows how to craft bullets

Moldy

8/10

-

Mia Winters

Toxic girlfriend energy

Literally possessed

Dark sense of humor

Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss

Casually working for a bioterrorism organization

Does actually care about her family

Definitely doesn’t have a penicillin allergy

If you can’t be the girl of his dreams, you can at least be the feral swamp witch of his nightmares

2/10

-

Zoe Baker

Lesbian

Mold intolerance

Southern accent thicker than grandma’s gravy

Picked last on the playground

Somehow okay despite her brother being Like That

Joe’s favorite

Science skills

8/10

-

Lucas Baker

Jigsaw

Didn’t even need the mold

Probably got at least one true crime documentary made about him

Working for Mia’s bioterrorism organization

Left his classmate rotting in the attic

Just the worst

0/10

-

Alcina Dimetrescu

Mommy

Please step on me

Elizabeth Bathory vibes

Just fucking huge

Can turn into a dragon

Lesbian

9/10

-

Karl Heisenberg

Grimy

Tumblr Sexyman

When robotics majors get weird

Fights with his siblings

Doesn’t actually care at all about Miranda

In cahoots with the lycans

7/10

-

Rosemary Winters

Mommy and Daddy issues

YA protagonist

Badass

Childhood trauma

Into the Mold-verse

Alternate universe Sherry Birkin

8/10

[catcze]

wild wild west wrio has been eating at my brain all day. like, imagine western outlaw reader and SHERIFF WRIO. the amount of tension between these two is palpable. it’s a game of cat mouse. BUT A SEXY GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE.

OHOHOHOOH MY GODBN

Oaky,. my. figners are fucking not workingbc i got so goddamn excited at the vision you've given me AAAA

「 CWS : 」 Mention of guns !

literally aughhh i can just imagine a reader who is morally grey, kinda chaotic neutral, who does lots and lots of wild stuff just for the fun of it. And who always makes absolutely sure that the things they do are close enough to the town where Wriothesley is the sheriff, so that it's always his duty to respond first and try to apprehend them.

Reader doesn't do anything inherently bad— they just do things that they want. It just so happens these things are typically outside of the law. Oh, there's a group of bandits around these parts that are terrorizing would-be travellers? Sounds like some target practice. Oh? There are rumors of someone killing some sweet old man's cows? Can't have that, that's dastardly— even for you. Bang bang bang!

And Wriothesley is always the one who has to clean up your mess. And you're always there to meet him, too. It's like you're just asking to get caught. (You are.)

You never resist when he slaps the cuffs on your wrists, though he always blushes whenever you wink and giggle at him. When he seats you on his horse to bring you back to the sheriff's office and jail you, he can't bring himself to try and push you away when you lean back into him. If he leans a little forward into you too, that's only for him to know.

And, in the night, when you somehow alway manage to slip out of your jail cell, Wriothesley pretends that he's fast asleep when you kiss his cheek and promise to see him again soon.

Side note but my GOD I'm imagining a wild west style Wriothesley and I'm going whole ass insane anon. Thank you for your contributions to making me lose my mind over this man.

[fernsnailz]

Wait, Shadow and the rest of Team Dark worked for G.U.N? That feels really weird given his backstory, as well as Rouge's distaste for the law...

yeah lol, it's a bit unclear because they only work for GUN in some canon. rouge has always been an agent of sorts, starting in SA2 where she worked as an undercover agent for the president. however, the president and GUN are treated as two separate entities in that game, and rouge doesn't seem to have any connection to GUN.

the first time it's mentioned that team dark works alongside GUN is Sonic 06, where rouge and shadow are explicitly stated to be working as GUN agents. rouge is in communication with them pretty consistently throughout the game, and shadow's story begins with him on an official GUN mission to find rouge and the scepter of darkness. omega's role with GUN in 06 is a bit unclear - as far as i can tell, it's never explicitly stated within the game whether omega works for GUN or not? idk. if anyone has any sources stating otherwise lmk

of course, given that 06's timeline is basically completely erased from existence once the game's story ends, it's entirely possible that team dark's involvement with GUN starts and ends within the 06 timeline. future games never bring it up as far as i can remember... which brings us to the archie comics (as it always does).

the archie comics take 06's concept of team dark GUN agents and REALLY runs with it. all three members seem to work for GUN full time, where they operate under commander tower (aka the commander from SHtH 2005) and work alongside hope kintobor (genius teen related to the robotniks. it's complicated. she's also only there pre-reboot).

pre-reboot archie doesn't dive deep into why each member decided to join GUN. shadow starts working for them soon after he regains all of his memories and seems to work alongside them to ensure the general safety of the world, rouge is likely there for a paycheck (and any missions that involve chaos emeralds and various gems), and omega is. complicated. technically archie omega (pre-reboot) is a combination of e-123 omega and e-102 gamma (quite literally. like both of their personalities in one robot) and he was just kinda brought to work at GUN after shadow found him in the middle of a forest. don't worry about it

GUN mostly serves as a vessel for team dark to be sent on missions and adventures throughout the various archie sonic stories, and team dark is able to work alongside them without much conflict. that is, until the reboot.

after the super genesis wave (aka the reboot), team dark's first mission with gun is to destroy the black comet 2 and the black arms forces on it. they're not alone this time - they have a number of other GUN soldiers with them, and here we start to see the cracks between GUN and team dark form. given that they're fighting the black arms and shadow is half black arms, some of the GUN soldiers very clearly Do Not Like Shadow and Do Not Trust Him.

but what really matters here is what commander tower does during this arc - before the mission, he asks rouge and omega to neutralize shadow if he falls under the influence of the black arms.

while the reboot never had enough time to dig much deeper into the gray morality of GUN, it's very clearly a consistent trait of the organization. it's most apparent in the arc i just talked about, but future arcs hint at some shady stuff happening when they can. for example, GUN seems to have snively robotnik (aka eggman's evil nephew) on staff as a scientist, and they very clearly show us (in this panel i think is honestly kinda hilarious) that snively is Up To Some Evil Shenanigans.

with all that in mind, i can finally give my opinions on team dark as GUN agents. i completely agree with the sentiment you expressed in your ask - shadow working for GUN completely conflicts with his past, his traumas, and his characterization within most of the games. despite shadow being a "for the greater good" sort of person, i don't think he would ever trust GUN enough to work alongside them. and i think the same goes for rouge and omega, though to a lesser degree. while i think both of them would find it beneficial to work alongside GUN in some cases, ultimately they're both entirely self-driven and wouldn't see much of a reason to work for GUN full time. and because of this, i generally think it was probably for the best that the modern version of team dark just kinda dropped the GUN agent narrative. it puts less limitations on their characters, and the stories don't have to make every team dark related event about GUN.

and yet... i really like the stuff that post-reboot archie had going on. i love the inside look at GUN, and i love seeing how much pressure and strain they put on team dark. because ultimately, GUN is an antagonistic force that a group of heroes are working for. the military is a consistent obstacle in sonic stories, and to see how they impact the characters they've hurt the most from the inside of their organization is so interesting to me. GUN is doing the same thing that all of team dark's previous foes have tried to do to them - they're using team dark as weapons and turning them against each other. maybe the members of team dark wouldn't want to work for GUN, but GUN would do ANYTHING to keep the three of them around because all three of them are liabilities if they're let loose into the world with no supervision. GUN is keeping their enemies close and using them as weapons. and i fuckin love that

so while i'm ultimately glad that team dark is no longer associated with GUN, i would have loved to see a version of the narrative exploring why they left. they would all know GUN was just using them, but what would have been the final straw? did they resign peacefully? are they all on the run as rogue agents? i dunno! but i wish it could be explored a little, even if it wasn't canon or whatever. wghelp that's all i got for this one good night tristate area

[tortelette]

Late night insomnia theories AGAIN I CAN'T BLOODY SLEEP PLEASE LORD I TRY TO CLOSE MY EYES AND ALL I CAN SEE IS W SKILL ISSUE DANCING

Meursault and Don are the two sinners who are seriously SERIOUSLY quite the characters that have a lot to unpack. Two characters with almost a one-sided personality when interacting towards others. Especially Don, Don has a skewed-sense of priorities in life and I was beginning to question her.

We do know in the upcoming chapters that Ishmael is going to be featured and ever since Yi Sang's story has concluded(?) (EHEM, Gubo I am coming to kill you, EHEM) I believe that her chapter revolves around the sinners "reenacting" her voyage or meeting a member of her crew who was somehow alive. Might be between those two, I am so excited with that possibility and I cannot wait what Don and Meursault's story chapters have in store.

Don might get a story that revolves around her moral sense of justice and also "personality abandonment." You think that I will forget about those Mariachi peeps back in Chapter 2??? Their comments were on point to Sinclair and the fact that they commented Don as "insincere and lack of a pure heart" iirc means we are getting on to something. I believe that Don is a person who is indifferent to many happenings in the City yet she prefers to look and take action on the smallest of things rather than the bigger of it. (That weird double faced reaction when she VIOLENTLY decided to "save" a backstreet folk and their child who violated a taboo and her neutral reaction in a FUCKING GENOCIDE TOWARDS THE INNOCENT) (Like yeah, she learned something after Verg and her idol got her cucked in the checkpoint area but there has to be an active remnant of that judgement somewhere within her during the genocide in Calw) She wanted to be the center on something especially in a situation where she can properly control hence she ALWAYS try to take over the mantles whenever she can even if it is not in her own expertise.

