#chatacter analysis

[oblique-lane]

idk if youve done it yet but i would actually lose my mind if you did an analysis for demo

Aye aye captain 🫡 Time to overdramatize again!

Let's address Demo's wounds

(Demo's backstory was changed through the years but I'm sticking to the older version because I find it more grounded)

Demoman's story is easily one of the most tragic of all the mercs. Imagine you have been abandoned from birth, your parents simply rejected you for what you are. But luckily you have been adopted by some good people who replaced your parents and made you a relatively happy child.

And then you accidentally kill them. You're 6 years old. How does that feel?

I can't even imagine how a child's brain can't comprehend the idea of being a murderer. It was an accident, of course, they were blown up by a big explosion he created (genius kid found out how to do that, huh?) but still. His parents were dead and he knew it was his own fault. He learned he was dangerous as he is.

How was it like pondering about it in the orphanage?.. "I didn't want this! I want to go back and fix it, I'm so sorry", something like that. But he couldn't go back in time, so being covered in such an avalanche of guilt, he learned he needs to repress himself.

Demo have always had an explosive temper (no pun intended), it was his true nature, pure emotion: if he's happy, it's 100%; if he's angry, it's a full blown storm. If he loves, he loves with all of his heart, and he has a big one.

Living on the impulse, all or nothing, that crucial accident revealed that letting his true nature go will only end up as destruction in the end. Irreparable damage.

We don't know what exactly was happening to him during his orphanage years, but if I'm to guess, repressing everything about him: his interests, his character, his whole nature, was a thing to choose. He thought that he had to become still and quiet as to not to repeat that kind of tragedy ever again. He probably didn't have people to be friends with either, either because people rejected him for his past, or he avoided them himself due to his internalized shame, at least that's a guess.

But everything repressed returns to the surface sooner or later. As a child, living for so long under overwhelming guilt, grief, hate, pain and sadness, under the skies that are almost never sunny in a all-year-long damp and coldness of the Ullapool. Incomprehensibly grey. It was depriving.

He was always fascinated with explosions. He didn't touch it for a long time, but maybe something like seeing fireworks again one day made something inside him tremble... And to remember.

Explosions. Launch... Acceleration... Release. And every time the release happens, his soul fills with excitement, the body feels lighter and shivers go up the spine. Release happens inside his head too, for the explosions make his worries and pain go away for a moment.

He couldn't find another way to release his bottled up emotions, so gradually he returned to make explosives again.

It was something like an addiction. Similar to pyromania, except no one bothered to research this one. At the moment of explosion he could let his anger out, he could scream, he could run around freely, he could sense heat in his chest; he could be himself. As he once was.

Everything was cold. But the explosions were hot.

He thought it was under control, just a little bit of KABOOM after school, but he craved more and more every time, more vivid, more violent...

That's how he lost his eye. (...Was it a subconscious act of selfharm?)

The missing eye was a forever reminder of how deviated he actually was. He learned that he couldn't repress or change what he truly is - a monster. A Black Scottish Cyclops, wether it were his peers who called him like that or he himself, out of misery. There was indeed something seriously wrong with him.

It seemed like the only thing he was capable of is destruction. Destruction is the only environment he's comfortable with. Peace was always so anxious and depriving, and breaking things felt calming, so he figured it must be right.

And then his birth mother came and took him back, "now that's he's a worthy DeGroot". It was unexpected but... Pleasant. So he wasn't THAT worthless after all, huh? Turns out, it was really familial, the destruction thing. At least he found out that there was a reason behind all of this.

His new mom was, saying honestly, pretty cruel with words. She was not at all gentle, she was very strict, demanding and straight up abusive. It was never enough for her no matter what Demo did. She didn't want results from his work, she's just always wanted to mess with his brain.

And for whatever reason... This setup felt right for him. To be thrown around like that, to be humiliated harshly, it felt fitting, it wasn't causing anxiety or anything. He has to be a scapegoat, he had to forget about being a child and to start working as an adult, at the same time somehow replacing a father he still didn't have, but it felt good enough. Confusing relationships felt good enough.

Destruction was his habitat, and his heart could no longer accept anything else.

Cruelty wasn't warm though, just familiar, just an environment to not to go insane. But he craved warmness so badly... Yet every time he would get close to someone and receive a little gentleness and care, it would feel sickening. It felt unnatural, it reminded him of his lost parents and of everything that's wrong about him.

The only warmness his body could accept was alcohol, making him bubbly and comfortable and relaxed. He almost felt normal, happy even. Alcohol heat made him melt, and he felt so fulfilled as if he was in paradise, back to the womb.

Yet after the effect wears off, he feels lonely as ever. Quickly, existing without alcohol becomes pain. Existing at all. He became an addict.

Not that everyone he met rejected him, rather, he subconsciously reached out to those who would be cruel to him. Again, gentleness hurts wether he knows it or not. He's only good in destruction.

Lonely and clingy, ready to overshare, overall mess yet carrying a big baggage of love that has no one to give it to. Maybe because he can't give it to himself in the first place. There's so many issues unresolved because he can't handle them alone, yet there's no one to help since he was already trapped in a closed circuit of self sabotage.

He will keep acting like a party beast, always crazily emotional and overdone upbeat, a simple drunken man who will not be taken seriously that way. Maybe that's what he wanted, to not be seen as deep by anyone for not be reminded of his misery once again.

Seems like we bought that too.

...

The enemy Soldier might be an exception though. The man he really treasures his friendship with turned out to be an enemy; repeating the rule again: it's only acceptable when dangerous. Soldier deeply cares for Demo, however he's not gentle or pitying, he's as destructive and explosive as Demo is, and these two are a very rare perfect combination of destructing each other in the act of love. Both broken beyond repair, soul on soul, forever to be misunderstood by the outsiders. This is something about this relationship that looks like a golden lining.

They will not fix each other, but they sure are going to have a good time!

[nerdyboiyeet]

Parallels I Noticed Between Leo and Prime!!

I've seen many people say that Big Mama is Leo's worst enemy/villain when they got upset with him being paired with one of the Sando brothers.

(Which, obviously she wasn't gonna pair herself with him, but shhhh, another time, Nerdy)

And I agree. . .sorta. She was his worst enemy/villain originally.

But here's what I see when it comes to that. Assigning someone a set villain or enemy typically means at least one of three things can be made; A foil, a connection/comparison, or a parallel.

