#good ending of course i cannot be evil in video games

[chronal-anomaly]

Looks at my hands. It is done

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

TTD - True Evil 1/4

part1 part2 part3 part 4

*

Something was wrong, though!

Hero knew this. Of course they did. It was just that- that it was easy to forget. Maybe because ironically, since Villain was living with them, everything was fine. When the agency had questioned them about this, all they could complain about was that they couldn't use the shower and bathroom mirror three hours on a row anymore (on the evenings, at least). There was something eerie about how naturally Villain had come crashing into their life. Having them as a roommate was as evident as eating breakfast on lazy mornings when Hero had a day off. They were even hugging now.

For the moment though, Hero's butt was getting kicked. The sad truth was that Villain was much better at video games than them. The two roommates were affronting each other in a fighting match that neither of them enjoyed, but that was the only competitive game Hero had. Villain refused to cooperate, under the brilliant pretext that “they refused to ally with their fated foe”. Given that not five minutes before, their head was resting against the shoulder of said fated foe, there were a lot of possible refutations. Hero hadn’t bothered. After coming back from a long, exhausting day, the easier thing to do was rolling with it. They didn’t even shrug when the shadow next to them, leaning on their game-pad, gloated:

“This is your end, little Hero!”

“Don’t call me little. I’m 5’10.”

“I am 5’10 and a half,” was the smug answer.

Hero glanced sideways at the silhouette next to them, surrounded by a dark mist as always:

“I can’t be sure of that.”

“Then despair while that nagging doubt eats your mind for the rest of your life.”

“I’m good. I’ll rest assured that I have, like, 30 pounds of muscles on you.”

“How have you acquired that knowledge, may I ask?”

“Well, when we hug-”

“Stop calling it like that. And I’ll concede gladly that perk to you. Muscles, bah! Who would need that?”

“Most people, actually.”

“I have a brain. It’s enough. It’s getting rarer and rarer these days.”

They both stared at the Game Over screen.

“Once again, you are finished. Once again, I stomp on your pixellized body and your ego in an unending demonstration of my superior skills and-

Hero cut across them:

“You need to sign the form.”

Villain groaned. Not to be deterred, Hero presented the paper and a pen to them:

“Here.”

“Ah, paperwork. Truly the greatest evil. Even I, with all the darkness in my heart, cannot compare.”

Hero sighed:

“It’s just a signature. And be grateful for the form. It’s the only thing that can prevent Superhero from coming here and ripping you to shreds – possibly us both.”

“I don’t see why.”

“There are laws. If you confirm every day you’re here and reforming, measures can’t be taken against you.”

“Very well. I shall adorn my mark on this pitiful piece of paper.”

Villain moodily signed and Hero took a picture of it, sending it to the secretary and hoping they wouldn’t lose it again. Doing it every day was annoying, sure, but it was all they could find to protect their roommate from the agency – or rather, Superhero. They felt a little relieved every time they sent the text. Villain, though, didn’t seem to care one way or the other. It was irritating and a little worrying.

“Dinner?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Hero stood up and heated their meals on the microwave. Apart from smoothies, Villain was not that interested in food, and Hero was too tired to cook after work most of the time. Villain didn’t seem bothered with this. Actually, once you got used to their constant melodrama, Villain was a rather laid-back roommate. Too laid-back. Hero’s instinct was sending them warning signals. Their guest was taking their situation a little too well. The person they shared their place with and hugged was a complete stranger. All questions about their past were avoided. Hero knew there was an elephant in the room, but they had no idea of what it was made, and that was frustrating to say the least.

The microwave made a ding sound. After a while, Villain reluctantly got out of the couch to find Hero looking at the wall, their arms crossed.

“Are your sudden meditative moment deep enough to forget down-to-earth obligations ?”

Hero clucked their tongue. Villain jumped when their roommate suddenly leaned over the table:

“What happened to you?”

“My plate is getting cold?”

“No, we’re not avoiding the subject anymore. What happened? You have a physical body, but you never stop hiding behind your powers. I’ve checked, you’re listed among the most dangerous villains on the agency’s list. It says you’re a killer, but frankly, I do not believe that one second. You never say anything about your past, you never speak about yourself. When I tell you Superhero wants you dead, your answer is “yeah, okay” and you don’t bring the subject ever again. You get more emotional when I bring you the wrong screwdriver. What is wrong with you?”

“Plenty of things. I am a Villain, how can you hope to comprehend how my twisted spirit w-”

Hero’s fist banged on the table:

“Stop that!”

Villain stepped back. Hero sighed and lifted their hands in surrender:

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay? But you are not helping me. My boss wants to kill you and I don’t know why. I can’t get us out of this if I have no idea what’s going on!”

“It seems simple to me. He’s a superhero, I’m a fearful villain. We’re destined to destroy each other.”

“I’ve never seen him so – so motivated. It goes deeper than that. You can’t keep me in the dark.”

“This is my nature. I don’t see why this is any concern of yours.”

They got their plate out of the microwave without adding a word. Hero dragged their hand over their face:

“Tell me one thing. Just one thing. Have you ever killed anyone?”

The shadow froze. The plate made a loud bang when it was dropped on the table.

“I’m not hungry,” said Villain.

Hero watched them going back to their room. Soon after, they heard the lock of the door.

“That went well,” they mumbled.

*

Next part here

Check the These Two Dorks Masterlist or Tag for more snippets with this Hero and Villain. This is how they met and now they’re roommates.

Or back to Hero x Villain Masterlist.

[peculiarbluerose]

Hogwarts Legacy - Tips and Tricks

WARNING: May contain spoilers for Hogwarts Legacy

Personal experience, this does not reference videos

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• You can skip most of the dialogue if you don't want to hear it again (since you can't skip the tutorial segment of the game). You can do this with triangle (PlayStation), RMB (PC), or Y button (Xbox)

• Keep stocked up on Wiggenweld potions. These, even though they don't do a lot, will help you immensely.

• Thunderbrew is useful against the Graphorn. It makes storm clouds float above the player and damages nearby enemies.

• Don't worry; Sebastian, Natty and Poppy can take care of themselves and they don't have health bars. You don't have to worry about them.

• The RoR is SO useful, it's not even funny. After a quest with Deek, you'll have vivariums to maintain beasts, and you can get materials from them. This place also allows you to identify unidentified gear, upgrade gear, brew potions, grow magical plants, and you can customize it. Love this place.

• It's impossible to stop Sebastian from doing anything; just be careful how you respond. You'll see, if you don't already know what I'm talking about.

• You cannot be "evil" in the game, canonically. You can just be an absolute sleazeball, though. Don't worry, you'll keep your friends (somehow).

• Speaking of dialogue, your actions really don't have much impact on anything. Of course, it will influence how characters react to you, but there's really no consequences for your responses.

• Speaking of consequences, there's none of you use an unforgivable curse. If you're on PC, there's an Azkaban mod that allows you to be caught with dark magic and sent to Azkaban, just in case you want more realism.

• As for realism, you don't actually have a curfew. You can walk around all willy-nilly in the middle of the night with no repercussions. The person who made the Azkaban mod has a curfew mod that allows you to get caught at night, if you want the extra challenge.

• No, I'm not sponsored.

• Solomon Sallow will hate you regardless of your actions. You're friends with Sebastian, that's why. Don't take it personally.

• Brooms fly faster than hippogriffs, but hippogriffs ascend and descend faster than brooms.

• Rare events occur, such as the train at King's Cross Station arriving and leaving, the kraken saying hello in the lake (scripted event during the flying class), a suit of armor getting annoyed with another and turns the aggressive nudge into full-blown murder, amongst other things.

• Unsure what it is, but sometimes you'll find a ridiculous amount of dark witches and wizards in and around the Forbidden Forest... They won't hurt you, and you can't hurt them, but they're there.

• Speaking of the Forbidden Forest, there are a LOT of spiders. If you don't like them, are scared of them, have arachnophobia, etc., there's an "arachnophobia mode" in the settings, so they're less scary. Alternatively, there's a PC mod that turns them into burgers. This is good if you don't even want a slight resemblance of a spider in the arachnophobia mode.

• No, I'm not sponsored

• Sometimes, NPCs will describe you based on your hogwarts house (this can be seen in the "Minding Your Own Business" DLC quest in Hogsmeade)

• All four houses have their own quests (though they tie in to the same character and quest at the end).

• There are plenty of Easter eggs referencing the movies (one being the Shrieking Shack on the map in Hogsmeade where the Old Fool house is, just on the outskirts of Hogsmeade).

• Don't worry, Ravenclaw, you don't have to answer riddles every time you want to enter your common room.

That's all I got, homies

(P.S. Slytherin is the best house -from a very unbiased Slytherin)

[mcflymemes]

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the video game, adjust as necessary

you're finally awake.

it would take a month to explain to you how that very question doesn't even make sense.

wait... i know you.

yes yes, what is it? we're all very busy here.

you're someone who can get things done. i like that.

i've been looking for you.

keep your eyes open.

looking to protect yourself, or do some damage?

i am sworn to carry your burdens.

either i'm drunk, or you're naked. possibly both.

i fight... because i must.

then it's true, what everyone is saying?

even with all my preparations, we can't be too careful.

need a ride?

i've had enough of you!

i cannot place it.

everything's for sale, my friend.

another wanderer, here to lick my father's boots. good job.

will you be a hero whose name is remembered in song throughout the ages?

is that fur? coming out of your ears?

giant spiders? what's next, giant snakes?

you picked a bad time to get lost, friend!

well ain't this a surprise!

what are you looking at? i'm not afraid of you, you know.

you were trying to cross the border, right?

everyone is obsessed with death.

what is better, to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?

i look forward to hearing about the next person you murder.

let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll.

no lollygagging.

oh, what am i saying? of course you don't.

i will eat your heart.

perhaps this is also true.

i've been waiting for you to return, to consummate our love!

i've got important things to do. we'll speak another time.

iron sword, huh? what are you killing? butterflies?

the day might come when i am forced to draw my sword for one side or the other.

i'm a weapon in human form.

there's been word of some trouble nearby. i'm on my way to investigate.

that day has not come yet.

you've shown yourself mighty.

i've seen better. well... maybe not.

he's trying to have somebody killed!

your words give voice to that which we all feel.

time to end this little game!

i've been hunting and fishing in these parts for years.

i fight for the men i've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil.

lot of history in these walls. we're trying to make some more.

it's a lucky time to be alive.

i knew you had it in you!

um... actually i was hoping to get the ring back.

now it is up to you to decide what to do with your power and skill.

i used to be an adventurer like you.

the day when words are enough will be the day soldiers like us are no longer needed.

kill well... and often.

i've got my eyes on you.

heard about you and your... honeyed words.

watch the skies.

you're either the bravest person i've ever met... or the biggest fool.

go use your fancy magic somewhere else.

never should have come here!

i fight so that all the fighting i've already done hasn't been for nothing.

may this oath bind me to death and beyond.

family an honor. that's what it means to be one of us.

walk with the shadows.

why the elven blade, huh?

let me guess - you need a drink.

will your name be a curse to future generations?

you do not even know our tongue, do you?

you stink of death, my friend. i salute you.

your future lies before you.

you're hauling around a lot of junk.

you got no clothes. you should get some.

psst. hey! i know who you are.

you'll never find it.

my cousin's out fighting dragons, and what do i get? guard duty.