Hence I believe her story would revolve around the concept of her own moral judgement and how she wanted to be someone important. I also believe she wanted the attention directed at her to be a "great Fixer" she would do everything for that. Pretty much explains why one of her skill type of her default has envy (she wanted to be someone that resembles a great and perfect idea of her belief on a true Fixer and be higher or as levelled as the greatest Fixers in the City). Her story would seriously tackle on breaking her "honorable facade" and might question her validity of her desire to be a great Fixer when in truth she is not genuine on such things to do and would act like that to cover a probable rotten or indifferent personality.

I do have a personal theory that Don Quixote is actually Sancho Panza (Don Quixote's squire in the book) but that will be in a different take rather than now.

Meursault on the other hand, I believe that his story would stress around "emotional and mental breakdowns." This fucker has a decent yet extensive knowledge on distortions. Fuck, he even stated plainly that he get to witness them meaning that he witnessed more than one distortions in his life. I do have two theories on what happened to him back then and would tackle more in the future. His original novel involves him murdering someone and possibly it might bring over to the game's lore as well (more like a portion of it), and I get to say... it is quite unlikely he kills someone with a gun but rather himself.

First theory would be that he killed a person under the process or already been distorted, my friends always think that it has to be his mother because of that quote he stated back at his promotional video. Although, me and my friends would debate that the way he expresses that is either he is forgetful of that incident or that he prefers not to think about that incident and decides to detach himself away from that incident hence he cant remember the entire details of what he had done, a person who killed his distorted mother. I can probably tell that N corp is a toxic workplace environment when there are a lot of questionable acts and decisions sprouted out from the company (problematic Nagel Und Hammer and the "New League of Nine") it would be no doubt there would be a thing or two who would distort after what they have been through.

Second theory is where Meursault is the one being distorted. This is a theory that got us excited the most because of game antics (one of our own sinners fighting against us? Funny enough is that he is the strongest unit with complete full leveled IDs and EGOs ready in my team. This is why I build Heathcliff and Faust as backup in case that scenario will happen.) This theory revolves around him getting into a mental or emotional breakdown (quite difficult what irks him to bend when we know that even in stressful situations he remains a calm yet annoyed facade - Rosespanner ID) and resulted him killing his own mother without him realizing it. But my friends and I were thinking that it might not only be the reason he get into jail. One friend of mine point out that killing one person is not enough to be seen as a threat because that is quite common in the City where survival is a must have because of people getting into each other's throats with or without a valid reason. What if... he kills many people? Yet the only person he realize that was killed in the mix is his own mother. After the onslaught he just returns back to normal after a sense of clarity came to him and in that part is where he gets jailed. He was ridiculed and spouting him anger because he has the ability to distort, something that represents of showing one's true self. Final boss material right here, his story might be about overcoming this distortion problem he is dealing with and also about his perspective of everything and why he thinks of it.

Alright I am done I need to sleep or else my mother find out I am still awake and write this shit. Time to fuck off.

[kotias]

Aziraphale, the angel, dances.

Crowley, the demon, doesn't dance.

From the beginning, they have both been playing with the lines between what it means to be an angel and a demon, and those are the little details that show it.

Aziraphale ends up being the one who brings Crowley into the world of the humans, and not the other way around. Sure, Crowley gave him the first taste of it, but he is the one, later in history, introducing Crowley to oysters, inviting him to eat crêpes in Paris, inviting him to the Ritz for the first time.

Aziraphale is also much less afraid of objects made for killing (guns, swords), while Crowley is very wary of them (never used a gun before having to do it for Aziraphale's magic trick).

To me, it shows that Crowley indeed only "sauntered vaguely downwards", being much more of the "annoyance" type than a real menace to humanity. He has a brilliant mind to destroy the morale of people, and kind of rips their humanities away by constructing long-term projects that put to shame any other demon, but he says it himself: the horrors that humanity does are beyond what he could imagine, or happen quicker than he can devise his plans entirely.

And in the end, when he sees that people are about to doom themselves to certain Hell, he saves them from perdition.

Crowley's problem with Heaven isn't that he is a demon and that's what a demon does; his problem with Heaven is that he doesn't understand why he deserved Falling.

And that is why he has such a hard time accepting words like "kind", "nice", or to be forgiven: those words always come when he is at his most natural, doing something as a gut reaction.

To him, that's not being nice, that's being who he is, and a Fallen Angel has been established to be "not nice".

He is playing a role, through and through, but at core, he is still an angel who doesn't know why he has been cast an Unforgivable.

It is his way of being "grey": he keeps his angelic values, but plays the part of a demon.

Meanwhile, Aziraphale's way of joining the "grey side" is by relinquishing some of his values, when he sees that they are flawed:

no dancing

listening to the Music of the Spheres only

no eating, no alcohol, no "material world" consuming

using the words "oh lord", "God", "by Heaven", "for Heaven's sake", etc. (note here that Crowley NEVER uses those expressions, or fumbles hard trying to use them but being very awkward about them)

He takes great pleasure in those things.

He is still a beautiful sunshine, who definitely loves playing the part of the naive little angel for Mr Anthony J. Crowley to help out, but he also seems to be the one initiating those little "games" with him, making the most out of their immortal lives together; because he is "just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing".

(the gif below is his reaction to that compliment that Crowley gives him and oh my god I cannot believe some people can think he's not in love)

But that is where it is interesting: Aziraphale is probably the closest thing to who Crowley was as an angel. Investigative, questionning the Greater Plans and working as he thinks is best.

Crowley has some experience with being lonely and confused, and he likes asking his questions. That is, in fact, what pushes Aziraphale out of his "everything is perfect and jolly" state of mind and pushes him to lie to Gabriel eventually.

And that is the essence of why Crowley and Aziraphale are so attached to each other: they understand where the other is coming from.

All this to say: they have been feeding each other's light and darkness for 6000 years, at this point they're both the perfectly neutral shade of grey.

[yanderes-galore]

yandere bill (tlou // game ver) romantic concept? i just wanna see a general idea for this oddball of a guy

I've only ever been playing the game lately so sure! I don't mind, lol.

Yandere! Bill Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Violence, Moral conflict, Denial, Trust issues, Bill does not know if he loves or hates you honestly, Isolation, Dubious relationship, Mature language/themes.

Bill hasn't been one for company for a long time.

He's preferred isolation as no one can betray him that way.

Ever since his partner Frank disappeared he hasn't wanted to be around anyone.

He's paranoid and has trust issues towards people.

At first Bill is going to view his obsession as an annoyance.

Once he meets you he hates that he likes you.

Liking you will get you both killed.

It takes awhile to get Bill to give into his obsession.

He has to crack through his trust issues first before he can actually grasp how he feels with you.

He probably met you through Joel.

That or he accidentally found you in his town, much to his annoyance.

No trespassers for a reason, you could blow your ass up-

Bill was never the same after Frank...

When he starts feeling romantic feelings towards you he's in denial.

Humans betray... you need to leave.

Bill would be Overprotective and Obsessive over his darling.

Yeah, surprisingly not many yandere traits.

But they're intense.

First of all, Bill already writes notes to himself all over his house(s).

He also plays chess and talks to himself.

Isolation, the pandemic, and the loss of Frank affected him deeply.

Sometimes he writes about you in letters then trashes it...

His obsession is primarily heavy denial.

He knows isolation is the way to go...

He just hates the aching lonely feeling he has.

He gets incredibly obsessive about you and tries to hide it.

He just can't stop thinking of you...!

When you're around he's always so concerned of your safety.

YOUR safety? What about his safety!?

The fact you manage to make him laugh only further conflicts him.

To keep it simple? Bill isn't sure if he could handle loving you.

Despite this he cares for you anyways.

He protects you from infected and tries to keep you with him wherever he goes.

You want to live, right?

Stick with him.

For the longest time around you he tries to distance himself.

Not affectionate, different beds, distant comments.

He only warms up to you once his denial and trust issues falter.

Then he gives into accepting the fact he loves you...

Despite his thoughts against it.

Bill isn't jealous.

What's there to be jealous about?

Maybe Joel... but he barely sees the dude.

Doesn't really want to either.

Bill can be demanding you to stay in one place.

Traps litter his town and he doesn't like to think of losing you or the freshly set traps.

He may be a bit controlling, sure, but living's nice isn't it?

Bill is so conflicted about keeping you with him.

He needs more food, space, ammo, guns, supplies...

But he loves you.

So that's something, right?

Bill is going to appear cold to you but he does care for you.

His obsession is confirmed by his constant letters and that one time he started a hug with you.

Bill is a very slow yandere.

He's very hesitant with his obsession even if his feelings are genuine.

Despite seeming like he doesn't enjoy your company...

He'd do anything he can to keep you now that he does love you.

[cryberpunkart]

Castio Ingellvar

1: Where in Thedas is your Rook from? His parents are from Nevarra City. I didn't think too hard about his life pre-Mourn Watch so it's random.

2: What is your character's alignment? Chaotic neutral. Cas does things for the greater good, but it's a bit fast and loose.

3: Race and subclass? Human mage.

4: If your Rook was a companion, where would they be found? The music room, and he'd be humming all the time.

5: What emotion did they usually pick? Mostly the cheery and polite icons.

6: What companion are you platonically close with? Taash, unexpectedly. But he gets on with everyone.

7: Romantically close with? Emmrich.

8: Who are they suspicious of? He liked Lucanis, but is low-key scared of him.

9: Does your Rook get along with their chosen Faction? Yes! He adores the Watchers and is one to his core.

10: Are they proficient in playing any instruments? No, but he is a very amateur opera singer.

11: Weapon of choice? Mageknife and necrotic damage.

12: What is their orientation? Asexual biromantic.

13: What are their thoughts on killing? Is it a necessary evil or do they enjoy it? He's just trying to survive, if he can avoid it, he would like to, but times are tough.

