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dishonoredrpg · 4 years

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Congratulations, PAYTON! You’ve been accepted for the role of THE TOWER with the faceclaim of RODRIGO SANTORO. What poetry could I write about Feivel? He is, at his core, a worldly man, has seen much, knows plenty, and still finds himself entrapped in a world which he feels he cannot possibly belong to. There is such a human quality to him in the way he shifts and turns just to keep himself alive; your concept with the mirror was especially fascinating -- he has a charm to him, but is it a charm that he’ll be able to stomach later on down the line? I also vastly appreciate your willingness to step out of the box and explore a character you’re not as familiar with; I can really see your affection for him here, and I’m excited to see what you bring to us with him!

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NAME: Payton or Paypay

PRONOUNS: She/her/hers

AGE: 27

TIMEZONE, ACTIVITY LEVEL: My timezone is GMT-7. I anticipate being active on the dash (as in posting starters/writing responses) typically between 4-6 days a week, with 4 being more typical. Writing is a pretty big component of my self-care and allows me a creative outlet to use some of my energy, so I will be on frequently.

ANYTHING ELSE?: I know this is a second application picked from a small handful of skeletons that still remained, but I wouldn’t be applying for another skeleton if I wasn’t just as excited and dedicated to what I could bring to the group with this skeleton as I was with my first application. At first I was pretty bummed and told myself if I couldn’t get back into a very excited state I would just kind of let it be, but the more I worked on this application the more excited I got about the skeleton and the character I was building out from it.

IN CHARACTER

SKELETON: The Tower

NAME: Feivel Asturias

FACECLAIM: Rodrigo Santoro, Chris Hemsworth, Joel Kinnaman

AGE: 42

DETAILS: What about this character interested you? Who are they to you? This can be as long or short as you want it to be, in whatever format you prefer.

I suggested this to you during our conversation during which you gave me feedback for my previous application, but The Tower’s skeleton is a big old jump away from characters I’m used to playing. Out of the skeleton’s that were left, I found The Tower’s to be quite compelling and likely the most challenging role to play for me. But I like challenges! Challenging is fun. I think in terms of my own development as a writer, playing a character that feels like such a departure from what I’m used to is a great way to stretch my creative muscles and really push myself to think deeper into the choices I’m making for my character.

Another component I like about The Tower is their history as an explorer. I would like to see story-telling be a strong component of their characterization because they have so many lived experiences. Given the setting, it’s likely he would be one of the most if not the most well-travelled roles in the group. His lived experiences would take him to the ends of the earth that his contemporaries only dreamed of, and I imagine he would be all too eager to recount the stories of his youth (only slightly editorialized… okay, fine, with some pretty significant embellishments). I imagine his life has led him to present as rough around the edges, as a survival tactic, as a leadership strategy, and as a mode of self-preservation… but when he gets to talking, when someone really gets him in his lane of story-telling he takes on an air of slight warmth and overwhelming nostalgia. He also absolutely adores young people, which is discussed a little further elsewhere in the application (one of the plot points if I’m not mistaken).

I am also very interested in toying around with his current role as an antiquarian--because who doesn’t want to make up a whole bunch of mythical items and historical artifacts and lore? I feel like not only would I be able to use him as a method to contribute to the general story line, but it would be a great way to explore some world building within the parameters you’ve set for the group.

I also think that the skeleton suggests that The Tower would be willing to take some risks, which would be interesting to play out. The fact that they were willing to play dumb in front of the king until it was clear playing dumb meant certain death, they take a chance: they try to bargain for their life, and it works. As an unofficial advisor, they view their stakes as being slightly less high than someone officially in the post, so they take risks: they combine a healthy amount of tact with speaking their mind. They see a monarch unhappy in her marriage and desperate for release, so they take a risk: they stand a little too close, brush the back of their hand against hers as they pass in the hallway, and find themselves in a full blown affair. I think taking risks would be an inevitable character trait of The Tower, who likely feels lonely for adventure and too big for their body now that they find themselves land-locked.

