#stop acting like he's a saint all because of his backstory

[talknerdytome18]

Hot take but just because Stanley Forbes had a traumatic childhood, it doesn't excuse his racism.

[laws-long-ass-sword]

The thing that makes me crazy about Law's backstory in particular is that Corazon wasn't some saint, even if Law thinks of him that way, he beat the Donquixote children for years. And when Corazon took Law away, he begged Corazon to stop, that he was wasting the last months of his life, retraumatizing Law over and over by bringing him to hospitals Law knew wouldn't treat him, and he was right! Corazon didn't listen because of his selfish need to see that this little boy lives, no matter how realistic it actually was and how much he knew it was hurting him. But through sheer chance and the force of Corazon's determination, he does find a way to cure Law's illness.

We see Corazon put on this act of smiling and acting goofy, something I have to assume is against his usual nature, because it's a show for the kid, to make him feel better.

What's crazy is that Law asks Corazon if he's part of the Marines, because soldiers killed his family, his schoolmates, and his entire people, Corazon says no, and Law knows he's lying, but he smiles anyway. And when Corazon is bleeding on the snow, he apologizes for this deception to Doflamingo, but he really is apologizing to Law, but Law doesn't NEED an apology.

The way that Law's legs shook so bad when he approached Virgo, because of how scared he was of the Marines, how he sobbed and begged for help, but he leads Corazon to his murder anyway.

The way we see it sink in for Corazon that he's going to die here. He smiles, because if he's dying for this kid, then that's alright.

The way that Law dedicates his Entire adult life to Corazon, a man who showed Law love and compassion for just a handful of months. From his tattoos, to his crew name, to his righteous death, it's all for Corazon. How even though Corazon could not fire a single shot at his brother, Law believes Corazon would want to Law to avenge him. Law simply cannot comprehend that Corazon sacrificed himself for Law because he loved him unconditionally, as a parent would love a child. Law believes there has to be a Reason why. It's only after his talk with Sengoku he finally is able to understand the full scope of Corazon's love for him. For Law to kill himself for Corazon and not even understand he was loved...

Something interesting here I would like to note too, is that Law obviously blames himself for Dressrosa's fall into Doflamingo's hands, but at the same time, he doesn't seem to care that he'd be bringing hell upon the country if his plan worked. How paradoxical. We see Law put on a show of confidence and control that crumbles immediately the moment The Birdcage is raised. Law is paralyzed through most of the rest of the arc in sheer terror. Though, I am very fond of his audacity, with Doflamingo's gun pressed up against his head, "Bring back Corazon right now, and lick the asshole of every citizen of this country."

There are just so many layers of tragedy in Law's story it makes me want to wail at the sky. The fact that Corazon saw Doflamingo in Law, and in saving Law he could somehow retroactively save his brother, who he hated. And how he wasn't necessarily wrong, because what kind of person comes out of the Flevence genocide? But as Law puts it, "he gave me my heart."

[paintingwhiteceilings]

❃Seventeen and surviving the Titanic❃

a/n: this prompt was suggested by a good friend of mine. As much as I love writing more serious prompts, I live for these idiotic scenarios. The serious prompts will come, but for now, CHAOS!

Scoups/Seungcheol: Dead

❀ He wasn’t having a good time even before the boat began to sink. Instead of enjoying the luxurious holiday he deserves, he was too busy running around the deck trying to get the members to stop doing cannonballs in the community pool. DK and Hoshi had been such nuisances that they almost got banned from the upper deck, leaving Coups to smooth things over. Thus, when the ship starts to sink, he can’t even feel stressed about it; it fits perfectly with how the rest of the holiday had been going. 

❀ Despite being absolutely done with everyone and everything, he remains perfectly rational. He knows he has to act fast; he will stress about his situation later. His eye hasn’t stopped twitching, though. Ever since he realized that he would have to find all twelve of his members on the massive ship, he has been on the brink of a nervous breakdown. 

❀ Coups will be running across the boat, searching every nook and cranny to retrieve each member. Nobody on the ship dares to talk back to him when he picks the members up by the scruff of the neck to throw them into one of the dinghies. He is about to snap, and nobody on the ship wants to be the one who receives the brunt of his rant. Truly, with Coups on the boat, the members actually will have a decent chance of making it out alive.   

❀ He ultimately doesn’t make it to a dinghy because someone tries to argue with him. A Karen pops up next to him and demands that one of the members should switch with her. The moment she insults Seungkwan for being ‘selfish’ when he quietly tells her that he doesn't want to give up his seat, Coups grabs her by the hair, ready to tie her to a pole so she and her rudeness can die with the ship. Who does Karen think she is, insulting his children? Unfortunately, in his anger, he forgets to put his safety first, and as he is tightening the knots to ensure she won’t be going anywhere, the ship sinks. 

Jeonghan: Alive

❀ Why do you think the ship is sinking in the first place? He has been brewing this plan since the moment he set foot aboard. Do you think he wanted to go on an expensive boat ride, stuck with twelve energetic children? He made sure to puncture a hole in the hull of the boat the night before, hoping for the journey to be cancelled. Nah, I am kidding, but yeah, he definitely survives this. He is too clever not to, and with his quick thinking, he will make it out alive. He won't feel too responsible for the others' safety either, prioritizing his safety before anyone else's.

❀ Mr. Gaslight-Girl Boss-Gatekeep convinces everyone around him to let him onto the dinghy. He made up an entire backstory that makes him look like a saint. If they had to believe Jeonghan, he is currently working on a ground-breaking treatment against Rat Hallucinations. It is a very serious disease for rats, as when they hallucinate, they tend to mistake people's fingers and toes for food. He reveals that he has stumbled upon a massive finding in his research. Apparently, certain cheeses can induce hallucinatory effects, but before he was able to share it with his fellow scholars, he had to leave for this trip. 

❀ Hey, he had very little time to come up with something, and all he could think of was rats after he saw one scurry past him as he made his way over to the dinghies. If he had had more time, he probably could've come up with a more believable story.

❀ Surprisingly, the people waiting for their turn to board the dinghy actually believe him; most of them find the prospect of rats gnawing on their toes scarier than drowning.

Joshua: Dead

❀ Joshua finds himself stuck in a loop when the ship starts to sink. He made his way to the dinghies just fine, arriving at the correct side of the boat just as the crew began disembarking people. 

❀ Initially, Joshua was fully prepared to Gaslight-Girl Boss-Gatekeep himself onto a dinghy, ready to make up some ridiculous background story that would give him priority. However, once he saw people's desperation to get their children onto the dinghies, he couldn't get himself to lie.

❀ He starts helping the crew load the children onto the dinghies, doing his best to save as many people as he can. He doesn't take a single break until most of the children in his vicinity are aboard the dinghy. However, even when spots do open up for adults, he still refuses to disembark the ship in favour of letting others go first. In Joshua's opinion, it would be rude of him to leave the ship before everyone else has done so. It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of him.

❀ Everyone around him agrees that he deserves to leave; he acted so selflessly and helped so many people that it is only fair that he gets another chance to live. One lady, in particular, tries her best to convince him to board the dinghy. It turns into a "no after you" loop, where Joshua and the lady keep trying to get the other to disembark first. 

❀ Yes, Joshua wastes precious time being too polite, and it gets him killed in the end. 

Jun: Alive

❀ It is genuinely a miracle that Jun manages to survive the sinking of the Titanic. You see, he remembered a single survival tip and decided that now was as good as any time to try it out. He once read that fridges are great to hide in during nuclear attacks; surely, they can protect him from drowning as well. 

❀ He spends a considerable amount of time walking around the ship, selecting the most promising-looking fridge. Somewhere tucked away in the corner of a kitchen, he finds one that looks like it would work. It is big enough for him to fit in, but small enough that he can maybe get it to the upper deck. He is feeling very optimistic about it.

❀ It takes him a considerable amount of time to drag it up to the upper deck, getting help from a confused staff member passing him on his way up. They have asked him whether he wants to try to get on a dinghy instead, but he maintains that his fridge plan will work. The only reason they help him move the heavy fridge is because, well, they are going to die anyway. At the very least, his insane plan might work.

❀ They lower it into the water before Jun gets on. For those of us who are not aware of this fact, fridges float. Jun didn't even know that they did until he saw it casually float on the surface of the sea. It is not the most functional impromptu dinghy, but it works well enough to allow him to drift to the nearest piece of ice. 

❀ Yeah, he survives by sheer luck and insanity. 

Hoshi/Soonyoung: Dead

❀ In his never-ending quest to convince everyone that he is a tiger, Hoshi has decided the best moment to prove his theory is when the Titanic starts to sink. He reasons that being a tiger and all that, he must be skilled at swimming, considering that tigers are naturally born swimmers. Thus, in all his stupidity, he jumps straight into the ice-cold water. He regrets it immediately as the cold chills him right to the bone, realizing that the waters in which the tigers swim are probably considerably warmer. 

❀ Luckily for him, that is the moment when he meets DK in the water, floating aboard a door. He is just as soaked, but at the very least, the door is keeping him afloat despite his exhaustion. In the true Jack-and-Rose fashion, the two try their best to share the door. However, when Hoshi tries to climb aboard, their collective weight results in the door sinking beneath the surface. In order to save his best friend, he tries his hardest to cling on to its side, hoping that he can stick it out until rescue arrives. 

❀ DK has a death grip on his arms, and the two keep making stupid jokes the entire time, trying to keep each other awake and distracted. Some of the jokes might be made a bit too soon, like "What do you get when you cross the Atlantic with the Titanic? About halfway." or "Titanic, sorry, that was a terrible icebreaker." At the very least, DK and Hoshi are having a great time, giggling at their stupid jokes. 

❀ Despite Hoshi's sheer motivation, even he won't be able to deal with the hypothermia. Even when DK and he take turns resting on the door, Hoshi has been in direct contact with the water for much longer and will ultimately succumb to hypothermia. 

Wonwoo: Alive

❀ Well, technically, Wonwoo is screwed. Wonwoo has admitted before that he can't swim, so if he ends up in the water, he is most certainly dead. At the very least, he will not chance his life by jumping overboard, hoping that maybe he can swim ashore. No, he will try his chances with the overloaded dinghies instead. 

