#roles: berserker

[headmate-ideas]

(I got an error when I tried to send this so I'm so sorry if this is being sent twice 🫣)

Could I get a pack for a mostly masc coyote who's a persecutor / berserker ( https://pluralpedia.org/w/Berserker )? We're trying to get them to have an identity but they're.. uninterested in anything they perceive as "healing" 😭

- 🕰️

[Brought to you by: Mods Shockwave and Venn!]

💥 HEADMATE TEMPLATE 🌿

✦ Name(s): Max, Sage, Hadrian ✦ Pronouns: he/him, they/them, it/its, x/xs/xself, void/voids/voidself ✦ Species: coyote ✦ Age: same as body ✦ Role(s): trauma holder, anger holder, BPD holder (optional), berserker, persecutor, syllogist, naturalist ✦ Labels: boyish, agender masc, kenochoric, othellic, angeroldicmasc ✦ Xenos: the color red, meat, the moon ✦ Interests/likes: puzzles, horror, herb symbolism ✦ Dislikes: being ignored ✦ Music taste: punk rock, speed metal, industrial hip hop ✦ Aesthetic(s): voidcore, bastardcore, liminalcore ✦ Objectum attraction(s): weapons ✦ Kins: the void, demons, vultures ✦ Emoji proxy: 💥🌿 ✦ Details:

Max is a talking coyote who is affected by the system's trauma and holds a lot of anger as a result. This manifests in the form of aggression and hostility towards his headmates and people external to the system. If the system have BPD, this anger is a BPD symptom. He is uninterested in healing or changing his behavior. However, he is very logical and, when not in the heat of an angry moment, can be reasoned in situations where his hostility has natural consequences. Max is good at solving problems, and while he generally doesn't do things with the motivation of benefiting the rest of the system, he does act in self-interest, which can benefit the rest of the system due to him being a part of it. Its also likes nature and taking walks, which it may enjoy as a calming activity. It also has a silly side, the kind where it enjoys bastardcore images, chaotic behavior, and "so-bad-it's-good" movies.

[These can be edited and changed as needed, and headmates will almost definitely not turn out EXACTLY as described.]

[ominous-faechild]

✦ OC Questionnaire Tag 2✦

Following tag from @the-letterbox-archives!

Characters from Sun and Shadow: Freya, Crow, and Daleira Characters from the Arcane Rifts: Gene, Tazin, and Mislav Featuring tAR's children leveled up! They'll be answering at 15, 17, and 17 years old respectively!

Questions: - "What's your relationship with your family like?" - "Do you have any hobbies? if so, what ones?" - "Do you dream often? what about?" - "What is the one thing you would not wish on your greatest adversary?" from @willtheweaver

"What's your relationship with your family like?"

Freya: Well... we don't even know if my dad's alive but... re-regardless, it was rough between us. He was never around, and I just... I missed him. I know it was his job, but I blamed him. It was just me in that house, you know? Like, I mean--sure! I chose that! But the only other choice was to live alone in the city instead, where I had to deal with people trying to suck up to me in order to get money or whatever! So neither was a good choice, yeah??? And--I don't know, okay? I... I hope he's actually alive like the others say. I guess... I'll probably apologize to him, alright? But that still sucked.

Crow: Oh, my father's great, yeah. ... What, you were expecting more of an answer? Daleira: Oh, I love my dad! 😊 ... not enough for you?... okay, fine. Um... it's difficult at times between us. He's busy taking care of Lynsmouth most of the time, so we hardly spend any time together. But, you know--I get that! It's a lot of work to uh--... do whatever it is he does? Honestly I'm not that sure, haha. 😅 But I'm sure it's a lot! So, you know, it's not a big deal that he doesn't spend a lot of time with me. I'm really appreciative of him finding me and taking me in to begin with, and I've really led a great life thanks to him, so! 😊

Gene: I... don't remember my family. Just like I don't remember anything else before I got here. But... (*looks away to think. Will not look in asker's direction again.*) I think Abi was my brother? Older--older brother. He... really helped me a lot. So in that case... good. But... thinking the word "family"... hurts.