Raph and Ghost bear? He's Raph's idol, they're both big characters, both rush in and fight, and both solve problems with punching (brawns over brain)

Donnie and Kendra? Both scientific geniuses with a love of purple, both clearly seek some kind of validation and both want their intentions to be seen (think about it- they could stop each other with a tiny robot/invisible device but they wanna be seen doing it instead of using logic :\)

Mikey and Meatsweats? Both love cooking, Meatsweats is Mikey's idol, and both of them are willing to do crazy things for cooking/keeping a kitchen

Now let's go onto the parallels!! May mental health issues ensue!! :)

Prime and Leo have waaaaay too much in common. In fact, it's kinda crazy how many similarities they have.

1- Both use strategy to keep their siblings safe without ever pointing it out

Leo knows what all his family is capable of and how to keep them out of trouble;

“Yeah, go home on a stretcher.”

“And you promised to stop eating our Halloween candy!”

“I knew we couldn't trust spider lady!”

“Hero moves are totally your style.”

And the list goes on and on. Point is- Leo knows his family and actively tries to keep them out of danger and trouble, and his family has no clue.

The same way Prime knows his siblings' capabilities and actively tries to keep them out of danger and trouble, and they definitely got no clue;

He keeps Three by his side nearly the entire length of the movie or close by

He never sends either Two or Three off to fight by themselves, in fact, the one time he has is after their super powerful ship has gotten through and his sister is in a powerful mech suit

It seems like he makes them retreat when they get injured; Two is brought back after her eye is screwed up, and he allows her to fight again only after she's got a giant army with her or her mech

He only let them fight in the first place after sealing off the boys Ninpō and fought them himself

In the bad timeline, you see this;

Look closely!! Two very distinct mech suits out there. Two and Three are out fighting while surrounded by other troops, beneath the Technodrome and victory is absolutely guaranteed.

(There's also a lot more of the three being evil/laughing together in scrapped story boards, but it's too early for me to go searching for them.)

It's something they both try to hide from them/keep under cover.

Cause if they find out? How much they care. . .

What would that mean then?

In Prime's case; A sign of weakness, a way to exploit him.

In Leo's case; What if they don't trust me? What if they expect more from me?

2- Both hide behind a mask of arrogance/ego

Now, it's a bit different for them.

Leo fakes most of his arrogance/ego. Don't get me wrong, he definitely thinks of himself as the most beautiful, but the majority of his bravado is false.

In Prime's case, the majority of his arrogance and ego is genuine, he truly believes he's the best. But when he's proven wrong- he desperately tries to hide behind his typical arrogance.

Leo hides behind witty remarks and deflection, no one sees him cry or be upset. (If I'm not wrong, I think one of the only times you ever see him genuinely cry is when he's alone in the prison dimension)

Prime hides behind rage and strength when he falls/is upset. (“YOU WRETCHED, LITTLE, PEST!” “WIPE THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE!”)

Both want to stop whatever has upset/reminds them of their failures ASAP.

Leo rushes in to try and get the key, save Raph, and stop the Kraang. He forgets any strategy in his panic and fear to fix his failure.

Prime rushes in with ruthless blows and sharp words. Desperate to crush the pest that ruined his plans, that caused his downfall, that he was too cocky to take seriously.

Both fail because they were too arrogant.

But here's the difference- Leo stops his arrogance which leads to him succeeding, Prime's so arrogant he fails. Which is where the foil between them comes through;

Prime lost because he was too cocky to stop the sword. You can not convince me that wasn't on purpose/to mock his sword throw.

Leo lost because he was too cocky (or at least trying to seem that way) to not rush in and try to get the key himself/to listen to his team

The foil between them stems from Leo learning and being willing to change, whereas Prime attempts to double down on things.

And now for a comparison that's gonna rock your world :,)

3- They react the EXACT same way when they get upset/have hit their limit.

Both of them freeze when they've realized they've messed up/something goes wrong/it all becomes too much

Look at that. Both just. . .froze. They both look a mix of horrified and stunned. Both just freeze to process everything, the fact that they both failed.

And when that freeze is over, they react the same way too;

That shock, that disbelief, that fear, that misery is promptly replaced by rage.

They both immediately lash out at whoever they believe caused that problem, or reminds them of it, despite BOTH knowing that they only have themselves to blame.

In Leo's case- He rushed in, but immediately goes after Casey (you can't convince me that if Donnie and Mikey weren't there that he wouldn't have hurt him in some way)

In Prime's case- He took them all as a joke/let his arrogance keep him from just defeating them (He toyed with them/mocked them/watched them fight the entire time instead of stepping in and taking it seriously)

They both freeze when things go wrong, and immediately switch to rage when it's been processed that they've failed/messed up.

Some more parallels, that I found interesting!!! ;)

1- Prime only locks away their powers after fighting Leo. He fought all of them at once, but only locked their powers away after fighting Leo specifically. He also seemed to be the only one he actively struggled with fighting

2- In discarded storyboards, Prime is missing a tentacle (it's definitely implied to be because of Leo) and future Leo is missing an arm

3- Both of them get the red glowy glow to their eyes;

I know that's more stylistic, but I thought it was cool.

All in all, they both have a lot of similarities to each other. They share their worst traits, yet also share their best ones; strategy, being cunning, smart, speed, etc.

Some real good angst opportunity then, on either side, just with the simple;

I'm just like him.

[xshybutdeadlyx]

Just gonna be a big rant of word vomit.

Please note I'm not trying to attack anyone I'm just kinda laying my feelings out.

I kinda wonder why I bother with Fandoms. I rarely act in any fandoms I'm hyperfixating over but for hazbin hotel I thought why not. But to the surprise of no one it is just like every other Fandom with backhanded comments always being tossed around. And most of it is centered around the character Alastor which I get but God it's giving me anxiety.

Like right now I'm seeing the a divide on the possibility of him having a kinship with the people of the hotel. Personally I think he does or more like did but he's going back to his roots of keeping everyone at an arms length and using them because of his defeat by the hands of Adam. But I personally think those feelings can resurface, but it's gonna be a battle to do so. But I am seeing a lot that people don't believe those feelings were ever there. He really is just a cold heartless bastard who has a God complex and is just mad he lost and that's it. And I feel like that is also correct. But I don't think that makes my hypothesis or how I feel I read the scene wrong? But I've seen people say "if you think this certain way then you are show illiterate and you don't know his character and IM the only one who understands him!" Like....OK? That's the beautiful thing about any piece of literature characters and scenes, anyone can interpret it in so may different ways and it doesn't make anyone wrong. So can't we all just have our own interpretation and just gush over it instead of scoffing at people who didn't see the same thing you saw?

