#or even ultra violent characters

[jojoeyo]

I’m low key ruined for the comfort character thing, because the first one I ever saw was Bluey tell Buccellati they’ll have to kill someone, and it was so silly, nothing compares to it

[cyanidespideycup]

I think a lot of people conflate superheroes as a whole to specifically Batman when it comes to the importance of a life. It makes sense, supers are meant to be put on pedestals and represent what we should all aspire to be. But it's weird when this gets applied to Spidey.

Just like everything else with Peter, he is a regular guy. Other superheros represent what we should aspire to be, but Spidey represents what we can be. He cares for every life. He hopes to give everybody a second chance. But if someone asks for it, Pete will beat their fucking skull in.

When his cop/detective friend Jean DeWolff was murdered, he hunted the man down and physically fought his way past Daredevil to kill the guy and ended up beating him within an inch of his life. When Kingpin got May shot, Peter broke into his prison, effortlessly beat him to a smear, and then promised that when May died, not if, he'd come back and finish the job- violently. There are just countless instances of him deciding "I'm actually going to kill him now totally" with Norman. Most notably of course is the glider incident, which Peter didn't actually go to with the intent to kill (weirdly enough despite Gobby killing his fiance). However, he took pleasure in beating him senseless and wasn't exactly broken up by the final thud.

Peter's a guy who meets every situation with the intent to help someone. He tries to find every opportunity to help another person, even someone who's trying to kill him, even if it's at his own detriment. He's not a perfect manifestation of morals and purity. He's just some guy. Some guy who cares a whole lot for people. And that makes it all the more special when he does help someone. When he talks a girl off a roof, or inspires a kid to be better than the system set him up for, or befriends his own rogues. It all feels so much more personal. This is just a person, one of us. Someone who fails more often than not, who makes bad jokes and gets angry and feels hate and love and pain all at once and most of all, someone who tries his best no matter what.

[thesmokinpossum]

No but seriously, I'm fully aware that beating the shit out of an abuser without their victim explicit consent is not going to help said victim in any way and I'm also aware that in the context of The Godfather it's also yet another example of a profundly patriarcal society/culture in which women are seen as extention of their family and where slights against them are therefore considered a slight against their male relatives but like…That scene were Sonny beat the absolute shit out of Connie's piece of trash husband is honestly one of my absolute favorite moment in cinema history, I'm cheering and clapping everytime like fuck yeah Sonny, bite this motherfucker!

[funkbun]

the day white ppl actually reflect on how they treat black n brown characters compared to white characters will be the day I'll finally know peace

[biblicalhorror]

Anyway I can't stop thinking about how much more narratively satisfying it would have been if Walter never existed and Misty was the one to kill Kevyn

[theoi-crow]

The humans in Greek Mythology are the mega rich and powerful:

In my college classes people are often shocked when I tell them my favorite part of Greek mythology is the gods themselves and I'm not a big fan of the humans.

99% of my classmates prefer the humans in mythos, especially the ones that stick it to the gods like Sisyphus and feel bad for humans like Kassandra and Helen who have been wronged by the gods because "they're just like us." My classmates and teachers hate the gods and don't understand why anyone in modern times would want to worship such violent and selfish beings whenever I point out there are still people who worship them. They hold onto the idea that people in mythology embody the human experience of being oppressed by terrible gods and fate and we should feel bad for them because "they're human just like us" but they forget that the people in Greek Mythology are NOT just like us. They are more relatable to medieval royalty, colonizers and ultra rich politicians who make laws and decisions on wars and the fates of others, especially the poor and the very vulnerable.

Every hero or important human in Greek Mythology is either some form of royalty or mega rich politician/priest-priestess (of course this is with the exception of people who are explicitly stated to be poor like the old married couple in the myth where Zeus and Hermes pretend to be panhandlers). All of them have an ancient Greek lifestyle more relatable to Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and especially to British royalty during the British empire, than the average person.

All of them.

Odysseus, Patroclus, Theseus, Helen of Troy, Kassandra, Diomedes, Agamemnon, Perseus, Hercules, Aeneas, Paris, Any human who has a divine parent or is related to one, etc. Although sometimes the story omits it, it is heavily implied that these are people who own hundreds or even thousands of slaves, very poor farmers and the tiny barely there working class as royal subjects.

They are the ones who make laws and whose decisions massively affect the fates of so many people. So no, they can't just be forgiven for some little whim, because that little whim affects the literal lives of everyone under their rule. By being spoiled they've just risked the lives of thousands of people and possibly even gotten them killed like when Odysseus' audacity got every single slave and soldier in his ships killed or when Patroclus as a kid got upset and killed another kid for beating him at a game. (A normal person wouldn't kill another person just for winning a game but royalty and those who think they're above the law do it all the time, plus the class status of the child wasn't mentioned but the way he didn't think he'd get in trouble implies the kid was of lower class, possibly the child of a slave or a foreign merchant.)

The gods get a bad reputation for punishing the humans in mythology but, if not them, who else is going to keep them accountable when they are the law?

And whose to say the humans beneath them weren't praying to the gods in order to keep their masters in check?

Apollo is the god in charge of freeing slaves, Zeus is the god of refugees, immigrants and homeless people, Ares is the protector of women, Artemis protects children, Aphrodite is the goddess of the LGBT community, Hephaestus takes care of the disabled, etc. It wouldn't be surprising if the gods are punishing the ultra rich and powerful in these myths because the humans under their rulership prayed and sent them as they did historically.

Every time someone asks me if I feel bad for a human character in a myth, I think about the many lives affected by the decision that one human character made and if I'm being completely honest, I too would pray to the gods and ask them to please punish them so they can make more careful decisions in the future because:

They are not just like us.

We are the farmers, a lot of our ancestors were slaves, we are the vulnerable being eaten by capitalism and destroyed by the violence colonialism created. We are the poor subjects that can only pray and hope the gods will come and correct whatever selfish behavior the royal house and mega rich politicians are doing above us.

And that's why I pray to the gods, because in modern times I'm dealing with modern Agamemnons who would kill whatever family members they have to in order to reach their end goal, I'm dealing with everyday modern Achilles who would rather see their own side die because they couldn't keep their favorite toy and would gladly watch their subjects die if it means they eventually get their way. The ones that let capitalism eat their country and it's citizens alive so long as it makes them more money. These are our modern "demigods," politicians who swear they are so close to God that they know what he wants and so they pass laws that benefit only them and claim these laws are ordained by God due to their close connection just like how Achilles can speak to the gods because of his demigod status via his mother.

Look at the news, these are humans that would be mythical characters getting punished by Greek gods which is why anything Greco-Roman is jealousy guarded by the rich and powerful and is inaccessible to modern worshippers because Ivy League schools like Harvard and Cambridge make sure to keep it that way. That's what we're dealing with. These are the humans these mythical beings would be because:

In our modern times the humans in mythos would be the politicians and mega rich that are currently ruining our society and trying to turn it into a world where only the rich can manipulate wars and laws, just like they do in mythology.

Fuck them.

I literally have so much more to add about my disdain for them and I didn't even touch on the obvious ancient Greek propaganda.

[1moreff-creator]

DRDT Chapter 2 Episode 13: First Impressions

Woo! DRDT! It is time! Time for despair! Let’s go! My excitement has not faded in the slightest from last week; if anything, it’s stronger than before. Here are my first impressions of this week’s episode!!!

Spoilers for CH2 EP13

CW Suicide, violent murder, mafia mention, suicide, hanging, self-harm.

It’s starting! Levi’s got some explaining to do. Will someone (say, Eden) have an interesting reaction?

Alright, J’s not the one I expected to have first reaction, but cool.

“You…” Is Ace okay? 

“Ah. I didn’t expect that.” Rose’s legendary reaction.

YOU CANNOT “THAT’S WACK” THIS SITUATION WHIT

Oh, so people know, but the court struck it. Interesting.

Ah, there’s the Ace reaction. Also, “no way Hope’s Peak scouted a murderer” but you have a poisoner on another secret and an art forger, at least. Not the same level maybe, but still. 

“Don’t make the mistake of switching cause and effect.” Of course Hope’s Peak is responsible, that was my first gut instinct. God, it’s so shady in this universe.

Woo, Levi backstory! Three “old enemies?”

… Bro??? I don’t think any of us actually expected more than one murder, but I might be wrong on that. Self-defense, then two first degrees, huh?

“Were you in the mafia or something?” Thanks J.

“I don’t think I need to elaborate” No, you do. You really should elaborate. Please? For me?

“Who did you even kill?” And… Levi!Accomplice is looking rougher by the second. Then again, maybe she didn’t know.

Levi tracked two of them down, but doesn’t know who they were? How?

“That car I blew up once?” HUH???

“That’s… kind of a lot to admit all of the sudden.” True, Rose. I’m trying to see what he’s cooking, but I can’t tell.

How do you forget this? Jeez.

“How could you forget?” You know, Arturo, I was kinda irrationally worried Charles was about to throw in his secret phrase, but it’s cool that you avoided that. Thanks.

[For the uninformed; it’s theorized the characters will, at some point in the series, say the quotes hidden in the source code of their dedicated pages out loud, since Min and Arei both said theirs, and Xander’s could be in a flashback. That means that if a character says their secret quotes, their chances of dying go up drastically.]

“If you don’t care about murder, you could be the murderer.” (Paraphrased) Yes thanks Veronika not the point. 

“Almost as if you don’t care…” Great. I didn’t know where Levi was going with this, now I don’t know where Veronika is going with her schtick.

I’m surprised Ace is taking it relatively well [as in, not outwardly terrified]. I guess near death does that to someone.

Woo! Time frame! Junior high school! 

Interesting, so he didn’t start fashion because of the murder. That’s kinda what I was thinking, but I was wrong.

We’re getting our first crumbs of Hope’s Peak being ultra shady in main series! After Rose’s backstory ig. Unfortunately the “pretentious revolutionaries” aren’t here to “hand out tickets of lead” ← LGI brainrot

“It could also refer to the time I murdered my father.”

… 

???????????????????????????

You didn’t lead with that?! Also, what?! I laughed out loud at the fucking absurdity of the statement, but what?!

“It’s a bit of a bother.” The bothersome part is that they’re phrased vaguely and not that they reveal you’re a murderer, got it.

“Go back!” Thank you J.

What do you mean I think. Bro how many people have you killed? What in the name of Kirisaki Shidou [/ref]?

“Not even the police cared about a man like him.” ??? Also, wasn’t your dad a bad influence? You’ve mentioned him before, it didn’t sound that bad- Wait, is he lying? No way he’s lying. Hold on, let me watch more.

[In retrospect, I doubt he’s lying, but his story is certainly weird]

“I see no reason to remain hung up-” Then why are you bringing it up. I still can’t fucking tell what you’re trying to accomplish here.

Eden’s reaction is… neutral, I guess? Makes sense either way?

Eden!Culprit has always been hard to maintain during the trial, huh… Still took the tape though. And I guess it’s potentially interesting she’s getting this much dialogue about Levi’s thing. Teruko’s yet to speak this episode.

