#child development case study assignment help

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

WWTAD

Inspired by this comment from @threefandomsinatrenchcoat.

——

It began as someone’s idea of a joke.

Though Stephanie swore up and down her field of study was child development, the kitchen table in the Manor had resembled nothing more than the mutant spawn of a craft shop and a toy store disemboweled upon its worn wooden surface since she had gone back to school. Textbooks and scrawled class notes made stacked mountains amid felled forests of crayons and colored pencils and fields of pogs with emoticons stamped on their faces.

It wasn’t clear to anyone why, exactly, her classwork required so much glue. Or maybe it was less her classwork and more her credit-stacking additional work as her professor’s research assistant, another term for unpaid labor and all-around gopher. Like sewage flowing downhill, demands from on high cascaded down from the professor to the TA, the TA to Steph as RA, and from Steph to anyone who had the misfortune of of passing through the Manor when she was there, stressed and swearing furtively under her breath as she tried to glue popsicle sticks together instead of her fingertips. Secretly, a few of them wondered if her actual assignment was to study them as they drew pictures of houses, glued yarn hair on hand puppets, and cut and pasted faces to discs.

The task that day had been to paint tiny wooden peg dolls, round and edgeless like Fisher-Price Little People.

“Just make them look like people,” was all the instruction Steph had given, waving a paintbrush around vaguely, only to add, “Or I guess animals are fine, too, but like. They’ve got to be something identifiable, you know?”

“And these are for… kids?” Tim had asked, doubtful, as he lifted a tiny peg up to his face for inspection.

Steph had nodded without looking up from her own work. “Yeah, for like, play therapy. Pick the one that represents how you’re feeling and act out what’s on your mind, that type of thing. So they can’t all be exactly the same. Diversity, variety.” She had waved a little too hard and flung a light spatter of paint across the tabletop.

No one really minded helping, though they complained good-naturedly any time they were wrenched from their original plans by Steph’s tractor beam of stress. Bruce was so obnoxiously proud of her for continuing her education, but Steph was inconsistent and squirrelly about any kind of financial help, so she stacked an assortment of low-paying shift work atop schoolwork and RA work. If sitting for a half hour and hot-glueing sequins onto paper crowns made the semester a little easier for her, no one would begrudge her the time. It was nice, too, to spend time together, with Steph on field leave and Spoiler’s purple cape temporarily (they said the word with heavy quotations out of earshot—only Steph herself and maybe Bruce believed she would be back) hung up.

Also, there was something relaxing about crafting. There was no pressure to be artistically impressive, though there would always be a mildly competitive air to the communal creation, especially with Damian at the table. It was nice to focus on something other than casework or capework or the demands of adult life. They might not be able to rid Gotham of the ghost guns filtering into its streets or the poverty corroding its foundations, but by george, they could paint eyes on little chunks of wood.

No one could remember (or would confess to) who painted which peg doll afterward—not that it should have mattered, except maybe for Stephanie’s suspected growing case study of all of them, because the dolls were all supposed to be packed up and carted off to… wherever they were supposed to be used. Some professor’s office or a classroom or a therapist’s practice or something. Except one got left behind.

“Look at him, isn’t he precious?” Stephanie cooed a few days later, her voice reaching a pitch that made Titus sit up and tilt his head. She lifted from the ever-morphing chaos on the table a tiny peg doll with dot eyes, a crisp black bow tie, and a pleased u of a smile.

“Is that… Alfred?” Dick’s head had also tilted in an unconscious mimic of Titus as he squinted at the figure pinched between Stephanie’s fingertips.

Stephanie caught movement in the doorway and pivoted on heel with a cry of, “Tim, look!” only for her glittery-eyed glee to sour into a frown at Tim’s grimace. “Migraine?”

“Mm,” Tim replied noncommittally. He had smoothed out his expression and looked almost normal, except for a tightening around his eyes and mouth.

Stephanie’s glare narrowed further. She looked like Babs when she did that, which everyone else found both alarming and effective, so they never told her. “Did you take your meds?”

“Um,” Tim hedged.

“Tim!” Both Dick and Stephanie exclaimed in varying level of exasperation, but only Stephanie then marched forward, doll held in front of her like a cross before a vampire. “Look at him. You don’t want to disappoint him, do you?”

Tim’s eyes nearly crossed in an effort to focus on the tiny figure, then widened. “Uhh.”

“Take your meds,” Steph urged. “For Tiny Alfred.”

Tim took a step back, to escape or to obey, it wasn’t clear. Steph advanced, grabbed his hand, and shoved the little doll into his palm. “No, no, take him with you. He’ll know if you did or not.”

She waved her hand, not in a crossed benediction but in the vague shape of an A. “Go. For Tiny Alfred.”

Tim retreated fully, still clutching the tiny doll.

Dick raised an eyebrow. “Do you think that will work?”

Steph shrugged. “Can’t hurt.”

So began the benevolent dictatorship of Tiny Alfred. He began to appear in odd places, as if by magic—on a shelf, in a drawer, on a windowsill, in a cupboard. No one would own up to moving him, but he seemed to travel the Manor with ease. And then he appeared further afield. Dick found him perched on an unpeeled clementine on his dashboard. Damian found him nestled amid his colored pencils next to the project he had grown frustrated with and given up. Jason found him in his apartment, sitting comfortably atop his night class reading assignment. Cass found him on her bedside table, placed carefully next to the unused tube of medication lotion meant for her hands.

Alfred himself might have fallen under suspicion, but when Tiny Alfred finally made an appearance in his presence (Stephanie; unopened water bottle), he had seemed outwardly bemused but, underneath it all, a little miffed. Frustration that his mini homage worked more effectively than his own pointed glances seemed to disqualify him as a suspect. Bruce, of course, was next on the suspect list, though no one could prove it.

Whoever was deploying Tiny Alfred did so judiciously. He was mostly used as encouragement, perched on or in or near an item to be used, a small, beatific cheerleader in painted tails. He still also made neutral appearances like in his first days, hidden in unexpected places to elicit a startled smile from whoever found him. On rare occasions, he was a gentle warning, forcing the recipient to look into his unblinking ink eyes or—worst of all—physically lift him off the video game controller, the pack of cigarettes, the caffeine pills, the battered boxing gloves, in order to use them. Soon enough, even his presence wasn’t required. A murmured He wouldn’t like that or Not in front of Tiny Alf! was enough to influence behavior. Texts of “WWTAD” (What Would Tiny Alfred Do) became common. When objection was made to names in the field, Tiny Alfred appeared in the Cave, spotlit on the main work bench, an even tinier felt mask tied to his face, Tiny Agent A ready to see to his duty incognito.

It was only a matter of time before, like all heroes before him, Tiny Alfred’s stakes grew. Mundane foes gave way to sharp moments of crisis. Stress. Exhaustion. Injury. Defeat. Heartbreak. A nudge from Tiny Alfred was fine for eating well or taking meds, but when the teeth of obsession refused to release or despair beckoned, Tiny Alfred was a challenge and reminder and invitation to listen all in one, placed openly by whoever needed to next to whoever needed him.

WWTAD.

Tiny Alfred’s most daring battle yet came on a wet, dreary, and miserable November evening, as Bruce sat red-eyed and shivering in front of the Batcomputer. His cheeks were red with fever, his lips pale, his forehead clammy. His eyes weren’t focusing on the screen as he scrolled, instead glassy and drifting, but he refused to go upstairs. No passive-aggressive asides, no pointed looks, no huffs or grumbles or even outright comments seemed to penetrate.