14: What hobbies does your Rook have? Music, reading, theatre. He loves a good debate, he's probably part of the Lighthouse book club.

15: What NPCs do they like? Which one's do they dislike? He loves Vorgoth and Manfred, but who doesn't? I think he gets along with Strife well, and Antoine (Evka scared him but he respects her) but he and Tarquin despise each other.

16: Do they have a favorite creature in the Thedas? Assan counts, right? Otherwise he's a snake boy in every universe I write him into. Snakes all the time.

17: Do they enjoy life as an adventurer? I think he likes to revisit the Necropolis a lot, but yes, he loves exploring and learning.

18: What would your Rook be doing if they weren't recruited by Varric? The Thedas equivalent of a paranormal investigator, or amateur theatre.

19: How do you think they'll meet their end? Are you kidding? He's gunning for lichdom.

20: Would they side with Solas or fight him? He'd rather do neither, but if he can't talk Solas around, he'd fight.

21: What is your Rook's favorite ability? Corrupted Ground.

22: What languages is your character fluent in? Just the common tongue.

23: What do they do after an absolute crisis? Decompress alone, with his nose in a book, after checking in on everyone.

24: Does your character believe in the afterlife? In the sense of the wisps and the Fade being a sort of life beyond death, yeah. For himself? No, lichdom!

25: What specialization best represents your Rook? I obviously went down the Mourn Watch specialisation. The character has always been a necromancer, I originally played him in D&D 5e.

26: What animal best represents your Rook? A snake. His favourites are hognoses but he's a ball python.

27: What was their life like before the events of Veilguard? Quite simple, I think he was hiding in Minrathous, probably taking odd jobs ridding homes of spirits for a fair price.

28: Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader? He didn't want to lead, but he took to it well enough. He considers them all to lead in their area of expertise, though.

29: If you could choose a different faction for your Rook, which one would they have joined and why? Hmm, that's actually a good question. Probably the Shadow Dragons? They have good morals and he was already hanging about in Minrathous!

30: What's your favorite thing about your Rook? Cas is a character I've had for a long time now. In-game I love how his Ult looks, the mage combat flows so prettily. In a meta sense, this character creator is the closest I've ever managed to making Castio 3d, so I love that.

Zinc Laidir

1: Where in the Thedas is your Rook from? There's a brief conversation with Taash where he mentioned being a Tevinter galley slave, so I think Zinc is a city elf from Seheron.

2: What is your character's alignment? The same as a labrador puppy.

3: Race and subclass? Elf warrior.

4: If your Rook was a companion, where would they be found? He'd move location every time, this man is hyper.

5: What emotion did they usually pick? Mostly the cheery/jokey one, but whenever there's a chance for the sad one, I went with that. Emotional boy.

6: What companion are you platonically close with? Taash, Harding and Davrin. He and Taash had trans solidarity, Harding is his bestie, and he and Davrin arm wrestle on the regular.

7: Romantically close with? The queen herself, Neve. But poor Bellara tried.

8: Who are they suspicious of? He's not too sure how to take Emmrich. He likes him, and he respects his magic, but worries about being told off, Emmrich is very Dad to him.

9: Does your Rook get along with their chosen Faction? Yes and no. Isabella finds him frustrating, I think she was probably waiting for a chance to get him gone. They're like siblings who get along better with space between visits.

10: Are they proficient in playing any instruments? Ohhhh yes. Zinc is a musician in his original conception, so he definitely plays the Elven guitar in his chamber.

11: Weapon of choice? Warhammer, specifically the brute hammer.

12: What is their orientation? Queer. Zinc has no labels, doesn't want them, doesn't care. He's a trans guy who likes hot people. You could call him pansexual but he wouldn't call himself that.

13: What are their thoughts on killing? Is it a necessary evil or do they enjoy it? Avoid as much as possible.

14: What hobbies does your Rook have? Music, but probably also card games, casual gambling stuff with the other Lords and the companions.

15: What NPCs do they like? Which one's do they dislike? I think he and Rana get chatty, and I bet he's flirted with Theia. He doesn't dislike anyone, but he did punch the First Warden. So yeah.

16: Do they have a favorite creature in the Thedas? He'd have a pet nug if he could, but he's also pet every damn dog and cat in Dock Town.

17: Do they enjoy life as an adventurer? Of course! For gold and glory!

18: What would your Rook be doing if they weren't recruited by Varric? Bothering Isabella more.

19: How do you think they'll meet their end? Doing something stupid.

20: Would they side with Solas or fight him? Fight.

21: What is your Rook's favorite ability? For Gold and Glory (I swear it's called that, the big leaping hammer smash).

22: What languages is your character fluent in? Elven, common.

23: What do they do after an absolute crisis? When the adrenaline leaves, he cries. Zinc cries a lot.

24: Does your character believe in the afterlife? Nah, but he's okay with that. Again, he knows the Fad exists, he knows spirits exist, but he thinks they have no memory of their life, so there's not really a knowable beyond for living beings.

25: What specialization best represents your Rook? I went with Slayer, because Lords of Fortune, but none of the others suited.

26: What animal best represents your Rook? A friendly puppy, or a speedy hare or something.

27: What was their life like before the events of Veilguard? A bit chaotic, but also simple. He listened to Isabella and did as he was told.

28: Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader? He is, but in a more... Glue way. He's keeping everyone together and happy and sane as best he can.

29: If you could choose a different faction for your Rook, which one would they have joined and why? Maybe the Wardens. He wouldn't read the fine print about the Calling and how much being a Warden sucks, he'd just sign up to be a hero.

30: What's your favorite thing about your Rook? He's the mascot for this account, but make him a little elf. :3 Also doing all the silly dialogue options feels appropriate, which makes it fun.

Rook Questionnaire

inspired by @cassieuncaged's BG3 Character Development Questions but for Rook instead!

1: Where in the Thedas is your Rook from?

2: What is your character's alignment?

3: Race and subclass?

4: If your Rook was a companion, where would they be found?

5: What emotion did they usually pick?

6: What companion are you platonically close with?

7: Romantically close with?

8: Who are they suspicious of?

9: Does your Rook get along with their chosen Faction?

10: Are they proficient in playing any instruments?

11: Weapon of choice?

12: What is their orientation?

13: What are their thoughts on killing? Is it a necessary evil or do they enjoy it?

14: What hobbies does your Rook have?

15: What NPCs do they like? Which one's do they dislike?

16: Do they have a favorite creature in the Thedas?

17: Do they enjoy life as an adventurer?

18: What would your Rook be doing if they weren't recruited by Varric?

19: How do you think they'll meet their end?

20: Would they side with Solas or fight him?

21: What is your Rook's favorite ability?

22: What languages is your character fluent in?

23: What do they do after an absolute crisis?

24: Does your character believe in the afterlife?

25: What specialization best represents your Rook?

26: What animal best represents your Rook?

27: What was their life like before the events of Veilguard?

28: Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

29: If you could choose a different faction for your Rook, which one would they have joined and why?

30: What's your favorite thing about your Rook?

[amaya-writes]

Ask Nicely: Toxic Tomura x Reader Drabbles

Notes: Sort of a drabble but generally just thoughts inspired by this Shiggy art (i can't find where the art is from. The only thing I can source it back to is this tweet and this Tumblr post that I saw it on.)

Warnings: dark and Yandere themes, manipulation and gaslighting, mentions of kidnapping and other Yandere things, mentions of death and su*cide, mentions of gen*cide.

Gender-neutral reader, you/yours.

Tomura thinks using your love for him against you is the worst thing he's ever done.

He thinks the way he has such a delicately crafted plan about being with you is insane. And above all, he knows that the way he wraps one of his hands around his throat and threatens to put his pinky down the second you step out of the door is absolutely vile.

But that obviously doesn't stop him from doing it. After all, if having a moral compass was a priority then he would have never met you.

He isn't stupid, Tomura knows himself well enough to know he isn't suicidal and that even if he was he would never go out by using his own quirk. But you don't know that.

You didn't know what was going on in his mind.

If only you did, maybe you wouldn't have helped heal his wounds that day.

Maybe if you knew how rotten, deathly, and dark the shadowed back alleys of his mind were, you would have stayed out of that alley you met him in, the one that started this sick little game he liked to play with you.

Maybe if you hadn't let him in and opened up about your pathetic problems he didn't care much for, you would have stood a chance against falling for him.

Maybe if you hadn't been so kind and trusting, you would have known better than to fall in love with Japan's most-wanted villain.

But you didn't. You didn't, and Tomura loved that.

He always associated what he felt for you like the thrill people would feel when playing Russian Roulette, minus the risk, of course. Because Tomura was more likely to hurt you than he was to hurt himself.

And somehow, even if you knew that, it didn't stop you from running right back in and prying his hands away from his neck by carefully tugging on his wrists as tears ran down your cheeks.

You were the same the day Shigaraki revealed his identity, the day you found out he was stalking and secretly controlling you, and the day he kidnapped you and stole you for himself.

It was always the same, because how could you ever be strong enough to oppose him? How could you ever walk out of that door when the love of your life was all but holding a gun to his own head?

Tomura Shigaraki always hated heroes, hated the stupid hero complex that made them always try to save everyone, but every time he felt you collapse against his chest as you sobbed both because of and for him, he couldn't help but thank whichever idiot decided that sacrificing himself for what he loved was the right thing to do.

Because that was exactly why you kept crawling back. Not because you were scared he would ruin the world, no, but because you thought he would ruin himself trying.

Unless, of course, you would stay by his side.

And who were you to deny when he asked so nicely?