“I wonder if I should really tell the truth…” Bro what do you mean there’s more truth to tell?

Oh, hey, speaking of Teruko. And it seems she and I share a mind.

“I don’t care about people at all.” Ooooh, I like this. Some kind of condition?

I feel a little bit like Veronika, interested in hearing his experience with this. Feeling like Veronika is probably a bad thing.

“You’re still a stranger to me.” Levi’s quickly climbing the ranks of fave characters, btw. This is super interesting.

“But you’re a good person-” DO NOT “good person” right now, Eden! That’s a point to Levi!Accomplice, maybe? Maybe not? I don’t know what’s happening. And I still don’t get what Levi is trying to do here.

Double “good person?” Bro what is happening.

“I don’t personally care what happens to Ace.” Mood (that’s a joke I like Ace).

PFT- Ace’s reaction lol.

“But it is “good” to make sure someone else doesn’t die-” Goodbye Levi!Accomplice! I liked you, but I’m probably gonna go try to find other theories after this episode :p (This is a joke, btw; if I didn’t discount theories like Hu!Culprit when the new alibis came up, I’m not going to completely abandon Levi!Accomplice over this. But, just saying, there might be a few revisions to be made)

“Haha. You…” Ace breakdown! Breakdown! (I'm absolutely acting like Veronika now).

“I was right all along.” Yeah, Ace ‘can tell a hawk from a handsaw’ Markey, nice one. (Does anyone even know/remember why I’m referencing that line or is LGI too far in the past for that?)

New Ace sprite! Cool one too. Clutching his heart, Acevi shippers eating ig. 

“Good thing I didn’t fall for it. Not one bit.” Oh they’re eating GOOD good!

“There’s only one person in my whole life who I’ve ever been able to call my friend-” IS THAT A FUCKING TAYLOR REFERENCE?!?!?! Holy shit, I don’t know how many people are even gonna remember we have a canon name for that dude. I hope someone still has the screenshot of the deleted answer from the CH2 Part 1 Q&A. 

“I really hope you fucking die.” We are active in Trial 2 Part 2, huh? Between Arturo telling him to “shut his whore mouth” and this, Levi’s getting verbally jumped!

“You’re quite the interesting person, Levi” Please Veronika, give me the psychoanalysis.

Dude, that’s three “good person” drops all on Levi. Chat the importance of this phrase may have been slightly overexaggerated by me (then again, the list of “good person” people has yet to grow from last chapter).

“You act like a big pushover because-” This is the psychoanalysis I came to see!

I don’t know if I’d call it “intuitive understanding” but I guess Levi’s not fully wrong about Veronika.

Four “good person.” And that’s not counting Veronika’s “good people.”

Five. Also, this continues to be interesting. Why did Levi bring this up again?

“After looking at David, I thought being honest-” Okay that’s hilarious.

“Try looking in a mirror…” First David line of the episode, right? And it’s a nice one of course.

That’s six cases of “good person” in this chapter alone holy shit. At least it’s David, who still had counts.

“I apologize for this tangent” Then can you please explain why the tangent exists in the first place? Or is it really just because being honest is "good"?

[Spoilers. It really was because of that. What]

“I can’t believe there was a time I liked you.” Yeah Acevi is still eating good. I doubt the hostility is gonna drive the shippers away; that’s what they’re here for, right?

And of course Whit’s first line makes him look suspicious. Bro you have an alibi for the time of disappearance of fish and you didn’t take the tape from the gym, stop pretending to be the killer.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Thank you Hu, but let me jump to a conclusion. Is Levi not gonna explain why he revealed his secret beyond the honesty thing?

Okay J’s response is good too.

“No, [Arei] didn’t [talk to Levi about the secret]” Bro what the fuck are we even talking about anymore.

“I don’t have a defense” (Paraphrased) No but seriously what. I’m this close to ripping out my hair. What is he doing.

“We don’t have evidence [Levi is the murderer]” Thank you Teruko Tawaki for being one of three competent people in the building. This is affectionate, one of my favorite parts of the DRDT cast is that they all suck at class trials lol :p

Bro Whit is trying REALLY HARD to look like the murderer rn. I’m still not letting him convince me. Yet.

“I realized that motives alone are not concrete evidence.” Yayyyy! Progress!

“I feel a sneeze coming on…” Dude David and Teruko need to get into comedy, they’re fucking hilarious.

“One second please.” Hu I trusted you. Why. You’re revealing your secret, right?

“...I didn’t want you all to think less of me.” Aww, poor Hu. No one’s gonna think less of you, you’re doing awesome (I am assuming she has hopeless child btw).

“I wanted to believe the past never happened” Butterfly motif and “water as rebirth” symbolism go brrr. 

“I’ve always been a selfish person, haven’t I?” Hu please, you’re really nice, even if you go overboard at times.

“I will share my secret if you promise to immediately move on.” (Paraphrased) Good idea. It would probably be good to talk about it if she wants, but this is kinda not the time.

“I have Veronika’s secret, and she has mine.” Okay I did NOT expect her to reveal she had Veronika’s, but alright! That’s two more on the board, and two more most of us got right! At least the theorists are doing well on the secrets.

[Veronika agreeing to the pact] Bro what pact, how did you communicate that? Also, “I have such little interest in both of our secrets” is wild, but it makes sense given her personality. Recap foils go brr, I’ll sit down and think about this later.

“My own so-called secret isn’t even the worst thing I’ve done.” Uh…??? It’s just bombshell after bombshell, these episodes!

Oh, we are questioning the pact. I kinda thought they’d managed to do that in the trial, now I’m really curious. Please tell me we aren’t gonna have to ignore that question because of what Hu asked of them.

Shit.

“We’re not gonna talk about me?” Oh, Vero, I would love for them to talk about you, but I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

“Arei– Achoo!” WHEN I TELL YOU I CACKLED LIKE A MADPERSON HOLY SHIT

“Bless me! Also, excuse me! Wow, thank you for your support everyone!” WAIT IT GOT FUNNIER.

“I have another interruption–” Either it just got even funnier or he’s about to reveal Teruko’s secret and shit got serious, let’s see.

Oh, right. But, dude, I’m relatively sure the last two unclaimed secrets can’t be hers. Maybe the survivor’s guilt one, even though that felt like Xander’s? Are you absolutely certain you don’t have her secret?

“My family.” Figured she’d try that one. [She probably feels it's true to some extent].

Oh, now THAT’S a David sprite alright. Pretty sure that settles it, the most common theories for secrets during hiatus were all correct.

I’m guessing David’s still not gonna reveal it. We still need to see a Teruko teacher CG, and I don’t think we’re gonna have time for that if he brings it up.

“We did it!” Yeah he ain’t revealing shit. 

“Sir Light Pollution” is actually crazy. Do his eyes really emit light like a flashlight? That’d be really fucking funny actually.

Oh, it was actually funny because Whit is a boyfailure. Alright, joke understood. I smiled.

“I am truly impressed… by how bad that was.” And there I laughed!

“I’ve started to detect this trial isn’t about me.” Iconic of you, Sir Attention Whore /affectionate

Thank you J.

Eden bro can we please let Teruko speak. Also you are not helping the culprit allegations miss Tobisa.

“What happened between you and Arei?” Jesus, we really cannot get to the fucking murder, huh? Fair, though, I’m really curious about this too, though I feel we’re gonna skip past it without an answer or David’s just not gonna respond seriously.

“I know that she’s dead and that she’s never coming back.” We’re getting worryingly close to your secret quote wording here, Eden. You sure you wanna go this route?

What are we, on seven “good person”s now?

Oh shit are we actually getting an answer?

YES! YES! YES! LET’S GO! I wasn’t expecting this!

Eight. Though I think this one’s repeated, though I might be wrong.

Yeah, this is old dialogue.

Man, Arei’s and Eden’s VAs did amazing work this episode!

“That makes me feel really relieved.” Lie. She didn’t say that. That’s my gut reaction, anyways, I could be wrong.

“I was pissed at you for a bit.” Oh shit chat David’s not getting cut off. This might actually be true. What the fuck?

Oh, also. Nine. David again.

“There’s not even anything positive…” Okay this hurts a fucking ton. If David’s lying, I want him dead. If this is true, holy shit this is sad.

“A metamorphosis like that…” Jeez this is actually getting sad sad. Auch.

“I’ll never be a good person.” Ten, and the tenth hurts a LOT. I don’t think David’s lying, members of the jury. Holy shit this is sad. 

“It turns out that you might be a total piece of shit…” Holy shit I miss Arei already.

Eleven.

“Like Santa Claus…” Didn’t Charles bring up something like that talking with Teruko in the computer room? Interesting connection. I guess not “all that glitters,” yeah.

“It’s okay that I’ll never be a good person, because no one else can be either.” Okay, first; twelve. Second, ouch.

[I know my commentary's not exactly thrilling. Forgive me, I'm suffering]

“Even Eden.” And what does that mean?

[Eden with blood on her hands CG]

…

HUH????????????????????????????????????????

I can’t- Words- Not working. Hold on, I gotta see what the fuck is happening here.

[Pan to fork]

I’M EVEN MORE CONFUSED THAN BEFORE! WHAT THE FUCK?!

It has four prongs, which matches the Xander one. Did Eden take out Xander’s eye? How in the actual fuck? No chance, right? I’m just going insane?

“I’m sure even Eden has hurt someone” (Paraphrased). Brain is still not working. Sorry.

“Even someone like her must have made a mistake she couldn’t take back” WE ARE GETTING DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO SECRET QUOTE WORDING!

We’re just moving on? That shit didn’t happen? I’m fucking sorry?

I can’t even- Does this imply fucking MM!Eden? I don’t think so, she doesn’t look like she wanted to- WAS it Xander she stabbed? Again, how? What? I’m so confused. YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO US DEV! I NEED ANSWERS!!!

“Second ever friend…” Ouch ouch ouch-

Another “good people” btw.

[Arei CG] That’s the fucking- THAT LOOKS LIKE THE FUCKING GIRL FROM LGI?!?!?!

Like, obviously they look different, but that’s the same pose, with the hand and everything- WHAT?!

Is Arei/David a ship? It’ll probably be one after this. 

“Nothing-” You absolute piece of shit. Holy shit David, when I get my hands on you David…

“Nothing else happened between us, I promise.” Wow. Who would’ve thunk this is how I come to fucking despise a man so much while he simultaneously rises in my fave characters ranking, huh? Holy hell.

“One hundred percent promise-” I get more mad every line. That’s good character writing, folks. Jesus.

I can’t read Eden this episode. Still think she’s the culprit lol.

“Finally.” Yeah, Teruko. Same.

[By the way, the next section has a lot of me rambling about my own theories, so if you don't know them, here's a link to the latest, now likely outdated version]

“From that low of height…” I like where we’re going.

“I’m starting to realize how long it's taken to get here.” (Paraphrased) Yeah, Whit. Yeah.

“Some people had to wait one year and five months-” PFFFT- Also Whit’s reaction means he’s not fully fourth wall aware, which is cool.