The actual card of The Tower also relates strongly to the history I imagine for Feivel and what I would assume could be a turbulent future given his affair with the queen and potential shifting alignments. I see “Tower upright: Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening” relating to his arrival in Tyrholm and the killing of his men and consequential end to his way of life/loss of freedom. “Tower reversed: Personal transformation, fear of change, averting disaster” makes me think of his need to navigate the court and avoid what could be certain disaster if the affair with the queen became known to the wrong people as well as his perceived need to tiptoe around The Sun.

Something of interest to me regarding the typical depiction of this card is the image of the card itself. One website’s information on the card stated: “A stone tower is struck with lighting and lit in flames, two people jump from the tower presumably to their deaths. An image of chaos and destruction is painted.This lightning/subsequent fire enters in through the top of the tower and knocks off the crown. The people jumping accept that they do not know what awaits them when they fall - but it is certainly better than burning in the rubble of the tower.” I find this really compelling because I think that if Feivel was present for the event Mini wrote for Kithri’s para sample (and Mini makes that headcanon) or if Feivel sees or perceives Septimus mistreats his wife or perceives King Septimus as cruel in other ways it would be relatively easy to radicalize Feivel. Feivel knows he’s coming in hot on his expiration date, and even if he isn’t on the brink of death and he’s just feeling a little run down, I think he would really struggle to accept a land-locked existence where he’s essentially prisoner in Castle Tyrholm, and might, as the card depicts, run headlong into certain doom rather than accept the alternative if he found a cause worth self-destructing for.

BACKGROUND:

You are born on high seas, the ocean so ingrained in your identity that you could scarcely tell the difference between the waves of a storm battering your ship and the untamed beating of your own heart. Your childhood is composed of tangled memories of stern looks, rope burn, aching muscles, calluses, stolen goods, and the sound of splintering wood. The smell of gunpowder from the cannons found a permanent home in your nostrils and you lived with a constant sensation of breathlessness between the battles and seascapes that colored your days. Your early years are like the ocean itself; ever-moving, unforgiving, and constantly threatening to pull you under in its cruelty if you so much as dare to be still for even a moment.

As you enter your teenage years, the treatment you receive only becomes harsher. You are no longer only responsible for chores around the deck, but you are brought into roles of responsibility where a misstep can be the difference between life and death of a crew member. You participate in your first ambush, and it terrifies you how easy it is to drive a blade into another body and how hard it feels to draw it back out. But letting that deter you is not an option. The stakes are high, and the sting of every slap and lashing’s meaning is two-fold. Corporal punishment is a daily reality of your life, the best way a motley crew of pirates knows how to instill discipline. And beyond discipline, you know you’re the next in line for leadership and as a leader you must be unyielding. Your father is preparing you, and the way you see it the crack of his leather strap against your back is the only way he knows how to say he loves you.

You are seventeen when you inherit your father’s ship, his death a sudden and brutal blight that stains a corner of your mind you avoid with vermillion and a mix of pain and resentment. Your mother died long before, when you were no older than six or seven. The closest thing you have to any memory of her face is the memory of her running her fingers through your hair to soothe you to sleep. every time the sea breeze rustles through your hair it evokes her memory. You keep it long and unkempt for that reason alone, though if anyone asks it’s a matter of convenience. It is unbecoming of a captain to display such vulnerabilities as sentiment and weakness—or at least that’s what your father before you conditions you to believe. You quickly realize you see leadership fundamentally differently than your father. Where he asserted authority by means of dominance and violence, your approach values brotherhood.

You find yourself establishing a Brotherhood of Asturias. You name your clan in honor of your ship. Later in your life, you will name yourself in honor of your clan—not as a badge of honor, but as a reminder of your shame. No one would accuse your clan of reformation. To anyone outside of your fold, you’re just as ruthless as your father. You’d still burn the world to the ground for the promise of glory when the flames died down. But within your kinship, you develop a sort of honor code. Your commandments are as such: honor those who honor you, betray no other lest your life be on the line, help the needy if it helps yourself, to kill an innocent is the most mortal of sins, and you shall not advance yourself at the harm of others. Your reputation does shift, but only slightly. Rather than pillagers and barbarians, you are seen as a ruthless treasure hunter.