As for shipping, that's a whole monster within its own. I personally don't think anyone is entitled to dictate what someone can and can't do with pixilated characters. I honestly very much understand that Alastor is a big deal considering he's aroace, and that doesn't get enough media representation. And I respect the hell out of it. But I'll also in the same breath say I'm a shipper. I love staticradio because I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers trope. In canon, I want Alastor to keep being the beautiful dick head he is that just has gossip tea parties with Rosie and just doesn't have those romantic or sexual urges. In fanon, though, anyone can really do what they want. I think as long as there aren't death threats or literal force being used to make the creator of the show force Alastor into a relationship I don't think theirs anything in fanon that should be taken seriously when canon is right there glaring everyone in the face. If people wanna keep the "relationship" one-sided? Awesome. If they want Alastor to smooch someone? Cool. They want him to rawdog or get raw dogged by someone. Hey, power to ya, just put it in the tags so people can steer clear of it if they don't wanna see that. I see many people saying it's erasure, but I just don't see how it's erasure when it's still there in canon. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, can erase Alastor, who is a sassy aroace king. I can't say I don't understand the mentality, though. As a bisexual woman myself, I see fanfics where bi characters are labeled straight or lesbian/gay completely, ignoring that who they date doesn't make them, neither straight nor gay. It does sting and leave a bad taste but again they can say that, they can write all they want and if it's cathartic for them then ok more power to em because at the end of the day that character is still bisexual they didn't erase it. Usually, people are good at tagging, so if they do make them one way or the other, i dont read or look at the art. It's very easy to scroll down. Sometimes i see it repedidly, but that's what blacklisting is for too. There are many countermeasures. Plus, a lot of things are all in good fun or just canon divergence. People can be creative and play with different ideas. "What if a character was like that!?" "What if they do this!?" "What if this happened instead, and it changed their whole character!?" That's what's supposed to be fun about being in fandoms. Everyone is entitled to feel how they feel. You're allowed to not like something. But I don't think you're allowed to make other people feel like shit because they go against canon, or more precisely, against your views. I genuinely don't think anyone ever means disrespect. All they want to do is have fun and create along with like-minded individuals. You're allowed to not like something. Hell, I don't like Vox and Val together, and that shits canon, but that just means I ain't gonna actively seek it out. (I personally ship Valentino with a bug zapper.)

All in all I just want everyone to feel safe and just have fun because I've just seen so many people to scared, me included, to do anything in the Fandom in fear of getting attacked and that's mostly what's been really eating away at me. But at the end of the day, this IS the internet, and discourse is basically its bread and butter.

Like I said though this is mostly just a vent post but I wouldn't mind to hear others thoughts if you're willing. I know I just probably talked out of my ass for forever. At the end of the day we are just all apart of this silly little Fandom of silly little demon people and we should all just be having fun look at what we like, write/draw what we want. It's exhausting spending energy like anger and malice, we should just focus on the things that matter to us and the things we like and just enjoy it for however long the hyperfixation lasts. Nobody is wrong. Nobody is right. we are just creators or people on here to just escape for a little bit and connect with a show or characters that resonate with us.

Ok for reals this time peace ✌️ if you made it this far and actually read everything I had to say thank you, you're a trooper. I hope I didn't offend anyone since that was not my intent. I just had a lot of feelings and I'd rather we all get along then tear each other apart.

[sleazyjester]

this is why i consider him to be one of the most tragic characters in the series. sure, you can't compare him to fiddleford but i still find it all pretty sad because it isn't as "in your face". mabel is what stan could've been if people supported him, and i find it so sweet to see that he recognised this talent within her and doesn't see it beneath what dipper has to offer. dipper and mabel are both amazing in their own way, and that's what he failed to see within himself, hating ford out of jealousy.

i just like to think where he could've ended up if his bravado were to be real and not just a facade. if he had the confidence to let his creativity roam free, find meaning within it and not wrap it up as a farce or a way to take advantage of people.

most of his life, his purpose was to come up with the most absurd ways of taking people's money. whenever they would fall for his traps, stan would call them "idiots", and that's how he subliminally viewed his work. if idiots liked it, then it was only worth so much. (or little)

so painful to think about tiny stan pines liking to draw and being so inventive and creative while thinking of himself as "a dumb idiot" and "the stupid twin"

[mochizuke-creates]

If anyone ever wonders what enriching things get talked about in my lies of P server, it’s this.

[critespranberry8]

All logic dictates that Monty should be my favourite animatronic in Security Breach but he's just too dumb and one dimensional for me to care past 'haha he funny and stupid.'

He's green, which is my favourite colour. I love his design probably the most, since upon playing Security Breach, The Daycare attendant did not appeal to me so much anymore.

He's an alligator, the animal which I have loved since I was a child, and since had a crazy resurgence of fixation upon, and Gator Golf is my absolute favourite attraction in the Pizzaplex.

It's such a shame they nerfed him and gave the least on-screen character development or character, at all.

Sure, in the notes he's part of a big, unraveling mystery of where the hell Glamrock Bonnie is and that had people talking. The Golf arcade game also showed a consistent pattern of male-alligator-typical behaviour of competition, territorialism and a sustained idea that bringing others down to further his own success is something deep within his coding.

Yet still, with the other animatronics like Chica and Roxanne, we are shown, not soley told about their behaviors and motivations.

Roxanne laments over her eyes, Chica gobbles down trash. The two instances we are given of Monty having any near-adjacent desires or personality, are him off-camera trashing his green room and one instance of bashing in a gun in the catwalks cutscene.

We aren't explicitly shown any abbrasiveness towards other males, or unwillingness to work with others and do his own thing.

This could have been remedied by having him walk out of certain tasks when it becomes too bothersome looking for Gregory or pursuing him, e.g. for the Prize Counter security badge, he cpuld get outraged and start furiously banging on the doors, yelling to be let in, before walking off.

The same could also be implemented for obtaining the showtime disk. They could've utilised the backstage space you see into at this moment to show Monty pacing around, rampaging and trashing every piece of equipment in sight, maybe ranting and raving over how Freddy seemingly isn't pitching in and doing as much work to find this kid running around backstage.

