#he is not even likable as a villain

[strmpt]

(dubiously) canon isnt enough i need to be the one to physically kill him

[cosmos-dot-semicolon]

you guys have GOT to rewatch clancee's tall tale. if only to see him as an adorable baby snake. and teenage snake. and cringe-failing his way into his dream job.

[nerdfighterwhatevernumbers]

the real problem with Scrappy Doo is he was introduced to the franchise when its writing was going downhill in general and he had very few, if any, opportunities to be well written even as a comedic side character

[kanansdume]

I think for me it's less that I recognize she's projecting that lets me feel for her than the fact that we FINALLY have a reason for why she does this that lets me see it in a new light.

In both of these scenes out of context, I don't feel for her. She caused her own problems and then refuses to take any responsibility for it, that's not exactly sympathetic. She willingly joined a known terrorist organization bent on killing her own sister and overthrowing her sister's government. She's clearly an adult by the time we see her and Death Watch hasn't been subtle recently, so it's hard to believe that Bo-Katan wasn't FULLY FUCKING AWARE of what she was getting into when she joined up. It kind-of just leads us to a "I didn't think the leopards would eat MY face" situation with her and I'm vastly disinclined to be sympathetic towards that line of thinking. I'm much more inclined to just slap her for refusing to take responsibility for her own bullshit and then slap the writers for trying to make me think of her as a heroic freedom fighter worthy of ruling Mandalore after all the shit she's pulled.

But what got me to turn around a little was the story about her father and the ceremony she took part in where she took the creed in the Living Waters as a child. The way she discusses the entire ceremony as a sham and a spectacle, but then instantly defends her father as a GREAT man who defended Mandalore and insists that she would never have embarrassed her father. All of it creates this picture of a father with VERY strong expectations for his children, particularly to uphold traditional Mandalorian values and to be someone the people could rely upon to be strong. It creates a picture of two sisters pitted against each other because one of them refused to conform to their father's exacting standards and chose to rebel against the idea of traditional Mandalorian values, leaving the other sister to have to uphold them and the constant pressure to be the "perfect Mandalorian princess" that her people could rely on.

So yeah, she joins Death Watch to take down her own sister because she believes that was her JOB, to uphold her father's legacy, to ensure traditional Mandalorian values were protected. She projects her constant failures onto other people because she CANNOT be weak, she cannot SHOW weakness to others, so all of those mistakes are in fact other people's mistakes, not hers. "Infighting" caused Mandalore to be destroyed, but you'll never hear her say that she was a large part of the reason that infighting was still happening or that she helped lead crime organizations and monsters to attack Mandalorian citizens. Of COURSE she's projecting her own weaknesses onto others because her ENTIRE IDENTITY is wrapped up in being Daddy's Perfect Princess. It's all she's got.

And while it doesn't excuse ANY of her choices or make her right to blame other people for her own mistakes, it at least gives me CONTEXT to understand why she'd make these horrible choices and act like an unfeeling selfish hypocritical bitch to people who have done nothing to her. THIS is what I wanted for Bo-Katan. Not the suddenly and inexplicably heroic freedom fighter from Rebels whose sinful past is basically erased. Not the person who steals all of Sabine's personality treats in order to convince the audience that she's a more worthy leader than she actually is. Not the frustratingly hypocritical character from TCW season 7 that the narrative kept trying to convince me was a good honorable person despite never once acknowledging what she's done. I don't feel for that character. I never wanted that character.

THIS is what I wanted Bo-Katan to be. Still hypocritical and selfish and bitchy, yes, that's great, let her be awful! But if they're going to sit there and convince me to CARE about her, they damn well better give me a compelling reason to give a shit that doesn't ask me to forget everything I know about her first. I've NEEDED that motivation in order to give a shit. I've NEEDED to hear her say that Mandalorian infighting is what brought them crumbling down.

She's SO CLOSE to admitting to her own failures I can TASTE IT, and that's what I've been begging for this entire time. I want her to be awful, yes, but I also don't want the narrative to pretend she's nothing more than a kind-of prickly freedom fighter. I want that acknowledgment that she was a terrorist who burnt down villages of innocent people she'd helped enslave for nothing more than the sheer joy she got from oppressing them even further. I want that acknowledgment that SHE brought death and destruction to Mandalore and her family. It doesn't even have to come from Bo-Katan herself, I just need the STORY to acknowledge it in some way, to hold her accountable for it.

This scene from The Mandalorian season 3 premiere really puts the scene from “Old Friends Not Forgotten” into context, because both of these scenes are about projection. Bo-Katan was part of Death Watch, the very group that plotted with Maul to overtake Mandalore, and it was only when Maul killed Pre Vizsla to take over Death Watch and rule Mandalore that she left.  And then Maul killed her sister. She blames Obi-Wan, who is saying that they can’t just invade Mandalore (because that’s what it would be) and breaking centuries old treaties and starting yet more war, as if all the damage that will do shouldn’t mean anything because her sister is dead. When it’s Bo-Katan who doesn’t care about the collateral damage, so long as she gets what she’s after, it’s Bo-Katan who feels a crushing guilt and anger toward herself that she was part of those who helped bring the being into power that killed her sister, that she was the one who helped destabilize her entire planet. And she does the same with Din.  Bo-Katan’s role was to unite the Houses, to be the leader that they needed to follow and fight back against the Empire.  That was the entire point of giving her the Darksaber and why she’s so desperate to win it in combat against Moff Gideon, and it’s not on Din’s shoulders that he happened to win it first, that he doesn’t want to keep the thing, that he didn’t even know about other Mandalorians. It’s Bo-Katan who is angry at herself for failing, she’s angry that other Mandalorians weren’t hollowed out by this loss, that they can still pick up and go on with any other kind of life, just like Obi-Wan was able to pick up and go on despite Satine’s loss. Bo-Katan was gutted and consumed by fury and destroyed by loss, why wasn’t everyone else destroyed in the same way?  And she is so angry about that and it puts that TCW scene in such an interesting new context for me that I’m whipping around to actually love it a ton!!   Let women be angry and wrong and messy and still be good!!!  Let my wife be a mean bitch who is broken in heart and soul!!!  I wouldn’t change a thing about her, she’s awful and wonderful and I love her!!!

[chris-prank]

Villain sidekick yandere x GN hero reader

A good influence? Part 1

Warning: Manipulation, kidnapping, obsessive and creepy behavior

(This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only, I do not support yandere behaviors in real life)

🧪 You were a well known hero, going around saving the city from dangerous threats.

🧪 One of your enemies was a supervillain known as “Fatalité” who worked with the scientist “Dr. Seraph”. 

🧪 Even if you got to put a stop to their evil plans time and time again, they always seemed to get back on their feet and challenge you once more. 

🧪 Between the two, Dr. Seraph did seem a bit less evil. Once he even got slapped by Fatalité, because he hesitated to attack you while you were saving a child. So you always had a bit more of empathy for him, not hesitating to be less harsh during fights. 

🧪 He was not a good person by any means, but you always find it a bit ironic how he was pushed around by his boss or the other henchmans. He would get so easily startled and lose his composure.  

🧪 One day, you accidently fell into one of his traps, while on a mission with your teammates. 

🧪 You woke up in his lab, tied up to a metal board. Before he had noticed you were awake, the scientist was working on a giant computer, while excitedly muttering to himself.

🧪 You looked to your side to see a little table covered with torture devices. That’s when the short man noticed your conscious state. 

🧪 “Fatalié will be so proud of me! You’re done, hero.” He tried to give a confident smile, but you could still feel his nervousness seeping through it. 

🧪 Despite the deadly situation you were in, you couldn’t help but make joke to turn this situation into ridicule.

🧪 “Really ? Does that mean I won’t get to see your cute face anymore?” You made a fake pout. 

🧪 Wait…Was it just you or did he blushed? His sudden stuttering and his eyes darting away from yours, was a clear indicator that your comment had affected him. Just not in the way you had expected.

🧪 You needed to take advantage of this, since there was no way you could escape alone in this room filled with deadly weapons. You had to buy enough time for your colleague to come and find you. 

🧪 You decided to continue with the praise. Saying how smart he was and that his boss couldn’t do his evil deed without him. 

🧪 “R-Really? No one ever recognizes my genius and dedication!” 

🧪 This guy was the definition of being starved for attention, since he totally didn’t catch on that you were manipulating him. His face was getting more and more flustered as he forgot what his initials intentions were. You had to admit, it was kinda cute. 

🧪 “You’re actually… quite likable compared to the nuisances you call teammates. At least now I know that one hero appreciate the complexity of my inventions.”

🧪 Seeing that your tactic was working wonders, you added how unfair it was for him to be treated like trash by Fatalité. The scientist stopped at your words, which made you dread that you had gone too far. 

🧪 He was about to respond when an explosion shook the room. You smile to yourself, knowing who was responsible for that detonation. Dr. Seraph tried frantically to find your friends on the surveillance camera. He called for reinforcements in a panic, before taking a weapon and leaving the room.

🧪 You just had to wait 5 minutes for one of your friends to find you and get the restraint off. You decided to leave a message on a notepad saying “Been fun, see you next time Doc.” with a little winky face. 

🧪 If only you knew the effect that it had on him when he found it later, tired and bruised up. 

🧪 That night, Dr. Seraph, or should I say Vincent, found himself thinking of you while he was laying on his bed. He couldn’t stop his mind spiraling as he held the little note close to his lips. It’s like the interaction you had today had completely changed his opinions of you. 

🧪 This scientist had been without attention for so long, that the tiniest bit of compliments and “special treatment” from you was enough to make his heart skip a beat.  

🧪 It went all downhill from there. It’s like he was finally noticing little things about you that he never did before.

🧪 How he loves it when you defend him from the wrath of his boss and try to convince him to go to the good side. You’re so considerate! 

🧪 Please treat him like he did nothing wrong and he is just being forced by Fatalité (which he isn’t totally). He just wants to hear your gentle words of praise again. 

