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piracytheorist · 3 months

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something i love about spy family is that its a very funny manga, but it isn't afraid to be serious and talk about serious things (and its also really good at transitioning between the two)

Tatsuya Endo has an amazing grasp of balance. There are a lot of posts going around about how Spy x Family goes from something as heavy as "war makes monsters of us all" to something as silly as "Anya finds Loid's tourist fashion choices lame" and it somehow works.

It's one of the things that made me fall in love with the story from the second if not the very first episode of the anime. It dares to be realistic about how war impacts humans and how it takes them into a path they wouldn't normally take, but at its core it's a story filled with humor and love and connection, because this is how humans are supposed to live like. I mean, not to break it down to a "live laugh love" moral, but at the end of the day it does prioritize people living happily together and in peace. Even the "enemy" is shown in a sympathetic light from time to time.

And the humor and silliness attributes to that. It makes the story light-hearted despite the heavy issues it tackles. It would be hard to find hope in a story that focuses only on those heavy issues, if its vibe was constant grittiness and violence and dark themes. Not that there's anything wrong with stories with such themes; but you wouldn't usually watch such a story and expect to feel full of hope afterwards, nor expect it to have the humor that SxF has.

What is amazing is how Endo manages the balance of it all. How he works in the silliness amidst an environment of a cold war, of hardened spies and assassins, because it would be very easy to veer right into tone-deaf cheesy territory that gives you (unintentional) emotional whiplash. I think it's due to how the characters are only slightly exaggerated versions of something you'd see in real life. Anya behaves as any five-year-old would, where her focus is to work in protection of peace, make sure the family won't break apart, and above all, have fun. Yor's view of the world has been impacted by how long she's worked as an assassin, but her "naivete" is mostly her tendency to see good in everyone, even the "bastards" she's sent to kill. Twilight keeps telling himself everything he does is "for the mission" but he's only human and can't help bonding with his family even if he doesn't realize it.

The characters may behave in an exaggerated way from time to time, but they're not caricatures. The humor and ridiculousness (affectionate) in their actions are based on real human traits and behaviours we can see in real life. The want to have fun, the tendency to see the good in people, the desire to love. Endo simply takes those and has three people whose special traits clash with those three mentioned traits. Anya grew up as a science experiment in a lab where she wasn't allowed to have fun, so now that she has people who care for her emotional growth she goes all out with fun activities. Yor was forced into the choice of becoming an assassin, having to be told "This person is BadTM so you play judge jury and executioner", but with Yuri being her motivation (and later on the Forgers too) she managed to keep her kind heart. Occasionally she can't control her monstrous strength and may also consider killing people who inconvenience her and then go like "Yo wtf chill maybe". Twilight became a spy and distanced himself from human connections, but now that his job brought him into the position of staying long term with a kid and a wife and a dog, his desire for such a connection is rearing its persistent head. And so you get a Professional Master SpyTM playing "Rescue Princess Anya from the Evil Clutches of Count Scruffy Head".

It's the contrast that makes the humor of it all, and in such a way that it never takes only one character's side. I think that also adds to the "flexibility" of the story. It's easier to connect to a story when there's multiple sides explained and understood by the audience; and I mean, the only thing the story looks to be trying to "convince" you of is that humans live best when they live in peace and surrounded by people they love, and that's an undeniable fact of human nature. The characters can and do make mistakes but they're shown to be able to grow from them, and even someone radicalized and extremist like Yuri has understandable motives and a very human nature - just one that was taken advantage of by people in power.

Overall yeah, I think it's how focused on the characters' humanity the story is that it makes the balance between humor and heavy issues work. Again, though it can be exaggerated at times, it's not a caricature or slapstick, just for the sake of making the audience laugh. There's a depth and a genuine reaching out for the audience's emotions and understanding.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga 😁)

#ask and ye shall receive #commieorcs #this probably got too deep lmao #but yeah I do love this aspect of the story so much #and Endo deserves the praise for balancing it all out so masterfully #Spy x Family #sxf meta

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tumblezwei · 3 months

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I am a Ruan Mei defender, not because I think she's a blameless misunderstood character, but bc I am very afraid of people interpreting her terrible actions as bad writing bc "the game still expects us to like her" or overexaggerating her bad traits in order to make Dr. Ratio look better by comparison.

And that's not to say I think Ratio is a "bad" guy either, I think the whole point of introducing him alongside Ruan Mei was to highlight how different the Genius Society operates compared to "normal" academics. Ratio's over the top arrogance makes him off-putting at first, but his genuine desire to spread knowledge to everyone who wants to learn it is the perfect contrast to the obsession and selfishness of the Genius Society, who only ever care about fulfilling their own desires without concern for those below them. Even Screwllum, the member who seems the most sociable and friendly, let Ratio carry on with his antics on the space station just to see what would happen, even though it put the Trailblazer in danger and threatened the whole facility.

So that is to say, Ruan Mei is like that on purpose. We aren't supposed to see her drugging us and sending us after an incomplete Emanator of Propagation and be confused as to how she's a "goody guy." She isn't. None of the members of the Genius Society are "good" people just bc we're allied with them. Herta uses Traliblazer as a guinea pig for the Simulated Universe after all, and we now know that as long as it's something he's curious about, Screwllum won't interfere to protect us even when he's already figured out the solution to the problem we're facing.

But I also want to do a little apologism for Ruan Mei bc sometimes the accusations I see lobbed at her is a bit much. Like, yeah, she drugged us, but it was a temporary inhibitor that literally only stopped us from giving people information about Ruan Mei. And she didn't do it just to fuck with us? Ruan Mei is incredibly aware of how emotionally detached she is and knows it's almost impossible for her to understand the affection given to her by her creations. She doesn't drug us out of some evil desire to control information, she does it bc she knows her time on the space station is temporary and wants to avoid leaving behind any memories of her being there. That doesn't make it okay and it's still presented alongside everything else she does that's uncaring towards TB and her creations, but it makes it a little more complicated than just "she's an unfeeling sociopath that would happily watch us die." It's bad, but it's also one of Ruan Mei's weird and not good ways of showing consideration.

It's interesting, is what I'm saying. It's compelling. And I don't really dig how it she gets reduced to a two-bit manipulator.

I'm a bit of a stickler for this particular thing bc it's something I truly adore about HSR's writing, and also something I see as one of the game's core themes. There is no clear divide between "good" guys and "bad" guys. The Genius Society is full of emotionally constipated weirdos who wouldn't pay a single bit of attention to us if we weren't interesting to them, but they're also important allies to the Express. The Stelleron Hunters are our biggest opposition and wreak havoc on whatever planet they enter, but we know that their goals somewhat align with our own and unless you go out of your way to be mean to her with every dialogue option, it's pretty obvious that Kafka is someone Trailblazer loves.

And even Cocolia, someone who almost destroyed the last remnants of civilization on her own planet, gets treated with sympathy. Bronya is allowed to mourn her mother and still see her as an aspirational figure, all the while Serval is allowed to break off ties with her and definitively move on from her past.

It's a theme that carries over to a lot of HSR's important side quests too, where often you're expected to choose between two options that both have some pretty heavy downsides no matter what. You have your own moral compass, and along the way the choices may seem crystal clear, but it's never so black and white as you predict. It's a game about decisions, about making your own way in life and learning about the different worldviews of those you meet. Good or bad, helpful or hurtful, it's not always so obvious as "this person did something bad to me, now I will forever dislike them."