NON-STOP DEBATE! LET’S DO IT! 

[Sees truth bullet] Yes! The jugs were used as weights! Tell me I’m right about this!

YEAH! I GOT IT RIGHT! Also Veronika’s “consent” animation is… uuh… very ‘Ronika if you catch my drift. I love it!

“Those jugs ended up breaking…” You know it! I wonder if maybe they didn’t have time to clean the fish? But they could have gotten water literally elsewhere, so they clearly did use them for alibi.

“The jugs alone aren’t enough…” (Paraphrased). Yeah, we gotta go higher. Like, the girders at the top…?

“... rafters on the ceiling.” Yeah!!! Wrong name but I also got this right!

“It must have been one long rope…” Or two, because you need the stopper.

“Oh, wait, you’re agreeing with me. Yes.” Funny, laughed.

“The rafters were way too high…” Ball of clothes, come on.

“...something like a pulley…” Yeah, Whit knows what I’m talking about! The fact he’s being helpful makes him less suspicious. Finally, he managed to open his mouth without incriminating himself of something!

“High location…” Are we actually doing stopper rope? My guess is that that’s when we’ll get teacher Teruko.

“In drop hanging…” Okay, first, love the monologue. Second, is there a reason you know so much about drop hanging? Did your mother…? I guess it’s not necessary. I also came to the same conclusions and I don’t have any history with the stuff. 

“We also know she didn’t hit the ground-” Does anyone have a counter of tasteless Whit jokes? Just checking.

“Aren’t I so smart…” And we’re back to kinda incriminating ourselves, because you're denying pulley method. Fantastic.

WOO! ANOTHER NON-STOP! Let me guess, “spinny thing” is the truth bullet?

“Tape on carousel.” Close enough. Although, hold on, are we actually gonna go “stopped with hands?” No chance, right?

Also am I stupid or does Arturo’s VA sound different in the debates?

Yeah btw Levi!Accomplice is dead and buried, I need to find other ways for Eden to have done this.

I like that Teruko still calls it a spinny thing :p

Wow, everyone’s correcting her, huh? I guess I’m the only one that appreciates her smh.

“...when I need to correct the killer’s grammar.” Funny comeback, but you know, the letter does actually have quite a few spelling errors.

Yay! Teacher Teruko! She looks so cute with glasses!

Also I cannot believe it. These Microsoft-Paint ass diagrams remind me of when I did them too lol.

Oh, shit, under the seesaw! That’s a good one, Teruko! I didn’t catch that. (Then again, I always thought the seesaw was in a different place, but oh well).

Is that dog ears Whit? My guy, you know Charles dislikes dogs, right? Then again, you do canonically have negative rizz, so :p

Oh, tying the rope! Not quite a stopper rope, but same concept. Yeah, would work. Good one Teruko!

“The carousel is made of smooth metal.” THAT’S WHAT THE TAPE WAS FOR! Clutch.

Oh shit, is the cliffhanger going to be the tape’s origin?

“I’ve seen this murder method before.” Okay, wait. One, no origin of tape. That’s big for Eden!Culprit: My current guess is that someone (ie Veronika) will want to discuss the Ace-Nico thing, which will lead to them discovering Eden took the tape. Two, what the fuck do you mean you’ve seen this before?!

“You have?” Looking kinda worried there, Eden…

“And so have you.” Okay am I forgetting something? Min’s execution wasn’t like this, what the hell…

“Me?” Eden, honey, the allegations…

“We’re going to talk about a different case…” Oh shit Teruko’s got the Ace method figured out? I would really love to hear that because I have no idea what the hell was happening with that one. Also, I called it! Didn’t expect it to be Teruko who brought us back to the Ace case, but still. 

“Explain yourself, Nico.” YEAH!!!! I’m actually really excited. I’m gonna look into revising my theory on that case before the next episode, see if I can figure it out, since I think the old methods I’ve discussed with others don’t quite line up with what Teru’s describing. 

What an episode!

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

General Thoughts:

Holy shit. Just. So much happened. It’s too much peak.

The Eden CG is the first thing on my mind; that’s crazy. Did she really take out Xander’s eye? I have zero idea what else I would be looking at. Certainly not MM!Eden, too obvious, but I don’t know what’s happening there. No fucking idea. I might make a more detailed post when I get my thoughts in order, but all I’m saying; the possibility the girl she kissed was Mai? That Mai told her about Teruko, and Eden attacked Xander in the pre-prologue killing game to protect Teruko? Hmm…

The secrets are huge, too. Nothing wild, given like 75% of the fandom had assumed these secrets anyways, but still nice to get them all. The Levi explanation was fascinating, but I don’t know what the fuck it has to do with the trial. Was it really a pointless aside? I don’t know…

The Arei scene was fucking insane even outside the Eden CG. Stabbed through the heart, haven’t felt that sad since Min’s death, and, yeah…

Not to mention, the fucking “Ideal Country Woman from LGI” looking ass frame. At least I finally got my answer; it was a wrist bend, not a glove. 

And David. David. Why are you like this. I genuinely can’t tell why he does anything anymore.

Finally, I love the Taylor mention, that’s insane. And Veronika has a darker secret? She really wants those MM allegations, huh? Jokes aside, I’m really curious about both those things. I kinda wonder if somehow the students will see the motive videos from Trial 1, since we’re hearing about Taylor and I’m hoping Alyssa later.

Just… Holy shit this episode was awesome. Cannot wait for next week.

First Impression Murder Theory Updates

It’s looking like Levi!Accomplice will end up being a nice AU and nothing more, although I’m not 100% ruling it out. That said, I’m still pretty confident in Eden!Culprit, especially with how we mentioned the tape on the spinny thing was easy to grip, but no one’s made the connection to the gym yet. 

The big thing to solve in the Arei case, then, is how Eden got the fish. There’s a few other accomplices she could have, but those are looking rough unless she somehow got Arei to do it. That said, I’m considering the possibility that she took the minnows ultra early, before Nico started feeding them. That would explain how they didn’t notice there were a few missing the night before; they just never counted the ones in the jugs in the first place. That has issues too, but I’ll see about it. 

That said, I’m pretty happy with myself! I got a lot of the major points of the pulley system right. The only thing is the “stopper rope vs tie a knot” thing, but the principle is similar enough. We’ll see about things like the ball of clothes to put the rope over the rafters. There’s still plenty of murder to discuss. 

As for the Ace case… It’ll need a full review later. If it’s supposed to be similar to Arei’s case, I really have no clue what the hell was happening there. Though I guess the ridiculous wire circuit I made might actually have some merit, given we're doing some kind of pulley?

... Maybe not :p

I have no further insight; I just need to look at it again.

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

Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Watching this episode took me like two hours and a half while writing this… this almost 4k word post… so… yeah. Gods save me if there actually is an hour long episode left. See ya’!

[dreamingumbrellas]

why tua s1 is a masterpiece and 2-4 give me a migraine

i gotta use my english degree for something so lets talk about it

i’d like to note beforehand, that i’ve only seen about half of season 4. but given everything i’ve heard about it, i’ve decided to avoid watching it for my own mental wellbeing. i really haven’t enjoyed the last three seasons much, mostly i’ve been dredging through because of how much i love season 1. it feels painfully like seasons 1 and seasons 2-4 are for completely different fucking shows–particularly in tone.

i think tua season 1 attracted attention to its unique themes that are lost in the rest of the series. the primary themes are of trauma and dysfunctional family dynamics. it’s a story about seven severely abused siblings learning to cope with their trauma and reconnect as adults. season 1’s tone is somber. it shows us glimpses of the characters’ childhoods, and how it affects them in their adult lives. the characters in season 1 were, most importantly, flawed! they were assholes, because trauma turns people into assholes sometimes! 

you can directly trace back the siblings’ character flaws to the shit reggie put them through. Luther was the golden boy, which put too much responsibility on his shoulders and isolated him from his siblings. As a result, Luther is ultra-loyal to his dead father, in obvious denial of the abuse he endured because he was never able to form an identity for himself outside of reggie and the academy! he is the only one that never moved on. and then reggie turned luther into (for lack of a better term) a giant monkey without his consent, causing him to hate himself and even further alienate himself from the rest of the world. 

diego never left the ‘number 2’ headspace. he fights with luther even into adulthood. despite how much he claims to hate his father, he became a vigilante likely as an effort to finally be good enough for his dad. and lets not forget (unlike the writers) about his stutter–something that formed in childhood and came back as an adult when he was triggered with memories of his childhood. he’s inherently defensive because reginald pit the siblings against one another constantly.

allison is a narcissist–though, when we meet her in season 1, she’s more of a narcissist in recovery. she’s recognized how her childhood affected her and wants to become a better person to make up for the mistakes of her past. what mistakes again? well, she used her powers on her daughter because 1. she was never told no. reggie encouraged the usage of her powers, and the household where she grew up was violent, manipulative, and competitive. she had no sense of real normalcy, so she never learned how to build a happy, healthy family for her daughter. to cope with her trauma, she clung to her fame–this is shown both in adulthood and childhood flashbacks–leading her to become a movie star, and not accept her own faults.

klaus, well, klaus is the most obvious example of trauma. mostly due to reggie forcing his powers on him when he was a young childhood. locking him in a mausoleum for hours on end. he became a drug addict as a result. living on the streets, in and out of rehab, and stealing for money. we see him struggle constantly throughout season 1–through his interactions with ghosts (when its very possible he wouldn’t have developed such a fear of them if it weren’t for reggie), with flashbacks to his childhood and (later) to the vietnam war. his inability to take things seriously and his self-destructive behavior are both coping mechanisms. his siblings don’t trust him because of his lying and kleptomaniac tendencies.

five is a character whose development is utterly abandoned after season 1. he was only thirteen years old when he accidentally travelled in time to the apocalypse, where he remained for 45 years. i remind you of this because the writers won’t. he survived those years for his family! because he felt immeasurable guilt for leaving them! he was so lonely for these years that he developed a romantic attachment to a mannequin (something only referenced for a joke in later seasons). he was in an extremely vulnerable position when he was recruited by the handler (a character who was very creepy in her own right) and he was forced to use his childhood ‘superhero’ skillset to essentially become an assassin, a job he loathed himself for. all so he could have a chance to save his family. five is cocky, sarcastic, and yes, wants to save the world, but we forget that he wanted to save his family first. he was willing to sacrifice the world if it meant saving his siblings. and even once he returns to the present, he experiences ptsd flashbacks to his time in the apocalypse. five is severely traumatized and stuck between childhood and adulthood, has lived for far too long and has done too many terrible things to be a child, but is stuck in a childs body and never got the chance to emotionally mature past the age of 13. this in no way resembles the five we get in later seasons.

in season 1, ben is a tragedy. he is the character that haunts the narrative (literally). his death was the reason the family split up. he experienced an incredibly traumatic childhood, forced to slaughter people against his will. all so that he could die tragically young (we’ll get into his cause of death later). he’s stuck following klaus around for years, unable to interact with anyone else. he watched his brother deteriorate in front of him with no way to help. he’s angry about his death and sometimes takes out his frustrations on klaus. but at the same time, he was ‘the kindest’ of all the siblings. he cares deeply about his family, but can’t do anything about it.