[enlighten3d]

WELLL claps hand together

the story is about these teenagers trying stop an evil cult from destroying the entire multiverse, so they go to different dimensions to stop their evil ways. Also they are teenagers so they have to deal with personal angst, family issues, morality, school ect ect while trying to stop the cult leader and their right hand men

Caroline is technically the main character of my story, she is basically the bubbly, positive one of the group. Her family is rich as hell, they used to live in Taiwan as successful business people but they moved to America because they wanted to make more money. Her family doesn’t really like her and they emotionally and physically neglect her since she came out as a transgender girl and her older sister is kind of a coward and doesn’t stand up for her (fun times)

anyway she ends up having to do a group assignment with her childhood friend which she kind of drifted apart from (Andie) and some punk girl she probably has a crush on (Mimi), they eventually end up in an abandoned house and find out that their town is run by an evil cult that can teleport to different dimensions. So they feel guilty enough to stop it.

they think the best course is to beat the 7 plane hoppers who are in the way to kill the main cult leader, the stag. though out the whole thing Caroline is basically pushing through by toxic positivity saying everything is alright even though they have killed many people, she also kind of convinced herself that this is a video game and is probably more okay about sacrificing people and herself (for the better good)

Also her sister possessed during her 17th birthday party for funsies

HIII SO RRYYY IM ONLY GETTING SROUNF TO THIS NOW falls over and dies

thank you for the food that is oc lore, i am eating it om nom nom

that all sounds FUCKING AMAZING ACTUALLY. cults ?? universal travel bullshit ????? all while dealing with normal teenage bs ?? thats beautiful. poor little guys. they need a break. i CANNOT imagine trying to exist as a teenager while trying to take down a cult qyehdjdkkdks

dont worry.. your eldritch horror loves you... i am so glad to know that ! /silly

..fuck her family ! they can rot ! caroline )): you dont deserve any of this..

THAT MUSTVE BEEN A REVELATION ?? WOAH ?? just. doing a school project and ope government is a cult (/hyp)... insane

i actually fucking love the whole like. unwilling chosen one Vibe to all of this ?? yes theyre not chosen nor are they truly unwilling but. the Vibe is the same. the guilt (on thier part) is real...

caroline. love. youre fucked up. just like me frfr. agh thats. so cool tho ?? 'EVERYTJING IS FINE, ALL OF THIS IS A GAME !!' and ljke. fuck thats such a fun thing in fiction when a character copes using that ?? its the perfect level of fucked up bcs it rlyyy drives rhe point home and. im giving them all a shock blanket okay ?

oh boy !! thats fun !! poor sister..

what does the cult worship‽‽ i am so fucking curious..

lso like, whats the difference between each plane? is it an alternate reality sorta situation where things are relatively the same but Different, or is it judt flatout. different EVERYTHING (people, laws of physics, all that jazz)?? or somewhere in between or outside of this ofc.

do all the plane hopper guys like.. stay in different universes and have a branch of the cult established there..

why does the cult run the town in the first place ? was it a thing where like. they wrre the original settlers but then the town expanded aorund and beyond the cult ?? or did they move in and do a slow takeover.....

fuck i have so many questions /pos

this is. so cool. i love the Vibes. theyre so... Impending.. ahdjskdisjjdjsks

[lacrimosathedark]

Does Deadpool Collect Kids?

Here I am in Spideypool Hell, which results in me looking at the closest people to both of them. I sort of grew up with Spider-Man (video games, cartoons, and movies long before I ever touched a comic) so of course I’m looking at Deadpool first. Who doesn’t love new information? Treading old ground is boring!

(Also Spiderverse shit is confusing. So. Many. Spiders.)

And I came to the realization that Wade’s kind of...surrounded by kids.

Of course he has a kid (multiversely he has a few) but he’s close with more than just that kid.

So here is what I think of as Wade Wilson’s Pseudo-Family aka Kids Who Put Up With His Shit. Be prepared for way too many pictures.

Eleanor Camacho

This adorable baby is Ellie. She’s eight-ish years old (maybe nine or ten now? comic book time is weird) and currently Wade’s only canon child in main continuity. Her whole situation is a bit complicated, but Wade loves her more than anything in the world. And actually, she was a lowkey fan of Deadpool before she knew he was her dad. She loves her dad and she even goes behind her foster mom’s back to try to get him to visit, said foster mom being SHIELD Agent Emily Preston. Wade has forgotten she exists (again) to protect her (AGAIN) but she watches news reports about him and actually interfered with a killing mission he had in a theme park her class happened to have a field trip to.

She’s a baby Spideypool shipper too.

Ellie is Wade’s weak spot, and he only tells people about her if he trusts them. The ones that come to mind are people he likes, namely Shiklah, Spidey, and Rogue, as well as two kids further down on this list. Wolverine and Captain America know too, but because they were part of the mission where he found out about her. Super Soldier team-up.

Also, here’s her in the future. She’s a badass.

I love her so much.

Warda Wilson

(Full disclosure, I did minor editing on this panel because this is the one image of her full body without her mask and they gave her pupils that she has in no other panels and it bothered me so I fixed it)

Wade’s daughter in the 2099 future with his ex-wife, succubus and monster queen Shiklah, and she goes by Deadpool. She had a vendetta against Wade at first for supposedly betraying Shiklah and held him captive. But Ellie rescued him, they cleared things up, and they work together as a family, all three of them, plus brain-ghost Preston.

Deathpool

Exclusive to the video game Marvel Strike Force, but she’s so neat I had to include her. Literally born from “the power of love” between Deadpool and Death, she takes over her mom’s job but is a total daddy’s girl; he trained her to wield weapons and be a quippy little shit, and until he was snapped by Thanos because he’s got issues, she’d visit him on occasion.

(She doesn’t have a canon “normal” name, but I like the name Evita Wilson. It rearranges the letter of the word “vitae” which is Latin for “life” and y’know irony. Plus Evita is the name of both a musical and a Madonna album and you cannot tell me Wade wouldn’t love that)

Itsy Bitsy

Not a friendly, but biologically his daughter (and Spidey’s) from Evil Science Shenanigans. Formerly Susan Mary, a play on “Mary Sue”. She calls both of them “daddy” and even wears a Spiderpool emblem shirt. She’s pretty extreme. Bloodthirsty. Wade actually had to stop Spidey from killing her because Peter was so scared of her and someone was messing with his head. He cut Wade’s head off to try to keep him from interfering. It was kinda nuts. Wade ended up doing what he thought was killing her to keep Spidey’s hands clean. She’s not gone though...

Master Matrix

Another Spideypool kid, no shit. A good one too! And a rare boy on this list! A robot of some type discovered by Richard and Mary Parker, so already hitting home for Peter. After a short villainous confusion after waking from stasis, he was basically taken under Spider-Man’s and Deadpool’s wings and called them both “Father”. The arc is literally officially titled “My Two Dads”. They act like his parent and it’s just *chefs kiss* It’s a whole thing. MM gives off weird vibes, but all in all, he just wants to help. He’s a good boy!

He even gets them to hug!

He then proceeds to send them on a bonding road trip with just...so much Spideypool. That’s where the “Why are you holding my hand?” “It helps me focus.” comes from. And so much fourth-wall breaking and writer interference. Spidey even plays along with Wade’s fourth-wall-breaking shenanigans even though he doesn’t believe it. It’s the best.

Now we move to ones who aren’t his kids!

Gwendolyne Poole

Gwenpool and Deadpool weren’t chummy at first; she didn’t read his book and thought he was too “lol memes”. But they actually got to be pretty friendly. They’re buddies now.

He helped Gwen when she was having an existential crisis and is currently the caretaker of her pet Jeff the Land Shark who is the cutest thing and I love him. He even dresses as Gwen once to make Jeff happy it’s adorable.

I also think he rocks Gwen’s look. He looks great.

Ellie Phimister

Everyone knows about Negasonic Teenage Warhead from the movies where they have that affectionate deadpan snark between them. When they first met, Wade’s group had been contracted to kidnap her. She evaded everyone else, but when met with Deadpool who literally tried to talk her into being kidnapped, she had a vision where he said he wouldn’t leave her behind, and she literally just surrenders.

When Wade finds out what is happening to his targets, he goes in to save her. She has a particular loyalty to Wade and sticks by him pretty much no matter what, but she gradually settles into that deadpan sarcasm.

She takes his nonsense with a straight face and doesn’t tolerate his bullshit. Or at least snarks right back at him.

She’s also one of the few who for sure know about the other Ellie, Eleanor, and looks out for her.

Gabrielle Kinney

A little unexpected, but adorable! Gabby Kinney, also known as Scout or Honey Badger, which is amazing. She don’t give a FUCK. She’s a clone of Laura Kinney, aka X-23 and Wolverine, who is another clone daughter of Logan/James/OG Wolverine. She and Wade bonded over their scars and they’re besties now.