"When there is the chance to make a choice, make one that you know you won't regret," "explore, understand, establish, and connect," "the Express welcomes everyone" etc etc

#this post took more turns that I originally planned #but once I got on one topic it railroaded me into the other #so now there's this #honkai star rail #honkai posting #rambling

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navarice · 1 year

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my dearest fellow mdzs stans, i really don't want to spoil anyone's fun but sometimes some things must be said. please do NOT mistake fanon characteristics for canon characteristics because by GOD is it frustrating to dissect a character when all anyone wants to do is blindly turn away from the very vivid and metastasizing flaws.

jiang cheng is an extremely complicated character, and that's why we love him. but by god, he is a jealous, self-victimizing asshole with a massive inferiority complex who likes to torture (probably) innocent look-a-likes of his (as far as he knew) dead adjacent family member. jesus christ this isn't some simple case of miscommunication (well it is but, you know no amount of communication will ever mend the giant chasm that developed between them. especially not with asians raised within the most classical case of asian parenting, i mean come on now) but a matter of deep and intense self-loathing developed since early childhood projecting violently outwards. let me be clear. he hates wei wuxian. he loathes him. he wants to kill him with his own hands again and again so some part of his convoluted sense of justice and superiority will be fulfilled. he's a classist, a bully, and abusive to everyone around him. ong at the end of mdzs, i was nearly crying tears of joy when jin guangyao flayed him flat on his ass bc that man needed to hear it. he needed to feel it. he needed to stop blaming others and blame himself.

and!! he's homophobic!! the entire cultivation world is, yes, but he's the only one we see give wei ying and lan zhan active shit for it!!

point is...his complexity makes him interesting. as a child, he was pretty alright tbh. he was understandably upset when three of his dogs got taken away and he saw his dad give a completely random kid such a gentle hug when jiang cheng never received one so far. he was a kid, and it was sad and helped the readers get a glimpse at the already dysfunctional family dynamics before wei ying came into the picture. as an adolescent/teen, yes he had a lot of unresolved rage and inferiority issues building up when he was constantly being compared to wei wuxian by his mother and not given enough reassurance from his father (once again, all present before wei ying...everyone just likes to dump the shit on him bc it's easier to point fingers at others than at yourself). perhaps he could have turned out differently if literally either of his parents stepped up and took accountability. however, after the burning of lotus pier? after the golden core transfer? after wei ying stuck around as his subordinate just as he promised, and protected jiang cheng like he promised, and defected just to save the yunmeng clan's reputation so jiang cheng doesn't have to put up with the other clan's shit, still continuing to keep his promise? after wei ying's death? idk abt y'all, but all bets are off bro.

mxtx makes it a point to make him so irredeemable. he's an exploration of what can go wrong if you let your traumas, self-hatred, and revenge fantasies blind you. he has the worst traits of his parents for a reason, directly contrasting with the other sibling, who is a perfect picture of eldest daughters born into a dysfunctional family. jiang yanli has the best traits of her parents (in terms of compassion and standing up for her family), but the family dynamics also made her the way she was. the responsible, the mediator, the occasional mother, stepping in where madam yu cannot.

there's just so much potential to hold him accountable buried under the pretense of misunderstandings and kinnie moments. he just had so many chances, more than any other character, to make a different choice. to actually look past his misgivings and unlearn the bad habits he used to protect himself as a child. i'm not saying he has to magically heal from all his traumas, but at the very least know not to be like his parents. but he wasn't written that way. because that is what happens when you give into your insecurities and generational trauma.

bottom line: jiang cheng is a fantastic archetype that needs to be explored in all his authenticity, including his moments of loyalty and cruelty.

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the-chaotic-christian · 3 months

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Disclaimer; these are just my opinions. I'm not looking to start a fight.

I'm getting concerned about Katara's character in Netflix's show.

In almost every trailer, advertisement, interview-at least the ones I've seen-they've been really trying to drive home the point that she's a warrior. Which she is; there's no disputing that. By the second half of the first season she's a force to be reckoned with.

But that's not what I think of when I think about her.

It's not her defining character trait. Her main goal isn't to become a warrior; at least, she doesn't want to be a warrior just because. It happens out of necessity, because she has talents and abilities that are huge assets when fighting.

But at her core, she's a caretaker. She's a girl who sacrificed her dreams and own desires for people who needed her at the age of eleven.

Having her openly pursue and argue with Sokka over the whole 'warrior' business almost seems to discount that. It adds a touch of immaturity and naivety to her character that just feels shallow. Katara has always understood sacrifice; what it means to give up your own wants for another's-she does this all the time.

It's one of the things I find most admirable about her character.

From episode one it's established that she's the person that makes sure everyone has everything together; she's not, primarily, a fighter. She can fight-and she does-but she's more than that. Katara holds the gaang together, both physically-cooking, repairing clothes, making sure everyone's healthy-and emotionally-calming Aang out of the Avatar State, encouraging Sokka, attempting, albeit unsuccessfully and overbearingly, to curb Toph's reckless antics. Even in season 3, when Zuko shows up, her mistrust and dislike of him is because she's trying to protect everyone else.

When I think of Katara, the first word I think of is 'motherly'. I don't want Netflix to box her into the Marvel-girlboss-power stereotype, scrubbing her of any depth and femininity in the name of making her a warrior. Being motherly doesn't make her weak; being the one who cooks, cleans, and makes sure people are, i don't know, sleeping, doesn't make her weak.

It makes her incredibly strong.

She's a warrior, but that's not her first characteristic. She's one of the few people in the series who truly understands how consequential their actions are. She understands that sacrifices need to be made; she's seen them made first hand. Katara's motherliness is an outward sign of the way that she sacrifices for others; she gives them her time, her energy, and her love. That's different than how her brother sacrifices, how Aang sacrifices, how everyone else in the series sacrifices; but that's okay.

I don't want Katara to be just a warrior. I don't want her arc to be purely about 'fighting sexism' or whatever. She's deeper than that. I'm sick of these copy-and-past boss girls hollywood keeps churning out. A;tla is full of so many complex female characters, they don't need to be changed to be 'strong' or something along those lines.

The greatest thing about Katara is that she was a strong female character before she had the ability to throw grown men across the battlefield; and her arc in the first season was so much more about her growing into her abilities than all oh 'woe is me, a female in a patriarchal society!' and I love that. She didn't just complain; she changed the status quo and proved that the Northerners were just plain wrong.

Her magic abilities aren't what make her strong; her ability to fight isn't what makes her strong; her proving that women can and will fight if necessary isn't what makes her strong;

Her passion, hope, love, motherliness, compassion, desire to impact the world in a positive way, and arc about learning to let go and forgive are the things that make her strong.

C'mon Netflix, don't scrub that for some Marvel copy-and-past.

#katara #avatar the last airbender #character analysis #christian perspective #netflix #netflix series #netflix atla #avatar aang #aang x katara #sokka

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guavajaws · 9 months

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I saw a very interesting post earlier talking about purple haze feedback and Fugio and honestly, I enjoy talking about these characters that I love so why the hell not?

I forgot who the poster was but in it they made a very valid point, if your takeaway from phf is ‘omg fugio’ real! Then you completely misunderstand the point. As someone who is a longtime Fugio shipper I completely agree but I wanted to put my takes on the story and what seems to make the ship so appealing for some people

Regardless no matter what way the wind blows, phf’s main task is to help peer into the mindset of Fugo who has been left to scramble and pick up the pieces of his feelings after his friends went to risk themselves against Passione. Through the entire story he wrestles with the very grief of loosing him and attempts to grasp and understand Narancia’s decision to leave and fight for Trish.

Ive seen that the jjba fandom tends disregards a lot of the highly traumatic situations that unfold in most of the protags lives and with that disregard the characters are reduced from three dimensional human characters struggling with their pain to two dimensional characters who’s suffering is pushed aside for the very core personality traits presented above the surface.

Fugo is ‘the angry one’, ‘the smart one’

All traits that do certainly apply to him but if you simply leave it at that, Fugo remains as what ive said, a two dimensional character.

What makes Purple Haze Feedback so great is that we see a character who has suffered and has been brutally beaten down by the world that has kept him from living any semblance of a normal happy life, find a way to accept his grief and to accept his pain by means of accepting and understanding his own anger. In the case of Pannacotta Fugo, anger is also a means of protecting people. Fugo bit the capsule and lived, even Murolo mentions out-loud that stands do not change unless the user has gone through change as well. He evolved and now PH is no longer the symbol of festering rage that it used to be.

After all of that id find it odd if someone’s only takeaway from the story is ‘fugio real!!’ However I do understand the appeal

People so often seem to forget the Fugo and Giorno’s stories are very very similar and they’re both victims of abuse. Giorno adapted to reading people and their emotions while Fugo would let his emotions out more often.