i think it’s easy to forget that the initial focus of the show was viktor. viktor, who was told how unremarkable he was again and again. who was isolated not just from the world but from his own family as well. who was drugged up from an incredibly young age and forced to ignore his emotions. yes, the umbrella academy was abusive. but being isolated from his siblings was just another form of abuse. he grew up to resent his family on a lot of levels, writing his book as a method to vent his frustrations but only ended up in driving his siblings further away. viktor went through a lot of shit in season 1, and resulted in him ending the world. but did his family kill him? no. because that was the point of the entire show. that despite their trauma and how much they might resent one another, the siblings still loved each other more than the rest of the world put together. 

everything ive outlined are the elements that make up season 1, and are almost entirely forgotten about later. but by losing the integrity of the characters, they lost the narrative. the point of the umbrella academy was never saving the world–it was about a broken family reconciling with one another despite everything. these points of trauma are taken seriously. it was the complexity of these characters, at least in my opinion, that attracted attention towards them. and sure, we didn’t love every character all the time. remember how much luther was hated in season 1? but it’s because he was realistic. these characters, and the shit they went through, weren’t a joke. and the season ended off in a way that forshadowed these elements being explored more in depth. remember how it ended?

with the seven siblings holding hands as the world exploded around them. and for only a few seconds, we saw them transform back into their child selves.

now, this plot point (whatever it might have been) was instantly cancelled and forgotten about in season 2. but it really makes you think about the season we could have gotten: the characters being forced back into their childhood, having to confront the root of their trauma and essentially, all their problems. they could look back at what happened to them with a mature perspective and worked through it, realizing that they were not each other’s enemies. they could have made up for lost time, helped eachother heal, and ultimately prevent the apocalpyse by being family. you know, something that would have actually wrapped up the narrative nicely.

so, what happened?

the shows original themes of trauma, and repentance, and family were abandoned in favor of humor and spectacle. it seems like the creators misinterpreted what made the first season so successful. sure, the first season had a lot of funny moments and great fight scenes. but it was the emotional depth and complexity that made the show what it was. but worse than that, it continued to spit in the faces of the characters trauma, downplaying it in almost every way possible.

klaus’ relapses were played for comedy. his fear of ghosts was drastically downplayed with the use of cartoonish ghost-buster ass looking ghosts. five’s ptsd was never acknowledged again; his coping mechanism, dolores, became a joke. luther lost all character complexity entirely, instead becoming a himbo (who we love, but, still). viktor rarely brought up the feelings from his childhood, and nobody acknowledged his tell-all book again.

one of the things that infuriated me the most was the incorporation of reginald in later seasons. lets remind ourselves of some things: he purchased seven children, treated them like objects without names, trained them tirelessly and deprived them of a childhood, traumatized them by turning them into murderers, pitted them against one another, and literally tortured them. and that’s only the things we see him do on screen. you cannot convince me for a second that any of the siblings would ever be able to be the same room as that man without having serious flashbacks. I don’t believe for one second that they’d work with him, trust him, or empathize with him in any capacity (except maybe luther) except they do, consistently. even five, who is easily the smartest member of the academy, and extremely protective of his siblings.

and- LEST WE FUCKING DISREGARD- reginald MURDERED ben.

the moment that happened on screen felt like the last shovel of dirt on tua 1’s grave. supposedly all the siblings REMEMBERED this incident in seasons 1-3. and yet they went to their fathers funeral, spoke to him (relatively) civilly, and teamed up with him after seeing for themselves their father shoot their brother in the back of the head for seemingly no reason. not only did they apparently not hold this against their father, but they never mentioned it once in three seasons.

and yes, i know, there is a very simple reason for this. it was obviously made up at the last moment for plot convenience. but the implications for this being retconned in are damning for the characters. by writing this in, the writers decided that the siblings commitment to one another is meaningless. that the foundations upon which this show was created, are fucking meaningless. they threw away not only the individual complexity of each character, but also their relationship as a family.

[nyarumitsu]

von karma family makes me so sick... i love how much the aa anime fills in the gaps when it comes to showing von karma family lore because they make me violently ILL. it's so insanely cruel to watch how the three of them had peaceful moments with each other like you're telling me little franziska was immediately attached to miles and dressed up missile to cheer him up, bought a doll with a red dress because it matched his red vest, and was always trying to find him during their mall trip because he wandered off to find missile. you're telling me that she and manfred witnessed him protect the other doggy from the other stranger who wanted her for the prize money and they were both proud over how he countered the stranger??? I'M GOING CRAZY I REALLY AM.

because of the freaking flashback episode i also started viewing everything about their family dynamics differently... for the better. it makes franziska's breakdown at the airport more heart-wrenching, it makes her "resentment" and desire to one-up miles even more raw because she's always loved and looked up to him. it makes manfred seem less black-and-white... i really reconsidered my thoughts on him as a character and father especially after watching his way of caring for both franziska and miles. i mean, he's still a dick and killed gregory which makes him an ultra asshole, but like man... miles felt included. he felt like he belonged in the von karma family even if it was just for a moment and it was something he desperately needed to feel right after losing his father. uuuaghh. i just cannot shut up about them. they're just that complex and doomed type of family that i can't help but get extremely depressed over.

last things i'd love to mention is how miles and franziska never fully let go of the Von Karma Mannerisms they inherited from him on-court and off-court. and i lowkey love that... their father just influenced them so much in their lives and i'm pretty sure it was inescapable for the both of them, but it isn't something they're willing to let go of. they don't need to remove all those mannerisms and memories to move on from him. like miles still wears those silly cravats that manfred handed down to him, and franziska still has her father's intense brutality on court. it's like AAUAHAUAGHHHHHH HEAD IN HANDS SLAMS HEAD AGAINST WALL IT'S SO OVER I HATE YOU VON KARMA FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!

[tinydefector]

Other characters' reactions to Megatron in a romantic relationship with human liaison reader.

Question's and Quiries

Megatron x human reader

Warnings: non

Word count: 1.6K

Request and ask open read pinned post.

Megatron masterlist

__________________

Many aboard the Lost Light would be shocked and concerned to discover Megatron in a secret relationship with the human ambassador for the ship. As Ex leader of the Decepticons, whose sole purpose has been conquest and destruction, becoming emotionally attached to an organic seemed unfathomable to many of the bots.

Word of the unlikely pairing would spread quickly through the vessel's corridors and hab suites. Many Autobots who suffered under Megatron's tyranny for vorns would recoil in disbelief and distrust, and even other bots more worried about the human, were they in a decent state of mind, were they being threatened?. Even neutral crew members found it difficult to accept. Had their captain truly changed after all this time? Or had he simply developed a new, disturbing method of manipulation? Either way, keeping the ambassador closely aligned posed serious risks. 

Rodimus was the first to hear rumours among the crew of the Lost Light that Megatron had taken a human ambassador aboard as something more than a diplomatic liaison. He had heard it from Swerve who had apparently heard Megatron drunkenly confess he adored them, loved them even. 

"Megatron? In a relationship with an organic?" Rodimus laughed incredulously. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Maybe if it was Optimus, but Megatron? He hates all other lifeforms." Rodimus had stated which made Swerve hit him with a cloth. 

"I'm telling you he was mopping around the bar drinking Energex like it was nothing, trying to work on poetry, he's fraggin smitten with the Ambassador!" Swerve states while cleaning more glasses. 

"The mech may scare the shit out of me but he becomes a sobbing mess when drunk, I can see why he never drunk during the war, could have ended it so much earlier with a drunken poetry night" Swerve jokes, trying to calm his own racing spark after the earlier interaction with the ex warlord.

Swerve, ever the gossip made news spread like wildfire.

Rodimus, Tailgate, Cyclonus and Skids and heard it from him. Rodimus told it to Drift who told it to Ratchet, tailgate told it to Whirl who shouted about it publicly. Skids had told it to Rung, who in turn relayed it to Ultra Magnus. 

"Can you believe it?" Swerve asked other members at his bar, optics wide. "The big, bad tyrant of the Decepticons has gone soft! I never thought I'd see the orn." Though said lightly, there may be an undercurrent of hope in his voice.

Tailgate, on the other hand, would be fearful yet curious. A secret admirer of the human ambassador, they were friends in his eyes, he nonetheless knows of Megatron's violent past. The idea of a human so close to the warlord would fill him with terror...yet also he himself was with a Decepticon,  ex decepticon.

As for Cyclonus, his reaction is the hardest to read. Stoic and stalwart, the former Decepticon says little. But observation of his microexpressions hints at deep surprise. 

When Rodimus approaches Drift with a similar story, having heard it from several sources, Drift doubts begin to fade, he had watched them for a while but now it seemed as if he theory had been confirmed. "This can't be true... Can it? Why would Megatron bother with a human?, he isn't very... open to contact”

From there Drift finds himself in the medibay, Ratchet let out an exasperated sigh when Drift told him about the rumours. "Megatron, caring for an organic? I'll believe it when I see it with my own optics. That mech is still as twisted and dangerous as ever, no matter who he chooses to consort with.”

When news finally reached Magnus, an emergency session was called. Shouting matches erupted as Rodimus and Ultra Magnus demanded explanations, one in shock and excitement the other wanting to make sure This wasn't a ploy. How did this happen under their watch, and what were Megatron's real intentions? The safety of the crew and their mission was of utmost priority, something the ambassador's unusual relationship with the former warlord could jeopardise. 

As chaos reigned aboard the ship, few knew what to make of Megatron and his human companion. But most agreed their unforeseen bond, if genuine, heralded great uncertainty for the future...Cybertronians had never tried courting outside of their own species, and so many questions came from it. 

Rodimus couldn't believe it when the rumours started spreading. Megatron, in a relationship with an organic? It seemed too bizarre to be true. Rodimus decided to confront Megatron directly to find out if it really was true. He had found Megatron deep in discussion with the human, hands gesturing animatedly as they spoke. The familiarity between them was unmistakable. 

"So the rumours are true," Rodimus said abruptly. "You and the... ambassador?" 

Megatron turned, his optics glowing dangerously. "What I do is no concern of yours, Rodimus." He tries to defend before eventually sighing and confirming. Megatron said impassively. "They enjoy listening to my writings, and I enjoy watching them when they work on their projects. Now leave us in peace." But when he confronted Megatron about it directly, the warlord didn't deny it. A smile crosses his face as he talks about them.

 Rodimus shook his head in disbelief as he hassled Megatron for more information,  how did a relationship like that even work, the size difference itself, one being Cybernetic and the other Organic. 

Ultra Magnus was deeply uneasy about the whole affair. An organic aboard one of their ships was risky enough, but for them to be fraternising with Megatron of all bots it worries him. He had fought against Megatron countless times and seen the depths of his cruelty.

"Are you certain of this?" Ultra Magnus asked gravely.  "Megatron and a human?" Ratchet could only nod grimly in response, he continues working as Drift sits off to the side. “Shocked me when the Ambassador came in for a health check, learned too much on megatron's interface life, for a lifetime” Ratchet confirms. 