❀ What ends up saving Wonwoo in the end is his knowledge of boats. He has been researching the Titanic ever since Coups mentioned they would be taking a trip on it; it is a technical wonder, after all. He has been recounting fun facts about the Titanic the moment they stepped aboard, but the other members found them boring and told him to shut up. Well, guess who is having the last laugh? 

❀ He knows that something is wrong with the boat even before the crew does. When the other members wave away his worries, he decides to take action in his own hands. Even before the first alarm sounds, he has already reached the dinghies, ready to leave the ship. 

❀ He is one of the first ones to board the dinghy and part of the first batch of people who leave the sinking board. Thanks to his Titanic facts, he was able to be first in the queue and, therefore, made it out alive before the crew realized they needed to prioritize who would be leaving the boat. 

Woozi/Jihoon: Alive

❀ If it had been up to him, he would've given up on surviving long ago. The moment the boat started to sink, Woozi had accepted his fate, ready to go down with the ship. Why bother running around in a panic, trying to save yourself when you could use that time to enjoy your last moments? 

❀ Woozi is in no rush to make it off the boat; he even pauses in front of the orchestra, which has continued to play music as the ship sinks. It is a beautiful scene in his eyes; despite the chaos aboard, music continues to fill the night air, trying to tame the rising panic. For a moment, he feels overwhelmed by the strong emotions, before inspiration hits him. He has such an amazing idea for a song that he needs to write it down somewhere. Well, pen and paper are hard to find on a sinking ship, forcing Woozi to make his way to the dinghies. 

❀ The only reason why he can make it out on one of the dinghies is because people mistake him for being a child. He is so tiny that he won't take up much space anyway, and the crew argues that it doesn't matter whether he is a child or not. Woozi considers arguing with them before realizing that they are practically giving him a way out, so he lets the short comments slide for the first time in his life.

❀ He is grumpy the entire time, sulking that what saved him was being vertically challenged. When he meets up with the other surviving members, he will lie and tell them he was let on, as they trusted him to take care of the other children aboard. He will take it to the grave that they thought he was pocket-sized and a child.

DK/Seokmin: Alive

❀ Ah yes, the other member who finds himself floating on top of a door. DK survives by pure luck. Immediately when the boat started to sink, he grabbed onto the first object within his reach, and he still hasn't let go of it. That object happened to be a door. He blacked out for most of the sinking; he blinked twice and suddenly found himself in the water, floating on top of the door that he initially grabbed onto. Fortunately, he isn't too soaked; somehow, the door has been keeping him dry, for the most part, that is. 

❀ He is just as lucky to find Hoshi as Hoshi is to find him. DK has been panic crying the entire time, and Hoshi has been able to divert his attention from the disaster that the two have found themselves in. Hoshi is the one to suggest cracking jokes about their situation, knowing that DK could do with a cheering-up. The jokes are stupid, which is precisely what makes them funny. DK is the one to propose switching positions on the door, feeling bad for Hoshi having to float next to him in the cold water. 

❀ Once Hoshi drifts away, DK considers floating away with him. By some sheer luck, it is precisely that moment that a dinghy floats nearby, and they hoist him aboard. Huddled between all the dry and warm bodies, DK warms up in no time and gets some much-needed therapy from the sweet older ladies who sit on either side of him.

❀ After that night, they practically adopted him. After the rescue efforts have passed, they stay by his side, helping him find what is left of his members, before heading off to find their own family. He still visits them every other weekend and he makes sure to write them weekly letters to let them know how he is doing.

Mingyu: Dead

❀ Welcome to the tales and woes of Kim Mingyu's time on the Titanic. He wasn't really having fun, to begin with. The rocking of the boat constantly made him lose his footing on the deck, as he couldn't find his balance on the ship; he couldn't remember how many times he had tripped so far. Even worse were the waves, making him either fall over or drop whatever he is holding in order to steady himself. 

❀ When the ship started to sink and slowly tilted to one side, Mingyu found himself in a tiring game of evading rolling objects. So far, he is miserably losing, getting repeatedly hit by random things. He can't even make his way up to the dinghies; he hasn't even been able to move from the spot he was first in when the ship started sinking. For every step he is able to take, he ends up tripping and falling five steps back. He doesn't even understand how every object seems to hit him; he has somehow managed to trip over fifteen rolling cups and stepped right into the path of a sliding beach chair. 

❀ He finally gets taken out by a flying parasol that hits him squarely on the head, successfully knocking him out. Instead of stepping out of the way, he manages to step right into its path. His limp body rolls, together with everything else, off the side of the ship, and he hits the water, unconscious. 

❀ If he doesn't die from the head injury inflicted by the parasol, he will definitely die from drowning or hypothermia. Nobody bothers hoisting his unconscious ass aboard a dinghy; he is too tall to fit on the already overly full rescue boats. 

The8/Minghao: Alive

❀ Minghao has meditated so much that he simply levitates above the surface of the sea. Why worry about floating when you can fly? This is the moment he has been training for, to let go of all his worldly ties and, quite literally, ascend. Consequentially, as the chaos ensues around him, he can be seen sitting perfectly still on top of the deck, meditating. 

❀ All jokes aside, his meditation does allow him to keep cool, calm and collected. Compared to some of the more stress-prone members, he can stay level-headed, understanding that it will do him no good if he starts freaking out. He is the only one who notices when Wonwoo slips away and does not hesitate to follow him; he knows that regardless of whether his warning is unfounded, it would not hurt to follow Wonwoo to the dinghies. 

❀ As a result, he finds himself happily next to Wonwoo when the ship starts to sink. Wonwoo feels incredibly touched at the trust Minghao put into his deduction; in reality, Minghao didn't really expect the boat to sink but partly wanted an excuse to take a break from the other members. Still, he will pretend for Wonwoo's ego that he definitely thought that Wonwoo was onto something. 

❀ He will be the type to point around, trying to spot the other members, judging them for how well they managed to escape the sinking boat. Honestly, he and Wonwoo are having a bit of a blast with it. 

Seungkwan: Dead

❀ Seungkwan is so incredibly scared when the ship starts to sink. Not because he feels like he will drown, but because he feels like he has made so many enemies aboard who would want him dead. He should've known better than continuously nagging the crew and other passengers, but could you really blame him? The coffee they were serving was atrocious, and if he didn't suggest changing it, they would all still be drinking dirty bean water instead of quality crafted Iced Americano.

❀ He regrets it now, as he hurries towards the dinghies, constantly watching his back. Despite his paranoia and vigilance, he doesn't notice the dark figure slowly creeping up behind him, following him closely like a shadow. Seungkwan does feel a chill running up his spine, and he can't shake the feeling that someone is watching him, but every time he turns around, he can't figure out why. Unfortunately, that is the last time that Seungkwan is seen alive.

❀ Before he knows it, he suddenly gets ambushed as someone grabs him from behind. Nobody knows where he went or whether he made it off the boat for the longest time. It's only when the rescue team recovers his body, floating face-down in the water, that it becomes apparent that foul play is involved in his death. 

❀ To this day, his death has gone unsolved; his story is hugely popular in conspiracy communities. He would be proud of the countless videos discussing his death and how he managed to inspire decades worth of conspiracy theorists. 

Vernon: Dead

❀ Vernon was never in any danger to begin with. As an alien who travelled back in time from his planet to observe how humans deal with catastrophes, he is rather enjoying his time aboard the sinking Titanic. He looks completely out of place as he wanders around, humming a tune under his breath as he observes the absolute chaos around him.

❀ Okay, I know I have used the Vernon-is-an-alien-joke way too often, but, in reality, Vernon will not survive whatsoever. Vernon isn't even aware that the boat is sinking; he decides to take a relaxing bath after dinner, and he is so absorbed in his own world that he doesn't even notice that the boat is dangerously tilting to one side. Even when he does, he gaslights himself into believing that it is part of the experience or due to some rocky waves.

❀ Even when it slowly starts to dawn on him that the ship is sinking, he can't move fast enough to get to the deck, let alone the dinghies. Vernon doesn't run; he is not about to change that for a life-threatening situation. At most, he is jogging up the many flights of stairs, trying to make his way to the upper deck. Nobody knows where he is, either, leaving him to figure out what to do all by himself.

❀ He arrives too late on the upper deck, noticing that all the dinghies have already left and that most people have already taken whatever object might help them stay afloat. Instead of trying to jump into the water, he will simply sit down and accept his fate. He finds some left-behind food, which he nibbles on as the ship sinks, taking him with it.

Dino/Chan: Alive

❀ You might be thinking, "Wait, Dino survives? How? Do you mean to tell me he survives his members, all whilst a boat is sinking? Do they suddenly baby him?" The answer is no; he survives because they forgot to bring him in the first place. In his hurry to leave on time, Scoups miscounted, and Dino, who was still on the toilet, got unceremoniously left behind. Honestly, he doesn't even mind it that much; being home alone was better than any holiday where his members would bully him. 

❀ He is thriving back home. Suddenly, his skin has cleared, and for the first time in a long while, he doesn't constantly feel hopeless. He gets to do and eat whatever he wants, not getting out-vetoed by his members. Sure, eating pancakes drenched in syrup and a mountain of whipping cream for breakfast every single morning for weeks might not be good for you, but he is young; his metabolism can handle it. 

❀ Still, when he hears about the Titanic sinking, he makes his way to the dock where the survivors gather. Initially, he is worried sick, praying that his members make it out okay, but when it becomes apparent that they hadn't noticed he was missing for the past few weeks, that worry melts away really quickly. 