Tazin: (*spoken through his teeth*) I don't have a family.

Mislav: (*fakest smile you can imagine and not even trying to hide it; voice falsetto*) Dead, thanks for asking!

Crow: Sike!!! Bet you thought I wasn't going to answer. 😘 How cruel of you to think so lowly of me!!! 😭

I wasn't kidding, my father's great, I love him. He taught me everything I know about--detective work and all, heh! We don't always see each other because he's usually working on cases, but he's given me everything I need to succeed in life and I'm thankful to him for that. So hopefully I'll make him proud on this case with Frey! 😉😊

(tragically, it is not a work I have created if someone's family life is good. But, omfg, until now, I didn't realize SaS was the story of goddamn DADDY ISSUES!!! 🤣🤣🤣)

"Do you have any hobbies? if so, what ones?"

Freya: Oh, um... dammit, I'm not going to get away with a lie, am I? (*Heavy, drawn-out sigh*) Okay, fine. I... like reading. I know this is really weird!!! But, uh, sometimes, while I'm inshore, I've found books in the water. Books! Perfectly fine! Little to no water damage most of the time! I don't know if Dad sent them to me somehow or what, but... most of the time, they're in other languages. Things that don't always line up with those I find in the library. But I've figured a few of them out over the years, and I think it's really fun!

Crow: Psh, nothing as boring as reading. (*Precariously leaning back against a bulging doorway. There's a creak and then--CRASH!!!*) SHIT-- (*Furiously opens the door. An endless pile of books comes falling out. Except... they're all related to their cases? Huh. Is their hobby... working?*) Yep. That's my hobby. Working. Tell my dad that, would ya? 😘 (Oh I think we see something deeper in the closet--) NO!!! DON'T YOU DARE-- (*we zoom in to see countless artistic collages made out of cut-outs from pictures in their books and magazines.*) ... (*Crow, face burning, melts into the shadows and hides in shame.* But??? That's a cool hobby??? WAIT, COME BACK, AZA--)

Daleira: Oh!!! I just love working with magical trinkets! You know, conduits--from gods, mortals, and discovered in the Faewildes! It's amazing figuring out how each of them work and trying to figure out if I can replicate them! Faer and I have gotten good at transferring magic between objects, but gods' conduits are especially hard to work with. Like, come on--can't they share some of their power with the rest of us??? :/

There's a few items from Soren we just can't figure out, though... and he wouldn't tell me where he got them! I mean, that would help immensely in trying to figure out how they work, but we've already broken a few of them and don't want to risk losing all of them! Especially since--... well. An-anyway-- 😅

I gave Freya one when we first met! She was showing clear signs of magical sickness, and I'd already figured out it was a magical restraint you could manipulate the strength of--which is amazing, you know??? So it would be awesome to figure out how it works! But-- (*continues rambling happily*)

Gene: Hobby?... (*Looks away. Will not look back.*) I... like to draw. It's useful. Maps. Nobody else is able to navigate around the sewers, but my maps... they stay right. Even though they change. So it's nice to draw... feel useful. And everyone likes me then. Not just Mislav and Tazin. If... Tazin does. I'm pretty sure he does. (*Shakes his head swiftly, then nods*) Right. He does. Sorry...