"What does this mean for our relations with humans?" Rung wondered aloud. "Will they still see us as allies?” he asked, slightly worried. 

 It seemed impossible that the Decepticon could truly care for another. He feared this relationship was merely a ploy by Megatron to manipulate the ambassador and advance his own goals.

 But watching them had changed his feelings on the matter. Watching Megatron lift them up to watch the stars throughout the observation deck. Listened to Megatron laugh, a true laugh when in their presence. How Megatron went out of his way to make sure they were content. 

"I do not understand," Rodimus said slowly, turning to his companions. "Has Megatron gone soft? Or is this some new trickery, like dont get me wrong I'm glad that they are happy but does it feel unreal to anyone else?"

Brainstorm, ever the scientist, was endlessly fascinated. "Just think of the advances we could make by studying their physiology up close!" he said excitedly. "Too bad Megsy's being so selfish, keeping them all to himself." Nautica smiled and reminded him that they was a person, not a lab experiment. But privately, even she wished to learn more about these "humans.”

Drift frowned thoughtfully. "The ways of the spark are mysterious. Perhaps even one as Megatron is capable of love." His optics linger on the Larger mech who was discussing paperwork with the human sitting on the table in front of him. Red optics look down at the human softly as they chat softly amongst themselves. 

Ratchet scoffed. "Love is it? I'd believe Unicron had a change of sparks before Megatron. Mark my words, this will end in nothing but trouble and spilled energon. That human has no idea what kind of Mech they're dealing with." 

Tailgate let out a squeak of surprise. "Aww, they look so cute! He looks like a love sick sparkling!" tailgate was wrapped in Cyclonus' arms as they watched the two. 

Drift shoots Ratchet a look, in turn the medic sighs at his harsh words, he knew all too well what it was like falling in love with a Decepticon, he was being. A hypocrite and he knew it. 

And yet, as they watched, Megatron's actions remained gentle, protective even, as he spoke softly with the ambassador. Rodimus found himself hoping against logic that Drift was right - that even the coldest spark held the potential for warmth. 

Rodimus ran a hand over his faceplate. "Primus help us, the Senate is NOT going to like this." He states while downing his drink. "We'll need to address them, try to do some damage control before this blows up in our faces. Once we get back to Cybertron”

As for the senate, they were outraged that Megatron would fraternise with an organic, Megatron has a long and deadly history of oppression, war crimes, and casual disregard for other species. 

 Many councillors would express grave concern over any influence or leverage Megatron might gain through the relationship. 

Some would even demand the ambassador be removed from the ship for their own protection. Cooler heads would argue for letting the relationship play out, while closely monitoring for signs of abuse or manipulation. 

Ultimately, the senate would likely ban Megatron from direct contact with the ambassador until a full psychological evaluation could be conducted. 

 But after Optimus steps in stating it was inhumane and cruel they allow the two back together.

That night, Megatron spends it under the stars with his lover, both of them trading stories of poetry, philosophy, and astrology. In his spark, this was where he wanted to be, with them, and he would fight to keep that spot by their side. 

[elodee]

HERMIT A DAY MAY - DAY 2

Xisuma x Dethklok

I drew Xisuma in the style of a Dethklok music video!

I picked this one for him because X is a big fan of metal and I am a big fan of Dethklok, a fictional death metal band from the show Metalocalypse. Even though the band is fictional, they produce real metal and their music is great.

Warning: Metalocalypse is hilarious but also very adult, with graphic depictions of violence and inappropriate themes - this extends to a much of Dethklok's music and music videos as well, so please be aware of that if you decide to look them up. Obviously I wont be posting anything like that here.

If you want to learn more about Metalocalypse and Dethklok, or just want to see my style references, keep reading below the cut!

Dethklok is a fictional band created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha. Small both writes and is the main performer for the band. The band, consisting of 5 members that don't actually exist, are stars of the show Metalocalypse.

In the show, Dethklok has become so popular that they control the entire planet. Nearly every episode ends with the band performing one of their original songs, which somehow causes horrific violence to everyone listening. However, since they are idiots, they also seem oblivious to the destruction their awesome, face-melting, eldritch-beast-summoning music causes...or they just don't care because they're ultra wealthy megastars.

The show heavily, but lovingly, satirizes the metal scene and, less lovingly, the music industry and celebrity in general. The over-the-top gore is played for laughs, but the characters are interesting and endearing. There is genuinely a lot of heart under all that growling and corpse paint and a lot of care goes into their (often very funny) music.

If you are interested in checking out their music and want a PG track, I recommend Go Into the Water. This is one of their few non-violent music videos (big epilepsy warning though) and there's no profanity or graphic imagery in the lyrics. The premise of the song is that the band realized that fish can't listen to metal because they're in the ocean, and they thought that was sad, so they set up a concert just for the fish.

Style references:

Set design/aesthetic from Black Fire Upon Us (this song is awesome and was my primary design reference, but the music video is VERY violent, so be warned)

Nathan Explosion's evil DnD paladin fit also from Black Fire Upon Us

Dethklok's band logo

[dejabluan]

Nexus: The Beast in the Machine.

Fan-made concept art of an alternative universe after the Beast Machines, featuring Megatron in his newly upgraded form known as Ultra Megatron.

It began as a light study on metallic surfaces, but at some point, I decided to practice on something with a face.

During that time, I was rewatching my all-time favorite Transformers series Beast Wars and Beast Machines, where I picked my most favored Transformer villain EVER, Megatron!...in his later version for this study.

While creating this, I found a story titled Beast Wars Reborn, set after the events of Beast Machines, where Optimus Primal and Megatron are reborn in their old bodies. This small franchise inspired me to create a similar story but with a completely different outcome to go along with this piece. In my version, the characters reincarnate in new bodies to an altered dimension of Cyberton.

All Hail Megatron, High Lord of Kaon!

Particularly, Megatron finally gains the purely technological form he desired, with every organic element removed. But even then, he still displays violent outbursts and controlled by emotions and burning passion.

This indicates his spark might have absorbed some of his beast mode's wild energy after all this time.

Thus it results in the 'Beast in the Machine' part.

[jadeazora]

Sometimes, I do wish Pokemon had bad endings if you lost to the villains. Like, it doesn't really need to be anything gruesome or particularly violent or anything, but there's no way characters like Lysandre, Ghetsis, RR Giovanni, and Volo (or Cyrus) would let you go scurry off to a Pokemon Center to try again later after you've grinded up a little more. A lot of these men are world-ending threats here, the stakes are already so high, it just feels like it diminishes the threat they actually pose.

They could show Ghetsis commanding Kyurem to use Blizzard on you and N, and a fade to white before booting you to your last save, an aerial view of the Ruinous Light of the Ultimate Weapon hitting Lumiose, or Volo/Cyrus resetting everything like how they depicted Dialga/Palkia's powers being used in DP/BDSP, those red/green/blue effects in the sky perhaps fading to grey, before cutting to him looming over his new world?

Of note, I've never really played that far into the Rangers games, but I have heard if you fail this one mission on a sinking ship in SoA, that it does give you a bad ending where it implies you met your end there. I also feel like Generations with the Archie and Maxie episodes also feel pretty close to depicting a bad end, with Archie/Maxie (in a vision) both dying to their respective Legendary. Could see something like that happening with Rose and Eternatus too? (With Aether, it could imply we never free Lusamine from her Motherbeast form, even if we make it back to Alola on Nebby, or imply we never got back to Alola from our battle with Ultra Necrozma, and so everything went dark elsewhere as well.)

[cyberdragoninfinity]

keeping my brain busy in the wake of All the Bullshit by assigning the Arc-V Pokemon teams and making little pictographs for them <3 you can really see the slow progression of me fighting for my life trying to find good little character icons as time went on

anyway under the tag are all my rambling rationalizations for all my choices too if anyone wants to read my however-many-hundreds-of-words howling <33

YUYA (mostly c/ping this from an older ask since his team didn't really change):

Zygarde 20%: i think it’s fun giving him one of the ‘incomplete’ Zygarde forms since he himself is an incomplete piece of Zarc. That's Silver Claw.

Tyrantrum: He needs a terrestrial Dragon type, huge, since Odd-Eyes is the only dimensional dragon who doesn’t fly… Odd-Eyes is also very dinosaur like! :^) Plus the king motif and it’s even red too!!

Delphox: challenging myself to give at least all of the yuboys a fully evolved starter, and I really like delphox for Yuya…invokes stargazer and timegazer magician and all the other Spellcasters in his deck, the showmanship of fire, powerful supernatural abilities. also yuya with a fennekin is SOOO cute. in universe I like to think Dennis traded him the fennekin in exchange for Yuya's original starter (Sobble)

Hippopotas: Hip Hippo, of course!

Gengar: he needs something smiley, and Gengars got that prankster mischief energy that I think could play nice on a Yuya team. Plus it being a spooky purple ghost for the purple Zarc Energy. Mega Gengar is even stated to be able to travel to other dimensions <3

Roaring Moon: for Awakened!Yuya and Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon, monstrous violent dragon that bares a striking similarity to another Pokemon from another region, another world…hmmmmm who does that sound like…..

ZUZU:

Cherrim: Specifically its Sunshine form, noted for its high energy and cheer! It has her color palette AND EVEN LITTLE 'HAIR' DOODADS LIKE HER TOO?!? she would adore this thing

Floette: Truly a very Bloom Diva/Melodious feeling Pokemon, I think it suits Zuzu perfectly... hers probably has the red flower i think :-) Maybe at some point it evolves into Florges, invoking some of the more 'grown' Melodious ladies.

Scream Tail: Pink, tough, and a little scary lol. I think it's fun if she AND Yuya both have Past Paradox Pokemon...matchies. Jigglypuff invocation for Melodious/Zuzu's musical motif too!

Leafeon: Giving all the bgirls an Eeveelution!! Zuzu deserves Leafeon naturally :3

Lilligant: Plant/Flower Lady, elegant, pairs perfectly with Sora's Whimsicott. A no brainer for me.

Meloetta: fuck it giving all the bgirls a Legendary too!! Gotta go with Meloetta for Zuzu, especially the Aria Form. Like. That thing's a Melodious monster. also something something the way it can alter people's emotions vs. Ray Akaba's power over Zarc or what have you. I'm seeing visions

SORA:

Hydrapple: For Frightfur Chimera's three heads, also literally a sticky candy apple monster. Syrup Bomb. It's so perfect for him.

Bewear: Frightfur Bear of course!! ANOTHER PERFECT ONE FOR HIM. Cute giant plush bear that is actually Fucking Scary and Can Hurt You So Fucking Bad.

Mimikyu: ANOTHER NATURAL PICK spooky haunted stuffed animal lookin beast!! Looks cute but can be vicious. Mimics something friendly to hide its truth self underneath. Very Frightfur compliant.

Slurpuff: This kid does not walk around with 4385289345 different sweets on hand for me to NOT give him the sticky sweets fluffy dog Pokemon. What if a Fluffal was made of candy. Soramon unlimited.