At last, Damian, freshly washed from his post-patrol shower, cowlick askew, awkward in rapidly growing limbs despite his trained control, stomped forward and placed the tiny wooden doll next to his father’s hand.

“Go to bed,” he said, then turned and stomped back up the stairs to the Manor.

The others, still milling about the Cave with pretend tasks, froze.

Bruce pinched Tiny Alfred between his fingertips, the doll impossibly small in such large hands, and brought it up before watery eyes. He stared. He sniffed. Tiny Alfred waited.

Bruce placed the doll carefully down on the desk next to his keyboard, pushed himself to his feet, and mumbled a mucous-heavy, “Goodnight.”

From the desk, Tiny Alfred smiled his tiny smile, pleased.

[sunnyfrenchfries]

Hi, all Omega Z-team + Robert au anon again!

So, here are some more musings:

1. Golem was created with a secondary gender, because if someone lived their whole life in the world with secondary genders like his creator, one would seriously struggle imagining a being without it. They also thought that it would make Golem easier to control. Oh how wrong they were.

2. Invisigal and Coupe have dubious honours of sharing the backstory trait of growing up in very dangerous environment for omegas. Like, a child assassin and a child spy? Surrounded by villains since childhood? Though each copes with it differently, Janelle daydreams about fairytale romances and beautiful ballet performances while Courtney leans into hypersexualization, likely subconsciously.

3. I am not sure how exactly to tackle Punch Up, because juxtaposition of his strongman past and the typical expectations of omegas in universe is really interesting!

4. Flambae could potentially be double gay. Also his cycles got wrecked from time in prison and a bit before that, and only recently started to balance themselves out. Also grew overprotective of his stuff and food since it was really difficult to nest for him for a while.

5. Malevola! Either half-demon and from human side she got secondary gender, or demonic secondary genders convergently evolved to be similar to human ones. In either case, her behaviours are also "abnormal" from the traditional perception of omegas.

6. With Sonar I do need to make some research into bat reproduction to mesh it with omegaverse lore, but personality-wise, part of his "not shutting up about graduating Harvard" is cause good chunk of his study years was fuelled by spite.

7. Prism is kinda the closest to canon in this? Well, that's to say she's still in development, but certainly she won't be that less feral than rest of the Z-team.

8. Waterboy is... (Wet. Constantly.) He is trying his best to support his grandmother, and for that he has to look "approachable" and "presentable" as an omega for his job (even for a janitor position, whomst the fuck expects the niceness and approachableness from a fucking janitor?)

9. Phenomenaman is like, only potential Z-team candidate that's not an omega, he's his own thing and so is missing a lot of nonverbal communication humans in this universe do with gestures and smells and vocalisations. He's trying, but still ends up stepping on a lot of sore spots of his teammates.

10. Still not sure who would Chase and Blonde Blazer be secondary gender-wise, especially since Mandy just looks like a potential Z-teamer, aka another feral omega. Maybe amulet suppresses secondary genders. Who knows.

And finally, Robert. The man's cycles are basically ruined after the coma, he spent 15 years suppressing every comfort seeking instinct he ever had in favour of doing more hero work, and then giving every defensive instinct razor-sharp teeth and claws that scrape and maul and tear apart his innards and faces of his opponents, because it would be dangerous for Mecha Man to be revealed as an omega (he still got revealed as one after coma sadly). Robert Robertson persona is more blase about being an omega. Blonde Blazer thought that he would help calm down and direct the forming pack of a team, instead she added another feral hellcat to the mix. It worked out in the end, somehow.

They occupied one specific rec room as the work nest and basically chased everyone else out. Other SDN employees give them a wide berth and forward most of bullshit assignments to them.

That's currently all I can condense out of incoherent excited buzzing in my brain over this concept, so I hope you'll like it!

Oh boy! I do love me some OmegaVerse reading and theories!!

[a-tired-badger]

First Place

“I am willing to do anything, Professor Zorya.”

Zorya looked down at the boy. He was outgrowing the label of boy; his height enough that it didn’t hurt his neck to look up at her. Although she was never one to pick favourites, Cyran was certainly the model student that all the faculty loved, including her. Where else would you find a student that followed teachings to the letter, completed all assignments with delay and showed brillance in the exams?

“You should know that I do not and have never entertained such requests, Cyran.”

She caught the minute movement of Cyran’s jaw tightening. Years ago, it might have been an uncontrolled rambling on why she should agree to his request. But the years have taught him to develop that mask that the nobility valued so much. Maturity, something worth celebrating in a child, did not appear to be the case with him. 

“An additional assignment offering extra marks benefits the whole class, Professor. Whether or not my peers chose to complete it is entirely an informed choice.”

“And why would I dedicate my time towards creating an assignment that will most likely only be completed by you?”

It wasn’t that the idea was terrible. It was just that her students were predictable. No one would be keen on completing an assignment this close to the exam just for the sake of extra marks. And not many of her students would have the capacity to do so either. A handful of hardworking ones, Cyran, and one more. 

“A group based assignment would solve that particular concern, Professor.”

“So you are suggesting I force this assignment onto students who would wish to spend their time studying instead of completing an assignment?”

Was it stubbornness that kept Cyran standing there? No. Zorya had witnessed the boy growing up. Cyran could be flexible when needed, and firm when otherwise. He was not one of the students that couldn’t read the room or was slow to understand. What did the boy want?

“Or perhaps the extra assignment can be scheduled after the exams? That way, it would free up everyone’s time for it.”

“Some students return home shortly after the exams. I will not punish students for wanting to return home with this extra assignment.”

He’s thinking. There is no point letting him continue to try and convince her, she has never and will not set additional assignments all for a pinch of extra marks that most students would not care about. 

“Is this about taking first place?”

Cyran’s expression changed so quickly; she could not have imagined that flash across his face that contained both anger and shame and something vicious. As quick as it came, it was gone, replaced by a carefully constructed facade to hide his inner self. 

He is being led astray.

“Professor, my desire to be the top student has never once diminished.” Cyran gave her a smile. “I only ask that you give me the opportunity to do so. To prove myself worthy.”

“Not at the expense of other students. And certainly not by favouritism.” Zorya tapped her fingers on her desk. Her office door swung open with a soft creak. 

That look in Cyran’s eyes didn’t waver. “Do you think I am not good enough, Professor?”

“I think, that you are talented and intelligent enough to earn the first place, without any additional support. The same I would say to any other student.”

Something flickered in his eyes. Was she being too harsh on him? But he should not be allowed to stray at such a tender age. 

“Professor, having your help would be a value beyond words.”

So, the softening she perceived was yet another attempt at manipulation. Since when had he grown so obsessed with taking the first place? Was there something that she missed, as a mentor and instructor? 

“If you still take my advice, Cyran.” Zorya paused, watching his face carefully. “Not all other professors would react kindly to such a request.”

One heartbeat. Two.

Then Cyran smiled. It was a look she would come to associate with him years after graduation, when he managed to integrate himself into the murky waters of the court. The beginning of something. 

“Thank you for your advice, Professor Zorya. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Goodnight.”

The door closed quietly behind Cyran, leaving her in silence.

What can I do? What should I do?