(*Anxiously picks at his hands, still avoiding looking anywhere near the asker*) And... I've always liked reading, I think. The real stuff. To learn. It took a while for me to learn Glavni, but I've been able to read by myself for a long time now. I enjoy it. (*Finally looks back to give asker a pained smile*)

Tazin: Does burning buildings count? 😉 No? Okay, fine. How about just plain-old casual arson? 😉 OH, COME ON, HOW COME THESE GUYS'-- (*continues screaming into the camera, but we cut to black*) (*We return to a moody Tazin pouting with his arms crossed... and surrounded in flames.*) Fine. I've always liked stupid stories. You know the ones--knight in shining armor, or the underdog rising up and saving the day--that stuff. And Gene's got me into his stupid fucking "learning" thing, alright? But that's all you're getting out of me, got it, you little-- {REDACTED FOR PROFANE LANGUAGE}

Mislav: Um... not really? I... guess anything that lets me spend more time with Gene? 😅😭

... I really liked it back when I was on the farm. But... it's gone now. And I don't think Adilzhan or Zhrizn would let me do anything like that again. And... (*looks away, voice going below a whisper*) I'm afraid to even try.

(BET YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE ALL HUMOROUS HERE, DIDN'T YOU!?!?! DIDN'T YOU!?!?! YOU FORGOT IT WAS MY!!! MY!!!! STUFF YOU WERE READING!!! *maniacal laugh.mp4*)

"Do you dream often? what about?"

Freya: I think I've had a lot of dreams in my life. Most of them, I've hated, but I... can't remember them honestly. Except... fear. Being afraid of them. So, heh, you know--nightmares. Normal stuff normal people deal with right? Especially kids, I've heard.

... but I've been remembering a bit more of them lately, since I... since I was in the shipwreck. (*Voice goes strained and breathy, like she's struggling to breathe*) And I... I think I'm in the water again. In--in the dreams. And there's something else there--

Crow: Ha, no. Do most people remember their dreams? (They're lying. They remember. Their dreams center around failure. Failure, and a desperation to prove themself.)

Daleira: Um... not really? We faeries aren't like you humans... our "dreams" are... different. Real. I try not to actually sleep because of that. I don't want anyone else getting stuck in them.

Gene: Not anymore. I used to. Usually... nightmares. Monsters and nature and things chasing me. I have a curse. When I sleep... my nightmares find me. I'll wake up surrounded in things. Once... it included the monster. (*He looks away and is silent for a long moment, remembering.*)

... thankfully I don't dream much anymore. The curse is still here, but it's kinder now. Better things come through.

Tazin: No, who's asking? >:/

When I do dream, it's weird stuff. Memories. Wishes. (*waves hand dismissively*) Normal stuff.

(Also lying. Sometimes has nightmares of the people he cares about abandoning him. Stabbing him in the back. Telling him things about himself he knows to be true, but doesn't want to admit. Telling himself to be better... when he knows he won't.)

Mislav: Yes. I remember the night I lost everything. And the ones who took it all from me. (*looks to Gene*)

... almost everything.

"What is the one thing you would not wish on your greatest adversary?"

Freya: To find themself alone. To lose the people they care about... or feel like those people don't care for them back.

Crow: A pointless end. If you have to die, you should die for something. Something meaningful. Something you care about.

Daleira: Whatever happens to what I eat. 😅 (She's not kidding--remember, she's not human.)

Gene: Starvation.

Tazin: ... to be alone. Or... for it to be their fault.

Mislav: What happened to me... what's happening to me.

I regret deciding to do all these characters...

Your questions: - What was the worst day of your life? - What's your worst nightmare? - If a monster asked you your worst nightmare, what would you tell it and why?

Tagging (with no pressure) @darkandstormydolls @yourpenpaldee @honeybewrites @fantasy-things-and-such @themboty @.the-letterbox-archives (avoiding double-tags) and whoever else wants to join!

Divider from @cafekitsune

[aqua-the-smiter]

A Favor Returned Role swap AU short. Guts and Casca switch places during the eclipse CW: Implied sexual assault (brief mention). ⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘𒉭⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

He’d put his head in her lap.

Casca had thought he was asleep. She had been staring out into the dark woods beyond the weak circle of light, stoking the low flames occasionally to keep them from going out entirely. The weight of Dragon Slayer was a millstone on her back. The fact she could wield it at all still astonished her to this day, even with one arm made of iron and the other wrapped in a brace. It should have been his blade. Her mind had wandered, treading down worn paths. Then, she felt a weight on her thigh.