For the next fifteen years, your reputation precedes you. You travel to the ends of the earth in search of the relics of the old gods and to reclaim the wonders of the world. It isn’t easy work, but the payoff makes it worth it. You accumulate wealth with nowhere to spend it, but the sense of power of merely possessing the rarities and finery you have is enough. And you love the camaraderie and catharsis. By your mid-thirties, you are grizzled and scarred. Your body aches from the strain of your journeys, but your mind is somehow light under the sheer weight of the stories you have to tell. Your life is spent fast, but if anybody asks it is spent well.

Finally, aware of your limitations and content with your life of misdeeds, you select your successor and one final mission. You view it as a training exercise to cement your decision: both to lay down your arms once and for all and that you’ve chosen the best and brightest to take your place. You set sail to the remote island of Calamity in search of an item of lore, so simple that the common man would pass it over without a second glance: the Mirror of Ouroboros. The mirror is a small, handheld curio of impossible value. The reflector itself is a small, obsidian mirror that upon first consideration seems harmless if not impractical. However, upon looking in the mirror its magical virtue presents itself by revealing three truths about the user, each of them as destructive as the next if the user is without fortitude of mind. You recover the mirror with little consequence along the way, and you are reassured that your decision making was sound. You are resolved to your fate and wary from travel, you drift off to sleep easily after your final ransacking.

You are dragged from your bed by a pair of hands as cold and harsh as death itself. The mere touch is enough to pull the breath from your lungs. You don’t recognize her at first, but The Sun will haunt your nightmares for the next several years, and in a much more present way haunt your days as well. You are thrown before the king, your crew not far behind. But it is toward you who the king directs his ire. He demands the mirror, and you bite back at his entitlement. You tell him you don’t have any such item, and he knows you are lying. You tell him the mirror is no creation of his god, the Undying One, and as a result it shouldn’t be any interest of his. It’s the wrong answer. You realize it’s the wrong answer when you hear a squelch from behind you, and the sound of a body drop to the floor. The groaning is easily recognizable as your second in command, slaughtered as result of your folly before they even had their real chance to carry on your legacy. The world mutes, but you’ve seen this scene before. There is nothing but a loud ringing in your ears, but you know The Sun is working down the line of your men behind you.

Your hands shake as you pull the mirror from your breast pocket, and you consider looking into it. Surely the madness is a better fate to resign yourself to than to live with your indirect responsibility for your brotherhood’s death. For another moment, you consider allowing the king to look into it, to exact your revenge without needing to so much as lift a finger. Instead, you slide the mirror across the floor, still safely contained in its cloth shroud. You hear your voice warning the king of the mirror’s power, that with patience and research it could be the key to turning his kingdom into an empire. You tell him that more relics exist across the span of the globe, some of them here on the continent of Markholm. You’re bargaining for your life, despite the fact that according to your very own honor code you no longer deserve it.

For some reason, the king lets you stay. You know this is more a strategic move on Septimus’ part than an act of mercy. You are hardly a free man. You yourself know that not all prisons have bars. Yours doesn’t, but you’re locked in a cage all the same. Your wild heart rails against your fate at first, but your tired body cannot keep up. You slowly resign yourself to your circumstances. You spend your day lamenting and licking wounds for months, giving Septimus advice through gritted teeth and refusing to recognize kindness from anyone around you. You are like a cornered dog, but you damn well know better than to bite the hand that feeds.

Slowly, the dagger in your heart loosens and you move through the stages of mourning your freedom, your crew, and your former life. This doesn’t mean that your life in Tyrholm is easy, but you start to recognize areas of comfort. The Empress shows you a modicum of kindness, and you cling to it. The way you see it, the pair of you mean little more to each other than a pair of warm bodies at first, but it’s a momentary distraction the both of you welcome. The way your rough, calloused hands catch on the silk she seems herself to be spun from reminds you of your place, it stops you from being careless enough to leave fingerprints. You stop yourself from getting emotionally attached--no one ever accuses you of being a wise man, but you know better than to shit where you eat. The Moon gravitates in the perimeter of your attention, and you wonder what she wants from you, though she never seems to ask for much. The Sun also exists within your gravitational pull, though you wish she wouldn’t. You have nothing but enmity for her, an emotion you know is futile but that you can’t seem to put away.