There aren’t a whole lot of instances of Wade and Gabby together, but every SINGLE one is absolute gold. They’re so fucking CUTE. Prepare for so many panels.

Have you seen anything more precious? Best friends.

Evan Sabahnur

Formerly Kid Apocalypse, also known as Genesis. Long story, but pretty much explained in the above page. Wade in particular was determined to save him, as killing him didn’t sit right for some reason, and he was certain that despite everything, Evan was a good kid. When shit went down and Evan didn’t think he could return to the Academy, Wade took him in. Like, brought him to the home he bought across the street from Eleanor and the Prestons.

Wade even says he’ll never have a son, (this is before MM, but it’s funny cuz biologically and multiversely, he does only have daughters) but if he did he’d like him to be like Evan, which is hilarious to me. But that kinda makes what Wade says super sweet.

He also saves Ellie.

Haruka Hida

From Deadpool Samurai, she goes by Sakura-Spider and is a blatant Peter Parker rip-off. Literally she lives with her Aunt Mei and her Uncle Tsutomu which the kanji can also be read as Ben. No shit. The only real difference is the spider bit her on her face and it scarred, hence the spots under her eye. BUT she’s Deadpool’s partner in Japan and she’s super cute. Typical manga protag girl but what can you expect?

(Legit buy them they’re super fun and it’s worth it especially if you like manga it’s so dumb and I love it please buy it)

Neiro Aratabi

Another Deadpool: Samurai character. As said above, she’s an idol in Japan. She’s bonded to an amnesiac symbiote she calls Kage (in case you aren’t up on Japanese, it’s pronounce like “kah-gay” and it means shadow). They like chocolate. She doesn’t get a lot of screen time, but she’s happy being part of the team. She’s content as long as people think she’s cute, for, of course, over-dramatic very anime reasons.

That is ELEVEN CHILDREN. And I’m a newb, this might not even be all of the kids he’s close to!

For comparison, Bruce Wayne has SIX kids (Dick, Jason, Cass, Tim, Duke, and Damian). He has a few other pseudo-kids, Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown, and maybe Helena Bertinelli and Maps Mizoguchi, but like...dude.

I need everyone to know that Deadpool is good with kids.

[piracytheorist]

What is a common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about?

I'm taking this back to Once Upon a Time, and it's the idea that Killian's journey was to go back to his "Lieutenant Jones" persona. Only I am RightTM of course, and my RightTM opinion is that Lieutenant Jones was even less of himself than Captain Hook was. Killian is, at his core, Chaotic. He doubts and rejects authority, he acts on his own moral code (whether that's fucked up or a little more sane) and he hates being controlled and told what to do. Lieutenant Jones was in the Navy, and you cannot survive in such a place if you're not full-on Lawful and willing to abide by someone else's rules.

So there were a lot of people who saw Lieutenant Jones and went like "This is what Killian needs to return to" and it's the absolute wrong way to interpret his character. Killian only joined the Navy because Liam wanted to join, and because Killian still (and always) idolized him and thought that Liam is always right and he should follow what Liam does. But it's not how Killian works as a person. People only think he should have gone back to that was because Lieutenant Jones was GoodTM, and the only way for Killian to be redeemed and become a good person was by adapting back into a place that went directly against his actual beliefs and stances.

--

Wait, I thought of another fandom opinion as well, and it's about Mia Winters from Resident Evil 7 and 8. So much of the fandom seems to have the interpretation that we're meant to hate her, and I cannot begin to tell you how wrong that feels. I don't think we're meant to fully forgive her, of course, but the narrative gives us enough material to show that Mia really, honestly cared for Ethan and yet the "Mia Winters bashing" tag is a common tag on ao3, but I'm not surprised that a video game fandom is overflowing with misogyny. Because, especially seeing how easily people forgive Heisenberg for his far more atrocious behaviour against Ethan, not giving a female character the benefit of the doubt, completely disregarding the idea of Author's Intent and only basing ones' opinion on her on their biases can also be traced to misogyny, I am sorry to tell you :)

So yeah. It's mostly because it's obvious people allow their biases to influence their opinion on Mia and don't take Author's Intent into consideration like, why were we given this and that scene? What is the narrative meaning of the two different endings in Resident Evil 7? How does Ethan react to Miranda's words while she poses as Mia? How does Chris Redfield, beloved character of the franchise, react to Mia's outbursts at the end of Resident Evil 8? Some people just don't give a fuck about any of that and go like "She's not sexy, mysterious or OP enough so into the trash she goes". And I am not even a Mia fan. It's just very obvious how biased people are about her.

Which is not a bad thing... if you recognize that. It's okay to have biases and for some characters to hit you in a very very bad way. The problem is most people don't realize that and they make going through the "Ethan Winters" tag here a nightmare until you block the right people.

🔥 choose violence ask game 🔥

[ashestoshadows]

Capgras Syndrome

I was inspired to write this from a itch.io video game I came across and played briefly and I got the idea to write a story with this formula despite the game being from 2020. Of course what I'm writing here is different but it is written for you, the reader, not myself here.

----------------

"Welcome home, how was your day?" his smile was beaming with light like the sun on a sunny summer day, "I'm doing alright" - "That's good! I decided to cook you your favourite food tonight," - "Before you have your shower," he quickly smooched your cheek before continuing to the kitchen. "It's good to see your cute face, seeing you haven't changed a single bit after these past few years of being together." he mused in a love-struck manner as he turned his back to you.

You walked to the bathroom nearby, locking the door behind you before undressing for your shower. Minutes passed as you rinsed yourself off from the weariness of your job, using the towel to dry yourself as you walked out of the now turned off shower. "Come sit! Your food will go cold, I don't want my hard work to be wasted" you were quickly rushed to the table, your husband forcing you down. And you couldn't help but stare at the food in front of you seeing the subtle lines of smoke coming off of it meaning it was still hot. Your partner watched, head resting atop their perched arm on the table. A lovey-dovey expression on his goofy face.

A few minutes passed and you felt… off. You didn't feel right to eat, "Come on, eat!" he yelled, slamming his hand against the wooden table as he yelled, startling you deeply and badly, they went from all lovey-dovey to berserk. His eyes wild and feral as they slammed their hands on the wooden table again. You saw no soul behind those two eyes as he grabbed your fork, placing some of the food on it before shoving it straight into your mouth. Hurting your mouth and stabbing your upper lip slightly at the metal piercing it.

"I don't want my food going to waste, especially when I cooked it for you!" he yelled as he continued to shovel food into your mouth as you were barely able to swallow the loads going into your mouth as he gave you maybe only 20 seconds to swallow the food before being forced more. You finally swallowed the last load of the  food before you began feeling bouts of… dizziness and tiredness? "Hush, go to sleep my dear. Drift off to sleep, sweetheart," their face was feral. Evil. Devoid of any soul you thought he had.

You tried to fight back from the tiredness, their face was enough to give you cold chills but apparently not even his devoid expression was enough to keep you awake as your eyes slowly closed despite your protests. You awoke with a  jolt to see an old, dreary, and lifeless basement with your husband in front of you contrasting the lifelessness of the basement.

Grinning ear to ear like the damned Cheshire cat himself reincarnated. You felt sick seeing him looking at you in such a way, you didn't even know he would do such a thing. "Hmm… Good morning, Or evening, not sure." you raised an eyebrow, they didn't know the time? Did they stay down here with you ever since they dragged you down here?

"Don't look at me like that! I know what you are!" he yelled, a finger pointed at you, like you're a thing instead of a being with emotions and needs. Or a soul for that matter. He giggled before continuing "Don't worry dear, I'll rip that nasty demon right out of you!" he lunged at you, knife raised as you leaped from the chair you were held in "You!" you breathed heavily, your chest heaving as you wobbly got to your legs.

"You cannot escape me!" you rushed towards the light of the staircase willing to do anything to escape, anything to be away from that… being! You know that's not your husband. He wouldn't dare do that to you, not in a million years. He promised to protect you, to be with you until the end. Not be the cause of your end!

You felt the knife graze and cut your leg as you trampled up the stairs in a blind panic. You quickly u-turned to slam the door on the man you grew to love but weren't sure if it'd stay that way after today. That is if you live to see the next sunrise. "Let me out! I know what I need to do Y/N!" the knife could be heard scraping against the door, hurting your ears at the unpleasant sound after locking it from the outside not before you barricaded the door with the kitchen table. You tried to fumble with the front door and open it, you wanted out. now.

You heard the basement door clatter open, violently coming off of it's hinges as you finally got the door open. Your husband is smart, just apparently not smart enough to tie you up to the chair you were sat on for who knows how long. You kicked him back as he tried to grab at you, you ran down the street wildly, hair messy and very dirty from the lack of self-care as you felt panic surge through your veins and adrenaline run through you at a wild pace.

 Passerby's watching in confusion and some in horror as they watched you being chased by your berserk and deranged husband wielding the knife still swearing like a sailor at you to stop. Calling you many things you never though he'd say to you. "Come back here you deranged demon! I will end you and your pitiful existence right here!" he threatened as his voice roared and sounded harsh to your ears. You felt and heard your stomach rumbling with hunger as you continued running, your legs still keeping you going as you refused to give up.  You have to get to the police! They need to help you, they have to.

The nearest station was five minutes away and you were four minutes away now. You felt your legs start to give in. You could still barely hear your partner yelling for you, swearing he'll slay you and free you of that demon. Yet does he know, does he? You won't give in and let him take you and murder you not when you've come so far! You cannot! You felt unending pain coarse through your legs as you collapsed inside the cafe nearby "Please help! He-" the door swung open to show him. Covered in some blood from your leg wound which you just remembered existed. The adrenaline carried you even with that nasty wound on your leg which will definitely leave a gnarly scar.