But I think the sweet part of Fugio is to be able to imagine two victims of their similar traumas being able to find so much to love about eachother and be able to heal together. Fugo being able to love Giorno on his own accord and Giorno not having a need for putting up walls around Fugo would allow for them to just BE, to exist in eachother’s company and honestly its a comforting thought.

#fugio #pannacotta fugo #giorno giovanna #purple haze feedback #golden wind #jjba part 5

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swamp-spirit · 2 years

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It’s... more D.Gray-Man meta.

Anyway, something I really love about D.Gray-Man, which I think confuses a lot of people, is that it’s a tragedy hiding in a shounen. A lot of the things which are framed as Positive Shounen Growth are actually the setup for tragedy.

I think this turns off readers on two counts:

A) Though I don’t think Hoshino’s perfect, I have a lot of trust in her ability to know when a plot beat is tragic, even if it isn’t portrayed that way at the time. There’s a lot of really dissonant plot beats where the show is playing it like a victory, but, if you think about it for five seconds, are Pretty Messed Up. I think, without that trust, it can easily feel like “wait, why is this being played like a win??? Isn’t this bad???“

B) On the flipside, if you trust shounen convention, you’re going to end up feel like your ‘wins‘ keep getting ‘stolen‘. The characters keep doing things that make them powerful and selfless! Why does that keep making things bad.

Because, at the core, it’s a series about how the traits that make a good shounen hero ARE tragic. Shounen values self-sacrifice, power, and perseverance. D.Gray-Man understands that these are BAD things for a teenage child soldier. In the face of the apocalypse, having those traits may keep the characters alive, but characters becoming more ‘powerful‘ and ‘motivated‘ in D.Gray-Man often means they are actively turning away from the stable, healthy option. Often, the healthy option is not survivable, but even when the unhealthy option is heroic, it’s still tragic.

Let’s talk specific moments

Allen Makes a More Moral Choice Than Kanda Because He Doesn’t Love Anyone

I think this scene reads very differently when you know who they’re both referring to. Kanda is living to see his wife again. For him, it’s okay to make the pragmatic choice because there’s something more important to him.

Allen makes one of the moral arguments D.Gray-Man makes a lot: that a win brought about by sacrificing innocents isn’t a win at all, but he also brings up something else.

Allen says he’s lost what was dear to him. Allen loves the whole world, but, at this point in the series, he’s the opposite of Lenalee. For Lenalee, her loved ones are her whole world. Allen doesn’t have any meaningful connections yet. The world was cruel, and then Mana wasn’t, and then Mana died. He obviously somewhat cares about Cross, but not in a ‘live for his sake‘ way.

And, in the framing of this scene, I think there’s somewhat of an argument that Allen can be selfless BECAUSE he’s emotionally isolated. He doesn’t have anyone to protect or come home to No Matter What, so it’s easy for him to put his life on the line in a way it isn’t for Kanda.

And Genuine Emotional Bonds Start to Hold him Back

As the series goes on, Allen gets to start making genuine bonds with his friends, and this canonically gives a hit to his power. He’s focused on fighting to help his friends, and, when his power fails, he tries to find his motivation in The Power of Friendship.

And his powerup comes, not from that friendship, but when he realizes wanting to help his friends has distracted him from his purpose.

It’s very common in Shounen for a power-up to come from an emotional realization. I mean, that’s how good storytelling works. Hell, there are even examples where a power-up comes from an unhealthy realization, but that’s usually Anger Awakening Dark Power.

Combat wise, getting Crown-Clown is good! He can save Fo! He can save his friends! This is what we wanted! It’s not the forbidden dark mode that should never be activated, it’s the core heroic power.

But the realization he needs to come to in order to harness that power is to dehumanize himself and acknowledge his role as a weapon.

And speaking of

that

...

Allen Didn’t Take His Out Because He is Held Together With Twine

Let’s rewind a little.

I think China is the first time we see how deeply broken Allen is. His determination to save lost souls and keep the promise he made to Mana is his guiding light. As long as that’s working, he seems like a fairly functional, if dangerously selfless, person, but, every time that’s threatened, he completely falls apart. He doesn’t look at other options, he just collapses until he can get back to the status quo. Inside, he’s a step away from that catatonic child. We see him hit this same wall when Mana’s love for him is called into question and he can’t function until he decides he loves Mana anyway and it won’t change anything.

It’s important to remember here that Bak and Allen have very different info coming into this. Bak knows Allen’s weapon is still there, so he’s giving Allen an out before Allen can pressure himself. If his priority was making sure Allen could return to duty, he’d tell him, but Bak knows Allen is a parasite type. Bak is motivated not to repeat the mistakes of the past. He knows Allen taking back his weapon is dooming him to die as a child soldier. (And that Allen’s resentment for that truth could break very bad. Giant glowing torso bad.)

If Allen was motivated purely by helpful good goodness, he’d take the path offered. As far as Allen knows, he can’t be an exorcist. The path he’s trying to follow doesn’t exist. The way forward is to accept the loss and keep helping with what he does have.

But he isn’t. Bak doesn’t give Allen back his weapon because he respects Allen’s determination, he gives Allen back his weapon because Allen is completely dependent on his identity as an exorcist. From a practical standpoint, this confirms he won’t turn on his weapon and Fall, but, from an ethical standpoint, it also tells Bak he can’t save Allen. He’s pretty much a zookeeper sadly realizing the rare animal can no longer survive in the wild and, even though that would be the better choice for the animal, it’s no longer a possible one.

If the art and framing don’t make it clear enough this tragedy is intentional, later reveals do. Because now we know that Allen’s One Path Forward was always leading him to the most painful possible ending.

But let’s talk about some other tragic shounen wins.

Timothy Had No Good Options

Let’s be clear here: He’s not wrong.

We’ve seen over and over, exorcists don’t have a choice. The parasitic power was forced on him by an abusive father. Now his options are to be hunted by akuma for the rest of his life and watch monsters kill everyone around him or become a child soldier. Either way, his parasitic power kills him young.

The win here is not what the framing says it is, and this is where my trust for Hoshino comes in. I think we’re meant to understand this is Timothy choosing to sacrifice himself. It’s followed up with a comedic scene, and I know the quick mood switches aren’t for everyone, but I think it’s unfair to assume it means Hoshino doesn’t understand the tragedy. There are plenty of atonally cheerful moments in unarguably dark moments.

It might be the best choice Timothy has, just like taking the crystal boots was the best choice Lenalee had, but it’s still a tragic choice. The only win is that they had the agency to make the tragic choice themselves, for their own reasons.

Komui Saving His Sister Also Doomed Her

Finally, let’s talk about Lenalee again.

Personally, I will fight for Lenalee sticking with the Black Order being a fantastic character choice. It’s not her being weak-willed or naive, it comes from her being just as broken as the other exorcists.

Komui’s love for his sister starts as a gag, then becomes genuinely heart-wrenching, and it’s easy to miss that it’s also the core of Lenalee’s greatest character flaw.

Komui joining the black order saved Lenalee. She’d been mentally broken, and that connection gave her a reason to live again, but it also trapped her.

(If you remember what chapter this scene is in, please tell me so I can grab a panel)

Lenalee says once Komui joined, she understood she couldn’t leave. She sees the Black Order as home and family more than anyone else, and that’s her lifeline. She’s not fighting for the world, she’s fighting for the people she loves, especially her brother. His dependency on her may be more melodramatic, but she’s just as unhealthily dependent on him.

The Black Order kidnapped Lenalee and forced her to fight. She saw horrific experiments, and, now in canon, has watched them hurt and use her and her friends, but she’s trapped. Her entire world is tied up in a corrupt paramilitary organization, but leaving it would mean abandoning her whole world.

I think her goodbye scene with Allen makes a lot more sense through that lens. They’re both traumatized kids held together by a single purpose. They care deeply about each other, but neither can make the choice the other might want because their guiding purposes tie them to different forces, and, without that tie, they’d become untethered.

In Conclusion

Characters in D.Gray-Man don’t become more powerful by accepting friendship, they become more powerful by hacking parts of themselves away and binding themselves to tragedy, and then the story smiles and goes ‘look, we won, we did it‘ while it holds a knife behind its back.

#d.gray-man #dgm

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dragonfly0808 · 1 year

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Stella: The Thesis

If you’ve read my Fate rant, you know I’ve got a lot of feelings about Stella, so here we go.

