#traumatic underworld experience

[zipadeea]

I love that Percy not turning against the gods and joining Luke all came down to Poseidon. Because so far Percy hasn’t had great experiences with the gods, like at all. Mr. D is a liar, Athena was ready to let him and annabeth die, ares is now his sworn enemy, and the experience with Hephaestus was pretty traumatizing. Hades was self-serving, and didn’t give back Sally even when it was apparent Percy wasn’t at fault. And Zeus…Zeus was ready to smite Percy where he stood.

But he didn’t, because of Poseidon.

Percy should have died at the arch, he shouldn’t have made it out of the underworld, and I have a feeling once Zeus gets that bolt humming in your direction not a lot can stop him. But Poseidon did. Poseidon surrendered to his brother, gave up his pride and glory, to save his son. The son he hardly knows, the son he’s always protected and watched from afar, the son of the woman he loves.

“Do you ever dream about Mom?” Was such a good line. I think it was a genuine question from Percy, but it was also absolutely a test. Do you love my mom? Was it real? Do you love me? And Poseidon’s eyes, the way he gripped Percy’s neck then finally sent him away said it all.

Percy’s fatal flaw is loyalty, and once Poseidon earned Percy’s loyalty, Luke and Kronos didn’t stand a chance.

[astrogre]

The Planet that is Pluto

Words: power, control, obsession, the underworld, intensity, intense emotions, intense everything, domination, taboo, depth, sex, repressed emotions, shadow self, the survivor, detective, alchemy, dark arts, superiority, fear, bravery

Astrological placements associated with Pluto: Scorpio, 8th house, Aries

Character I associate with Pluto: Femto-Berserk

The way Griffith sacrifices the souls of his people to transform into Femto and have dominance over others. What he does to Casca as well. He is the epitome of an extreme Plutonic character.

Honourable mentions: Homelander- The Boys, Laurie- Euphoria, Makima- Chainsaw man, Erik- Phantom of the Opera, Gaara-Naruto

Places: hades underworld realm, chess tournament’s, hell, anywhere with hierarchy aka corporate workplace, government institutions (because of power play/dynamics), caves, underground tunnel, escape rooms, secret society hidden meetings, nightmares,

Random somewhat astrologically influenced things that personally remind me of Pluto: Rigger, black grapes, death by strangulation, wine, babushka dolls, long nails, snakes, a public executor in the medieval ages, chess, cults, BDSM, the colour black, power play

Song I associate with Pluto:

Listen to this while you read it to immerse yourself in Pluto energy and surroundings, also read the lyrics too it’s very much Pluto energy

For you Pluto dominants:

(Pluto 1st house, Pluto 8th house, Pluto conjunct asc, Pluto conjunct Sun, many strong aspects to Pluto & Honourable mentions: 8th house stellium, Scorpio Stellium.)

This is entire post is dedicated to you

Plutos Traits:

Regenerative and transformative

Think of a snake shedding skin to become anew or when you’ve overcome and left abusive relationships and you’re back in your self confidence. Pluto is a phoenix bird it has a DEEP urge for regeneration and can transform itself from its own ashes into a diamond, Pluto itself is the pressurising machine. Say ashes represent the shittiest moments of our life e.g abuse, relationships, trauma, Pluto has the ability as an alchemist to use this horrible event to make something of more value, it transmutes basic base metal to gold. Transmutes pain and death to renewal. Pluto sees trauma as fuel. Without ashes (intense emotions or experiences) Pluto cannot show up and do it’s thing. Check where you have Pluto in the houses, this may be where you can get hurt most but it’s purposefully for a reason you’re supposed to use those intense emotions and make something beautiful of them

Eg. Pluto in 11th houser may have intense traumatic social circles or communities that ostracise, diminish, use or control them. As a Pluto 11th houser YOU have dominion here, you guys are social climbers the real life underdogs to Royalty stories. Use their exploitation of you as fuel, motivation and a resources to your success.

(Kylie and Kris Jenner have this placement and we all know how they absorb the drama, publicity and negativity from others like a champ, embody it, all to gain constant relevancy, power, influence and fame in their careers. Scandals make their profits go up like the whole Jordan woods drama and using it as marketing to do a sale on Kylie Jenner lip kit, Kris having their children’s private lives scrutinised and publicly available all so her family can gain relevance and wider opportunities)

Dominance and control

The reason why Pluto is known for obsession is because it urges to have the upper hand, Pluto won’t argue when defied he simply acts unbothered but exacts revenge in a cold manner, it wants to dominate and will go to extreme lengths to do that, it will go at all costs, the obsession manifests in an illogical, ego based way think of Gabriel Agreste from miraculous ladybug- how he prioritises triumphing ladybug over saving his wife, that kind of obsession. In my personal opinion I see Pluto as the second ego after Sun. It’s better if I explain by comparison… Think of powerful and dominating planets like Saturn and Mars, imagine if you owed each of these planets money and were in deep debt with them this is how they would respond:

Saturn: would employ you to do gruelling long hard work for many years, no retirement so that you’d die working on their behalf. If you refuse or die before debts are paid they would simply pass your debt onto your children make them do it to repay the money you owe. (If you’ve seen Chainsaw man, Saturn would work/treat the debtors children kind of like the way Denji was treated he had to pay off his fathers debts; in burdensome conditions where his health was being compromised for repayment.)

Mars: if you owed money to mars and were not able to pay it back, mars would most probably threaten you, beat you up, do a drive by shooting, physically destroy your assets like keying cars, graffiti and bulldozing your house, may be very aggressive think of loan sharks and mafia

Pluto: Now if you owe Pluto money.. Pluto is the kind to go further than mars, he would make you pay for it personally, in a way that can be grotesque/dark think of maybe rue from euphoria. When she owed money she just randomly woke up in a strangers bed and the house being filled with men implying she had been sex trafficked. Pluto is very wicked, obsessive and can be unsympathetic. It would not care if you feel pain and regret for inconveniencing them, it does this to put you in your place and prefers you repay the money with your suffering. Pluto may not even want the money anymore but rather the control and prioritises the debtors torture or will get the losses at your expense. eg. Sex trafficking you, have you wake up on the road after being unconscious and notice your kidneys are missing, hold you hostage, torture you, sell your body parts at an elite auction house, make detestable arrangements behind your back like forced marriage etc. This is how Pluto exacts its power and control.

Power obsessed

Pluto gets what it wants and exerts control over others while it does. That’s why it’s described as “scary” and associated with fear, a combination of ego and revenge. This is why wherever Pluto is in your houses it can show where you are intimidating, relentless and powerful and what you have constantly been resiliently obsessing over for years.

E.g Pluto 1st housers feel the desperate need to be in control and that they are seen to be dominant. They’re kind to get insulted if you call them “cute” or make jokes about their authority. (Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Justin Beiber all have this placement and came out of being typecasted or known as the “sweet good girl/boy” stereotype to powerful and to be taken with caution.

Taboo

Pluto is labelled taboo because it inserts itself into light AND darkness. It doesn’t mind and in fact rather enjoys exploring sex, defiance, repressed emotions, any subject that the general public refuse to speak of, Pluto relishes in that. I remember as a child there was a myth that I was told. It was that if you say “Bloody Mary” three times in the mirror you’ll get haunted and a ghost will appear to attack you, while other children may scream and dread in fear to even think of doing such an act, Pluto ruled natives may be the kind when alone to quickly run into the bathroom turn off the lights and try it out alone. That’s why they’re known to participate in dark arts, have interest in disturbing topics, they are fearless, like the challenge and find the minuscule information available on it a challenge. It’s not that Pluto ONLY has interest in taboo topics it’s just that it doesn’t hold as much fear of it as everyone else, talking about sex or death to Pluto is like talking about the weather, it’s no different, after all it’s just another subject.

The reason why they’re so fascinated by such topics and affiliated with them is because they see wasted energy and potential in these dark topics, abandoned resources that nobody wants meaning there’s more for them, and that’s why Pluto wants to explore it. Pluto isn’t wasteful. If Pluto were to kill a cow it would use its meat for food, bones for medicine, skin for rugs and teeth for necklaces, not a part of it would go unused. It gets excited when someone hits them because it means they can hit back.

Hidden self

Pluto is the hidden shadow part of yourself self you may want to hide and refuse to acknowledge. This is because as mentioned before Pluto loves the darkness and inside the subconscious there’s the good stuff and the bad stuff, our subconscious holds our fears, our beliefs, our desires and Pluto brings out all that stuff as conversation starters and wants to explore it and use it as fuel. This is why Pluto is known to be triggering because to be honest who wants to remember the fact they are afraid of touch and their abuser that caused that? But Pluto does. Pluto wants to remember them, Pluto wants to bring it up, Pluto wants to know who they are, Pluto wants to get revenge on them and put them in their place. Wherever Pluto is in your houses can also show how you can exact revenge so that it hits hard on others.

E.g. Pluto 4th house can suggest native can use powerful resources in their family, or their family has status, control, authority over others and can utilise it against others to contribute to their downfall.

(Megan Markle has this placement and she certainly lives up to it. She’s able to use the traumatic experiences she endured as a royal as fuel against them and is slowly contributing to the downfall of the monarchy by using her name and her affiliation to the royal family).

How to activate Pluto

Pluto can only transform and use its powers of Alchemy, transformation, control and power if you tap into its energy otherwise Plutos potential will be ignored. The same with any placement really. If you have a Venus 1st house, you want to be a beauty influencer but don’t put yourself out there, it’s energy will never manifest and remain as wasted potential.

The way you’re supposed to use Pluto is by confronting your fears. When you are most afraid, do it anyway.

E.g. Pluto 7th housers when you’re laying in bed and you’re thinking of that traumatic experience in your relationships instead of suppressing it, allow Pluto to remember it and allow that level of disrespect you feel to take action in the way of your Pluto sign.

(Shakira, Cardi B and Megan Thee stallion all have this placement and exacted revenge on their partners in different ways, Shakira and Cardi did it by artistically exposing them in music and making money form it, Megan did it the same way and also by lawsuits, doing public interviews on torey Lanes and pressing charges)

Anything Pluto touches is where you hold the most power in your birth chart. Usually people say how come i’m not good in that area?? It’s because you’ve not utilised Pluto. It’s because you won’t let Pluto explore it and turn your tribulations into gold.

What can Pluto tell us:

The best way of how you can exact revenge for it to successfully hit hard on others.

Where your wasted potential is. Basically where you allow your fears, desires, trauma to lay dormant instead of using that intense energy for Pluto transformation

Where we get excited when someone hits us because it means we can hit back. (Applies only if native is used to Plutos energy, otherwise you won’t be able to hit back. You’ll know if it’s active if when you have challenges under the themes of the house Plutos in you trust you can fight back like you have in the past)

Where you hold the most power

What you obsess over

How you deal with fears, death, change and trauma

Which part of your life you experience extreme transformation and changes

What you like to fight for

I will most likely be making a series that incorporates all of this for each house. However due to the fact that I am unfortunately very detail oriented this may take a while for me to commit to.