Monty could even launch with his powerful back legs, up at the window you view the backstage area from, and gouge at the glass. Or comedically smash face first? Maybe it could be used as a Map Bot-style jumpscare which truly takes you by surprise?

He was just so underutilised and I'm a little upset thinking about what could have been. They didn't have to make him something he's not, merely show what an interesting and accurate-to-animal character they created.

[millennial-crone-ao3]

My Little Thought Tree does the best character and episode analysis, imo. Perfection.

‘Cersei and Joffrey and the general trauma Sansa suffers leads her down a path of hating herself in the same way Cersei does; hating her naivety, partly wanting to shame others who are still like that as a means to project it outwards and yet she never quite does. And not only is that a triumph of her empathy in the face of her situation but it is also a triumph of belief in herself; still seeing goodness within herself rather than just something to shame and attack the way everyone makes her internalise. If these other people deserve empathy, even when part of her does feel the opposite, if they still deserve empathy, so does she. I think all of this tells us she did have a lot of loving experiences from her parents growing up. That as much as she might feel self-hatred a lot of the time there is still a little voice in there saying ‘no you deserve more, you are more than they say.’ At many points it’s a very faint, faint voice in this story but what’s important is that it is there.’

Oh my god. He gets it. I really think the entire asoiaf fandom should watch this video. I mean, op is a child therapist - of course he has a better grasp of her complexity than half the freaking fandom.

[shadowthehedgehog]

i know theres a lot of debate of whether messmer loved or hated marika and marika either loved or hated messmer and unfortunately im a neutral ass bitch and i think its both. I like to think that messmer truly loved marika and was devoted to her but grew so resentful and bitter over being left in the shadow realm but he cant help but still love and devote himself to her because. well thats his mom. and in turn marika loved messmer. thats her first born and he committed all those atrocities in her name and she loves him for it but theres no longer a place for him in her rule. power makes people cruel.

[killugon-truther]

i wish there was more killua and gon/killugon media (fanfics, playlists, etc.) that focused more on gon’s POV, thoughts, and personal feelings instead of just killua’s.

don’t get me wrong, i absolutely love & thoroughly enjoy killua’s POV— it’s one of my favorite things abt hxh— but gon’s is just as emotional, loving, and important, and i feel like it gets glossed over and forgotten a LOT due to multiple factors, such as the fact that we don’t get a lot of gon’s internal thoughts the way we get so many of killua’s and that gon’s complexities & deep inner struggles/doubts are just more difficult to read than killua’s.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven, hope your doing well. I was rewatching book 5 and something struck me. Crowly stills does his thing to get yuu/mc to host the NRC tribe at Ramshackle. But compare to previous chapters hes seems a little nicer, i guess? He offering renovations and upgrades ( a positive), instead of just threatening to cut yuu's food budget or something (a negative).

Where im going with this is, do you think Crowley may have felt a tiny tinge for his (in) action in book 4? Or atleast, realized he actually screwed up. He did give Yuu in case of an emergency.... and promptly ignored it (or just turned it off) when he went on break. He likely had to have heard what happened over the break...an likely saw his missed calls and put 2 and 2 together. Sure he may not feel bad enough to apologize (at least openly), but he does seem to make himself scarce early in b5. That could just be him being, well, the headmage. Maybe he's just not sure how to deal with MC or how they'd react to seeing him? So instead of threatening Yuu, he offers them something instead? Idk, maybe im reaching. Crowley relationship with Yuu is complicated. I do like to believe he has some empathy or regret (or maybe he just has more respect for yuu by b5?) After everything up to that point

Like i said, i may be reaching here. Wanted to get your input. Sorry for the long ask. Have a good one :)

In many fandom depictions of Crowley, he often serves as Yuu's guardian who is incompetent but well-meaning. I'm also guilty of doing this, Crowley is considered my OC's father figure (even if my OC isn't a Yuu). That's how we choose to engage with the characters and the world that we love! However, I don't believe that Crowley has that sort of tenderness for Yuu in canon, whether at the start or as their relationship develops over the course of the main story. Now, that's not to say that I think Crowley is cold or hateful towards Yuu. Far from it! He does care for them, but in the same way that a teacher might care about nurturing their students and preparing them for the world beyond graduation. Crowley demonstrates a similar attitude towards other NRC students, with one very clear example being in his Raven Jacket vignettes. In those stories, he likens his students to apple trees that he raises and nurtures, hoping that one day they might bear fruit. He does not particularly grant Yuu special treatment unless it's a scenario where he wants them to do a favor for him. (Though here I would also argue he does the same for other students when he wants them to resolve an issue in his place, which happens frequently in event stories; in Fairy Gala, he warns the boys they'll be held back if classes cannot proceed due to the wacky weather. In Ghost Marriage, Crowley shames the boys for not expressing interest in rescuing Idia, etc.)

I also want to set the record straight regarding how exactly Crowley gets Yuu to comply with his requests. Reviewing all avaliable books in the main story, Crowley rarely outright threatens Yuu if they refuse to help him:

Prologue — Crowley does not initially ask anything of Yuu, but he does provide them a temporary home and food until they can sort something out. During Yuu's stay, they are meant to do handiwork to earn their keep. However, Crowley tries to expel them after their involvement in breaking what is considered a precious chandelier. In this case, his anger is somewhat justified but it's still the one major example of Crowley leveraging something to force Yuu to act in a way that he desires. The thing is, it's revealed in chapter 19 that Crowley did not believe Yuu could acquire the magestone he asked for and was all set to finalize the expulsion papers. So really, he wasn't serious at all in giving Yuu a chance to redeem themselves and was going to expel Yuu anyway (until they happened to prove their "usefulness"). Whether this counts as an example of Crowley "threatening" Yuu, then, is up to individual interpretation.

Book 1 — Crowley makes no specific request to Yuu. He shows up late in the book and suggests to the frustrated Adeuce that they fight Riddle to claim his seat as dorm leader, but does not tell Yuu to do anything in this situation. Recall that it was Ace that marched up to Ramshackle's front door and demanded that he be allowed to stay overnight; Crowley had no part in that.

