#a paragon of their kind

[shebaa]

My love for the karakul runs deep. Absolute peak sheep design.

#they are the perfect creature #soft #rotund #even under the wool they're a round looking cryptid #thank you ffxiv for giving me this paragon of sheep kind #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #sheeb rambles #mi*

[lord-squiggletits]

Y'know the thing about writing feral/unhinged versions of Orion/Optimus, is that you can't go too far into the feral/unhinged direction to a point where OP's core character traits are lost or become too diminished. After all, in a multiple-continuity franchise like TF, part of what makes the stories make sense is that even if details change (sometimes major details), the characters are still recognizably themselves to one degree or another. (Although this isn't always the case due to executive meddling or some characters being such blank slates from their initial G1 appearances that there's basically nothing to model them off of, but I digress.)

It's pretty much another reason why I love IDW1 Optimus, bc he literally is a canonical feral/unhinged Optimus who's unhinged as a direct consequence of who he is as a person and what he's been through. Like, he still has those fundamental character traits of trying his best to be moral and make good choices, trying to be a role model, etc, except after 4 million years of war and untreated depression he's basically holding onto his sense of self by his fingertips. So when he "goes feral" e.g. losing his temper and beating up/killing people or saying hurtful things, he's feral in a way that's directly tied to his normal personality and not just as a random quirk he has.

IDW OP's feral moments arise from the gaps between "Optimus' attempts to be who he thinks he needs to be" and "the reality of the world that he can't fix/seems to only make worse" that cause him to lose hope, or become cynical, or lose his temper. But in this case, the unhinged-ness makes perfect sense because it arises out of Optimus trying and failing to be the best person or to make the most morally good choices he's trying to make. Basically, the "feral/unhinged" label is just another way of me trying to say that he's not just unhinged because he's weird or because he's a bad person, but because it's an emotional reaction (more like an emotional explosion due to pent-up emotions) to the context he exists in.

I'd also say that IDW OP's personality being generally reserved/stoic and (trying to be) noble works in tandem with those moments he has of going feral because it makes him more realistic. His psyche is treated in a way where the writers are like, "Hey what if the pressure of having to be everyone's idol and be the best person in the galaxy at all times actually broke Optimus down mentally and emotionally?" It makes IDW OP far more relatable. Instead of naturally being a perfect Christ-like figure who never wavers in his morals or convictions and is just naturally a nice person who always has the wisest and best answer, being a good person is something that IDW OP has to consciously strive to be. Even when he feels like it's useless, or the cycle of violence will never stop, or any attempts he makes to help only ends up with things becoming worse.

And I feel like this does a service not only to IDW Optimus as a character, but also as a sort of moral/philosophical perspective for the reader to ponder upon? I feel like culture at large (or at least my experience of it) tends to believe that "goodness" in a person is simply an innate feature that people are born/not born with, and that being "good" means that you must be good at all times, both in your actions as well as the way you feel emotionally about yourself and the world. Like, there's a tendency for our vision of "a good person" to be good in every aspect at all times without having to try to be a good person. So I think IDW Optimus' character stands as a good example of how someone can be good at heart but still struggle to maintain those feelings of optimism and hope and justice. It's a good idea to have such a paragon of a character (in-universe and out-of-universe) be so conflicted and to even be mistaken, misguided, or make things worse because it shows that goodness is as much about "trying to behave/act in a way that is good" and not just "existing as an innately good person."

It's way more realistic for a person to want to be good, try to be good, and sometimes/often fail than it is for them to just be a good person. I enjoy the fact that IDW Optimus is both a good person at heart, but also has to strive to be a good person and live up to other people's expectations of what they see in him. I like how he wants to be a good person and change society for the better, but he also spends a good amount of time either feeling hopeless and alone or being angry at/detached from other people because of how frustrated they make him. He's realistically portrayed as someone who wants to be good and hopeful and change things for the better, but is also mentally and emotionally broken by that burden because of how impossible it is for him to Fix Everything and be the Perfect Prime/Leader/Autobot that people see him as. It's this fascinating mixture of "yes, this is who he is as a person" but also "there are things he desires to be that he could never possibly become or live up to."

This got really far off based from feral/unhinged Optimus sdklfjaslkdlfkas. The TLDR is that if people want unhinged OP, I feel like they should give IDW OP a chance because he IS unhinged but he's unhinged in a way that's a realistic/thematic representation of how being an Absolute Good is impossible. And how being a good person isn't just about Existing And You Are A Good Person, but rather goodness is a constant state of flux in which you adjust, you make mistakes, you lose your temper and feel hopeless, but then you pick yourself up and try again.

Also IDW OP really likes climbing in dangerous wilderness and jumping out of flying vehicles which I think is very feral and sexy of him to do.