Pluto Series:

Pluto in 1st House

[ruegarding]

hello! I hope your having a good day! If you don't mind me asking, what is your opinion on the Cupid Scene in Hoo? And if you could how would you change it?

my opinion on the cupid scene…well, i don't think a traumatic coming out scene is automatically bad. the problem i have w it is that rick capitalized on shock value instead of good writing. rick retconned a bunch of things to make nico alone and miserable so that he could have this scene, and it was completely unnecessary. ppl can have friends without coming out. and, as i’ve repeatedly said, the way hoo is written is literally a repeat of his arc in pjo but worse, because we’re acting like important events in pjo didn’t happen in a series that’s supposed to be a sequel to pjo and rick is inconsistent so the payoff is questionable.

the solution is…good writing. creating a cohesive and intriguing plotline where this scene is either necessary or scrapped if it isn’t.

thus begins an unnecessarily deep dive into all the retcons, inconsistencies, and general what-the-fuckery of nico’s arc in hoo bc i’m the verbose king and we've accidentally stumbled into something i have a lot to say abt.

first retcon. in son, frank explicitly says that nico does not make him nervous and describes nico as mysterious. not weird, creepy, off-putting, or anything similar. and nico is! he is clearly hiding things and shows up infrequently. this is a neutral description, and frank goes on to say that pluto’s powers, and specifically the underworld, isn’t enough to make him dislike pluto or nico.

also this, showing nico is comfortable enough around frank:

but then in hoh, frank thinks going somewhere with nico, alone, is terrifying.

at worst, frank would’ve felt awkward. they’ve never had to talk alone bc nico is at camp jupiter for hazel and doesn’t have any reason to talk to frank by himself. if frank didn’t want to be alone w nico bc of that, it’d make sense. but that’s not what’s said or implied! and nothing has happened! nico got kidnapped, they saved him, and since then he’s been chilling on the boat, exactly as weird as before, if a little more understandably distressed. like, nothing happened to change frank’s opinion this drastically. even the difference between pluto and hades (wealth vs death) doesn’t matter bc nico uses his powers in son. also frank literally summons a skeleton guy in son and hazel is a zombie, like…

(the source isn’t important but i've been quoting these five seconds for years)

oh! and that’s not all, it gets worse!

these scenes from hoh are incredibly infantilizing. why are we treating nico like a feral dog that needs to be domesticated??? yikes. and once again, it’s not true! nico was fine talking w ppl in pjo (if a bit over-enthusiastic). and then in son he was perfectly civil and was fine having the conversation abt the quest. his issue w ppl was that his powers/parentage put ppl off, and, even in son, that he had to keep a secret.

nico is perfectly capable of speaking like a normal person and working as part of a team (see: final botl battle, final tlo battle, the sword of hades). like, nico’s struggle in hoh should be 1) that ppl are calling him creepy behind his back (and therefore has nothing to do w his social skills) and/or 2) that he just survived an incredibly traumatic experience and is understandably withdrawn. neither of these are properly addressed and instead the implication is that nico is hiding himself bc he’s gay and everything will be solved if he accepts himself.

edit: i never actually explicitly stated this, but nico's queer coding and disability coding overlap, which is why this infantilization/ableism is important enough to highlight despite the conversation specifically being abt the queer aspect of it.

second retcon. percy…as i’ve said many times before, percy explicitly calls nico his friend in tlo.

this immediately makes hoo trying to act like they don’t know each other and were never close a retcon. they were friends, they saw each other frequently, nico made silly jokes w percy…and we’re ignoring all of this in hoo.

i've talked abt this previously (in response to tsats), but nico is the one putting distance between him and percy. percy reached out to nico repeatedly thru pjo.

when percy notices that nico excludes himself, percy finds a private place to talk to nico and assures him that percy wants him around and offers solutions to his discomfort (this is not percy’s responsibility. percy is a child). when nico insists that he won’t stay, percy sees it from nico’s perspective and, instead of forcing nico to do something against his will that may totally backfire, says “i hope we don’t have to be enemies,” leaving room for nico to decide whether he’s willing to be friends.

bc percy understands the root of nico’s issue (that no matter the accommodations made at camp, there’s always going to be the implicit message that he doesn’t belong there), he addresses it and uses his wish to make sure that nico has a home at camp.

and when nico tries to prove he’s useful, percy proves he would’ve invited him in whether nico was or not. bc he thinks nico deserves to be a kid.

“i wonder if [nico] had ever had a birthday party,” percy thinks at his own birthday party where he didn’t invite his friends bc he felt it was too much of an inconvenience, in a story where he never had friends prior to these ppl he didn’t invite, and the only person he had for twelve years of his life was his own mother. and percy uses his own loneliness to empathize w how lonely nico is.

percy is not some distant figure nico is idolizing. he's a kid trying his best to care for another kid at a time where no one else did, while experiencing his own trauma. all of their hang-ups exist bc of that.

going back to their relationship in hoo, even trying to make percy uncomfortable w nico’s powers (and therefore not wanting to associate w nico) doesn’t work bc percy has gone on record and said he thinks some of nico’s powers are cool and has neutral responses to others, not to mention percy is also a big three kid who makes other ppl wary (i could write a whole meta on how what percy finds disturbing w nico’s powers is directly tied to what percy finds disturbing w his own powers, but i’ll restrain myself. please clap).

and if that wasn’t enough, the entire reason percy stood up to hera in botl is bc she was willing to let nico die specifically bc he doesn't fit in bc of those powers.

this plotline was tired before it even began.

you could argue that all of this changed w nico’s betrayal in tlo. but then why didn’t percy tell anybody when it happened in tlo (annabeth would’ve reacted to it if he had)? why did percy trust nico to come when he called? why didn’t any of percy’s animosity come out afterwards at camp? and in the throne room, percy didn’t have to single nico out w his wish. he didn’t have to watch nico to make sure he was settling in. but he did. and because he did, any writing that suggests percy doesn't trust or care abt nico bc of that is bad writing. maybe rick forgot this, but u can be angry w and hurt by the ppl you love and still love them.

even the justification that nico lied in son isn’t good enough to completely change their relationship, bc it’s pretty clear why nico lied and percy says he can’t stay angry at nico when they rescue him, and let me remind u, anger is a core part of percy's character. while nico lying might be enough for characters like leo and jason, who have no rapport w him, to doubt him, it’s not enough for percy. and why are we so obsessed w dismantling percy and nico’s friendship anyway? why is that necessary to the story? like i said before, ppl can have friends without coming out. isolating the only queer character (at the time) isn’t necessary.

this conflict doesn’t even work in hoo bc their distance is still one-sided…

when did percy not give nico a second chance in hoo? the only times they’ve interacted prior to this was when percy remembered nico in son and tried to talk to him and then when they saved his life. and then nico brushes off percy's gratitude and tells him to back off. this is not nico idolizing percy who doesn't care abt him. this is percy reaching out and yet again nico putting distance between them.

and, obviously, this doesn’t work at all w pjo when the entirety of botl exists, you know, where percy chose to trust and protect nico and then went out of his way to make sure nico knew percy held none of nico’s anger against him. it’d be one thing if nico was supposed to be wrong, but considering how there’s an entire arc in hoo abt jason being the first person to trust nico, and tsats seriously acts like percy only ever talked to nico when he needed something, it’s safe to say this comes from a place of stupidity.

ok. this sections getting long, so i moved the it was stupid to have percy give jason a reason to doubt nico section to a new post. but know that i'm aware and i think it's stupid.

back to the point of all these retcons w percy. there's nothing in hoo that necessitates changing percy and nico's relationship from pjo. while percy in hoo is never cruel to nico, they act like strangers for some reason. so, it's changed for no reason and it's written poorly.

sigh. and then all of chb is retconned (or recycled if you’re feeling generous).

the ppl at camp accept him while his cabin gets built. pretty nice. then in boo nico reveals they got tired of him after a week–which is still summer–despite there being an influx of kids from all descents, some of whom would be weird or uncomfortable or whatever this justification is. that’s not even mentioning how percy’s own experiences (remember how he was ostracized…multiple times…) should have made them more accepting of nico.

why…was this necessary at all…? especially when u have an entirely different camp that treats nico as weird bc they didn’t have that good experience w him? this is really what gets me. if rick wanted to be lazy and repeat nico’s arc, he could’ve done so without retconning things.

for example, with the seven, leo, piper, jason, and maybe annabeth (she doesn’t have much to say abt nico in pjo), i could understand having animosity towards nico, as well as camp jupiter, but retconning established relationships to make ur only (at the time) queer character isolated and miserable only to then have his coming out be violent and traumatic is. well. bad! especially when the person who is w him for that experience is not someone he has built any sort of camaraderie w. nico isn’t choosing to trust jason, he’s being forced to.

and the whole nico-needs-to-learn-to-trust-ppl plot doesn’t work anyway bc of rick’s inconsistencies.

jason has a moment much like frank where he doesn’t want to go anywhere w nico bc nico is so weird and scary. nico has every right to pull himself away from ppl who treat him like he’s got something contagious. and there’s more:

“since when does jason defend nico,” as in they have shit on nico before and jason has not, in the past, defended nico. as in nico had every reason to not trust jason prior to this bc everyone, including jason, were talking shit behind his back. why are we acting like nico is being unreasonable? oh no, y’all are talking behind my back…clearly it’s my fault bc i push everyone away and that has nothing to do w ur behavior or anything…yes this is good writing.

and we’re supposed to believe that jason (and reyna and hedge and will) is the first person to be kind/reach out to nico, but we have this scene from botl where percy comforted nico and gave him a piece of his childhood back:

and this is after percy cleared the air to make sure nico knew he didn’t hate him and offered to make accommodations for nico at camp and then respected and understood why nico wouldn’t want to. like,

woah, you’re telling me that a character reaches out to nico after a traumatic experience in an act of kindness and this helps nico grow as a person? and it happens multiple times?! yeah, apparently rick and fandom have completely forgotten abt this (also hazel exists???). they’re even phrased similarly! “maybe it’s time to take a risk and embrace something you’ve pushed away.” furthermore, they both support their point by helping nico, percy by inviting nico into his home to enjoy cake and ice cream, jason by drinking from the chalice. once more w feeling: nico has been loved the entire goddamn time!

i get what rick was trying to accomplish w the whole cupid scene concept. which is that it’s okay to be gay and that it can feel very “othering” to be gay. nico has to accept himself in order to make friends. that’s what this

and this

are trying to say, right, but this doesn’t work when you’ve blatantly retconned established relationships to have characters push nico away for his powers/parentage/whatever. nico’s struggle is not an internal issue that can be solved by accepting himself, it’s an external issue caused by how other ppl treat him for his powers/parentage (which he has never been shown to reject btw).

the thing is, the powers-as-queerness metaphor only works when you don’t have, you know, characters who aren’t queer going through similar ostracization. not only was percy ostracized at chb in tlt for his powers/parentage (very similar to nico!), percy has a moment in this same book where his powers terrify annabeth, and then piper in the next book, in which he, you know, lets himself almost die to poison bc he feels like he “deserved it” for using those powers. again, this is not queer-coding for percy (unless…?). moreover, like i said, nico doesn’t reject his powers, so the whole queer-coding w powers and needing to accept himself is already iffy (...rejecting powers...hold the fuck up…percy isn’t…unless…). even the out-of-time metaphor doesn’t work bc it’s something he shares w hazel, who is not canonically queer (unless…?!). so, already, we’re on shaky metaphorical ground. all of this could work, theoretically, if combined w strong writing, but combined w the retconning and inconsistencies, this plotline makes no cohesive sense.

we’re supposed to believe that nico is the one pushing everyone away while they are secretly super supportive while simultaneously being shown that everyone talks and thinks shit that affirms nico’s thoughts abt them that makes him want to pull away. and then in boo we completely ignore that these ppl have been pushing nico away and suddenly everyone (reyna, hedge, will, etc) is supportive.

pick a struggle!

also nico’s coming out scene in boo sucked (yeah this is the segue).

this is the culmination of nico’s arc in hoo. he’s finally accepted himself enough to speak the truth without pressure. we ruined percy and nico’s established relationship for this. and they don’t even have a conversation. then nico walks over to will bc percy, “regular guy” percy, is “not [his] type.” don’t look too deep into that.

so, how would i fix the cupid scene? well.

there were a million different ways to write a better arc for nico and earn that cupid scene. for example, rick could’ve stuck to a plotline.

the trust plotline could’ve been good. bc this exact thing is what causes the accidental kidnapping situation in tlo. nico doesn’t trust percy enough to tell him the truth and chooses to manipulate and lie to percy instead. this choice is what sets up their conflict bc percy views this as betrayal (something that’s important to a guy who’s fatal flaw is loyalty).

it’s also interesting bc nico does choose to trust ppl in hoo; he eats the pomegranate seeds despite not knowing that someone is coming for him, he just trusts that someone will (we’re ignoring what boo says abt nico’s tartarus experience bc fun fact! that is also retconned). and it pays off, bc not only does he get saved, we see hazel and percy even willing to challenge the other members of the seven to make sure he gets saved. so, it’s not a lesson he’s already learned, it’s a lesson he’s learning. but, going back to the main question here, would the cupid scene still be necessary? was being dragged into tartarus and almost dying not enough spectacle?

regardless, my biggest problem w the cupid scene in all of this is that it gives the impression that u have to come out in order to have ppl love u and trust u. a much better message to send is that the ppl who love u will love u before and after u come out. no isolation necessary.

[lovelycleon]

At exactly that moment, Claire mumbled something from her light doze, nuzzling her head against his arm before falling silent and still again—and making Leon uncomfortably aware of another facet to his involvement with the ex-S.T.A.R.S. Claire. Claire was… she was an incredible woman. In the days after their escape from Raccoon City, they’d talked a lot about what had happened, the experiences they’d had both separately and together.

(...)