[owosa]

Reddish's Grillby & Fuku

“Reddish is my own adaptation of Fellswap, which, although it started focusing on the skeleton brothers and their pets (reddish owners), ended up developing into a complete universe with adaptations to the world (surface & underground) and its characters.”

World Context // Reddish Masterpost (under construction)

Grillby, Resource Distribution Manager in Hotland's Station

In the glorious years of the kingdom on the surface, he was a merchant in charge of importing and exporting products between monsters and the ancient human civilisation with which they interacted.

Witnessing the war that occurred and the consequences of it, he had no hesitation in placing himself at the disposal of the crown when the Queen called her people to prepare.

Like everyone else, his abilities were studied and put to the use that his majesty saw fit. In his case, this will lead him to be in charge of resource distribution, specifically at the Hotland station.

The proximity of it with the laboratory of the royal scientist made this place the chosen point for the selection and distribution of resources to the other areas of the kingdom. An important job that Grillby had no problem doing for years, especially if it helped the monsters and ensured that everyone got what they needed.

The death of the princes and the fall of the King were tragic events that did not initially raise red flags for him. With the kingdom in constant paranoia about the war to come, while regrettable, there wasn't much time to spend thinking about it.

Years and years passed, what began as a desire to seek justice was distorted until it was nothing more than the need to seek revenge and the kingdom paid the price.

He was never afraid of illegally trafficking resources with those who approached him in their discontent with the precarious living conditions.

For a long time he maintained a neutral position regarding his involvement with the revolt that was forming, doing his work during the day and making deals at night. He wasn't happy with his position, but it was better than many, so fully denying the crown didn't seem like a tempting option.

That was until they messed with his daughter, Fuku.

The Royal Guard is something that not all adult monsters "tried to enter" at first. All were evaluated as possible soldiers and if it was decided that their skills were not adequate, they were assigned a different job. With the new generations that emerged post-confinement underground, it was different. At first, until they had come out of their stripes, no child could even think of trainning, specifically by indications of the king. After the tragedy, this changed to that any minor about to leave their stripes could apply, until finally the Queen gave the decree that this was no longer an option, but an obligation. All the children with the said conditions would be sent to the capital to be trained under the supervision of Toriel in person. The queen is a good strategist and was never blind to the rebels who began to rise against her cause, so to ensure the loyalty of several of her subjects and an army that did not doubt her, she decided to the shape the new generation by herself.

Forced to separate from his daughter and watch from afar how she was transformed into an obedient soldier was the necessary push to make action.

From a neutral force, he became one of the main organizers of the rebellion. His knowledge and contacts being of great help to prepare for the fight.

🔺Grillby and Muffet are two of the queen's main enemies. Both working in the shadows to overthrow her and end her tyranny once and for all.

[haggishlyhagging]

In most societies for which we have information, men are the warriors, hunters, and processors of raw materials related to weaponry and tools. Women have sometimes acted as full-time warriors and hunters, wielding the same weapons as men and displaying the same success (see discussion of the Dahomeans that follows). Such examples, however, are few and occur under special circumstances.

In a study of the sex assignment of 50 work activities in the 186 societies of the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, George P. Murdock and Caterina Provost identify 14 activities that are performed strictly by males in nearly all societies. These activities are of two general kinds: 1) hunting and butchering, and 2) processing of hard or tough raw materials (such as smelting of ores, metalworking, mining, and quarrying).

There are no technological activities that are strictly feminine, though cooking and the preparation of vegetal foods come close. Murdock and Provost explain the occurrence of the strictly masculine tasks on the basis of the greater physical strength of males and their superior capacity for mobilizing it in brief bursts of excessive energy. They also suggest that females are attached to the household by "burdens of pregnancy and infant care."

Douglas R. White, Michael L. Burton, and Lilyan A. Brudner provide a different explanation for the strictly male tasks. Although they do not deny the existence of human sexual dimorphism, they note that there is plasticity in the development of physical strength, so that cross-culturally there is considerable diversity in the degree to which males are stronger than females. In addition, they observe that many of the strictly male tasks require relatively little physical strength. Danger, long distance travel, and "economies of effort," they suggest, more than physical strength or the constraints of child care, explain the existence of strictly male activities. Other anthropologists have also commented on the importance of danger and travel. Judith K. Brown, for example, has argued that given the great importance attached to bearing children, it would be inefficient for a society to expose nursing mothers or childbearing women to danger. Ernestine Friedl points out that men are the expendable sex because they are not the bearers of new additions to the work or warrior force. White, Burton, and Brudner take the argument a step further by introducing the notion of efficiency in the utilization of learned skills: "There are economies of effort in having the same persons perform adjacent tasks in production sequences, since adjacent tasks often require similar technological skills, and are often performed in similar contexts." Thus, the performance by women of tasks that are consistent with nursing and child care (in many but not all cases) and the performance by men of tasks that are consistent with travel and danger are a consequence of efficiency considerations - not of intrinsic features of the tasks.

It is also helpful to understand that strictly male activities provide males with a means for defining and displaying the adult male gender identity. Usually people define their sense of self as male or female by what they do. The female gender identity is automatically defined, at least for tribal peoples, by childbearing and nursing. What comes to women naturally and provides them with a set of discernibly female activities comes to men more artificially. Perhaps because women have ways of signaling their womanhood, men must have ways to display their manhood.

Stressing the importance of the male role for male gender identity, Margaret Mead says: "The recurrent problem of civilization is to define the male role satisfactorily enough. . . so that the male may in the course of his life reach a solid sense of irreversible achievement, of which his childhood knowledge of the satisfactions of childbearing have given him a glimpse." The male role is often defined as what the female role is not. If female activities are associated with the qualities of reproduction, male activities are associated with the opposite qualities. As femaleness is linked to fertility and growth, maleness is linked to infertility and death. Sometimes these sex-linked attributes are projected onto animate and inanimate objects in the environment. For example, in a New Guinea highland society, certain foods are identified with the "juicy, soft, fertile, fast-growing" qualities of women and other foods are identified with the "dry, hard, infertile" slow-growing qualities of men. Men in this society publically avoid the female foods (which they may eat in secret) in order to preserve their gender identity and, likewise, women publically avoid the male foods.

The equation between hard:soft—infertile:fertile—male:female is present in many societies. The hard:soft—male:female equation is implied by the kinds of manufacturing activities assigned to men as compared to those assigned to women. As noted before, raw materials that are hard or tough are processed strictly by males. Soft and pliable raw materials are more often (though not exclusively) processed by females. Only men work in metal, stone, bone, and wood. Women, more often than men, make baskets and mats, do loom weaving, make pottery, and spin.

-Peggy Reeves Sanday, Female Power and Male Dominance: On the Origins of Sexual Inequality

[chtoblin]

Uh, yeah, I went crazy again and made another Detroit AU.

School AU. Yup, I wanted to do my own rendition of that too. :3

All the androids here are human!

Brothers-rk where:

MARKUS — is an older brother, fifteen years old, in ninth grade. The leader of the class with his company (North, Simon, and Josh, who studies with him; of course, they're all friends (and some of them are even more than just a friend?? It's your choice!) ). Markus is a calm person for the most part, but he has a heightened sense of justice. If one of the students or teachers does something bad to someone, Markus is right there with his friends... He also likes to rebel if there's no pudding in the cafeteria, lol.

Teacher: you need to get into pairs to do this homework.

(Sometime during recess after this lesson...)

North: I'll be the one doing the assignment with Markus!