#squiggposting #idw op love #idk if i adequately explained it in the body of the post. but i really do feel some kind of way about the idea of like #being a good person isn't about just being static. always being the same person. just naturally being good and nice all teh time #but rather being a good person will cause you to be CHALLENGED and being a good person calls you to ACT #and you WILL make mistakes. there's never a situation in which you're all wise and always have the right solution or are infinitely patient #but goodness is something you can CHOOSE something you can BECOME and you can still have negative emotions and CHOOSE to be good #like being a good person is a continuous process of self improvement. you aren't just born a good person #and i'm not trying to tear down the notion of 'goodness' or say it doesn't exist #rather i'm trying to say that it's far more comforting to hear that you don't have to be The Best Person at all times #it's comforting to know that good people aren't just Effortlessly Good because they were Just Born That Way Naturally #there certainly are some people like that but most of us aren't like that. and i just like idw op for that reason #he shows that like. you can be a fucked up mentally ill guy who despairs and loses his temper and is basically suicidal #but you also still genuinely try to be hopeful and try to help others. like you are good because you Try To Be Good #and you Try To Hold Onto Your Principles bc giving up or becoming evil isn't an option for you #but also trying to be A Good Person drives you fucking crazy bc we live in a universe where that perfect good simply isn't possible #so the result is an optimus who's at once Noble Paragon and Unhinged bc he's unhinged as a result of trying to be a paragon

[dissembledthyme]

The ancient femme men are married, y'all, that's it, that's the post

The lineart's super messy, but that's the heart of my account LMAO It looks better zoomed out

#oc x canon #canon x oc #cookie run oc #cookie run kingdom #cookie run fanart #cookie run #crk oc #crk fanart #my art #art #oc x pure vanilla #pure vanilla cookie #OC: Rich Honey Cookie #PureHoney #RichVanilla #haven't decided yet #Can you tell my art's improved a little over my hiatus lol #Reluctant Bee Hermit x Paragon of Kindness ngl #i just think they're neat

[elfcollector]

MASS EFFECT 3: CITADEL.

#gamingnetwork #vgedit #videogameedit #gamingedit #dailygaming #gameplaydaily #me3edit #medit #meleedit #mass effect #mass effect 3 #mass effect citadel #maya brooks #commander shepard #peach shepard #THIS SCENE WAS SO COOL #its such a good encapsulation of what i like abt paragon shep #and why fandoms treatment of them as being some kind of boring goody-two-shoes is so baffling #paragon shep is a killing MACHINE and they know it. their go-to-threat is 'i could spatter you #all over these walls like its nothing. and i will do it if you make me. Dont Make Me.' #which is SOOO UNFATHOMABLY COOL

[non-cannon]

If you think about it, technically Rufus did his job as the Osirian in the season two finale. When he took the mask from Nina he protected the Chosen One from going to the afterlife, and with Senkarah following the mask he also sent the evil being harming/threatening the Paragon to the (probably technically not hell) bad afterlife.

#house of anubis #rufus zeno #Osirian #Chosen One osirian dynamic #I wonder if he was doomed by the narra- gods/fate to go down this way #Kind of makes you wonder how much free will osirisns actually have #When Eddie went bring the stone he had no idea what was going on #He also did not know how to banish Senkarah #Something made him do that #Rufus spent so much time being power hungry and was not just shirking his osirian responsibilities #But doing the exact opposite of what he was supposed to be doing #And he still died saving the chosen one #He objectively didn't mean to but that was still the end result #How much free will did Nina and Sara have? #Were they always going to be fighting the forces of evil? #Were they always going to be the type of person who would? #Can a paragon go mad with power or are they forced to be good people?

[asteria-argo]

my favourite thing about chapter four of To All The Better Places is watching absolutely everyone losing their minds about Teds perspective

#yeah he kinda sucks! #it's temporary because I have PLANS alright #but I have always had beef with the double standard Ted had for Jamie vs the rest of the team #and I think the fact that it is super obvious that Ted just...doesn't fucking like Jamie should've been addressed in the show #because that would have been a really interesting plot! Ted is a perfect picture of kindness except to this one guy he can't fucking stand #for sometimes valid but mostly inane reasons #because Ted isn't a paragon of perfection he's a real human person and sometimes real human people just don't fucking like someone #and sometimes they're mean and unfair to people they don't like #and they don't even realise it

[bethanydelleman]

Why You Should Read Sense and Sensibility

Working our way up the least popular list...

Sense and Sensibility: A High Stakes Examination of First Impressions

Is Edward Ferrars really just shy, depressed, and in love with Elinor? Or is there something more?