In retrospect, though, he could see that those long, rambling conversations had been essential for another reason entirely—they’d been a way to leach out the poison of what had happened to them, like talking out a bad dream. If he’d had to keep it all inside, he thought, he might have gone crazy.

In any case, the feelings he had for her now were convoluted ones—warmth, connection, dependence, respect, others that he had no name for. And that scared him, because he’d never felt so strongly about anyone before—and because he wasn’t sure how much of it was real and how much was just some kind of a post-traumatic stress thing.

Face it, stop bullshitting yourself. What you’re really afraid of is that you’re only here because she is, and you don’t like what that says about you.

Leon nodded inwardly, realizing that it was the truth, the real reason behind his uncertainty. He’d always believed that want was okay, but need? He didn’t like the idea of being led around by some neurotic compulsion to be close to Claire Redfield.

And what if it isn’t need? Maybe it’s want, and you just don’t know it yet.

Resident Evil: Underworld, Chapter 2.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Would you mind talking more about Ghost? I dig your interpretation on him so i'm curious if you'd share your thoughts; since i know how COD in general writes these characters and we know romance isn't on the table for them, ESP for someone like Ghost (even confimred by his voice actor too!)

So all that aside, in your opinion, what would it take to win Ghost's heart (or well, Simon's)? :)

It's great to hear you like my interpretation of Ghost! I'll gladly share my thoughts on this, the supposed love life of Simon Riley is one of my favorite subjects 🧐

Thoughts on what would it take to win Simon's heart under the cut ->

To be honest I see it highly unlikely that Ghost would date. I think Samuel Roukin's opinion on this matter was spot on. Simon's traumatic background, trust issues, the need to stay anonymous and his profession as a special ops soldier is just too heavy a combo. His family's murder and multiple betrayals have pushed him on a path of extreme independence and made him evade any kind of attachment.

That being said... I'm a hopeless romantic and love to imagine scenarios just like every other little simp here 🩷💋, and I've pictured (and occasionally written) him to be drawn to someone who is principally the opposite of himself, but who also has a dash of angst in their heart and firsthand experience or at least some basic understanding of complex trauma.

A positive vibes only/sunshine type of person would not resonate well with his darkness, and a carefree joker would only annoy him. Then again, there's Soap – but the thing with John MacTavish is that he shares the same profession and in that way, is not a stranger to the Underworld. Their banter is also evidence enough that Soap is not afraid of Ghost's madness and even looks up to him – actually a perfect way to make someone like Ghost enjoy your company. This man has a terrible praise kink but he can't stand spineless bootlickers. So the adoration should happen in a "I trust you and would follow you to hell & back" kind of way.

However, due to the shit he's been through, I'd say (contrary to popular headcanon, I dunno?) that Simon would likely fall for someone outside the military world. First of all, he's very uncomfortable with the fact that his partner has to fear for his safety. But the fear of losing his partner to the dangers of this profession would be a little too much. It would only trigger a shitload of PTSD stuff. The fear of losing a loved one again would override the mutual experience and bonding through warfare, all the elements which otherwise might be pull factors in a military love interest. On the other hand, people with traumatic backgrounds tend to repeat the pattern, no matter how horrific or unsafe, simply because it's familiar. Still, I'd say someone from the base personnel would be a more alluring option for him. The shared hell, so to say, could make the foundations of this relationship quite dark. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing!

Deep down, Simon would be attracted to softness. Not innocence, per se, just something different from the realm in which he operates. This is why I think he could definitely fall for "a normie". He would appreciate dark humor and a certain kind of fearlessness, however. What ultimately would win his heart is someone who can stand, even cherish, his melancholy and cynicism and life choices and who is not on a quest to change or "fix" him.

I think Simon's ultimate wish is to find a home because he has lost it (or hasn't really had one in the first place). He's a leader and has to provide safety and support on a daily basis to the people under his command. But who offers support and safety to him? He knows how to protect people but doesn't know how to create a safe space, so he would appreciate someone who makes him feel he's finally found his way home. I think he yearns for a small measure of peace and a slice of normal life to wash away the adrenaline and blood and filth, he wants a small corner free from the demons that haunt him, even if he would reluctantly (if ever) admit that he does.

[xjulixred45x]

How would be dead royalty au zagreus with his own queen/king of the underworld? He would want heirs? I just want the fluff before the heavy stuff appears(yandere asks)

That would be kind of cute honestly.

Concept of the AU

To refer to Zag's partner in this Au (or reader, as you want) I think they would be called "Consort" (because 1- it is gender neutral and 2- they have the same rank as Zagreus).

and in a way I imagine that Consort was brought as a kind of gift to Zagreus from Zeus (since in a dialogue in the game he offers to give Zagreus a mate when he arrives at Olympus. as Zagreus now replaces his father, He is part of the Olympian pantheon, so Zeus wants to keep his word).

However, when Consort was "chosen" they were SUPER intimidated by the idea of Zagreus (after all, he was the god who killed their FATHER, ANOTHER GOD and ruled the Underworld, they had reason to be afraid) and Zagreus was taken by surprise with all this, because he didn't think that Zeus would continue with that (the poor guy was so involved in the paperwork that he didn't even notice how the other gods were winking at him about it).

Consort would be surprised with a Zagreus who is very shy about the situation and who is not at all as intimidating as they thought. Apart from that well, Zagreus cares about their opinion despite being a mortal (in this case, I love mortal readers, sorry not sorry), giving them a rank equal to his, total freedom of movement through the Underworld, security protection anti-escape, etc.

but above all, Zagreus would be PATIENT with Consort. He knows he has a bad reputation, so he lets them approach him on their own, at their own pace. He honestly finds their nervousness adorable, but doesn't rush anything.

But when they are already in a relationship? The man is CLINGY, Zagreus is touch-starved, you can rip this Headcanon from my cold, dead hands.

We all agree that one of Zagreus' love languages is giving gifts, although in the context of Dead Royalty, now that he is the KING of the Underworld, he can afford to give his partner more extravagant gifts, but they come from the heart, Like, does Consort want to start any new hobbies? Now they have a sewing set in their shared room, do they need clothes? They have a new set in their favorite color, are Consort's gold accessories too heavy? now they are of silver, etc.

He still maintains some of his customs before "that" happened, such as randomly giving Consort bottles of ambrosia/nectar, playing together with Cerberus, walking through some parts of the Underworld that are not dangerous (although no one tries to attack him anymore because well, he's the boss). Consort ends up bringing back a bit of the old Zagreus in a way.

As for the topic of children...it's confusing, on the one hand I think Zagreus WANTS children, but he definitely still has too much of his own trauma with his own father to think he would be a good father, even if Consort reassures him, he would still somewhat insecure. There is also the issue that he does not know if the child could have the same problem of being stillborn, he does not want Consort to go through that traumatic experience for a "whim".

It doesn't help that some gods are concerned about this prospect of Zagreus having children and suffering the same fate as his father (and grandfather), especially Zeus.

although if Consort wanted children/became pregnant, Zagreus would be very, very happy at the idea of having a child, and would definitely be a better father than the one he had.

Although he definitely does not judge Consort if they does not want to have children, it is not obligatory with him.

that's all for now :3

______

(ESPAÑOL)

Eso sería bastante lindo sinceramente.

para referirse a la pareja de Zag en este Au(o lector, como quieran) creo que les dirian "Consorte"(porque 1- es neutro con el genero y 2- tienen el mismo rango que Zagreus).

y en cierta forma me imagino que Consorte fue traída como una especie de regalo para Zagreus por parte de Zeus(ya que en un diálogo del juego se ofrece a darle a Zagreus una pareja cuando llegue al olimpo. como ahora Zagreus suple a su padre, el forma parte del panteon Olimpico, asi que Zeus quiere cumplir su palabra).

sin embargo, cuando Consorte fue "elegido" estaban SÚPER intimidados por la idea de Zagreus (después de todo, era el dios que mato a su PADRE, OTRO DIOS y gobernaba el Inframundo, tenian razones para tener miedo) y Zagreus fue tomado por sorpresa con todo esto, porque no penso que Zeus siguiera con eso(el pobre estaba tan metido en el papeleo que nisiquiera se dio cuenta de como los demás dioses le estaban dando guiños al respecto).

Consorte seria sorprendida con un Zagreus muy timido con la situación y que no es para nada tan intimidante como lo pensaban. aparte de que bueno, a Zagreus le importa su opinión pese a ser un mortal(en este caso, amo los lectores mortales, sorry not sorry), dandole un rango igual al suyo, total libertad de movimiento por el Inframundo, proteccion de la seguridad anti-huidas, etc.

pero sobretodo, Zagreus seria PACIENTE con Consorte. sabe que tiene mala fama, por lo que deja que se acerquen por su cuenta, a su ritmo. sinceramente encuentra su nerviosismo adorable, pero no apura nada.

¿pero cuando ya estan tal cual en una relación? eo hombre es PEGAJOSO, Zagreus esta hambriento de tacto, puedes arrancar este Headcanon de mis manos frias y muertas.

todos estamos de acuerdo que uno de los lenguajes de amor de Zagreus es dar regalos, aunque en el contexto de Dead Royalty, ahora que el es el REY del Inframundo, puede permitirse darle a su pareja regalos mas extravagantes, pero que vienen del corazón, como, ¿Consorte quiere iniciar algun hobbie nuevo? ahora tienen un set de costura en su cuarto compartido, ¿les hace falta ropa? tienen un set nuevo de su color favorito, ¿los accesorios de Consorte son muy pesados? ahora son de plata, etc.

igual mantiene algunas de sus costumbres antes de que pasara "eso", como darle a Consorte botellas de ambrosía/nectar de forma aleatoria, jugar juntos con Cerbero, pasear por algunas partes del Inframundo que no son peligrosas (aunque igualmente ya nadie intenta atacarlo porque bueno, es el jefe). Consorte termina trayendo un poco del viejo Zagreus en cierta forma.

en cuanto al tema de los hijos...es confuso, por una parte creo que Zagreus QUERRIA hijos, pero definitivamente aun tiene mucho de su propio trauma con su propio padre para pensar que sera un buen padre, aun si Consorte le tranquiliza, seguiria un tanto inseguro. tambien esta el tema de que no sabe si el niño podria tener su mismo problema de nacer muerto, no quiere que Consorte pase por esa experiencia traumatica por un "capricho".

no ayuda que algunos dioses les preocupe esta perspectiva de Zagreus teniendo hijos y sufriendo el mismo destino que su padre (y abuelo), especialmente Zeus.

aunque si Consorte quisiera hijos/queda embarazada, Zagreus estaria muy, muy feliz de la idea de tener un hijo, y definitivamente seria un mejor padre que el que tuvo.

aunque definitivamente no juzga a Consorte si no quiere tener hijos, no es obligatorio con el.

es todo por ahora:3

[sailing-ever-west]

Nobody acknowledges that Misako has trauma, man. Like tbf the show doesn't really either, but that's kinda ninjago's thing. The fandom examines the traumatic experiences of everybody else regardless of canon, but not her. Even with Wu, who I see plenty of mixed opinions on, nobody ignores that he dealt with some traumatic things. But Misako is just bad, magically, and it doesn't make sense.

When you take a look at her story without the fandom lenses, it's really quite compelling. Her husband, the man she trusted enough to have a child with, took a sudden sharp turn downwards from what had previously been a manageable condition, tried to go commit a crime, and then was banished to the underworld. This left her as a single mom dealing with the grief of losing Garmadon in one of the most messed up ways possible, with a child who she knows in her gut is the chosen one to battle him someday. A child who looks just like him. Who she has to protect. But how? She can't give him to Wu, who would train him and set him further on the path of the prophecy. Wu, who sent her husband to the depths the second he became at all violent. Wu who has already lost one student to misuse of this prophecy. There's no one she can trust.

And frankly, I wouldn't blame any woman in her position for giving up her child, especially if it was supposed to be temporary. Being a mother is now terrifying and probably very triggering. Being an archeologist is a way she knows she can help. So she leaves. Maybe it's weak, maybe it's strong, maybe it's loving, maybe it's cold. It was the decision she thought was best at the time in a situation with no good options. And I think it's reasonable to assume that in itself is traumatic, since she tells Lloyd later it was the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Did it traumatize Lloyd and give him abandonment issues? Yes. But the circumstances were going to be bad no matter what.

I truly think the two writing choices that made her seem so terrible to people were

1. Darkley's School for Bad Boys. Like who sends their child to that. It seems like it was invented as a gag and then when they went to develop more backstory they just...didn't think of how that made sense

2. The weird hecking romance between her and Wu that just made her seem disloyal and took so much screen time away from actually developing her. I'm still mad at them for that.