🧪 He may be more remorseful of his criminal activities then others villains, but he is totally not above manipulation.

🧪 He tries to appear more injured at times so you would take him in your arms, like you do with civilians, to take him away from collapsing infrastructure. 

🧪 “P-please help me…Fatalité will punish me when he sees that I failed him again…” He gives you the biggest puppy eyes, hoping it would be enough to spark your heroic instincts. 

🧪 All to say that he is not really subtle with his new found love for you. The goons easily noticed his change of behavior around you. 

🧪 So they start teasing him about it, making him stutter, trying to deny it. They don’t truly believe he does like you, they just like messing with him. 

🧪 He tries to convince his boss to attack parts of the city where you do your patrol more often, in the hope of seeing you intervene. 

🧪 To say that he is disappointed every time another superhero tries to stop him instead of you would be an understatement. Like why are they ruining his little date ?! Don’t they have cats to save from trees or something?

🧪 He doesn't think of himself as a masochist, but he doesn’t totally dislike when you give him a few slaps or punches.

🧪 He especially likes it when you apologize when you feel like you didn’t hold back enough of your super strength. 

🧪 Can’t you just take him in your arms and kiss it better already?

🧪 Soon he starts thinking of you outside of your hero persona. Meeting you for fights is not enough for him anymore. 

🧪 What are you like when you take off your suit? What do you do when you have free time? 

🧪 He wanted more. He needed more of you.

After months of rewriting and perfecting this story in my draft I’m finally posting it. Anxiety be damned! (I am totally not stressing right now about it) But in all seriousness this is the first real post I make on this account, I hope you guys will like it!

Here is a little doodle of my boy Vincent (it’s a little bit old since I wrote this story in like December)

[clairdelunelove]

it's the way that having itadori yuuji as your best friend would be disastrous if you ever dated someone else. it's not glaringly obvious the first couple of times your significant other spots you with the blushy haired male; waiting for you outside the shop's fitting room, surprising you with a freshly baked dessert from the local bakery, or ruffling your hair when you announce some positive news. but it's the tiny details that are automatically picked at and asked about first.

'we're just super close, that's all,' you once confessed to them when they confronted you about it.

and sure, the word close was an understatement when (on more than one occasion) your partner caught yuuji's gleaming eyes fixated on your glossy lips. or how, when the three of you are eating out at a restaurant, yuuji intentionally reaches over the table to swipe at the corner of your mouth due to your messy eating. only to bring his thumb back to his lips to lick it off with a light-hearted hum. it certainly doesn't sit too well with the new boyfriend you managed to woo. thus, questions are raised, arguments get heated, and you've given the exact same reasoning every time they interrogate you.

'he's naturally friendly to everyone.'

'he's just a nice guy!'

because who was your new partner to say that you couldn't spend time with yuuji? what would that make them? the villain, obviously. because yuuji's extremely likable. he laughs at cliche jokes, only makes promises he can keep, and goes the extra mile to include everyone in conversation. his character is unmatched. there are many that aim to be a fraction of the man that yuuji is. he even goes out of his way to guide the elderly across the street or helps carry the grocery bags for single mothers. and the notion that all your exes can agree on is that, it's crazy, but yuuji's almost too perfect. equipped with a beaming grin and boyish charm that captivates the hearts of others. not to mention the ripples of raw muscle that he conceals beneath layers of clothes; don't even get your previous boyfriends started on that.

because, for some odd reason, there’s always a scenario that comes up where yuuji has to strip in front of you. he spills water on his hoodie or you’re cold so he gives you his jacket; whatever happens and suddenly your gaze shifts greedily to the expanse of skin that’s unveiled to you. the golden, veiny physique that he rarely flaunts despite how much you unknowingly hint towards appreciating. 

and they just can’t fathom how to compete. this guy is the epitome of the trope ‘the boy next door.’ yet, there are some that set out to outdo yuuji. the ones that refuse to give up due to pride and jealousy. they tell themselves that they won’t lose to some wide-eyed, blushy haired friend. and it’s that hot, boiling pride that later comes back to bite them. 

because like the descent of quicksand, once it starts– it doesn’t stop. as in, yuuji completely outshines them in every way. 

like the time where your boyfriend invited you out to the newest bar that just opened up in town. it’s preppy with their illuminated, colorful ceiling lights and booming music– the perfect place for sprightly young adults to relax and enjoy the evening. and perhaps it would’ve been enjoyable if you were in the right mood to revel in the electric energy. but you weren’t. 

“I’m just not feeling up for it,” you explain while sheepishly biting your lip, “kinda just wanted to stay in tonight. can we do that instead?” 

yet your boyfriend dismisses your suggestion with a wave of his hand and reassures you that you’ll love it. this place had an incredible rating, after all. you’ll enjoy it and it’ll be better if the two of you leave early to get decent parking. plus it was in the busiest part of town so it was bound to be popular. ‘they have a lot of new drinks you can try,’ he spurs, ‘just suck it up this time and we can do something at my place next weekend.’ 

so like the people pleaser you are, you agree. perhaps you’d find it in you to live it up. bask in the thrill of a long night. but you find out rather quickly that you’re on the verge of being blinded by the flashing lights and decor. you can’t move without bumping shoulders with a stranger. you can’t think without your thoughts being rudely interrupted by drunk individuals that hiccup through an apology. you can’t even spot where your boyfriend went in this mess. and you’re just so overstimulated; head ringing with the promise of an oncoming migraine. cupping your hands over your ears, you attempt to block out the deafening music in order to actually formulate some logic on what you should do in this situation. how could he just leave you alone in this crowd? you weren’t expecting to be separated from him, let alone be left in the corner of the room. you didn’t even want to come. all your effort was for nothing. your chest feels heavy and your heart drops at the realization that you wouldn’t even be in this turmoil if he’d just listened to your unease. to put aside his own personal pleasure and attend to yours instead. your fingers are shaking. and in situations like these, where you’re on the verge of breaking down, you pull out your phone and dial the first contact that pops up. 

-

“comin’ through!” 

you hear his voice before you spot him. a crisp, clear tone that causes you to lift your gaze in desperation. and he’s on the move. wide shoulders pushing through the crowd of scantily dressed bar-goers, he curses beneath his breath and bulldozes his way to you. his soft, pink hair bobs at the rate he’s moving and the revelation that he genuinely came hits you like a freight train. because he’s here— here to rescue you from this overpriced, overcrowded bar. still, he looks out of place. clad in a loose jacket and loungewear, he certainly doesn’t fit the criteria of coming to an expensive bar. in fact, his outfit gives the impression that he haphazardly threw on whatever he could get his hands on before sprinting out the door. and little do you know, that’s exactly what he did. though, his sharp features and built physique don’t go unnoticed. there are a couple teasing remarks that leave the painted lips of women occupying the dance floor. their gaze dips to survey the bar’s newcomer. your ears burn at their advances as you shift on your feet. their words are flirtatious, frisky, and bold– saying the right compliments that’d charm typical men so they could have their way with them. 

yet he treads through, undeterred, his tender gaze never leaving yours as he passes by them. 

“you okay?” 

it’s the first inquiry that leaves yuuji upon making his way to you. always the type to ask about someone else’s well-being before assessing his own. his brows are knitted in a frown as his soft whisper almost causes your composure to crack. and even through the bar’s blaring music you can pick up his voice from anywhere because you search for him in everything. he scours your face, shiny eyes pinballing across your soft features to check in on you. 

“you actually came here for me?” 

the observation leaves your lips in a breath of disbelief. on a weekend, a time where many were called into the promises of a long slumber, your best friend shows up in accordance with your plea for help. like how a superhero rescues the vulnerable civilian in those comic books that yuuji adored reading when he was younger. the tears that welled up in your reddened eyes have dried due to his arrival and your fingers itch to reach out in a need to hold him. 

he blinks owlishly and scratches the back of his head, “‘course I did! you called.” 

and he says it so simply; like his life’s purpose was to fulfill your happiness and beckon to your every word. crossing your arms over your chest, you’re abruptly reminded of the outfit you’re wearing. while he’s clad in clothes that are so inherently yuuji, you’re dressed in an overly extravagant getup that drapes along your curves. it’s different from the typical wardrobe that’s in your closet that he’d recognized. he steps closer to you, his comfort automatically enveloping you in warmth, and instantly starts to unzip his jacket. 

“yuu,” you begin to say while glancing around, “what are you–”

“you look good.” 

you freeze. it’s not the first time yuuji’s given you a compliment before, of course not. he’s an affectionate person by nature. but it’s always been said in passing— the occasional murmur before you walk out of the door or a hushed whisper as he’s leaving. the words are uttered in secrecy. he respects you and is aware that the flattering remarks are too intimate to verbalize when you’re with someone else. 

doesn’t mean what he says is any less true, though. 

“too much? sorry but,” he lightheartedly chuckles as he fiddles with the jacket around your shoulders, “jus’ don't like the idea of everyone seeing you like this.” 

and you’re stumped, burning to the tips of your ears due to his rather endearing words. feels like fuzz is sticking to your tongue because he’s so honest. and you know he is, that’s why you adore spending time with him– you admire him for it. yuuji wouldn’t mention something so significant if it wasn’t true. and the gaze that he’s fixed upon you is like there’s nothing in the world that he finds more beautiful than you. not the sun that hangs in the morning to brighten the day. not the moon that’s barely visible from outside the building’s windows. not even the entirety of the galaxy can compare to the light that you radiate tonight. so perhaps your effort to show up wasn’t entirely in vain.