❀ Honestly, as he listens to their stories, he can't help but wonder whether he can stage another maritime disaster where the remaining members accidentally perish. Maybe he can drown them himself in the harbour when nobody is watching. 

masterlist

[theheightofdishonor]

ok so final thoughts on high school frenemy, going backwards from the ending to the beginning. I think the ending was significantly weaker and also i'm just a negative person who has to get stuff I dislike off my chest before I can discuss the positive aspects so- I swear I didn't hate this show but

the Jan plot at the end annoyed the fuck out of me, I won't lie. While Jan's trying her best and she's a sympathetic character, she did in fact choose to go along with the principal's ideas and select Peeta instead of Eve and thus, act as another cog in the machine that's always going to give preferential treatment to kids who have wealth and power at their disposal. Her actions have a direct impact, they have consequences, and her inability to acknowledge the violence that SHE had part in perpetuating irritated me so much. It does in fact look like she's giving preferential treatment, like she's spinelessly bowing down to what the administration and parents' association wants- and the kids ask her, their initial response even is to understand that forces above her probably forced her hand and Jan's the one who insists on taking responsibility for the decision and seriously, how can she blame them for not trusting her afterwards. And then the girls having to apologize to HER instead of her at any point apologizing to them for betraying their tentative trust?

also like 3 different groups of people had to come to her house to get her back, I was so sick of this nonsense

the dragon fang(?) ending fight was so lame. I expected Saint with his steel body and reputation to have gotten some more fighting done. Sung singlehandedly beating the entire gang felt soooo teacher ex-machina, like yes his backstory involves him being part of a gang back in the day but idk, I don't think he had the credibility to pull this off even though I did expect some involvement from him

I also wanted the whole thing about Jung's brother to be brought back in that jung-sung confrontation, like I was anticipating some kind of devastating emotional attack from sung yk and was sorely disappointed

ken's final arc, the saving him from the gang or whatever was fairly good, I liked how resistant Ken was, Kay did some fantastic acting in that section.

the whole 'oh we're all friends now' shtick didn't really work for me

i think this is one of those shows where i'd be ok or even encourage them to have ambivalent or slightly hopeful endings instead of 'happy ever after'

andl I got fatigue from all the dramatic resolutions happening back to back for like 3-4 episodes straight

especially because the plot distribution up to this point was like 85% shinsaint 15% everyone else and then tipping that so much so suddenly made the unevenness stand out more? if that makes sense?

let's talk about the girls now because man- first of all, who told these writers that girls can't throw a punch and instead solely fight through pulling each other's hair? Let's please stop this

secondly- i've never said this about view but I didn't like her character. She's pulled characters that are very reminiscent of this before- 23.5, I think trainee from the little i've seen of it, my precious to an extent, home school I think, but in this genre and setting, it felt so fake and unrealistic. No one acts like that. (this was so painful to me because view's my favorite actress at gmmtv and I have never once criticized her)

viewjune as a whole felt like echoes of their 23.5 dynamic but like not in a way I can describe, rather just the vibes

i also felt that the focus on them as a 'ship' meant that they had like 0 interactions with anyone else except peeta

we see eve and saint be friends at the beginning and earn's character also be friends with them as a little trio and never see that again

they could've also leaned into the love triangle aspect with peeta/eve/airey? more

overall I think the way they depicted the school ecosystem and all of its players and how they interact w/ each other was fairly decent until the last act

i liked in the beginning how Jan was trying to do good and it wasn't working or it wouldn't turn out how she wanted

i liked how Jung and Jan played off of each other

like it touches on the systemic and cyclic nature of what happens at the school even if lightly and similar to every other school-based drama out there, I still liked it (initially)

ooh Took! I love Took, I think she needs a gl, like a slice of life where she's a single mom and idk falls in love with her kids teacher or someone at the convenience store next door etc. Tons of possibilities. I thought it was hilarious whenever she slapped Saint and also very understandable. I wish we just got more of her in general?

also- that scene where shin and saint basically come out ab their relationship or whatever reminded me soooo much of in something in my room where her son also comes out about about his relationship

the way that shin was like "I know he broke my leg and destroyed my dreams and left me traumatized and depressed but I LOVE him mom" = phat in simr saying "I know he's literally dead but I LOVE him mom". Took's always having to deal with shit like this I swear

ok now for Shin and Saint

I think Shin's by far the more likable and sympathetic one? Is that just me?

like even in the beginning when saint's doggedly following him around with dejected puppy eyes, it's so clear on shin's face how affected he is by saint's presence and how the fear of getting left behind and hurt by saint still haunts him

even when you don't know exactly what happened you can't help but chafe a bit against saint just barging past any boundaries shin tries to set (which in hindsight was one of the few things saint did right but still)

Shin in general is just sooo precious

He absolutely cannot hide anything on his face

I just love characters where they're super snarky and sharp on the outside when they care deeply on the inside

It's just such a vibe. So I LOVE shin

I love saint possibly more but it's because I find him to be such a flawed annoying little thing

Saints just so frustrating that it makes him interesting

Like I'm just as annoyed as shin when he tries to goad saint into fighting for him, into being possessive and resolute, and then saint starts the 'oh I'm not good enough to stay by your side but I still want to' shtick and I'm sighing in tandem with shin (which btw, that whole little routine is so funny because by the 10th time, shins so fucking annoyed and it bleeds through the screen)

Saint just keeps shying away from his own decisions and being wishy washy and it's so funny the way that it's in total misalignment from whatever shin wants and is feeling at any given time.Like these two have dogshit timing and I love that for them

Unrelated but it's hilarious whenever they keep getting sucked into their own little world and people have to remind them that other people exist too

Overall, I think the show was fairly solid if a bit repetitive and even it's weak third act wasn't unforgivable compared to some of the horrid third acts gmmtvs given us this year

And I def enjoyed the toxic codependent nonsense that shinsaint had going on

[asherisawkward]

Personally I don't think we should accuse Dana of hating Belos or his fans just because of how his character was treated. For all we know, she MIGHT have legitimately believed this was the best direction to go and while I agree the shortening doesn't excuse everything, we should still take it into account.

At the same time I do think she fumbled the ball badly considering how we are all so willing to believe the worst, especially considering what we do know (like how he was based on conservative relatives or all the storyboards that actually seemed to give him some nuance were rejected).

The way that Philip was treated is not indicative of Dana Terrace liking him. Pardon me, this is going to get a little rant-y, but this is a topic that pisses me off. (Not your fault, and I am not angry at you, Anon.)

He was set up with a tragic backstory and depth to him, only for him to become progressively more and more like a caricature of himself while valuable and limited time that would have been used to explain his past or reasoning was wasted on minor characters (Kikimora and Boscha at Hexside) that did nothing to really advance the plot. This continued, only for the tragic and heart-wrenching nature of his childhood to be completely ignored, for the writers to treat the person who abandoned him without any family or way to care for himself like an absolute saint, and have the straight up god of the Boiling Isles call him utterly evil and act as if the beliefs that drove him to mutilate his body beyond repair and sacrifice the thing that mattered most about himself are utterly pretend.

He’s then treated like a joke with an utterly pathetic last ditch attempt to survive (that would never have worked and makes everything he’s done to get into power laughable and makes the residents of the Boiling Isles look like a joke) before getting killed in an utterly lame way after he’s no longer a threat after he survived something far more severe, making the way he’s killed even more unrealistic for a way to permanently get rid of him. Then, the series acts like everything goes to being perfect (with only minor references to some work repairing the Isles) and that all the evil left once he was gone.

How could this be the best way to treat such an important character in the series? He’s literally responsible for everything happening. That is not the way you treat the villain of a series; it is not the way you treat a character you like.

I’m going to stop here before I get myself more worked up.

Sorry, Anon.

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

thinking about the dsmp steven universe au again bc like. c!dream as a diamond makes rose quartz seem like a fucking saint. like he gave zero shits about the morality of the other diamonds and participated in awful shit gleefully. he intentionally “broke” his first pearl bc he bored him and only spared the second (c!tommy) bc he found the fact he was defective fascinating and he basically treated him like an experiment on homeworld (tho tbf tommy would have been shattered if he didn’t do that, he was also genuinely protecting him by keeping him around to study). he ran off to earth and started the rebellion because he was bored and he found earth and humans interesting, but he didn’t have any moral oppositions to homeworld or anything. he protected gems deemed defective solely because he had an academic interest in them, and even though some of them (namely, the surviving crystal gems in this au that aren’t c!tommy) thought he was their friend he just saw them as test subjects. his only Actual friend was tommy and he was awful to him, and while he treated him vaguely better than on homeworld he did physically and mentally abuse him and never stopped giving him orders. having a half human child (namely, c!ranboo) was an impulsive suicidal act, and he left him without even knowing who his other parent was or any provisions to take care of him. he did genuinely help by starting a revolution against an incredibly corrupt regime but it was all for selfish reasons.

(for those wondering who some of the other characters are, they’re not super defined, but a philza/kristin fusion is sorta in the role of garnet tho i'm not sure who to pick for amethyst (personality doesn’t matter esp bc Tommy is the big sibling sorta role here, it’s the backstory and stuff that matters most). Tubbo is connie obviously. xd is white diamond and his Pearl/Dream’s original Pearl is George, spinel is sapnap (he got abandoned immediately after tommy existed). peridot is Jack Manifold and lapis is niki. everyone else is up in the air tho).

[howhow326]

Persona 5 Thiefsona

Picture made using お隣男子メーカー Picrew

Howie Mizuki

Age: 15 (06/28)

Highschool: Shujin Academy

Codename: Angel

Theif outfit: His thief outfit is a navy leather body suit with a studded leather jacket(of the same color) and boots. His gloves are bright cyan(like yusuke but less saturated) and go over his sleeves. His outfit also has a blue devil tail attached to it and a black wings print on the back of his jacket. His mask is cyan and has to devil horns protruding above his eye brows.

Thief Weapons: Tridents and Pepperboxes

Backstory: A half African American, half Japanese first year at Shujin Academy. Because of his heritage and shy demeanour, Mizuki dosen't have many close friends, which makes him desperate to prove himself to others by acting like a morally upstanding student. Mizuki also has a special interest in Detective work, having looked up to the original detective prince since a young age.

After Kamoshida has his heart stolen by the Phantom Thieves, Mizuki believes this is his chance to solve a great mystery like his hero. Having witnessed the day Kamoshida confronted Ryuji over the calling cards, Mizuki guesses that Sakamoto is the Thieves leader. Mizuki then follows the Thieves into Mementos, which gives his phone the Meta-nav app.