Looking over, she saw a familiar shock of black hair resting there. His body was frighteningly limp, and his breathing was so shallow it was hard to tell if he was breathing at all. But he was there. Warm and familiar. And that, no matter how bleak everything else was, made her happy.

“Hello Guts.” She said.

He didn’t reply. He never did. As far as she knew he hadn’t made a sound since the eclipse. Most of the time she didn’t think he even registered a thing she said. But he looked up at her. Staring.

His eyes were empty, hollow. Gazing at her but not really seeing anything. They hadn’t always been like that. His eyes had been so beautiful once. Deep brown like lacquered wood with flecks of amber and gold when the sun hit his irises just right. Gleaming with battle fever or sparkling with mischief. How they had softened, and lit up when they’d seen each other again. A year he had been gone, and she had missed those eyes.

It was like they belonged to a dead man now. 

She sighed, and ran her fingers through his hair. He might as well have been a dead man at that point. Dead on the inside, certainly. Like he had retreated somewhere deep inside himself and refused to come out. Not that she could hold it against him, after…everything. Hell, she had days where she wanted to follow his example. But, unlike him, Casca still had her mind, and someone had to look out for the two of them. Or, three if you counted Puck.

She put a finger to his face. Tracing the small scar across the bridge of his nose. Usually he would pull away from touch. Somewhere in the depths on whatever pile of shards counted as his mind an old hatred had bubbled up and mutated. Most of the time just gesturing near him would make him flinch and back away. Actually touching him would send him reeling back, eyes wide and full of a deep, almost primal fear. But sometimes he let her. Small things that made dealing with him easier. She wondered if he was consciously allowing it, or if he’d sunk so far in he just didn’t register.

At least he hadn’t sloughed off the cloak she’d given him. Winter had its icy fist around the land, and had draped it in a thick blanket of snow to boot. It was cold. So cold…

Like during the Eclipse.

No, no. Don’t start down that road.

It was always marbles on glass after that.

As cold as that false night. As cold as his dead eyes.

She would make them all as cold as they had made Guts’s eyes.

Griffith she would kill first. That much was easy. He had caused all of this and was in the midst of causing even worse. His poisonous dream had broken everything. Or maybe they were all equally guilty, and he was just the easiest to point the finger of blame at. Every memory of him had turned bitter and gained a sharp edge. A human who was now pretending he was above all other humans. She had to wonder where that kind of ego bloomed from. Was it the ascension that brought that on, or was the seed of it always there in him, buried deep? Just waiting for the correct watering of blood and tears? 

It didn’t matter. She’d make him choke on his own entrails. She would make it quick, as one last favor to the man he used to be.

The other three didn’t matter as long as they died, but Slan would be last. Casca wanted Slan’s death to be long. If she could she would have that whore die slowly for a thousand years and it still wouldn’t be enough. Slan would die last because she wanted to take her time with her. Wanted to whittle her away piece by piece until there was nothing left. Peel her apart with agonizing precision and attention to detail until even a demon such as her would cry out for mercy. Giving Casca the pleasure of denying it. 

She took a deep breath. Restraining herself from gripping Guts’s hand like a drowning man clutches at flotsam.

You may have taken him but he never gave you his body willingly. Not like me. She snarled internally, and wished immediately after that she could’ve given him the dignity of looking away like he’d asked.

She wished she could have saved him. 

But having him alive was better than nothing. Him being alive meant he could possibly still be helped, although by what manner she didn’t know. He was still here. She could feel his head on her thigh, his body curled up next to her. His eyes may have been cold but he was still warm and breathing. She craned her neck around to look at the flower she had tied around Dragon Slayer’s hilt. No, something was still there. It had to be.