Again SPOILERS IF YOU’RE NOT UP TO DATE WITH THE REWRITE, like at least up til Chapter 38 of Season 3

Also, TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of Eating Disorders

First Things First

The first words in my character sheet to summarize her character in the OG are: Spectacular Diva who doesn’t always think before talking.

I think we can all agree that a big point Stella’s character was to combat the mean blonde girl stereotype without making her a tomboy. Letting her love sparkle and be dramatic without being mean. The only times that Stella is mean are when her brain-to-mouth filter fail and she always makes up for it.

I always loved Stella’s character, especially post season 3, and I was very specific about what I wanted to do with her character. Making her a little more mature without taking away any of her Stella charm.

Stella is a perfect character for a ‘fake it till you make it’ mentality and to hide any insecurity behind a kind of ‘armor’. Fashion is Stella’s armor if that makes sense, and she is probably the most insecure in the group, even if she’s been working on it since even before the rewrite begins.

My very first major change is to change the reason she took a sabbatical year. Instead of blowing up a lab carelessly and her dad having to make a ‘generous donation’ to get her back into Alfea, Stella choses to take a year off to work on her mental health and her ED.

So, I chose for her to suffer from Anorexia as a response to 1) a need for validation from her mom, who has a bad habit of commenting on her body, 2) incredible stress from her parents fighting all the time and 3) the pressure of being a future queen affecting her a lot.

We only really see Stella post-healing from her ED, but we still get to see her not taking care of herself as much as she should when very stressed or very emotional, and the group (especially Sky, Brandon, Tecna and Bloom) tend to keep an eye on her to make sure she’s eating properly.

Stella’s at her core, a very caring person. Someone once commented that, while Bloom will be the one to lead the girls in battle, once it’s all over, Stella is the one they look to and the one to take care of all the girls and I feel like that’s a perfect summary of who Stella is as a friend.

Stella feels a lot of responsability towards the girls, both because she’s the oldest and because she just loves them with all her heart and would do anything for them.

We often see her trying to take care of her own emotions on her own or even shoving her feelings down in order to comfort the other girls. (Not talking to Brandon because she doesn’t want him to worry about her, getting her emotions/powers under control to comfort Aisha, etc)

Even though she’s an only child, Stella is very much an older sister. She jokes and teases and is just a little annoying because its fun to her, but the second things get serious, she’s the one they look to for comfort or for a safe place. The first time we see this is in Season 1 when Flora has a breakdown, the other girls freeze because they’ve never seen Flora like this and they’re not sure what to do, Stella instantly takes over, gets her into comfy pijamas, tells the teachers they’ll take the day off and makes the decision to call in someone else to give Flora what she needs at the moment. Like Musa says, ‘Flora is so mature sometimes I forget Stella’s the oldest.’

Another way we see that her caring is her main trait is her dedication to be a good future queen.

Stella is incredibly close with her personal guards Sua and Lola, sees them as mother figures and she knows the names of almost the entire castle personal. She takes as many courses as she can and is not ashamed to ask for extra classes with subjects like Economy so that when her time comes, she can be the queen that Solaria deserves.

This comes into play with her Enchantix, she dies protecting her dad, protecting Chimera even though at the moment Chimera is trying to steal her place, protecting two guards.

We truly see who Stella is with the entire Chimera situation in s3, she knows what it’s like to be 15 and insecure and kinda hate yourself. And she knows what it’s like to feel like she’s alone. So she gives Chimera what her friends once gave to her. Hope, warmth and a chance to remake herself.

Stella takes Chimera in as her little sister even after everything. Because she understands and she cannot not care about her.

Stella’s main trait, that never changes is that she is caring and she will do anything for the people she loves.

Thoughts Behind Main Relationships

Bloom: Bloom is Stella’s person. Like I’ve mentioned, they have a very Taylor Swift, invisible string kind of friendship. They were always meant to be friends.

To Stella, Bloom is part of her very soul, her very being. If Stella is the sun then Bloom is the moon, the two are connected in a way that neither can quite describe.

To Stella, Bloom is safety, she can be vulnerable and weak and just show herself with Bloom and she knows that if she breaks, Bloom will be there to help pull her back together or to be strong for the both of them.

That’s something that Stella has never truly allowed herself to feel before, even with her closest friends. Bloom is the one that she trusts to put her back together if she ever breaks. Because she’d do the same for her.

Brandon: Brandon and Stella have known each other for two years before season 1 and from the moment they met they were drawn to each other.

Brandon somehow saw right through Stella’s facade of confidence that she wore back in the day, and he was intrigued by who she really was. She was a bit intimidated by this but was also intrigued.

It took them a long time to admit their feelings but they have a relationship founded in friendship, softness and trust. They’ve seen each other at rock bottom, they know that they’ll stay no matter what. They feel safe with each other.

Brandon thinks Stella is beautiful of course, but that is not why he fell in love with her, it was pretty much everything else. And Stella didn’t fall for him for his looks either, she fell for the boy who’s a family man and takes care of his four younger sisters and who never hesitated to help Sky and who is just a protector at his core and who always believed in her.

Their love is, ‘I’ve seen you at your worst, I’ve seen what you hide from the world, I know exactly who you are and I am so in love with every aspect and shade of you that I don’t know how I could ever not love you. I know that you’re insecure deep down and I understand that and there is such comfort in how knowing we are of each other that somehow, after a life-time of being terrified to be vulnerable, being weak with you is easier than it should be and all fear goes away when you hold me.’

Sky: Sky and Stella have known each other since birth. They’ve been best friends since they were less than two years old and have always had each other’s back.

One of the major changes I made to season 1 was having Stella know about the switcharoo between Sky and Brandon, mostly because, since she’s known Sky her whole life, they couldn’t really keep it a secret from her.

This formed a dynamic for the trio and made them the closest subunit in season 1 since they’ve known each other the longest.

Stella and Sky are two kids who bonded as kids but continued to deepen their bond as they both realized the weight on their shoulders due to being the future rulers of their respective planets.

These two are definetely siblings. They both had somewhat strict mothers so when together, they love to get to just be goofy teenagers. Their friendship is one of ‘We both have so much to do and a lot of weight on our shoulders but when we’re together we can let go and try to trip each other into a fountain for the fun of it and stick out our tongues just because we can and I know you’d never get mad at me over something like that. But you know that if you even need anything I will be right here and nothing will stop me from helping you.’

Who is Stella in this Rewrite?

Stella is someone who is learning to love herself and come into her own. To accept her insecurities and learn from them.

She is the kind of person who is goofy and has so much personality that you can’t help but just notice when they walk into the room. She is always making people laugh, but the second that things go dire, she is the first to jump to protect her friends. Once the battle is over, she’ll be the first to comfort the others.

Stella is a complex young woman. Who has immense passion and love and care within her and who uses all of that in every single relationship that she has. She pours her love into her studies to be a good queen someday.

She is a woman who has gone through hating herself to starting to truly realize that she is allowed to be proud of herself and even admire who she has become in the face of adversity.

Stella is someone who’s caring at her very core and who shows that care in everything that she does.

Stella is a girl filled to the brim with personality and care and strength. And it shows in everything that she does.

———————

Masterlist

Stella Moodboard

Stella’s Instagram

Bloom and Stella Moodboard

Stella and Brandon Moodboard

Stella and Sky Moodboard

Please comment on this one cause I had a bit of a tough time wording what I wanted to say this time around (that’s why this one took so long) so I’d love to know your thoughts!

#winx club #winx rewrite #winx #winx headcannon #winx fanfic #winx stella #winx headcanons #winx club rewrite #winx headcannons #winx brandon #winx headcanon

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asongofstarkandtargaryen · 4 months

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Not to demonize Cat but the woman literally said Arya was a trial and she wanted her to be like Sansa; she admired Edmure’s efforts to look after his people but at the same time she saw them as useless mouths to feed; she wanted 14 year old Jon out of his own home in Winterfell. How is that supposed to be similar to him? Same with Sansa being Ned 2.0 just because she’s in the Vale. She doesn’t recall any of his lessons like his other kids do. He is a man who lived and died for his family and was overall well liked by his people. He carried Lyanna’s secret to his grave. Sansa snitched on her family (bitterly regretting it) because she was in love with the little psycho who tried to murder her sister and she barely had any contact with the smallfolk. The math doesn’t add up. Just reads like a Jon/sa fetich of NedCat 2.0, same people who insist Jon longs for Cat’s love and approval since he has oedipus complex or whatever. But one can not erase canon and none of the women Jon felt attracted to had anything to do with Cat. They need milk of the copey.