Whimsicott: Frightfur Sheep! Also mischievous and surprisingly powerful, and it compliments Zuzu's Lilligant! BECAUSE THEY ARE BESTIES!!!

Kartana: I'm giving all the Fusion dimension kids an Ultra Beast because I can <3 extradimensional fuckery representation <33 Kartana is imo the one that works best for Sora, being small and sharp edges like an Edge Imp. Little fucker that will cut you.

GONG:

Iron Hands: AINT MOVIN. BIG METAL ROBOTIC MACHINE BEAST. THE JAPANESE INVOCATIONS OF HARIYAMI. THATS A SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI.

Kingambit: Another Samurai that notably stays put for the most part. Esteemed and respected and strong as hell and when its friends fall it only grows stronger to not let their sacrifices be in vain.

Aggron: has a cry like a train, thus reminding me of Gong's insane train SHS. Also just extremely Gong-relevant animal to me...big protective wall of might and metal.

Kleavor: Another Pokemon with classical feudal-Japan/samurai-relevant vibes. Has bigass eyebrows. In PLA its Hidden Ability was Steadfast, also.

Mudsdale: Like. Gong just needs a Ground type. To me. Hardworking and powerful but extremely slow. VERY good at using Heavy Slam. "It remains calm and unmoving no matter the situation." like...bro.

Ogerpon: FUCK IT GONG GETS A LEGENDARY TOO. For Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji and also Ogrepon cares so much about her friend(s) and so does Gong!! I KNOW it'd be rocking the Cornerstone Mask mostly, too. Solid as a rock....

SYLVIO:

(Shiny) Sneasler: For his Yosenjus, also the entire Sneasel family is just so Sylvio to me....shiny H-Sneasel/Sneasler especially. It has his stupid yellow bangs!! SLASH POS

Floatzel: Also another smug weasel Pokemon with lots of oranges/yellows in its palette. I actually can't fully remember why I gave him Floatzel but it could very well just be my bias cuz I love Floatzel lol

Quaquaval: THE SYLVIO STARTER EVER. SHOWY GAY WATER DUCK. ABYSS ACTORS. QUAXLY ALWAYS FLICKING ITS HAIR QUAFF. OVER THE TOP PERFORMER. MR. SAWATARI....

Cetitan: For Mobius the Mega Monarch/that smattering, and also Cetitan is kind of shaped like some of Sylvio's big bulky Abyss Actors (Evil Heel, etc...)

Unfezant: Another pompous male Pokemon with swoopy hair things <3 "Intensely proud." Also a little dart-like to me.

Toxapex: Really just another Pokemon that looks like an Abyss Actor. Also probably something in there with a Posion type vs. Sylvio's early TOXIC AS FUCK ATTITUDE, SIR!!!

DECLAN:

Metagross: Supergenius Pokemon made of four fused Beldums <3 Analyzes its foes with expert calculations. Incredibly strong. Just tremendously Declanmon to me.

Empoleon: D/D/D Wave King Ceasar!! Also just the royal/emperor aesthetic in general, would it right at home with the D/Ds. And "It avoids unnecessary disputes, but it will mercilessly decimate anything that threatens the safety of its colony" BRO THAT'S DECLAN.....

G-max Duraludon: The LID building <3 Also like the idea of him wielding Gmaxs AND Megas AND probably Z-movies and Terastalizing too, as a parallel to mastering all the summoning mechanics.

Escavalier: D/D Proud Chevalier, another tremendously brave in the face of adversity Pokemon, also UMMM THE LANCERS!!! also I like the implication he and Moon Shadow traded to get their respective evos with Shelmet and Karrablast lol.

(Shiny) Mega Gardevoir: Again, wielding Megas just as easily as Gmax... has his color palette, plus Gardevoir in general has that 'tremendously loyal to the person it cares most about and will protect them at all costs' thing which just. screams Declan and Yuya's dynamic a lot to me.

Regigigas: lmao, "Reiji." The trio master of the Regis just like Declan is the leader of the Lancers. Insanely powerful creation-diety ass Pokemon vs. Declan's position of being an Akaba and that narrative weight re: Ray. Also would be right at hoem with some of the big bulky D/D/Ds.

YUTO:

Ceruledge: well now this is just a Phantom Knight for real.

Hydreigon: Dark Rebellion!! Brutal and relentless (in its objective)...I like the idea that Yuto's Hydreigon is pretty chill when not Fighting in a War though <3 His frienddd

Decidueye: His requisite evolved starter, I think Lulu traded him Rowlet originally~ Also on that Phantom Knight swag with the Haunted Cloaked Ghost Archer Everything.

Aegislash: AND AGAIN. THE PHANTOM KNIGHTS FOG BLADE. THE PHANTOM KNIGHTS TOMB SHIELD.

Absol: A stoic and tremendously goth beast, plus the way it's so attuned to knowing when disaster will strike + Yuto having gone through The Horrors of War just pair up very well.

Zacian: He DID have Zamazenta too but he traded it to Lulu :^) In general both dogs are so wonderful for him... weaponry clad and endlessly noble and brave. Busted as fuck, I'm sure there's some commentary on PKs in there too lol. I imagine its mostly in its battered Hero of Many Battles form for the most part....

SHAY:

G-Max Corviknight: TRULY THE RAID RAPTOR RISE FALCON OF IT ALL. absolutely GIGANTIC metal bird that launches feathers like missiles. This thing WOULD be like rank 8 or some shit. ALso something something Raider's Knight.

Staraptor: ok well now thats just kind of what Shay looks like. Giant emo bird of prey <3 Incredibly strong and fast and Here to Fuck You Up Bad

Ninjask: ok this is a wild pick for him but I LOVE him and lulu having ninjask and shedinja, also Ninjask's whole deal of being Extremely fast is right at home with Shay's birds. It's also described as if "not trained properly, it will refuse to obey the Trainer" which like.... very Shay joining the Lancers-esque <3 Guy who is difficult to work with.

Braviary: "For the sake of its friends, this brave warrior of the sky will not stop battling, even if injured." "They fight for their friends without any thought about danger to themselves." "With its brave disposition, it fears nothing—not even death." DAWG THATS JUST SHAY OBSIDIAN FROM YUGIOH ARC-V.

Talonflame: RAID RAPTOR BLAZE FALCON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK IT BRAVE BIRD FUCK IT BRAVE BIRD FUCK IT BRAVE BIRD

Blaziken: This thing has Speed Boost and it's about to be your problem. Powerful, brave, nimble, perfect for Shay and his like insane acrobatics he's always busting out. Perfect Pokemon for guy who beat the shit out of like 8 cops at once. 🔥

LULU:

Altaria: TRULY A LYRILUSC OF A POKEMON Humming and singing and incredibly powerful bird. Soft and warm and "with a kind disposition." I know she would love this thing so much.

Swellow: For Lyrilusc Sapphire Swallow/representative of all her swallow-adjacent songbirds

Shedinja: Again really fun in a pair with Shay's Ninjask. 1 HP to mirror how Lyriluscs are all level/rank 1!

Sylveon: and here's where my Flying TYPE Eeveelution would be... IF I HAD ONE >:( WELL. I do think Sylveon suits Lulu very well too, an exemplary compliment to her kind and friendly nature. AND transgender colors #lulugendermoments

Togekiss: Peace-loving angel-esque bird!!! Dueling shoudn't be used for war but making people smile!!!! "it visits peaceful regions, bringing them gifts of kindness and sweet blessings." LULUMONNNNNN

Zamazenta: Yuto traded this to her out of hoping it could help protect her ;w; Hero of Many Battles mode for the most part. The shield/protective motif also I feel ties well with Lulu's nonaggressive but remarkably adept at standing up for what she cares about character.

CELINA:

Liepard: IDK WHY IT'S SO HARD TO FIND GOOD LUNALIGHT EQUIVALENT POKEMON BUT ALAS lunalight panther dancer! ok it's a leopard but shhh. Also "moody and vicious" and strong and stealthy.

Pyroar: and Lunalight Leo Dancer too!!!!

Sensu Oricorio: For the bird Lunalights, and also its fan-feathers remind me of Cat Dancer :3 WAIT ITS HEAD FEATHERS ALSO LOOK LIKE CELINA'S BOW AND HER PONYTAIL...OMG

Umbreon: Naturally Celina's Eeveelution!! The moon associated one, hunts prey in the dark, glows in the moonlight (evolves through friendship 🥺celina did too.....)

Hisuian Lilligant: Compliments Zuzu's Unovan Lilligant (BECAUSE THEY ARE FRIENDS!!!) also an elegant and powerful Fighting type that moves like a dancer. This has always been a big Alexis Pokemon for me too but what can I say Fusion girlies rocking out with the Skater Dancer Plant Lady.

Celesteela: More moon motif!! Also Celesteela's Princess Kaguya inspiration honestly parallels Celina as a character really well too

YURI:

Silvally: we all know I associate Silvally with the yuboys in general, but teamwise I think it belongs the most on Yuri's--hodgepodge chimera monster experiment built in a lab and kept away from 'normal' Pokemon and populations. blasphemous emulation of god. Definitely absolutely kept Poison type mostly. 💜

Vileplume: PREDAPLANT CHIMERAFFLESIA.... I was torn between Vileplume or Victreebel but I think Vileplum works the best. It's Yuri's colors <3 *spews toxic spores at you*

Mega Sceptile: Grass/Dragon-type, literally has Starving Venom's colorful orb things, extremely fast and powerful... Sceptile is already the perfect starter for him but Mega Scepty just checks all the Venom Boxes.

Scolipede: Its horns look like Yuri's hair prongs <3 He deserves at least one big purple bug imo. It's also described as HIGHLY AGGRESSIVE and RELENTLESS and damn if that aint Yuriful.

Carnivine: truly one of the Most Predaplant of all Pokemon. This bitch eats meat!!! also I think it's funny if Yuri has a Pokemon that kind of chronically sucks bad but he loves it anyway.

Nagadanel: AND OF COURSE YURI'S ULTRA BEAST IS ALSO STARVING VENOM :) why the fuck is it like Yuri's hair color(s) exactly. Like Poipole too of course but still omfg. its poison is described as an adhesive too which i think is just perfect as a mirror of Yuri's sticky nasty ass dragon. slash pos.

DENNIS:

Meowscarada: JUST KIND OF DENNIS'S TRUEST POKESONA. TO ME. Dark type masked showman magician, master of misdirection....kind of has his haircut....gay.... uhhhh. meow!

Star Trim Furfrou: WELL. YOU KNOW. 🐩 also Star Pattern in particular for matching the 'performer' vibes and being the same blue as the blue in Dennis's stupid stupid outfit.

Inteleon: I'm privvy to the truth (Yuya traded Dennis his Sobble and got his Fennekin in return) but also like. This is justalso a Dennis Pokemon Bigly to me. Gay Sniper Spy Chameleon.

Mime Jr.: Performage Trick Clown!!! And the Performages in general. Little clown for this fucking clown.