“let’s go.” 

lifting his hand, he rests it against the back of your neck and starts to part the crowd for you. he’s made up his mind. enough of this stuffy, raucous club. once you called him, he already knew that this wasn’t the type of activity you wished to spend your money and time on. but don’t worry, he’ll make it all better. leave it to him. and there’s a glimmer of determination in his honeyed eyes. his fingers graze the strip of your soft skin, a sort of gentle protectiveness conveyed in his touch. 

and naturally you follow him. how could you not when his grip on you is comforting yet exhilarating? enraptured by his sweet words and warmth, you erupt in goosebumps whenever he’s around. yet he’s completely unaware. instead, he cutely mumbles to himself on where the exit is, glancing at the neon illuminated signs for a clue. he was comfort, security, and need– all in one. 

you let him guide you closer. 

on your way out, however, the two of you end up crossing paths with your boyfriend. busy chatting up a group of distinguished, young partygoers with an amber drink in his hand. his face is flushed bright red, most likely from the alcohol and perspiration from the humidity within the room. yet, there’s a carefree grin on his face as he gossips with a girl that’s hanging by his side. the whole night you were frantically waiting for him and he was here– cozying up with people you’ve never seen. and at first, it’s anger that courses through your veins. until it morphs into confused regret. a part of you thought it was strange to spot him just as you were leaving.

yuuji notices where your dazed stare drifted off to and he carefully treads over to your boyfriend with you following his trail. 

“I’m taking her home,” yuuji says. 

it’s a declaration. a statement. yuuji won’t listen to any half-baked excuse or alibi that your partner might come up with. 

your partner’s eyes widen at your unexpected arrival and he immediately stands up from his chair. his eyes bounce from yuuji to you, disbelief written on his face. can feel the beginnings of embarrassment lashing at him. he knows he’s messed up and gotten caught. so he does what he does best. glancing at the way yuuji’s hand is splayed on the back of your neck and the dark jacket draped on your shoulders, his brow knowingly raises towards you. 

“uh, I’m surprised you’re here,” your partner acknowledges yuuji’s presence with a quick once over, “did she call you?” 

and there’s no remorse in his voice. not an ounce of concern for your well-being despite the way you stand in front of him. he’s just worried about his own wounded pride due to the fact that yuuji’s upstaging him in every way. there isn’t any time to cry a river though because your brain suddenly short-circuits when yuuji’s thumb starts to absentmindedly stroke at the sensitive part of your neck. an act of comfort that causes warmth to spread throughout your body. using his grasp as leverage, he tugs you closer to him until you’re desperately gripping onto the front of his shirt and you let out a yelp of revelation. because from this angle, there’s a sharp glint in yuuji’s eyes that you've never seen before. a huff bordering a chuckle escapes from his lips. 

“are you surprised? really?” yuuji asks rather rhetorically before smoothly shrugging, “I’m not surprised.” 

and yuuji’s hand falls to wrap around the curve of your waist to prove his point. a knowing grin twists on his face when you instinctively curl yourself against him, a blush dusting your cheeks. your partner or rather, ex-partner, clicks his tongue while turning away. the exchange was over. and just like that, it’s obvious that yuuji’s dedication towards you has won again. he’s rescued, comforted, and bandaged up all your troubles tonight. shown you the image of reliability and trust. you’re familiar with the nature of his devotion for you is always growing and never-ending. and you might’ve made a new realization.

you’re in love with your best friend. 

[physalian]

“Likable” vs “Compelling” Protagonists

Protagonist does not mean “good guy” it means “the person the story is about”.

Antagonist does not mean “bad guy” it means “person in opposition to the protagonist”.

We know this, yes?

So when I’m talking about “likable” protagonists I do not mean that your MC has to be witty, funny, charming, etc—they have to be compelling.

I didn’t much care for Death Note, I thought Light got away with way too much without consequences for his actions, but he was very much the villain and the protagonist. He was an arrogant narcissist with a god complex and you watched the show not to see him win, but to see how badly he would eventually lose.

This was because, despite my dislike of his story, Light was a compelling character. You don’t necessarily agree with his motivations, but you do understand why he does what he does and why he believes what he does about himself and his world.

In contrast, one of my favorite anime is Code Geass. Lelouch (who is often compared to Light) is *constantly* getting kicked in the ass by his own hubris. He's arrogant as well, but he makes mistakes everywhere and suffers if not immediate comeuppance, then drastic consequences later down the line. Which, to me, made a far more compelling character than someone like Light playing with cheat codes.

Most of the time, “likable” and “compelling” go hand in hand, because your protagonist is the “good guy” that we’re supposed to root for.

So one of the worst mistakes I think you can make is writing a hero who just doesn’t want to be here.

—

I recently read a story where MC needed to win a competition, baseline unsponsored underdog story, and everyone loves an underdog. The problem was the MC’s attitude. Nothing pleased them and in their internal monologue, nothing was good enough and everyone else was the problem. They actually hate competitions and can’t wait for this to be over…even though no one forced them into it with a gun to their head. They hate all their competitors for behavior they themself exhibit. They hate their lone sponsor for being a sleezeball, and yet, chose to enter a voluntary competition, knowing this sponsor’s behavior, and still blaming the sponsor for their problems.

The entire time I was reading all I kept thinking was, “Then go home, bitch!”

This was not a high-stakes competition, and the MC didn’t have dire enough circumstances for the reader to believe this was a "life-or-death, even if it sucks, MC has to win," type situation. Not like Hunger Games. This was all completely voluntary.

So I started wondering if the author meant the MC to be the villain with all these personality flaws, but they’re still the underdog with no wins under their belt to support their level of entitled arrogance and no notable skills that make them inherently better than the competition.

So I was rooting for the MC to lose, and I don’t think I was supposed to. Even if I was, the mixup between “underdog hero” and “catty bitchy villain” was too confusing for too much of the story. MC didn't have to be here, didn't want to be here, so... why was MC here?

—

Some suggestions for compelling motivations for your protagonist boils down to this:

Define as quickly as you can these three things for your protagonist of any walk:

What the protagonist wants

How the protagonist plans to get it

And what’s in their way

Specify the stakes, if not physical, then personal. It doesn’t have to be life-or-death, but if they’re entering a risky situation, whatever it is has to be extremely important to them. Luca doesn’t have as high stakes as, say, Toy Story 3 but the moped race is important to the heroes, thus a compelling motivation.

Make this a journey they actually want to be on. Even if it’s grimdark or horror, if your hero is complaining the entire time and wanting to go home, yet plowing forward anyway because the plot’s dragging them on a leash, your audience will be as invested in the story as that character. If they don’t actually have the commitment to see their quest through, why should the audience care?

Alternatively, make this a journey they cannot afford to walk away from. Whether that be pressure from without or within. Frodo didn’t have to take the One Ring to Mordor. He chose to, because it was, in his mind, the right thing to do. He suffered his entire journey with the Ring and got homesick and depressed and discouraged, but he never called his own journey stupid and dumb. He could have put the Ring down and walked away or given it to somebody else, but he chose to carry on, because that’s who he is.

Even reluctant chosen ones have an ulterior reason for remaining in the story. Your long-lost princess might not want the throne being thrust upon her, but she’s chasing something else that accepting the throne and going along with the plot will give her. Maybe it’s power, respect, vengeance, money, protection, connections. So she’ll tolerate the nonsense so long as it still gets her what she wants and her struggle might be trying to not let herself get corrupted by the allure of politics and “the game”. Or, she's playing along merely to stay alive and actively trying to escape and return to her simpler life.

Popular example: Percy Jackson is a reluctant chosen one throughout his entire story in every book, even Last Olympian where he insists that he's the unknown prophecy child. In The Lightning Thief he doesn’t give a damn about the quest for the Master Bolt, he’s there to get his mom back, and cooperating with the quest will give him the means to achieve his goal, and along the way, finds that he doesn’t quite hate it as much as he thought he would.

—

So. Yeah. In no way, shape, or form does your protagonist have to be “likable”. If someone tells you they aren’t, they probably mean that your protagonist is contradictory, or lacks compelling motivation and drive, and lacks a clear goal or aspiration that will define their story. Or, they lack drive to even participate in the story at all.

Or they simply mean that your charcater, who you intend to be likeable, has a nasty flaw that would turn readers off, but a beta should be able to tell you that one easily. If they can't come up with a solid reason why your charcater is unlikable, it's probably a motivation issue.

The earliest draft of a WIP that shall never see the light of day had my protagonist sent on a glorified space field trip by her parents, and wasn’t happy to be there. This not only made her unlikable, but also uncompelling. She didn’t want to participate in the plot and only did it to hold up her end of the deal, she wasn’t excited about the actual trip nor making friends, and eventually grew into it far too late in the story.

I then changed it to have the trip be her idea, and she ran away from home to chase this dream she had. Doing so gave her much more agency as an MC and gave her an immediate motive and goal so you wanted to see her succeed right from the get go.

Even villain protagonists have a goal, and generally they very much enthusiastically want to be in this story. You don’t have to like them, but you do have to want to root for them, if not for their success, then their eventual downfall in a blaze of glory.

—

Interested in a fantasy novel without a "chosen one" protagonist? Eternal Night of the Northern Sky is up for preorder in ebook, paperback on sale 8/25/24. Subscribe for updates if you'd like~

[rotisserory]

Reo Mikage is Actually Great BPD Representation- Some Thoughts

So I had the extremely unfortunate experience of being exposed to Blue Lock (unfortunate because it's all my tiny pea brain can think about now), and while it is absolutely full of silly guys whose brains I want to pick, this little bugger really stood out to me. The second he came onto the screen, I KNEW I smelled the borderline on him. As I watched the series and read the manga, I noticed he is actually an incredibly well-written depiction of someone struggling with BPD. Reo is a super layered character and my favorite hobby is picking apart those layers and yapping incessantly about them, so here we are. I want to write this analysis for a few reasons:

1.) Too many people misunderstand Reo and categorize him as dramatic or childish without any elaboration and he deserves a proper character deep-dive. I think him being borderline explains a LOT of his reactions/choices throughout the story.