The one thing you take seriously is your role as advisor. Septimus strikes you as mad and simple, a ruler grounded in dualism and individualism. Your belief in brotherhood and the collective clashes with Septimus’ harsh reign, but you can stomach it given your years spent under your father’s thumb. You yourself are never treated with particular cruelness after you are added as a member of the court. A part of you cares how everything shakes out, even though your body tells you it might give out before you see things through. Another part of you only cares about slowly convincing Septimus to give you a longer leash to try to convince him to dispatch you for one last adventure or two.

PLOT IDEAS:

You’ve Got Your Reputation and Your Good Intent (The Emperor): Feivel was not exactly a willing addition to the court. With death as the only alternative, joining up with Septimus looked like a good choice, but in the skeleton it doesn’t suggest that The Tower ever develops any sense of loyalty or admiration for King Septimus. In fact, in the connection section with Judgement, it suggests that The Tower finds the world they find themselves stuck within to be “horrible”. Given I want to incorporate captaining a ship as part of Feivel’s past, he would chalk up the state of the world to mediocre leadership. Further, The Tower is smack in the middle of the triangle depicting attitudes and loyalties. He doesn’t have much skin in the game, but he kind of gives a shit. I have to imagine that given their travels, The Tower would have a stronger concept than Septimus of how the other side lives, how people perceive things, of even surface level diplomacy, who seems to make decrees and decisions at a whim. Knowing that The Emperor is the next in line for the throne, I imagine The Tower would want to see the heir equipped with more of a holistic outlook rather than a self-interested, dualistic approach. While it sounds like Septimus is the one who likes to be regaled with stories of adventure and daring, I imagine Feivel might try to impart some sort of wisdom about different perspectives, universal truths, and interest in the plight of fellow man. The Emperor has probably never experienced life outside of the castle walls, certainly never outside of Tyrholm where many valuable lessons for a future ruler wait to be learned. But Feivel struggles with putting his meaning into words, he isn’t some educated member of the court, he’s a rogue in nice clothing. There is no underlying agenda aside from expanding the young heir’s worldview--but the danger of saying the wrong thing, of the slightest slip up in the tone of voice being read as a criticism of King Septimus makes the line between good intent and treason a tricky one to walk.

Suffer the Fools (The Moon): Feivel enjoys young people tremendously. Youth tends to couple with ambition and vigor. This is also part of why he even wants to bother trying to impress some of his lived experiences on The Emperor. Based on the connection written in The Moon’s bio, it seems like The Moon would be eager to listen to those very same stories. The Tower is depicted as a cache of information regarding other civilizations, the old gods, history, antiquities, magic, and tales of their own youth. I think in talking to The Moon about these stories and being listened to, a friendship would be forged and from that friendship, trust. Feivel understands thieves' code, he can pick up the dynamic in most any room he walks into, he knows history, he recognizes value when he sees it, navigation and survival in the wild is a given… but all of this was learned through oral tradition. Books were of little value on a ship, education wasn’t valued in his lifestyle. In his previous station, Feivel couldn’t have cared less, but now it’s developed into a soft spot. What does it say of a king if their antiquarian and unofficial advisor is illiterate? I think that if Feivel developed trust with The Moon, he would be willing to share this vulnerability asking them to write correspondence for him in a pinch and potentially how to read and write. I think this vulnerability might help lead The Moon to ask the questions they have about magic as discussed in The Moon’s connections.

All’s Fair in Love and War (The Empress): I am interested in exploring the connection listed in The Empress’ bio depicting the affair between The Empress and The Tower. It is not really mentioned in The Tower’s bio or in the main body of The Empress’ bio. I am interested in exploring Feivel’s motivations in this affair. Is there genuine affection that Feivel feels for The Empress, or does he see her as a pretty treasure of the king’s that makes for an interesting conquest? If there is genuine affection, how does he deal with the jealousy or perceived mistreatment of The Empress as a wife? Additionally, there could be a number of interesting consequences for the affair to deal with as far as jealousy, not being able to bit his tongue regarding Septimus’ attitude about his wife, or even the secret of the affair becoming more widespread. I think the affair could also complicate the way that some members of the court and group see Feivel. They could potentially misread the affair, whether it’s a matter of the convenience of the two just acting as warm bodies for one another or if it develops into a full blown emotional affair, as Feivel tries to step into a role of power or exploitation. It’s also some pretty damaging ammunition against him if he crosses the wrong person.