Copperajah: For Chaos Ancient Gear Golem :,) I imagine it can Gigantimax and REALLY have that "giant fucked up war machine" mood down back. Also something something circuses and elephants.....

Blacephalon: LIKE. HE COULDNT HAVE ANY OTHER ULTRA BEAST, REALLY. Weird unsettling clown that sets off fireworks and literally blows its own head off 🥴 dennis might as well be a damn blacephalon. "It slithers toward people. Then, without warning, it triggers the explosion of its own head." dennis literally did this in front of a cruise ship full of people .

YUGO:

Rayquaza: Yugo's perfect Legendary choice AND a perfect Clear-Wing equivalent! Sky/Wind related green dragon, only arms, no legs, hell its yellow rings even remind me a little of Synchro rings.

(Shiny) Flygon: Also just reminds me of Clear Wing a whole lot <3 green, fast, long stripey tail, rhombus wings.. the shiny palette is also Yugo's colors!

Cinderace: I had such a hard time picking a starter for Yugo but I think Cinderace is the best pick... literal jock that plays toys and is described as "losing its cool easily," "it gets pumped up when cheered on," and "if it starts showboating, it could put itself in a tough spot" which just comes off like a laundry list of Yugo roasts HFDGUSD he would love this bunny rabbit.

Starmie: Mostly I just love Yugo and Rin have counterpart Pokemon but also Starmie has Speedroid vibes to me!!! Spinning star toy. Also fast as fuckkkk

Dragapult: HI-SPEEDROID KITEDRAKE!!! DRAGON THAT SHOOTS DARTS. FUNNY FAST VEHICLE LOOKIN ASS LIZARD.

Miraidon: ok Im pulling the "Yugo is one of my favorites he gets two Legendaries" card HE JUST DESERVES MIRAIDON. DUEL RUNNER DRAGON. CAPABLE OF BEING SILLYGOOFY AND ALSO LOCKING TF IN. one yuboy having a Past Paradox 'mon and one having a Future Paradox mon makes me a little craayayayzayy

RIN:

Froslass: Truly one of the most Windwitch of all Pokemon to me. Powerful ice witch lady fuck up your whole world.

Bronzong: A big fuckoff Bell. For Windwitch Freeze Bell. And Diamond Bell. And Crystal Bell. And Winter Bell. And

Hatterene: AND ANOTHER POWERFUL WITCH POKEMON FOR THE WITCH QUEEN also the trans flag colors just like rin's riding gear outfit. transfem rin is real btw

Glaceon: easy Eveelution pick for her ❄

Cloyster: Counterpart to Yugo's Starmie! Big weird floating Ice-aligned spike covered shape, which also described like 5 different Windwitches! Rin with Shellder is also really cute.

Glastrier: Really had to mull on what Legendary to give her but I love the idea of her also having a 'rideable vehicle' Legendary (horses are rideable vehicles.) Also Glastrier is a busted ass powerful as fuck belligerent ice monster and I think RIn would deeply appreciate its cunty spirit. 💙

MOON SHADOW:

Lunatone: Naturally!

Greninja: NATURALLY AS WELL!

Basculegion: The whole thing with Basculegion being powered and driven by the souls of its dead loved ones is just so perfect for the way Moon has to carry on after Sun Shadow got carded. Plus those very archiac Ainu design elements present just suit him well I think.

Accelgor: LIKE. I GOTTA. NINJA SWEEP also again i love the idea he had to trade his karrablast with Declan to get his Accelgor in return. Lancer synergy

Golisopod: Defense-oriented shogun armored type beast, pairs up well with invoking Moon's Twilight Ninja archetype. Also the Emergency Exit ability reminding me of all of his nimble ninja escape tactics we get to see.

(Shiny) Pawniard: A.) has his color palette B.) ninja-ish cadet at the command of a higher up (Bisharp), but also C.) that's Riley 🥺

RILEY:

Espurr: they just look like one. Riley Pokemon of All Time.

Oshawott: I love the idea of Riley having a baby Water starter to compliment Declan's Empoleon, and Oshawott's got that nice light blue and white palette and a design that evokes Riley's teddy bear a little bit. Plus its scalchop as a neat parallel to the C/C/C Weapon Monsters.

Beldum: Another baby form of one of Declan's monsters, also representative of C/C Critical Eye--one menacing red eye included!

Gigalith: All of Riley's C/C/C Rock Battle Monsters <3 (Armor, Blaster, Sword.) Also has eyes like Critical Eye too a little.

Ralts: one more mirror of Declan's team, but also this is another Pokemon Riley kind of just looks like. them big ol eyes. And the whole thign with how it flees when strong emotions are present :(

Terapagos: a cute and harmless looking Pokemon capable of absolutely horrifying reality shifting powers, just like Ray through Riley's body is capable of mildly terrifying ablities <3 I think Riley and Terapagos would also just be buddies 🥺

ZARC:

Zygarde 100%: FUCK IT. GIVE THE SUPREME KING ALL HIS DAMN DRAGON LEGENDARIES i just really love the idea of him especially having 'stronger' forms of the Legendaries the Yuboys wield--also like. Zygarde 100% Freakass Fulled Reunited Giant Green and Black Superweapon Dragon With Red and Blue Undertones (the colors of the pendulum scales)... it's too perfect.

Mega Rayquaza: Ultra-strong green and black terrifying giant dragon... 2!!! <3 The evolution of Yugo's Rayquaza. Giving Zarc all the crazy battle gimmicks too like he lords over all the summoning mechanics. Green for Synchros too <3

Eternamax Eternatus: ANOTHER WORLD-ENDING GIGANTIC DRAGON MONSTROSITY FOR THE ZARCMAN overloaded with power.. violent and unpredictable... the counter to Yuto's Zacian (and previously owned Zamazenta).... Fusion colors also.

Arceus: IT IS DRAGON TYPE NATURALLY the original vs Yuri's remix (Silvally)....fuck around and become God and all powerful. :,) Creation deity moments! White for Synchros as well.

Guzzlord: Also a bit of a parallel to Yuri's Silvally, but just in general I Gotta Give Him This Giant All-Consuming Dark/Dragon Extradimensional Abomination. All devouring.... Zarc in a way devoured the four yuboys too, huh.

Regidrago: Wildcard Dragon Legendary for the final spot but I do have my reasons <3 Big black dragon skull, "said to have the powers of every dragon Pokémon," just fires blasts of Dragon Energy at foes. Also just this sort of "ancient incredible power" feels very along Zarc's lines too

RAY:

Eevee: All the bgirls get evolved Eeveelutions, but I just love the idea of Ray's partner Pokemon being just a plain Jane unevolved Eevee that fought God and won.

Shaymin: En Flowers 🌸(also En-Wind for Sky Form Shaymin)

Lunala: En Moon 🌙 (also En-Windish, plus the Ghost typing a fun element with Ray effectively being dead and haunting that goddamn narrative.)

Lugia: En Birds 🐦 (also En Wind for all its storm conjuring capabilities)

Enamorus: ok I thought about Tornadus at first for En-Wind but A.) Ray needs a Fairy type for the 'dragon killer' implications, B.) Enamorus being this extremely powerful female Pokemon that fortells spring, brings the world back to life, and 'violently punishes' those that disrespect any living being is just, like, too perfect.

Regieleki: Its arms look like her ponytails <3 Honestly in general it looks a lot like when she was a glowy yellow spirit form. Also the only Pokemon to learn Thunder Cage, which feels quite appropriate for Ray stopping and containing Zarc. And oh well it's just a neat little counterpart to Zarc's Regidrago because I love when they have counterparts and I love divorce <33333 #EQUALITY: GIVE RAY LEGENDARIES TOO.

[oddlylovingaddiction]

SFW YANDERE ALPHABET WITH COVE HOLDEN!

(Yandere) Cove Holden x (Gender neutral) Reader / Cove might be out of character? / Probably some spelling mistakes or confusing sentences sorry!!

A = Affection! (How affectionate are they towards their darling?)

So affectionate! I mean in the game he’s always affectionate so it’s basically the norm for him. He’s a bit shy when being affectionate but he enjoys making you happy nonetheless. He loves surprising you with gifts and if you give him permission, touch. Things like little shells he found at the beach or some food he got from the store that you like are some things he normally gives you. He enjoys standing close to you to the point he feels your skin against his although he tries hard not to break your personal space. Obviously he gets embarrassed by his own damn actions especially if he’s giving you a hug in front of yours or his family.

B = Baggage! (Do they have any trauma that makes them act as a yandere? and How will they handle the other person they love’s trauma?)

I think definitely he’d be a yandere due to the fact you arrived in his life at such a bad time and helped him through it he just naturally developed it.

As for if you have any trauma, we already know he’s incredibly supportive of you and he’s always there if you need him so I definitely feel like he’d just naturally be good with a person who has PTSD or any form of trauma. He knows what it’s like to feel alone and scared so he would do everything he can to make sure you, his darling are as happy as you can be even through hardships.

C = Careful! (How careful are they not to get caught by their darling?)

I don’t think he does anything violent or worthy of getting caught, I just think in general his love towards you is just obvious. So if you know what yanderes are you just instantly know what he is. The only thing I think he’d get caught on is the whole entering through your window, I feel like even if he’s just wanting to make sure you’re safe in bed his ass would get caught immediately. He’d also get caught occasionally glaring at people who made you uncomfortable or he feels like are taking you away from him.

D = Dreams! (What’s their dream life with the person they’re a Yandere for?)

He’s happy with any life he and you have as long as he is in your life and you’re in his. However I think he’d definitely want some sort of commitment, like officially dating or marriage. He likes being your friend don’t get me wrong but I feel like in general he’d just want an ultra special relationship/place in your life. After that, he doesn’t care what happens! He’s fine just living in a nice home with you and being able to snuggle up to you in the mornings.

If you choose to want kids with him (through pregnancy, adoption, surrogacy etc.) I feel like he’d get flustered same as if you choose to bring it up in the wedding DLC. Of course he has thought of it but only in passing no goals or anything. Obviously he’s over the moon happy?! I mean he’s panicked at first cause he has no clue he’s just happy to be the father of your kids.

E = Embarrassment! (Do they ever get embarrassed by the person they’re a Yandere for? and Do they get embarrassed by their yandere actions?)

YES. Doesn’t matter if it’s his actions or yours if he feels like it’s too much he will go red. Basically the same as him in game. Teasing about his love for you is always going to make him embarrassed.

F = Found! (What happens if the person they’re a Yandere for finds out they’re a yandere? and What if someone who isn’t the person they’re a Yandere for caught them?)

I don’t think he’s aware that he’s a yandere. This whole obsessive love with you just feels natural like, why wouldn’t he love you?! YOURE YOU. However if he does get called out for his deep love for you, he’s just embarrassed LOL. Like imagine his dad, cliff, going “I never expected you to love this passionately but hey, at least I know now to never get between you and your lover, huh buddy?” And he just goes bright red because he can’t really deny it but he also is just so embarrassed.

Now if you catch him in it I don’t think he really minds it just means he can skip the awkwardness and confess to you already!