2.) Borderline representation is extremely important to me. I'm diagnosed borderline and have struggled with this disorder for around ten years now, so I get really excited when I spy BPD-coded characters (especially if they're likable people and not just ghoulish irredeemable villains or manic pixie dream girl characters). This disorder can be so isolating, especially when the majority of people will never even bother to research or understand it. I know that some people like to chalk Reo's emotional reactions up to him being a moody 17-year-old, but I think I have enough evidence to prove that this is undiagnosed BPD that's festering in his noggin. Not to mention, literally nobody else acts like this in the series. Reo is incredibly unique and distinct in the way he behaves through this narrative and I think it's way past the point of normal teenage angst. Regardless, believe what you want. He'll always be my borderline princess tho <3

3.) I have a master's degree in English and what good is that if I don't write long, painful, pointless essays on anime guys? Not that this is exceptionally well written, I just like to laugh at myself for getting a whole M.A and then this is the shit I publish online lmao

By the end of this, I hope I can shed some light on wtf is going on inside of Reo's silly little head. (I'm also obviously not a psychologist, don't use any of this to diagnose yourself pls I don't need the scandal)

If you want to read, buckle up, because this is gonna be a long one!

First, let me define BPD- It's a personality disorder characterized by a long-standing pattern of instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, and self-image. At its core, it is a disorder categorized by emotional dysregulation (the inability to regulate one's emotional responses) People with BPD feel everything EXTREMELY hard. That's important to keep in mind IMO, because while their reactions may seem dramatic or extreme, what they're feeling IS dramatic and extreme. Everything they're feeling is amplified, so their reactions are amplified. Obviously from the outside, people assume it's an overreaction since they can't see what's going on inside the borderline's head. When you sit down and dissect the thought process of someone like Reo, it becomes a lot easier to understand why they react the way that they do to certain situations.

(Also, I'm not going to reiterate more than once that an explanation is not an excuse to treat people poorly. I cannot read ANYTHING on BPD without hearing every 2 minutes how the disorder isn't an excuse to hurt other people. We get it!! I'm explaining it, not excusing it. This enter essay is an analysis of why someone acts the way they do, not whether or not it's excusable)

So then, what behaviors/signs does somebody need to exhibit to receive a borderline diagnosis? The 9 diagnostic criteria for BPD are as follows:

1. Fear of abandonment

2. Unstable or changing relationships

3. Unstable self-image; struggles with identity or sense of self

4. Impulsive or self-damaging behaviors

5. Suicidal behavior or self-injury

6. Varied or random mood swings

7. Constant feelings of worthlessness or sadness

8. Problems with anger, including frequent loss of temper or physical fights

9. Stress-related paranoia or loss of contact with reality

Someone would only need 5 of these to receive a proper diagnosis. Just with the main story and the spin-off manga that is currently released, I think I have enough evidence to argue that Reo has 8 out of 9 criteria for a BPD diagnosis. For the sake of organization, I’m gonna group some of those together though, indicated by a + symbol. I also want to define a few important terms before I start yapping, so that y'all without BPD can understand wtf I'm even talking about.

Favorite Person (fp) - This is someone who holds massive significance in a borderline's life. They emotionally depend on this person a lot and to a certain extent, their worldview almost revolves around them.

Splitting- the change in perception of someone or something caused by black-or-white thinking or dichotomous thinking. It is the devaluation of someone who was once idealized and vice versa.

Mirroring (aka: the chameleon effect)- the constant, unconscious change in one's identity or sense of self by imitating another person’s behaviors, characteristics, or traits. It is common in people who have a vacant or distorted self-image which is a general symptom of BPD.

Now, time for me to break down the most prominent moments where Reo showcases borderline behavior. As I mentioned, I'm going to try and organize this under each criteria point (with some being grouped together)

Unstable self-image; struggles with identity or sense of self:

Before I delve into Reo's relationships, I want to start with his baseline sense of identity. It’s established early on that Reo is a very bored, empty, unsatisfied person. Nothing excites him, nothing motivates him, and everything is handed to him. He’s frustrated because his parents notoriously try and buy his affection even though he doesn't want anything. For most of his life up until the narrative starts, he's wandering through life empty and frustrated. That is, until he finally sets his sights on soccer and decides to dedicate his life to winning the World Cup:

The wording, 'proves my existence' is interesting here. I think this is the first instance Reo has felt alive. So far, the only notable thing about him has been his family and his money. He hasn't achieved anything exceptional for himself, but now he has that opportunity. With this goal, he can really build something up from nothing and make it his own. It's almost like he's clinging to this dream to prove that he has some purpose in his life other than being the family heir.

Now, this dream changes when he meets Nagi, of course. I'm not gonna focus too much on their relationship in this section, but I will mention that meeting Nagi shifted Reo's entire dream, and not for the better. Through the narrative, his dream went from:

Winning the World Cup

Winning the World Cup with Nagi

Proving to Nagi that leaving him behind was a mistake

Improving himself and becoming a good striker on his own

Being a tool for Nagi to become the best striker

Had Nagi not come in and ask for Reo to come back to him, I think Reo could have done a great job at establishing his own sense of identity without Nagi. But no matter how much he works on himself, with Nagi in the picture, he's never going to value himself more than Nagi. Reo lets Nagi cloud his identity to the point where Isagi calls him out and asks what he's even doing at Blue Lock in the first place, since he clearly can't survive on his own, he needs Nagi with him.

After dealing with the turmoil of being abandoned by Nagi, Reo goes through a few stages. He starts with wanting to become somebody worthy of being beside Nagi, somebody that Nagi would want to choose. Devoting himself to becoming stronger and more versatile, his end goal is to have Nagi realize he made a mistake by leaving him behind. After a few more matches, Reo starts to realize that he needs to grow and change and become a stronger, better version of himself for himself and not for other people.

He decides that the fight was all his fault to begin with, that he should have never forced Nagi to play soccer and now he is going to get back to what his dream was originally, combined with his new desire to be a stand-alone player (and person, for that matter). Reo accepts the mistakes that he made, admits that he shouldn't have forced his ideals onto Nagi, and resolves to become a better person for HIMSELF. That's excellent!

Of course, Reo can't be happy for TOO long. Nagi comes out of the woodwork saying that he can't beat Isagi on his own and asks for Reo's help. Reo does stand up for himself a bit, saying that Nagi is being inconsiderate of his feelings and mentioning how long it took for him to recover from Nagi leaving. Now, the BPD trait here is how Reo not only forgives Nagi and is jumping on him and hugging him THE NEXT PAGE, but he also just disregards everything he said in this sequence. In a matter of two minutes, he no longer wants to be a player that can fight on his own or improve for himself, he wants to improve for Nagi. He starts ruminating again about how hurt he was when Nagi left, but now he's saying all of it wasn't so that he could get stronger individually, it was so that he could be reunited with Nagi again. Nagi asking for his help and saying that now they can play together again motivate Reo more than anything we've seen so far. (Nagi notoriously throws Reo little affection crumbs like this that Reo eats up, but I'm not trying focus on that) Now, Reo's alright with being a tool for Nagi's success again. Everything that happened was supposed to make him stronger so he could be a better partner to Nagi, right? Reo also says as the chapter ends, to please let him be a part of Nagi's dream until Nagi becomes the world's best striker. That's literally so sad!

He's also immediately back to the 'our' 'we' 'us' talk as well. If he can master his chameleon style in order to keep Nagi above the rest of the players, he wont get left behind again. If he devotes his time and energy into being a solo striker like the rest of these guys, Reo knows that he wont be able to keep up. This was always supposed to be his role, right? Building Nagi up to his full potential! :*)

I also like the detail that Reo is back to hugging Nagi and holding him, but Nagi never really touches him back. I think Reo's love language is touch for sure, not that it's incredibly relevant, but I do think it shows that Reo is back to being 100% comfortable around Nagi as if their fight never happened. I hear a lot of fans asking how Reo could have forgiven Nagi so easily, and I say this with my entire chest, it's the BPD. The black-and-white thinking combined with Nagi being Reo's fp and the excruciating pain of being abandoned by him in the first place ?? Of course he's going to take him back. Also, I've seen people blame Reo for not saying no to Nagi when he asks for help and I have to say that is an absolutely insane take. How are we gonna look at a panel where Nagi asks for help and then blame Reo for helping him?? I'm not going to focus on it too much in this post but in my opinion, it is crazy how little accountability both the narrative + fans give Nagi. Reo is pegged as responsible for both of their downfalls and it's nuts tbh.

Currently in the story, I think Reo's identity is still centered around Nagi. It's really easy for borderlines to structure their entire lives and personalities around their favorite person, but I can only hope that these two keep having open and honest discussions with one another. Hopefully, Reo will eventually learn that he can exist without Nagi and that he's more than just 'his arms and legs'.

Unstable or Changing Relationships:

The most notable relationship in Reo's life is Nagi. They're both each other's first real friends, which already sets up a less-than-ideal dynamic. Nagi has no idea how to communicate and he has pretty weak emotional intelligence. On the other hand, Reo is great at communicating, but he isn't used to regulating his emotions. For a lot of borderlines, they can go a very long time without experiencing any symptoms when they don't have a favorite person. When you think about it, the bulk of the disorder is shown through those interactions with other people. If Reo has never had a real friend in his life, I don't think he'd be used to the emotional turmoil that comes with having a fp.

The minute Reo meets Nagi, he's attached. All his classmates notice it, too. They question why Reo is suddenly so obsessed with this random kid who has no interest in him. Reo is ignoring everybody that isnt Nagi.

Very quickly, Reo boils down his view of the world to being him and Nagi versus everybody else, and he makes that very clear. It also depicts something that I think is incredibly crucial to Reo’s character that a lot of people overlook; as Nagi develops to be Reo’s favorite person, Reo’s dream isnt ‘playing soccer’ anymore. It’s Nagi. It’s being with Nagi, playing soccer with Nagi, being useful to Nagi, taking care of Nagi, and being somebody important to Nagi. He doesnt teach Nagi the rules or how to actually play, he teaches Nagi how to play with him. He literally re-writes and re-structures the game so that it can center around him and Nagi. Nagi calls him out on this in the spin-off manga:

Reo doesnt care about the structure of the game, he cares about Nagi. The other people on the field don't matter. The other team doesn't matter. He also starts to unknowingly put Nagi up on a pedestal, which is another borderline trait. He starts reiterating that Nagi is special, he's different from everybody else, he's destined to achieve great things. The more he raises Nagi up, the more he isolates the two of them in his mind, reiterating the idea that it's them against everybody else. His language reflects this too: Reo exclusively talks with 'us' 'we' 'our', insinuating that they're going to do everything together.