Book 2 — In 2-7, Crowley asks Yuu to investigate the strange string of accidents that has befallen the students set to play in the upcoming inter-dorm magift/spelldrive tournament. There is a part where Crowley says he "never promised to cover living expenses". You, as Yuu, have the option to ask him "Is that a threat...?" to which Crowley never properly responds. Interpret that how you wish. He then offers Grim and Yuu a chance to participate in said tournament if they succeed, seeing as they lacked the 7 players needed to form a team. Crowley even says he will find 5 other players to fill in their missing team seats for them.

Book 3 — Here in 3-6, Crowley never actually threatens to cut off food. Instead, he is trying to earn pity from Yuu by guilt tripping them and emphasizing that he, the headmaster, is so busy with his tasks (like finding Yuu a way home) and will provide them with the funds they need regardless because he is so very kind. He's trying to tug at their heartstrings by pointing out the things he selflessly does for them, so they feel obligated to do something for him in return. Once Yuu agrees to help, he lavishes them with praise and says it is "expected" of someone he personally chose.

But!! I want to add that in the Episode of Octavinelle manga, this same scene is depicted as Crowley threatening to cut their food budget. I'm not sure if this is just a different interpretation (since Yuuta seems to prepare more food than is usually implied in the game; this would explain why their food costs go up significantly) or if Crowley truly was also threatening to cut the budget in the game.

Book 4 — Crowley makes a reasonable request in 4-2; he asks Yuu and Grim to tend to the fire fairies over winter break since it's a task no one else will be present to handle. In exchange, he says he will give them a banquet of tasty foods (which is not an empty promise; in 4-39, the Ramshackle Ghosts tell Yuu and Grim that the headmaster has left them with a ton of food as thanks.

Book 5 — Crowley appears in 5-21 asking that Yuu allow the NRC Tribe to stay at Ramshackle for their month-long training camp. He explains that Vil and Rook are willing to give up their share of the prize money if Yuu agrees to these terms. It is then that Crowley adds that he will help with renovation too, most likely to sweeten the deal with his word.

Book 6 — Crowley does not ask anything of Yuu. He does, however, call in STYX in 6-2 because he becomes concerned about the threat that Grim poses after consuming multiple crystallized blots. After Grim is taken, Crowley instructs Yuu in 6-4 to wait until Grim has recovered and been evaluated by a third party to speak with him again.

Book 7 — Crowley makes no specific requests to Yuu.

You can see in almost all instances that Crowley uses a variety of tactics to get his students to do what he wants them to. He bribes, shames/guilts them, points out very real consequences if the problem at hand is not resolved, and, yes, occasionally makes what can be interpreted as a vague threat. Despite this, the fact remains that he was always nice, not just post-book 4 (in fact, Crowley was also nice during book 4). I don't see the circumstances as "anything before or during book 4 is him being negative and threatening to punish Yuu and anything after book 4 is him being kind and positive to Yuu". In most cases with Yuu, he is offering them something they would want. His go-to strategy isn't threats, it tends to be the promise of a reward.

I wouldn't tie any of Crowley's actions to feeling a sense of remorse or guilt on his own part. While it's true we don't really get to see inside of his head, from what we see of him... this man is utterly shameless. He's willing to resort to emotional manipulation to convince literal children to solve problems that he, the powerful mage and adult, should be dealing with. What's more, he praises himself for Yuu's competence and willingness to step up. That's him placing a lot of faith in his students, and I don't think he feels any guilt in doing this. Why else would he send them into dangerous situations over and over again? He must, to some extent, believe they can already handle themselves just fine, otherwise he's creating tons of legal liabilities for himself by purposefully throwing children of tons of affluent families into the line of fire. Besides, he's a highly skilled mage himself--if any true, TRUE danger were to befall them, surely he could save the day himself. My thought is that he has sort of a "tough love" approach where he tosses his students into the fires and sees how they get out of it in one piece, but it's just presented in a "devil-may-care" way because of his lackadaisical attitude.

Regarding book 4, I personally see Crowley giving his cell phone number as just a means to provide reassurance to Grim and Yuu, since they (especially Grim) are protesting about him seemingly leaving on vacation. It's an empty gesture so he can have his getaway without much of a fuss; I totally believe that Crowley did not ever intend to answer his phone. When he returns in book 5, he's already asking another favor of Yuu, so I get the sense he isn't really bothered by what happened. I would even say that Crowley still has several major appearances in book 5, not that he has made himself scarcer. He appears to ask the favor, appears again to evaluate their performance, and then a third time at the cultural festival to speak with the headmaster of RSA. Crowley gets plenty of screen time here, much more then in books 6 and 7. If he truly felt bad or actively wanted to avoid Yuu, he could easily just tell other students (ie Vil) or even school staff (ghosts, teachers, etc.) to relay the deal for him.

Again, I want to be clear: THIS IS NOT CROWLEY BASHING. The only thing I am expressing in this post is that while I do love this bird-brained goober and think he cares for his students, I don't believe it's done in the conventional sense you're thinking of. Crowley can be selfish and callous and throw his students into danger, and that's okay! Sometimes we want to love a useless man who's trying his best, even if his best is pretty lousy/j

Whew, that was a lot of brain dumping! I hope I properly responded to all your thoughts and that you found this read semi-entertaining~

[sukirita]

does anyone else feel like the Meg Griffin of their family? Having to suffer being the first kid of completely dysfunctional, emotionally unavailable, mentally ill parents? Not being attractive enough to have someone rescue them from the shit life they have?

Fuck it, I'm headcanoning meg griffin. Using the bits of canon pieces from family guy, but keep in mind that the lore is not consistent at all.

- she's an internet kid, she grew up on it. Maybe when the show started it was as a "phone addicted teenage girl" stereotype, but now it seems like the internet is her escape from the shitty life she has. She can have "more chances" when people can't judge her for how she looks first.

- she's not ugly, or hideous. She's a teenage kid going through puberty through the show who clearly has to figure everything out for herself because her mom won't teach her, and judges her about it when meg dares asking (something something about how Lois told meg "I never had that, and no woman that I know ever had that" something like that...)

Besides Lois never bothering to teach meg and help her discover her style, femininity, puberty, hygiene... She also can't look trendy with new clothes and a popular fashion sense because her dad is a blue neck collar who rather spend his little sum of money on beer, and her mom is trying to be independent from her own rich father, who doesn't seem that close to meg to actually care about her and spoil her.

She's not ugly, she's not hideous. She canonically looks like Lois and just has a tough time figuring everything out for herself when her resources are clearly limited and her knowledge probably comes from the internet only

- I said she grew up on the internet, where she probably socialized more, and since she's been shown to be an extremist from BOTH side, knows Russian, been on the dark web, and likes ponies, I think she's been to 4chan. Like c'mon, that was one of her weird kid stops.