But aside from those main two things, she's actually a really interesting character and it's disappointing to see that go unnoticed because people can't handle her making decisions that hurt other characters.

[secretmellowblog]

The moments where other criminals try (and fail) to threaten Jean Valjean are fascinating, because we get a glimpse of how deeply Valjean was altered by prison— how much nineteen years of prolonged torture really has made him into a “formidable” “dangerous” criminal.

If he weren’t a shy gentle compassionate person who just wants to be left alone in peace with his daughter, he could easily be the most deadly man in Paris. He’s strong, he’s cunning, he has decades of knowledge about how to evade police and a wealth of hidden tools at his disposal, he’s highly skilled at deception, he can fend off gangs of men at once even while unarmed and has perfect aim with a gun; he could do so much harm if he decided to, but he doesn’t.

I love how Jean Valjean seems to view Patron-minette’s affiliates as… amateurs? They’re bad criminals in that they’re bad at being criminals. When Montparnasse attempts to rob him, and when Patron Minette/Thenardier ambush him, Jean Valjean speaks to them with lofty pity and kinda implies he thinks they do not really understand how to commit crimes. He explains the galleys to Montparnasse like he’s lecturing a silly misbehaving child.

When he burns himself with the hot chisel, the implication is: “I spent nineteen years in a prison where I was beaten and tortured every day, and you’re naive and inexperienced enough to think you can hurt me with a single scrap of metal you’ve heated up in a fireplace. You poor things. Don’t be afraid of me because I’m certainly not afraid of you <3”.

Compared to Jean Valjean, Patron-minette and their affiliates really are kinda just …play-acting. I think that’s part of why they get all those comparisons to theater and Vaudeville. Thenardier is a failed innkeeper puffing himself up as the most dangerous and clever criminal mastermind in Paris. But Jean Valjean actually has decades of experience living in “the criminal underworld” of the galleys, and as a result he has more deeply traumatizing knowledge and experience than Thenardier can even begin to imagine. Thenardier fails at torturing Valjean because Thenardier does not have the experience to even start to imagine the torture Valjean has already survived. As I mentioned before, Valjean has all the skills and knowledge that Thenardier wants to have, but doesn’t. So it’s like….Jean Valjean is in many ways the kind of “successful expert criminal” that Thenardier is only pretending to be.

[yrotic11]

Having generational planets in the 4th house could mean your house is haunted/you might’ve lived in a haunted house at least once in your life☠️OR you’re attracted to haunted homes

Generational planets are: Pluto, Uranus, Neptune.

PLUTO

Pluto- the literal under world. Silent hill vibes. The spirits that come to your home may be doing so after having days months years or even decades of treading the earth likely not even realizing they’re actually dead. They go to your home to meet hades to pass into the underworld after much time of unrest. You won’t literally see it (or maybe you could idk) but that’s what’s going on in the unseen side. Spirits come to REST at your house..probably not peacefully but more necessarily. It can take on Uranus like characteristics where…in the most extreme cases the spirits in your house might mark on your walls /note on paper with threatening messages because their spirit is not at peace and they feel the need to torment you. This is very general of course and for a specific set of people BUT generally speaking spirits will and DO pass through your house. The traumatized kind, the dark figure looking kinds. The perhaps maybe even evil kinds. … a very traumatic event likely happened on the property you grew up in before you came and lived in it and the energy just stayed there. Or you’re prone to harboring your home spaces in places like that without you even knowing. You might live near a cemetery with this Pluto house placement too . Pluto is the higher octave of mars so those violent threatening spirits are possible but are not limited too. Traumatized spirits might find solace in your presence.

NEPTUNE

Neptune- very hazy dreamy and spirits galore. Your home might literally calm spirits. In the flesh and out. So in real life humans can also even feel like they can wind right down to the core of their soul when they enter your house. It has a pixie spiritual vibe to it. I won’t say more “lighter” entities come to your house ;Neptune is more classical spirit related energy so anything is possible but normal regular spirits are more common than the more darker crazy kinds like Pluto—- but those Plutonian coated spirits will only come about if YOU actually make the effort to bring them in like say a ritual or something. But you’re more likely to have normal spirits/spirts of any kinds. And spirits like angels etc honestly anything. Neptune is the higher octave of Venus very endearing spirits may find themselves in your home.

URANUS

Uranus- the literal extraterrestrial. Home is likely very unique the spirits you attract in your house are also unique probably more chaotic/ won’t be afraid to throw a plate across the house/ play on a piano and open your water faucet or open your doors in more extreme cases. There’s an almost unRested air to your house ,spirits in limbo might find themselves in your house while they try and figure out where the hell theyre at and why. Crazy things. I just heard psyche ward 😭😭maybe? The type of spirits that come to your house were psyche ward patients. Or Your 1st couple of years of life(inside your home) was very chaotic and unstable. Maybe had a lot of people passing in and out weather to crash out or like your parents offered them a place to live because they had no where else to go. You may even be that type of friend lmao. Might attract unstable people in your home/what you call a home is unstable. The fae is also possible here I feel like this Uranus house placements are more likely to experience spirits possessing their items and moving said item. Regardless the spirits are probably kind of crazy & maybe even very smart . Uranus is the higher octave of mercury so Einstein type spirits could find themselves in your home are as I said, the fae and want to experiment how being a spirit is like, like for example that water foucet example I gave earlier lol. You may also have spirits around you who want to teach you about how it is on the other side and help you understand the metaphysics.

[fancyfeathers]

Yandere Vincent Phantomhive would, objectively speaking, be worse than any of the Moriarty brothers, wouldn't he? Unlike them, he's actually legally sanctioned for murder, arson, and (controlling) crime, if it benefitted the crown. To the then monarch, his darling and her family falling into his hands might have been an acceptable compromise if it meant winning loyalty and dedicated service in a time of where the underworld was rampant.

Perhaps the next ruler might not think so. A man might be unsympathetic to the sufferings of women, but a female ruler might be horrified and think it not worth the price, especially if the Phantomhive Estate still burned down and Vincent (and perhaps, the older son Ciel) killed early.

But what if... it wasn't one of the twins, but the Darling that was the one that summoned the demon? At the end of her rope, her assaulter pressuring her to have another child, and her left alone as her family broke apart after members either left or were disppeared, for rebelling. But she summons the demon that would be called Sebastian, and feels a twinge of mockery at his resemblance his human vishe has of her tomentor when they make their contact.

Not sure where this would go. Maybe she packs up and flees the country or to the countryside. She raises her remaining son and eventually charges Sebastian to serve and protect him when he decides to take up the Phantomhive Estate. Or she could die soon after summoning him, but commands him to serve her son for his natural lifespan.

Poor Ciel has to see his fond image of his father&early childhood shatter into pieces as he reconnects with his remaining relations on both sides. In this case both Francis Midford (born Phantomhive) and Angelina Durless are disgusted with his late father. His mother's sister particularly loathes the guy in contrast to canon, considers his untimely death as good riddance, but assists Ciel out of love for her sister and worry that her remaining nephew might run into the same fate.

(Honestly, the latter idea is kinder than my first one where she lives longer but firmly remains uninvolved with the 'family business'. That one had Sebastian eventually going yandere for Darling which would be a new traumatizing for her.

He would never force her like her husband did, and rarely gets jealous, but that's only because he's already won in his perspective. Since in this plot bunny Darling made the contract, her soul is his. He only has to uphold his end of the bargain, and a human lifespan is barely anything to him.)

Fancy is the one who normally writes for Moriarty the Patriot but in my opinion Vincent is by far the worst mortal yanderes someone could have. Him as a yandere is like playing chess with no experience against a grandmaster, no matter what you try you are going to loose.

Like honestly I think Vincent would have prepared for any scenario, so the chances of escaping him are slim to none even in death. Vincent could maybe make a deal with the Undertaker in the case of his death to bring him back as a “perfected” Bizarre Doll like R!Ciel in the manga or perhaps he would go as far as to cut a deal with a demon before his darling does.

So even if his darling made a deal with Sebastian it would all be in vain because no matter how he survives he will be back to drag her down with him once again. Though I think it is more likely that O!Ciel is the one who makes the deal with Sebastian since I would kind of view the twins as platonic yanderes for their mother, getting their father’s tendencies. O!Ciel having Sebastian look after his mother since she is supposed to be a grieving widow, and it irritates O!Ciel when she does not act like that given how his father and her husband just died. But soon enough Vincent would return as I said before, if that is alive or somewhat alive, he is not going anywhere any time soon.

[kseniyagreen]

On the symbolism of Li Xiangyi's portrait

I like the fact that the portrait of the outstanding hero Li Xiangyi, practically an icon, depicting him from the back - has several meanings at once. And they all converge into a holistic image. Firstly, this emphasizes that the hero of legends, the superstar, seems to have no face of his own.

Only the general outlines of a profile in the rays of collective fantasy.

Fang Duobing, as a true fan of his idol, conveys this view (and as a true fan at first does not want to believe anything that contradicts the mythologized image)

And yet the memory of sweets is dear to him. And the fact that this glimpse of a real Li Xiangyi as a person, and not a legend, sunk into Fang Duobing’s soul, makes him a real student of his teacher. In this memory there is a germ of how their relationship will develop in the future. But as Fang Duobing himself noted, not many paid attention to the real preferences of the famous hero.

Of all social roles, the role of a star is the highest - and at the same time one of the most constraining.

And here the beautiful symbolism of the pairing of Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng arises - they came to who they are in the present from opposite points. Li Xiangyi fell from the highest role. And Di Feisheng rose from the lowest role - the role of a slave. (Literally a creature of heaven and a creature of the underworld symbolism)

So, Li Xiangyi had the highest role, but such a role, in full attention of the whole world, not only evokes many obvious enemies and secret envious people, but also a huge number of devoted fans who want to push the hero of their dreams into the plot of this very dream. Whether he likes it or not. His first relationship relates to this same topic.

Notice how they are shown - beautifully, but like a beautiful dream, something ephemeral, not real. A valiant young hero simply must have a bride, and of course it must be the most beautiful girl. Later, in flashbacks of the young Li Xiangyi, we can see how his environment literally forces this relationship on him. After all, this is so consistent with the beautiful fairy tale that they want to see.

But Li Xiangyi’s portrait also has a second side, a personal side, about what kind of person he is in reality. The author of the portrait picked up on this feeling of an ever-eluding, outgoing spirit.

And as the drama progresses, we will often see Li Lianhua's back leaving. He is the one who always leaves, only sending a half-turned farewell glance to those who are dear to him.

Why? Probably because he experienced his first social death, which he no longer remembers, as a child. With his consciousness he forgot this traumatic experience, but his soul was formed from it, the first break in relations - with his parents.

He was used to protecting himself from the pain of a breakup by retreating into his free solitude. And then my thoughts return again to the heartbreaking symbolism of the fact, that the only person to whom Li Xiangyi symbolically returns broken, in the form of a broken sword, is Di Feisheng. The only person to whom he lost.

And in this brokenness there is, as it were, an acknowledgment of the impossibility of leaving this relationship gracefully. Fly away, calmly leaving them behind. Not everything in this life can be solved.

And yet eventually he remains within his mythological script. He does not stay to die next to the people who love him, does not destroy the image of the hero. He disappears, leaving behind the half-smile of a legend.

Because only the completed can be perfect, the ideal hero is always a hero who has left.

But how I would really really wish to get Li Xiangyi ( Lianhua) out of this perfect scenario.

[genericpuff]

So I have a question is hades telling Persephone his trauma with kronos trauma dumping? I see this word tossed around alot I just want to know if this was an example

It depends on which scene. If you're talking about the one early in S2 where Hades shares what happened to him with Persephone, that one's kind of a combination of lovebombing and trauma dumping + trauma bonding. And the reason I say that is because he basically takes away Persephone's moment to be vulnerable and talk about her own trauma and turns it into something about himself. Which he does a LOT in LO.

Like, this all happens after she's JUST revealed her side of the Act of Wrath and the events that led up to it (particularly involving her childhood) and Hades segues it into talking about himself.

Of course, that's after he shows her the tape of HER memories that he got without HER consent.

But of course Persephone's fine with it because she's not allowed to realize that her future husband might be a creep.