When Ego says that there can't be two winners, Reo says that he'll make Nagi the best striker. His 'ego' will be making Nagi successful. Along with putting Nagi on this pedestal, Reo also very early on establishes the fact that he'd pick Nagi over himself any day of the week. He's the only person in Blue Lock who really couldn't care less about becoming a striker himself: his dream is to be a tool in Nagi's success. Or, in simpler terms, he wants to be useful and make Nagi happy.

These two were in trouble from the very beginning. Nagi is lazy as all hell, has 0 motivation to do anything, and his dream is to live a life of luxury and never have to work. Reo, being the borderline baddie that he is, is more than happy to do EVERYTHING for Nagi. Borderlines love extremely hard! It's one of our best traits and I think it's important to showcase that Reo is a massive sweetheart at his core. He clearly loves Nagi a lot and goes to extreme lengths to make sure he feels taken care of. To someone with BPD, NOTHING is too big of an ask for a person they love, especially if that person is their fp. I also disagree with the argument that Reo 'made' Nagi codependent. Nagi likes being taken care of, he says it all the time. If you ask me, I would actually argue that Nagi takes advantage of Reo a little bit because he knows that Reo will do anything for him. But regardless, I think that Reo starts to develop an unspoken expectation with Nagi that he'll provide him with everything he needs, and in turn, Nagi will stick around. I don't think he's doing this intentionally, nor do I think it's being done in a manipulative way. I just think that Reo has a dormant fear of being abandoned that he doesn't totally know he has yet.

It isn't just Nagi that Reo showcases having unstable relationships with, though. Zantetsu is another good example. Reo starts out disliking Zantetsu, he snaps at him a couple times, and calls him a moron more than once. He starts to warm up to him because Nagi tells him to. The favorite person has MASSIVE sway in the borderline's life. If Nagi likes someone, Reo likes them too. (This is, of course, on the condition that they aren't a threat, looking at you Isagi).

In the immediate next chapter, Reo is acting like they're all best friends. He's climbing on top of them in their big bed, saying that the three of them are gonna win their matches, being a little pookie. He goes from not liking this guy at all to considering him one of his close friends super fast. Also on the topic of Isagi, when they're making up the teams for the second selection, Nagi doesn't initially want to tell Reo that he wants Isagi on their team bc he's worried Reo will be upset. But, when he does finally say it, Reo is literally fine with it because like I said, who Nagi likes, Reo likes! On the condition that they don't replace Reo, which clearly happened soon after.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Reo also shows how he can go from loving someone to despising him very quickly. After Chigiri and Kunigami tell him to get back up in the game post-Nagi's abandonment, we can literally see the switch flip in Reo's head:

Suddenly, he hates Nagi. Nagi's a jerk who abandoned him; he never cared about him, and he threw him away. Dude literally says "Let's kill the bastards that betrayed us". This act of unintentional devaluing is called splitting. What Reo's essentially doing is going from one extreme to the other: if Nagi isn't his perfect treasure, he's the devil that broke his heart. There's no room for a grey area. The reasoning behind borderline's developing this black-and-white mindset is rooted in self-defense. If Reo devalues Nagi into being nothing more than a traitor, then he's stripping away the power that Nagi has to hurt him. If he looks at him like a rival or a villain, it's protecting him from being hurt by Nagi again.

That doesn't mean that he genuinely believes any of this, more so, he's trying to convince himself that it's true. We see that at his core, the reason he's acting like this is because he's hurt. I'll go more into it later on, but he's constantly thinking, what does Isagi have that I don't? What do I have to do in order to win Nagi back? This black-and-white thinking is an automatic self-defense mechanism that I think he's doing subconsciously. Regardless, the shifting he's doing here can cause a little whiplash, which brings me to:

Varied or random mood swings + Problems with anger, including frequent loss of temper or physical fights:

I can’t think of a better way to describe Reo's temperament than the wiki, so let me quote it: "Generally, he seems to feel every emotion with full force and is extremely aware of his own faults and shortcomings, which is evident in several instances of painful breakdowns shown in the spin-off manga. Due to his high emotionality, he can even get violent when he loses his temper."

Reo is characterized as being emotionally unstable. When he's happy, he's elated! When he's sad, he's miserable. There are a ton of scenes between the manga and spin-off manga that show how fast his emotions can flip, but this one was one of my personal favorites:

In this scene, Reo has developed a little scheme in the dining hall where the guys are trading their side dishes. At face value, a throwaway moment. But, I think it's worth looking at because not only does this show Reo's emotional response being triggered in an opposite, semi-extreme direction, but the root cause for the reaction was that he felt rejected by Zantetsu. In his own weird way, he's asking Zantetsu to come over and hang out with him. He's not being exceptionally clear with that message, but I can still pick up on it. "You wanna join in, don't you?" He's extending the invite, making himself vulnerable, and Zantetsu shoots him down by saying nah, I'm fine with my noodles. Reo JUMPS on him like YOU KNOW WHAT? I TOOK THAT PERSONALLY! lol. Jokes aside, I think this moment is a great one to argue Reo's BPD tendencies because it's such a seemingly mundane interaction. Even Zantetsu is surprised by Reo's random outburst. This also sets up the fact that one of Reo's most obvious triggers is being rejected/abandoned/betrayed, an extremely common one between those of us with BPD.

Other instances of Reo having a bad temper are a lot more obvious. In the match against teams V and Z, Reo straight up elbows Raichi in the throat, and then tries to go throw hands with Kuon for hurting Nagi. He only stops because if he gets into any more fights, he’ll get thrown out of the game and won't be able to play with Nagi anymore. He’s visibly pissed though and calls Team Z a joke. Hell, even Reo himself can recognize on a certain level that he can't control his emotions: they control him. They cloud his judgment and make him react in ways that he wish he didn't.

He is constantly plagued by these extreme emotional reactions that are out of his control. Not to say that people with BPD are unable to ever control their emotions, because we can! It takes time and therapy and practice though, which Reo hasn't had. His lack of regulation is also why he has such a dramatic and extreme meltdown when Nagi abandons him.

Fear of Abandonment:

Reo's biggest trigger and the cause of his inner turmoil throughout Blue Lock is his fear of abandonment. I mentioned before that I think he's had this fear dormant inside of him for a while as so many borderlines do, since he hasn't had the chance to experience it before. He alludes to it early on when they first arrive at Blue Lock:

The thought of leaving Nagi for somebody else? Reo considers that heartless. They came together, after all. They're going to win the world cup together. Nagi could break both of his legs and Reo wouldn't leave him, because again, Reo isn't there to team up with the best player and become the best striker in the world: he's there to play with Nagi!! And, like I said, in Reo's mind it's him and Nagi vs everyone else-

Reo exhibits a lot of signs early on of being jealous while they're playing in Blue Lock. I mean, as we discussed, everything should be focused around him and Nagi. When Nagi passes to Zantetsu in the team V and Y match, Reo pulls up like 'hey, why didn't you pass it to me?? ):' There are a lot of little moments like that, but Reo's jealousy is a lot more relevant to my argument after he gets abandoned by Nagi.

Let's talk about that word: abandoned. It seems dramatic, right? Reo uses that term constantly and exclusively. Every time he brings that moment up, he uses the word 'abandoned', or he'll say 'betrayed' or 'chose'. These are very definitive words. He’s not saying Nagi ditched him or flaked on him or blew him off, no; he has abandoned him. That word choice may seem disproportionate to the situation, but that's Reo's reality. This was the ultimate betrayal to him. The constant use of that vocabulary reiterates that in Reo's mind, there is no grey area. Either Nagi chooses him, or he chooses someone else. In choosing someone else, he abandons Reo. Reo is paranoid that Nagi isn't ever going to come back to him and it's because of something that Reo is lacking. How can Nagi like Isagi more than him, anyway?

Now, I do fault Nagi a bit for not communicating better at that moment. I understand that he's bad at communication, but I don't think Reo could have been more obviously upset if he tried. The dude was in TEARS. Nagi saw him devastated and then expected everything to be fine when he met him in the bathhouse? Idk. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he didn't realize it would upset Reo to such an extreme: maybe he thought that they would miss each other, but Reo wouldn't take it personally. I'm doing my best not to harp on Nagi since this is about Reo.

Abandonment is detrimental to people with BPD. It causes extreme inner turmoil that we see with Reo as the story progresses because it is the only thing he can think about. If he isn't trying to cover up his hurt feelings with this idea of revenge, he's self-destructing over being abandoned. He becomes obsessed with wondering why Nagi chose Isagi over him. Was there something wrong with him? Isagi isn't that impressive, why would Nagi rather be with him? These thoughts torture him endlessly and fuel his desire to 'steal' Nagi back. He literally says to Isagi, that he's going to steal Nagi back. Much to his dismay though, Reo starts to notice that Isagi is bringing out some positive traits in Nagi. Nagi's entire vibe is different with Isagi. Nagi is having fun playing soccer without Reo. In fact, he's having more fun. He's making plays he's never made before. His face is visibly different; he's more excited than before.