…

…

Casca stood underneath a huge, gnarled old tree. The wood twisted and warped, the crown of sharp branches bare and lifeless. The sky was an empty gray void. Dark without the promise of rain or snow. The air felt thick and stale like it came from the inside of a coffin, and fog wrapped its fingers around everything like frost. Her boots sunk into the mire, the ground nothing but stagnant puddles and mud.

A pitiful little cry drew her attention downwards. 

There was a baby curled in the muck, blood and afterbirth staining it red. So small and fragile, his cord still clinging to him. Frighteningly thin, a few ribs showing through, still smeared with dried womb-water. A shock of black hair clung to his scalp, and the tips of his ears seemed almost pointed.

“Guts…?”

Her own voice sounded far away, like it was underwater.

“Pitiful, isn’t it?”

One hand lept to Dragon Slayer’s hilt. In another smooth motion she knelt down and scraped the little one up with her metal arm. Wielding the blade one handed was never easy, but she held it out in front of herself in a guard.

“Who’s there?” 

A dark, sweeping shape emerged from the shroud of fog. With a countenance like a bird of prey and a body like carved black obsidian.

Femto? Griffith? Did it matter what name? He was the same bastard.

“You!” She barked. “How dare you show your face here!”

The demon spread his arms in a harmless gesture, his great black wings swishing out, following them. 

“Come now. Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

“Friend? Are you joking?” 

She could feel a throbbing pain on her breast.

Femto took a step forward, talons splashing in the foul water. Casca took one back, her blade still held out in front of her. She clutched the infant tighter to herself, shifting her arm so it blocked as much of him as possible.

He laughed. “You guard him so fiercely. If nothing else, your loyalty is commendable. Even if it is now a burden.”

“A burden…?” She shook her head. “No, he’s not a burden! I will not abandon him to his fate or you.”

“Of course not. No, you’re too soft-hearted for that. Despite how hard you try to be the fearless warrior, like he was. But still, it must be hard caring for him, isn’t it? Shouldering something you were never meant to.”

“Don’t give me your false sympathy! You caused all of this! You did this to him!” 

“Technically that was Slan.” He corrected, and gave her a slimy grin. “But it’s not my fault. You chose to make him your problem. You could have left him again, had him tied up a bit more securely. He wouldn’t notice your absence.” 

She wanted to disagree. His head resting on her thigh instantly jumping to mind. The flower around her sword’s hilt. But so did his empty eyes and limp body. 

He held out a hand to her. “Aren’t you tired of taking care of him? Watching him like a child. The last time you turned your back he ran away and nearly got himself and you killed. And all for what? It’s not like he has the capacity to be grateful to you. Who knows if he’ll be grateful to you even if he gets his mind back.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You didn’t know him as well as you thought you did. That’s why you had to break him. Because he wouldn’t blindly let you do as you wanted!”

“Look where that defiance got him and you.” Femto pointed out. “Who knows. Maybe it would have been you in his position, and he in yours. I wonder, would he have done the same for you, as you do for him? Did he love you the same as you love him now? To go through so much for very little chance of reward.”

𝐼𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈, 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓃𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈?

𝐻𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝓅𝓉𝒽𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒾𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒𝓈 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝐻𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝑔𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂. 𝒮𝒾𝓍 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶 𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽, 𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓈𝒾𝓍 𝓅𝒶𝓁𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃. 𝐼𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝑜𝑜𝓃 𝒶𝓈 𝒾𝓉 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒.

𝒞𝒶𝓈𝒸𝒶 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝓉𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈

Doubt wrestled with conviction in her mind, but she still looked the raptor dead in the eyes as she answered, “He would.”

… … “Casca!!” Her eye snapped open, and before she could think her hand had grabbed the dagger at her belt before snapping up to stab the incubus at her head. She gripped the one with its tentacles around Guts’s head so hard she felt it burst under her hand, and tossed it aside, breathing hard.

Figures she should’ve never let Puck watch her back. He was a good friend, but not a reliable night watchman. She sat back against the old tree, breathing hard.

“Would he have done the same for you?”

“Fucking Griffith.” She muttered. 