Yes, I agree with you.

Comparing Catelyn saying that Arya was "a trial" while the latter was missing to Jon gifting Arya the Needle, it's clear that those two characters view Arya's behavior differently.

Arya herself was doubting that her mother would want her ( which mind you wasn't true, Catelyn wanted both her daughters back. But it says a lot about the impression she had given to her child through her behavior). Meanwhile, she was certain that Jon would want her even if no one else would. Jon's acceptance is wholeheartedly, he doesn't criticize Arya's parts their society considers unwomanly ( and in fact, all the girls he finds attractive share those traits of hers).

Here is the thoughts of Catelyn when her brother gives shelter to innocent people in Riverlands war zone:

Only my sweet brother would crowd all these useless mouths into a castle that might soon be under siege.

ACOK - Catelyn I

Jon Snow in ADWD is doing exactly what Catelyn is criticizing her brother for, he gives shelter to "useless mouths" ( aka all the Wildings that can't contribute to the fight against the Others).

Jon's worldview, beliefs and behavior is so different from Catelyn's that it's laughable to claim that "he's Catelyn with Ned/Lyanna's characteristics". Do they have a couple of things/ traits in common? Surely, but so does almost any pair of pov characters. That doesn't mean all of them are copies of each other.

Moving to Sansa, I disagree with the fandom's notion that she's Ned 2.0. As you said, she doesn't recall his lessons like his other children do. That's not to condemn her because Ned taught mainly the boys and Catelyn was responsible for the girls ' education ( Arya is the exception here because we know that she liked to follow her father and see him performing his duties as the Castle's Lord).

And then there is the scene where Sansa tells Cersei her father's plan. Again, I'm not gonna codemn a 11 years old for making a silly decision but considering that a major theme in Ned's story is that he never revealed his sister's secret, preferring to soil his honor in order to protect it I fail to see the similarities between father and daughter in terms of personal values and priorities.

As I often say, Sansa was way closer to her mother than she ever was to her father and she shares some core beliefs with her ( plus her narrative comparison to Cat is important due to the Littlefinger obsession with both of them). So if the fans want to link Sansa to any of her parents, Catelyn the correct choice imo.

On a side note, I'm sure that you probably meant no harm but I don't like the word "psycho" to describe awful characters. Joffrey was a little shit but that was because he was spoiled by his mother and neglected by his father. He didn't have any psychosis. Mental illnesses affect real people and that's why I don't like seeing them being used as slurs.

#asoiaf ask #laren-dorrs

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drgamenstein · 9 months

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So, going back to some of my older posts about character and setting TTRPGs let's talk about Vampire: the Masquerade. Here's real quick, a fun or stupid way to play each of the 13 clans. First though, if anyone somehow finds this who isn't familiar with the VtM lore, I'll offer a bastardized version of the disclaimer the core rulebook does; there's no such thing as a morally good PC in this game, you're going to be playing as a killer, stalker, monster, however you want to put it. Vampires are monstrous reflections of humanity, and as such can emphasize certain traits that are seen as distasteful or wrong. This isn't an excuse to be an overt and openly bigoted asshole at the table, and no GM or player should ever tolerate real world hate speech at the table when speaking OoC. We cool? Cool.

Ventrue: a new age shop owner, who sells homemade essential oils, skin care products and crystals that mark potential targets for siring based on the virtues each clan upholds. They're cursed blood makes them obsessed with very specific scents, meaning they can't feed on someone unless they're wearing something that makes them smell appealing.

Toreador: a plastic surgeon, who's idea of beauty is the imperfection of the human form. They run a budget clinic and are able to avoid losing their license due to malpractice, because they have a close personal bond with the Nosferatu, and love to skincraft them into an appearance that while still leaving them deformed, could pass as injuries or illnesses, making them less likely to violate the Masquerade. These favors give them connections to blackmail and extort anyone, enough that they can hire a Ventrue lawyer to protect them.

Gangrel: a Pational Park Ranger, who may or may not have connections to many, MANY missing 411 cases. They hold a position of neutrality between almost every faction, by upholding the laws of the Camarilla, by keeping the masquerade intact, while simultaniously cultivating their own open-air human meat restaurant. A safe place for werewolves, and other kindred to engage in their most animalistic urges, without fear of leaving evidence behind.

Malkavian: an autistic dark web information broker, that somehow knows what their customers want long before they even make contact. They have a habit of logging every email, password or other piece of identifying information that pops into their head. Breaking the fourth wall, the player could improve this by listening to business, economics or true crime podcasts during sessions, and talking as if it's a conversation they're having to what's going on at that point in game.

Tremere: a character who wants to form their own autonomous enclave, separate from any form of government be it human or kindred based. This wilderness commune is under constant surveillance by several human law enforcement agencies, and is publicly recognized as a cult, though they are petitioning to be recognized as a religion. They sire high ranking members of their organization, only after several years of indoctrination, at which point the Frog has boiled over and been reduced to a fine broth. The appeal of the cult to outsiders are the opportunity for travel, under the guise of medical and disaster relief efforts. All members are also frequently asked to donate blood for "those in need." Internally they don't believe in any religion, the player could make the argument that Kain wasn't cursed by God, but instead was the first evolutionary offshoot from mankind, and they internally view each vampire clan as related in much the same way as humans are related to other apes. This internalized vampirism racism while a massive negative trait, is effectively used by studying each and every clan solely for the purpose of learning how best to manipulate them.

Bruja: (this one's shorter than all the rest) During life they were a decorated cold war era military veteran, who was honorably discharged with injuries after certain government experiments. After their siring they have dedicated their un-life to spreading good old fashioned western values to the oppressed and impoverished parts of the world as a PMC.

Nosferatu: since almost every nosferatu have the same MO, preferred hiding spots and methods of travel, I think this clan is best defined by they're personality and view of the world. The owner of an Incel forum, who uses it both to unironically post their own thoughts and feelings, but to gather info from their users about all the Chads and Staceys in need of some punishment for their arrogance. They also frequently browse social media, and may or may not be responsible for at least a few throwaway accounts responsible for doxxing public figures. They are an absolute bitch for drama, and spend their downtime binging tea channels and Beauty-tubers but can't see the irony of this hobby.

Lasombre: an old fashioned head of a boston mafia group. He's made a fortune exploiting the working class and extorting the needy for decades, and running a successful shipyard and fishing company. His preferred targets for siring are dock workers, and local gang members that he sees as either beneficial to his criminal empire, or someone that his enemies would hate to lose. He has a unique point of view among most of the kindred, in that he doesn't discriminate among humans, Vampires or oan of the other creatures and organizations around him. They're all of equal value in his eyes, that value being equivalent to a character pip from the Game of Life, meaning tiny l, worthless bits of plastic, that take up space and are only worthy of notice when they directly impact him. His closest friend is actually a human butler, that picks out his clothes, make sure he's in proper order, and takes care of him. He will never sire this friend, as they are fully aware of his true nature and have asked him kindly to not do so. This blatant violation of the masquerade is barely tolerated as an open secret, since covering this particular leak would cause more trouble than just leaving it alone.

Tzimisce: a geneticist, who's network has a hand in every animal centric organization in the world, whether it's pet care, breeding, meat production, pageantry, racing, or law enforcement training, they can somehow be linked to it. They are fascinated by genealogy and genetics, obsessed with the true history of the world and want to prove the lineage of every clan and bloodline, simply for the satisfaction of having that knowledge. They were a successful dog breeder in life and now may or may not be practicing human and clan breeding in secret. They have a strange fascination with the Caitiff, and are regularly observed by many, acting friendly with these undesirables. They have a genuine love for animals, and would never harm any of their precious creatures, but see humans as lower than scum, utterly disgusting parasites hellbent on destroying their precious mother nature. They have no desire to sire an heir, unless eventually forced to do so, have no feelings whatsoever toward the idea of harming humans, seeing their acts as mundane or even justified, and this hatred goes so far that they frequently push themselves to the brink of frenzy just to avoid drinking from these vile creatures. Before their embrace, they had a pet dog that they loved more than anything in the world, but sadly killed during their first frenzy. They keep their friends collar on them at all times, despite the guilt they feel, it's the only thing that gives them comfort and let's them sleep at night.