- she's mentally ill, and I can see it being blamed on her parents even more than the bullying of her peers, which probably just broke her completely: I'm not going to begin analyzing Lois and Peter, this ain't about them, but they're clearly mentally ill who come from harsh childhoods that shaped them this way, and Meg either inherited her share or got it as a result of being a literal punch bug for the family. I don't even have to talk about how meg has been treated by them.

She had rough patches. Depression, anxiety, even post trauma. I know I'm getting kind of serious here but I just feel for her and it makes so much sense. The bullying, the feeling of never belonging, never being someone's special one, not her romantically, sexually or platonically, being chronically online, it didn't help what was already messed up from her childhood. She smoked weed in the show, and self harmed, and I think she would use substances and SH as coping mechanisms. Developed an ED maybe, she would hate skinnytok.

But she is recovering and probably internalized her various traumas rather than externalize them. She did, a couple of times - the storm episode, meg goes to prison, etc etc, her various shenanigans where she's shown not caring about her family and emotionally distancing from them, but ultimately her parents borderline sociopathy helped her become a sensitive, protective, loyal and good person overall, who just strives to be loved.

- besides the family, and mostly her siblings and sometimes Brian who occasionally show sympathy and love towards her, I think Quagmire and Joe were good influences and borderline father figures for her.

- NOW HOLD ON, I KNOW QUAGMIRE HIT ON HER. yes, he's a rapist maniac who has no respect towards women, but after he got with meg for that one episode and the occasional sexual jokes she was featured in, he has shown care towards her. He got her a job, he teached her to defend herself against bullying, he was a person she went to when she needed help and they both have mutual respect and care for each other in recent seasons. I think it was a good choice by the writing team. And Joe has shown to care about her. Not to mention he knows what it's like being the black sheep who no one cares about. Not to mention quagmire has been shown to care for his kids when he occasionally adopts one of them.

So yeah, they were both positive influences on her. Maybe not too much, but compared to peter? They RAISED her. They were there for her.

- In later seasons it seems like her relationship with the family and her life changed. They stopped picking on her and Meg became this weird character doing her stuff in the background and sometimes flexing on her family while still being nice and good matured to them. I feel like it's the result of internalizing trauma and "forgiving", by emotionally distancing herself from everyone in her family but still being affectionate and kind to them, willing to do things for them. And you can't tell me it's not true after the storm episode. She gave up on the justice she deserved because she didn't want to break the family. Also, it's not like they actually listened and were willing to change. Peter laughed at her face and acted petty on purpose and I'm sure Lois wasn't going to suddenly change as the enabler for her husband.

- what I'm getting at is, that I think meg grew more confident with herself as she grew (she's 18 now, driving, drinking, having jobs, going to college...) she had a lot of trial and errors, her dysfunctional family forced her to mature early and being chronically online and trying to fit in at all costs caused her to be exposed to adult stuff early. Ugh, she's just like me.

- anyway, what I'm getting at, again, is that she learned to accept her situation and her family. She might be bitter about how her siblings are being treated better than her - don't get me wrong they suffer too but Stewie is a baby, and being the first child means suffering as your parents learn. And she was the black sheep of the family,

She might be bitter about how her dad hates her, beat on her, can't provide for her and is an infantile man child (yes, both child and infantile),

She might be bitter about how her mom emotionally abandoned her, never helped her fit in, competed against her, and enabled her father,

She might be bitter about how the dog does not give a fuck about her and is being treated like more of a family member than her despite him a grown adult asshole who never made something of himself and was never there for her except rare time where he and Stewie help her,

But she learned to accept the role and just matured. She is going to move out, she tried to do it many episodes, and ultimately I think she would "leave the family behind" to make something of herself that will be meaningful to her. She will still come and visit, and talk with them, but she emotionally will leave them in the past too. I don't think she will forget the treatment she received. But she won't let her family control her anymore.

I don't think family guy started to write her well, I don't think they really care about her more than they used to, but their various inconsistent bits kind of build a personality and a reasonable outcome of someone who feels like life's black sheep, despite being a clever, skilled, funny, loving and accepting person

Maybe she's not as iconic, maybe she doesn't stand out too much, maybe she doesn't have her niche aside from being picked on, but when you look at her character you see someone who might actually make it out of this dysfunctional family with their sanity intact and emotional intelligence and empathy that none of the griffins can truly reach. Holy fucking shit, meg is the family guy.

The true family guy was Meg Griffin all along.

[florshedworf]

mehhh i’ll come back to this later once i rewatch madoka in full but for the most part i don’t really agree withthis anymore kbye

i get homura had her reasons Absolutely like i Get it girl but also her wish is inherently selfish. like i understand “homura did nothing wrong” when comparing to fuckass kyubey but. come on

bear with me this is long

“I want to meet Kaname-san over again. I don't want to be the girl that is always protected. I want to be someone who can protect her!” (from episode 10)

and when i quote this i’m not saying “see!!! what a selfish asshole!!” you can see her reasoning! she no longer wants to be the damsel in distress! but in doing that she puts herself in a position in which she thereby forever sees madoka as a victim she needs to protect. as that is now Quite Literally her duty.

edit: i made another post and i Thought i put this point here oops but homura simultaneously idolizes and victimizes madoka. again, we see this in her wish, she wants to protect madoka because of her deep love for her but at the same time sees her only as a damsel needing protecting

so when madoka chooses her own fate, her own wish, THANKS TO HOMURA!!!, homura is distraught because this was not her ideal of what “saving” madoka looked like. she was supposed to be the one to save her, but she failed.

but the thing is SHE DIDN’T!!! thanks to homura, madoka was first warned about the dangers of making a contract, stalling it enough to see first hand what it does to magical girls, and taking that information to not only preventing her town but quite possible the world from being destroyed, and removed the incubators ability to feed off of witches.

and Not Only That, but homura was Going to see her again. we see this in rebellion. madoka apologies to her for making homura wait so long and it is implied that she was going to join her and the others.

but her very wish states that it is her responsibility to protect madoka. madoka can’t save her, but she can save madoka.

but in doing that she takes away madoka’s wish, what she wants for herself, and instead homura puts her own ideals of what she thinks madoka wants

anyways this is my ted talk. forgive me 🙏

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

Name your favorite characters and why in absurd detail (if you want, or just name them)

Well, you asked for DETAILS, so have a sort of chatacter analysis/hot mess of ramblings for #1. This has a good amount of personal headcanons that I've built up and it's not 100% based on canonical facts. Also I HAVE only played 0, Kiwami 1 and Kiwami 2 (Majima saga is in progress) so I don't have all the facts. I AM NOT GOOD AT CHARACTER ANALYSIS, be warned. Also ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE.