Is Colonel Brandon old, boring, and infirm? Or is that just the opinion of a silly teenager?

Is Willoughby really the man of Marianne’s dreams? What is his true character and why can Elinor not seem to find it out?

Did Mr. Palmer make a mistake when he married his wife? Or is his indifference all a pretence?

Is Mrs. Jennings just a silly, embarrassing, old woman? What possible pleasure could the Dashwoods gain from accompanying her to London?

Is Mrs. Ferrars really that bad?

Are John and Fanny Dashwood really that bad? No, this one isn’t a mystery, it’s established right in Ch 2 that they are the worst!

And then you have Robert Ferrars... why is he so obsessed with bespoke toothpick cases? What is the root of his obsession with cottages? Is he really that dumb? Only some of these questions will be answered...

And why high stakes? Because for the most part, Elinor Dashwood faces all of this alone. Her father is dead, her mother is unconcerned, and her sister is a hopeless romantic. She’s the one left trying to figure everything out and despite her outward maturity, she’s only nineteen years old.

Sense and Sensibility is also a story about two sisters who despite being completely different would do anything for each other.

#sense and sensibility #austen ads #I do find this novel kind of dark and heavy sometimes #but it has such hilarious moments worked in #and the examination of first impressions is very well done #willoughby really tricks you #elinor dashwood #she's a paragon #and Marianne is just so funny #I love it

[crossguild]

when shanks said killing doesn't make you a man and zoro said tell her i said it was delicious and zeff said because we have the same dream and gin said that was the first time anyone was ever kind to me and mihawk said you finally found something more important than your ambition and smoker said sorry my pants ate your ice cream and whitebeard said i'm just one man with one heart and cora said you were the one who was hurting the most and ace said thank you for loving me and luffy said i still have my friends!!!!

#one piece #something something about how op depicts these paragons of masculinity as not just tough and badass #but also unflinchingly kind and empathetic!!!

[a-sketchy]

if the events of persona 4 didn’t happen, if you gave him ten years i think yosuke could’ve become the kind of guy to do fight club. yu is literally his tyler. the degree to which it maps is insane.

#does it map 1:1? absolutely not #does it fit really surprisingly well? i think so #like if yosuke went back to the city without ever have making the bonds he does in p4 #then his issues could have crystallized with him becoming the kind of miserable repressed freak necessary for that story #like. the deep insecurity in his masculinity. the way his repression of his sexuality intertwines with that. the objectification of women. #his averageness. his insecurity in his appearance. his wish for something exciting to happen. #and then his whole tangled up envy/attraction to yu and the way he sees him as a paragon of masculinity. the way he wants to be him. #rank 10 is RIGHT THERE. #yu is his fucking TYLER. #i’m so right about this #regardless i think yosuke would like fight club the movie way too much. he’d see it as aspirational #rambles #yosukeposting #p4g posting

[vigilskeep]

god bhelen is a son of a bitch

#finished a paragon of her kind it was so fucking good

[anghraine]

Not sure why, but I was just thinking about how much Anakin struggles with Jedi expectations and rigidity before his fall, and yet in some ways he's particularly dogmatic about Jedi identity and practice as Vader.

I remember doing a long liveblog of ANH many years ago on lj, before re-watching the prequels, and being like "does he recite Jedi catechisms or mantras every day before he leaves his breathing pod? Because that's the vibe I get."

And he does continue to identify himself as a Jedi in ESB and, of course, Luke's identification of him as a Jedi in ROTJ lies at the core of their tangled character arcs. But it's interesting that turning on the Order, calling them evil, and helping the Empire wipe out most of the Jedi doesn't lead him to abandon that part of himself at all. If anything, he's all the more aggressively doctrinaire as a fallen Jedi.

#it might be an evolution in lucas et al's conception of him #like the whole point in the ot is that he was kind of this paragon who fell—that's why it's so tragic #while lucas wanted him to be this rebellious difficult figure by the prequels #but idk it makes a horrible kind of sense that he'd cling to a sense of continuity and authoritative dogma as vader #in some ways for the same reasons that he follows the emperor's will until esb #and luke breaking through being mediated /through/ anakin's jedi identity rather than against it #just works so well #it's not 'you need to abandon this commitment to the force and this thing that's essential to who you are' #it's 'you can still do that and also be free' and ... ;_; #anghraine babbles #star wars #anakin skywalker #luke skywalker

[1800titz]

I will post a TDIAG teaser in a little bit, but

“Stop lying to yourself. She is cool.”

“Let’s be honest with ourselves, here. Her powers are centered on ice. Ice bombs,” Niall chimes from the couch, where his fingers slowly increase in the fanaticism of their grip over the papers with each increment of escalation to the fervor of his speech, “Are we not going to talk about Arc-tick? ARC-TICK? A ticking bomb? This is wordplay in its finest form—“

“Y’should start a fan club,” Harry supplies amidst his preen ahead of the elliptical mirror in his hallway.