Simon: no, me! (The two of them get into an argument).

Markus, crossing his arms over his chest and squinting his eyes, watching their argument: ....

Josh: guys, answer me this honestly... you just don't want to do this job with me? :(

Markus, leaning over to Josh, whispering: don't worry, I'll do this project with you and leave these two to pair up.

Josh: :)

Markus loves music lessons, of course!! He participates in the school concert, plays the piano in performances (as musical support for other instruments or solo).

Markus also takes extra art classes in his spare time. There is only one group, which consists of people of all ages, from first graders to twenty-somethings. Carl Manfred, a well-known artist, leads the classes at his home. He is helped by his son Leo, who is a couple of years older than Markus (he is seventeen and is home-schooled with tutors and teachers who visit him at home). Leo doesn't really understand anything about art, and almost always grumbles when he's forgiven to do this or that, but he actually enjoys helping his father, especially given artist's disability. All the more so since he gets pocket money for it.

Markus excelled at drawing very quickly. This has led to the fact that when he comes to class, he only paints a picture at first, further on he helps Carl and Leo in running the lesson. He carries paints and brushes, water, helps the other people in the group with the drawings (giving advice, etc., as he understands a lot about this creative activity). He has become very close to Carl because of this, and the artist, as a grateful, does not charge Markus for attending classes (although the schoolboy tries to pay every time at the end of the month together with everyone else).

Markus' relationship with Leo was not very good at first, because the son of an artist was unconsciously afraid that Carl might develop warm feelings for the ninth grader more than for his own child. But in the end, the two find common ground because they realize that Carl adores the two of them equally!!

CONNOR and SIXTY — are the middle children in the family, twins, in seventh grade, thirteen years old. Their lessons are extremely common, and their interests are almost indistinguishable. The only difference between the two is that Connor is more inattentive and positive. Sixty, on the other hand, usually has that look in his eyes, like he's ready to drop you on the floor and shoot you on the spot. This is especially true if you've done something to offend Connor. In that case, all you have to do is run for your life.

The friends of the twins are Luther, Kara (their classmates), Ralph and Jerry (they are from the tenth grade and are sixteen years old). Outside of school hours, Alice (fifth grade, eleven years old), the younger sister of Kara and Ralph, is still usually with them. The two of them take care of their sister, since their father, Todd, is obviously failing in his duties (in this AU, he's still a bad father, but not as horrible as in the game; at the very least, he definitely wouldn't raise his hand to the kids under any circumstances; their mother hasn't run away from the family, she's just tragically gone).

In addition to their friends, the brothers have good acquaintances in class: Rupert and the two Traci's (two girls from different families, but with the same names and sympathy for each other).

Connor and Sixty are also taking extra classes in magic tricks (which Markus used to take too, albeit not for too long). They really like the subject of tricks and juggling, which is also included there! The two of them are best at coin tricks.

They also have a friend in the class, Cole, an eleven year old boy who is homeschooled. His father, Hank Anderson (who is much younger in this AU), is a Lieutenant in the local police department.

Cole often spends time with the twins outside of trick-or-treating classes. This usually involves the rest of the brothers' friends as well. The closest relationship Cole has is with Alice!

NINES — is the youngest brother, the youngest child in the family (eleven years old), studying in the fifth grade. But despite this, he is the most serious and quiet of all the brothers.

Markus and the twins study well, but Nines is better than all of them put together, almost an excellent student. He does best in math and physical education (he is the fastest and strongest in his class). "Mom's Gold."

Because Nines is serious beyond his years, he thinks the behavior of his peers is too childish (although they behave as they should, according to their age). But he still has a few friends from his classmates: Alice, Elijah, and Chloe. He forgives his friends for their frivolous behavior and gives them preferential treatment.

In his spare time, Nines usually stays at home, self-developing through books or the Internet, reading about topics of interest (which are clearly not quite appropriate for his eleven years of age; how did a child even come to quantum physics so early?!). He likes to study the school program ahead of time. But Nines also spends a lot of time with Alice and Cole, whom he met through her (they go on these outings with just the three of them, without the rest of their friends/relatives, but there are occasional exceptions). With Elijah and Chloe, he usually only talks to them at school or by texting/phone, they rarely go out together since those two live far away.

Elijah has a half-brother the same age, Gavin. Inexplicably, Gavin and Nines have started a feud... well, that's what Reed thinks. Nines thinks it's just childish and views their relationship as "not very good" but is willing to stick with the "enemy" image. When Gavin starts any argument or insults against him, Nines responds calmly and calmly, not taking his provocations (unless Reed moves on to family, for then Nines allows himself to show all his anger). Indifference irritates Gavin even more.

Gavin is only friends with Tina, their mutual classmate. Few other people besides her and Elijah can put up with that kind of temper. Well, Chloe can too, but she doesn't have much desire to socialize with Gavin too closely.

AMANDA — is a single mother of four brothers. Markus was born to her first husband, who soon died, and the other three to her second husband, who then left the family, cheating with another woman when Nines was born.

It's not just the former breadwinner's alimony that the family lives on. Amanda, after the loss of her second husband, realized that on the salary of a professor of artificial intelligence, they will be difficult to live, and got a job as an engineer in the same field in the company Cyberlife. The company makes advanced robot vacuum cleaners, robots for factories, and so on. Generally speaking, they have no money problems. A woman, having failed twice in her relationships with men, focused entirely on her career. In this endeavor she excelled and quickly made a name for herself.

In the role of mother Amanda behaves, to put it mildly, mediocre. Markus' pregnancy was spontaneous and accidental, the newlyweds were not ready for a child. Amanda had no skills of motherhood, and to get them through books or the Internet, she had no desire to do everything blindly (and on their mistakes in the future little learned). After his father's death, the son was mostly on his own, even being so young while his mother was in mourning.

Markus didn't like his stepfather from the start. The new "breadwinner" hardly ever worked, took Red Ice and forced his wife onto it (Amanda still sins on drugs when she gets really sick). Even as a small child, the eldest son understood everything. When the man betrayed their family by getting involved with another woman, Markus was not particularly surprised. The main thing in his life was (and is now) to take care of his younger brothers, to be a support for them, the person from whom you can expect support, help or advice. He didn't have such a person himself, and he didn't want his brothers to be deprived of that.

At the moment Amanda is rather cold and indifferent to the children, speaking to them rarely and usually in a condescending manner, so they are used to rely on themselves and each other's help. Yes, they have a roof over their heads, food in the fridge, their big (though not too cozy) house is warm in any weather and always clean thanks to a couple of servants. But they have always lacked a mother's love. Every time one of her sons tried to get attention (whether it was a drawing made, an offer to go for a walk together, a request to explain some blueprint), Amanda just waved it off, gave her cash (without even looking at how much she was giving) and asked her not to interfere with her work. Connor is most saddened by this: Markus is used to it, Sixty is resigned to it, and Nines realized from the very first failure that there was nothing to try for. Nevertheless, this has allowed a strong bond to build between the brothers. Each other they stand a mountain for, either way.

ADDITIONAL REPORTS:

1. Markus has heterochromia, which he had most of the time in the game. No one dares make fun of him for it, because they're aware of his Justice Gang...

2. Simon has a twin brother, Daniel, who is in the same class with him. His temperament is more closed, and he mainly socializes with his friends. Daniel can sometimes hang out with Simon's company, but this is quite rare.