This is heartbreaking for Reo. Not only was he right that Isagi did have something to offer Nagi that he couldn't, but Reo is having a massive self-hate spiral during this point as well, so he's internalizing all of his flaws and mistakes while the thought is sitting in the back of his head: did Nagi actually have a good reason for abandoning me? Was I not enough to satisfy him? Did I only drag him down? This gets significantly worse the longer he watches Nagi and Isagi play:

Everything is falling apart. Nagi is doing completely fine without Reo, and Reo is an absolute mess. We're circling back to Reo's lack of identity here as well. He's watching firsthand that he's losing Nagi to Isagi: what does he do? What happens to him if he loses Nagi, who is he without Nagi? He's overwhelmed during this match and at one point Reo literally screams that he's going to tear apart their connection. Jealousy is consuming him, but it's also those feelings of inferiority and wondering if he really did deserve to be abandoned. If Nagi is so happy without him, maybe he really did have a reason. These are the thoughts that are circling around in Reo's head. Not to mention, he is constantly tortured by the flashbacks of Nagi leaving him, which I think is a great detail. Some readers might say it's just pointless recapping but I disagree, I think it's depicting how traumatic that was for Reo. As a borderline, being abandoned by your fp IS traumatic. Reo relives that moment so many times because so many things trigger it for him throughout Blue Lock. He can't even look at Chigiri and Kunigami without thinking about him and Nagi. It's a really devastating experience that quickly deteriorates him emotionally.

Constant feelings of worthlessness or sadness + Suicidal behavior or self-injury:

One of my favorite things about Reo is the fact that he is self-aware that he's behaving somewhat irrationally, but he doesn't know how to stop. When we look at one of the several times that Reo is curled up crying over Nagi, he mentions how he really did want to tell Nagi to go and have fun, but he didn't. He couldn't. The visuals shift for this too:

Reo doesnt want to be acting this way, but he can't help it, and that's frustrating to him. It makes him start feeling ashamed of himself. His inner thoughts start to spiral and he feels weak and alone. He's reflecting here on what his true feelings really were at that moment, and how scared and lonely and weak he felt as a result of Nagi leaving him behind.

These feelings quickly evolve into Reo feeling worthless and falling into bouts of self-hatred. He's so ashamed of the way he's feeling and behaving but it feels so out of his control. He says, "maybe if I hadn't gone to Blue Lock in the first place, I wouldn't have to experience this feeling." As I said before, borderline's feel things EXTREMELY intensely; the disorder is described as living with third-degree burns all over your body. Everything hurts. His feelings are so intense and all-consuming right now, it's all he can think about:

I saw some posts in the fandom reddit asking why Reo is acting like this. One in particular reads: "I get that he is betrayed and stuff but he is acting like it’s the end of the world, is it explained later why he acts like this? Is it because he doesn’t think he can win without Nagi?" Not to call this person out, I just want to answer the question in this post-

It has nothing to do with winning; it was never about winning. It was always about Nagi.

If we're looking at Reo through the borderline lens, it IS the end of the world for him. Nagi was his world. What's worse, he's fully aware that he's not acting rationally and he doesn't know why, which is making him feel ashamed and weak and embarrassed. Now I know why he's acting like this, but there are no Blue Lock psychiatrists sitting around to wack him with the mood stabilizers or the DBT handbook, so he's gonna stay feeling like a monster.

He lets these thoughts, along with the resentment and anger from being abandoned in the first place, fuel him for the second selection match. As he's watching the game play out, as Nagi is about to score the winning goal, Reo's mind starts racing with intrusive, negative thoughts.

He's praying that Nagi fails, that he gives up, that he stops trying, anything to stop that solidifying moment where he scores the winning goal and proves once and for all that not only was Reo not strong enough to stop him, but Nagi doesn't need him anymore. He catches himself really quickly, because he realizes he's sounding just like his parents. Everything is spinning out of control so bad, Reo wants Nagi to end up in a vulnerable position so that he isn't the only one falling apart. As he catches himself thinking this, he's disgusted with himself. He calls himself 'utter trash', and as he watches Nagi score the winning goal, he falls to his knees, wishing he was dead.

As he sits there decomposing in emotional turmoil and suicidal ideation, Nagi's team chooses Chigiri to join them, and it's the nail in the coffin. This is probably Reo's lowest point in the entire story IMO. Nagi comes up to compliment him on his plays and Reo shows us another classic borderline move: he's anticipating how bad it's going to hurt to be abandoned by Nagi again, so he's trying to push him away before it can happen. We see the dichotomy of his spoken words and inner thoughts here, where he's talking big game to Nagi, saying things like 'you clearly don't care about me anymore, you're throwing me away, if you're going to abandon me just do it properly', while internally he's thinking 'I'm the worst, I wish I was dead, please take this bait and break my heart so that I can self destruct in peace'.

i LOVE the visuals during this moment. This is what Reo thinks is his last line of defense, the last thing he can do to preserve any part of his dignity is to make Nagi hate him so that he'll stop throwing these crumbs of affection at him. It's also really telling that despite his switch in behavior and the devaluing of Nagi, the root of all of that is STILL that he was so hurt by the abandonment.

I don't think I need to analyze the suicidal ideation because he just straight up says he wants to die like three times in this scene but, aside from that, the visual of his inner thoughts vs what he's actually saying is so powerful. Not to mention the chameleon imagery which i'll geek out about in a second, this is another example of his black and white thinking along with the reiteration that being abandoned was literally traumatic for Reo: he says they can never go back to what they were before. Speaking as a borderline, this is painfully true. When people break my trust even in a small way, I can never view them the same as I used to. I can forgive them and let it go, but I'll never be as open with them as I once was. In Reo's shoes, he had Nagi up on this pedestal that he was perfect and would never do anything to hurt him, but he did hurt him (in the worst way possible).

After Nagi tells him he's a pain in the ass and that he doesn't care anymore, Reo thanks him for 'finishing him off'. In his mind, they're done now and he can suffer in peace and quiet without dragging Nagi down anymore.

Bonus Point: The Chameleon Effect

I LOVE THE FACT THAT HIS THING IS CHAMELEONS AHHHH

The chameleon imagery with Reo makes me INSANE dude. As I mentioned towards the beginning of this post, a part of borderline that is seldom talked about is the tendency to take on 'the chameleon effect', or mirror the people around them. REO'S ENTIRE THING IS CHAMELEONS LIKE BFFR ?? That image where he was trying to get Nagi to hate him, was before he even started using his chameleon style, it was just something the authors thought was necessary to include during Reo's mental breakdown. Aside from the cool imagery, his chameleon style is a reflection of his relationship with Nagi. He gets called a jack of all trades and a master of none early on in reference to how when he’s without Nagi, hes not really exceptional at anything. He never really took the time to master one specific thing because he was always so concerned with helping Nagi. This rings my BPD bell for a couple reasons: first of all, when you have no sense of identity and you’re worried it means you have no real personality ?? Steal one!! Take the closest person to you and copy that one. That’s something us baddies know VERY well. Also, think there’s something about you that your fp doesn’t like? Change it! You can morph into anything they want as long as it means they won’t leave you !! :*) Before he makes up with Nagi, he copies moves in hopes that it'll make him stronger and appear more desirable to Nagi. After they make up, he copies whoever he has to so that he can get Nagi to that goal and make himself useful, make himself somebody that Nagi wants to have around. It is a literal direct metaphor for him changing anything and everything about himself for Nagi and graaaahhhh it’s so cool

Reonagi ?? Some thoughts-

I want to close this yap session with my thoughts on Reonagi as a ship. I do think that they can work and I want to make that clear. I'm not on board with the 'borderlines arent capable of having loving and fulfilling relationships' crap. That being said, they both have to put in a bit of effort. Reo has already recognized a lot of his own issues. He admits that he was wrong for pushing his ideals onto Nagi, that he needs to let Nagi grow and be his own person, etc. Nagi really hasn't accepted any fault. I stand by the fact that Nagi needs to be more sensitive with Reo. Way too often when a relationship like this fails, all the blame is put on the one with borderline. I'm gonna be the outlier here and say that if Nagi cares about Reo, he needs to learn about Reo's triggers and be mindful of them. I'm not saying that since Reo is sensitive to abandonment that Nagi should just isolate himself from everybody else, but what I am saying is that when he's going to do something that doesn't involve Reo, he needs to learn how to communicate that he still loves and values Reo. "I'm gonna go play soccer with this person right now, but I haven't forgotten about our promise. When I come back, we can play together. I still love you and I'm not going to leave you for whoever tf I'm playing with rn." (sneaking that 'i love you' in bc like..they're literally canon at this point asdfghjkll) But, I do think that Nagi loves Reo and cares about him in his own way. The two of them just have to keep working on their communication skills. Nagi has the potential to have a hot rich husband who will literally bend over backward for him and buy him all the robux he could ever want, he's gotta put in a shred of effort!

I also like to think that Nagi didn’t totally get the fact that Reo doesn’t gaf about just playing soccer. Nagi thinks soccer is what they do together, it’s what makes reo happy, right? He’s always pushing him to train harder and take the game more seriously because he likes the sport, RIGHT? It would make perfect sense to go play with isagi so that he can get better at soccer and come back to reo a more improved player. Maybe that’s why he was surprised when Reo was so mad in the bathhouse, bc he wasn’t making the connection that Reo cares more about him than soccer. That Reo puts all that energy into him playing soccer because he thinks it’s something that they can have as their own, and once Nagi notices how good he is, he’ll start enjoying it and the two of them can hold hands and run around the soccer pitch!! I think Nagi missed that part tbh, and I don’t think he know that even now in the story. Maybe Reo doesn’t even notice it.

Anyway, a shameless plug to my reonagi playlist if that's your thing (i cooked with this one, i fear) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5CsvSqmuI4cxOl1nTaV4GJ?si=737a0f21e0bd482a

Closing Thoughts:

Reo is a bpd baddie and I love him very much. I think he's a sensitive guy with a lot of feelings who would benefit from taking time to work through his trauma and his emotions. I hope that he eventually is able to build an identity for himself that doesn't involve Nagi, but baby steps, I suppose. I think Reo is a great balance of positive and negative borderline traits and he reads as a really believable and sympathetic character. He is, however, definitely that friend that you have to slap to stop them from running back to their ex.