[flowers-of-io]

I find it weird that D2 has lately been saying a lot about how Darkness is only as good or evil as the one wielding it. Presenting it as a more neutral force. But the Dark has a mind and intentions behind it, and when you see what the darkness chooses to do it pretty clear that it is evil. It is shown to be a naturally corrupting force. Even if it sees itself as merely a harsh but necessary force of nature, it seems to have a sadistic streak. I guess I wanna hear your take on this?

Yes, yes!

I've thought about this for a long while, and, trying to keep my answer concise (which I'll probably fail at anyway because most of my thought process occurs while I type anyway), I've come up with a metaphor. Yes, the Darkness is a tool, but it is a tool in the same way a gun is a tool. And I purposely say gun here, and not knife (though the metaphor of "a knife can be used for cutting food or killing a person" is a popular one), because the gun's purpose and effects of its usage is always malicious. It's a tool designed to kill, only. And while your use of it can have a positive (i.e. defending someone), neutral (i.e. hunting game for food) or negative nature (i.e. murdering someone), its effects are always disastrous. You always cause harm and pain, no matter the intentions. And while I do believe that some of those intentions have a higher moral standing (i.e. killing an animal that is attacking a person) than the disastrous effect of causing death, death has still been caused. Yes, animals, and sometimes humans too, kill each other for survival, and it is "a harsh but necessary force of nature", there is still the disastrousness of this effect that a life has been taken.

And the corruptivity -- it's way easier to use a gun in a malicious way than it is to think of some more creative solution like stabbing someone with scissors, though a corrupt person would not shy away from using either. But the scissors were not designed to be a weapon, unlike the gun. There isn't any use for a gun that does not cause harm. And yes, the gun is as good or as evil as its wielder, as scissors can be evil when you use them for killing, but you know, there's a reason you are required to have a permit (in my country at least) to own a gun, you can't carry it around public spaces--same thing with other more lethal objects like swords or long knives or whatnot--yes, if you had the intention to harm someone, you could just walk up to them and strangle them or stab 'em with scissors. But there is, also, inherent danger stemming from the gun's nature and the nature of its purpose (to kill). Maybe it is a tool that does change the wielder, huh?

[thefirstknife]

first thank you for compiling all those posts, it was fascinating to read through especially since i knew there had to be depth to mara and uldren as characters to inform their decisions/the way the lore plays out. i knew mara to be an incredibly complex character, though i will admit i avoid reading much about her because the way she is presented in game is uncomfortable to say the least. (mostly personal feelings/experiences, but probably partially intentionally as well) regardless, a couple questions. number one would be your thoughts on this well intentioned manipulation from mara. though the answer might be in her current character development, i wonder why its more acceptable to strip agency when its 'for their own good'. i do think thats pretty integral to mara, her driving things through her own admittedly vast insights towards the greater good, and while theres an interesting debate to be had on the morality of it, youre right to point out that the morality sort of is a moot point when she is staring down the metaphorical barrel of a gun. im simultaneously fascinated to see where her development goes while not wanting to forgive the shortcomings of her actions. i acknowledge shes done and continues to do the best she can but ugh. why has it taken so long? (i mean, obviously because she hasnt had a catalyst to spur her development like she does now, but well) i do feel for her which is honestly surprising considering i really didnt before i sent that first ask. but anyway, my second question. savathun being the one to deliver uldrens memories to crow... truth be told, i assumed it to be as neutral a way as anything, as it seemed she just... unlocked the memories from his/uldrens perspective a la deepsight/darkness memory shenanigans rather than trying to spin it one way or another. probably naive of me considering its literally savathun, and its more likely than not to have been an intentional attempt to harm him, but i dunno. something about cutting to heal. lancing a wound to drain the rot. again, probably naive, but i also have in the back of my mind the lore where savathun is feeling something (positive i presume, affection, nostalgia? who knows) when at the bonfire with crow and the guardian. if i remember right sav draws connections to her siblings, and is reeling against some uninvited feelings this conjures. makes me wonder how much she is or isnt sympathising with crow (and on that note, osiris. her lines during the glykon exploration, about the folly of her youth, blends really close to osiris. almost like she wasnt exactly lying directly, but through omission of context). she says it herself that she feels sympathy for crow, but again. savathun. narratively i think it was important things played out this way, but had they chosen to write uldren/crows story to follow the plans mara laid out, are we 100% sure that the two of them wouldntve just fallen into the same pitfalls as before, with crow trying to impress, and mara manipulating 'for his own good'? do you think she could have succeeded in achieving the crow we see now after severance without all the drama? should she even have had to? maybe it was good for her not to have to undertake the same role she always had with uldren, being a star for him to follow. gah, i have to sleep, but man do i have a lot of thoughts. anyway, thanks again for the first response! i have worms in my brain.

You're welcome!

For the first question, about how Mara wanted to manipulate/shape Uldren into something else: I don't think it was good ultimately. Mara even admits that it wasn't. At first she's only talking about how it's because she failed, but later she becomes much more open about how much the idea sucked no matter what (especially after she talks more to Ikora and Crow in particular, but also after all the stresses of dealing with Savathun). Uldren was always reckless, even as a human and she hated it because she was basically tasked with raising him and she had her own issues. She wanted so badly to make him different, but it failed and she made it worse. It took her time to realise that the idea itself was flawed from the start. Seeing as she accepted Crow and her responsibilities over Uldren's fate, she definitely changed her tune. We probably won't get a full explicit apology from her, but then again, that's between her and Crow.

Second question about Savathun and Crow's memories: the biggest problem with Savathun doing it was that we have no clue what she did to him and how she did it so we couldn't intervene to help him. Did she give him everything? Only the bad stuff? Only stuff about Uldren after he got corrupted? It was also... a lot to dump on a person at once. Uldren lived for thousands of years and there were some truly gruesome memories in there, especially post Black Garden. It could've seriously hurt Crow to get him exposed for example to the memory of the Black Heart. It's also the emotional impact of finding out that every single person you trusted lied to you in the worst way. Like, YW participated in killing Uldren and Crow trusted us as a friend. And then he got a memory of being at the other end of our gun.

Savathun definitely had some legitimate feelings for Crow however. She's a very complex character as well and the feelings she experienced while watching YW and Crow were genuine. She also admitted that she has a soft spot for "exiles." She latched onto Crow and Osiris, but also previously she also gave a safe haven of sorts to her nephew, Nokris, who was exiled for heresy. She herself was also exiled. I would say those feelings were definitely as genuine as possible when it comes to Savathun. However, the way she dumped Uldren's memories on Crow was still traumatic and ultimately a bad way to deal with such a sensitive situation.

As for the third what-if scenario: I genuinely have no clue. Had Mara's original plans worked out perfectly in every detail... Who knows. If Uldren never went to the Black Garden and never got corrupted and Mara never died to Oryx and... There are too many variables. I personally think it wouldn't have been as compelling as a story. The Sov siblings are incredibly well written characters who have a lot of complexity and a lot to offer to the storytelling as they are now. I honestly wouldn't want it any other way. Their story is full of tragedy, but also change and hope, as it is with Destiny.

[papakhan]

What are your thoughts on the idea that the lore behind the great khans is actually incredibly racist and poor taste? Do you agree with this notion? I'm just curious what you think!

fallout new vegas has huge problems with race and treatment of indigenous groups, Honest Hearts is an obvious example of that but the base game has it as well with its “tribes”. Three Families being “rehabilitated tribals” running casinos, which is a known negative stereotype about native americans, and the Khans being a “tribe” that peddles drugs and all suffer from addictions, again, another stereotype.

There are also major issues with how poorly handled the Khans are next to the NCR. It feels like the writers really wanted to show how the NCR was copying US history, so used NCR vs the Khans as a stand-in for Colonisers vs Native Americans. This is really really bad because we Know the Khan’s history from the other two games, they’re not Native, and they were objectively the bad guys of the last two games. The writers should not have done this! 

the khans in the history of fallout are overwhelmingly portrayed as white raiders (I’ve always imagined the og Khans from fo1 to be like. those white dudes who think they’re gonna survive the apocalypse because they have a basement full of guns) despite being from a vault that was purposefully densely packed with people from many conflicting cultures, and one could argue that the great khans being targeted by the ncr is Deserved™️ because they have that history of enslavement and violent raiding and just. being shitty. 

to then position bitter springs as an example of indigenous displacement from ancestral land, which bitter springs is not and never would have been for the khans, has the weight of "the khans kind of deserved the massacre" and "the khans settled in some empty destroyed area and made it cool so now its Theirs" attached, and that is. racist. because the khans are not native and are never going to be native.

The writers double down on it too there’s an ending where the Khans get moved to a “reservation” by the NCR for fucks sake. i think one of the most In Poor Taste thing about the khans is that you can go and kill all of them if you fucking want to and live out your colonialist power fantasy and the game has no direct way to confront you about how fucked up that is. In fact it’s actively encouraged in the NCR plot line and several characters including rando NCR npcs, Colonel Cassadra Moore and fucking YES MAN will say how this is the morally correct way to deal with them. it’s fucked up.

I think a lot of it also comes from how the writers point blank refuse to include any type of actually Indigenous group in the base game even though! House redirected or destroyed the nukes heading for the Vegas area! They had a perfectly reasonable reason for real Native American Tribes to be in and around Vegas! Not that I would have trusted the writers given the state of Honest Hearts but.

fallout as a whole struggles with indigenous people Not Existing anymore, which is both insulting and super fucking colonialist, just to make it okay for ~race neutral~ “tribes” to exist and have areas they claim as theirs, but there are many tribes native to nevada and particular tribes that would be very close to bitter springs itself in the real world. theres no reason they wouldnt be there and wouldnt see the khans as more colonialism

The Khans are raiders first and foremost. I try my best to lean hard on their  ‘punk biker gang without bikes’ aesthetic. That they’re a gang that stumbled ass backwards into becoming a community because people in their group started getting old or having babies or doing things other than raiding and Papa was the first Khan leader not to try and stop them. rather than whatever the writers were going for. I'm actually in the process of editing my fics as to not use the word "tribe" to describe the khan's. I'm working on it.