Everyone confuses Simon and Daniel, but not Markus. He can tell exactly who is who, even if the twins dress the same.

3. Kara goes to extra private lessons with a family friend, Rose. She always takes Alice and Ralph with her if he happens to be home at that moment. Rose teaches Kara and Ralph (if he's available) how to cook (for which she doesn't charge, by the way), while Alice plays with Adam. A woman's son is the same age as Alice, and they would be classmates if Adam wasn't homeschooled.

4. Even though Tina is Gavin's friend, she treats Nines neutrally, like a good acquaintance. And it's mutual. She just doesn't see the point in the boys' "feud" that started from nothing. When Gavin starts another argument, she rolls her eyes and tries to pull him away by his sleeve. And this whole process, which is repeated from day to day, Elijah likes to shoot on his phone, as a souvenir. :D Chloe at such moments just stands helplessly and watches, praying that the argument did not come to a fight (yes, it happened too).

5. Chloe and Tina hang out together on weekends because they go to extra dance classes together. On breaks from practice, they gossip and discuss their friends, looking for ways to best help them bond. At school, they don't socialize as much.

6. Ralph is not Kara and Alice's own brother. He is a distant relative of theirs. A couple years ago, his stepmother (an only parent) died in a fire at his house and he was left alone (he was saddened by this, but not really; they weren't close with his stepmother, he was mostly on his own). The authorities found out that Todd was the only relative, and he took the (at the time) fifteen years old boy into his custody.

At first, Ralph and Kara interacted rather little due to awkwardness (especially since the boy has a shy and slightly geeky personality that sometimes prevents him from socializing). Alice next to Ralph was generally silent and looked at him from afar, avoiding every time he awkwardly tried to speak.

Ralph realized that, due to his temperament, he wouldn't be able to gain trust with words, so he decided to show his good intentions with actions. He always volunteered to help when Kara was cleaning or cooking; he helped Alice get things off the top shelves, even if she wanted to ask her sister; when he was able to get a part-time job at the comic book store (where Jerry also worked) at the mall and got his first paycheck, he bought the girls a candy bar (and many other things after that).

Yes, he was able to skillfully touch the hearts of the girls very, very quickly.

Ralph wears closed clothing in all weathers, even the hottest, because he is very embarrassed by the scars the fire left him. He is especially embarrassed about the scars on the left side of his face, which he hides under a blue cloth tied around his head. And he has a lifetime exemption from physical education at school.

Jerry (with whom they are better friends) is the only one besides his family who has seen Ralph's scars, and he assures him every time that it's nothing to be ashamed of. Ralph is working on it.

7. Sometimes it happens that some random students start making fun of Ralph for his shy and quiet nature and closed clothing items. Jerry always stands up for his friend. But one day it happened that Ralph was all alone. It was a labor lesson on the street, students were sweeping the paths, Ralph went too far and was hidden from the eyes of the teacher and the others, after which he was approached by a company of older guys. The offending boys, feeling their power, allowed themselves, besides the usual jeers, to be physically abused.

Kara and the others, having learned about what had happened, told Connor and Sixty. The twins, in turn, relayed the information to Markus...

... Those abusers felt very, VERY bad when the authorities at the school found out about their deed. :³

8. Everyone turns to the Justice Gang for help, but no one knows exactly how Markus and his friends work. It's very hard to get through to the teachers and even more so to the principal, especially without hard evidence about the injustice that has happened. But this quartet always manages to get both proof and reach the very top of the school. They have their own ways, which they don't talk about...

9. One day, Hank needed to pick up Cole from his extra lesson time, but he himself was running very late due to work. He arrived as soon as he could and found his son on the playground that was built next to the building where the class was held. But the boy was not alone, he was playing catch-up with two twins, who were obviously older than him. That's how Hank found out about Connor and Sixty. That afternoon he decided to invite the two of them over for a cup of tea to get to know his son's friends better.

The first thing Connor did upon entering the Anderson house was to turn his attention to Sumo. Together with Cole, he ran up to the dog, after which the two of them began to play with the dog. Connor literally flooded Hank with questions about their pet. Sixty, seeing the expression on the man's face, took it for embarrassment, hidden behind an awkward smile, and because of that he signaled his brother to stop the endless flow of inquisitiveness. But, in fact, the Lieutenant was hiding a pleasant surprise, not expecting such an enthusiastic reaction to the dog. This gave the brothers a plus point or two on their way to winning the man's heart.

Sixty soon sat down beside Sumo as well and petted him, but much more modestly than his brother.

In fact, the twins had always wanted to get a dog, but for some reason Amanda kept saying no. Their family had enough money, and the brothers didn't understand what the problem was. So every time Connor and Sixty come to visit the Andersons, they don't miss the opportunity to pet Sumo. Sometimes they even volunteer to walk the dog with Cole.

10. While the twin brothers dreamed of a dog, Nines was more fond of cats. But he did not feed himself with false hopes, just kept the desire to have a pet deep inside, as he realized that his mother would not allow an animal even to her "golden kid" (the woman liked to occasionally elevate her youngest son above all the others, which Nines was always sincerely NOT happy about; good, the other brothers themselves understood that the youngest would never allow himself arrogance in their direction).

At school, when the lessons became boring (which happened often, because Nines studied much of the future program on his own at home), he drew on blank sheets that he tore out of his notebooks. Almost always they were airplanes, cars, incomplete and unfinished drawings of some invented mechanism. But sometimes Nines gave in to temptation and drew cats (which he did best, because it was cats that Markus had taught him to draw).

One day he saw a picture of Elijah's pet nibelung cat on his phone. Until then, he didn't know his friend had a pet.

Nines drew two small drawings of this cat in a boring literature class. One he'd given to Elijah and the other he'd tossed folded in a pencil case to Gavin while he wasn't looking. Nines found no logical explanation for his action, and his friends sometimes teased him about it.

Gavin was surprised to find a pretty good drawing of his pet cat in the pencil case and thought at first of his half-brother. But Elijah doesn't do much painting, he's more of a man of science, so Gavin was left in confused ignorance. (Tina, seeing the drawing, immediately realized who it was from, but remained silent).

11. Markus, in the middle of some explanation: and since we all understand where babies come from-

Connor: do we? I don't understand.

Markus: ... oh.

Sixty: are you serious?

Connor: you know??

Nines, defiantly clearing his throat: everyone knows but you.

Connor: EVEN YOU?

Yeah, Connor is an innocent flower.

12. Usually the friends who argue at every turn are Josh and North, but when it comes to Markus... Simon shows up and things take a whole new turn.

These arguments are always won by Josh, who stands quietly and watches the conflict along with Markus.

Markus: I'm doing this project with Josh, period. You two will be paired together.

North and Simon, who have been arguing for about three minutes over which one Markus will be paired with: ._.

Josh: :D

13. Connor once noticed that Kara and Alice always hold hands when they walk together, and now does the same with Sixty. The twin called his idea silly, grumbling unhappily every time Connor took his palm in his own, but has never once tried to release his hand yet. Markus thinks this little ritual is cute. Actually, a lot of people think it's cute, it's just that big brother is the only one who can admit it out loud and not get someone's murderous stare...

My dear mental health, where have you gone...