Anyways, it does seem like Hades is trying to "repay" Persephone for telling him her backstory, but that just doesn't work all that well here because it just comes across as insensitive. She's barely had any of her own time to reflect on the events that occurred VERY recently (though the timeline is unclear, know that Persephone was 19 when she moved to Olympus and the Act of Wrath had to have happened shortly before because she was clearly a young adult) and now she has to sit through listening to his baggage from 2000 years ago.

Like, this man has had two thousand years to talk to someone about this. But of course, it's the pink cinnamon roll girl that he met at a party and has known for TWO WEEKS who gets him monologuing about himself and trauma dumping.

And it's trying so hard to be painted as romantic, but really, it's just another case of Hades love-bombing Persephone.

This kind of dialogue is used in romance novels a lot but when you actually condense the timeline and understand that this 40+ year old man has only known this 19/20 year old girl for two weeks, it comes across as less romantic and more like he's just manipulating her. This is a VERY common tactic used by abusers and groomers (*note: this is a blanket statement that does not apply to all relationships) where they'll make the victim believe that they're just that special, that important to them, that they would tell them things they've "never told anyone before." Maybe this would happen in a relationship between two people that's been going on for a while, but someone you've only known for two weeks and you're still trying to get with? It's a bit more of a red flag there.

Meanwhile I'm staring at LO like, you're trying to convince me this man has never talked about his trauma ONCE? Not even with Hera, who he HASN'T EVEN TOLD PERSEPHONE HE'S BEEN IN A LONG-TERM AFFAIR WITH? Never mind the fact that he wasn't the only one who went through what he did, you're telling me he's never talked about it to anyone, in 2000 years? That's a load of baloney. The man needs a therapist, not a girlfriend.

And this isn't the only time Hades uses his trauma as a way to either trauma bond with Persephone OR to make excuses for his own actions. I can think of no better example than when Persephone finds out about his affair with Hera.

He makes the topic about Hera and her trauma. She does not know Hades is talking about this. She hasn't given him consent to tell Persephone about this. Hades is saying ALL this to get to the final point of: "I was in an affair with Hera because Hera and I were both traumatized and Zeus just couldn't understand that." (never mind the fact that Hades is also dismissing everything Zeus went through here just because Zeus doesn't have physical scars like Hera and Hades do, which is... ick.)

And then he goes off even MORE about his experience being sentenced down to the Underworld and eating the pomegranate and yadda yadda yadda the man literally will not shut up. Persephone at this point has opened up to him about her trauma once across the course of like, two episodes (and he doesn't even know about the SA yet!) and meanwhile Hades gets MULTIPLE episodes to talk about how sad and lonely he's been his whole life.

(he also thinks therapy is pointless because of course he does:)

He doesn't take any real accountability here for his actions. He doesn't take accountability for lying to Persephone about his affair with Hera. He doesn't take accountability for lying to Zeus - her husband and his BROTHER - about the affair for centuries, and he still doesn't know. And this is one of the first signs (chronologically) that Hades makes it a habit to form his relationships off trauma bonding and love-bombing.

(I'm so sad for Minthe here now in hindsight because she's literally telling Persephone that Hades is a chronic love-bomber but then she never connects that she should stop fighting with Persephone over Hades because of this. Like in any other comic, Minthe would be warning Persephone, not trying to get Persephone out of the picture so she can get Hades back.)

So yes, I would say Hades is absolutely trauma-dumping when you take into account the fact that he seems to be using it as a form of love-bombing and trauma bonding, and the fact that the comic spends way more time justifying his horrible actions through his trauma, while Persephone's trauma which is an ACTIVE PLOT POINT in her character arc and the comic, gets shoved off to the wayside so it can take a backseat to Hades' 2000 year old baggage. Screw what the women are going through, the man's talking.

That said, don't get me wrong, Persephone's still a horrible person who uses her trauma as an excuse for her actions too, but that's for another post.

In the meantime, have this great video about love bombing:

[lovemyromance]

I feel like something Gwynriel’s don’t understand that a lot of long time (and some recent) SJM fans understand is fandom spaces and coexisting, they also lack being able to understand something I, as an avid consumer of various contents and media with traumatized characters (because that’s a commonly used plot device for backstories or to drive the plot forward) is that a lot of content creators like authors make the trauma a character experienced vague unless their recovery is meant to be the plot like with Nesta- so characters like Lucien, Rhys and Gwyn all have a trauma and it’s left vague on how they recovered so you the consumer can see your experience and your recovery in them otherwise it leaves the content creator open to criticism from a sect of their audience who experienced that sensitive topic- which they wouldn’t do if they themselves haven’t experienced it. Now, Gwynriels completely disregarding Gwyn’s trauma is outrightly wrong, their ideas of her and Az take a trauma survivor and forces her into intense sexual situations, sometimes extremely intense sexual situations with someone she doesn’t have a relationship or chemistry with. They also don’t understand Elriel’s analyzing Gwyn as a lightsinger and/or her friendship with Nesta and Emerie isn’t hate, it’s analyzing the text of a story- personally I can’t stand Gwyn and hope the three of them get lives outside of each other like they deserve but Gwynriel’s can’t fathom the phrase “two things can exists at the same time” Gwyn can be a traumatic SA survivor and an annoying person (to people in the fandom)- i’ve never seen an Elriel criticize or hate Gwyn because of her trauma, just that they don’t like personality or her relationship with Nesta and Emerie or that she seems self serving, Gwynriel’s need to understand their ~little nymph priestess who can do no wrong with her pliant bones and singing~ can be both a trauma survivor and an annoying person/shitty friend. They don’t cancel each other out and personally i’m worried this will get worse if Gwyn is a lightsinger in the next book because of the lack of understanding that Gwyn can be multifaceted, like previously stated- a trauma survivor and an annoying self centered person (in my opinion) I also loved the theory that Elriel is similar to Orpheus and Eurydice which supports Gwyn being a lgbtisnger because Eurydice was lured into the woods by a Nymph (Elain hasn’t met Gwyn and seems to be aware of Gwyn’s powers- the headache powder and earplugs) where Eurydice was bitten by a snake and taken to the Underworld and brought back by Orpheus, but Cauldron forbid Gwynriel’s get reading comprehension and understand that an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling would be so fucking cute, like Feysand and Tamlin being a retelling of Hades and Persephone. (Sorry this was long, a lot of Elriel blogs I follow don’t have asks on, for a good reason, but i’ve been sitting on this for a while <3)

I also really don't understand the Gwyn fascination. Here's why, in 3 parts:

1. Gwyn is very much a background, minor character. Could she one day become a main character? Sure. But right now, I would not consider her a main character. I mean, I barely even consider Amren or Mor main characters anymore, and they're part of the IC.

2. SJM isn't going to write an entire book about a minor character's "healing journey" after SA trauma. She just doesn't do that.

3.SJM is an entertaining writer, but she's not very complex in her ideas and character building. All her characters have trauma, but it's often just vague and more of a check the box thing. Like maybe she just has a character outline template like:

Character Name:

Gender:

Goal:

Trauma/Harrowing backstory: ✅

Genuinely, she uses trauma like people use sad backstories on americas got talent or something to get the golden buzzer 😭😭

I think honestly her most complex character was Nesta, and she did a great job with showing her trauma (which wasn't just vague SA but a combination of things, which made it more realistic). Even if I wasn't a fan of how Nesta's story ended with her giving up her powers, I understood why SJM wrote it that way.

But Nesta was a main character. It made sense her trauma was explored more and her healing journey was a focus.

Gwyn is literally not a main character. She is Nesta's friend. Like Emerie is also Nesta's friend. Emerie arguably also has a lot of trauma, but I don't have high hopes that SJM will explore that Illyrian backwards society either. It's all just a means to an end to her. She's not out here writing a healing journey for every faerie in Prythian.

People are always quick to vilify Elriels for saying Gwyn isn't a main character, and acting like we're blaming it on her trauma. Or acting like we think Gwyn is a threat to Elriel 🤡 They're out here claiming to everyone that "Gwyn is going to get a story! Her story isn't over yet!"

I'm sure we'll see her in some capacity in the remaining series, but I doubt she's going to get an entire book focusing on her "healing" (whatever the fuck that means). SJM isn't going to write an entire book about a minor character's healing from SA. Like I'm sorry, but literally every other character in her books has some sort of SA/abuse in general type trauma.

People have literally just latched onto Gwyn because she's pretty, determined, nice, and juuuuuust vague enough that they can use her as a self insert.

She's not a main character right now. And we can sit here and argue that "Oh she might be soon!" but then we could do that for everything.

I could say Koschei is Azriel's mate and people can argue saying that's ridiculous and I can just counter with "Oh maybe not right now but there's definitely some foreshadowing that they might be mates someday."

I'm not wasting time having discussions about what is not in the books currently.

[archetypesanalysis]

Why I believe Tech is alive

For this analysis, I will be referring to “Goddesses in Everywoman” and “Gods in Everyman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen. I will be talking about the Bad Batch Season 3 Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer. I will also refer to the titles of Season 3 episodes for this analysis. I will make some predictions for Season 3, so if you do not want to read into it, you can just scroll away.

We know the traumatising scene in “Plan 99” – Tech severs the connection between the cable cars and he falls. Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega mourn for their fallen brother. However, many fans believe that Tech is alive, and he will return in season 3. I am one of those people. After watching the Season 2 finale, I mourn for the loss, but I also want to cling onto any possible hints that he is alive. With that, I delve deeper into archetypal psychology (while I was ill at that time), and I have discovered many interesting clues that make me believe that Tech is alive.

To the people who do not believe that Tech is alive and do not want him to return in Season 3 due to personal reasonings like finding meaning in death and dealing with grief, I understand and respect all your opinions. I just do not like the excuses of “we need more suffering” or “I like suffering” to “justify” why Tech should not come back in Season 3.

With that said, I am mainly using my understanding of archetypal psychology to explain why I believe Tech is alive. Some points have been discussed in my analysis of the 3 seasons, but I am going to expand these points here.

1. Voluntary descent into the Underworld

In the myths, most people descend into the Underworld involuntarily. This is done either through death or abduction. In psychological terms, people involuntarily descend into the Underworld when they go through a traumatic experience, or they lose meaning, hope or purpose in life. However, there are myths where people descend into the Underworld voluntarily.

Some heroes take on this journey with love as their motivation. In the myth of Eros and Psyche, Aphrodite ordered Psyche to enter the Underworld with a small box for Persephone to fill it with beauty ointment. This was Psyche’s fourth and final task that she must do if she wanted to reunite with her husband Eros. In the myth of Orpheus, he went to Hades seeking his dead wife Eurydice. In one myth of Dionysus, he entered the Underworld to resurrect his dead mother Semele.  Besides love, some heroes are motivated by wisdom. In the myth of Odysseus, he ventured into the Underworld to seek help from a blind seer named Tiresias, so he could find his way home. In Roman mythology Aeneid, Aeneas entered the Underworld to seek the shade of his father, and he had a prophetic vision of Rome’s destiny. The journey to the Underworld is part of a heroic task. For example, in Greek mythology, the twelfth and final labour of Heracles was to capture and bring Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld. He was able to overpower the beast with his bare hands and bring it out of the Underworld, thus completing his twelve labours.

By enacting Plan 99, Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld – and he is the only one to do so in Season 2. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bad Batch involuntarily descend into the Underworld through grief or abduction. Tech’s sacrifice is described as “heroic” and “intentional”, which are keywords for a voluntary descend into the Underworld. Besides, Tech is motivated by love and wisdom as he makes this descent. He wants to seek out information about the whereabouts of Crosshair and Omega, so they can finally reunite with Hunter, Wrecker and Echo.

However, voluntary descents are done at great risks for there is no guarantee of a safe return. As Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld, his fate becomes uncertain, which will explain why ambiguous wordings are used to describe his fate: “he’s gone”, “he’s not coming back in this episode at least”, “sort of sacrifices himself”, “my life as a soldier has come to an end”, “it’s kind of a loss, it’s complicated (with averted eyes)”, “plummeted out of sight”, etc.

2. Broken goggles indicate dismemberment

As the Bad Batch mourns for their loss, Dr. Hemlock arrives to capture them. He throws a pair of Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter, saying that this is the only thing they could salvage from the wreckage. Judging from the state of the goggles, it seems that the goggles were smashed on impact and were later removed. Moreover, some fans see this as mirroring the last time we saw Echo after his apparent death in the Citadel, in which we saw Echo’s charred helmet being left behind.