I like them punky and kinda abrasive but very community driven but this is a very new thing for them! Bitter Springs should be about NCR using excessive force against smaller communities or the Khans being forced back to their raider roots by losing that population of children, elderly, artisans, disabled and sick. It could be about how the Mojave saw the Khans as just another community and the NCR saw them as an antagonising force and by attempting to wipe out the Khans the NCR showed their true hand to the rest of the Mojave for just how far they’re willing to go to take land! It could have been about forgiveness! About the Khans working towards a better version of themselves but they’ve wronged people INCLUDING the courier and don’t really seem to feel bad about it! There’s so many more interesting ways to look at them rather than a native stand-in, which I’m pretty sure I’ve said before.

I mean? examining them in comparison to their past selves should be enough? I’ve defiantly talked about how interesting I find the differences between the Khans of fo1 and fo2 to the Great Khans in new vegas! Garl Death-Hand will literally tell you that he raids because he believes the world is dying and there’s nothing worth saving, where as Papa’s believe in history and honour and glory is totally different! They’d despite each other if they met and that's Really engaging to me! The Writers didn’t have to act this way! 

The Great Khans could have been about toxic masculinity, which is what I examine with my oc Harley! Or tense relationships with your family like what I use Sasha for! It could have been about raiders coming to terms with the fact that the age of raiding is coming to an end

It could have been how Papa’s started to believe that Garl was right for thinking strength came from being closed off and cold and uncaring towards your people, because caring about the Khans has only caused Papa grief and depression! How they’re doomed to wiped out just like every other group of Khans no matter how much they change or how much Papa cares because the NCR will never see them as anything else! There’s a lot you could do with Papa Khan on his own, on top of what I said there’s the fact that he’s willing to name the courier as his “heir” implies to me that his children probably died at Bitter Springs. The Khans have a lot of interesting characters like Papa and Jessup and McMurphy and Chance and Melissa trapped inside a very poorly handled set piece.

The Khans have different problems with race in their own right. It really pisses me off that the Khan’s leadership is made up of 4 white characters and 1 character of colour who’s? ambiguously mixed race? but we only get to meet Melissa’s white side of the family? Why is the only Khan with Evil Karma (Oscar Velasco) a Mexican character of colour?? AND WHY of the two black characters involved in the Khans, one dies before you can talk to him (McMurphy) and the other is objectively evil and a tool for Caesar’s Legion (Karl)? That’s why I like to bring back McMurphy honestly, I’m planning on writing something for him where he replaces the courier, but who knows when I’ll get to it.

TLDR: The Khans have their problems in new vegas for sure and I do my best to avoid them but it's worth acknowledging along with the rest of the racism that baked into the game itself. I’m not gonna pretend that I’m an expert in this sort of thing, but it’s not exactly difficult to see. If you think I could be doing anything better or have anything to add please let me know

[yeahhiyellow]

19, 22 and 23? :^)

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Tbh there are a lot of things I hate, although by this point it's only very certain parts of the fandom that have these problems, since most of the shitty people have lost interest by this point. If I had to choose just one thing though, it'd be the overwhelming focus on white, male characters over female and/or characters of color. And there are a lot of areas where this shows up. One major example is that a lot of people like the idea of Connor, Hank, Gavin, and Nines (all white, male characters, mind you) staying at the DPD even after:

The DPD was the one (along with Cyberlife) responsible for the deaths, arrests, and brutal treatment of androids, the main oppressed group in the game's world

Connor and Nines are a part of that oppressed group, and at least Hank is shown in game to support them

Connor has already worked at the DPD and was routinely called an "it" (which as someone who is nonbinary and has been called "it" knows how insulting that can be and understands the need to get away from situations where that happens), was allowed to be sent to his death by, and was routinely harassed and nearly murdered, or in some playthroughs actually murdered, by workers at the DPD (*ahem Gavin ahem*)

Hank (if he is your friend) risked his career just to cause a distraction for Connor to keep him alive

Just because the android revolution was successful doesn't mean the DPD was going to follow that. I mean, the androids were heavily compared to African Americans in this game, and we all know how the current police system treats them (and if you don't, pay attention to the news, like, ever. Also read Jim Crow as that book is very informative on the oppression of blacks in the entire incarceration system as well as before and after that)

So I hope it would be pretty obvious to any sane person that suggesting these characters would join/remain in the DPD after everything is offensive on all sorts of levels.

In addition to that, you also have some people saying that they only cared about Connor's story, or that his was the only good one. The female protagonist that risks her own life several times to save that of a child (no matter if she is human or android)? Not important. The (half) black protagonist who is shot by police, has to rebuild himself, and leads his own people to freedom? Who cares? The only important story to these people is the white, male, cop android who spends most of his time hunting down the good guys. And if some people honestly prefer Connor's story because of their own reasons, that's fine. And yes, Kara and Markus's stories have lots of problems. But Connor's does too, and none of this gives people an excuse to ignore the other characters, especially since they are the minority characters. Then, there are also the people who say Connor's machine path was better than his deviant path, or that him being replaced by Nines in the end was unfair. And... what the fuck??? I mean, I get it, it's fun to play through different options, and Connor is hella badass in the machine path. But he is also hella badass in the deviant path (killing the guards in the elevator, possibly the team at the bottom if he doesn't catch the security camera, fighting Sixty, walking in front of all the androids he freed, like, come on), and he also, like, has morals and isn't oppressive??? In the machine route, he kills his own people, including those who just want to be free and might have been completely pacifist the entire way through. So I'm sorry, anyone who thinks his machine path is better is just looking for an excuse to be oppressive without openly admitting it.

Then there's the Gavin apologizers. While fanon Gavin is awesome, some people have way overstepped the line of redemption and allowing oppression. I've seen posts defending Gavin's in-game behavior, just because he refers to androids as "he" on occasion. This is despite:

Suggesting "roughing up," or being violent to Shaolin (the HK400 in "The Interrogation")

Insulting his partner, Chris, when he doesn't forcibly move Shaolin against Shaolin's will

Pointing a gun at Connor after Connor rightfully says to stop touching Shaolin for both succeeding the mission and for Shaolin's sake, and only stepping down after Hank points a gun at him and even after insults Connor

Punching Connor right in the thirium pump regulator and then pushing his head right where his LED is in the break room if Connor refuses to get him a coffee

Insulting and threatening Connor in the same scene even if Connor follows all of his demands

Insulting Hank's alcoholism in the Eden Club "it's starting to stink of booze in here"

Purposely pushing Connor to the side in the same scene

Trying to literally murder Connor and admitting he'd wanted to kill him ever since he first saw Connor, sometimes successfully

Both physically and verbally assaulting Connor

I forgive very easily and strongly believe in redemption, don't get me wrong. But trying to excuse Gavin's behaviors is so inexcusable, especially when most of his aggressions are towards androids, the oppressed minority.

Now, let's look at Ao3, shall we? Let's see how many fics posted there are with each of the "main" (including Gavin and Nines since even though they are not main characters in canon they are in fanon) characters... (also, keep in mind, I gathered this data about a month ago so it might not be completely up to date):

Connor: 16,150

Markus: 5,395

Kara: 1,504

Hank: 13,135

Nines: 9,807

Gavin: 9,939

Amanda: 1,177

Chloe: 1,521

North: 3,056

Simon: 3,192

Josh: 1,965

Alice: 1,098

Luther: 848

Rose: 193

This means that certain characters get unequal amounts of attention:

White: 59,042

Black: 9,578

Male: 60,431

Female: 8,549

White, Male: 52,223

White, Female: 7,179

Black, Male: 8,208

Black, Female: 1,370

Well, this says a lot. Now, some people reading this might realize that there are more white and male characters to begin with, so it could be fair even with their numbers being higher. So, okay, let's see the average amount of works a single character in each of the above categories would have (so divide each of the values by the number of characters in that category) (also I rounded to the tenth place aka first decimal point):

White: 6,560.2

Black: 1,915.6

Male: 7,553.9

Female: 1,424.8

White, Male: 10,444.6

White, Female: 1,794.8

Black, Male: 2,736

Black, Female: 685

If anything, these are even more telling. And if you don't believe me, look on Ao3 and calculate these yourself, because you'll get the same thing.

To be clear, I don't have anything against Connor, Hank, or any of the white and/or male characters. I even like the way that the fandom has redeemed Gavin. But the fandom has not done the same job of redeeming other characters, especially the minority ones, and pays way less attention to them, and that needs to be called out with evidence by someone.

Anyway, I spent a LONG time on that first question, so I'll try to make the next answers shorter!

22. Popular character you hate?

There aren't any popular characters that I thoroughly hate. The only characters I hate are ones that are already highly unpopular (Todd, Zlatko, Perkins). If we're talking canon characters, I do hate Gavin with a flaming passion. I mean, he is meant to represent police brutality. But fanon Gavin is cool with me, so I'm not sure exactly how much this counts.

There is one semi-popular character that I dislike though, and that is Kamski. I'm half-counting him again because within the fandom there are very mixed opinions. I personally dislike him mainly because of his treatment of one of his Chloe's: he is willing to let her get shot in the head and killed just to find a dumb answer to his Kamski test just because he feels like it. If Connor doesn't shoot Chloe, he tells Connor he's deviant, knowing full well that Amanda and Cyberlife are watching being the one to design the program, endangering Connor. While he arguably is responsible for deviancy and wants androids to succeed, that doesn't make up for those facts.