I VERY strongly hope I didn't mix up anything in my own fanon. And if I did, I'll just go on a bender. (´。＿。｀)

I made a chart showing all the relationships between the characters, thinking it would help me. But in the end I got even more confused and I'm not even sure if I've put everything in the right place. But anyway, I decided to leave it for you too, maybe it will help you. The quality was terrible and I fixed what I could, sorry about that. :_/

Maybe if I accumulate another compilation of some more situations/fanon on the characters, I'll put it in a new post. Who knows how this medal will turn out.

[theramblingsofallen]

The Eroticism and Romance of The Case Study of Vanitas

*Spoilers ahead for the anime and manga, 3.6k words

**I apologize in advance for any grammar and spelling mistakes. English is not my native language

Fan service, a common trope in fiction, is used to sexualize situations and characters and is often irrelevant to plot and character development. Some people like it; others do not. I fall on the latter. While fan service is a neutral term, it has created a more polarizing reaction from anime and manga fans. However, this reaction is justified. From the sexualization of young girls to the romanticization of problematic relationships. It is often an unpleasant and frustrating experience to witness. However, despite my opinions, one manga/anime stood out. The Case Study of Vanitas.

The Case Study of Vanitas follows Noé Archiviste, a young vampire sent to find The Book of Vanitas by his teacher. It is a book believed to cause harm to the vampire kind. While traveling to Paris, Noé meets Vanitas, a human doctor specializing in curing cursed vampires using The Book of Vanitas. While on their quest to heal vampires, they fight against Charlatan, a supernatural being who curses vampires. On their adventures, they meet Jeanne, known as the Hellfire Witch. A former executioner turned cadet for a French noble, Luca. When Vanitas lays his eyes on Jeanne, romance blossoms between them, and the sex appeal begins.

The Monsters of the Night turned sex symbols trend began debatably with Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. An influential book predating Bram Stoker's Dracula by twenty-five years. The romance between a human and a monster is nothing new today. However, when Carmilla was published, readers considered the story unusual. The big reason is that the main love interests are women. Not to mention how the vampiress expresses her desire for the main character, Laura. The confident and sexually liberating vampire seducing the sweet, virginal Laura caused a stir. Though not explicit by today's standards, it was still taboo. The Victorian era, where society imposed purity on young girls. Where the public oppressed their sexual desires. The belief that sex is for marriage and procreation, which still plagues our society, was prevalent in Victorian times. Sexual activity still occurred. Frequently.

According to Sebastian Gonzalez Rosario from The University of Puerto Rico, "Vampires were sexualized to strike fear into people of the taboo and sinfulness of sexual behavior, but later, this sexualization became a metaphor for repressed desires, until finally their sexualization caused them to be humanized." (Rosario, Sebastián G. The Humanization of the Vampire and the Dehumanization of the Queer Community. pg. 1). With repressed desire, both Jeanne and Vanitas fit well with that description. Vanitas suppresses the idea of opening up to people and embracing love. At first glance, Vanitas is rude, arrogant, and purposely annoying to those around him. As a child, Vanitas faced pain and abuse. He lost his parents, and the Catholic Church took him in, only for a corrupt doctor to experiment on him. The doctor dehumanized him by assigning him a number, like humans do with their cows. Later on, someone brought a new child for the corrupt doctor to use as a guinea pig. Mikhail. An abused child who was under the care of Vanitas and who never let go of Vanitas after meeting each other. Though Vanitas didn't warm up to Mikhail, he eventually cared for him. One day, when the doctor wanted to use Mikhail for an experiment, he pleaded for Vanitas to help him. To be saved from the doctor, Vanitas made a sacrifice. He asked the doctor to experiment on him rather than Mikhail. At that moment, Mikhail and Vanitas became brothers. Unfortunately, in one of these cruel experiments, the doctor injected the boys with the blood of Vanitas, The Vampire of The Blue Moon, the creator of the book of Vanitas. At some point, the original Vanitas vampire rescued both. Despite their demeanor, OG Vanitas was sympathetic to the children's suffering and adopted both boys. Everything at that point was great. However, all good things must come to an end. The injected blood of the vampire means that both boys will not live long. To save the boys, the vampire offered a deal for them. Have them become vampires. While Mikhail agreed, Vanitas harshly rejected it. He refused to lose his humanity. At some point, Vanitas killed the vampire and their parental figure and took their name. Their parental figure became cursed, and Vanitas killed them before they lost control. For a certain amount of time, Vanitas believed that Mikhail died and was left alone.

Because of his upbringing, Vanitas grew to have an unhealthy mindset toward love. His flaws, as mentioned earlier, are what he uses to distance himself from everyone. It is almost as if he is afraid to connect with someone. He is afraid people would be hurt if they got too close to him. Despite his demeanor, Vanitas is kind-hearted, dependable, and always ready to help and sacrifice himself or put himself in danger. Unfortunately, that means he suffered alone. He suppressed his desire for connection and, in a way, dehumanized himself.

Jeanne suppresses her desire to do what she wants for herself. Jeanne comes across as strict, serious, and intimidating. Jeanne was a former executioner of vampires, her kind. Something that is often forgotten about since, as the story progresses, she is kind-hearted, sensitive, and naïve. It is because it was not her choice. Her family, who adopted her, was killed during wartime. The war between humans and the original vampires that still have tension even after the war. That’s where her teacher, August Ruthven, takes her in and uses her for the benefit of the war, as an executioner. I can’t imagine what she has seen during the war. Not to mention, she had to kill her friend and sister figure, Chloé, after discovering of the existence of the Beast of Gévaudan. She never live her life, the way she wanted to. She never experienced freedom. Jeanne suppressing her desires is dehumanizing her. Even as a vampire, there is still a heart that wants to be caressed and protected after centuries-long suffering.

One anime that incorporates unnecessary and painful examples of explicit fan service is Code Geass. An action-packed, political, and dramatic show contains awkward and sudden fan service moments. A show taking place during a war, dictatorship, and colonization takes painstaking pauses to focus on teenage girls' sexuality. Code Geass incorporates nudity, suggestive posing, shower scenes, and an out-of-nowhere masturbation scene. All of which do nothing for plot and character development. Sometimes these scenes are portrayed as jokes, which makes me uncomfortable. The show had the potential to portray strong female characters, but chose every opportunity to degrade them and make them disposable. Not to mention shoving unnecessary romantic subplots into the story. Particularly with Kallen, a compassionate and loyal woman with strong morals and a highly competent soldier. The creators sexualized her and reduced her to a love interest for the main character, Lelouch. Eye candy for the audience. Shirley, a friend and classmate of both Kallen and Lelouch, whose sole purpose was to be a love interest and nothing else. She has little plot relevance. Not to mention, the official art books the animators created while the anime aired do not help in this case. It's safe to claim that Code Geass does not pass the Bechdel test with female characters such as Shirley and Kallen. Unfortunately, Code Geass is one of the more tame examples of gross exploitation of female characters.

Another anime and game franchise, Diabolik Lovers, involves vampires and is a worse example of using fan service in the “story”. The “plot”, if you are feeling generous, involves Yui, a human girl, who is the sacrificial bride of six vampire brothers by her priest father. The anime constantly subjects the main character, Yui, to sexual abuse and harassment. Even when Yui explicitly rejects and attempts to stop the boys' advancements, they still violate her boundaries and privacy. All of which are without meaningful purposes. No attempt to bring nuanced discussions concerning sex and consent nor to justify including these uncomfortable scenes. Although the “story” is not complete, it is safe to assume the anime will end with Yui marrying one of the vampire brothers or with her death. Although, there are plenty of examples of anime/manga having tasteless fan service moments from Fire Force to Sword Art Online to Soul Eater to Bungo Stray Dogs. All of which are harmful and will continue to infect their stories.