The goggles have always been a part of Tech’s identity. He is the most recognizable for wearing it. Cid even gives him the nickname “Goggles”. Besides the goggles, his eyes also formed part of his identity. When Phee first meets Tech, she calls him “Brown Eyes”, hinting that she is drawn to his eyes despite all clones have brown eyes. Losing the goggles means that Tech has lost part of his identity, which is a form of psychological dismemberment. In Jungian psychology, anything that has been “dismembered” is thrown into the Underworld and it becomes part of our Shadow, which consists the parts we have deemed as unacceptable, shameful or even traumatic. I have seen fanarts about Tech being alive but he loses his sight, which can be considered as a form of physical and psychological dismemberment.

We have seen 3D models of Tech without his goggles, and he looks different from his usual look. When he wears the goggles, he looks friendly and approachable. Without the goggles, he looks serious and intimidating. We know that the goggles records everything, and in addition to giving Tech a friendly and approachable look, it enables him to get close to anyone and gather vital information. This is useful most of the time, especially during the Clone Wars as Tech acts as the bridge between Clone Force 99 and other people. However, this will become difficult during the rise of the Empire as the galaxy becomes more dangerous. A friendly look will likely draw unnecessary attention and people are more likely to pick on you. This may have been a problem for Tech in some mercenary jobs. For example, when Phee brings the Bad Batch to a cantina to purchase an artifact, Tech stays in the Marauder to provide them a getaway. I think Tech being assigned to this role is not just due to his piloting skills, but the fact that he looks “too friendly” to blend in with the crowd that mostly has questionable morals. Instead, Hunter and Wrecker are chosen as Phee’s muscle as they can blend in with the crowd so Lanse Crowder and his henchmen will let their guard down (as for Omega, she acts as Phee’s young apprentice).

If Tech needs to sneak in and acquire confidential Imperial files, an intimidating look will help. Without his goggles, Tech can easily take on the serious and intimidating look to blend it with the Imperials and/or scare off the low-level Imperials. This new look can also be useful for Tech to blend in with pirates, smugglers, mercenaries and bounty hunters – to show that he is someone you should not mess with.

I do believe that we may see Tech taking on a different look (and a different identity) in Season 3. I once imagined his new appearance to resemble a figure wearing black armour (quite similar to the one shown in the official Season 3 trailer). His different look may indicate that “the old friendly Tech is gone”, but this does not necessarily mean that Tech will be brainwashed by Hemlock and become a clone assassin. It will just mean that he has to suppress his friendly side in order to find Crosshair and Omega.

3. Tech’s archetype combination: Hades, Hermes and Athena

In my two-part character analysis of Tech (innate archetype and anima), I identify Tech to have three main archetypes: Hades (the God of the Underworld), Hermes (the Messenger God) and Athena (the Goddess of Wisdom).

Since Tech is innately Hades, this means that he is used to the Underworld as his exceptional mind already serves as his Underworld. Based on the footage shown in the Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer, I can see that each member of the Bad Batch is in their own versions of the Underworld: Hunter is loss of purpose, Echo is loneliness, Wrecker is monsters, Omega is abduction, and Crosshair is hopelessness. This leaves me a question: what is Tech’s Underworld? The answer is… I do not really know. His mind already resembles the Underworld and he can easily spend long hours by himself – as if he is familiar with this dark and mysterious territory. If you try to subject Tech with the Underworlds experienced by other members of the Bad Batch, he will most probably be unaffected by it. He is probably aware of these aspects of the Underworld, and he is not afraid to face them. Since the writers intended to bring the Bad Batch into the Underworld and keep them there for some time by the Season 2 finale, it would explain why they had to take Tech out of the picture. Tech would have made their journeys to the Underworld at least bearable and he would have brought them out of their dark places quickly. Without Tech, the Bad Batch would have to struggle for months (since there is a time jump hinted in the trailers). Moreover, Tech’s disappearance resembles Hades wearing the cap of invisibility – Tech has become Hades the Unseen One, “invisible” to everyone.

As Athena, Tech is a powerful strategist that gears towards practicality and pragmatism, which enables him to get an upper hand over his enemies. His craftiness and emotional distance can lead him to “do whatever it works” to accomplish his goals or defeat his enemies. With this in mind, I believe that Tech already has a strategy in mind when he decides to enact Plan 99. Although he is well-aware that his action will hurt his teammates, he does it because “it is the only way” he can succeed in his mission of finding Crosshair (and later Omega). In Greek mythology, Athena is the ally and guide of many heroes. When Heracles is tasked to capture Cerberus, Athena and Hermes act as his guides to the Underworld, helping him to complete his final labour. In orphic theology, Athena is depicted as a rescuer of Dionysus, the God of Wine and Ecstasy. In this myth, she managed to save the heart of the infant Dionysus that had been torn into pieces. She then gave the heart to Zeus, who sewed it to his own thigh, allowing Dionysus to be reborn. By taking these two myths into consideration, Tech takes on the guide and rescuer of the Bad Batch, who are heroes.

Among his archetypes, I find that Hermes is the strongest in Tech. As the messenger, Tech can easily travel through different places to gather information, just like Hermes who can swiftly travel between Olympus, earth and the Underworld. As the trickster, Tech can sneak around, make an escape, steal data, hack into machinery and break through confidential files with ease. As the alchemist, Tech can create new things and strategies to help him and his teammates.

Hermes is known to be the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. As a psychopomp, he accompanies the souls of the dead to the Underworld (psychologically, he is the archetype that helps people during significant life transitions). In his myths, Hermes has rescued Ares who was trapped in the bronze jar, has brought Persephone out of the Underworld, and has saved Dionysus at least twice. These two roles have been present in Tech since his first appearance. It is highly likely that these roles would become more prominent in Season 3. I believe that Tech would lead Hunter, Echo and Wrecker to rescue Crosshair and Omega. Once the team is reunited, Tech would become the guide of souls as he helps the Bad Batch (and himself) to find meaning in their sufferings, to integrate all aspects of themselves, and to be transformed by their journeys to the Underworld: Hunter would learn to embrace human seasonal changes and become a hero; Echo would learn to become more assertive and be unafraid to revisit his trauma; Wrecker would learn to think before he acts; Crosshair would learn to be vulnerable and let love be his motivator; Omega would become more mature and assertive as she guides others through dark times; and Tech would learn to be more in touch with his emotions.

According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, Hermes has the innate potential to become a guide of souls and a seeker of meaning. This potential can be unleashed by venturing down into the depths of the Underworld, which will lead a person to undergo a spiritual evolution. They will gain valuable insight from this journey and will return to pass down what they have learned. This is similar to Hermes bringing Persephone (the soul) out of the Underworld and back to her mother Demeter. This myth became the basis for the Eleusinian Mysteries, which was the most sacred and important religious rituals of Ancient Greece that celebrated the return of Persephone from the Underworld. The ancients believed that those who were initiated into the mysteries would gain a reason to live in joy and die without fearing death.

In Season 1, Tech is more focused on monetary gains to support the Bad Batch after they defect from the Empire. They start to work for Cid by taking up mercenary jobs. For example, in “Rampage”, the Bad Batch is tasked to rescue Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders, which is the right thing to do, and according to Tech, they can earn a decent amount of credits. In “War-Mantle”, when the team discusses whether they should deviate from their job and rescue Gregor, Tech reminds them that Cid will not compensate them if they choose to deviate, and they will go hungry without the money to buy food.

I believe Season 2 is when Tech starts to undergo a spiritual evolution. In “Spoils of War”, the Bad Batch agrees to Cid’s promise to free them from their debts if they succeed in retrieving one of Count Dooku’s war chests. Although Tech’s left femur is fractured during the mission, he is determined to retrieve the war chest and use the fortune for the team’s benefit. However, I believe Tech’s meeting with Romar is what changes him, which initiates his spiritual evolution. Romar has survived the bombardment of Serenno City, and he now lives in the woods alone. He is not interested in Dooku’s war chests, and instead, he is more interested in persevering his Serennian culture, which gives him meaning in life. When Tech manages to fix the datacore and restore data about Serennian culture, Romar is overjoyed because his life now has meaning once more – as if his soul is rescued from the Underworld. This may have initiated him into the Eleusinian Mysteries, giving him the reason to continue living in joy and gaining the bravery to help Tech and Echo to find Omega before the Imperials do. Before the Bad Batch leaves, Romar tells Tech that he is staying behind as he is a survivor, which seems to have impacted Tech. I believe that Romar has acted as a wise elder that sends Tech on the spiritual journey, making him realize that helping others is more meaningful than carrying out mercenary jobs to make ends meet. Even though Tech gains nothing from helping Romar, he finds it meaningful.

However, Tech is not as vocal as Echo because of his loyalty to Hunter (motivated by his Athena anima). Hunter wants the team to lay low and not get involved in the fight against the Empire. Tech knows Hunter has the team’s best interest in mind, so he does not object. Though, it is possible that Tech is starting to become frustrated. In “Faster”, Tech complains to Cid that giving Hunter and Echo the job to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets is a waste of their skills and talents. He also does not want to follow Cid for another mission, but he goes for it because of Wrecker and Omega. When they must win the race to free Cid and her debt to Millegi, Tech reminds Wrecker and Omega that Cid’s dealings with individuals of questionable integrity have caused her to repeatedly use the Bad Batch to solve her problems, which has become a problematic pattern. It does seem that Tech is starting to get tired of Cid and he begins to find this current life as meaningless. He probably wants more of this life but he cannot.

After Echo leaves the Bad Batch, Tech turns all of his energy to work, which is his way of dealing with the loss. I also believe that Tech becomes intensely focused on work because he is determined to fully pay off the team’s debt so they can be free and do whatever they want in life. Since Echo leaves to join Rex’s resistance network, which gives him meaning in life, Tech may have become more motivated to achieve that goal for the Bad Batch (and himself). However, by focusing intensely on work, Tech has become emotionally withdrawn, which leads to tensions and misunderstandings. In “The Crossing”, Omega thinks that Tech is unbothered by Echo’s absence and that he is unsympathetic towards her grief. When Tech realizes that his intense emotional withdrawal has inadvertently hurt his loved ones, he learns to understand himself better and learns to grow.

In “Retrieval”, the Bad Batch goes to retrieve the stolen Marauder in Mokko’s factory. Tech points out that Mokko appears to be using his power and means as a leverage over his workers, which consist of adolescent miners. He finds Mokko’s operation to be similar to the Empire. After the Bad Batch manages to free the miners from Mokko’s oppressive rule, Omega realizes that there are other threats besides the Empire. Tech reassures her that there are many good people out there like them. Their actions of liberating the miners have helped them to reconnect with their souls – they once again find what gives them meaning in life.

Since Cid refuses to help the Bad Batch after they lost the Marauder during the mission to acquire ipsium, the team begins to keep a distance from her. They probably begin to feel that Cid is taking advantage of them and she would never release them from their debts. In “Metamorphosis”, when Cid provides intel about a downed ship that they can scavenge for parts, the team demands a higher share of the cut and threatens to not return. Tech knows that their agreement with Cid is not mutually beneficial, but they cannot sever ties so easily because Cid knows compromising information about them. Hence, Tech proposes to treat this mission as their last for Cid – which means they are going for a strike. Perhaps Tech hopes that the strike can teach Cid a lesson, and it can give the Bad Batch alternative options to earn credits like working with Phee.

It does seem that all goes well once the Bad Batch teams up with Phee – they are taking on more meaningful jobs (which involve retrieving artifacts that are mostly culturally significant to the people on Pabu), and they now have the option to stay permanently on Pabu. However, in “Tipping Point”, Tech realizes that Crosshair is being held captive by Dr. Hemlock and that Crosshair has sent Plan 88 to warn them that they have been targeted by the Empire. Tech now probably realizes the severity of the situation faced by the Bad Batch. He is probably well-prepared for the possibility that he has to carry out Plan 99 if anything goes wrong. Surprisingly, Plan 88 is called “The Seeker”, which makes me believe that this serves as an initiation for Tech to become Hermes the Seeker of Meaning. After all, Tech is now motivated to seek out Hemlock and his base in order to find Crosshair.

When the mission to Eriadu goes horribly wrong, Tech realizes that he must venture down into the Underworld (the Empire) so he can seek access to the mysteries hidden in the forbidden depths of the Empire (since the location and purpose of the Advanced Science Division led by Hemlock are hidden). With that, Tech carries out Plan 99, which is equivalent to him being initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries as he “no longer fears death”. Before Heracles descended into the Underworld to capture Cerberus as his twelfth and final labour, he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries to ensure that he would be able to safely return. He was also accompanied by Hermes and Athena on his journey. Since Tech is innately Hades, he is no stranger to the depths of the Underworld. Moreover, his Hermes and Athena archetypes are powerful enough to act as his guides to the Underworld. With that, it is highly possible that Tech survives the fall as he undergoes a full spiritual evolution, and he would return wiser than ever in Season 3.