After feeling rebellious, Mizuki gains a thief outfit but no persona. Mizuki then encounters the Thieves and challenges them to a battle... and loses. However, Mizuki's will to rebel against the Thieves and bring them to justice awakens within him a persona, Saint. His persona has power over truth, which grants Mizuki a minor navigation ability, and power over deception, which grants Mizuki illusion based powers, reflecting Mizuki's unconscious belief that the truth is more subjective than he thinks it is. Before the Thieves can properly explain what's going on, Mizuki uses his persona's power to escape.

From then on, Mizuki works to stop the Phantom Thieves by fighting them in Mementos, but losing each time. Mizuki decides against telling the police on them because he dosen't have any solid evidence on them and because he secretly wonders if the Phantom Thieves are right.

When Akechi makes his deal with the Phantom Thieves, Mizuki approaches him with the small amount of evidence he collected during his journey. Akechi then "introduces" Howie into the Phantom Thieves as another member that will also "disappear" after Sae's heart is stolen. During the mission for the frame up, the Phantom Thieves position Howie in a safe place where he could see for himself that Akechi was corrupt. Howie then realises that he was wrong all along, and joins the Phantom Thieves of his own accord to help take down Shido.

Arcana - Moon

Persona - Saint

Stats at lv 99

HP- 495

SP- 355

Str- 30

Mag- 82

End- 50

Agi- 72

Lck- 70

Persona trait - Illusionary Trick (Increase allies chance of inflicting mental ailments by 50%)

Strong- Ice/ Weak- Fire-Psy

◇Skills◇

Innate: Bufudyne

Innate: Mabufudyne

Innate: Psiodyne

Innate: Brain Jack

Innate: Kougaon

Innate: Evil smile

Innate: Ice Boost

Innate: Freeze boost

Lv. 46: Abysmal surge

Lv. 47: Invigorate 2

Lv. 49: Eigaon

Lv. 53: Ali dance

Lv. 55: Ghastly wail

Lv. 56: Ice amp

Lv. 58: Concentrate

Lv. 61: Invigorate 3

Lv. 66: Diamond dust

Lv. 69: Ice age

Ultimate persona - Melek Taus

Drain- Ice/ Block- Bless-Curse/ Weak-Fire-Psy

Ultimate skill: Angelic grace

Third Semester Persona - Dismas

Upgraded Persona trait - Phantasmagoric Trick (Increase allies chance of inflicting mental ailments by 75%)

Third Semester skill: Cocytus Waves - light ice damage to all foes 4 to 8 times

[tell-me-your-vision]

Wait no I think the big difference is WHO they punished.

Aleksander punished Genya, who never got a choice about being in the situation to begin with, and couldn’t bring herself to kill someone she’d called a friend. He punished her for choosing her morality and autonomy over him.

Kaz punished Bolliger because he betrayed them out of greed. He didn’t have to do it. He didn’t have to join the Dregs and then snitch on them for extra coin. He wasn’t forced into making that choice. He deliberately and knowingly put himself in a position where he could gain the trust of Kaz’s people, and then betray them for his own people.

And (even without Kaz’s very traumatic backstory to explain why he would hate that) I think we can all understand why punishing the snitch is not remotely the same as what Aleksander did to Genya.

Also, there’s a whole other level to this with how much power Aleksander has vs Kaz, and what the consequences would be if they didn’t make an example out of Bolliger/Genya. You know like, “every thug in the city thinking they have a shot at going after the Dregs without consequence” vs “people thinking that maybe if the Darkling has known you since you were a child, and you were only making a difficult moral choice because you were forced into that position, then maybe he won’t brutalize you.” Not to mention Kaz’s power is based on his reputation, and Aleksander’s is based on him being a literal human weapon of mass destruction. Even if every thug in Ketterdam thought Aleksander was an easy mark, he could just, you know, stop them. With his weapon of mass destruction powers.

And, yeah, Kaz didn’t ensure Bolliger lived. But the gang Bolliger had chosen over them knew he needed help. Yes, it is still wrong to leave Bolliger to possibly die (I’m not claiming Kaz is a saint here). But Bolliger made his choice of allies. Bolliger chose himself and the rival gang. It might not be right, but there is a certain logic to leaving his fate up to Bolliger and the rival gang. Since that is what Bolliger chose himself after all. Sure, Kaz could have ensured he lived, but the purpose of a gang is to get all the benefits- notably, help and protection- of being in that gang. No gang member in the world- fictional or otherwise- thinks you can betray your gang so hard you deliberately set them up to get picked off by snipers, and still expect to get any of the benefits of being in that gang (like, you know, help and protection). Again, I’m not saying Kaz was making a morally GOOD decision, I am just saying why I understand why the fandom largely sees Kaz’s decision as understandable given the situation, instead of as something “absolutely evil” or “wrong” or “twisted” and “disgusting” like you say. It was a morally wrong decision sure, but it doesn’t come across as unnecessarily cruel, or even personal (like Aleksander’s attack on Genya’s beauty knowing its importance to her. He didn’t have to make his punishment for her something personal and the public would still learn from the example. Making his punishment for her something personal was just to twist the knife).

TLDR:

You can love Aleksander. Of course you can! Dark messed up characters can be fun af! There’s a lot to enjoy about them! But it’s important to be respectful and understanding that other people aren’t going to like that character. And that’s fine too! But it does not come across well when you call the fandom hypocritical because it largely prefers immoral act over another, then selectively present facts to present those two acts as equivalent, and then say your preferred bad guy is the better one actually. What happens when you present an argument that way, is that makes it seem like you are saying YOU know who the morally superior character is, YOUR argument is correct, and everyone else’s reasons for liking another character/scene more must be WRONG and they HYPOCRITES.

It just comes across really really bad? And I’m sure you didn’t mean it to come across that way. But it definitely reads like you think people who enjoyed Kaz’s opening SOC scene but hate what Aleksander did to Genya are all hypocrites and too stupid to have actual reasons for being alright with one and not the other. Obviously, as I’ve listed above and other’s have commented as well, we have reasons. We’re not hypocrites or too stupid to know better.

There are plenty of respectful ways to ask other fans why they feel that way about one character’s actions and not another, instead of assuming ignorance and/or hypocrisy.

Okay, so, I don't know if anybody already pointed this out, so bear with me.

Let me paint you a picture of hypocricy I found in the fandom, okay?

At the start of Six of Crows Kaz Brekker leaves one of his people for dead because he betrayed him and the gang. He was snitching to one of the other gangs in Barrel.

And.

In the second book of TGT (second season of the show) Aleksander punishes Genya by taking her beauty away from her (scars from the Nichevo'ya) for betraying him and deserting to the other side of the conflict (joining Alina/deciding to flee).

They both serve as an examples for others to avoid doing the same mistakes. Essentially very similar actions taken for the same purpose.

Now.

There are two main differences between these two events.

The first being that one is considered as 'badass' and 'cool' and 'normal for his job' and the other one is considered as 'absolutely evil' and 'wrong' and 'twisted' and 'disgusting'. You all can probably guess which one is which.

But do you know what other difference there is?

Aleksander made sure to keep them alive, Kaz didn't.

I don't think I need to say any more.

[davekat-sucks]

Weird that people give Dave a pass for everything because he is an abuse victim.

My father was abused as a child, he was beat cruelly, insulted, and even once his father got this mirror, a mirror used to see behind horses, and had my father look at it and say he was nothing but a horse's ass. He was abused from birth until his mother took all her kids and ran away when he was still a child and eventually did get adopted by his mom's new husband. I can say he was a child who was abused in every way possible. HOWEVER. My father then later abused me. Still abuses me. From birth to present. He would do everything but hit me, because he knew my mom would literally kill him for that, but he still did everything he could to make my life hell.

My father's childhood is a reason to why he is the way he is, but is not an excuse. It doesn't make what he does okay. Nor would it be okay if I abused my wife or was toxic to her because of my #tragicbackstory

I do appreciate Dave's backstory, even his speech about abuse not making him stronger, like is stereotypically believed, but I still criticize him as a person. Rose Lalonde was neglected, depressed, cynical, all because her mother was such an alcoholic that she would rather drink than check on her daughter. We see Rose even threatening suicide with her strife vs her mom and the mom disregards it. Rose already had a pre disposition to alcoholism and addictive behavior due to her mom, but then deals with childhood depression and gets traumatic event after event happening and this results in her becoming an alcoholic too. And no, hussie, you don't cure alcoholism. Once you are an addict, you always are. It just changes over time. Rose literally believed even to her death in game over that SHE was a bad daughter, that her mom was great, she blamed herself. And no! Irl she would've been visited by cps. Although the mom is rich so probably nothing would've happened.

That's not even touching the tragedy of Jade Harley. Jade who could've seen her friends at any point, but Bec freaking kept her (ignorantly) captive on the island instead of teleporting her to see anyone. She was born alone and lived that way for her whole childhood.