Another character that half-counts is Daniel. There are mixed opinions within the fandom on him as well, with some arguing that he is only wanting to not get replaced and protect himself. However, since his first response was to kill the dad, and then he proceeded to shoot at least 3 more cops, killing 2, and hold Emma, the young girl he had been friends with for years hostage, even though she had nothing to do with his replacement. You can't argue that he didn't want to kill Emma and only used her as protection for himself, either, as there are multiple endings where he tries and sometimes succeeds in killing Emma, even when he is also killing himself. I'm not closed to a redemption arc for him, but his in-game actions are inexcusable. He's the one deviant who truly has no valid defense for his actions.

23. Unpopular character you love?

There are a few. I absolutely adore North, Josh, Adam, and Alice, even though the fandom has conflicted opinions on them. Then again, none of these characters are really considered unpopular, just not as popular as others with a select few that don't like them. With North, I've been in this fandom since a few months after its release, when there was a lot of North hatred, and was actually in a group called the North Protection Squad lol. However, now most people like her, and she's really grown in popularity. With Josh, it's less that he's hated, and more that he's ignored. People say that Simon was the peaceful option when he was really the neutral, and recently I've seen more people against Josh's opinions on the revolution. While I don't always agree with Josh being so passive and undemanding (neither do I agree with North's violence), he's still an awesome character with some very valid points. Then, I do understand why some people dislike Adam, as at first he's against androids and almost reveals Kara and the others. However, if you meet him at the border crossing, he apologizes to Kara and changes his mind, promising to help androids. While he may start out scared and not on the right side, he does have a good heart and ends up making the right decisions in the end. With Alice, I haven't seen many people hate her, either, although I have seen some saying she's annoying and lacks a personality. I agree that she lacks a personality, although I argue that's the writers' faults rather than her character's (as are problems with other characters, I mean David Cage wrote this so what were we expecting). I also don't think she's annoying, as after all she is only 9 (in human terms), doesn't admit she's an android because she's scared Kara will reject her (and Kara actually can reject her for being an android, leaving her completely on her own in a world that wants her dead. Also, living her whole life with Todd can absolutely not help her feel more secure with who she is or make her trust Kara to still love her for it), and she is only cold and feels sick because her model of android is literally designed to replicate human sickness and discomfort (and it's clear she doesn't know how to turn them off, because even after Kara knows she's an android Kara still has to help Alice not feel cold anymore. Also, this is November in Detroit, in which the average temperature is 42°F (5.6°C). There are also scenes where it is snowing, meaning the temperature is below freezing. Still, despite the temperatures, in some scenes not having a coat, and feeling sick, she says Kara and Luther can't stop because of her, risks her life to save Kara's if you fail QTEs, and says she's "fine" even when she's cold to comfort Kara. So if you think she can be annoying, yeah, all 9-year-olds can be. But if you think she's annoying enough to actually hate her, idek what to say).