4. The Abduction of Persephone: Hecate, Helios and Hermes

In the Greek myth, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades with the approval given by her father Zeus. Her mother Demeter heard echoes of her cries and rushed to find her. Demeter spent 9 days and 9 nights searching for Persephone across the earth (Coincidentally, 9 days and 9 nights can sound like 99 – Clone Force 99, Plan 99). At dawn on the tenth day, Demeter met Hecate, the Goddess of the Dark Moon, Crossroads, Witchcraft and Ghosts. Hecate told Demeter that she had heard Persephone screaming for help but did not know what happened to her. She suggested that they both go to Helios, the God of the Sun who shared this title with Apollo. Helios, who had witnessed the incident, told Demeter what had happened. Feeling betrayed and grief-stricken, Demeter ceased functioning as the Goddess of Grain, plunging the earth into an eternal winter that threatened to wipe out the human race. No gifts or honours could appease Demeter as she made it clear that she would not allow anything to grow until Persephone was returned to her. Zeus finally gave in and sent Hermes to bring Persephone out of the Underworld and restored her to Demeter. After the mother and daughter reunited, Demeter restored fertility and growth to the earth.

At the end of “Metamorphosis”, Lama Su (Zeus) tells Dr. Hemlock (Hades) that he needs to capture Omega (Persephone) if he wants to control Nala Se (Demeter – though not as strong as Hunter) and force her to carry out a project for the Empire. At the end of “Plan 99”, Hemlock successfully kidnaps Omega, and Hunter (Demeter) is too late to stop him. Despite not knowing where Omega is taken to, Hunter is determined to get her back and he will not stop searching for her. Since the trailers show Omega’s hair has grown longer to resemble Emerie’s hairstyle, and that Hunter’s hair has also grown slightly longer, this means that Hunter has sent months searching for Omega. His armour becoming more worn out with colours fading away indicates that he has not stopped to rest in his frantic search for he does not want Omega to wait for another day – like Demeter did not eat, sleep or bathe as she searched for Persephone.

In the Celebration Europe trailer, Rex tells Hunter “That kid (referring to Omega) may be the key to whatever is happening on Mount Tantiss”. I believe this scene is from “A Different Approach”. We know that anything about Mount Tantiss and its experiments are confidential. When the ships heading to Mount Tantiss encounter problems such as extensive damage of the ship or hijacking, the Imperials will erase the databanks to prevent anyone from discovering the destination and the purposes of the experiments. The Imperials will also commit suicide, taking all confidential information to their graves. The databanks are also heavily encrypted, which provides extra protection for anyone who manages to retrieve them before deletion.

Based on Rex’s sentence, it seems that someone has provided him the information about Mount Tantiss and the experiments being conducted there. However, Rex only suspects that Omega may be related to the experiments on Mount Tantiss – which means they are still uncertain about her precise location (even though the audience knows that she is there). So, who could have sent such confidential information to Rex? I do not think it is Scorch or Emerie because if it was either one of them, they would have confirmed that Omega is on Mount Tantiss. Perhaps it could be one of the undercover clones working for Rex’s resistance network? It is possible, but any information about the Advanced Science Division (Hemlock, Mount Tantiss, cloning experiments, clone prisoners) are heavily encrypted and Hemlock is certain that nobody can break through these safeguards. However, there is one person proven to have the capability to do so – Tech.

I believe that Tech would take on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. As the Goddess and Protector of the entranceways, Hecate was worshipped in ancient Athens as a protector of the household, alongside Zeus, Hestia, Hermes and Apollo. In Hesiod’s Theogony, she was depicted as a goddess of great honour with domains in sky, earth and sea. By the fifth century BCE, she has taken on a darker depiction as the Goddess of Witchcraft, Ghosts and the Dark Moon. Some sources represented her as the guardian of the gates to the Underworld, or as the keeper of keys to the Underworld. As the Goddess of the Crossroads, she took the form of a triple-goddess or a triple-faced goddess. Due to her association with being ‘between’, she is depicted as a “liminal” goddess that has the ability to cross from the Underworld to the physical world with ease. She also acted as a mediator between the Olympians and Titans, and between the mortals and the divine. Her liminal role is reflected in a number of her cult titles: Apotropaia (that turns away or protects); Enodia (on the way); Propulaia/Propylaia (before the gate); Triodia/Trioditis (who frequents crossroads); Klêidouchos (holding the keys).

Tech may have taken the role of Hecate when he finds out that Crosshair is being held captive by Hemlock but he does not know where Crosshair is. This sends him on a journey to find him. It is possible that Tech would have come to know that Omega has been kidnapped by Hemlock. This would push him further to locate them. Like Hecate, Tech would stand on the crossroads between the Empire, the pirates and smugglers, and Rex’s resistance network. He would sneak into the Empire (the Underworld) to find any information regarding Hemlock and the Advanced Science Division, and then he would send that information to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. I believe that Tech found out information regarding Mount Tantiss and the cloning experiments being carried out there. He would have related this information to the Bad Batch’s discovery of a downed ship in “Metamorphosis”, in which the ship contained Kaminoan technology and a cloned Zillo Beast, which was later captured by the Empire. This discovery led Tech to theorize that the Empire destroyed the cities of Kamino to take control of its cloning technology for nefarious purposes. With that in mind, Tech would suspect that Hemlock is associated with these cloning experiments on Mount Tantiss, and that Crosshair and Omega are being held captive there. This information would give Hunter, Wrecker and Echo a different approach to find Crosshair and Omega.

Of course, suspicion would not be enough for Tech. He would need confirmation that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would also need the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss so he could precisely locate where Crosshair and Omega would be held captive. By studying the security measures of Mount Tantiss, Tech would be able to find the best infiltration point, devise the best method of escaping, and prepare for any traps that could hinder the rescue mission like the poisonous gas created by Hemlock in “Tipping Point”. He might gain this information through confidential databases or through a secret communication with Emerie and/or Scorch (though Emerie might be more likely). I believe “The Return” is when Tech reveals to the Bad Batch that he is alive. This time, Tech would take on the role of Helios as he could definitely confirm that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would provide the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss, allowing Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to plan out a rescue mission. I believe that “Infiltration” and “Extraction” would be the rescue mission, and Tech would take on the role of Hermes, or more specifically, as the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. Tech would lead Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to infiltrate Mount Tantiss, and they would successfully rescue Crosshair and Omega.

When I analyse the Bad Batch arc in the Clone Wars, I discover that Tech has taken on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. In “The Bad Batch”, the Bad Batch, Rex and Jesse manage to infiltrate the Cyber Center on Anaxes, which the Separatists are using it to receive Rex’s battle strategy algorithm to predict the Republic’s tactics. When Tech hacks into the computer system, he discovers that the algorithm is not stored inside the center’s memory banks. Instead, the algorithm is being broadcasted from another planet called Skako Minor. This discovery is shocking to both Tech and Rex. Right here, Tech has taken on the role of Hecate as he is now at the crossroads between Anaxes and Skako Minor, and he is providing Rex a different approach to stop the Separatists from winning. Tech then takes on the role of Helios as he digs deeper and finds an audio signal that sounds like a human voice. Under Rex’s request, Tech sends a transmission requesting the person’s identity, which turns out to be “CT-1409” – Echo’s identification number. Tech also drops the voice’s masking so they can clearly hear that it is the voice of a clone trooper.

In “A Distant Echo” and “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Tech takes on the role of Hermes. As the guide of souls, Tech brings the Bad Batch, Rex and Anakin to Skako Minor, which serves as the Underworld to Echo (and Rex). He flies into a storm but manages to safely land on the planet’s surface. When Anakin is captured by a keeradak, Tech gives the coordinates so Crosshair can shoot a grappling hook at the flying reptile, which allows Hunter to use it to track down Anakin. After rescuing Anakin from the Poletecs, Tech becomes the translator (or Hermes the god of speech) that helps the team and the Poletecs to understand each other. When Tech loses Echo’s signal, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Anakin begin to fear that Echo is actually dead and the Separatists are using him to lure them into a trap. However, Tech does not believe in that, and neither does Rex. This can be interpreted as Tech helping Rex to hold onto hope. After Tech and Rex manage to find Echo in a stasis chamber, Tech uses his expertise to safely disconnect Echo from the computer. Then, as droids begin to surround Anakin and the clones on a long narrow pipe, Tech uses a recording to summon several keeradaks, allowing all of them to escape using an alternate route. Thanks to his powerful Hermes archetype, Tech ensures that the rescue mission will be a success. As Hermes the rescuer of the child, he plays a vital role on rescuing Echo, who has the Persephone anima. I believe that he would do it again for Omega and Crosshair.

5. Tech vs Hemlock

Tech and Hemlock share the same archetype combination, but they take on different sides. Tech is the good Hades as he is willing to share his inner riches to others (as Hades the Plouton) and he is able to understand and respect other people’s decisions and subjective values (as Hades the Good Counsellor). Hemlock is the evil Hades as he takes on the archetype of the abductor and the shadow of the father archetype (or the Shadow of Zeus). The Empire and Palpatine, with all their might, power and control, represent Zeus. Imperials like Tarkin and Hemlock take on the Zeus archetype as they are prominent figures of the Empire (even having a meeting on the Summit, which is where Zeus resides on his throne). The Empire announces that the clone troopers will be sent for retirement, but they are acting out a terrible secret in the shadows. Hemlock represents the Shadow as he is the one requesting the Empire to send him dissident clone troopers for his inhumane experiments as he believes that eliminating them will not root out the problem of rogue clones within the Empire. Hemlock is abducting these clone troopers into Mount Tantiss, which is the Underworld. He even abducts Omega, who is innately Persephone, so he can force Nala Se to carry out an important project for the Empire. He even threatens to torture Omega for Nala Se’s defiance and failures.

Tech is the good Hermes as he is the guide of souls, the seeker of meaning, and the rescuer of the child. On the other hand, Hemlock is the sociopathic Hermes as he takes on the negative side of the trickster. This is evident when Hemlock pretends to be Hermes the rescuer of the child as he tells Omega that he is here to return her to Nala Se (like Hermes restoring Persephone to her mother Demeter). Although he is right to some extent, Omega does not want to go back to Nala Se because she does not want to be separated from her brothers, and she does not want to be turned into an experiment by the Kaminoans. Hemlock is aware of her resistance, so he resorts to kidnap her. Hemlock does restore Omega to Nala Se, but he actually traps both of them in the Underworld, preventing them from escaping and forcing them to do whatever he wants from them.

In the trailers, we see Hemlock walking beside Palpatine as he commences a project for Nala Se. It does seem that Hemlock has become Palpatine’s right-hand man, making him Athena the archetype of “the father’s daughter”. He upholds all of Palpatine’s commands no matter how horrible they are. Tech has this Athena archetype on him as he is loyal to Hunter, but he also has a tendency to deviate from Hunter’s orders when he thinks it is necessary. Besides, Hunter being a good leader also influences Tech to take on more positive traits of Athena.

Hemlock seems to know how to psychologically break the Bad Batch: he tortures Crosshair with an interrogation droid; he throws Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter and points out his failed leadership; he imprisons, restrains and tortures Omega until she starts to lose hope. Since Tech and Hemlock represent the opposite sides of their archetypes (good vs evil), I feel that Tech is the best candidate to take down Hemlock.

6. Tech’s wrath

I have seen headcanons describing Tech’s wrath as the scariest, and I agree. Although Tech is calm and collected, there are times we can see Tech holding back his anger and frustration. His exceptional mind is one factor why you should never hurt Tech or his loved ones, but I believe there is another factor – his Hades archetype.

In one Greek myth, Theseus and Pirithous both wanted to marry a daughter of Zeus. Theseus chose Helen of Troy while Pirithous chose Persephone (despite she was already married to Hades). They both enter the Underworld and become trapped there. One version of the myth stated that they sat on the rocks and snakes coiled around their legs, which turned their bottoms and legs into stone. Another version stated that Hades had prepared a feast and invited them to sit, and they unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were ensnared by chains or snakes. Heracles later encountered them when he was on a quest to capture Cerberus. Heracles managed to release Theseus, though some of his thigh and bottom are left attached to the rock or chair. However, the earth shook when Heracles tried to free Pirithous, serving as a sign that he was doomed to stay behind because his desire to have the goddess for himself was extremely insulting. Taking this myth as reference, I feel that Tech would psychologically torture anyone who dares to hurt him or his loved ones – giving them trauma and possibly ruining their entire lives.