I even criticize Dad Egbert, who people view as a saint and if you criticize him you must be a douchebag. John Egbert clearly suffered with depression even before the game began. He spoke in the first act about losing interest in things he used to love, being frustrated even, he also kept telling his dad he didn't like Betty crocker shit anymore but he didn't listen! Any good parent would see that something is wrong and get their kid help. Love does not cure depression. I think dad did love John, but that alone doesn't help mental illness. John in the epilogues even suffers from extreme depression, guilt, dread, and feels empty. He was also traumatized like the other kids, hell, seeing his dad dead would be enough to get diagnosed with PTSD for some psychs. But nooooooo he is perfectly fine! His dad is soooo nice why should he be upset? Why be so sad John? (I'm mocking Rose, who literally was like "yeah you're dad is nice so why are you upset John." I'll criticize everyone here)

People replying to you need to stop being so vitriolic. DaveKat can be fun, but dear God, if you think hussie put it in for anything but brownie points you are deluded. The man who knew he had bad pr because he literally had Karkat calling people the r slur, he even called Vriska the f slur due to her future self's screen name. Feferi called Jade the r slur. Vriska is a sexual abuser and also ableist early on. The man even said Kanaya wasn't a lesbian, just had a fetish for women. "TROLL JEWISH." Is apparently what Terezi is because she has a big nose. We have a word for that fellas! Hell, in the epilogues, DIRK CONTROLS DAVE TO MAKE OUT WITH KARKAT. He controls Rose/Manipulates her and she calls him Daddy and flirts with him. He uses his powers to do this. He even laments and is made at calliope for not making Dave and Karkat make out in candy and instead having them just talk. Hussie views DaveKat as a novelty. He views RoseMary probably as a fetish (a ship I don't like, sorry Kanaya, you don't exist outside of rose anymore and never will, good thing in hs2 you get cucked in both timelines)

Hell, let's address Jade and Rose's kid. I'm trans. People say Jade is trans because she has a dog dick from bec, this is even canonical. Yeah. Why people are okay with this I'll never know. But Rose cheats on Kanaya. It's cheating. It's straight up cheating. It's not an open relationship. It's clearly closed. Hell, in the other epilogue she becomes a robot and says fuck you Kanaya I'm with my kind of dad now. (Then again the hs2 writers actually don't like rosemary so. But if hussie didn't enjoy this then he would've said something about it. I guess as long as they don't touch his femdom fetish Vriska he is okay with it)

Everything you said here is very well said! Say it loud and proud!

[persephones-wren]

Hi, so I had this idea for a Kaz Brekker x reader one shot were kaz is have trouble sleep and is becoming tired and grumpy during the day. So, the reader starts secretly putting lavender in his room and clothes (lavender is a good herb to aid sleeping). He starts sleeping better and doesn’t know why until he finds the reader in his room and then they can have a bit of fluff at the end of something. Idk hope you find this useful <3. Have a nice day/night!

Lavender (Kaz Brekker x Reader)

First request! Thank you for the idea anon <3 sorry this took a bit long, but I really enjoyed writing it and I think it turned out alright! I hope you like it as well :)

Warnings: spoilers for Kaz’s backstory

Genre: Angst to Fluff (?) 

Word Count: 2082

He thought he had outrun the nightmare of his past.

The gloves had protected him, becoming his weapon, and the reputation that followed him had been another impenetrable fortress. How ironic that the one who led him back to his past was himself.

...

It was on a mission gone wrong, where the only way of escape was down, back in the cold harbors of Ketterdam. The frigid waters had brought his brother’s bloated and ice-cold corpse underneath his hands, fighting to keep his vision from blurring, fighting to keep himself alive.

“...Kaz!” 

You were treading the water lightly, trying to stay afloat while supporting him. He tried to say something, anything, but he felt as if he were drowning as you half-hazardly pulled him onto the dock, your breath ragged and your shoulders sagging. He seemed to see right through you, and he was pale and shaking slightly, not just from the cold- something there had haunted him, though. It was obviously more than just the cool waters.

“Kaz, are you alright?” Your inquiry went unanswered, and you waited patiently, before he somewhat snapped to attention, roughly pushing himself off of you, probably bruising your shoulder as he stood and backed away furiously.

“Don’t touch me, get off of me-” he forced a shuddery breath in- “I’m fine.”

Your eyes were wide as you stared at him, and he cleared his throat and refused to look at you. He didn’t apologize, nothing of the sort, because Kaz Brekker never apologized, even rare and brief moments of weakness.

Kaz Rietveld might’ve apologized to you.

“Right, okay,” your voice was soft, but firm. “We should find the others, they’ll probably be at the meeting spot.”

You both got up slowly, muscles sore and stiff from hitting icy waters, but you swiftly and quietly towards the carriages Jesper had prepared. Neither of you said a word on the way back. Upon your arrival, both Inej and Jesper grew increasingly concerned at your condition.

“What the hell happened to you two?” Jesper had asked.

“Are you two alright?” Inej echoed.

“We survived,” you muttered, sparing a small glance at Kaz, who still wasn’t saying much. “It’s a long story.”

...

Long story indeed.

Kaz had presumed that you had told them what had happened, but he was almost praying to the Saints that you had left out the details of his condition. It wasn’t that he would necessarily be too ashamed to ever tell Jesper or Inej- but they needed him for his reliability, and any moment of weakness could be used against him, both by friends and enemies. He’d prefer that Jordie be kept with him only. After all, it only took a couple shots for Jesper to reveal almost anything.

He didn’t sleep well that night, hell, he didn’t think he’d sleep right for at least a month. His normal sleep schedule was one that could barely keep a normal person running, but with his brother lurking in every corner of his unconsciousness, it was better to stay awake, where he could be in control.

It was affecting his mood, he knew that. He had to heavily restrain himself not to snap at people, but even without snapping, his words were still scathing. He’d find more to criticize, more to hate, and he’d probably scolded every member of the Dregs in the last week. Everyone, except you. Whether it was because you were there with him or it was something more, that wasn’t something he wanted to think about.

Then suddenly, the insomnia stopped.

It had only been a week, before his sleeping schedule reverted back. Jordie was there, but it was more of what he could remember in life than death, smiles and sunshine rather than plague and death. It was a bittersweet sadness, but it had been one he’d grown used to, one he could get past quicker. He fixed himself back into his office, working on another plan rather than hovering over everyone just to find something to criticize. 

What had changed?

It might’ve been the light smell of herbs, was that lavender? that permeated his office now, but he’d never caught the culprit of who had done it. And despite his ability to find cracks in any facade, he had caught no lies in any members of the Dregs. 

His first thought had been you, admittedly. He knew you knew something the others didn’t, you saw him panic on the docks, and he knew you could act your way through nearly anything. It didn’t seem hard to put two and two together.

But you seemed honest enough, when he had asked you. Perhaps it was his like of you that clouded his judgement, but you genuinely didn’t seem to know anything.

…

“Stop that.”

“Huh?” you whirled around, and Kaz was there, cane in hand, glare piercing through you.

“Stop putting whatever herbs in my room.”

You stared at him, confused, before you burst out laughing. “Is someone putting herbs in your room? That’s why your office always smells like lavender now...I’m sorry, Kaz, but that isn’t me, although it would be funny if it was. Ha...I don’t think I could get away with sneaking in your office if I tried.”

“Any ideas who it could be, then?” He asked impatiently.

“I’m sorry, I have no idea. It could be anyone, really. Even though I-” was the one who saw you at the docks, the words hung unspoken, “um, yeah, everyone’s noticed you’ve been different. Truthfully though, I think they just think it’s because a mission went wrong.”

“Fine.” He nodded at you, and then he’d went to go find Jesper at the Crow Club.

It was a truth, in a way. You couldn’t go around sneaking herbs in his room. You weren’t silent enough for that, you were an actress, not a shadow. Inej, however, was the Wraith, and if anyone could get away with it, it’d be her. 

So you’d ask for her help, whether it was distracting him or asking her to put the herbs in herself.

And you’d both play dumb until he was back to the person you knew.

…

It had only been one unfortunate night, where you were finally caught putting the lavender on his desk.

You had gotten better at just sneaking in and doing it yourself without Inej’s help, as you’d successfully done it for at least three nights in the past month. Tonight, though, Inej had been running some other task, probably nightly reports for Kaz, and luck had finally run out without her assistance.

“Y/N.”

You froze, and a chill ran down your spine. Though Kaz Brekker was never exactly friendly by any means, the slight warmth of his tone towards you had withered into frost. You were completely fucked. If he was lucky, maybe he’d let you out of the Crows alive. He doesn’t think you’re the one putting lavender in this room- he probably thinks you’re a traitor. Have fun talking yourself out of this one without admitting to it, you berated yourself. Saints know you’ll need the luck.

“If you’re here to steal plans and distribute them, then it’s certainly a pity that I liked you,” he muttered. “And I suppose even more impressive that you had me fooled.” He advanced forward, and his slammed his cane into the ground next to you, making you flinch. “How did you do it, then?”

“I- um, well, it’s,” you tripped, frantically trying to find the words, “it’s nothing like that. I’m not taking your plans. They have no use to me. I dislike Pekka just as much as you do. Do you think missions I’ve done with you would’ve gone successfully if I was working with him?”

“If you aren’t, then why are you in my office?”

“I’m just trying to-” you cut yourself off and sighed. Help was not going to be a good word to use. Kaz didn’t need help, and he’d probably just be more furious it you stated it for how it was. “Lavender is good for sleeping.”

He had long forgotten that someone actually had to be putting the lavender there. It just showed up now, for a month. He’d just accepted it.

“So it’s you, then?”

“Yeah,” you say sheepishly. “I’m sorry I lied to you, earlier. I don’t like seeing you in pain, though. People rely on you, they need you, Kaz, and well, I thought- never mind what I thought. I just hoped you would rest better, after...”

“You didn’t tell them what happened?”

There’s an odd vulnerability in his words, but you don’t remark on them. “No.” A faint smile is etched on your lips at the thought of your lie. “I told them that you were upset that the mission had gone wrong, and that it was mostly my fault. You scolded me on the docks and gave me the silent treatment in the carriage, that’s all it was to them. If you want to talk- I mean- what happened there?”

You know you’re seconds away from breaking the ice you’d been treading on lightly, but curiosity takes the better of you for a second before you’re rapidly apologizing, getting ready to leave the office before he kills you.

He found you in his office, he thought you stole plans, and then you admit you’ve been there more than once because you’re the girl who put lavender in his room. You really need to think things through more. 

“Good that you didn’t tell them. Stop apologizing. Take a seat, for a second.”

You do so, keeping your questions to yourself. He stares at you for a long moment, conflicted, before he gathers himself again. “What happened at the harbors. I had a brother, Jordie Rietveld. He died during the plague. We both got thrown in the harbor. He was dead. I was alive, surrounded by death.” He’s quiet for a bit, but when he glances at your expression, there’s no pity, no horror on your face, you don’t believe he’s weak. You’re quietly waiting for him to continue. So he does. 

“I needed to get back onto land. I got there using my brother to hold onto.”