In terms of characters that are really unpopular, I actually like Leo. His actions at first are inexcusable. I mean, accusing Carl of loving an android more than hin, insulting Markus and treating him as less than human, threatening him, breaking into Carl's house and attempting to steal his paintings for drug money, and framing Markus for Carl's death leading to him getting shot and nearly killed are obviously not okay things to do. However, he is clearly on drugs, specifically red ice, the most dangerous drug in the world. Also, if you decide to push Markus leading Carl to still be alive, when you return to Carl's house, you can find a message Leo sent to Carl in which he apologizes for everything and promises it won't happen again. In the extras section, you also find out Carl missed out on Leo's whole childhood, only first meeting him once he was much older. Given that Carl spends all of his days pleasantly conversing with Markus while ignoring Leo, not calling him, only talking to Leo once he comes around himself, and doesn't even argue when Leo says Carl doesn't love him, it's almost fair that Leo thinks the way he does. Since he's also high on drugs throughout the story, at least up until Markus gets shot, we also know that the Leo we see isn't the real Leo. Later, if Carl is dead and Markus visits his grave, he encounters Leo again. This time, when Leo sees Markus he is only shocked. Now, off of red ice, not only is he going to see Carl's grave, expressing love for his father, he also doesn't try to hurt Markus, insult him, or anything mean or dehumanizing. His expression lacks any signs of aggression. It was only when he was high that he was such an asshole. Although that doesn't excuse his behavior, it does give a reason for it, and by the end I consider him redeemed.

~~~

Wow... that was a long response to a very short ask. No need to read all that (although I would highly suggest reading my first answer, at least, since that does contain some very relevant points). Although then again, if you've made it here, you've probably already read all that. In which case I would love to hear your opinions if you're willing to share (as well as anyone who sees this!) I guess I just had a lot of opinions that I needed to put out in the world lol, so thank you sm for the ask!!!!! 💛💛💛

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Matchup ♥

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Naruto, One Piece, and Free Match-Up Request

May I request another match-up but for Free, One Piece, and Naruto this time? :) Here’s all my info once more!

Name: Corethra (or Corey for short)

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

Occupation: Hand Packer at an ice cream factory. I work 12 hours (5:30pm to 6am) on a rotating schedule.

Birthplace: Memphis, TN, USA. I was raised in the neighborhood called Frayser which is the most impoverished area in Memphis and has a high crime rate as expected.

Zodiac Sign: Pisces (born March 2) My full birth chart can be found here

Enneagram: 5w6

Chinese Zodiac: Year Of The Pig

MBTI Type: INFJ

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Love Language: Acts Of Service

Race/Ethnicity: African-American

Height: 4'11 (Call me short and I’ll kick your butt!)

Body Type/Shape: Average but well developed figure at best. I weigh about 158 lbs and am pretty insecure about my body. I also have really bad scars on my left arm from being bitten by a dog.

Hair Color/Style: Black and naturally curly but I keep it flat-ironed so it’s straight. It’s long and goes down to just below my shoulder blades. There are times when I will have braids put in of various lengths.

Glasses or No?: Yes I wear glasses

Eye Color: Brown

Dress Style: I usually dress up in a casual way, just throwing on whatever looks good at the time but I will sometimes put in the effort when the time calls for it or when I’m in a good mood. I have an affinity for the punk, emo, and goth styles and I rarely wear feminine clothes but I will wear something risky every once in a while.

Hobbies/Interests: Video games, reading, writing, anime, internet surfing, listening to music, politics (sometimes), watching movies/TV shows, basically being an overall nerd. I’m usually either on my laptop or one of my many video game consoles if I’m not on my phone or reading one of my books.

Dislikes: Ignorance, stupidity, restriction, manipulation/gas-lighting, bullying, humanity, not being understood, corruption/injustice, close-mindedness

Personality: At first glance, I seem quiet and keep to myself, only speaking when I need to or when I’m spoken to. I’m an anti-social introvert to the fullest and don’t care much for small talk or going out. I prefer to have deeper conversations. When I get comfortable enough in whatever environment I’m in, I start to open up bit by bit. I’m a tomboy and pretty rough-minded as well as stubborn. I’m very sassy, have a smart, sarcastic, and witty mouth if not humorous and outrageous at times, can be borderline rude and mean, and I’m more sensitive than I care to be. I can literally cry at someone’s suffering especially if it’s someone I’m close to or even a total stranger. I’m very empathetic and my heart is bigger than what most people would expect. Most people describe me as quiet, intelligent, creative, dorky, a smartass, and really sweet. I love a good laugh and have an open sense of humor to boot.

Many of my friends say that I’m very sweet and kind which I usually am if I’m in a good mood as well as affectionate as hell. Hugs and pet names galore with me! However only my friends and family see that side of me. My language is often unfiltered, harsh, foul, and blunt which shocks people because they think I’m a pure angel. I say what I want when I want and no one tells me otherwise. If they do, they can expect a mouthful from me. I’m an escapist and very imaginative, can be a bit scatterbrained at times, and I’m methodical and detailed to the point of perfectionism. I’m usually a walking contradiction in terms of personality in so many ways to the point where the real me is almost impossible to decipher. To make matters more complicated, I’m not very good at expressing myself verbally and prefer to let my actions do the talking. I also express myself better through written form.

I have many pet peeves and I get annoyed easily in general. I’m also slowly embracing misanthropy and nihilism but I can be pretty idealistic so it balances out. I’m practically zero tolerance when it comes to bullshit. I hate confrontation and conflict but I’m starting to work on it so I can be less passive-aggressive and more assertive. I also wish to stand up for myself more often than I should so people won’t think that I’m weak and an easy target. I’m pretty cynical which is to be expected and usually expect the worst from people. When someone angers me, I will either just withdraw altogether and completely cut them off (slam the door basically) or get in their face and go off before doing the former. I’m the “hold my anger in and release it all at once” type but I hope to change that one day and stop letting things fester before they get out of hand. I can be quite petty and even cold as well and if someone wrongs me, they will have to make the first move to mend fences. I refuse to apologize if I’m not in the wrong and I will not accept gaslighting/guilt tripping. I also refuse to change for others and will admit to having quite a lot of pride but that’s mostly due to me not wanting to be hurt and manipulated, mistreated, or used.

I have issues with trust and a wild imagination to boot. I usually trust my instincts and can see right through bullshit. I don’t like taking risks and I have to know all the details when I do something so I don’t mess up and look like an idiot. I am indeed a perfectionist and introverted to a fault which often prevents me from trying new things and going outside my comfort zone. I haven’t been in a relationship yet and am still a virgin due to my issues with trust and not wanting to be hurt or humiliated as well as being quite picky/perfectionistic with the people I allow in my life. I have high standards for both people and myself although I’m pretty laid-back and my dislike of conflict allows me to also take a lot of shit from people too before I eventually say “fuck it” and slam the door or go off on them. I don’t think very highly of myself and can sometimes fall into a period of self-hatred and self-pity.

Many people praise me for my intelligence which is fitting since I’m an intellectual. My ideals and beliefs are rather odd to say the least (I’m a classical liberal/independent and despise most ideologies/ideas. This includes religion, feminism, social justice, traditionalism, statism, big government, nationalism, socialism/communism, etc.) and I feel misunderstood because of it (mostly because of the black community ostracizing me). I am indeed a rebel, open-minded, and a free thinker. No one tells me how to think or feel or else they face my wrath. I highly value power over myself and I think it’s the most important thing that a person needs in order to survive. I am definitely an outcast at heart and I often distance myself from others and don’t like talking about my feelings or beliefs because I think most people lack the ability/capacity to understand me. Before I give my opinion on something, I like to do as much research as possible as well as look at things from all perspectives before coming to my own conclusion. I don’t mind discussing things but I prefer logic over emotion when doing so which makes it damn near impossible these days for me to have an real conversation without insults and threats being thrown (usually towards me). Chances are I’m gonna find something wrong with damn near anything someone believes in or says and I’m not afraid to call it out when I see it. Once I do open up and express how I feel, the gates of passion will open up and never close. I also have high morals and values and stick to my guns no matter what which can make me pretty stubborn at times.

I’m currently battling depression and often experience many symptoms of it including suicidal thoughts and depression spells. I also suffer from iron-deficiency anemia as well as irregular, prolonged periods. These things are pretty annoying for me to deal with whenever they flare up. 

Overall, I’m pretty crazy and a handful to deal with. Good luck matching me up with someone :P

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Hello @sacredwarrior88 and thank you so much for requesting with us! I am so sorry that this came out so late, but I do hope you enjoy this!

>Admin 𝕋

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

𝐼 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽…

Ace! I feel that you and ace would be such a great couple! He is open minded and kind to others whereas you are the same way! You are passionate like he is, caring like he is, loyal to the bone like he is! He would see you and see your personality and just instantly fall in love you and your personality! Like, I can’t even imagine how much he will want you on his crew, so they he can keep on you and protect you at all times-- though he will soon figure out that you don’t need help, you can take care yourself--which he will find extremely attractive, no doubt about that! 

He will love that fact that you are independent, because he really values individualism and independency, he sees it as a great traits to have. But he will also love the fact that you are sensitive, and can sometimes get into your own  head. He understands that, knows it all too well, so he will try with all his might to try and make sure that you are happy and always smiling! But he will love how fierce you can be to other people, never bowing down to their expectations! 

All in all, I feel like Ace would be a great man for you in the one piece universe! He would be attentive to you, would love your attitude and personality, and would absolutely adore how loyal and strong you are! make sure to love him thoroughly!

Ah, Sai! He is much like Ace, just a little less emotional, which is fine! I feel like you and Sai would make a couple for a couple reasons! He would love how mature you are, and how logical you can be, and-- like ace-- he loves the fact that you are extremely loyal to your friends! That is a true factor in the way he will see you, and it is for the better! He will se how strong you are, emotionally and will be envious and at the same time fascinated! I Feel like Sai will look at you with wide eyes, his breath caught in his throat, his heart beating wildly in his ribcage because he will love you that much! All the things you are interested he will want to hear with enthusiasm, everything you love he will want to learn and hear from you, to get to know you better!

Another thing is that if you were to go to him with your insecurities and how you are battling depression, he will try to understand, and once he does he will try to everything and anything to make sure you feel better! You need a massage? He’s on it! You need cuddles? oh yeah he will give you some! You need chocolate or sweets or anything of the like? He’ll run to the store, and be back 5 minutes tops! 

All in all, I feel like the cool, mature Sai, with a heart of pure gold will be such a good match for you! He will make sure that you uncomfortable with him, he will never want to make you unhappy, and he will definitely do anything i his power to make sure that you will keep on loving him as much as you can!

Rei! Now, with Rei, I wanted to go a more cute route. I feel that Rei would be equal parts and scared and in love with you! He sees how strong you are against people that oppose, he sees how strong you are for your friends, and how you have such a different personality to everybody else around him, and he will immediately fall in with you. Like instantly! To him, you’d be like a beautiful butterfly blooming right in front of him, and he will want to have you all tot himself! Of course, he won’t force you, but he will definitely watch you at a distance longingly!

He is very much an introvert and your calm but strong aura would definitely help with his anxiety! I just see him melting next you, into your lap or shoulder whenever you are around him because he is so comfortable around you. He doesn’t do this with just anybody so it would be a real honor! And when it it comes to your insecurities, he would want to make sure that you know he loves you the way are, and if you were to want to change something about yourself, then he will support you all the way, as long as you are happy! He will just love that you are such a freethinker and so openminded about things, so unlike him!

All in all, I feel like Rei would love you and (somewhat) idolize because you have all these traits that he would love to have. This perfectionist will understand how it feels to be such a perfectionist and will want to help you with that too! He will love to the moon and back(stroke)!

[the-wanted-man]

The Ex-Con | ‘Lawrence’ ⌐ LFRP

THE BASICS –––

Name: Roman “Lawrence” Wyld In-Game: The Outlaw

Age: 25

Nameday:  Uncelebrated or unremembered. (29th Sun/4th Umbral Moon.)

Born:  The New World (Raised in Garlemald)

Race: Hyur - Whalaqee & Garlean