G = Grieving! (What happens if the person they’re a Yandere for dies?)

Bro is not recovering period. 😭 no matter if it’s years, days, weeks or eternity he’ll always be grieving the loss of you.

H = Happiness! (How happy are they if the reader confesses to them?)

Bro is so fucking happy HE LOVES YOU!! YOU LOVE HIM!! He will celebrate this day every year it will go in a calendar.

I = Intelligence! (How crafty are they around the person they’re a Yandere for?)

Bro is not fucking sneaky. I think if he tries really hard he can be but I feel like in general he’s just easy to catch loving you LOL. Although how deep it goes might be a different story, that would be insanely hard to catch. I feel like he’s the type to wish you both were combined so he could never part with you but he’s also happy you and him aren’t combined cause how else will he hug you??? He mainly keeps thoughts like that though just in his head. He always forgets to write them down…

J = Jail! (Have they ever done something illegal?)

I mean the whole window thing is probably illegal and the fact he has canonically just been outside in just his underwear (although in the dead of night) is probably illegal as well. But he’s not going to jail because he’s too nice the judge would feel bad and instantly let him go.

K = Kindheartedness! (How kind are they towards the person they’re a Yandere for?)

HES SO KIND TO YOU, he wants you to be as happy as you can so if there’s any he can do (within some of the law and his power) he’ll do his best to bring that wish of yours to life.

L = Love! (How much love do they have for the person they’re a Yandere for?)

He loves you A LOT. like im talking the way mentally ill teens (aka me.) talk about their fave character, “ID DIE FOR THEM AHAGDGHSHS” or “I AM NOT WORTHY OF THE AIR THEY BREATHE” type beat but in his own Cove way.

M = Mean! (How mean are they willing to be towards others who express fondness/love towards the person they’re a Yandere for?)

Unless it’s someone he approves of like your family, his family or mutual friends he’s willing to be mean. Although he will feel bad about it afterwards. I think the worst he can do is glare tbh.

N = No’s! (What are some lines they refuse to cross?)

Anything involving hurting you, his and your families and friends. In general I don’t think he’d hurt anyone psychically unless they hurt or threatened you first. He also doesn’t want to make you unhappy so anything that is abusive is just a hard no for him.

O = Obstacles! (What are some challenges they have to face?)

Actually confessing his love to you or proposing to you. I feel like it would take him awhile. Not cause he doesn’t want to but because he’s so nervous even if he knows you’ll say yes lol.

P = Presents! (relaxed are they if their darling receives gifts from someone who isn’t them?)

Depends. Birthday gifts? Fine! Platonic gifts? Also cool. But anything he feels is like romantic he is PISSED. I think he’d snap and just hide it away from you or have you open the gift while you’re in his lap just so you know that you’re his partner and no one else’s.

Q = Quarrels! (What happens in a fight with the person they’re a Yandere for? and How argumentative are they?)

He handles it BADLY. VERY BADLY. He doesn’t want to argue with you. He’d feel so bad he’s apologize first and does everything he can to make it up to you.

He’s also not very argumentative. It’s extremely hard and rare for him to argue with you.

R = Raising! (Are they open to raising a pet or plant with their darling? and Are they open to starting a family with their darling?)

YES. Yes to all of them. He’s happy to have a family of pets, plants or kids with you.

S = Safety! (Do they prioritize the person they’re a Yandere for’s safety?)

Yes! He wants you to be as safe as possible, he doesn’t want to risk you getting hurt. Of course he still allows you to do what you want and doesn’t coddle you but safety is Important.

T = Transform! (Are they likely to stop becoming a Yandere?)

Unlikely but generally he’d never be extreme for you, he’s a ‘you-first-me-second’ guy. So unless you request him to stop being obsessive he won’t.

U = Unfaithful! (Are they a Yandere for more than one person?)

No just you! Of course he loves others platonically but he loves you romantically only.

W = Weakness! (How weak are they towards the person they’re a Yandere for?)

Extremely weak… he loves you so much if you so much as cry because of him he’ll die LOL.

X = X-ray! (What are some things in they keep in their pockets?)

His wallet with pictures of you in it (and in the future if you choose to, pictures of your family of pets/plants/kids too!) he likes to keep his pockets clear from unimportant items in case you need him to put something in his pockets.

Z = Zzz…! (How well do they sleep at night?)

Meh good enough. He sleeps amazing next to you though.

[dxxtruction]

I've said this once, and I'll say it again, framing Armand as 'wanting Louis and Claudia dead' or 'planning their murder' makes 0 sense with any context the show provides us.

This still means he's 100% complicit (!!!). In fact, the very idea he could've prevented it at all puts the onus on him pretty highly. Compounded also on the fact that, as his lover, he had special obligations to Louis that he neglects by doing this, and the matter of racist intent that's involved in this that everyone's obligated to stand against on principle. Not to mention this is murder. Suppose one could say the very conditions set by the coven make one easily groomed to complicit-ness, but this is simply yet another explanation for things there's never any real excuse for (Don't be like Armand and try). But, it also begins to highlight why it's not a very good read of his character to blanket this as his sole doing, and as his desire at all to do. As it would completely ignore Santiago's much greater role in perpetration (Being the leader in creating, with the other coven members, the context for the complicit-ness to occur), as well as not considering the role the Laws, and ultra-violent dynamic of the coven, played into what Armand decides on. It ignores the whole narrative.

The option presented to Armand surrounding the trail was never his own making. The choice to take part in it at all is actually a lack of choice, because it doesn't actually concern his own choice in it. (Basically, he wouldn't ever come to it himself or willingly. Making it not validly consensual). It's likely as well the only reason he's directing it is because he'd know how to. He hadn't chose that part either, and frankly never really had to begin with. This is all especially true under coercion, or threat of violence - yes, even if he could act against it. The point is whether a victim of it believes there is threat, or that there could possibly be one, not whether it actually ever posed a real one.

When it comes to choice between the Coven or Louis, they exist as more options towards opposing obligations than anything else, and neither outcome, as he sees them going, is what he would actually choose were he to have a choice in it. Which he doesn't. (No one can choose outcomes, only predict them.)

Except, Armand could've created a choice for himself, but didn't. He could've found a way to prevent it, but didn't. He chose his own choiceless-ness, over making the potential for something he'd always prefer - and so would be a real and consensual choice - but didn't, because he didn't feel he would be able to have it the way he wanted. Paradoxically trapping himself into doing something he doesn't want, because he can't have what he wants. He not only becomes choiceless then, but wantless. Total self effacement. Reinforcing an enslavement that is now false. Living in Mauvaise foi - bad faith. (The Sartre cameo was foreshadowing of this exact thing.)

Perhaps he does this because he's become incapable of letting himself have that level of self, or awareness. Letting others decide his fate for him is all he can accept, when this is the only kind of self he knows. And/Or because the far worse option was simply the only one he could have any greater certainty in the outcomes with. There is also still the threat posed by a united force of the coven as well. This all points to Armand already being very easy to coerce into it, fact, he'd already been heavily coerced when he was groomed repeatedly to all this centuries prior.

The thing to understand though is he was never going to actually come to the trail, let alone having ever wanted Louis' demise, when what he really wanted was Louis all along. Only because there's an opposing threat presented to him, does he actively work against himself as he doesn't see to any alternative. (And Claudia was always a footnote in all this to him, a literal footnote in history, so wouldn't have factored into his decision much... don't read into this also being a footnote. RIP Claudia, miss you dearly.)

Also in coming to this choice-less decision, he knows nothing can prevent the coven from turning their backs on what they've already set their hearts on doing. They'd mutinied to get this. And, he knows as well he can't force Louis to love him, or for this matter, love him forever.

In having to decide on something, he appeases the thing that threatens him the most, which is the coven. And with a mere feeling of a threat from Louis, his obligations to him are taken as only thereafter fleeting. Though this doesn't mean he'd stopped loving him. Simply stopped acting out the biggest obligation to someone you do love - which is keeping them safe, and alive, if you can help it. (He is in love; doesn't act in love). So no, this doesn't mean he wants or orchestrates what the coven is forcing him to do - this makes no sense. But that, within the dynamics of the coven, which have changed to be against him, and the laws they seek to uphold with this change, there is a high-controlling obligatory threat to violence he must also accept to eliminate all threat to himself. Real or not.

Now, how real that threat is with his decision, is granted not the most plausible in a physical sense. (and factor that he could've come to a plan with Louis and it would be doubly true.) - but if you consider Armand as someone who wouldn't know how to fair well without other people, or at least desperately not want that, there's a certain level of threat still to suddenly becoming very isolated. And more importantly totally alone. This is the main threat to him, really. If he had, let's say, made a plan to run off with Louis, and he were to then leave him down the line, this would be a threat to him in the same way as losing the coven would. The coven provides a security that Louis could not in this sense - but it's just that. A security.

It's very: siding with an abusive parent/guardian because at least they provide a sense of some protection, or dare I say mercy, on you. Even when they're completely opposed to your wants/needs/autonomy.(etc.) (Notable etc. - he'd been fucking them all for years, like the lack of metaphor is so striking.)

He does end up making choice for himself in the end though, and that is resurrecting Louis + not saying the truth to Louis. He chose this WAY too late, but it's probably when outcomes started to change from how he thought they would go that he realized the errors in his thinking. That, given this, he also would never have known if Louis would leave him. And so rescuing Louis from this was an option the whole time to avoiding threat, if he had just seen he could've had that. That he could've had what he wanted and just chose that for himself. Even up to the very moment.

He's tragic in this way, but you almost don't want to view him like this because he'd reaped all the rewards over choices he never made. Choices he would've made if he were (... well, Lestat), but really a more self-respecting person who actually understood the thing he wanted, [love], and the trust it takes to have that. Because Armand chooses to lie, or obscure truths, he sets this relationship up to always have inevitably broken on lack of trust.

He is a perpetuator of manipulation, and does do things which mimic the neglectful and highly-controlled kind of abuse the coven was offering him, and past abusers were inflicting on him as well. Once he's to himself, with only an obligation to himself and to Louis as a companion - as was his want and choice - he therefore takes full responsibility for those choices he makes. He can't just be complicit in those things. You might almost want to excuse (not forgive) what comes before it, because the choice wasn't of his autonomous consent, and he was highly susceptible to fall into it - and for Louis I think he does (technically it's only his right to do as well*) - but even Louis can not excuse for things Armand of his own volition chose to do.

Because Louis has some self respect, and does understand love requires trust, he had to end things there. The fact Armand still wanted to fight for it anyway says a lot about his own development throughout all this time, and how it's not moved very much forward from where it started. To end off, I would think this sets him up for a lot of growth in later seasons. He's literally hit a wall, and has to now redirect his life.

*When I say 'technically' it's Louis right for the purposes of respecting this is fictional media this right only naturally extends to the community Louis represents: [Black people, Black queer men, Black abuse survivors, etc.]. These people do not have to side with Louis excusing it, and that should be respected always more than Louis own excusing of it wrt the shows text. In other words, there's no excusing it except through Louis eyes. That's how that has to work.