Mirror of Ouroborus (The Sun/The High Priestess): One of the things I would look forward to adding to Feivel’s character and the group as a whole is sort of building out the world with some mystical items. In this case, I think it could be fun to toy around with the item that landed Feivel on King Septimus’ agenda in the first place. This is a plot I would build out with either of the two more experienced necromancers. The item I have in mind for this plot point in particular would be called the Mirror of Ouroborus, an ancient, magical artifact the most of the world either doesn’t believe exists or has already forgotten. The mirror itself is a small, obsidian mirror that upon first consideration seems harmless if not impractical. However, upon looking in the mirror things begin to complicate. When looking in the mirror, it shows its user three truths. The first truth is easy to swallow: the reflection morphs into the user at the epitome of their potential, in their greatest state of glory. The second, the reflection morphs into what it is that stands in the way of those accomplishments, whether its an internal or external force. And third, it shows the essence of the user as they really are. Each of these reflections manifest as a simultaneous, momentary vision, but the mirror itself is dangerous. The lore surrounding the mirror depicts the third reflection driving everyone bold enough to stare into the mirror mad, incapable of swallowing the truth about themselves and the inherent flaws of humanity. However, who better to look into the mirror than someone numbed to even the most base emotion? Though it’s unlikely Septimus would put something as valuable as a master necromancer on the line for anything less than a guarantee. I would imagine in this plot, Feivel and either The Sun or the High Priestess would be tasked with unraveling the mystery of the Ouroborus Mirror for its eventual use.

If You Stand For Nothing, What Will You Fall For (General): Check out the triangle of alignment and who is smack in the middle but The Tower? I think this presents a few interesting concepts. There are so many different components of the skeleton that could suggest many different ways for his allegiance to be pushed and pulled. If he has a personal rather than transactional relationship with The Empress, her alignment of general tolerance of King Septimus might pull him toward anxiously waiting out the king. Then again, it might have the opposite effect if Feivel ends up having very spiteful feelings about the Empress being stuck in the marriage. I envision most of the connections listed on the bio slowly dragging Feivel’s alignment toward the bottom left of the chart. I want to explore Feivel’s character with a moral alignment of true neutral as well, which I think would create a lot of interesting dynamics given Feivel seems to be starting from a place of general neutrality as well. I would be very interested in seeing what, if anything, could radicalize Feivel given his starting point.

Through Terra Incognita: Feivel is not exactly a member of the court by choice, but rather quick wit and Septimus’ whim. I would argue that Feivel sees himself more as a prisoner of the court than actually free. He was brought to the court by force, and he’s essentially kept there out of fear of the Sun. Sure, there are perks. He probably is all about that food, a nice bed, fancy clothes, and a comfortable place to rest his tired bones… but just because he wanted a rest doesn’t mean he isn’t restless. It might be interesting to have Feivel be dispatched by Septimus to retrieve some sort of treasure or antiquity with another character or maybe even two. This item could potentially be central to the plot if it interests you to invest in the plot in that way. I think this could be an interesting way to interact with Judgement (religious relic?), or potentially The Hermit or Strength. However, I’d be happy to make this plot work with whoever might be interested even if they aren’t listed there. Fievel is probably incredibly eager to go on any sort of adventure and get out of the city, so he would jump at the chance to go on such a quest, even if he clashed with his travel companion every step of the way.

Brave, Intrepid, and Then Some: If you do not recognize the lyrics used as titles (here and the plot point above), the song “The Trail We Blaze” from Dreamwork’s masterpiece The Road to El Dorado is big inspiration vibes for Feivel and his adventurous side. He knows he is never going to be the marauder he was before his years in Tyrholm, but there’s a spark in him that can’t quite go out. I think something to feed into this, and his general world knowledge, would be to develop a sort of “wonders of the world” for Markholm. Something I think that might be interesting to do is to pick a few characters and try to create artifacts, locations, etc. that are sort of drawn from or inspired by these characters. Perhaps they would not be significant to the plot, but I think it could be a fun concept to build out Feivel’s experiences.