“Casca!” Puck called again, fluttering at eye level. “Are you alright?”

His big blue eyes seemed misty, and she gave him a small smile.

“No worse for wear.”

“And is he…?” The elf trailed off, his voice returning to its usual octave.

She looked down at Guts. His face was scrunched, contorted as if in pain, and his body was tense under the cloak. 

“No worse than usual?” Puck answered for her.

“No worse than usual.” She agreed. 

Whether he would do the same for her or not didn’t really matter. That wasn’t what had ended up happening. She and him were here, and it wasn’t worth thinking about what ifs.

But still, deep down she hoped he would do the same for her, if their roles were reversed. She believed he would.

[paint-it-dead]

I googled the Belladonna of Sadness and: “To take revenge, she makes a pact with the Devil himself who appears as an erotic sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire.” (Femto, the blessed king of longing) “The spirit visits Jeanne once again and rapes her in exchange for more riches“ (Gennon and Griffith) ”the baron offers to make Jeanne the second-highest noble in the land, but she refuses, saying she wishes to take over the entire world.” (Ok Miura HAD to have seen this, right? Wtf…Griffith…)

omg if you havent watched it check it out, check it out, check it out!!!!!

i think i read somewhere that Miura was inspired by it in writing Berserk? but i cant say that with full confidence...

but the parallels!!! the story goes even deeper than what you said! its been almost a year since ive watched it, so my memory of it is not 100%, but ill talk about what i can remember!

(spoilers ofc)

it contains incredible artwork and its set in pre-revolution France(remind you of another manga berserk was inspired by?) and it talks about a beautiful woman- The Most Beautiful Woman Alive!!!- who has just gotten married to the love of her life! but the marriage can only be made legal by the king/ the baron of the lands(an aristocrat of sorts i dont recall properly) who immediately as he sees her, takes her and rapes her. what should have been the happiest night of her life spent with her lover, is spent being defiled, helpless as she is to fight her fate; a poor powerless woman against the all powerful aristocrat. she becomes someone else; traumatised and desperate and her husband cannot look at her the same anymore. but amid all the grief regarding what was taken from her and how she was changed, arises a new emotion: rage. she wants power. she wants vengance. for every petal of hers that was wilted, she wants to birth a new thorn.

now if you're trying to draw parallels, ig this can be a perfect parallel with griffith getting tortured by the king. the helplessness and the toll of it all. the way how it affects his decision-making in the series.

but now as our beautiful woman is stuck in her bottomless desparate anguish, a new character appears before her: a small evil spectre! he looks her straight in the eyes and says. i am you. and you are me. give everything you have to me and i will grant you what you wish for: a chance to make things even. she is poor, she has nothing to give. so the spectre takes her body. defiles her the same way. and she is granted success. she is granted money. her husband and her reap the benefits of her new powers. now the aristocrat is feeling threatened by her status, tries to appease her-offers her lands and riches beyond a simple commoners imagination. but she, unbothered, responds:"money? lands? im not interested in something as small as that, beacuse im going to take over the world." appalled by her ambition, the aristocrat orders she be exiled as a witch, never to return. this whole time the spectre just grows bigger and bigger. stronger and stronger. the more she hates and gains and succeeds, the louder it roars. the more angry and resentful she becomes, the hungrier it grows. its goal: to break her strong spirit piece by piece, little by little. and when she is exiled and thoroughly broken, it reveals himself: he is actually the devil. he asks: what do you crave? he knows what she wants: power. she asks him to make her into a devil, into a wicked, ugly, wrathful woman who will strike fear into the hearts of anybody who crosses her. she doesnt want to be desirable anymore. her beauty was her cage, her curse. and thats what the specter does. transforms her into an all powerful demon.

but as she aweakens from the transformation, she notices that she has become lovlier, more desirable than she ever was before, an otherworldly, overwhelming type of beauty. she anguishes over this. asks for explanations. she wanted to be terrible, scary and full of rage and anger. to this, the devil responds: "who says that anger and rage cannot be beautiful?"