Hecata: (I thought of this as an experienced player, or storyteller's PC) an elderly person, though not ancient. A member of a long lived and wealthy family dating back possibly to the Methusala. A family man, with an actual family, they sired before their embrace, with the knowledge that they will one day need to make arrangements for their children to be embraced. You take on the role of a mentor figure, teaching them the ways of the kindred, necromancy, and hunting, but are planning to, at the end of their training, have more promising of your spawn, diablerize the other.

Banu Haqim: a vigilante serial killer, think Vampire Punisher, or Dexter. Seeking out rogue kindred who've strayed from their respective code, regardless I'd they're Camarilla, Sabatt, or Anarch. The kindred you hunt are blatant violators of the masquerade and do so without even the little bit of control the Sabatt has over its members. More than anything, they are the biggest threats to kindred society as a whole and expose us all to the threat of human exposure. They are the perfect target for one such as yourself, both as self-proclaimed peacekeepers, and to satiate your own clans curse. It's your solemn duty to ensure that no evidence of kindred society is left behind.

Ravnos: a backpacker, spelunker and base jumper. They are a very popular Social Media personality and travel vlogger that enjoys documenting cave exploration and nighttime adventures into the wilderness. They know all the best tourist spots, what every kind of human blood tastes like, and won't shut the hell up about how they need to take you to Venice to try genuine Venican blood fresh from the source. They have a lot of annoying habits, and frequently humble brag about their enlightened un-life, but are generally good company and easy to get along with. You still wouldn't call them a friend though. They're the type of person that always sleeps over when they visit, but you can never remember them specifically asking if they could crash on your couch.

Ministry: You are a bio-terrorist. After your embrace, you took an interest in medical sciences for all the wrong reasons. Fascinated with your new undeath, and immunity to human illness, you start to question the limits of your new undead body, and decide to push it to new limits, concocting plagues, viruses and diseases and testing them on unsuspecting vampire populations. Occasionally, maybe, sure, some human populations get sick as well, pandemics, happen, and hundreds of thousands die each time you conduct a test, but that's the price of good science.

Caitiff: literally just don't play Caitiff. It's hard to come up with a creative or unique story for this "Clan" since they are effectively nobodies. The best comparison to be made I guess would be that Caitiff are the vampire equivalent of that weird conspiracy theorist who works in retail, has a substance abuse problem and is constantly trying to get you and all his other "work buds" to rise up and unionize against the man, but doesn't have an actual plan or any understanding on how any of that works.

Thin-bloods: Why is this a clan we can pick? Who is picking this one? Don't do it.

#writing #gaming #vampire: the masquerade #world of darkness #ttrpg #character ideas #story concepts #vampire clans

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nevarroes · 3 months

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hello with the greatest of compliments i think cas is the cuntiest durge i’ve ever come across and i adore him and love the way u draw him and gort SM <3 what are some defining personality traits cas has or things that would become obvious about him if you knew him???

thank u so much, happy you like them🥺🙏🙏

as for his personality… idk how far youve read into Caslore (I need to link that tag in my pinned later brb) but in case you haven’t heard much of him let me just warn ahead of time that he’s not very pleasant, beautiful on the outside nd rotten inside archetype💜

If i were to just like… name some character traits sims-style then I’d say his memorable traits are that he’s short-tempered as hell and very easy to enrage. However aside from anger outbursts and how he acts with Gortash he’s actually more introverted than you’d think and someone that doesn’t tend to talk more than necessary with people he doesn’t care about, generally just has a very cold and icy vibe laced with a feeling of superiority over most if not all people. He’s also vain as shit and conceited, very proud of his looks and knows how to use them to get what he wants☝️ He’s disrespectful and doesn’t accept any type of authority (gods included), he’s blunt and he’s destructive due to his nature (devil that was tainted by the Abyss)

If you dig a little deeper and if you actually knew and analyzed him you’d know that a lot of his really horrendous traits are more or less a defense mechanism for his insecurities, Cas is really a deeply insecure and traumatized person at his core tbh but this is something he’d never accept or even know himself. Anyways on that note he is insanely possessive and jealous, approaches most things in a very “revenge on the world for what happened to him” manner, he’s emotionally constipated and he’s kinda sexist in an err…. misogynist gay man stereotype way. If you’ve never dealt with one irl to know exactly what I mean then be grateful but if u did… yeah😵‍💫 He also looks down on any non-infernal race nd he’s just a very hateful person in general that doesn’t wish well on anyone

I suppose to not completely just shit on him though I’ll say that he has great self control and restraint in many cases, hes a very disciplined person. Also when he does care (Gortash) he turns into a far more genuine person that does actually manage to show some affection but in a way where… for his own pride he needs to balance it out still with being rude and teasing and a bit of a bastard still. He’s also, again this is only with Gortash though, pretty devoted and protective and would give his life for him no questions asked even if he himself went through so many hardships before that just to stay alive to keep fighting for his own freedom (this is also kinda what it boils down to btw. person that was never truly his own man his whole life)

anyways hope that erm… gives a bit of an insight, its a bit more detailed than anticipated even if it’s still not quite everything but yeagh🙏

#blakemail #“relevant traits” but really its just a list of why Cas is a walking red flag #my beautiful princess with a disorder #gortcas hate-off wld go crazy but Cas has more free time to spend making peoples lives horrible #cas lore

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ben-talks-art · 2 years

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Why I like Adam

"It's alright... Don't cry... Your dad is here to protect you!"

I don't really know what other word I can use to describe it but to me, "Records of Ragnarok" is a manga with probably the biggest "Chad" energy that I have ever seen.

This ridiculous premise of a bunch of popular male historical figures banding together to fight against the gods of several different cultures in a tournament where the fate of humanity is at stake as they get paired up with the valkyries to unleash a hidden power that represents their personalities manifested as a super powerful weapon is so freaking stupid but at the same time so freaking awesome that I can't help but love it!

The fights themselves vary in quality depending on who is fighting who and how much you care about the backstory of the competitors, and for me, no fight has gotten me more invested than Adam's fight.

(spoilers for Records of Ragnarok)

When I talked about Makima I mentioned that one of the character traits I tend to hate the most is entitlement and I mostly prefer it when it's used on villains to show how bad of a trait it is.

Meanwhile, one of my favorite character traits is by far "confidence."

Confidence is, I feel, one of the most attractive, appealing, inspiring, and overall just enjoyable quality that you can give any character. You can be doing the most mundane of things like, walking your dog, doing grocery, paying your bills, or whatever... But when you do it while exhibiting a lot of confidence it instantly makes you look 10 times more badass somehow. It's why so many people love Escanor. A character that shows confidence just makes you believe that they're born to lead, that they'll keep you safe, and makes you want to follow them no matter where they go.

And like I said, Records of Ragnarok just radiates a ton of that "Chadly" confident energy. Every character goes into a fight fully believing that they're going to win, constantly smiling, laughing, relaxed, and just having a ton of fun with their fights, even though it's their lives and the lives of every human on the planet hanging on the balance as they face off absurd monsters like Hercules, Thor, and Belzebub.

Of course, the biggest Chad of all these Chads ends up being Adam, who's facing none other than Zeus himself with nothing but a knuckle duster.

Just from a visual standpoint, this setup alone would already be amazing. The father of the greek gods versus a skinny man using nothing but his fists to fight. These are such absurdly ridiculous odds that you can't help but want to root for our apple-eating underdog.

But the actual true core of what makes me like Adam so much is the why. Confidence is only effective when it feels earned, when you have a good motivation behind it. Why is he doing all that, why is he fighting these crazy odds, why is he risking his life, and why is he still so calm while doing it??