CHARACTER DEATH: I think given some of the pies he’s stuck/will stick his finger in there’s a pretty real chance he might piss off the wrong people eventually (Septimus, Reynaud, Naenia given his fear of her) whether that be by him making a false move or his affair moving from a bit of an open secret to a full blown scandal. Also, he’s lived a rugged life, which I’m sure has taken a toll. Given the parameters you’ve set up to support players if there’s a character death and the context of this character I’m comfortable with it.

WRITING SAMPLE

Another restless night, and Feivel found himself roaming the halls of Castle Tyrholm with the company of his faithful hound, Gunport, at his side. It was the sound of the wind whistling outside his sleeping chamber’s window that kept a good night’s sleep at bay, the sound reminding him of those wind whipped days out at sea that built him into the man he was now. He lobbed a ball down the corridor lazily and got some mild entertainment watching the hairy beast chase after it with gusto before bounding back to its master’s side and pushing the slobbery toy into his hand. But even the momentary distraction couldn’t hold back the feelings that he was now more a ruin than a man.

His father had died valiantly in battle, though the skirmish itself could have been avoided by better planning. Even so, his father had died with his reputation intact, ruthless to the end. Feivel himself had quickly built his own mythos around himself, even if it was not as cruel as his father’s. He knew the Clan Asturias had gained a measure of renown, enough for King Septimus to know of their accomplishments, and as the captain of the ship Feivel himself was the figurehead of the legend. On nights like this, he would retract his steps and try to pinpoint the exact moment he had gotten too far ahead of himself or too comfortable. He knew what his father would say, that his downfall was the direct result of trusting anyone but himself. Some nights, Feivel felt that conclusion was correct. On other nights, he surmised that his fate was inevitable. For years, he had wondered how legends were brought to their knees. Now he knew he was little more himself than some exotic game King Septimus had cornered and would eventually mount on his wall like the other trophy animals in Castle Tyrholm’s gun room.

The candlelight flickered from further down the hall, and both Feivel and Gunport stood aware, their two sets of wild eyes pointing in the direction of the disturbance. He wondered vaguely if someone else was being kept awake by the ghosts of their past, or if perhaps it might have been the growing sense of restlessness that had been building behind closed doors and in whispered conversations throughout the castle. He had only been a member of the court for a handful of months, but he knew what the early stages of insurrection looked like. This was something he altogether aimed to avoid, more than convinced that the king would be able to put an end to any treason before it truly started.

It surprised him to see the queen passing through the hall, and for a moment he felt his presence was inappropriate. Life in Tyrholm had come with a healthy dose of culture shock, to say the least. He had cleaned up well, this was true, but he knew he was far from noble. His manners had provided ample fodder to mock him in his first months in the court, and the stiff clothing he had been given felt like it choked him. Perhaps it was his station in his office that made him feel most like the butt of a cruel joke, the books that lined the shelves and his pot of ink and paper virtually useless. He had wondered for a while how long King Septimus would humor him after he realized his master of antiquities couldn’t so much as write his own name. Luckily enough, he had proven himself entertaining enough to listen to that when he was called upon it was almost exclusively in person. Whenever the need to write was unavoidable, it was no trouble to intimidate a servant or page into writing it for him. It took little more than a menacing glare and the simple lie that he preferred to dictate his response rather than be saddled with the chore of writing his message himself.

As The Empress approached, Feivel bowed. It was practiced to look natural, as if he’d been bowing to monarchy all his life rather than copying the other members of court over the past few months. He also took grain pains to make the motion as fluid as possible despite the strain it caused his lower back. “Your Majesty,” he greeted, “I apologize for disturbing you this evening.” He tossed the ball away again, figuring someone of her stature had little interest in being near such a creature. The dog took off again after the ball, springing clumsily down the long hall.

“It’s quite alright,” Queen Calliope responded in a muted voice. She lifted a slim, graceful hand that caught the moonlight as she gestured before them. “Perhaps you would walk with me?”

Before Feivel had much opportunity to respond, Gunport had asserted himself into the situation. The dog pressed the ball into the palm of the queen’s hand, wet nose, slobber, and all. It was the habit of a well trained dog to return whatever it was fetching directly into the hand of it’s master, but Gunport was friendly and apparently wanted to extend the invitation to play to the queen herself. Embarrassed by what he assumed was poor manners, Feivel became somewhat nervous and hoped to escape the interaction without insulting Queen Calliope. He turned his attention from her hand to her face to respond, but his answer was delayed slightly as he observed her unassuming beauty; the smoothness of her skin, her piercing dark eyes, the way her silk-like dark hair framed her face and swept against her shoulders, and the delicate shape and hue of her lips. He was a man who recognized finery when he saw it, and what held more value than the wife of a king?