“You wear gloves because of that now,” you point out quietly. 

He takes a shuddering breath in. “Yes.”

“When we had to dive, it came back to you. Kaz,” you whisper, “thank you for telling me.”

 “Thank you,” he echoes your words. He’s shaking and vulnerable, even though he hasn’t said much. Even then, there’s no look of fear or judgement of anything he’s done in your expression. The respect he has worked to earn is still there, and he could sigh in relief.

He’s twisting at his hands, before you realize he’s slowly slipping off his gloves. Your voice cuts through the air, talking frantically again. “No, no- Kaz, we don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to do this if you’re not ready- you don’t have to-”

“I want to.”

His voice is quiet, but full of resolve.

“Okay.”

His hands are normal. They’re not ugly, or disfigured, or strange. They fit him.

“Your hands are pretty.” The words slip out of you before you realize.

He laughs, a little breathless, and the tension eases a little. “My hands are pretty?” 

“Yeah.”

You outstretch your hand, and he waits a couple of moments before slowly interlocking it with yours. It’s sickening and he has to will himself to hold on, but he does. He feels content, content that you’re here, content that you’re willing to help him.

“You can let go if you need to.” Your voice sounds far away.

“I’m alright.” He’s not, but you’re warm. You’re alive, you’re not Jordie. He’s in his office, with the girl who put lavender in his room, not in the cold harbor with death.

You both stay for a long while, before he lets go.

“Thank you,” he repeats, before he slips on his gloves again.

“It’s nothing,” you answer, but you both know it’s everything, everything to you, everything to him. 

You start to walk towards the door, before his voice calls out again. “Tomorrow. I can’t promise I’ll-” be a good person, be the person you want, be there for you-

“Tomorrow,” you agree. “Goodnight, Kaz.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

The smell of lavender lingers in his room. He picks up the flower you had left on his desk, and an uncharacteristic smile blooms on his face.

Tomorrow.

[red-doll-face]

S/O survivor that's popular amoung the other survivors because they are incredibly honest, kind/sweet, selfless, often put others before themselves, and tends to overwork themselves for others. The other survivors tend to be incredibly drawn to them. For: Joey, Frank, Ghostface/Danny, and Wraith Please?

Sure! I hope u enjoy my characterization because Joey has very little backstory and thank god bc dbd has been shitting themselves when it comes to lore lately. These came out a little sadder than I wanted them to but shrug

Sweet gn Reader x DBD killers Hcs

Joey ‘The Legion’

Joey doesn't understand why you're so nice all the time. It doesn't benefit you, you're always exhausted; on top of all of that, all you get in return is a thanks and measly smile.

Eventually, he can see why your kindness or where your kindness might actually pay off. It returns to you in his trials against you where he can observe your teammates going out of their way to help you, to pay back for the things you do for them.

He hears from his friends that your kindness is sometimes the reason for your success and your downfall, you can go back and get a save during the endgame that saves your teammates life or you just end up dying too.

Joey can admit he's a little envious and maybe even a little jealous. He’s envious that you get to even be nice, of how outgoing you are. He’s jealous of how much you make them smile. How much you smile because of them. Unafraid to show you special treatment because of your relationship with him. He’ll make up sooner or later.

He’s surprised that you end up liking him. He’s a killer, a little withdrawn for you he thinks but you always let him stay in his comfort zone and include him so he doesn't feel cut out of your life. He's grateful that out of all the people you could possibly choose to hold close, you chose him.

Makes sure you take ample breaks so that you’re not entirely worn out by your altruistic tendencies.

Frank ‘The Legion’ Morrison

God, he hates you. You’re so… nice all the damn time! But he loves you for it too and he doesn't like that at first. It’s probably why you even caught his attention. A beacon of light in such a dark place has him gravitating towards you like your fellow survivors. You so obviously stick out among your teammates.

Also gets a little jealous at how your kindness isn’t just for him. Stop healing and smiling at other people! He knows that this is just who you are but he still gets a little mad because he's a bit of an attention whore, mostly for your attention.

Frank genuinely tries to get you to be a little meaner. He wants you to see the ‘error in your ways’. How much safer you would be if you didnt save all of these people and put your ass on the line for some piece of shit who wouldn't do the same for you.

This stems from his anger that he can’t always be there to protect you so the fact that he knows that you often go the extra mile for your friends upsets him.

Frank is angry yet endeared by your kindness and as much as he wants you to feel the consequences of your selflessness, he still offers you a shelter in the storm.

Danny ‘The Ghostface’ Johnson

Why are you like this? What has kindness ever rewarded you that makes it so worth it to act like some sort of pious saint? He simply does not get it. Definitely another one who is like “aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go apeshit?” Danny wants you to understand what cruelty has rewarded him with but he has very little to show for it.

At first, he thought it might have been a sort of venus fly trap, catching more flies with honey act much like his own alter ego, but to find that it's real makes him want to break it out of you. The more and more you come back just as sweet as before gets him more interested in you, finding your light quickly becoming something he wants to keep for himself.

In trials with you, Danny tries to save you for last but he’ll still injure you so the entity just assumes you’re one slippery fish. Who knows if that's actually working.

Danny is very possessive over not just you but also your actions, he wants to control them and keep your nice words to himself but his powerlessness in this regard makes him so mad.

Overall, your kindness is something that he easily takes advantage of and even lies a lot about who he used to be to garner sympathy from you. He might get caught in his lies at some point but he's quick with excuses. He loves your attention and how much you make his teeth hurt from being so sweet.

Philip ‘The Wraith’ Ojomo

Philip is so fascinated by you, he is literally a moth to your flame. The kindness you treat your teammates with has him wishing he were a survivor too. He wants you to gently wrap bandages around him and smile at him and joke with him.

When he finds you're nice to even him, a mere shadow of what he used to be, he’s half convinced that you're an angel or some kind divine spirit. Then he wishes even more to be able to take you away from here. Philip knows that you don’t belong here.

Spends a lot of his time watching you be nice to other people but when you show him your smile and get to know him, he truly is a gentle giant, bowing to press shimmery kisses to your forehead and receiving them from you.

Wants you to take better care of yourself, he is afraid you’ll wear yourself thin. Especially since he doesn’t control how cruel other killers are or how much they might use your attitude against you.

Dreads being in trials with you, hates the thought of hurting such a soul as yours. Ignores you as much as possible, hoping to a higher power that you escape. If you don’t and he is forced to kill you, he refuses to think himself worthy of you and tries to give you space.

Your spirit of tenderness is something so surreal to him and he thinks you are his new sunshine. You keep him warm in such a cold place as the fog. Philip wouldn’t trade you for anything.

This is my first time writing for wraith so I hope these are ok! Thanks for reading and requesting! 💖

[juneisafantasyaddict]

If LB wanted The Darkling to be pure evil, there are literally a lot of things she could have done. But giving him a sympathetic backstory that is actually a legitimate reason for him to turn out the way he did was definitely not the way to do it. If she wanted pure evil, she could’ve given him a backstory that’s just a ridiculous sob story, not “for hundreds of years my people have been hunted and killed because of prejudice and no one did anything about it until I had enough power to.” Do you even realize how easy it is to get people to be on your side when what you want more than anything is for your people to be safe from harm?? That’s literally why we don’t get mad at heroes for killing people, it’s because we know they are protecting vulnerable people.

I’ve seen people say The Darkling is like Magneto (re: his fight against what was happening to mutants), and while that comes close, I think The Darkling is even more sympathetic because at least the XMen had the good sense to have Charles Xavier there to provide a more humane/viable alternative to Magneto’s solutions, and we got to see the difference between their methods. But, in the Grishaverse, we have a monarchy in Ravka that only sees the Grisha as useful for war but also doesn’t let them own property, we have a heroine who doesn’t seem to care about anything except meadows and her childhood crush, we have the entire country of Ravka that seems to only like dead Grisha because “new saint to build a cult over,” then we have the only person who seems to prioritize the protection of these people who have no one and we’re supposed to care that he’s ruthless with anyone he perceives as a threat to his people? When you haven’t given us a viable alternative to his methods? To make matters even worse, he’s not even imagining these threats, he is literally reacting to their aggression, e.g Fjerdans come for Alina, he uses the cut, Zlatan sends an assassin to infiltrate his secure building and kill Alina, but ends up killing another Grisha under his care, he kills the assassin and does Novikribirsk, etc.

This is not a justification of his ruthless methods of punishment for those who are threats to him and his people, this is a “you cannot expect me to focus entirely on his methods when he’s literally the only reason why his people have any semblance of protection” rant. The heroine who we think is going to save the day is basically dragged through her character development and all her progress is destroyed very quickly because of this ridiculous need to pretend that the underdog is always right (Mal, power is evil, blah blah blah).

Somehow, we’re supposed to just be ok with the fact that a group of people who haven’t exactly showed that they care about Grisha suffering are going to save them from prosecution? I mean, let’s not forget that this group includes: Mal who we already know is prejudiced against Grisha, Alina who *sigh* so much potential wasted there, Nikolai who I have decided exists for comic relief because I will not be convinced that a “maybe prince who is also a Jack sparrow type pirate should be king of a country with very complex social and political situations.” Like, I’m looking at this group of supposed saviors and honestly, I would rather take my chances with the 500 year old extremely powerful Grisha who scares everyone. Let’s not even forget that we’re somehow supposed to consider Baghra one of the good guys for “warning Alina,” even though 2 episodes later, we basically see that Baghra doesn’t exactly care about the survival of the Grisha.

Give people a truly evil villain and we will act accordingly. Don’t give us a Magneto type villain with legitimate points and then expect us to treat him like Voldermot or something. You can even decide to not understand Magneto because hello, we are given real alternatives to his problem solving skills right away. But with The Darkling it’s just “he’s pure evil because I said so, but like also this is how he got here, but also he’s super evil, but like do you understand where he’s coming from? but also he’s super evil even though he has points.” That’s not a villain dear, that’s a good person doing bad things and needs to be shown a better way.