Because he wants to protect his family... And that's it.

That's his entire motivation, and if you saw my Rachel post, you know I love it when a character's motivation is reflected in their actions. It's such a straightforward reason but he goes to such lengths for it. Kinda reminds me of Denji from Chainsawman. Yeah, his motivation is simple but he's trying so hard for it that you just start rooting for him, because you see how much it means to the guy.

Even while Adam's getting the hell beaten out of him, slowly going blind, and painting the ground in red with his blood, the only thing on his mind is whether or not his wife and kids will be safe, and he does it all with such a relaxed set of eyes.

The way Adam's eyes are drawn is simply perfect as they show there is no hesitation or doubt in his heart. Yeah, he's fighting freaking Zeus, the god of lightning and one of the most powerful things on the universe but... He has a family to protect, man.

Adam just awakens a very primitive and animalistic feeling of "fight for what you believe" in me, because I really get behind what he's trying to achieve as I feel how passionate he is about it and get really inspired by how hard he's trying to reach it.

He's a man with a simple goal, but also a man that's giving 150% of himself to achieve said goal, and it's a goal anyone can relate to.

Very basic but still very noble and very awesome!

Favorite character list>>

#records of ragnarok #records of Ragnarok adam #adam ragnarok

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annonniiiiieeeee · 1 year

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hey, would it be ok/possible to give writing tips cus i recently started a fanfic and i want it to be as good as yours. Any suggestions?

I am super flatter. I’m I also have no clue what to say.

Guess some basics.

Keep your words varied.

Instead of “he said” “she said”

Try “he asked” “she responded”

It helps the writing run smoothly and also gives you more characterization as you can describe both the mood of conversation and the attitude of characters

Apply this overall. Not just for conversations but fight scenes and movement as well.

Merriam-webster site is great for this. Put it on thesaurus mode and it will give you a bunch of synonyms. They also help with characterization as well.

Words have power and the ones you pick are important. Some words carry different emotions with them. If you want to describe some one as caring you can used the words compassionate or the word benevolent. While both mean caring they symbolize a difference in character. (Again the thesaurus is super helpful for this.

Next conversation

Read back through your conversations. Not the actions or movement but just the quotations. See if the conversation actually flows.

Add movement to the conversation. What are the characters doing while they talk. Are the pacing are hug what is it.

Fight sequences.

These are hard to write. Know that going in. It’s okay to struggle here.

I use YouTube a lot here. There are experts there that break down fighting moves in video games, movies, shows ext. use it.

I watch one three second clip over and over until I write down the movements of the body, weapon, whatever it is.

Research.

This is really important. If you are using something that isn’t from your personal background research.

We have a vibrant community here and people love to share.

I have made plenty of mistakes. But people have been kind enough to point them out and help me fix them. I don’t know Spanish and I accidentally misspelled several words and many people reach out and helped me fix them.

Be open to positive feedback. There are a tone of creative minds here. I encourage people to theorize in my comments and then if I see a really good idea I will sometimes work it into the plot.

Set your characters

I knew my ending from the beginning. This allowed me to know where I wanted my characters to be at the end and create plot points that got them there.

Set some character traits and stick to them.

When in doubt go back to the original material. Donnie has a unique way of speaking he replaces common words with scientific all the time ie phalange sandwich instead of knuckle sandwich. Use that characterization to your advantage.

The video below is a great example of how to write a character and set their character traits. Yes it’s specifically about the scooby dip gang but you can take the criticism given and apply it to all modern media. It breaks down the characters to their core and describes what makes a good character of that archetype and how they fit together as a team. There’s also a good couple segment when he talks about Fred and Daphne. (This came out before Velma and it defiantly highlights how those writes fail without even trying)

youtube

Really great resource if you want to write a group together

Conflict

It’s okay to have simple conflicts or more then one. And it is okay to make a character grow. No character should be perfect.

Usagi had a mini arch. He is a protective person. When Leo was healing he was protecting him and saw him as someone who needed protection. He had a whole little fantasy about how they could live at the Tenshu with Leo’s family. I remember people being a little upset with him because he didn’t understand that Leo was a warrior to. But that was the point. He didn’t know. As soon as he did he could grow and change as well.

It’s okay to have little conflicts like that. But be carful how you handle miscommunication conflicts. If the problem can be solved by the characters sitting down and talking it probably shouldn’t be the main conflict. They are great for side conflicts but can be frustrating if it’s the main conflict of a long fic (short fics are fine)

Remember this is for fun. At the end of the day your here because you enjoy it. This is a creative outlet for people who enjoy creating. Don’t lose sight of that in the pursuit of perfection.

If I think of anything else I will add it here.

#asks #writing tips #writing #a world of samurais and ninjas

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dizzycoffee · 3 months

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Hello! I would like to request a romantic Hazbin Hotel matchup, please! (The only character I'd rather not be matched with is Vaggie)

I’m a 19-year-old cis female. I usually romantically prefer women, but I think I might be able to date a guy if I find the right one.

I’m 5’8-9, about 140 lbs. I dress in a dark coquette style mixed with office core (?). I'm not really big on short skirts or shorts. I have a heart-shaped face with a button nose. I also have long, layered black hair with bangs. I usually wear reading glasses just to add to that office aesthetic!

I’ve been told I look pretty intimidating and mean at first glance, but I swear I’m nice! I would consider myself an ambivert; honestly, it just depends on who I’m surrounded by. I don't casually date or do one-night stands at all. For me, it’s all in or not at all. In romantic or even platonic relationships, I like to take on a dominant, motherly role. My love languages are acts of service and quality time. I’m also pretty good at reading emotions and remembering things someone likes or doesn’t like. Though I can admit a toxic trait of mine is sometimes making a decision for both me and my s/o without consulting them first. Not big decisions, I know better than that; it’s usually spur-of-the-moment things, which is something I’m trying to work on. I’m also a very protective, jealous person. When jealous, I kinda just stop talking and shut down. When close with someone, I love to try and get reactions out of them, just teasing, flirting, getting them all flustered, but as I said, I’m good at reading emotions, I can tell when someone isn’t comfortable with what I’m doing, and at that moment, I’ll apologize.

Likes: My cat, learning, vintage stuff/antiques, animals, nature, music [I can listen to anything, from Mindless Self Indulgence to Oingo Boingo to Skillet to Frank Sinatra, to.. you get the point.], movie nights, spending time with my s/o, cooking for my s/o

Dislikes: “Hive-minds,” being ignored, being in the public/surrounded by people for too long, people who complain but do nothing about it, people who are easily manipulated, untidiness

My type: Ngl I haven’t really done much dating so this is sort of tough.. I guess someone who’s romantic and just as clingy as I am? It also helps when they’re straightforward and let me know when I’ve done something to upset them. Communication is necessary for me. I like someone who’s a bit more extroverted and makes plans. I can be a bit of a shut-in, so I need that push sometimes.

I’m not really sure what else to add, so I guess that’s it! Looking forward to finding out who I got^^

hii !! hope you’re having a good day <3

You’ve been paired with …

Charlie Morningstar !

If you're looking for someone who's as equally romantic and clingy as you, it'd be none other than the princess of hell!

When you two first met, she didn't show any signs of hesitance or fear in regards to your pretty intimidating vibes - which was refreshing for a change!

Most of your likes are pretty well aligned, so you guys hit it off pretty well

Charlie is also an extrovert, so if you ever require a push, she's ready to be by your side!!

I feel like Charlie's the type to plan spontaneous dates whenever you and her have free time

She's also pretty easy-going when it comes to planning, so if there's anything you don't want to do, she can def make few alterations for your comfort

Considering how she usually takes the lead, the only way you two "clash" would be over making decisions. While you two have good communication, you two have a bad habit of making plans / decisions without confirming with the other

This has led to you two having to decided where to go / what to do which often gets resolved pretty quickly. If the decisions you both made are a little more serious than usual, maybe there could be a light argument.