"Sir! Get away!" the officer who was on break and inside the cafe yelled as she approached you collapsed on the floor realising what was possibly happening, you ended up getting away and transported to the hospital for your deep cut and got therapy. All of that incident happen three years ago and he'd been sentenced to a mental institute for life, wonder what would happen if you didn't get out alive from a very strong stroke of luck? Maybe we'll never know...

[bucklemonster2]

Dark Comfort: A Reason people do terror or join cults. ENGLISH

The following texts mentions murder, cults, mass shootings, terrorism, depression and head injuries. If you do not wish to read about such topics, feel free to read something else. I'd also like to say, I do not promote cults, terror and murder. Thanks

Like many people, when I hear stories about cults and mass shootings. I keep wondering why? Why do people do such things? In my mind I stumbled upon a reason that is not often discussed:

Comfort. Joining a cult, or doing a mass shooting is extremely predictable, it's fleeing from the complexity of modern life. We see these acts as chaos, but for those that do it, its an act of order, a desperate scream for order in an unpredictable world.

For example: Someone who does a school shooting takes their own fate and that of others in their own hands. The objective is simple: "Killing as many people as possible". The final step is often suicide or suicide by cop. (Often the suicide by cop fails.)

This is of course terrible. But in the perpetrators eyes it is a clear plan with a definitive ending.

Most people's lives are chaotic. They are not sure if they can keep their jobs, their spouse might divorce them, they have no idea what to do on a free Sunday, etc.... They do not know what life will be like in 5, 10 years. They don't even know if they will live in a retirement home when they are old or when and how they will die. Someone whom plans to commit a mass shooting knows when they will die and the way it will happen.

Mass shooters often believe in conspiracies or in a "them versus us" narrative. If anything it is "them alone, versus the world". A world full of complexity, bad and good actors, misled people and thousands of different motivations, groups and cultures are boiled into a binary simple world-vision: "Me versus Evil" or "My Group versus Evil". Mass shooters and terrorists might see themselves as evil, put probably a "necessary" evil. What they do is an "act of revenge" or "shaking the world awake." This dark comfort, this fleeing from complexity, is also seen in people joining cults. They don't have to listen to themselves any more. No more doubts, no more planning, all they have to do is listen to their leader and do what the leader says!

Of course we cannot ignore the other reasons why people join cults or do acts of terror.

They might be lonely, they might have been abused, they might have one or more mental illnesses, maybe they had a head injury, or have a brain tumour. Then there is the media reporting. When someone commits an act of terror this person gets broadcasted on television all the time. Because people want to understand such a bizarre act, or perhaps need a villain. The perpetrator becomes infamous (which is a form of famous). On the news their body count gets listed with those of other shooters as if its some sort of high-score in a video game.

In this world we must foster connection and love (or at least affection). Foster a tranquil world where individuals and groups can flourish. Where those that need help, get the help they need. Besides enforcing laws, and law enforcement keeping an eye on certain groups, online and real life, we also need to think about the reasons why people do certain things. We can do this without agreeing with those reasons.

At least alternative acts and or solutions can be found, besides joining a cult or doing an act of terror. People must be educated about cults and how they operate and reel people in. Most cult members, if not all of them, do not know they are inside a cult. People must be educated about the potential dangers of false conspiracy theories and dark internet rabbit-holes like the incel movement.

In short: terror or joining cults means predictability for the perpetrators. For them its order and simple and maybe even easy. They have a simple world view as an escape from a complex world. By thinking about evil phenomena like these we can prevent them.

Thank you for reading. - Emilia Sameyn 25/06/2023

[meaninglessgaythoughts]

On Material

Which itself, of course, is not evil. I cannot exist without a physical body, nor can anyone else; hence, however unfortunate, our dependence on material goods. I rely on food reaped from a plentiful Earth, water from springs or rivers, air from the wind; I am a being of carbon, born of it, and to which I shall return, someday, but not soon.

I sit currently surrounded by the material. The laptop I write this on, the desk on which it sits, and the floor of the building beneath me, the chair between it and me. The headphones in my ears and the cell phone they connect to, by some power I do not currently understand; a bed, a lamp, a water bottle, a box of tissues, various posters and trinkets that at one point brought joy and now serve to ward off the prison-like atmosphere of my dorm. It is in this space that I feel safe, this chair that I collapse into at the end of the day, elated to rest my legs, and this bed that is so hard to leave when the clock on my phone says I must. Objects bring me comfort, whether physical as the bed, or mental as the video game controller or wall arts.

Yet objectively speaking, I could survive without everything I listed. I won’t claim to know how to survive on my own; an art lost to modernity, perhaps. My distant ancestors did, however. For three hundred thousand years they lived without anything I now rely upon. I don’t entirely know how they did it, but I’m glad they did. So many beings had to exist without ibuprofen to dull the pain of a headache or a minor injury so that I, today, can sit in a climate-controlled room, protected from anything and everything that might hurt me and with everything I need available, and write about them.

But what then is the point of all this material? Does it actively keep me alive? Not beyond the snacks in the drawer, the water in the hydroflask. Does it actively keep me happy? To some extent, sure; but I cannot be fulfilled by things as I could when I was younger. I had to write a list of gifts I wanted for the holidays, and asked myself what I needed; it wasn’t long. My needs now cannot be met by more material. What then is the point of all this material I surround myself with? I once found happiness when my only belongings available could fit in two stuff sacks, and one largely went unopened. What, I ask myself, is the purpose?

The culture I grew up in was fueled by consumption. Status is determined by one’s spending power, or owning power. Endless commodities are available for purchase at the click of a button; I don’t even have to drive to the store to obtain them. Every platform, digital and physical, seems to be colonized entirely by colorful advertisements designed to goad me into buying more, and more, and more, which in turn demands more and more and more from the earth, the source of all wealth. My place as an individual is a consumer. I exist to generate wealth, to spend, to buy, things I don’t need, a neverending stream of trinkets as one might entertain a toddler; and things I do need, forcing me to exert my “usefulness” as a worker, a contributor, something “valuable”- however such value might be defined- to earn the privilege of being able to eat, to drink, to sleep comfortably, to pursue higher goals; the privilege, ultimately, of being a person- which, of course, is a person of material.

I can’t help but wonder how we got here. The very idea of private property is itself relatively recent. Perhaps we started by owning farms, collectively, where everybody worked and everybody enjoyed the benefits of “easy” production. With surplus came specialization; not everybody needed to work the fields. Those others could be free to create tools or weapons, to study science, perhaps to create art. But those specialists then relied on those who still farmed for that most basic of material needs. Thus was the barter invented. Each person’s value to a society larger than themselves could be realized and different, but that difference had to be mediated by exchange. Then perhaps the communal farm became my farm or your farm, and I owned these cattle and you those fields. The fruits of my labor bought me the fruits of yours, and everybody still, probably, gets what they need.

But someday, inevitably, one person owned more than another. Perhaps their field had been lucky and prosperous, or they were exceptionally talented, or they could pay others to assert their power. Thus is the first class division created. This person would now control the surplus, and control who had access to it. They could exercise their authority in a newly-defined legal sense, organize everyone else below them; for in a rapidly growing society, it only makes sense to delegate tasks, including the task of leadership; leadership which comes with its own rewards. Now they can command a military to ensure their uncontested rule. They can put that military to work and implement a tax system, “for the greater good” they’ll say, or perhaps to invade a smaller, neighboring society, either to assimilate or steal. Now those in lower classes naturally want to be in that upper class, to not have to worry about working the field or forge, to have such surplus to live leisurely. They cannot hope to challenge the military power, so the only route upward is through accumulation of wealth. The process only accelerates from there, over twelve thousand years, until today.

Somewhere in that process was born the idea, the need, to have material wealth beyond what is required for basic living. Somewhere, I’m not sure where, material became synonymous with power, and power became synonymous with happiness, and simple living was no longer realistic. Today such drives compel us to sacrifice the earth, its inhabitants, longterm sustainability, and other human beings in the name of material. The desire to go upward never ended; strangely enough, it manifests strongly in those who already exist at the top. Such people have incomprehensible hoards of material, and it apparently isn’t enough. I wish I could ask a question and get an honest answer. I might ask, Where else do you hope to go? Does each new purchase and dollar earned actually make you happy? Is the mindless sacrifice, exploitation, lying, stealing, cheating, and every other crime worth it, in the end?

Perhaps before the process even began the same type of people would have existed. The hoarders. But their power would have been nonexistent when the only power is in collectivity. They might have been shunned, outcast, stripped of that material, labelled as one who takes more than they could ever need while others die from those needs. Such selfishness was criminal in a time when surplus did not readily exist. Now, such selfishness is a sign of success. We worship the hoarders as kings and facilitate their futile quest towards the stars, away from the world they’ve ruined getting there.

Perhaps, with all that material, they can blind themselves from the atrocities that created it.

[beeindaclouds]

I have another request! Could u do hcs dsmp babysitting child!reader? Maybe a lil scenario?

Welcome back to my inbox haha

Yes, I had this idea for a while but I didn't know if anybody would have read it so thank you for the request <3

I'll probably make another version where the DSMP are kids too 👀

DSMP babysitting Child!Reader pt. 1

Includes: Dream, Georgenotfound, Sapnap, Badboyhalo, Skeppy, Quackity, Karl Jacobs, Wilbur Soot, C!Philza, C!Technoblade, Nihachu, Eret, Punz, FoolishGamers

A.N: I don't really need to say this but, just in case some sickos get the wrong idea, this is strictly PLATONIC.

Request are OPEN

❝ Dream ❞

He has younger siblings, so he for sure knows what to do with children

Absolutely loves to pick you up and like throw you in the air while you giggle away

He cannot say no to you. Even if he is streaming or editing, if you come running to him and pull on his leg to get his attention so you can play his answer is 9/10 times "yes"

That 1/10 times is when he is almost done and just wants to quickly get it over with. But he'll keep you on his lap while he's finishing things up

Spoils you. A lot. Even after your parents told him that he didn't need to, he gave you gifts anyway

Yall know that tik tok audio "can I touch your kitties?", yeah that happened when youw wanted to pat Patches

❝ Georgenotfound ❞

This could go two ways. He is either good at it or freezes and doesn't know what to do.