Gender: Male.

Alignment: Chaotic Good w/occasional deviation towards what feels good.

Marital Status: Easy come, easy go.

Orientation: Poly. Mostly straight. 

Server: Balmung

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE –––

Hair:  Short to Mid length and unkempt. Dark brown w/ white highlights.

Eyes: Silver. A swirling mix of mercury and ash.

Height: 6′3

Weight: 238 lbs

Distinguishing Marks: A long scar over his left eye reaching brow to cheek. Various other mappings of scars across his body. Particularly stabbings, bullet wounds, and burns.

Build: He’s tall, almost lanky for a normal hyur with strong shoulders that slope downward over a broad chest. His waist is tapered, his legs are long. His hands calloused. Both his weight and musculature are practically built, and his lifestyle keeps him lean like a coyote with a noticeable lack of fat to spare. If he missed a meal he’d surely feel it. He seems the type for dexterous tasks, but carries deceptive strength.

Common Accessories: Two loaded six shooters, a cutlass or his Gunblade. A bowie knife/ hatchet, some lock picking & whittling tools. Paracord or rope. Extra revolver cartridges (regular and aether loaded). A deck of cards numbering 51, or magitek dice for recreation. Magitek gizmos. Peanuts, Cigarettes, a flask of whiskey. A single tarot card (The Star), kept in his left breast pocket. A red bandana. Compass / Pocket Watch. An eagle totem necklace. (2) multitools: one with eating utensils, bottle/wine opener, and knife. The other with Magitek specialty tools. A big, gold belt buckle. A cowboy hat, usually dark. Wolf fang earrings. (1) perfectly weighted coin.

PERSONAL –––-

Profession: Handyman. Gun-for-hire. Gardening & Gravedigging. Naturalist & Survivalist.

Hobbies: Finger dexterity puzzles. Card games. Gambling. Sketching, whittling.

Languages: Common. Garlean. Whalaqee. Some Ishgardian.

Residence(s): Nomadic, favors Wellwick Woods and the Burning Wall. Any wild will do though. Has an unknown location of interest in the deep Shroud.

Religion:  His religion has no name.

Patron Diety / Spiritual Guide: The Wanderer  | The Eagle

Fears: Cleithrophobia. He’ll get really freaked out if he thinks he’s stuck somewhere.

Distinguishing Traits: A rural drawl that lilts and flows.

Relationships ––– -

Spouse: Never. 

Parents:  Augustus cen Ferox & Valentina wir Maximian

Siblings: An older half-brother, Leviticus wir Maximian

Other Relatives: Cousins he’s not close to.

Pets: No pets, just all manners of beasts both companionable and not.          • A paint mustang named Trigger          • A multi-colored dog w/ no name yet.

Traits ––– -

*doing something a bit different

5 Positive Traits (Generally beneficial)

Truthful • Hardworking • Easy going • Agreeable • Optimistic

5 Neutral Traits (Can be good or bad)

Lustful • Restless • Pensive • Observant • Trusting  

5 Problematic Traits (Generally never good)

Mercurial • Irritable • Reckless • Trigger Happy • Indulgent

RP Hooks ––�� –

Past History: Lawrence has had a variety of names and sobriquets he’s gone by. He’s wandered wide and far. Significant history points can be from his growing up in Garlemald, or his crash landing in Eorzea. He’s been imprisoned in several Eorzean Gaols, and has had cellmates. He’s saved and helped commoners and utilizes allies to do that as well. He robs the rich and gives to the poor.

Present Hooks:  He can meet people just about anywhere and will generally be found getting up to trouble, or working his way there. Known to be an ex-convict of some caliber. Can more commonly be found out in the wilds, but on occasion hits cities and residential zones. He’s been known to pick fights with bullies, and be fairly helpful. Clever minds and observant eyes can likely piece his bounties together to determine his identity, or recognize him from some old wanted board.

Hiring Hooks: As an ex-convict, he’s in constant need of employment and is more than willing to work. He’s got a wide set of skills that are largely based in that of a naturalist and outdoorsman. He’s also a fine craftsman, and has been known to tend estate gardens and gravedig for local churches. He can be consulted for knowledge on the flora and fauna of the land, as well as knowledge on native beast tribes and their relations with other spoken.

Ally Hooks : He’s in constant need of healing and safe spaces, given his ongoing fugitive status. ‘I need healing’ would be a common phrase from him if he was an NPC. He can always use teachers or mentors to help him learn more - particularly when it comes to magic, aetherology, and demonology/voidsent. Posse members, and people who do crime for good reasons can become fast allies. Closer relationships can be talked down like family, or ex loves, etc.

Friction Hooks:  I always welcome friction. Not every interaction is a great one and I like to embrace these ideas on an IC level. He could certainly use some rivals, or people with conflicting mentalities to him such as bounty hunters, corrupt officials (or lawful ones), bullies, villains. People that can challenge him, his morals, his limits, etc. As long as the dynamic isn’t one sided. The goal here isn’t ultimate capture or ultimate defeat to me but rather the growth developed through antagonistic engagements.

Contact Information  ––– –

Discord: Message me here first and I’ll pass it.

Additional OOC: 

Shipping: I prefer slow burn ships for anything specifically serious and won’t jump into ERP with anyone unless it makes sense story wise. Even then, FTB is a high possibility with strangers. Sorry. Additionally, Roman is poly and will be unlikely to solo-ship. 

Will Nots: I don’t engage in explicit self-harm/suicide/extreme depression storylines or scenes of sexual violence/abuse. Vague references or allusions I’ll deal with, but prefer any explicit detail 1000 miles awaaaaaaaaay. 

Boundaries: I like making friends and highly value platonic relationships IC and OOC. That said, I am skittish and will cut engagements if I feel discomforted by something. This includes the pushing of character boundaries I’ve established as not possible without my consent. Please, if I have discussed something as a lacking possibility, do not keep suggesting it. 

Communication. This is big for me. I will speak up if uncomfortable, and encourage the same! This is a definite requirement if we’re doing deeper plotlines. I don’t need to be talked to every day, just let me know if something’s up so I can adjust. We’re all here to have fun! 

Health & Scheduling: I have a pretty shit schedule being an essential worker and all, on top of being PST. 44 hours a week without a phone, no less.  Mon-Thur I’m basically non-existent until the weekends and these will be the days I am not as talkative/active. Coupling that with chronic pain and mental health that is also affected by my job, some days I am just not capable of being around. I try to be up front about this. I don’t always have the energy. If I’ve dropped off, there’s a high chance my health took a serious dive and I just can’t bring myself to be about. All I ask is patience. Move on if you need to, but don’t be a jerk! 

[duhragonball]

Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 41-44

THERE’S A LONDON CONFLAYRATION OF SAVINGS AT MENARDS!

Okay, these next four chapters each have their own title, so these are “The Screamer”, “Aubird Force”, “Gun Bullet” and “Baloon Fight”.   Seriously?  “Gun Bullet?”  I looked it up and yeah, it’s the name of a video game, like “Baloon Fight” and “Final Fantasy” and so forth, but it’s a stupid title.  

Anyway, Milennium invaded London last time, and Alexander Anderson showed up with a contingent of assassins from Section XIII, the Iscariot Organization. They were ordered to stay out of the conflict, but Anderson found Sir Integra cornered by Nazi Vampires and just couldn’t stay out of it. 

Meanwhile, Iscariot’s leader, Bishop Enrico Maxwell, is chillaxing on the coast of France.    Specifically, he’s on the opposite side of the Strait of Dover, which I guess puts him near the town of Calaism which is as close as he can be to London without leaving Continental Europe.   Point here is that he’s been monitoring the Millennium invasion of England very closely, at least when he’s not taking a nap.  

One of his aides wakes him up to inform him of recent developments, including a vampire attack in the White House.  We don’t get a lot of details, but apparently Millennium got a Presidential aide to sell out their country in exchange for that sweet, sweet artificial vampirism, and they became a sleeper agent for the Major.  When I watched the OVA in 2016, I remembered some mention about something going on in the USA, but it wasn’t Millennium opening up a second front, it was just an isolated vampire attack designed to keep the U.S. distracted from the invasion of London.  

And I guess this explains all those arrows on the big world map in the Major’s blimp.   His true objective has always been Alucard, and the attack on London is part of that plan, so everything else we’ve seen has simply been a means to achieve that end.  Earlier, the Major claimed that his Last Batallion of 1000 vampire soldiers was the equal to an army of one million humans, but they’re still not unbeatable.  If the RAF had managed to shoot down those blimps over the Atlantic, that would have put an end to their little pary before it could start, and if the U.K.’s allies could send in some bombers, they could neutralize Millennium pretty quickly, even if it meant turning London into a crater.   At this point I’m not sure there’s much left of London to save anyway.  

But the Major took all of this into account, and that’s why he set up all these sleeper agents to activate at the decisive moment.    They disrupted communications across Great Britain, and they threw the U.S. into utter chaos, preventing Britain’s staunchest ally from interfering.  It’s probably safe to assume that they did the same thing with other NATO member nations as well.  

Maxwell isn’t too concerned about the United States because it’s just one vampire, and he’s already got people on the scene to take out that vampire if and when the situation gets out of hand.    See, Iscariot is the Catholic counterpart to England’s Hellsing.   They’re also a secret anti-monster force, but in this situation, Maxwell isn’t in any hurry to respond to this crisis.   As far as he’s concerned, this whole Millennium invasion works to his favor, so he’s letting things play out for as long as it continues to suit his interests.

And so we have in the Hellsing story this threefold conflict.    The Major’s Millennium vs. Maxwell’s Iscariot vs. Hellsing’s uh, Hellsing.   In theory, Hellsing and Maxwell should be on the same side, but in practice they’re bitter rivals, owing to the schism between Catholics and Protestants.   Early in the story, we learned that there was a treaty between Iscariot and Hellsing, with each side respecting the other’s jurisdiction, but places like Northern Ireland are a grey area, and zealots like Anderson and Maxwell aren’t always respectful of the agreements, since they deem Protestants as heathens beneath contempt.   The difference between Maxwell and Anderson is that Anderson has a sense of honor, which is why he respects Alucard and Sir Integra as warriors, if not allies.  

Maxwell, on the other hand, is solely interested in power.   He sees the carnage unfolding in London and seeks only to use this as a way to invade Britain and claim it for the Vatican.  It’s an interesting development, because he was the one who seemed so outraged by the traitors within the Church who helped Millennium during World War II.   Through his inaction, he’s helping Millennium today, but he doesn’t see any moral problem with that, because he’s still loyal to the Vatican in his efforts.  

So Maxwell’s ultimate goal here is to invade England himself, and he’s got an army of troops to do it.    I don’t know why they’re all dressed like Klansmen.   I could probably find out what these guys’ exact role is in this fantasy version of the Catholic Church, but suffice to say that these are roughly 3000 humans armed with anti-vampire weapons collected by Iscariot’s sister organization, Section III, the Matthew Organization.   Together, they declare themselves as the Ninth Crusade, and Maxwell is promoted to Archbishop as he assumes command of the force.   “Ninth Crusade” is based on the historical Crusades during the 11th, 12th, and 13th Centuries.    The numbering of the Crusades is kind of subjective, but the 8th Crusade was in 1270, and I guess Kouta Hirano decided that this was the last one that counted, so Maxwell’s party is number 9.

One matter does give Maxwell pause: a report comes in that the H.M.S. Eagle is slowly moving towards London.   Recall that Alucard is stuck on the Eagle, and both Millennium and Maxwell seem to have written him off, but now he’s heading back to England.   

But Maxwell isn’t worried because he also knows his advance squad, led by Anderson, has captured Sir Integra, and she’s Alucard’s master, so that ought to be enough to neutralize him.   Uh, not sure that’s how it works, but okay.   He orders his troops to proceed with his plan.

Back in London, Anderson’s team have killed the Millennium troops who were threatening Sir Hellsing, but they lost about half of their guys in the battle.   Heinkel Wolfe wants to take Hellsing captive, but she refuses to submit to them, and doesn’t care that Heinkel is holding a gun on her.   Yumi suggests tying Integra up, but Anderson won’t have that.   He even goes so far as to order his team to escort Integra back to her home.   

Speaking of Integra’s home, it’s under attack.   Zorin Blitz has been sent to Hellsing Manor, but her orders were to wait.   She watches as the Major fires V1 rockets at the house, but then the rockets all get shot out of the sky.    What’s happening to all the rockets?

Um, this happened, you Nazi assholes.   Seras Victoria’s up on the roof, shooting anti-aircraft guns like they’re small pistols.   Because she has vampire strength, you see. Also keen vampire aim, too.  

Downstairs, the Wild Geese are defending the building, and she and Pip Bernadotte banter back and forth.    Not sure why the manga translation calls him “Vernedead”.   Is that even close to a real name? 

Blitz realizes that they won’t last long against Seras’ firepower, so if the blimp is going to crash, it might as well crash straight into Hellsing HQ.  

Except Seras shoots grenade launchers at the blimp, causing it to crash before it can get close to the building.    Don’t fuck with Seras, is the moral of this story.

I’m a little confused about Zorin’s actions here.    I thought she was directly ordered not to attack, but then the Major fired on the manor instead, so that was what she was supposed to wait for, wasn’t it?    Any action she took afterward was in self-defense, as Seras would have shot her blimp out of the air whether Zorin attacked or not.    But I’m pretty sure Zorin defied the Major’s orders here, although I’m not quite sure how.   

Then again, she does lead a ground attack on the Hellsing HQ next time, so this alone might be what the Major warned her about.    We’ll get there when we get there.