Harry smooths a generous dollop of mousse through his tendrils, bridling his grimace. “She doesn’t deserve an entire spread,” he settles on, after a moment, raking his fingers with meticulous concentration. 

Harry smooths a generous dollop of mousse through his tendrils, bridling his grimace. “She doesn’t deserve an entire spread,” he settles on, after a moment, raking his fingers with meticulous concentration. 

“I don’t know. Long lost baby hero steps back into the spotlight post the heinous slaughter of her super parents twenty years prior kind of screams comeback of the century.” 

“D’you reckon she can shoot ice out of her tits?” 

“She doesn’t deserve an entire spread,” Harry parrots his prior words, no longer capable of curbing his scoff, “It was very horrible, what happened with Mr. Marvelous and Sultry — but Arctick does not deserve the entirety of New Prebridge talking about her. She’s rude and frigid.” 

A headache instantly teems his temples at the window posted by the unintended pun. He’s pleased when a quip doesn’t come — certainly due to a conscious effort on his friends’ parts, but he fills the void of lull and simultaneously stomps out the window to comment on the pun by tacking on, “She’s a glorified Elsa in a skintight suit.” 

“I think Paragon doesn’t know how to handle rejection,” Sarah adds to the conversation, for the first time, from her seat on the armchair beside Harry’s obnoxious case of awards. 

“I don’t need to know how to handle rejection,” Harry flicks a glance over his shoulder as he fixes perfect curls into perfect place with fingers that’ve perfected artistry, “I’m Paragon.” 

#cue The Incredits #I DON'T KNOW it's a very baby idea but I think it would be kind of cool!! #superhero #superhero!au #superhero!h #paragon verse

[charmfamily]

(SEMI) CHARMED KIND OF LIFE: EPISODE 3, PART XIX. “GENESIS IN BLACK”

#Sims 4 Story #TS4 Story #TS4 #Story Simblr #The Sims 4 #TS4 Edit #(Semi) Charmed Kind of Life #SCKoL #Ulrike Faust #Gemma Charm #Morgana McKinnon #Lauren Pleasant #Wolfgang Munch #Max Villareal #The existential horror of unexpectedly seeing people you recognize and do NOT want to talk to #Anxiety: A Portrait #So I made all the “Renegades” and “Paragons” the same age group #cause last time I remembered bratty teenagers didn't really want to hang out with either “babies” OR “old people” #so some shuffling around and rearranging happened #idk it makes more sense to me that way #I disregard if not completely hold in contempt any and all EA canon

[dykemerrilll]

brosca origin is crazy btw it changes EVERYTHING. literally the only origin where things undeniably improve after joining the wardens

#da #like the inciting event isn’t even particularly traumatic at least for my brosca #aside from having to leave rica behind but imo nell just thinks she can bring rica to join her on the surface #one the blight’s over and it’s safe #depending on how a paragon of her kind goes that may still happen idk #and sure things are bad i cannot deny #but genuinely i think nell is mostly vibing. they think the wardens are great #sad duncan died but they only knew him for like a week #like tabris and mage warden have bad lives prior but leaving the circle and aljenage is like #pretty shit circumstances so #anyway. love brosca would die for them #ais.da

[mummer]

cope compilation

#i hope cregan is GAYYYYYYYYY AS FOCK #hotd #lol lmao that hotd would actually uncritically have a character be some kind of Awesome paragon of masculinity #like you know what show you’re watching right? Right

[non-plutonian-druid]

*sigh* getting real sick of “canonical” aspec rep being like. tweets by the author.

#thats been a recent trend #kids in the aspec tags lose their shit over their shiny new 'canonical' rep #and im just like. ok so are you going to show it in the source material or #oh no? cool thanks for nothing #*cough* a certain owly kids show *cough* #and several others but thats the one that annoys me most #like i get it i get it i get it its HARD to get queer rep in media still #i get it #tweets still arent rep tho #you dont have to say the words i will take ANY gesture in the direction of any kind of canonical proof AT ALL #ANYTHING to say 'yeah these words im saying had literally even the smallest iota of an effect on how this character was written' #but oh hm here i am making this post thats weird #for the void #i feel like i should add that said certain owly kids show is not the brunt of the problem #and im not a paragon of virtue for being more irritated at it than i am about the other ones #my irritation is purely selfish and petty and there are plenty of other media properties with this problem doing *worse* #the point is just that Word of God is worth jack shit when there isnt an iota of subtext #and im probably weakening that by bringing it up #but this is a vent post i do what i want