He's good, not great, with kids. It's when they start going crazy or cry that he does not know what to do

If he is babysitting you at his house you love to run around and paly with his things

Definitely stole his glasses once, he took a picture and sent it to your parents

He, after asking your parents permission of course, brought you on stream with him after you begged him many many times

You two did a cooking stream, need I say more?

It turned more into a "food fight" then a cooking stream

You did end up tiring yourself to the point where you fell asleep in George's arms, chat went crazy

Also you like to talk to the Dream guy on George's phone

❝ Sapnap ❞

If I'm not wrong he has younger siblings, so again, knows what he's doing

Doesn't mean that he's perfect at it tho

He mostly entertains you with videogames

Your parents had to warn him many times about not leaving you on the computer for to long

I feel like his cheeks are quite squishy, so you constantly pull and play witht them, he has no choice but to surrender

You.two.make.pillow.forts.

He definitely roleplays with you. Sometimes you're the knight in shining armor who has to save teddy (your plushie) from the evil grasps of Lord Sapnap

The roles and scenarios change based on what you two felt like that day

He brought you on a call with Quackity and Karl once, where you asked if they were the boy friends he always talked about

The three of them understood it as boyfriends not boy friends and all had a laugh

But they made you believe that they were all dating, they would do that, I don't take no as an answer

❝ Badboyhalo ❞

I feel like childrens like him

His voice just seems so child friendly

He'd be awkward with childrens at first but then does a whole 360 and becomes the best babysitter ever

You live the life of luxury with this man. You two watch cartoons togheter, you play some games, he cooks you deserts, he has a puppy, what more could a kid want?

He's definitely the type to cook deserts with vegetables in them to trick you into eating healthy

You love to play with Rat and he will sometimes supervise you, just to make sure you're not being too rough with her

Reads you bedtime stories and his soothing voice will put you to sleep in no time

He's also very good at comforting you

Wouldn't bring you on stream but he presented you to Skeppy when they were both video calling

Skeppy kept on telling you that he and Bad were dating and you weren't having none of it

Bad had a blast as you and Skeppy were "arguing" about who would marry Bad in the future

❝ Skeppy ❞

He's the cool babysitters

Even tho he barely has experience

Yes, he as a sister, but that does not mean he's good with kids

But he somehow still manages

When I say cool babysitter, I mean let's you stay up late to watch TV, let's you eat junk food, you know the opposite of what your parents told him but, they don't need to know right?

He makes you play Minecraft for a video

100% lets you help him prank Bad by acting like you were Skeppy's adopted child

Bad got so confused

Also takes pictures of you in his merch, even if they are way to big on you

Shares them on twitter, with permission of course

You like to stay on his back because it makes you feel tall and Skeppy enjoys hearing your joyful glee's

❝ Quackity ❞

The only reason why he'd actually be great with kids is becuse he can sometimes act like one /pos

He has to keep you away from his cat, you never know when it might scratch you

Will watch Cocomelon with you and you can't say otherwise.

Sometimes will play you songs, or let you sing as he plays the guitar, so that you can later show your parents what you learned

After asking permission he brought you on one of his streams, you both played some games on GirlsGoGames and "ew"ed at the disgusting ones

He also let's you play Minecraft with his character while he's on a videocall with whoever was online

I imagine Tommy being online and you three just cause so much chaos

Quackity teaches you how to attack Tommy, while the british boy is just trying to stay alive cause you're doing a lot of damage

You have many times tried to take of his beanie and have succeeded once, when he gave you permission to take it off

❝ Karl Jacobs ❞

Starts off awkward, he doesn't know what to do, what you like, ect.

But after you both warm up to eachother everything goes smoothly

He loves to watch with you old cartoons that he watched as a kid

You like to ask questions about certain characters and things that are happening in the episode and he is very happy to answer you

He's a cuddler, so he'll keep you safe and warm whenever he can

It's probably that one babysitter you get a crush on but they're too old for you

He once brought you on a MrBeast set

You hid behind Karl most of the time but later got comfortable and ran around like you were high on sugar lol

You, Karl and Chris had a blast togheter

You fell asleep after the long day and Karl made sure to be super gentle and quiet while taking you back home

Part Two

A.N: I'm making this into two parts because I felt like it lol

[rpmemes-galore]

video game quotes ... sentence starters pt. ?

“Despite everything, it's still you.”

“I am sworn to carry your burdens.“

"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.”

“Knowledge is useless if it is not used.“

“I can’t go to hell. I’m all out of vacation days.”

“So you didn't feel anything? No power at all?“

“I don’t know you. Why are you talking to me?”

“Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp!”

“What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!“

“What is bravery without a dash of recklessness?“

“I tried, and I failed them all. I've left them... all to die.“

“I've died twice already. I'm not afraid of death anymore.“

“I don’t know if I told you this, but I’m allergic to bad vibes!”

“Don’t make a girl a promise if you know you can’t keep it.“

“You’ve got a heart of gold. Don’t let them take it from you.”

“Be the kind of person your future self won’t regret having been.“

“I guess no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape your past.“

“We all make choices in life, but in the end our choices make us.“

“All we need is a cause to fight for. And for me, that cause is you.”

“You’re either the bravest person I’ve ever met, or the biggest fool.”

“But you cannot accept it. You think you are above consequences.“

“Nobody is perfect. That is of course until you fall in love with them.“

“Where are anyone's parents? They've been gone a long, long time.“

“I can't tell you to remember me, but I can't bear for you to forget me.”

“Listen to me, if I get in trouble down there, you make every shot count.”

“I looked for the truth. Found it. Didn't like it. Wish to hell I could forget it.“

“The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.“

“The ending isn't any more important than any of the moments leading to it.“

“After all we've been through. Everything that I've done. It can't be for nothing.“

“Someday you're bound to lose everything. Everybody around you will be gone.”

“A famous explorer once said that the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are.“

“What is better? To be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?“

“Curiosity is essential to carving your own path through life. Get too curious, though, and it'll be a short walk.“

“Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls, and asks the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer.“

“Part of growing up is doing what's best for the people you care about, even if sometimes, that means hurting someone else.“

[kindestegg]

Deltarune Theory: Ralsei is a guide for the script

It feels crazy that Deltarune Chapter 2 has only been out for like, what, two weeks? As of the time I’m writing this, and yet, there has already been so much secret hunting and speculation over this. Not even the full game, and people already go crazy over it. Naturally, I am part of this craze. In fact I was one of the people that played it as soon as it dropped.

And, I thought it was only me, but, at least for a little while, Ralsei’s behavior struck me as… odd. Not outwardly malicious, but just… odd. Particularly the first bit of the game, it was just so… happy and convenient? And Ralsei was at the center of it all, orchestrating it, making sure everything happened accordingly.

Eventually, that initial feeling of distrust went away, but… not quite. And it seems a lot of people began to feel the same way, pointing out bits about Ralsei that are just… out of place. Things that didn’t seem to stand out in the first chapter, are now popping out about him.

Questions include:

How does he know about what’s outside the Dark World, about the school?

How does he know about the game mechanics and call them out by names?

Why is he so interested in keeping the balance between only Kris acting and him and Susie doing magic?

Why does he seem so eager to dismiss what happened with Spamton NEO?

Why doesn’t he turn into stone or even get weak at any point during the time he spends in Cyber World?

Are the parts of his name and design connecting to the Dreemurr’s intentional, and if so, what does that mean for his relation to Kris?

How and why does he take player control away to look at what Susie is doing? Why must he wait until Kris is willing to do it? What does he tell them when he succeeds in this?

Now, I don’t intend to pose here “a supreme theory to rule them all”, I’m just a guy having fun and I’ve seen people voice particularly similar ideas to this one I’ve had, so I want to at least try to answer these questions through a relatively simple idea that would, almost entirely, immediately answer ALMOST all the doubts.

First, let’s start with some steps to build up this idea. For one, we know for a fact that Ralsei holds knowledge over game mechanics and may even break the fourth wall at times.

But we also know that Ralsei’s design resembles a lot of characters from Undertale we know and were fond of. For one, he can be likened to Toriel in the sense that he is the one to give you the first tutorial of the game and his clothes resemble her original outfit as well. Another connection, much more common, that people have made is that he is like Asriel, no doubt due to his name being an anagram, but also due to the fact he is also a cute young goat.

I would like to do a complete turn around here though, and say I do not think any of this points to Ralsei being related to Kris in the familial sense, for more than one reason, but my main one being that I don’t think Toby would be as frankly disgusting as to imply such a thing when there is so so much teasing in the direction of Ralsei possibly having a crush on Kris. I mean… really, Toby?

You know, I’m not too sure this would be the smartest idea, Mr. Fox, but alright.

However, I do think all these hints in his design and name have a purpose. And it has to do with how us, the fandom, see these two characters. For one, they are very beloved characters, and Toriel is one that we associate with her tutorials and guidance, whereas Asriel is one that people have yearned to see more in action. They are back, in a sense, but not present in our adventures so far.

What I’m getting at is that Ralsei is specifically designed to be the darling of the fandom. He is made to be loved, to be trusted, to cause feelings in us that make us want to protect him and accept his advice. This, in a way, also affects the in-universe characters who see him, as Susie put it: “as a big portable teddy bear”, whose job is “giving hugs”.

And I don’t just mean this in a character design way, like “oh wow Toby was so smart to make a perfectly marketable boy!” No. I think Ralsei exists as a meta element, his form being a direct manifestation of what we want to see.

He looks like that because he wants us to see him and lower our guard and expect his guidance. Remember how his form was shadowy and vague throughout all of chapter 1 until the very end of it and how he poofs into nothing but a pile of clothes in both chapters so far, no matter what form he’s in? What if he’s a shapeshifter? What if Ralsei isn’t even his real name? That certainly would explain why he says he doesn’t know what being Ralsei-like is like.

Ralsei? Ralsei? Oh God he’s gone.