One key aspect of Vanitas’ and Jeanne’s relationship that I enjoy is how vulnerable and intimate they act around each other. They show their true colors. It shows sides of themselves that they don't want to share with others. Vampire bites and drinking blood are often metaphors for sex, and TCSOV is no exception. As Sebastian Rosario puts it, "...The bite is the signature move of the vampire, it is how they multiply, how they feed and how they kill... The bite is the most intimate and sexual encounter one can experience with a vampire, while also being a sort of dance or courtship with death." (Rosario, Sebastián G. The Humanization of the Vampire and the Dehumanization of the Queer Community. pg. 16). The bite of a vampire brings pleasure the same way sex does. It's as intimate as sex. The first bite occurred early in the story. In episode four/chapter eight, Vanitas witnessed Jeanne in a difficult position as she had not had a drink of blood for a while. She clutches her chest as the pain spreads throughout her body. Giving an almost sick appearance. The lack of blood made Jeanne fall ill. Vanitas offered his blood for her to drink. Not to help her, but more because he’s curious about what it is like to be bitten by a vampire. Also, by stating, "There's no reason". In desperate times, she accepted his offer. Once her fangs pierced into his skin, they gave in to one another’s needs. Vanitas clings on to Jeanne's dress, and she clings on to his shoulders. Feeling each other's heat as the moon shines. The mixture of pleasure and pain clouded their minds. Their soft moans, rosy cheeks, and warm blood dripped out of his neck and into her mouth. As Vanitas says softly, “This isn’t so bad after all.” As American singer-songwriter Madonna puts it, “Only the one that hurts you can make you feel better. Only the one that inflicts pain can take it away." (Madonna, and Shep Pettibone, Erotica.)

During their first date, Jeanne gets tempted to drink the blood of a child who scraped their knee nearby. Jeanne got to safety in a secluded building with Vanitas before anyone got injured. Vanitas confronts Jeanne with a question that has bugged him since he met her. Is she a curse-bearer, or is she addicted to drinking blood? However, she hesitated. It is almost as if she is forced to be silent as she becomes out of breath and her hand grips her throat. Instead, he offered his blood to her to feed her craving. However, instead of focusing on the physical aspect of the blood-sucking scene, there is an emotional element added. During the blood-sucking scene, Jeanne begins crying during the act. She expresses that she fears losing herself and hurting the ones she loves. Afraid that this "illness" could corrupt her and take control of her. Killing her loved ones is what she fears the most. He comforts her. "If that time comes, I’ll kill you. I promise… I’ll kill you. I love you. I’m the one who’ll make your wishes come true. It has to be me. So, Jeanne… there’s nothing to worry about.” (Episode eleven, "Promises.") In his twisted way, this is how he shows his love. This is his confession. He will be the one to save her from destruction. He will make the ultimate sacrifice to save herself. To which a tearful Jeanne agreed. He shall take her life if needed. She finds comfort in his words. However, it makes sense. In a way, Jeanne seeks an escape from everything. From her illness, her responsibility, and her isolation. It is where I fell in love with their love.

We all like to be taken care of, to be treasured. But by a vampire? Yes, to me at least. Monsters are representations of what the public fears at the time. For example, vampires are often represented as diseases nobody knew how to treat and death. However, despite their representation, people are still loving these monsters. A film that reminds me of this phenomenon is The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. In the film, we follow Elisa, a woman who works as a janitor at a secret government facility and happens to be mute. One day at work, Elisa finds a humanoid amphibian who is treated horribly by scientists in their laboratory. So, she decides to meet him in secret and forms a friendship, and later on, a romantic relationship. Though I understand why someone may not like this dynamic, I find it sweet. The idea of a creature who is dangerous and can harm you, yet is neither and rather sweet towards you sets my heart aflame. Not to mention, oftentimes monsters are interpreted as minority groups, and seeing characters that are an oppressed minority group feeling comforted, loved, and protected around these monster characters makes me feel seen and loved. Especially since I am a part of a minority group. The possibility of love is still there for people like me. A place where you can finally find a connection in a world that seems like it hates you, you find love with someone you can relate to and feel happy.

A similar scene happens in episode fourteen/chapter twenty-seven, after losing a battle against The Beast of Gévaudan. A dangerous mystical creature whom Jeanne used to fight against but never killed. Jeanne finds Vanitas injured because of taking a hit for Jeanne. Despite his protest and insistence that Jeanne leaves him behind, she refuses and takes him to an empty cabin with her. Unfortunately, with the uncontrollable shivering and flustered, reddened cheeks, Vanitas became ill. So, how does Jeanne take care of Vanitas? She suggested they disrobe and cuddle in front of the chimney. It makes sense since the snow has soaked both of their clothes. Plus, the story takes place in the late eighteen hundreds. Vanitas, usually one to flirt and tease, was shocked and flustered by her suggestion. But he obliged. As they snuggled in front of the chimney, a warm blanket wrapped around them, Vanitas developed a fever. Jeanne quickly gets water for him to drink. Vanitas stubbornly refuses to drink the water. With Jeanne wanting to slaughter the beast and Vanitas wanting to save it, he encourages her to leave him behind. He insists that she should focus on her goal rather than nursing him back to health. Jeanne, being equally stubborn, refuses. Without thinking clearly, she came up with a plan to make him drink water. A good old mouth-to-mouth.

There could’ve been other ways to have him drink water, yet she chose the mouth-to-mouth method. Interesting. Especially since Vanitas is usually the one being the “dominant” and flirty one. An interesting twist, though. This event reveals a lot about them. One, Vanitas was willing to sacrifice his well-being for Jeanne to achieve her goal. He never asked for her help. Second, Jeanne, despite having a different goal regarding the beast and who has slaughtered hundreds and thousands of vampires, is not a cold and heartless person. He saved her life, so she will save his. They do care for one another.

Another aspect I appreciate about their relationship is it is never explicit. There are no actual sex scenes, no nudity, no groping scenes, non-con content, and no hyper-fixation on Jeanne's body. As I mentioned with Code Geass and Diabolik Lovers, both shove fan service, which is unnecessary and downright uncomfortable to watch. All of which are absent in The Case Study of Vanitas. I appreciate how the story does its best to restrain itself from showing explicit sexual content. I hope this continues as the mangaka continues to write her story. However, I wish the mangaka had not included those elements in TCSOV.

One of the most powerful scenes in the anime/manga is when Vanitas is confronted with his feelings towards Jeanne. After Vanitas helps save Jeanne's long-lost friend's life, she thanks him with a kiss on his cheek. A small affectionate gesture that had an impact on Vanitas’ psyche. Especially when she turned around and blessed him with a beautiful smile. Vanitas realized he fell for her. Something that he was afraid would happen. As in the next episode/the next chapter, when Noé finds Vanitas feeling “sick”, Noé seeks medical help. However, when describing his symptoms, none of them aligned with an actual illness. As Vanitas describes his symptoms, “…My face has always flushed and my heart feels like it’s trapped in a vice. It’s been beating out of control”. (Episode twenty, "The Incurable Disease.") To him, it is a curse. Jeanne put a curse on him. Later on, he bumped into Roland, a vampire executioner for the Catholic Church, where Vanitas was taken as a child. Vanitas nervously asked Roland for romance advice without revealing who he was smitten with. After describing Jeanne in his unique, poetic manner, Roland concluded that Vanitas was in love with Jeanne. The revelation made Vanitas revolted and heartbroken. In his words, “How could it be possible to love a person like me?” (Episode twenty, "The Incurable Disease.") It was all a game for him until it became too real. This is keeping the theme of Vanitas’ self-hatred and his idea that he doesn’t deserve love.