“Another night,” he mumbled, staring at the toe of his boot rather than in her eye. His voice was gruff, a bit terse as a force of habit. “When I don’t have the hound with me.”

Accepting his answer, the queen lifted her hand to pass the ball back to Feivel. He extended his hand, accepting it from her, unintentionally brushing his fingers against the back of her hand. The contrast between the two did not escape him, his own hand rough with work next to her unmarred skin. Her skin was smooth and cool compared to the warmth and calluses of his own hand. He let the touch linger for a moment before his eyes met her own. She didn’t seem disturbed by the touch, which even if unintentional was an insult to her station. Queen Calliope placed the ball in his open hand before bidding him goodnight with a soft, amused smile. “Another time then, Feivel. May the Undying One bring you safely to another day.”

“Another time then,” Feivel repeated, holding the ball up as if it were some secret known only to the pair as he walked backward toward his quarter. He tossed the ball over his shoulder with a roguish grin, his eyes trained on Queen Calliope. Only when she turned his back on him to continue on her way did he turn away from her.

EXTRAS

I want to plot out what the affair looked like, from start to current state, with The Empress’ player, so I’m not taking my writing sample as gospel. It just seemed like the most natural thing to write because I think the connection with another person in Tyrholm he established with The Empress was probably a turning point in his mourning process/ability to accept his current station as basically a glorified prisoner in Castle Tyrholm and to engage more with others.

Inspiration Blog (There are three pages, you gotta click the last little dot with a sort of square to get to the next page)

#accepted #accepted: the tower

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diveronarpg · 5 years

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Congratulations, MANDY! You’ve been accepted for the role of GONERIL. Admin Rosey: How long have we been clamoring for our beloved Goneril? Far too long, I think. But the wait was worth it because Mandy, you delivered us to her with a little bloodied bow on top. You gave us a taste of Goneril, and here we are, begging for more. The plots you laid out for her future captured her well, and the para sample you provided gave an insight to the narration of her thought and I absolutely adored it. But, what really sold it to me, was the very end of the application: “... I don’t think Grace has ever stopped long enough to get bored. Maybe that’s for the best though; I’m not sure the world could withstand a bored Grace Daly.” And honestly, I’m not sure I can withstand the Grace Daly you will be bringing to our stage either. But I can’t wait to try! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Mandy

Age | 18

Preferred Pronouns | She/Her

Activity Level | For the next 3 weeks or so, I can probably post about 3-4 times a week. After that I start university, so maybe 1-2 posts per week?

Timezone | BST

How did you find the rp? | I came across it a while ago (9/10 months?) so I can’t remember exactly how, but I figure I must’ve been looking for mob-related roleplays on tumblr.

Current/Past RP Accounts | This is actually my first-time roleplaying on tumblr so I don’t have any past accounts to show. I have been roleplaying for around ¾ years though, just on different forums. I can provide some samples of my writing if you want to make sure I’d fit in here.

IN CHARACTER

Character | Goneril aka Grace Daly! And I like her current faceclaim (Úrsula Corberó).

What drew you to this character? | What initially attracted me to Grace Daly was, in fact, another character; Calina Sokolova. Whilst writing out my application for Cleopatra herself, I noticed that I had a lot to say about wanting to explore her relationship with a character so primal and brutal as Grace Daly. And the more I wrote, the more I felt I understood Grace. At the same time, my infatuation for Calina’s character diminished, and I think that was because I realised that I didn’t actually understand her all that much. Then I read the application of the last successful writer for Calina, and I know that people can have different interpretations which are equally good, but it just made me realise that I had only scratched her surface with my own. I couldn’t do a character like Calina justice; at least, not yet. Not that I consider Grace to be any easier a character to write, or inferior in terms of depth, not at all; I just understand her much better. Turns out, Calina simply wasn’t my mystery to unravel, and so here it is, my application for Grace “Goneril” Daly.