We know that Tech is very protective of his loved ones. In “Aftermath”, when a clone shock trooper whacks Hunter in the stomach with a blaster, Wrecker and Tech are angry and ready to square off with the shock trooper. I believe that Tech loses his cool when he is unable to prevent a regular clone trooper from knocking Echo out with a tray. He may have become violent, causing Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Omega to stop the food fight, restrain Tech, and bring the unconscious Echo to the medbay. I do believe that the Bad Batch knows that it is the end of the world when Tech loses his temper.

I believe that Tech would play a vital role in rescuing Crosshair and Omega from Mount Tantiss. I suspect that this would happen in the mid-season 3 episodes, which are “Infiltration” and “Extraction”. This rescue mission could be interpreted as Tech’s wrath was upon Hemlock. Once the Empire realized that the Bad Batch managed to infiltrate Mount Tantiss and break out two clone prisoners, this would indicate that the security and confidentiality of the Weyland facility had been severely compromised. Hemlock would lose his job, high status, respect and reputation. He would also lose funding and support for his experiments. If Emerie Karr did secretly help Omega and Crosshair to escape, it would rub salt into Hemlock’s wound because she was his assistant and he trusted her. This rescue mission would ruin Hemlock’s life forever, stripping away his purpose and meaning in his life – as if Tech had dragged him into the Underworld and chained him there as punishment.

7. Tech already knew Plan 99 has to happen

This is my theory of what happened to Tech: he uses Plan 99 to fake his death and uses Hemlock’s overconfidence to his advantage.

As the Messenger God, Hermes can travel across the sky, earth and the Underworld with ease. As an archetype, he helps a person to be aware of the past, present and future (the sky is associated with the present and future; the earth is associated with the past and present; the Underworld is timeless). Since Tech has a strong Hermes, he is able to make connections with the past and present to predict the future, which makes him an excellent strategist.

In “Tipping Point”, Echo seeks Tech’s help in decrypting data from a file aboard an Imperial ship carrying clone prisoners. After Tech manages to decrypt the data, he discovers that the Imperial ship was assigned to the Advanced Science Division, but there are no records of its location and purpose. He also discovers that the Advanced Science Division is headed by Dr. Hemlock, who has been expelled from the Republic Science Corps for his unauthorized and unorthodox experiments. Although Tech does not understand why clone prisoners are sent to Hemlock, but he is shocked to find that Crosshair is one of them, which indicates that Crosshair has turned against the Empire. Tech also checks all comm channels and finds a recent distress signal from Crosshair’s old code, which states “Plan 88 – the Seeker”. Tech believes that Crosshair is warning the Bad Batch that they have been targeted by the Empire, or more specifically, Hemlock.

Since clone prisoners are being sent to Hemlock, Tech probably believes that the Advanced Science Division is carrying out cloning experiments like cloning the Zillo Beast as they have discovered it in “Metamorphosis”. The Empire is now replacing Clone Troopers with Stormtroopers, so why would Hemlock need clones for? Tech would suspect that it has something to do with Clone X, a clone trooper with his identifying markings removed and is brainwashed to become an assassin. If that is the case, why would Hemlock be targeting the Bad Batch? Tech would suspect that Hemlock is after Omega because she has the unaltered genetic template of Jango Fett, which is why a bounty is placed on her head in Season 1. He may think that Hemlock wants the genetic template for his cloning experiments.

Moreover, previous records of clone prisoners reveal that Crosshair has been sent to Hemlock a few rotations ago. Then, the Plan 88 signal is sent recently, possibly from Hemlock’s base. Tech would suspect that Crosshair has heard that Hemlock is after the Bad Batch (especially Omega) and he manages to send them a warning. This would mean that their attempts to lay low have been futile. It is possible that their missions to Serenno, Coruscant and the downed ship with the Zillo Beast have caught the Empire’s attention. To make matters worse, they have left AZI with Cid, and AZI is a Kaminoan medical droid, which will attract Hemlock’s attention. Since they have crossed Cid by refusing to work for her, it is only a matter of time before she sells them out to Hemlock. It would be dangerous for them to step foot on Ord Mantell or to carry out any mercenary jobs because the Empire is now after them.

Since Hemlock is a high ranked Imperial, his base of operations would have tight security, and Tech may find it surprising that Crosshair managed to send the Plan 88 signal to them. Tech probably begins to wonder if Crosshair’s actions would serve as proof to Hemlock that the Bad Batch is alive, and he is now waiting for them to come and rescue Crosshair. This would serve as a trap as Hunter has suspected. Although Tech is determined to rescue Crosshair, they would have to do it in secret. Echo reports that Hemlock will be on Eriadu, and they can plant a tracking device on his shuttle so they can locate his base and Crosshair. It is a risky plan, especially with the knowledge that the Empire is targeting them, so everything must go smoothly. At this moment, Tech is probably preparing for the worst-case scenario. If the plan goes wrong, their position would be compromised, and Hemlock would suspect that they are involved in this because they have received Crosshair’s distress signal. Hemlock would have known about Clone Force 99 by now, and he would tighten all security measures, which would make it more difficult for them to locate and rescue Crosshair. Furthermore, a failed mission may result in all of them getting captured by the Empire, which is not an ideal outcome. With that, Tech is well-prepared to carry out Plan 99 if the mission goes wrong.

Surely enough, the mission does go wrong and Tech carries out Plan 99. Being the smartest one in the team, he would find a way to survive the fall. He also left his broken goggles at the wreckage to make Hemlock assume that he is dead and the Bad Batch did come back to retrieve his body (but they forgot the goggles). After all, clones do not leave their own kind behind. As the cable car speeds up and carries Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega away, Tech probably would have predicted that Omega would get injured because she is not wearing any armour. This would prompt the team to bring her to Ord Mantell because AZI would know how to save her life. They would not have the time to search for Tech. Besides, with Hunter’s pessimism, he would assume that Tech did not make it, and as the leader, he would convince others that Tech is dead.

Now that the team is back in Ord Mantell, Tech would have predicted Cid’s betrayal. He also would have predicted Omega being kidnapped by Hemlock, which would force Hunter to join Rex’s resistance network for he needs all their help to rescue her. As Hemlock sees the grief on the team’s faces, he is convinced that Tech is dead. With the smartest team member ‘dead’, Hemlock thinks that he has won, and he is now unstoppable. He now has Omega, and he firmly believes that the rest of the Bad Batch will not be able to find out Mount Tantiss, where he has imprisoned her and Crosshair. After all, all data associating the Advanced Science Division is heavily encrypted and he believes that no clone can break through his security measures. This explains why he is not worried about the loss of an Imperial shuttle carrying clone prisoners and he disregards the possibility that the clones will have access to the confidential data. However, we all know that Tech is able to bypass his security measures.

It seems that Hemlock is overconfident of his abilities, and this would be his downfall. He certainly has underestimated the clones, especially on how paternal they can be. I believe that he also has underestimated Tech’s intellect. After using Plan 99 to fake his death, Tech would go on an undercover mission. He would take on a new identity and a new appearance. He would venture deep into the Imperial files as he searches for Crosshair and Omega. Once he found any information linking to them, he would deliver it to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. For now, all Tech needed was time and patience as he waited for Hemlock to become so overconfident that he finally slipped, allowing Tech to take advantage of it. Right now, Tech is playing a game of chess, and everyone has taken their designated positions, just as he has intended them to do. After all, he is the mastermind.

[cult-of-the-placeholder]

shamura post-narinder betrayal headcanons? a disability headcanon or two if you feel comfortable maybe. i may or may not have been projecting my own traumatic brain injury onto them oops

Oooh absolutely anon! I've had sooo many angsty thoughts about Shamura. If you have any thoughts of your own about them, I'd love to hear!!

- Their memory is very inconsistent. Some days they seem almost perfectly fine, the way they were before: clear headed and focused. Those days get more and more uncommon as time passes, and their condition varies wildly. Sometimes the brain fog gets so bad, they forget that Narinder was banished: imagine them wandering around aimlessly, calling his name, confused on why they can't find him. Going to each of their siblings, asking where in the world Nari has gotten off to

- At one point they let themselves into the underworld to search for him, thinking that perhaps Narinder had gotten himself wrapped up into another depthless research project and had simply lost track of time. It had happened before. So they went to see him and were horrified to find him in chains: rushing up to see him and asking, "Brother, what is this?! Who did this to you?! Are you alright?!" Already trying to break the chains but of course, they can't, as the chains are tied to the Bishops' life force.

- Kallamar had to cast a seal around the Temple of the Dead so Shamura couldn't get in anymore, after that. They essentially have to relive Narinder’s betrayal all over again as the younger ones told them the truth, and the sheer devastation wasn't something any of them wanted to go through again

- For awhile after their head injury, Shamura was mute. They used telepathy to communicate and preach their sermons. Speaking again took a good amount of practice, and they usually did so with Kallamar (because he's hard of hearing without his crown, it was the perfect set up to practice projection and volume)

- Shamura gets horrific splitting migraines, especially when it's time to change their bandages. Their eyes are sooo sensitive to light and the slightest sound causes awful tinnitus that they can't escape no matter how hard they try. The pain is so bad it's dizzying and disorienting, at which point they delegate the High Priest or Witness or someone else to conduct the daily sermons until they've recovered

- Their sense of taste is all messed up, and though they don't need to eat they used to really enjoy a nice hot cup of sweet camellia tea or sipping mortal blood from sacrifices, but now they just taste so wrong and different and gross. Leshy spent a few decades experimenting with growing new tea leaves to find one that tasted right to Shamura, and they're very grateful for it

- Shamura is a clairvoyant seer, but after their injury the visions slowed down, and became more fragmented. Or maybe they just can't recall all the details? It remains a mystery. They used to weave their prophecies into webs and tapestries, but now it all ends up recorded in broken riddles in blank books in their library

- They still love to read, but because of their issues with memory, they'll read the same book "for the first time" more than once, and if it's something they particularly enjoy, you can bet your ass that their siblings get to hear about it multiple times. They always nod along and ask questions and are very supportive--it's nice that, even as awful as things are now, Shamura can still find joy somewhere

- Switching gears for a second, a couple hcs that don't focus specifically on their struggles with health: the siblings don't see each other as much anymore, as with one member of their family missing nothing feels quite right. They don't get together as a group as much anymore, but Shamura makes it a point to visit their younger sibs. Their visits are usually quiet, peaceful: sometimes, they'll go sit in the gardens with Leshy or enjoy some hot stew with Heket, or help Kallamar sort through his medical library. They visit all of them at least once a year, which doesn't seem like a lot but to a god it's pretty frequently

- Narinder’s banishment really broke Shamura's heart. I hc that they had a vision of it on the day Nari was born, but refused to strike him down because they loved him so much. They still have a portrait of the two of them, hung up in their library: Leshy painted it, the two of them leaning against one another with a shared book abandoned in their laps, peacefully asleep. It's a perfect recreation of that moment, and the warmth and peace they get looking at it almost overshadows the grief of Narinder's loss

- Shamura makes offerings to an old shrine dedicated to their brother, every year on the anniversary of his banishment. Flowers, a sculpture, even the blood of a sacrifice: anything, so that Narinder knows he's still loved even if they can never be together again

- Y'know that old quote? "May these thousand winters swiftly pass I pray, I love you, I miss you, all these miles away."? That's literally Shamura and Narinder. They aren't angry with Nari, they don't hate him, they bear him no ill will: even after everything, all they feel toward their little brother is love, and a great, looming melancholy at his absence

[quirkwizard]

AU where everything is basically the same, except instead of using his hands, AFO has to suck the people he wants to steal quirks from into his mouth in their entirety first, like Kirby

In this universe, there is a greater fear for the man who can take away you're Quirk hiding away in the shadows of the underworld. In this universe, people have recounted traumatic experiences of being consumed be an dark maw, one that is always eating powers and is never satisfied. In this universe, all tension in the scenes are sucked right out as All For One tries to eat people like he's taking a bite out of a giant sandwich. In this universe, it's a brief respite since it's the only time you can ever get All For One to stop talking for ten seconds.