Jokes aside though, BPD can be extremely hard to live with, even more so when it's undiagnosed and untreated. If someone you love has BPD, take the time to read up on it and do your best to understand them. I promise you, it will mean the world to them.

If you managed to get this far, thank you for reading! This was a messy stream of consciousness and I appreciate your support by listening.

[kanonavi]

Spoilers for Simulanka Day 3

There's a conversation that I've had with friends from time to time about the fact that the world of Teyvat is, at its core, incredibly kind. Shockingly so, even for most fictional stories that aren't directed towards children. Even though the traveler has faced many antagonists on their journey, the people around them have always banded together to overcome those challenges. Even when people are hurt it's very rare for anyone to die, and many of the antagonists in question aren't pure evil and have their own reasons for taking the actions they take. They may not always operate on the same morality as the traveler or the player, and they might not be "good people", but they still believe that what they have to do is right, or at the very least necessary.

To put it more simply, Genshin is filled with characters that are made to be liked. Not every player will like every character, but very few of them are actively trying to work against you, and even when they do there's still something there to like. Except for like, Il Dottore, but he's likable for how unlikable he is (I have to say that or my Dottore enjoying friend will be sad lmao).

I got to thinking about this when playing the last part of Simulanka because it was a reminder of how, despite the kindness that they've been shown by Teyvat for the past three and a half years, the traveler's morality is still shockingly black and white in many situations.

We see this the most in how they interact with the Fatui. The Fatui, particularly the Harbingers, have cause a lot of damage in the past, but a lot of the grunts are just ordinary people following orders. the commission line in Mondstadt with Viktor, Golden Apple Archipelago 2 and The Chasm come to mind for times when we've interacted with Fatui grunts in a way that really humanizes them and shows that a lot of them really are just people doing a job. Some of them have just been surveyors or low-level guards, but the traveler and Paimon treat them like they're cartoon villains until proven otherwise (and sometimes even after proven otherwise).

The way that they acted towards Simulanka Durin before the party gave him their blessings also seemed to reflect this, especially in comparison to the other party members. Wanderer was obviously the most sympathetic to Durin, since his memories were like looking into a mirror for him, but Nilou, Navia, and Kirara all stepped forward to give Durin their support while the traveler was still showing doubts. They were thinking about how the residents of Simulanka might not forgive Durin, or how his form was too big and scary to coexist with everyone, which was an incredibly unsympathetic outlook even though they were ultimately able to change Durin's form.

It honestly reminds me a lot of how the traveler treated Scaramouche/Wanderer in Inversion of Genesis, like he was a person to be kept the company of only out of necessity as a means to keep him under control, even after Nahida said that she trusted him. Even though something did go wrong at the time, it still showed that the traveler's suspicion and distrust of Scaramouche was strong enough to outweigh their trust of Nahida, despite Nahida having proved herself many times to be wise and worthy of trust in the past. That mistrust and even disdain for him even carried over into when he reappeared with no memories, as the traveler was forcefully adamant that he needed to reclaim his memories and atone, to the point that it seemed like they were being a little bit mean about it.

It's arguable that Scaramouche deserved that treatment, since he was kind of a little shithead who caused a lot of harm in the past, but the traveler was also witness to how deeply he was hurt and manipulated in the past, and therefore would have some kind of understanding of why he turned out the way that he did.

Despite the traveler's usual helpfulness in Simulanka, Nilou, Navia, and Kirara all feel like contrasts to them. Nilou's whimsical outlook and positive mindset allowed her to grasp the magic of creation and even gave her the initiative to try and change Durin's form with magic in the first place. Navia is used to taking care of "the little guy", as it were, through the Spina, and was therefore willing to listen and empathize with the toy people who didn't want to undo the power of prophecy. (With those guys also being called "conservatives" or a "conservative radical" in English, that doesn't really have a good connotation depending on your political leaning, but Navia listened to them anyway). And with Kirara, while I haven't played her little sidequest yet, the description of her outfit described how the little cat burglar stole and returned the emotions of the cats that they hadn't been given when they were created, casting her in the role of someone who can understand the balance that anger, sadness, and pain bring to happiness.

The three of them, as well as the Wanderer, all carry Teyvat's fundamental kindness with them, and it was then coaxed out of the traveler only when all of them had already stepped forward.

It made me wonder if this is some kind of lesson that the traveler has to learn before reuniting with their sibling, that they need to be more willing to put their trust in people, or at least be more understanding of others. While the abyss twin hasn't divulged too much of what they've learned yet, they've made it clear that there are lessons that the traveler needs to learn about the world before they reunite. While that likely has a lot to do with various truths about Celestia and the sky being fake and all that, perhaps they're hoping for their sibling to learn that at least in Teyvat, sometimes people who cause harm to others are simply trying (or have tried and failed and lost hope) to find a path towards co-existing with others.

Since the abyss twin is supposedly born of Teyvat as well, perhaps they've already understood that part of this world from the very beginning and are waiting for their sibling to catch up.

[cookiesandthedead]

I think because Vegapunk turned out to be a generally cute old man (plus various satellites), we as a fandom seem to have collectively forgotten that he conducts experiments on prisoners. Like the same shit that makes Cesar and Judge some of the most hated villains, he does too.

King and Kaido literally have escaping from Vegapunk's lab as part of their tragic backstories. Their escape is even shown again in episode 1110 and Shaka confirms Vegapunk was involved.

The Seraphim are not that different from what Judge did to his own children, except they are fully clones. Nami cannot fight S-Shark because he is a child. I have a feeling (or at least hope that story wise it comes up) that the Seraphim have thoughts beyond their control and are tragic characters. This was a huge thing for Bonney hating Vegapunk until it was revealed Kuma agreed to it, what about for the Seraphim?

Ohh also the complete creepiness of taking people's DNA without their consent, whether they notice it or not. Like all these actions tend to get pinned on the World Government but Vegapunk is very happily doing it, he isn't being forced.

I really hope that story wise, this does get brought up because otherwise it feels like the horrors of Punk Hazard and Germa would be ok if Cesar and Judge were likable or nicer.

[crooked-wasteland]

I’m weirdly torn about Lite’s character arc.

On one hand, feminine rage (yes please), she’s the only one who understands Hell can BE A THREAT (sure, Charlie and Pentious are nice and all, but there are other people in Hell who are probably not well intentioned), she’s rightfully pissed that her role as second in command was overlooked for some (admittedly sweet) guy who doesn’t even wanna be here, and she’s rightfully upset that her sisters and best friend/man she loved were murdered in a job that she was authorized to do by the supposed good guys. She shouldn’t be seen as the bad guy for being convinced by others that what she was doing was right, and is upset when she’s told all her work, her allies, and Adam being killed meant nothing.

On the other hand, she’s being depicted as the bad guy. I’m not saying she needs to be sympathetic, 100% likable, uwu babey. But her pain and issues are being brushed aside to make her appear like the stereotypical “crazy bitch” who will probably be the villain of the season, or at least A villain. Not the antagonist, the VILLAIN. Her grief and valid opposition is more than likely going to be villainized, when in reality, she may be cold and sadistic, but I don’t this Lute is ultimately a bad person. She spent her existence fighting for what she was told is right by a holy figure. Not some cultist or priest who says God talks to them, but THE ACTUAL HIGH SERAPH. She was convinced angels don’t make mistakes, to the point she never questioned that in all her cruelty, if she was right or wrong. She believed she was right. If this were on Earth, on could compare this to crusaders or people who force conversions or kill anyone who doesn’t agree with their beliefs. But I don’t think that can really apply, because Lite isn’t human, she lives in HEAVAN. Religious asshole humans aren’t comparable to ANGELS who are familiar with THE SPEAKER FOR GOD HIMSELF. So her genuine belief she is doing good is understandable, but will probably be what makes her villainized. Or maybe it will be the fact she’s in mourning? Who knows! Viv will never skimp on presenting a woman as a villain for the flimsiest of reasons.

And on the other other hand. Yes, it suck a huge part of her motivation is her connection to a MAN (the first man, no less) who is a douchebag. But idk if that’s that big of an issue. For all her being sad her boss/love interest/a dude died, there’s also her being angry that her position as leader was passed over for some guy as well. I’m not saying it evens out, but maybe it does? Not to mention that even though Adam was a dick, he was more than just a man/asshole/boss/probably misogynist, he was also her friend, someone she looked up to as a leader, and still was comfortable enough to hang out with when not on the job. He called he names, but that might’ve been out of familiarity rather than genuine malice or sexism. Then again, Viv never really let us learn Jack shit about Adam as a person, other than CHARLIE GOOD, ADAM BAD. So while it is kind of iffy from one perspective for Lute’s arc to be connected to Adam, I don’t think it’s an issue of gender, and more of the fact that she meant something to him.

Sorry for the long ask, but what’re your thoughts?

I agree with pretty much all of this. I think she is an extremely compelling character and I think her deeper character reasons for being a real villain are solid. I even think the song itself is genuinely good at showing that Lite isn't only raging about some guy. The actual meat of her character is really well balanced on paper, and the song does a decent job of depicting that ...

Until it gets to Adam.

The issue is the poor pacing of the writers and how we never got to see Lute and Adam as much. Lute is extremely formal in most of the scenes in the early part of Hazbin. Calling Adam "sir" doesn't give the impression of "best friends", so she does come off as oddly obsessed, especially with the rushed "crazy bitch" routine as you pointed out. We don't actually have a strong foundation for their relationship. Additionally, the revival of Adam as a figment of Lute's imagination as she falls into some form of psychosis is just rather silly. I understand it's to give Lute someone to talk to, but it makes Adam as a love interest is the most important characterization.

I do completely agree with your points on Lute's character. She has excellent motivation, and a clear arc that I also think is worth the effort. It just suffers from weak world building and lazy shortcuts.