You can’t give me an antagonist with a compelling, truly tragic backstory and then be like “now that you understand why and how this character ended up in this dark place and you can see that all this was probably avoidable if so and so did/didn’t happen, let’s totally blow up their life because so what if they’ve deeply suffered?” Especially when there’s a path to redemption right there in the protagonist who you have made sure to establish has a deep bond/connection with this person.

You want to write pure evil? Give me a character that has no remorse, no capacity to care for anyone or anything else, no reason for his cruelty, etc. Don’t give me guy who uses his power to keep his people safe and then falls in love with his soulmate so deeply he can’t stop looking at her and holding her hand in front of the whole country.

Also, can we like actually address the issue that got Nina kidnapped, made the Darkling who he is, and forces all Grisha to basically only have one life plan?

It would be so much easier to believe that The Darkling is a villain if there was an actual alternative to him, but there isn’t.

And btw, in this age of social justice, the fact that LB didn’t think people will see the value in a person from a marginalized community doing whatever is necessary to free his people from oppression is just LOL.

Ok, incoherent rant over.

[iztarshi]

Thinking about rumour and reputation for WWX and XL.

WWX is strongly villain coded, which tends to be what affects how he’s remembered. People assume he did all of it way more on purpose than he actually did, and his own attitude tends to be, “Yeah, I deserve to have people mad at me forever because I fucked up pretty bad, but I was not actually evil.”

Whereas with XL he’s not villain coded and I don’t think anyone assumes he did anything on purpose (and his foray into actual villainy was way less public than WWX’s, so no one knows about it). He’s mostly remembered as a fuck up, but to a certain extent I think he’s just really confusing to everyone because they want to fit him into a narrative and he doesn’t, really.

As the god-pleasing Crown Prince he’s pretty much coded as the Chosen One, ascending to heaven at a young age having done nothing but good deeds and with the favour of the Emperor of Heaven.

The human realm turns on him for failing to save Xianle and he’s already been cemented as a god of misfortune and plague before his banishment, because that’s what his people died of. (I don’t speak Chinese, so I might be totally wrong here, but the “white-clothed calamity” title seems to translate more literally as “white raiment that brings misfortune to the world” which struck me as applying to Xie Lian in his “god of misfortune” role, too. There’s an intriguing conflation, especially when XL is being blamed for the plague.)

The human realm barely seems to have a story for him, though? The most told story is still the one in the Four Famous Tales which makes it seem like he winds up a respected god. At one point XL remarks that the instructions on how to avoid invoking him make him sound like a ghost, and the human realm does seem to treat him like a ghost - the backstory doesn’t matter, just avoid them.

Whereas for the gods (whose view we seem to be getting in the prologue) he would have been remembered as a tragic figure after the fall of Xianle if he’d just... stopped doing things. If he’d mournfully faded away it would have been the sad story of a young god who gave his all for his people only to be rejected.

Except he acts like a hurt and desperate person rather than a saint, and that doesn’t fit his image at all. If he’d fallen fully to evil that would have also been a tragic story. If the gods had even known the extent to which he nearly did and how an act of kindness averted it, maybe that would have been a good story too.

But what they get is him ascending, stabbing Jun Wu, being banished and then getting a job??? Which he does cheerfully???

At that point I think the gods are laughing at him because they don’t know what else to do.

...and in writing this kind of rambling meta, I realise how much XL lives in defiance of “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”.

[marisandini-chu-blog]

How Shadow and Bones Differentiate Villain and Anti-Hero

Alright, first I need to claim the fact that I love dark, edgy, but misunderstood bad boy in stories with the potential of epic redemption. Loki from Marvel. Jason Todd from DC. Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time. Zuko from AtLA. You name them, I simp them.

So when I watched this new show on Netflix and shown a tall, handsome man in dark clothing, both respected and feared for his power. I feel... nothing. 

WHICH IS WEIRD! Like... he’s obviously my type. Complete with the sad backstory and vicious streak. So I kept wondering why I wasn’t enamored by the Darkling, Alexander Kirigan. I wasn’t surprised he was the main villain, I even expected it. But I usually at least have a bit of sympathy for them. This OOC behavior of mine made me introspect myself and the show, trying to find out which part gave me the red flags before Mother Darkling decides to pop the chosen one out halfway in the season. 

That’s when it hit me; there were red flags! The show had been subtly trying to tell us Kirigan is a manipulative boyfriend not just by great acting and good directing, but by comparing him with the actual anti-hero of the story who I actually love; Kaz Brekker. 

Here’s the list of signs you might not notice of why Kirigan is meant to be a Villain instead of an Anti-Hero. 

1. The Eyes

"The eyes are the window to the soul" is a common saying and and the key to good acting for any good show. Eyes tell us a lot about what a person’s character is like and SaB showed us the difference of a sincere man and a man with a hidden agenda.

Look at him! Look at that little smirk. Look at the gaze. That's the look you find when someone's evil little plan is finally coming together. Not one awed by the power or by Alina. A blatant sus move is what I'm saying. Congrat, first flag planted.

Sure he could still fall in love with Alina, but that doesn't stop his agenda either. All it does is potentially create conflict for him to pick either his plan for revenge or life with Alina.

In comparison, look at Kaz when he said this to Inej; "She isn't like you, no one is." Straightforward eyes. Serious grim. No nonsense tone. Inej is one of the most talented and terrifying rogue-assassin and Kaz just blatantly said that he kept her from 'slavery' because of who she is, not what she's capable of. Like... the man has no shame being known to love her while still trying to be professional (or as professional a thief can be). I can respect that.

This is the eye of a man who would abandon everything to make sure she comes out alright in the end. Do not argue with me on this!

2. Leverage and Status

The moment Alina steps into the Little Palace she was treated like a princess. A palace, by the way, that’s managed by the Darkling. She gets favorable treatment; from the food, Zoya displaced when she fought Alina, a horseback ride just the two of them, asking her to call by his name to make them familiar, a black uniform that might as well be claiming???

Dude is desperate is what I’m saying. 

Sure, this could all be romantic gestures. There’s the problem that Kirigan is superior in status and name, powerful Grisha, and has a vested interest in her power. Pursuing romance while Kirigan has the ability to make her life heaven or hell with a snap of his finger made every single decision be seen with wariness. 

"Beware of powerful men," Genya couldn't put it any better.

Had they pursued romance after they destroy the fold, cementing Alina’s position as a saint more. Then I might have let go of that wariness. 

I’m only proven correct when the moment Alina turned away from him, Kirigan made another leverage by (spoiler!) putting an antler to her collarbone... eeeewwww much?! 

That’s how desperate the Darkling is to be in control of a person and a situation. 

And when no letter came for Alina? That a big red flag because who else in this castle can control the coming of going of letter with the Savior. HMMMMMMMMMMM.....

Then there’s Kaz. My man. There’s no competition. This guy held no leverage on my dear Inej. When she almost decided to leave, Kaz didn't force or convince her to stay but he ask her. Doesn't remind her of her debt whether monetary or life debt to him. In fact, this guy needs money for revenge but instead mortgage his main source of income for her freedom.

HE POSTPONED HIS LIFE GOAL TO FREE HER FROM DEBT ASJHAKFSDJGLDFJ!!!  

What more do I need to say? 

3. Sympathy Card

This is the type of point you want to watch out from your partners, ladies, gents, and others. The sympathy card is the way to go when anyone wants to reach out to you so you can take care of them before they abuse or gaslight you. 

While it’s good to share trauma and eased the burden, sometimes it's healthy to ask yourself whether the person can take advantage of you and to verify whether they lie to you or not.

When Kirigan shared about his past as a sympathetic boy with his secluded fountain and coin. Everything about that scene rang warning bells for me... the part he had requested her to use his color... requesting to horse ride with just them two... sharing sob story that may encourage Alina to help him...

Kudos to Alina to see through the fact she's seen as a means to an end.

It was only when Kirigan showed righteous anger and frustration of a war that's killing his people did Alina finally opened her heart to him.

Kaz however doesn't use the sympathy card. Heck, the man likes to believe he shed away any weakness and threw it in the harbor where it belongs. Kaz hates weaknesses. And garnering sympathy is an admission of weakness for him.

We still know there's a tragic backstory as any decent anti-hero would have... but by not sharing that, this implies that Inej and Jesper stayed because of who he is, and not because of who he was or how he came to be. They don't need a sob story to stay together and that showed a stronger bond between them.

4. Friends

To be frank, I find this the most hilarious because this point is the one that convinced me that Kirigan was secretly an evil bastard.

He doesn’t have any friends!!!

Like... dude had a literal witch army, a wife once, a fuck buddy, and a girlfriend but there wasn’t a single moment in the show where someone, outside of Alina and superior, to speak casually to him. 

You’re telling me this person... the most powerful and influential Grisha in the East Ravka, charming as hell, handsome as fuck, and yet he doesn’t have friends?! 

“I’ve buried good soldiers... friends...” Get the fuck out of here! WHAT FRIENDS?!?! Maybe if you get off your little power trip from your self-made pedestal, you can actually be less of an asshole and make one. 

Sure he excused himself by blaming his ‘ancestor’ for being a shadow summoner. I can see how the fear makes it hard for him to get close to anybody. But all the other characters who are part of his army only ever shown to speak with him respectfully, and the royalty even commend him. No one disrespected him even openly and you’re telling me he doesn’t have one friend amidst all these people?!

In comparison, look at Kaz. He’s brash, crude, and unapologetic. He held true to his moniker ‘Bastard of the Barrel’ and yet this ass has friends. They show Jesper joking with Kaz, and Kaz has shown to banter with him back as well as tolerating his gambling addiction when it could have jeopardized the Job. Inej was shown to actually argue and have disagreement with Kaz when he’s technically her boss. Can you imagine the Darkling doing that? CAN YOU?!

No. Because he's a pretentious ass. That's why.

This is a great example of the use “show not tell” of how Kaz despite his obvious edges has a soft spot shown through his relationship with Inej and Jesper, who have a friendly dynamic. I can attest that while Kaz didn’t create a good first impression, I love Jesper and Inej (they are precious!) so much that I project it to Kaz in extension.