Now, do I think he’s lowering our guard in the sense of leaving us vulnerable for an attack? Not exactly. I think it's so we learn to accept him…

Accept that he is a GUIDE for the game’s script. His entire existence hinges on guiding the main characters, specially Kris, throughout the story, and making sure the whole story, all seven chapters, play out exactly as planned.

You see, Ralsei isn’t evil. His goal is pretty simple, actually: guide us, the player, throughout the game, making us feel as safe and happy and secure. In that sense, of course he pushes so hard towards the pacifist route. After all, that’s the one that’s closer to a completionist route, as the sparing + recruiting mechanic adds more characters to your town, and therefore more content. He wants you to see all this content and get the most enjoyment out of it. His code urges him to bring you the best experience possible.

This would also answer why he does that thing with taking our control away from Kris and to watch Susie’s shenanigans. Because it’s satisfying to us. Notice how stressed out and pushy he gets in the alternate route when Susie comes out of Noelle’s room without being able to let us see what happened. He knows he messed up, something went wrong. He was supposed to let us see, so that we wouldn’t be bored, because God forbid the players be bored.

Just imagine this going through his head.

He also seems to genuinely care about Kris and Susie, and with good reason, as he knows these are the protagonists, and he is supposed to care for their well being too and ensure they reach their goal. I do think, however, there is a good amount of being genuine in his care, as he has no reason to react so boldly sometimes to either of them, showing outrage or affection in pretty telling ways. He isn’t heartless despite carrying out this job.

However it is also worth noting, for all his care, he cannot do the one thing that Kris would desire the most: free them from our grasp. And that is his ultimate failure towards them, and may end up creating conflict later on in the game.

From, here, there are two possible pathways:

Ralsei does not know about the dilemma Kris is going through, and believes Kris is entirely oblivious and passive towards being in a video game. He may even end up being the final boss to fight, as he desperately tries to keep everything on rails while Kris very much does not care for any of that.

Ralsei is entirely aware of what’s going on with Kris, after all, everything in a game’s design is planned, even the cutscenes, therefore even Kris’ struggles. Ralsei knows of the fate that lies ahead, that Kris will eventually be free, how it all ends. But to get there… is still a road ahead.

I think Ralsei’s affection towards Kris will definitely be explored in the later chapters. Not just because of the teasing we’ve been getting, but, if Ralsei really is a guide of the game’s code and script, what would that mean for him to get so attached towards the character the player is controlling?

Ralsei will have to make a choice. He will either recognize Kris is suffering and cannot wait any longer, or be faced with possibly having to fight them himself. This is why those two pathways matter as well. If he doesn’t know, his choice will come later and it will be an unpleasant surprise for him to find out the game universe is breaking apart around him with the self awareness of certain characters. If he does know, however, his choice is NOW, and waiting for the inevitable will be torture.

Just how long until he breaks? Or will he keep the facade until the very last chapter?

Like I said, I don’t intend this theory to be the biggest, most revealing and coherent theory. But… It could add a very interesting layer to Ralsei’s character, as well as answer many questions posed beforehand. He knows the school layout and game controls because he is part of the code. He can get to the other Dark World’s easily and remain unharmed because the game demands him to be. He looks like this so that we love him. He wants to give us the most fulfilling Castle Town so that we will love the game. He doesn’t protest even when Kris does things like try to give him the thorn ring, because to him, everything will be okay anyway. Everything he is, is for us. He isn’t evil or malicious per se, he just opposes Kris’ biggest need.

But he may have gotten himself attached. And that may be a clue to sparing him if he does become a final boss.

But! Tell me what you thought of this theory! Do you think it’s way too weird and farfetched, or do you think it’s possible that it could happen? Or maybe you agree with some stuff but not with other stuff? Go ahead and tell me!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 314: ...Or You Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain

Previously on BnHA: Some random assholes were all “let’s throw exploding spears at All Might and see if it activates his Conqueror’s Haki” and SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKERS, IT DID!! Elsewhere, Lady Nagant confusingly tried to capture Deku alive by shooting him in the stomach, but to be fair I guess that’s what happens when you send an assassin to do a bounty hunter’s job, so yeah. Deku was all “ouch”, and then because this is a shounen he basically just straight up forgot about it, and did a big fancy Smokescreen thing, and then activated his mildly incomprehensible new ki-blasting quirk which he got from the Third. En and the Third were all “hey Deku maybe let’s not just impulsively activate all this shit in the heat of battle when you don’t know how to use it yet and you’re already injured,” and Deku was all “thanks for the quirks guys but I’ll take it from here” and snuck up on Nagant and grabbed her arm and so now what’s going to happen I wonder.

Today on BnHA: Nagant is all “[shoots Deku again]” because of course she is lol. Deku is all “tell me about AFO!” and Nagant is all “why would I tell you anything?” and then proceeds to tell him her entire life story which is FILLED WITH SO MUCH MURDER, YOU GUYS. Holy shit. So basically she was an assassin for the HPSC, which we already knew, but somehow it’s one thing to know that, and another to actually see her running around capping dudes in the forehead and being covered in more blood than the elevator from The Shining. Anyway, so you’ll never believe it, but all that murder had a negative impact on her psychologically, and eventually led her to question everything she believed about hero society, and so she killed her creepy boss and was promptly sent to Tartarus. This extremely fun chapter ends with Overhaul showing up all “HI, HELLO, I’M STILL HERE”, because for some reason he is still here. Why are you still here, Overhaul.

“the beautiful Lady Nagant” oh you know your audience don’t you Horikoshi

well all right then! so I’m guessing this means that she is not, in fact, going to roll over and die just because Deku’s out here all “GOT YA!” like they’re playing a game or tag or something. ffff may the manga gods have mercy on our young suicidal protagonist

lmao so Deku is all “GOD I’M SO SMART, WHAT A GOOD STRATEGY I HAD, CAPITOL JOB THERE OL’ CHAP, CAPITOL” and lol, okay. I mean, it was a good plan though. but I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop here

“I’ll make you give me information on All for One” well there you go, lol. Deku Angst arc still fully engaged. still no light in his eyes either of course. just a lil chaotic ball of sleep deprivation and rage

lol, fucking THANK YOU though

oh my god what the hell did she do to him lol

did she shoot him with her elbow??? fucking look at this?? THIS IS WHY WE LISTEN TO HAWKS oh my god Deku are you dead

WHAT’S HAPPENING, IS THIS GOOD OR BAD, WHO’S WINNING

things that I wish I could tell from this panel which I unfortunately cannot tell

did she stab him or shoot him?? can you imagine if it was the former lol. why does Horikoshi keep stabbing all my kids. look Kacchan now the two of you can match

did she actually hit him or did he get away??

or did she hit him and then he jumped away?? just, what

well anyway, so now Deku is asking her why she sided with AFO, but he seems a lot more pissed off than when he was interrogating Muscular, though. probably because she shot him three times. fair enough

oh my god

does Lady have a blog here on tumblr dot com?? -- does Horikoshi have a blog here on tumblr motherfucking dot com?? why do I suddenly feel like this man is out here sneakily reading up on all our discourse

oh my god Deku it’s almost like getting up close and personal with someone who can shoot custom bullets from any distance and any position with deadly accuracy was a terrible fucking idea

IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD WARNED YOU NOT TO ENGAGE WITH HER AT ALL COSTS. IF ONLY SOMEONE HAD HAD THE FORESIGHT TO DO THAT sob. can you imagine how much shorter this series would be if characters actually listened to Hawks. Hawks, and Momo. why do we even let anyone else run the show ever

OH MY GOD

DEKU, RUN

OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING

this looks a lot like what happens to me whenever I play One’s Justice. those fucking combo attacks that you can’t fucking escape from and so your character just has to stand there getting their ass whalloped repeatedly while you wonder why you paid $40 for this

but anyways though. so Lady who did you kill?? I bet they deserved it, don’t worry I forgive you

(ETA: ANYWAY SO FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT LADY NAGANT DID NOTHING WRONG EVER IN HER ENTIRE LIFE. aside from murdering all those innocent people and shit. but there were CIRCUMSTANCES, and THEY WERE EXTENUATING, OKAY.)

-- holy shit

looks like the HPSC arc is back on the menu boys

so are we about to learn that the HPSC was going full Hydra on people’s asses? secretly dispatching anyone they deemed a threat to society?? “taken care of” as in you fucking shot them??

so then was the “hero” she killed actually one of the guys who was giving or carrying out these orders?? holy shit Lady, up until now I’ve mainly just been stanning you for your flawless eyebrow game and metal af quirk, but this shit could actually get real very quickly, and I am prepared to genuinely and sincerely love the shit out of you depending on what we learn next about your backstory

oh my god?!?

so wait, hold up. am I reading this right?? basically the HPSC started murdering vigilantes because they were worried they were gaining too much of the public’s favor?? holy fucking shit???

oh my GOD oh my god

“it’s been a while since I scarred you all with the dead dog and the graphic slaughter of an entire innocent family, huh,” Horikoshi says thoughtfully. “anyway so what do you all think of my new creation, the Spaghetti Bullet.” well, Horikoshi, so you know that squished-up face that Kermit the Frog makes sometimes? yeah. that’s what I think, if you must know lol

holy hell the juxtaposition

I’m actually kind of surprised to learn she had a lot of fans? what with her M.O., I was expecting her to have been an underground hero like Aizawa, but apparently not? then again I still have absolutely no idea how any of that works. I really need to read Vigilantes already

oh snap

nothing like a sweet dose of assassin trauma to finally round out our BnHA Trauma Bingo!! well done guys, we finally collected all of the traumas! hooray!

noooo Ladyyyyyyy

holy shit what a fucking chapter. like, this man promised us an assassin, and went and fucking delivered. I was not expecting it to be this dark, lol, but holy shit I am here for it

you know, at some point you have to start questioning the logistics of this, though

I mean, how do I put this... her quirk isn’t exactly subtle. that murder scene from a few pages back looked like the first season of Dexter for fuck’s sake, that’s not exactly “disappearing” people now is it?? and I mean, her bullets are literally made from her own fucking hair; it seems like it would be impossible not to leave any evidence behind. did no one start to wonder who the fuck was going around murdering all these people? or did the people who asked too many questions wind up getting conveniently “disappeared” themselves??

and hey, speaking of asking too many questions

holy shit is he blackmailing her??!? or no, wait -- what the hell is he reaching for in his pocket boy you better not

(ETA: what exactly was this man expecting fdslkjd. “uh oh my unstoppable hair trigger assassin who is literally always armed is asking questions, better announce that I am going to shoot her and then reach into my pocket veeeeeery slowly while she stands there all of two feet away.” how did this guy ever function as the head of a shadow government with these decision-making skills, I’m genuinely baffled.)