[blorbo-gerrymandering]

Round 1

Note: before voting for the first option please leave a detailed explanation of what Blaseball even is in the notes, cause I have no idea. Also votes for the first option count for Jaylen Hotdogfingers

Propaganda Under The Cut

Jaylen Hotdogfingers:

The greatest came-back-wrong character ever. She's the mayor of Seattle. She's was the best pitcher in the league. She was murdered by an umpire in an act of divine retribution for the fanbase's transgression. The fanbase exploited game mechanics to bring her back to life. Immediately she murdered 12 people. She died again and got revived a second time as part of a team of undead players that killed god. She's a really awful batter. She has, like, 16 songs written about her and they're all really good. I thought about her every single day for a period of six consecutive months. I love her.

I'll be real. I'm an outsider to the Blaseball fandom. I don't understand it. I think they've crowdfunded characters from fictionalized fucked-up Baseball stats and a dream. I love seeing what the fuck they're doing in their eldritch sandbox just so much.

Bruce Wayne (Batman):

he's babygirl your honour! single father of 6 (ish), world's least likable manwhore, he's obsessive and mean and cares a lot and is an asshole

he’s a whore. he’s batman. he’s terrified of bats. he’ll fuck villains he’ll fuck heroes he’ll fuck any consenting adult. he’s a dad. he’s traumatised. he beats the shit out of people. he can do anything with enough prep time. he creeps people out on purpose. he lives and dies by the bit. he is everything to me. truly the character of all time

[profoundmakerdreamerss-blog]

Tomarry au — arrange marriage but with a twist.

Harry Potter wakes up in the body of a villain. A character in an otome game that his goddaughter liked to play. He, being the only one without any kids of his own — always volunteered to take care of her whenever Ron and Hermione finally got some free time together. Thus, they remained really close for years. Even after she grew up she stayed in contact with Harry. And so he knew all about her new obsession.

It was a game where the main character got to choose from six different male leads. They all had their own storyline and apparently it was really popular. It was a story about how this mc, who is a powerful witch — end up winning the heart of the male lead while winning over the kingdom. Because common blood witches/wizards are rare and mostly scorned upon due to not having pure bloodline. And Rose wouldn't stop talking about how interesting it was.

Harry's goddaughter liked everything about the story except one character.

He was the most popular yet the most controversial character; the mad emperor called Voldemort. And there was a reason why he was so popular yet so damned controversial. And no — it was not because of his penchant to torture or order an execution in the bat if an eye. Nope, apparently hot, evil characters tend to be popular anyway, but it mostly was because how no one was able to win his route. Ever.

Voldemort's, or better known as the mad king's — is a route no one ever won. So many people tried, and even begged asked the game developers to give them a hintof how to win his route but apparently they didn't budge and stayed tight lipped about Voldemort's route. Everyone tend to die on his route no matter the choices, no matter what actions you took and no matter how different it was from the last choice. Your character would. just. keep. dying.

But there was one thing that remained common in all of Voldemort's storylines. And it was the main villain. Voldemort's husband. Even when you aren't playing the main game; Voldemort's husband is always trying to make your life hell. So, everytime you win a routine the husband dies a horrible death. Mostly executed by Voldemort himself.

In Voldemort's own route, however — it was different. And how different Harry never got to ask his goddaughter because now he was fucking dead.

And now, here he is. Stuck. In. The. Body. Of. The. Main. Villain. Of. A. game he doesn't even know the name of, for fuck's sake.

Yes, this is a story about how Harry dies and wakes up in the body of a villain who is set up for an arrange marriage with a king who is apparently so hard to win over that even the most likable persons, the main fucking character even — is not able to win him over. So how would, Harry in the body of Harry Evans (they even share the same damn first name, what the fuck.) would win over the husband who's job is to basically kill him after every happy ending? Harry doesn't know.

Cue to Harry doing everything to not die in the hands of Voldemort while trying to figure out how to befriend the mc so he doesn't die due to natural disaster through karma for looking at fate's darling (mc) the wrong way. Also, cue to Harry derailing the plot so hard that the title of the story changes after he is done.

[merakiui]

The issue with having the TWST Halloween events happen at the same time for both servers mean that one overshadows the other 😫 it wasn’t really prevalent last year when ENG TWST had the NBC event and JPN TWST had Playfuland, but Skully has gotten really famous even outside the fandom that poor Fellow is being ignored 😓 This combined with his name change…he’s really not winning right now

Aaa that’s a fair thought!! Poor Fellow,,, >_<

I think it’s also a matter of preference. Skully is very easy to like immediately solely because (to those who aren’t familiar with twst) “omg anime boy Jack Skellington” or “omg Gojo reborn”!! Also,, Jack Skellington was and still is immensely popular. He’s one of the tumblr sexyman. It’s understandable that this amount of popularity would inevitably be thrust onto Skully. Additionally, Jack isn’t considered nearly as villainous as Frollo or Honest John (of course he isn’t completely innocent), considering he’s the protagonist of his film. He just has a lot of likability points in all areas, which allows for people both in and outside of the fandom to appreciate Skully’s character.

As for Rollo, he isn’t considered “attractive” by majority standards and it was easy to dislike him from the moment he was announced because of the villain he’s twsted from. (My personal, not objective whatsoever opinion is that they can never make me hate Rollo. I love him so very much. He’s everything to me.) I can’t give much of a thought for Fellow because his design is very attractive and it’s easier to not hate him solely because of this attractiveness(???). Like Rollo, they can never make me hate Mr. Fellow. <3 his name change may be discouraging, but he will forever be Fellow in our hearts. :D

Aaaa but maybe I’m rambling nonsense. T_T in short, I think it was destiny for Skully to become so popular. Even my friend who isn’t in the twst fandom at all found Skully on their tiktok fyp. He is just so popular!!!! :O

[canisalbus]

I love Redwall too! I even got to meet him at a book event when I was a teen. Do you have a favorite character or book from the series?

Oh, that's neat! From what I've heard he seemed like a warm and likable guy.

It's been so long since the last time I read any of them, I can only recall some select scenes and a maybe a handful of characters. My favorite book was Mattimeo and I remember liking it's main villain, Slagar the Cruel. The Finnish publisher stopped translating the books after The Long Patrol and I never got around to reading the rest of the series, mostly because my English wasn't nowhere near good enough at the time.

I have almost all Finnish editions, still missing Mossflower and The Long Patrol, both of which seem nearly impossible to find, the printings must've been really limited or something.

[ceoandslutler]

a short analysis on the theme of kindness in kuro, in defence of the morally reprehensible protagonists.

i previously spoke about sebastian pulling a "not like other humans" line on ciel but the things he's actually saying in this chapter are crazy...

chapter no's and pages in alt text!!

media illiterate (most kuro fandom antis') logic is that ^this guy's^ the big bad villain of kuro, there's so much to analyse about the theme of kindness and humanity in kuro but ultimately people are blind to it because sebaciel are not the kind, happy-go-lucky type of protags many people are used to and people struggle to purify them. there are so many people in this story "more innocent" than them and less morally grey which makes them look like worse people but the fact is that they are the "worse" in a world full of the "worst". they're there to show you how despicable humanity can be but they have their moments of 'good' (otherwise they'd be lacking in likability), especially moments like this can be quite odd in this story about corruption and evil because in those pages, these two do not seem like the deplorable, manipulative and conniving characters we often see them as. this moment reminds me of another very dear chapter to me which two volumes comes after this.

this is such an interesting part of the manga (it's why the blue cult arc is my favourite arc of the manga despite all the popstar/idol shenanigans that threw a lot of people off). the way these two behave in this arc is not normal, they do not need to go above and beyond for these people. it is not necessary for sebastian to go this far for ciel AND his tenants (who it is important to note he has no contractual obligation to care for, especially not to the extent of giving them the "time of their lives") and it is certainly not normal the way ciel treats these people with zero contempt even when they 'disrespect' him as a noble. these two are genuinely weird for their time, blue cult arc also gives us an unforgettable seb moment (link).

this chapter also serves as part of the transition between the blue cult arc and the blue memory arc which is also...

one of the most intriguing parts of the manga... what's interesting here is that ciel HAS kept his tenants happy as proven by the halloween chapter (the page below from this same chapter talks of infrastructure needs having to be met and we read that ciel has fixed the roads since becoming earl and even an old donkey can transport milk from across them- that's how good the quality of the roads are). however, what i want to focus on is undertaker previously saying ciel, despite having phantomhive blood is not like his predecessors. in fact, the flashback chapter shows he's not even like his own identical twin brother!

i really wonder what exactly undertaker meant by saying that right as ciel saves joanne in the school arc and also what vincent was thinking about his sons in this flashback sequence. did vincent think o!ciel is different too? and what is it that makes him so odd? or rather, what makes him an exception in the phantomhive family? i look forward to whatever yana has in store for us and hope to see where these wonderful characters with such bizarre morality (or lack there of) end up.

i will talk about this theme more in the future but if anyone has something specific to add, please do. and even if it's not too detailed or you're unsure, feel free to tell me what you think about the use of 'good' and 'evil' for the main characters of kuro overall! some things to consider:

fundamentally why are ciel and sebastian the way they are? and more importantly, do you think yana intended either of them to be read as strictly "evil"? a lot of people make the case of the fandom purifying them but i never see that these days, usually it's only ciel that's sanitised of all sin and sebastian that is demonised (although occasionally both are demonised as solely "bad guys"). i joke about them being narcissistic and not the nicest people (which is something i genuinely believe) but i do not think they are the root of all evil; which is a take you can have without absolving them of any and all misdeed they may have committed. i think what i'm really getting at is that sebastian is not ""evil""? and he's not innocent either. but he's a force for "good" in the story. he works for the phantomhive estate and the people living on that land more devotedly than a demon with a 3-clause contract with the master of the land should and he shouldn't be excluded from the phantomfam and only seen as horrible/evil but nor should he be solely seen as a silly little cat loving parent. and you don't need to ship sebaciel to see him this way, just read the source material with your eyes peeled, really think about what sebastian does and says. he's so interesting and he's so much more than the fandom makes him out to be. but interpret him however you want, i guess.