in berserk, this could be a parallel with the godhand offering griffith his option to sacrifice at his lowest point, and griffith's transformation into a devil -femto- and later into an otherworldly beauty - neo-griffith. there is nothing lovely or lovable left in him anymore, but he is the most lovely and beloved character by everyone in the show after his neo-griffith transformation. his power knows no equal and he strikes fear into the hearts of all who dare cross him. nothing will ever touch him again and nothing will ever be taken from him again, unless he wills it.

so she lives in exile, her otherworldly powers making her a diety of sorts, one people love and worship. one day, her husband, mad at himself and sick with love for her, goes to her to ask for her forgiveness. he couldn't save her when she needed him, and he couldn't protect her when she was taken from him, so all he does is ask for forgiveness. and amid her power-hungry, hatered spinning days of rage, she blooms with love for him, everything else thrown aside or forgotten. he was all she had ever wanted once after all. they fall into each other, one last time before tragedy strikes.

the aristocrat, terrified of her, her power, the support people gave her, orders for her to be burned at the stake. as the flames overwhelm her and she cries out one last time, the people witnessing the scene, cry out in uproar. they kill the king, avenge her and become a lingering flame in the calamitous fire of the french revolution. even though she is no longer there, she achieves exactly what she wanted- vengence against those who wronged her, and world domination, as the uproar from her tragedy, is what kickstarts the world to change.

now the whole parallels with griffith i made clear in italics, but there i dont think that thet is where the parallels with berserk end. there is another character, whose case could be argued, might have been inspired by this movie: casca. the unfortunate fate of the woman, the defilement and heartbreak she experiences because of conditions she cannot control, her story is drowning in them. i believe, if Miura was indeed inspired by this movie, that casca's story takes root in this unfortunate fate this character suffers through, but the only element present in casca's story is the heartbreak and pain, the rage and vengeance part is yet to be seen.

this movie seems to overlap both of these characters journeys, emotions and characterisations. if i have made a post about their alikeness before, this movie would be the main thesis for it. they switch roles and imagery within this "belladonna" character to the point where you cant make a case for one without mentioning the other. he becomes a demon, she becomes a witch. he falls in desperation, she falls into her lover's arms. he takes over the world, she gets burned at the stake. he gets the purpose, she gets the tragedy.

overall, berserk or not, belladonna of sadness is a beautiful story and 100% worth the watch. it contains some of my favourite lines of dialogue and scenes ive ever seen in animated media. its experimental and different, but man, isnt it captivating. WATCH IT!!!

[beevean]

The only thing that I've never quite liked about Farnese's development is how she never apologized to Serpico for the years of abuse she inflicted on him

She apologized to Casca, thought herself inadequate to criticize the village priest given what she's done...yet she never spares a thought for her most long lasting victim?

It accidentally makes it seem like she's so dead focused on her development that she's taking him for granted

That's fair. It feels like the two have settled in a dynamic comfortable for the both of them and don't feel like dredging up the past.

I think the idea is that Farnese has already become much kinder to Serpico: he's still her loyal servant, but she doesn't order him around anymore, doesn't hit him, and doesn't lord her authority over him like she used to - again, she no longer feels insecure about her lack of power, and one might take it as her growing to trust him beyond his official role.

... it might also be a consequence of Farnese spending much more time with Casca now :P as I'm re-reading, Serpico notices the changes in Farnese's demeanor in the way she behaves with Casca, taking care of her and smiling around her, something that he notes he was never able to do. Again, I think the idea is that these changes are good enough for him and he doesn't need a formal apology. But it does feel like Farnese has pulled away from Serpico a bit, and not in a "I'm letting you go" way, but in a "I have other things to think about" way.