On the other hand, Kirigan’s goodwill had only ever been told by outsiders or himself. None from his inner circle (which he doesn’t have!) other than his mother, who ended up outing him instead. 

So I applaud the writers and showrunners of SaB to actually have subtext signs of a manipulative bastard. The Duckling is a good villain character that's complex but unredeemable. Sometimes, you just have a good ol' charming villain you can't redeem and that's okay.

[stopbeingrude]

Warning rant:

( Sorry for any mistakes)

I have been seeing lots of Juvia/ Gruvia hate lately again. You know the same things :stalking, schtockholm syndrom , abuse..... yeah you know nothing new. I've also seen video on YT-(presentation) about why Gruvia is toxic made by psychology student ..........and i still can't believe on what i saw...

Ok first of all i can't imagine analyzing relationship of characters from shonen comedy anime where most od characters are potrayed as freaking CARICATURES , and not including the fact that they are well .... from comedy anime( really?). The person who made this video claimed, that their talked about gruvia with their teacher and they agreed with them about everything. I think this person is not aware that , when you discussing certain topic, you should be... OBJECTIVE. While analyzing characters , you're supposed to write/talk about them in objective way, it doesn't matter if you hate them or not. If i were to analize for example Gray or Gajeel, i would still mention their disadvanteges even though i adore both of those characters.

I decided to talk to my father who is also same kind of teacher , I wanted to know what he thinks about this. I told him about Fairy tail, lil bit about both characters in OBJECTIVE WAY , about their backstories and show some clips of them. He agreed with me( he's also a big anime fan and is well acquainted with various anime tropes). Fairy tail i SHONEN. COMEDY.ANIME. Very often many actions done by characters are strange, incomprehensible or even absurd ,so It's obvious that we should not take them seriously. The tropes where someone is madly in love, girls are getting accidently groped or someone loses their clothes are part of japanese comedy. Quoting someone: understand your media before you'll try to write something about them.

Besides do they really thing that Mashima would made supposed ,,sexual abuser "one of the main characters?

I was pretty calm till i saw slide about Juvia supposedly gaslighting Gray....

..... WTF people?

Why do they use term, they not understand meaning of ?

Yess sure ,Juvia trying to cheer Gray up after Ultear death is sure gaslighting, because sulking on sadness/ staying depressed is healthy as hell🤡

What really made me mad was saying that on the end of Tartaros Juvia gastlighted Gray on front of his parents grave ...i just...

Juvia holding Gray's hand is sexual harrasment, even though he innitiated it( dear God 😶). Also when Gray asked Juvia why She's holding his her , this person count this as a rejection??( Yeah i don't get how is this question suppose to mean rejection , but yyy you do you?). Ok. So let's say that i see model on magazine ,according to this person's logic this is sexual harrasment because She's not aware that i have her photo. It doesn't matter that She agreed to pose for this magazine. Yep totally makes sense😏. Stop acting like Juvia harrases Gray, he likes her company, he loves her.

Oh and apparently Gruvia fans harrased Mashima to make ship canon?? Eeh?? And he said it in interview ?? Where that came from ??Im not saying that all Gruvia shippers( shippers in general) are saints but the closest thing to harrasing Mashima were, people spaming about 100yq anime and some Gray x Lucy shippers ( no offense to Graylu's ) being mad at Mashima at the and of main series. I though that Mashima himself said that he likes this couple?

Another thing Gray being in love in Juvia does not ruin his character , it's didn't make him horrible person, or more stupid. So Gray is at his best when he is depressed, because being in love makes him boring buhh. Im not sure if they're aware but most people wants to find love/ start family . It's not really nothing odd

Going by those people logic all of fairy tail characters are sexual abusers , criminals ..

The best one at last... ,, Those who like Gruvia are not normal, many will say that..." when in reality those who critisize them are minority, cause in reality most people seems to like them or are neutral towards them.

I'm sorry this is so long , but whenever i write It always makes me feel better and i wanted to remind Gruvia shippers to not bother with this kind of people , they think that them having unpopular opinion makes them some kind of modern prophets. Let's just ignore those .

[sheikah]

Hello! I'm sorry to ask this, but can you explain what spoilers you mean and the thing with Darklina? I just read the first book in the series; only managed to finish it because of The Darkling - love him. But I stopped reading the series/world after that one. So I'm a bit unsure if you mean spoilers regarding the books or the show? I'm a little late to the part. Reason for asking as an anon is because I got blocked by another when I asked a question about The Darkling...

Wow, someone blocked you for asking a question about the Darkling? I honestly don’t know how some people get through life being this sensitive haha... Relatively speaking he’s far from the worst villain out there??? 

Anyway, sorry it took so long to answer this. I wanted to get some distance from the spoilers so my answer wouldn’t be so emotional haha. Spoilers for ROW under the cut. Also, since you say you’ve just read the first book, I’ll be making brief mention of key plot moments from Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising as well, so those would be spoiled for you, anon!

We don’t have all of Rule of Wolves yet, obviously, but people with early review copies posted photographs of pages on Twitter, and I’ll link them below

From those pages, we can gather the following:

The Darkling (as we know from the ending of King of Scars) has returned in Yuri’s body but basically looks and sounds like his old self.

A darkness/blight much like the Fold is spreading and killing. Nikolai and Zoya need the Darkling’s help with combatting it because of his magical power/past experience with merzost.

In the early parts of the book they keep him prisoner in a cell flooded with sunlight to prevent him from summoning shadows.

At some point during the story they trust him enough to release him. They bargain with him. He will help them in exchange for a meeting with Alina Starkov. Bear in mind that prior to this Alina would have assumed him dead.

They are concerned by this request but they agree. In the Darkling’s POV he muses that he needs to meet with her to “get his power back” or something. Not sure how this make sense since Alina lost her own powers. 

Anyway, so far, none of the above bothers me at all. But then...

When they meet with Alina it’s one of the most bizarre and OOC encounters I could imagine. Mal is there, and the Darkling randomly, out of nowhere, comments on how they’re related and Mal is like “lol we all hate our relatives amirite???”

Alina’s reaction to seeing the Darkling again is... no reaction at all. She doesn’t seem shocked, happy, upset, nothing. This man who loomed so large in her life and her destiny, this man she was forced to murder in Ruin and Rising... is BACK FROM THE DEAD, and everyone is just sitting around like it’s afternoon tea.

The Darkling looks at her and comments that she looks different. Here is the first thing to really and truly pisses me off: Alina says the reason she looks different is because she’s happy now and “[he] never really saw her that way.” As in, Alina was never once happy around the Darkling. If you just read Shadow and Bone, you know this is obviously not even remotely true. But it isn’t treated like a lie from Alina in the narrative. It’s treated like the truth the big, bad Darkling deserves to hear from her. 

Eventually they come to an agreement and the Darkling agrees to help at the cost of his own life. [Here is where I want to interject something. I’ve seen a lot of people insinuate that Darkling stans are upset because Leigh killed the villain of her story. In other words, they’re suggesting that we’re stupid for being upset because obviously villains die. I just want to say for the record that I 100% expected the Darkling to die in Rule of Wolves. That is not the issue here.]

Before the Darkling sacrifices himself (something that is, at least, somewhat framed as a selfless act to save Grisha and Ravkans), some truly odd writing from Leigh. First, he tells a whole bunch of people his real name. No one asked??? He just tells everyone. A lot of Darklinas are angry because prior to this, his name was a secret only known by Alina. It was something they shared, an intimacy, and it was significant because in “Demon in the Wood,” the Darkling’s backstory, we see the target his true name put on his back all his life, and that Baghra cautioned him to tell no one. So him telling Alina was a gesture of trust. Him telling everyone destroys that.

The second weird thing about the death scene is that he basically screams something along the lines of, “I’m not sorry.” Again, this feels so weird. Like deliberate spite from Leigh. Making sure not to redeem him before killing him off.

So I don’t know all the magical/lore details, but when the Darkling sacrifices himself it is in some ritual where his body is pierced and mutilated by a bunch of magical tree branches??? Supposedly he will continue to exist this way in some sort of eternal super-hell where he just suffers in pain without dying forever, all to keep the darkness from spreading. Zoya and Nikolai bear witness.

This last part is the part that upsets me the most, more than anything else I guess. So later, at the end of the book, Zoya is with Genya and Alina. Zoya reveals that she’s been having nightmares wherein she sees things from the Darkling’s point of view--destryoing Novokribirsk, etc. She realizes how easy it could be to lose yourself with the kind of power the Darkling--and now Zoya herself--possesses. She wonders if he really deserves this eternal and unimaginable suffering and torture. Zoya proposes letting him out to mercy kill him. Genya and Alina are doubtful, but even Genya is swayed before Alina is. And this is the heart of the issue for me. Zoya, who loathes the Darkling more than anyone, is the one having mercy and taking pity on him, while Alina is utterly apathetic to his suffering. Alina, who wept openly over his body and held him as he died. Alina, who honored his last wishes and saw to it that he had a funeral of honor alongside what the people believed to be a literal saint in Ruin and Rising. Alina, who struggled with wanting and feeling for him all the way to the end of the trilogy, whose last word in the trilogy was his name. Alina, who had compassion for the animals she had to kill for the amplifiers. That is Alina Starkov. But the Alina Starkov in Rule of Wolves is completely unaffected when this man she seemingly used to love is being tortured literally forever. She couldn’t care less. And so all of this together feels like a deliberate slight to Darklinas, and that’s why we’re angry. 

Anyway, Alina eventually agrees that the Darkling can be freed and killed, so Zoya says they’re going to replace the Darkling with the relic heart of a saint or something, and hire Kaz to steal it. So SOC3 is coming.

We did get one tiny crumb of Darklina. In the Darkling’s POV, he admits to himself that the real reason he wants to see Alina again is because “with her, he was human again.” He also ponders on why she was always able to defeat him and best him, and thinks that it’s because of something more than her stubbornness and bravery: “something he knew the name of a hundred lifetimes ago.” Most people are interpreting this as him finally admitting to himself that he loved her. It’s something!

Pics for reference.