1) Majima Goro! I find his truly kind nature masked by his 'Mad Dog' persona very fascinating and sad at the same time. The way he incorporated elements of Nishitani and Sagawa into that persona is interesting and telling of how much of an impact those two had in him deciding his path.

I'm entranced by his use kansai-ben (my beloved) and his playful tone of voice contrasted with the, at times, more serious voice that sends me right back to 1988. The way he switches from an almost mockingly polite speech style to his Kansai dialect in his introduction scene in 0 instantly made me curious about his true nature and backstory.

I think his way of showing off his tattoos by not wearing a shirt so civilians don't get involved with him (that's how I interpret it) is tragic and it's obvious his past has left him with deep scars and a fear of the people he cares about being hurt. He'd rather be alone than build bonds and then potentially lose more people.

The way he still loves Makoto deeply in Kiwami 2 after all these years, and how he sings about truly not wanting her to forget him, but regardless "not minding" it if she forgets him as long as she's happy, hurts me in a whole new way. The way he sings/screams those "I DON'T MIND"s as though he's desperately trying to make himself believe what he's saying, rather than directing those phrases at Makoto in his mind, breaks my heart.

His pretty much absent fear of death sends chills down my spine and makes me wanna cry because he was already saying he's been ready to die for a long time in a flashback from BEFORE he events of Yakuza 0. I dread possibly finding out more about his past.

He's witty and charming and his confidence draws me in. He dresses how he does and meets Kiryu as Goromi and pole dances for him as well with no problems, and all in all just doesn't care what people think of him. I know it's probably because of something tragic like him having given up on life so "might as well go out with a bang", but I want to believe he feels at least somewhat liberated when he does all that.

I'm obsessed with how he wants to witness Kiryu's journey down the path he could never follow himself. And he seems to genuinely want to support Kiryu's decision to follow his own principles. Their first conversation in Kiwami tickled my brain because in that moment he seems to "lock it in" that he'll place his trust in Kiryu's unwavering will to make his own path and wants to witness it. He wants to see if it would have been possible for himself as well, had the circumstances been different. Is it truly possible to stick to such "soft" values in the cruel world of the Yakuza?

When he saw Kiryu coming back after his decade in prison, he whipped him right back into shape because he wanted to keep witnessing Kiryu's journey and also keep Kiryu's principles alive by keeping Kiryu himself alive. Because he himself wouldn't be able to live by those values, he's in way too deep, he has a reputation to uphold. So when his brother returns to kill him (if he will try to kill him, Majima himself seems to think so), it'll be an achievement worth letting Saejima back in the family. Killing a legend and all that.

Majima seems to feel like he can let Kiryu in a tad more than others. Even if it's just fighting against or beside him and openly enjoying those interactions. Probably because he knows Kiryu can handle himself in a fight and he's near indestructible physically and mentally. Kiryu is, in a way, his equal when it comes to dealing with it when shit hits the fan. He's definitely at least fond of Kiryu imo, with him giving in very easily when Kiryu asks him to help the Tojo clan survive in Kiwami 2. And also with how uncomfortable he got when Kiryu bowed his head when he was asking Majima for help.

Majima also highly values the promises he makes; he fought those invading Sengoku thugs until he was battered and bleeding and barely able to stand because he promised Kiryu he'd be there to help. Weird move from a man who seems hell-bent on pretending not to care about anyone or anything besides his own interests, hmmm? He gave his word and he KEPT it. Because he doesn't make empty promises.

I love watching him when he's "on a break" during the Majima Everywhere storyline. It truly solidified the fact that the 'Mad Dog' is a mask for me. He's all hyper and "crazy" when others are around and he really lays it on thick, but on break? He's contemplative. He looks almost sad at times. He lets the mask drop for a second. The fact that he lets Kiryu see that instead of immediately masking back up is a whole other can of worms. Point is, the Majima from before is still there, underneath it all.

The way he thinks back on his time in Sotenbori is interesting. There's definitely trauma and anger in there, but the way he wonders about how his team is doing nowadays almost wistfully makes me happy. He had SOME light to hold on to in those dark times. He truly did care for his team and was fond of them. Also... him saying it wasn't in his nature to make a living using women like that made my respect for him soar. He truly respected everyone in his team, including the hostesses.

Also, just... ugh. The Doll Girl substory. The DAMN DOLL GIRL SUB STORY. I- THAT- 😭😭😭😭 O UG H

TL;DR: Majima because he's everything to me and he makes me experience thought spirals beyond anything I've went through before. He's tragic, he's fun, he's silly, he's hot, he's confident, he's strong, he's interesting he's kind and he's just... Majima.

2) Kiryu because he's sweet and wonderful and makes me weep and I wish he'd take better care of himself and I wanna hug him and give him soup and bring all his loved ones back to life. Please let this man catch a break.

3) Nishitani because he makes me feral and I want him carnally

4) Dojima Yayoi because... I mean... DAMN. She's fierce and extremely loyal, she handled herself extremely well in an environment that was probably rife with people who questioned her ability to lead. I'd bet my left boob she faced a lot of misogyny (direct and/or indirect) during her time as a chairwoman. But she kept going, head held high, with conviction and pride. Simply incredible.

5) Haruka is a sweet angel and I wanna protect her and I hope she will be happy forever. She stayed strong and still has faith in people even after seeing all the horrors of Kiwami 1. She's so resilient and brilliant.

[icewindandboringhorror]

the struggle of just coincidentally disliking a piece of media that a lot of conservatives also dislike, but for completely different reasons, so sometimes you'll see youtube recommended videos like "here's why X was so bad" and you're initially like "oh yaayy, yeah I had a lot of criticisms of that too, I'm curious to finally see someone really break down why the plot didn't work! I love media analysis" and then the video is just "it's bad because there's WOMAN in it!!!" ..........ok....

[pastafan20000]

Great. Now I’m sobbing.