So yeah. I can buy the fact that Farnese has already proven herself to have radically changed to the point that her relationship with Serpico has drastically improved, but it also feels that now that they're no longer "bent together", they're not quite as closely connected as they used to be, and their relationship has taken a backseat to make room for the one between Farnese and Casca (which also involves her jealousy towards Guts...).

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

I know it's pointless complaining about the treatment of female characters in a series like Berserk, but even so I like the concept of Charlotte growing aware that Griffith doesn't really love her. Maybe she becomes more perceptive during her imprisonment by Ganishka and, as she and (Neo)Griffith rekindle their "relationship" after he rescues her, she quickly realizes that he's just using her for social clout and the authority that being her lover will give him. Let's be honest it's not exactly hard to spot, Griffith looks so dead inside whenever their relationship is brought up he's too busy thinking of his divorced best friend

However, he's still revered as the White Hawk, as the man who leads Midland's resistance against the Kushan invasion, he did save her from Ganishka who would have raped her, and Charlotte recognizes that he is doing good things for the nation and its people. He's their best hope to keep Midland together against the invaders, not to mention her best hope at keeping herself safe. So she decides to make him her fiancé anyway, and in fact pushes for it against the opposition from the more conservative lords who are appalled at the idea of a commoner being Midland's king. If she must be strung along by Griffith's plots like she is in canon, then I enjoy the idea that as much as he's using her, she's also using him as a security blanket for herself. After all, her position as Midland's princess is important to Griffith, so why shouldn't she utilize what he's bringing to the table for her too? It's a transaction, and if Griffith keeps her safe and comfortable, then she'll marry him and ensure the legitimacy of his future as Midland's king.

[simpleman193]

[mythtaker]

Fcg multiclass into barbarian when?

[brokenmovie1992]

he would play such an amazing griffith

[antimnemonic]

i had this sitting for a while bc i meant to post it w other stuff i meant to draw, but i lost interest lol

[dmdarius]

The DLC bosses are massive. You need all the strength, speed and skill to take out even ONE of them, let alone all three. However, with just the right skills and with the right weapons? You can take them down in minutes. #codevein #bandai #soulslike #anime

[13eyond13]

Who suffered more: Guts or female characters in shounen anime?

Writing-wise and having a satisfying character arc-wise definitely girls in shonen anime hahaha

[defunctforworms]

Are you also upset how hot Zodds apostle form is, with how ugly his human form is?

Not really. I feel the apostles have a great balance of "ugly" and "beautiful" and I love every one of them in their human OR Apostle forms.

[izolyn]

I feel like the biggest problem with FGO’s gameplay is like

ever since the introduction of break bars, enemies have been getting more and more powerful tools, many of which are specifically designed to counter the player’s most powerful tools

but the players rarely, if ever, get any new tools of their own to counter this, nor do their existing tools get improved to compensate for the things that don’t work anymore, and even when new tools are introduced the nature of gacha means their availability is awful in a way that’s rarely if ever resolved

So, for example, I was just doing the Tunguska Main Interlude (because I need quartz). The Surtr fight in Tunguska has an effect on the first break bar that inflicts buff block for three turns. This buff block is unremovable, which means that not only can you not cleanse it with debuff cleanse, it also bypasses debuff immunity. You have dedicated tools to deal with debuffs, but they all arbitrarily just don’t work. But you also can’t do anything using debuffs, because Surtr is completely debuff immune as a permanent, unremovable buff and you don’t get to bypass that the way enemies do.

For three turns almost your entire toolkit is just gone and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. It doesn’t also have buff removal, so any previous buffs you still had remain, but you aren’t allowed to react to anything new that happens, three turns is enough for basically every buff in the game to expire, and you’re spending the whole time getting hammered by AoE attacks.

[cappucosmic]

worst part abt making this n posting it is that once every few weeks i have to read bad takes about how this would never happen or how she'd be killing her son and so on and so on and so on and can you guys please just shut up and enjoy it 😭

Culling The Hawk

Did you know the first person to stab Caesar was his childhood friend, Casca?