HEAVY on the maybe, because the only "arguments" y'all ever have is who loves who more

Omg and the office aesthetic?? I feel like you both just compliment each other so nicely <3

#hazbin hotel charlie #charlie morningstar #charlie x reader #hazbin hotel matchup

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colgatebluemintygel · 1 year

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sorry I’m all up ur notifs rn but thought this should be a separate ask - in ur response to my previous ask you mentioned that remus has this air of vulnerability to him which is part of what draws ppl in, and I’m curious whether u feel that that vulnerability is outwardly visible (to other characters I mean) in OAO? Or rather, clearly it is since u mentioned it in this context lol, but I’m curious how that shows through (or if it’s just his vibes)? Since we (so far!) only rlly see him through Sirius’s unreliable narration and he obv knows Remus so well but also describes him as rlly hard to read and hard to get him to show vulnerability, and I’m curious now if that’s something about Remus that’s clear to everyone (which might be what ur referring to about him being mysterious) or something Sirius sees bc he knows Remus so well - I guess I’m intrigued that ppl seem to pick up on his vulnerability when it seems like he’s working so hard to hide his emotions in order to avoid seeming vulnerable, yk? He’s such a fascinating character lol (I am just like everyone in the club fr)

PS. this is how I’m picturing the sandals, except with the leather even more beat up and cracked:

(PPS If there’s any way you’d be willing to share where we’re up to in the OAO playlist in terms of chapters/events………finding out the Remus POV was next totally upended my personal theories about which songs were part of his POV lol so I’m v curious)

omg never apologise!!! i literally love talking about them <333 SO YES i think in part the vulnerability comes through in his general appearance; sirius is constantly waxing lyrical about how sexy and beautiful remus is, but he's also this bird boned man who looks like he lives off porridge (aka the only thing he knows how to cook) and cigarettes. he has perma eye bags and always looks a bit sleepy. yes, he FUCKS but he could also do with a protein smoothie if ya feel me. sirius's very first impression of remus was that he looked like a well-loved teddy. comforting, but also something to be treasured and protected.

i do think a huge part of the draw for people towards him is his almost contradictory nature; on one hand, he's so very kind and gives off strong sensitive guy vibes (in the same way that all tall spindly men reading beaten up books on the bus do), but he's also elusive af. and i really think this combination of traits makes people go wild; it's like a tease. like you KNOW there is so much there under the surface, but it's all being kept tightly under wraps,, and people can't help but fall for that. they want to be the one to uncover it all! added to that, he's always willing to lend an ear to other people and their problems, but he becomes v dodgy when it comes to talking about himself. sirius always feels guilty for taking up room with his feelings, and definitely part of that (not that sirius realises) is remus using sirius's feelings as a bit of a buffer for his own. if that makes sense? he's not being intentionally manipulative, but he feels like his own feelings are a burden; i think tied to that is a desire to make sure that nobody else around him feels like a burden for their feelings, but also a desire to just feel useful.

also, what will be made particularly evident in the next chapter ;-) is that remus controls himself A Lot around sirius. more than anyone else. around sirius, he's both the most himself and at his absolute most vulnerable, and that combination absolutely terrifies him. and he works overtime to try and keep himself under control. it doesn't help that sirius always finds a way to slip under remus's defenses, so he always tries extra extra hard to guard against that. but sirius always finds ways of surprising him (and vice versa)!

anywho..... i think the essence of what i'm trying to say here is: at his core, remus is incredibly vulnerable, and he works overtime to try to negate that. but!!! we will see some of those walls fall... :-) eventually :-))))

YES YOU GET IT. THOSE ARE HIS SANDALS. THEY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE FALLING OFF HIS FEET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAKEN FROM THE GRAVE OF AN OLD WELSH SHEEP FARMER. DUG UP AT AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE AND PLACED DIRECTLY IN REMUS'S HANDS. THAT IS THE VIBE !!!!!!

oooh yes of course <333 remus's songs are house of cards - half the day is the night ;o)))))

#oao

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prettyboykatsuki · 4 months

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hey fang!

so i've loved reading your posts about bg3, especially when you go into detail about the companions - it makes me feel a though i have a better understanding of each of them.

i have a variety of different oc's i've been trying to pair up with the companions, but one of the things i've always had a problem with (no matter the fandom) is knowing if an oc would be compatible with the character i want to pair them with. it might seem dumb to be taking it this seriously i suppose, but making it 'realistic' is part of the fun for me i think.

i'm not actually sure there is any advice you could give me from what i've said, so i have a question instead - you don't have to answer of course! i know questions involving strangers ocs probably aren't that fun to answer

so i wanted to ask: what are some traits or things in general that would definitely NOT be compatible with the companions? so i know what not to include.

hello my love!!!

first of all... i am glad u like when i talk abt bg3... i am hyperaware this is an anime blog so i feel a little bit bad. however. it has consumed me all the same so i cant do anything about it LMAO.

second of all - i understand!!! i also create readers / dynamics based on compatibility and what i think works with them. i don't often post like... what characters like or dislike. my brain is weird so i dont rlly see it that way.

like i do not often think in terms of compatible or incompatible but in like... specific dichotomies. and u can create any dichotomy if you understand a character at their core. i think a good place to start is by assessing what a characters greatest convictions are (or lack there of), how that conviction is shaped by their life experiences and how that effects them, then understanding how they apply that belief.

for example - wyll is a really upright and righteous character, and he has a deep desire to protect the sword coast overall. he disapproves generally of immoral acts and prefers heroics. but that doesn't necessarily mean that he dislikes people who break the law, even though he airs on the side of lawful and kind.

his life experience show that he is understanding of people who were put in difficult situations that caused them to act in specific ways. he's empathetic towards both astarion and shadowheart, and chooses to spare karlachs life after understanding whats happened to her.

so his conviction is protecting the sword coast, but he's willing to let certain things slide even though he prefers to air on the side of legal and morally good. so what is the application of that? what can he make exceptions for? what can he not make exceptions for?

to me these things read as wyll is probably more incompatible with someone who is willfully evil and generally self involved. like he could never get along with minthara lol

contrarily there is shadowheart who, ultimately, loses what she once thought was her greatest conviction. this is pretty common in bg3 among the companions. all of these characters tend to have these wild hopes and dreams and what comes out of them aren't always what they expect and elements of their truer deeper selves show this way. shadowhearts greatest desire is to serve her lady, and when that is ultimately ripped away from her - she is completely very lost on what to do

the effect of being a shar worshipper is that she naturally prefers disrection and privacy and open-minded people, even after she has let go of her worship. however, depsite being former sharran, she tends to like acts of kindness especially towards her character. her life experiences having a hardened childhood and probably being a selunite in truth, mold her into still preferring non-violence and kindness.

she is complex, so its less clear what she would outright dislike imo. but you can figure that she probably dislikes what she perceives to be naivety and people who are loud-mouthed and showy or otherwise close minded.

lae'zel and shadowheart so they r both similar and not.

every character follows a similar pattern. astarions conviction is killing his abuser. a life of enslavement and being taken advantage of gives him a specific dislike for acts of kindness - but its also shown that he cares a lot and is quite sensitive. when astarion loses his conviction, the other aspects of himself are more obvious. especially his nuances around the idea of goodness or kindness. essentially his dislike is not for kindness itself but for charity. his life experiences shape him in that he is always looking towards what gives him advantage and wants tav to act in a similar way.

but he doesn't actually dislike kindness in any way. what he hates more than that is being controlled. someone controlling and righteous both in personality and action probably irritate him. being righteous is not the same as being kind i should point out.

gale is unique in that his story revolves around finding new conviction almost to a point of obsession. his life experiences, specifically around being mystras chosen and a prodigy of magic, tend to prefer things that preserve knowledge or pragmatism. in general, i think gale could dislike someone who is ignorant and excessively unambitious / disorderly.

i can go on if u want. im very tired so i feel like im not making sense. my main point is that each character tends to have this main overarching thing that drives them. when that is taken away or enforced or smth like that - you get a chance to see a deeper and truer part of them. understanding what is compatible or incompatible with a character depends more on what stage of that their in and what parts of themselves they are crutching on most. in the case of bg3 these convictions are of great importance so when forming ocs you would want to take that into account and measure it out.

this is crazy long and kind of nonsensical. and took me an hour to write. im so sorry sfsdksd. if u want smth more direct pls ask me tmmrw morning lmao

#return to sender #a.bg3 #bg3 spoilers

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