Meanwhile, a similar scene occurs, where Jeanne realizes her feelings for Vanitas are genuine love. In the same episode (Episode twenty, "The Incurable Disease."), Jeanne was with her master, Luca, to tell him the events that happened when fighting the beast. During the conversation, she mentions that she couldn’t stop thinking about Vanitas. The more she talked about him, the faster her heart beat. Afterward, she realizes that she is in love with him. Interestingly, she mentions that she’s afraid that the next time she meets him, she will want to consummate their relationship. Despite Luca's and her friend, Dominique's insistence that her feelings for Vanitas are not genuine and that Vanitas isn’t worth loving, Jeanne insists. She loves him. In her eyes, he’s a good person, she loves him. Her first step is to doing what she wants without worrying about pleasing others or being useful to others. However, despite her love, she wouldn’t want a relationship with Vanitas because she believes Vanitas wouldn’t pursue someone who is attracted to him. He likes a chase. In episode six ("Love"), Noé asks Vanitas why he likes Jeanne. He explained that he likes how strong, kind, and beautiful she is. He added that he is not attracted to someone who would love him. Though this is about to change soon, I can feel it.

Unfortunately, Vanitas and Jeanne do contain problematic elements in their relationship. After their first fight in episode three/chapter four, where Vanitas defeated Jeanne, he forces a kiss on her in front of several people, including Jeanne's master. Jeanne did not process the kiss and had no opportunity to stop him. An ugly start to their romance. It is unclear whether it is for comedy or to use the trope of love at first sight. Regardless, it is only the beginning. Jeanne and Vanitas have a relationship based on an unofficial contract where Jeanne can only drink Vanitas' blood in exchange for his silence. He will not reveal Jeanne’s medical condition to her master. Nor will he mention the mark that Jeanne accidentally placed on Vanitas’ neck during their first bite. Wanting to avoid conflict and worry from her master, she begrudgingly agrees to the agreement. Twisted as it appears, Vanitas disguises this as blackmail. In the end, this blackmail also benefits Jeanne. In a world where people are afraid of vampires and where Jeanne has a medical condition, Vanitas will always offer her his blood. She can always rely on him for a quick fix. We can also claim that the cabin scene is non-consensual, since Vanitas had a high fever and Jeanne took advantage of him. He did not get the chance to consent to the kiss. Though, even then, it was to nurse him back to health. Regardless, I was disappointed that the creator included these elements in their relationship. But it has gotten better over time. I believe the emotional aspects override the problematic elements of their relationship. Not to mention, there will be more opportunities to explore their love.

Despite the questionable aspects of their relationship, the eroticism and romance between the main characters of TCSOV bring nuanced discussions. It is not a perfect representation of a healthy sexual relationship, but it is heading in the right direction. And it works well for both characters. I believe it will be a tragic and passionate romance to remember fondly for years to come. Similar to that of Romeo and Juliet or Beauty and the Beast. At least, I have high hopes for them.

In conclusion, I love vampires. Where can I find one nearby? There’s no real point to this post. I just like to ramble after all.

———————————————————————

Citations:

Madonna, and Shep Pettibone. "Erotica." Erotica, 29 Sept. 1992.

Rosario, Sebastián G. The Humanization of the Vampire and the Dehumanization of the Queer Community. 2021. University of Puerto Rico, MA thesis.

[melanie-ohara]

Avery Sirin

Alliance Mechanic

See also: Dela Raisaris

The following information is classified. Spectre status required.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Avery Sirin was born in 2154 on the fledgling human colony of Terra Nova to Leilani and Grigol Sirin. The colony expanded slowly at first, and as a child Avery's education was patchy and largely delivered by her parents or neighbours, and focused mostly on important aspects of colony life. From an early age, she developed a keen interest in machinery and technology.

The draw of frontier life eventually attracted an impressive number of first-class educators, and Sirin was one of the first enrolled in Terra Nova's school system in the capital of Scott. Keen to encourage the colony (and boost their own recruitment numbers after the Relay-314 incident) the Alliance provided Avery and many of her peers with full scholarships to the newly established Falconer University in Scott City.

Avery attended the Technical Engineering college in 2172, just as Terra Nova's famous platinum rush was beginning. The sudden influx of people and credits transformed the colony over Avery's four years of study. As many of the new arrivals were non-human, this was Avery's first experience of wider galactic culture. While already committed to two years of Alliance service thanks to the scholarship program, in her third and fourth years of study Avery joined several social clubs designed to build inter-species relationships.

Her parents, however, were distrustful of the new arrivals and resented the industrialisation of their colony. They became reclusive and moved away from the city, causing a rift between them and their daughter that has resulted in a noticeably frosty relationship.

After her graduation in 2176, Sirin was assigned as a flight mechanic on the SSV Hong Kong, where she developed a romantic relationship with a pilot that lasted most of her required two years of service. It ended poorly with the realisation that her partner looked down on her as 'just an engineer'. After breaking it off with him, she applied - and was quickly accepted - to the Alliance Flight School in 2178. After the one year intensive program, she graduated in the top three of her class.

She was reassigned to the SSV Shenyang in 2179 and flew on several pirate suppression missions in the Attican Traverse, protecting Alliance colonies from slavers. Her skill and dedication were recognised with a promotion to 1st Flight Lieutenant in 2181.

In 2183, the Shenyang fought in the Battle of the Citadel against the rogue Spectre Saren and his geth army. Sirin fought with distinction, destroying several geth fighters and helping co-ordinate the defence of a hobbled turian cruiser. On the recommendation of Major Helmud Diaz, Sirin was awarded a commendation and, with the appointment of the new human Councillor in early 2184, was approved for transfer to the turian heirarchy ship Severum of the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission in the krogan DMZ.

EQUIPMENT

Alliance Interceptor Fighter

Designed for ship-to-ship combat and missile screening duties, the Alliance SX3 is less hardy than its turian equivalent but significantly more agile.

M-3 Predator sidearm

All flight personnel are assigned a basic sidearm in case of emergency. Avery's pistol range scores are comparatively poor.

SKILLS

While not much of a combatant outside of her cockpit, Avery can use her Alliance-issue omni-tool as a defensive and offensive weapon. She can release an electrical overload to disrupt enemy kinetic barriers, or repurpose the charge as a shield boost for herself. Additionally, she can use the on-board minifacturer to produce a swarm of nanides, which can be used by an invasion program to strip enemy armour, or a restoration program to repair equipment.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION

Avery Sirin is a model Alliance soldier. Dedicated to her mission and loyal to her allies, she has a quiet resilience and determination that make her an asset to any operation. Off duty, she is curious and friendly, and makes a noticeable effort to get along with and understand her non-human comrades. Despite her efforts, she can come across emotionally distant and prefers not to talk about herself, which leads some - particularly turians - to think of her as aloof.

- REPORT FILED BY VERAPIA BESCUS, ST&R, 2184 -