OH MY GOD LADY YES

this. right here. is why “run the fuck away” was damn good solid fucking advice. oh shit. but my god did this dude have it coming

so wait lol has she just been narrating all of this out loud to Deku this entire time

okay but can we just stop for a moment and appreciate the fact that they’re having this deep conversation about the dark secrets of hero society right in the middle of their intense mid-air sniper free-for-all lol

holy shit you guys, Nagant’s the one that should have made the tell-all video. I mean, no offense to you, Dabi, I’m sure you worked very hard on your video and did a ton of crunches every day so that you would look good with your shirt off while you told the world all about how your dad was a jerk. but seriously...

this is already like 100x more convincing than what he put out. also, gasp, is it another flashback

yes it is oh my gosh

so the HPSC Chairladyperson whom ReDestro killed used to be this guy’s direct subordinate, huh? I wonder if she kept the whole assassin program going after she took over. can’t say I was feeling any particular kind of grieving way about her death before, but certainly not now lol

but unfortunately Nagant has finally lost me at the same place where all of the villains inevitably do, which is to say when they somehow make the dubious mental leap from “society sucks and is bad” to “let’s just be openly fucking evil lol, worth a shot.” because when heroes murder innocent people and cover it up, that’s obviously bad (and I mean, it absolutely fucking is lol, don’t get me wrong); but when villains murder innocent people straight up out in the open without giving a fuck, they’re righteous revolutionaries? just -- is there really no non-murdery middle ground here?? I guess that’s what Deku and co. are for, hopefully

anyways oh shit Deku seems to have spotted something?? and he’s doing something weird with Blackwhip what

oh, he spotted her, I guess

lmaooooo

new favorite Deku panel right here. a masterpiece

oh my god you guys our little boy is starting to grow up before our eyes

you love to see it. and you can tell with those elipses that he’s gearing up to say something really cool and determined and badass like the shounen protag he is, yes please, Deku ilu so much please do your thing

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

IS THAT A TEENY TINY LIL EYE SPARKLE THERE OMG. still not anywhere close to his usual standard, but that’s some clear resolve there in his eyes there at long last! it always shines the most clearly when he’s being true to himself and his ideals, so I love that it finally shows up again here, when he’s reaffirming his resolve to help others no matter what

uh oh so what’s Lady going to do now

is it time for a trump card?? kinda sounding like it’s time for a trump card

???

I lied btw, this is my new favorite Deku panel. but anyways what is she up to now lol

ohhhhhh, lol

why does she seem shocked, lol. here I thought this was part of her plan, but apparently she forgot all about ol’ “Look Ma, No Hands” back up there

and so I guess that’s it for this week! so we’ve learned basically everything now about Lady and her quirk and her history with the HPSC and why she agreed to work for AFO. pretty much the only question that still remains is why the hell she decided to drag this asshole along for the ride! because I still cannot figure that out dsklkjlkf

(ETA: actually now I’m kind of wondering if they maybe have some past connection we don’t know about yet. when exactly was Nagant sent to Tartarus? is it possible she was ordered to track down and kill Overhaul at some point before that, but never got around to it? or something else along those lines? idk but now I’m curious.)

anyways Deku, I know that your empathy has no bounds and that you’re on a “saving villains” kick right now, and good on you... but also, if you decide to just like, skip all of that shit just this once, absolutely no one will hold it against you, I’m just saying. just, all I’m asking here is maybe let’s think twice before we start trying to reform guys who imprison and torture little girls for profit. I think maybe that’s a good place to draw the line. next week is going to be a very interesting chapter lol

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Victor Valentine Card story ‘‘Seeking for what’s frightening’’

Translation of Victor Valentine’s 4* ‘’Gothic Halloween’’ card story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Gray: Uwah, amazing… Did you make this, Victor-san…?

Victor: Yes, this robot was built by me. I’m occupied with pouring all my time into producing these for the upcoming Halloween League.

Gray:  I had assumed you were leaning more towards biochemistry… But to be able to build robots too, that’s seriously amazing...

Victor: As you thought my area of expertise is chemistry, however if I had to be honest, I barely have the confidence to manufacture these… 

Victor: And on top of it, I had been also struggling with the design itself...

Gray: Eh… Wondering if it has enough punch to it, you mean… I already think it’s scary enough as is though....

Victor: Adding that pinch of “scary” has been considerably difficult. I’ve been making these as requested by Marion, but as far as the details go, I’ve only received how it should be thematically based on “evil spirits of Halloween”.

Victor: Naturally I have referred to literature to form a general outline on the matter, but what traits resemble an “evil spirit”, about it having a factor of “spookiness” to it...  No matter how far I go with investigating the matter, I simply cannot draw the line where it’d be most suitable.

Gray: Like evil spirits… spookiness….

Victor: What is your impression of it, Gray? Do you think it’s able to represent those traits of an “evil spirit”?

Gray: Eh? Eeeh… uh, um…

Victor: Please do not hold yourself back, and be as candid as you can.

Gray: Be as candid as I can… Right, right...

Gray: Whether or not it looks like one, I can say that it’s absolutely close but… Um… on the contrary, it might actually be a bit too scary... 

Gray: H-how do I say this… It’s like originally you were going for CERO A but ended up heading towards CERO D instead…?

Victor: CERO……? What may that be?

Gray: Ah… awawah, sorry…. I used a game rating system for scale… a Japanese one too…

Gray: The Halloween League is an event that children will attend, in terms of gaming that would be for an event for all ages...

Gray: But, as of now it feels more that it’s heading towards a more mature audience… So I was thinking all like, how about aiming for a younger one instead~... but please don’t mind it too much...

Victor: Hmm, I see…That is very interesting, or I should rather say an intriguing point of view.

Victor: I will do as you said and make an attempt to aim for a younger demographic, however with how it has been currently going, I don’t quite have the grasp on what I should do to change it.

Victor: If you don’t mind, could you tell me more about video games for all ages to use as a reference point going forward?

Gray: !! O-ofcourse…!

-

Victor: Hooh.... Even though it’s shortly summed up as for all ages, there seems to be quite a variety of video games.

Gray: For now I kept it limited and looked up horror games that came to mind… You’d come across even more games if you were to look it up

Gray: Uuum… if you’re looking for a game that has enemies that are “evil spirit”-like, then maybe this one…?

Victor: Yes, that kind of caricature is good. It gives an impression closely resembling the ones in animation for children. 

Gray: P-personally I think it’s good if it’s as scary as these enemy characters here but… That is for you to decide...

Victor: Hmm…. If I were to judge from your perspective, would this be more scarier?

Gray: Eh? Yes… it, would be….?

Gray: I feel, that the difference is pretty obvious but… you don’t seem to think so, Victor-san?

Victor: Indeed. Even though we’re going in a different direction, I don’t feel that any of them are frightening, thus making it difficult to judge.

Gray: R-right…

Gray: Uh… I’m just asking this out of curiosity but… Is there, something that you’re scared of, Victor-san…?

Victor: Something that I’m scared of?

Gray: Ah, aaah, uuum, it’s just… it’s okay if it’s too hard to answer, or if you don’t want to! I suddenly asked something weird anyway, I’m sorry….

Victor: Fufu, what are you apologizing for? I don’t believe it was odd by any means.

Victor: Something I’m scared of… you ask? I haven’t played any video games before so on that matter I have nothing to say, and in regards to horror movies I don’t recall being frightened once. 

Gray: Eh… so you’re like, totally fine with ghosts and demons and all that…?

Victor: More that I don’t believe in such things due to my point of view as a scientist, rather than being fine with it.

Victor: Well, realistically speaking “Ghosts believing scientists” such as Nova are not too uncommon out there.

Victor: I do want to believe in the possibility of it… Unfortunately, I have yet to see a theory that justifies it to begin with. 

Gray: Wah… you’re amazing, Victor-san…. Makes me a bit embarrassed given how I accidentally believe in anything...

Victor: No, I wouldn’t say that I am. I do occasionally envy those who are able to simply enjoy horror movies as is.

Gray: Is that so…?

Victor: Do you have any issues when it comes to horror and occult, Gray?

Gray: Aah, no… I’ve built up a tolerance for it because of games that are full of it...

Gray: Besides, I think… humans are scarier than any ghost or demon, 100 times more scarier even….

Victor: Human themselves…. For example, such as Asch Albright?

Gray: !! Eh, eeeeh…. yes… His name alone makes me sweat bullets, weirdly enough...

Gray: But, not just A….sch, but I’m scared of coming in contact with other people in general...

Gray: Even before talking to them actually, like what if they hate me…. what if they think I’m weird… that’s all I end up thinking about

Victor: Which means that you are currently feeling the same sense of dread when talking to me this moment?

Gray: T-that’s right… Aaah, but, you’re not scary Victor-san… Um, it’s just...

Victor: Yes, I understand. I’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t believe there’s anything odd about you, Gray. 

Gray: V-Victor-san….!

Victor: My apologies for getting us sidetracked. Could you lend me your wisdom for a little longer? 

Gray: Ah, yes… yes of course!

--

Nova: Oooh, looks like you made a lotta progress~ Making ghouls and all♪

Victor: I was able to because of the advice I had received from Gray, and so I was finally able to see the light.

Nova: Good pals with Gray-kun now, eh? Well with Ren-kun too but, lately more people have been dropping by your lab. Lookit this celebrity here~♪

Victor: ...You’re surprisingly in a good mood today, aren’t you now?