Do you guys ever think about how Lilia never fights for himself? Or his wants and needs?

He’ll fight for others. But never himself.

It could be how he views himself, his status that’s always thrown at him, his insecurity, etc.

But whether the general or present day Lilia, it remains the same.

You see this especially emphasized in book 7. Some instances include:

When malleus’s egg first gets taken from him. He just lets it go. Even though you could tell there’s some hesitance. Even though some moments ago we saw him show his rebellious side against meleanor, but that rebelliousness was to save her and not himself.

Another moment we see this is when malleus hatches and baby malleus gets taken away. Again, we see him pause. He doesn’t want to. He held on tight. He made a promise. But no, he lets go, again. Because it’s for the “better” but recall how he was just goading malleus moments before his birth, trying to save him despite his injuries.

With Silver, it’s when he’s called Toto and he tries to deny the title but it’s fine silver is still young. Even now, Lilia hasn’t called him his son. He told maleficia not to tell malleus about his involvement in his hatching because of guilt malleus might feel. But what about the feelings of silver and malleus?

Before Lilia leaves nrc, he gives a short notice of a week. He doesn’t fight Crowley to stay on campus with the boys. He leaves before seeing malleus and silver off. He plays it off as malleus might be tired of him and it’s fine. He doesn’t resist leaving for the carriage that came for him. But when Malleus OBs? That’s when he fights, well, gives resistance.

He’s ready to throw the trinkets away that he’s collected. He’s deleted his gaming accounts. He’s choosing to live far away from family. He’s giving up the home he’s built.

Over and over, we see Lilia act this way. He doesn’t fight for what he wants. What is essential to him. He doesn’t show the love to himself that he shows to others.

He doesn’t have that acceptance of self-love. Which in turn cascaded down to his boys and they now have the same problem.

Book 7 is all about different forms of love and forgiveness, and self-love is included. I hope by the end of book 7, we see them, Lilia especially, see how loved he is.

I hope we see him learn to care and prioritize himself more. See him fight for what he wants and loves. Not for others, but for himself.

[hypexion]

At the end of The Reality War, the Doctor rewrites Belinda's timeline without her consent to make her into the mother of Poppy. I think this is badly written and quite sexist. I'm sorry, but there's probably no way to suddenly flatten out a character into "mother" without it being those two things.

But what if, actually, Belinda was actually a mother all along, and the Doctor fixed the timeline?

Well if that's true, the writing is even worse, and it's more sexist. Hooray! Also: there's a bonus horrifying implication.

I'm going to start with the quality of writing angle first, because that's the main thing that initially aggravated me about the "Belinda was always a mother" theory. To be blunt, there is simply no strong textual evidence for it. Nobody was posting theories that Belinda had a child before The Reality War, because there was no reason to think that. If the evidence can only be found post-hoc, as random pieces of subtext, then it hasn't been presented well. And since Belinda being a mother all along should be a signifigant aspect of her character (if only in a negative space kind of way), then it needs to be presented at that level.

While it's certainly tempting to claim that the audience is stupid and Just Doesn't Get it, there's a point where that stops working. If the intention is that Belinda was a mother, then wasn't, then the Doctor fixed things, for most viewers that was not conveyed. The most common reading is that Belinda wasn't a mother, and then the Doctor rewrote her timeline to make her one. If the theory is true, then the series as presented utterly failed to make that clear. You cannot hinge this kind of thing on random background details and the running gag of "mavity". You actually have to build it into the text.

The Well presented the perfect opportunity for this. Aliss' motivation is to return home to her daughter. Belinda has absolutely zero reaction to this. Sure, she wants to help Aliss, but that's clearly motivated by her generally being a good person. Even a single line of Belinda bringing up Aliss' daughter as a reason not to leave her behind would be far more than the entire season actually gives.

The Story & The Engine provides a similar chance. Now, "Belinda sees Poppy for no good reason" does not count as foreshadowing for what happens in Wish World or The Reality War. It definitely doesn't suggest that Poppy is Belinda's secretly erased from reality daughter. But what The Story & The Engine does have is Abena, who has a less than happy relationship with her father. A child seperated from a parent by the parent's own choice. And again, this passes without comment from Belinda. It would only need one or two lines when Belinda is talking with Abena about what Anansi did. A reaction along the lines of "I would never do that to my daughter (pause) I mean, if I had a daughter" would be enough. Especially if the first part is said conversationally, and the second part as if Belinda is trying to reassure herself that such a thing is true.

Of course, this analysis mostly gets eaten by the Occam's Razor of "the obvious reading is true, there was no original Belinda is a mother timeline". Communication is key, and if the "original mother timeline" theory is true, it's only a theory because it was so poorly communicated.

So that's the writing angle. But the theory also amplifies the existing sexist resolution to be more sexist.

By positioning the timeline where Belinda is a mother as the correct timeline, the theory implicitly states that the non-mother Belinda is incorrect. You can word it however you want, but the theory is saying "a correct woman is a mother". This is an uncharitable reading, but the theory is an uncharitable sexist reading of Belinda's chatacter, so I will continue.

The extended problem is that the theoy also implies that motherhood is the only legitimate reason that Belinda would not want to travel with the Doctor. That her insistence on wanting to return to a specific time is only valid if she has a child waiting for her. Which is simply not true. Going missing, even for a few days, runs the risk of derailing Belinda's life. "My evil ex-boyfriend sent robots to kidnap me to another planet" is not a reasonable sounding excuse for missing work. But if the Doctor has a time machine, her problem is seemingly solve - he can drop her back the next morning, and her life continues seamlessly where it left off.

As an aside, there is nothing wrong with Belinda being a mother. If The Robot Revolution had ended with her saying "No, you need to bring me back to the day I left because my daughter is waiting for me", that would have been a fine character hook. Once you start throwing in extra timelines and suggesting Belinda as a mother is better off in everyway, that's when things get dodgy.

Anyhow, I promised a horrifying implication. So, it's suggested a few times in The Reality War that the reason the Doctor and Belinda's wish child is Poppy the space baby is due to the Doctor's (and maybe Ruby's) memories of the space babies. But if Belinda had a child in an "original" timeline, that child wouldn't be Poppy. Because Poppy is only there because of the Doctor.

So Belinda's real child was erased from reality.

And the Doctor didn't save Belinda's child. He saved his own, effectively overwriting yet another person's life to achieve it.

Belinda won't know the difference? Well that's alright then.