Nova: Mmh, haven’t slept so I’m feeling somewhat all over the place

Nova: I’ve been absorbed into making these robots too, and before I knew it three whole days had passed~ That scared me real good, yanno

Nova: Wait a second, nobody came to see me in these three days….!? I wanna be a celeb tooooo~!

Victor: How about resting your mind and body, rather than dawdling around here?

Nova: Naaw~ The adrenaline’s coursing through my veins, not feeling tired in the slightest~ 

Nova: Whatever you say, making these robots is right where I belong. Had lotsa fun doing it too

Nova: Obviously I’m paying enough attention to safety and all that, but there’s more space to feel at ease compared to what I usually do for work….

Nova: Not that I’m forgetting substance research by any means, it’s just pretty nerve-racking when combined with making assets and tools for the heroes to fight with 

Nova: Didn’t mean to pay that much mind to it, still it’s a heavy responsibility to have one’s life in your hands... 

Nova: Makes me go all like, damn, this fear of failure and what to do about it sure is always growing ain’t it now!~ like some kinda realisation each time, yanno

Victor: ….., fear….

Nova: You’re always doing such a fantastic job, me~

Nova: A Summerfieldtastic job~....

Victor: …….

Nova: Eh, no response!? Here I was putting all my energy into being an idiot, and instead of straight manning me, you straight up ignore me!?

Victor: Aah, my apologies… There was something on my mind.

Victor: What did you say?

Nova: I-I didn’t say a word! Vic’s a dummy! I’m gonna go to my room and sleep! Good-NIGHT!!!

Victor: …..?

-

Fun trivia corner:

The Japanese game rating goes from CERO A to D, and Z. All ages would be CERO A, for 12 years old and above CERO B, for 15 years old and above CERO C, for 17 years old and above CERO D, and at last CERO Z for 18 and above. The European one is PEGI with age specific ratings (PEGI-3, or PEGI-18) and the American one is ESRB, with letter codes such as T for teen, M for mature, and so on. Helios is rated as 12+ on the Apple app store, that would be CERO A, PEGI-12 or ESRB T.

[dramionediscussion]

I have a concern about Dramione fandom, which has been slightly troubling me lately. I am not saying that this is something that is going to happen, or is happening already. Naturally, I don’t think this is entirely unfounded either (hence why I am writing this), but I am just one Dramione shipper. If this doesn’t resonate at all, that’s totally fine! We are all aware of extremely boorish and fatuous anti-Dramione people, who troll, defame and accuse Dramione of being all sort of things. We are also probably all quite familiar with their claims about the ship and its shippers. You know, Dramione promotes racism, sexism, classism, unhealthy and abusive relationships, it’s all about bashing Ron, it’s just cuz actors are hot, we should all pay homage and tribute to canon relationships (and their shippers naturally), and offer respect and fawn over everything “canonical” for gracing us with all this HP bounty, and so on. This time I am not going to try to offer rebuttals, or deconstruct their arguments, or even psychoanalyze them more than absolutely necessarily. I am not even particularly upset about them (anymore). They are categorically wrong, their arguments are never insightful or thoughtful. Most importantly, they are disingenuous in their argumentation and especially about their own motives. I believe, the best course is ignore them totally. What I am afraid, that these endless arguments, relentless belittling, and even harassment of which they never seem to grow tired off actually might change Dramione shippers and community as well. Not in a conscious way, but constantly being on a defense can make people internalize some of these arguments. Or rather their premises and assumptions on which they are based upon. I don’t mean it, that Dramione shippers will suddenly wake up, and shout out that Dramione was actually all about abusing women all along, or anything like that. What I mean is, that people rather internalize certain assumptions, framing and logic chains, which are build into those arguments. In a defense, they start define what Dramione really means, what is ideal Dramione, what is acceptable or desirable in Dramione fics, in accordance of these attacks, by unconsciously defending their ship from slander. As an example, Romione people constantly accuse that Dramione is either all about mindless “Ron bashing”, and Dramione shippers rightly say that it’s not what Dramione is about at all. What I am afraid, that people might internalize the point, that “Ronbashing” is something truly heinous, and what should be avoided at all cost. And as a corollary to that, ideal Dramione fics are those in which there’s no conflicts between Ron, Draco and Hermione. Or the very least they are resolved in a conciliatory and harmonious manner. Or it is lazy Dramione writing, when Ron is “villainized”. Or another thing they say is, that Dramione just about glorifying and eroticizing abusive relationships. This might lead that some of us accept the framing, that describing or narrating something is totally same as promoting and celebrating it. If they accept it, then it’s quite easy to logically infer, that if Dramione is not defined by Draco abusing Hermione (it’s not), then it must be defined negatively as its opposite. Meaning that something cannot be genuine or accepted Dramione, if it contains an abusive Draco. Or as an induction from that, if a fic has an abusive Draco, it also must contain a redemption arc, and Draco has to change and make amends, and redeem himself as a person. That we start to define Dramione being really about redemption or redeeming, forgiveness, changing oneself for the better, etc (as contrary to their claim that its about abuse). Don’t get me wrong, I’d say the majority of Dramione fics contain a redemption story arc, and Draco either has changed or actively changes his views and behavior. It’s a common and wonderful theme, and almost all my favorite Dramione fics have those, and I like just for its own skae. Yet it’s not something what either makes or unmakes Dramione. There’s a minority of fics, in which Draco is never truly redeemed (usually a lust-filled obsession, with many many cognitive dissonances, which he never solves), and they are as Dramione as anything else, and some people enjoy writing them and some people reading them (or at least some of them). Also, a lot of gray areas, which can be quite delightful, thought inspiring and invigorating (and hot!).  Speaking for myself, I’d say maybe 1/20 of my favorite fics have this dynamic or something close to it. Maybe 33% are more in that gray area. It doesn’t do any harm, there’s nothing ethnically wrong about it, I never idolize that behavior. If Romione stans have problem with that, they can go away, cry and tell that Rupert Grint body pillow all their troubles, because I don’t give a damn. People don’t emulate or model their behavior or preferences from YA fanfics or smut in that sense in any significant numbers. If someone does, I am sorry to say, but you probably weren’t going to make it anyway. It’s the irl version of getting a comedy death in a video game, like if a smarter-than-average mushroom hypnotizes you and makes you walk into a bottomless pit, or something like that. Your problems are deep seated and numerous, which unless dealt with, will be triggered by just about anything. Its pure happenstance whether it will be Harlequin novels, Dramione fanfiction, urban legend your cousin told you, or whatever. This could go on, but seriously, Dramione shippers have nothing to prove or even argue with those antis. It’s just bottomless pit of resentment, what they twist into moral arguments, which they think will signify us as the worst kind of people, and they themselves as the most virtuous. Their antipathies are petty and personal concerns, in which they feel like the universe and the abominable cabal of Dramione shippers have cheated them out of all that attention, writers, fans, fics, and deference they feel entitled to. It’s natural for humans to cloak often even most pettiest and nonsensical slights and resentments into whatever moral or ethical language and arguments the society they live holds sacred. If we would be living in the 1600s, they’d be scouring the Bible for anti-Dramione arguments, and denouncing Dramione as unchristian and sinful. By their stated “moral standards”, there are a lot more “vile” and “harmful” ships out there, but they aren’t functionally bothered by them at all. So, unless really prompted, they don’t even bother to denounce them, little alone wage this never-ending crusade against them. That’s because they aren’t popular enough to trigger that envy and resentment (Hermione with basically any of the worst Death Eaters). Or they feel that they don’t compete in the same niche as their ship does (Drarry as an example). I wouldn’t be writing this, if this discourse with Antis hadn’t affected me as well. There was a time, I wanted to understand what they were about, and I read a lot of their grievances and internal discussions. While reading I couldn’t help but to be on a defense all the time. Sort of refuting and counter-arguing against their points in my mind, while reading their diatribes (I tried to start a dialog couple of times, but I was always totally ignored, which I am thankful for them in retrospect). Conditioning myself with that for long enough, I did notice that I started to feel a bit hesitant about certain tropes and Dramione fics I hadn’t before. I was thinking about Dramione like a defense attorney, excepting to be attacked from all directions. It actually took me quite long to figure this out, and how the bile of HP fandom had in subtle ways affected my sense and tastes without my really noticing.

Anonymous submitted: P.S. I wrote that previous submission, and I have to add, that I am not trying to say this is happening or pointing any fingers at anybody. There’s perfectly good reasons to not like any Dramione fic, as a Dramione shipper, in which Draco is irredeemable or evil. There’s perfectly legitimate reasons to prefer fics, which Ron is portrayed as a positive influence for Dramione. People can arrive to same conclusions or tastes from countless different routes and reasons. The negativity that the HP fandom and Romione shippers especially grace us just got to me in a way, that I wasn’t even cognizant about. It might be the case for others as well, if their own self-reflection so deems (or not).

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I agree with every point you’ve made. While it’s obviously okay to discuss why you like Dramione (or any other pairing), people also need to remember that they don’t have to justify why they ship Draco and Hermione together or prove (especially to haters as they’re not worth anyone’s time) that their OTP makes sense because even if it makes no sense whatsoever, it’s still fine to ship it as long as you can differentiate between fantasy and reality. I don’t know about you, but when I started shipping Dramione, it was like love at first sight. I didn’t think if they made sense, didn’t spend hours trying to make a list of arguments for Dramione, I just suddenly loved the idea of them together, believed they belonged together, and that was and still is enough. I don’t need to justify why I ship them, and neither does anyone.

It’s true that in most Dramione fics, Draco gets redeemed. It’s also true that most shippers prefer fics in which Draco gets a redemption arc, but we have to remember that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying fics in which Draco’s irredeemable or his relationship with Hermione is toxic. I myself read such stories from time to time. I like a good Ron bashing fic every now and then as well, and there’s nothing wrong with that either because it’s all fantasy, it’s all fiction, which, I believe, most Dramione shippers are aware of and accept. Hopefully, it won’t change, and no one will ever try to tell others what should and shouldn’t be written or what is and what’s not allowed in a Dramione fic.

- AgnMag