What I love most about Grace Daly is that she remains true to her nature. The violence, the brutality, the chaos—it is her and she owns it. She does not run away, or attempt to hide her darkness, she doesn’t entertain any notions of herself as a ‘good guy’, nor does she fear or try to fight the darkness within her. Right and wrong are seen as abstract concepts, and even when she knows things are ‘wrong’, it makes no difference because she does not care. She would much rather be remembered as ‘great’ than ‘good’, anyway. What Olivander said about Voldemort comes to mind; “After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great.” Terrible but great, could there be a better analogy for Grace Daly? The rest of the world might see her as rotten, having lost her humanity, but one couldn’t be more primal or truer to their human nature than her. She takes what she wants, when she wants it, no matter the cost. She is a queen waiting to rule, a tragedy waiting to happen, a whirlwind to be respected, but most importantly, feared. She will carve herself a throne, whether that be from gold or your bones.

Despite being known as Goneril, she could actually be likened to Regan, in my opinion. It might seem like the sisters are an interchangeable evil duo in King Lear, but I actually think Regan is the more brutal of the two. After all, it is her who gouges out Gloucester’s eyes and thrusts him out to “smell his way to Dover”. Goneril is driven by ambition too, but I don’t see that love of violence in her characterisation. Catherine spills blood apathetically, whereas Grace thirsts for it, much like the Regan of King Lear.

Pride and the grandiose sense of self-worth, rather psychopathic traits, are also rather important cornerstones of her character. Because she has never been humiliated, never needed to ask for help, never been denied, she has this kind of smugness about her, an air of superiority. She wants to be remembered as such, a glorious vision of power, ambition, bloodlust and savagery—a legacy if there ever was one. Grace has always wanted more – more things, more money, more power, more blood – but perhaps what she craves most is recognition. Not the cheap recognition her parents gave her for simply being their daughter, no, she wants to be known as something great, something invincible, supreme, garnering as much recognition from the beggars and vagabonds lining the streets of Verona as the kings and queens in their palaces. She wants to be feared and worshipped like a God.

Along with the need to be known and remembered, comes the fear of being forgotten. People might sing Catherine praises for her angelic-ness, but they will not remember her name when she has passed like so many saints before her. At least, that’s what Grace thinks. The oldest Daly girl has long forgotten to fear death, but to become a ghost of bygone times like so many others have done in the past and most continue to do? That is literally a fate worse than death. She craves to be different, and to be revered for that difference. Death or glory—these are her options.

Whilst her impulsiveness might be seen as a weakness or a flaw, I think it makes her even more dangerous, because you can’t ever really know what she’ll do. She’s so unpredictable—one can never know whether they’ll get the cold, calculating Grace, or the wild, reckless Grace, who’s far more likely to give into her base instincts, until it’s too late. It’s unnerving how quickly she will switch between the two, but perhaps what is most alarming is when she is both at the same time. You ask how one can be cold and reckless, calculating and wild, at once? Oh, you should watch our raven-haired angel of death in action. She will beat you within an inch of your life and enjoy every second, but an inch she will leave, an inch to tell the world of your most foolish mistake: attempting to withstand the supernova that is Grace Daly.

I’ve never written such a raw, unremorseful character. In fact, I’ve never even come across such a female character in any sort of literature, let alone roleplaying. When other characters will tip-toe on the borders of insanity, Grace will crash in there with a battering ram without flinching. That is why it would be a delight and an honour to write Verona’s resident bloodthirsty empress, not that the world ever remembers one who wasn’t.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

1. Maybe some sort of face-off between the sisters? I don’t mean the three of them get into a ring and fight to the death, I just want a reunion of some sort, I suppose. I don’t imagine it will be at a café over brunch to discuss their childhoods, but perhaps they all need to meet up to discuss some mob business? In my mind, Grace joined the Montagues to give people a reason to remember her, not out of loyalty to anyone in the Montagues. So, if she sees an opportunity to rise the ranks, and she thinks that can be achieved by ‘offing’ one of their own captains to free up a space, I think she would definitely go to her sisters. They are Capulets, after all, and I doubt they would pass the opportunity to get rid of a high-ranking Montague. Regina, if not Catherine, anyway. At the same time, Grace doesn’t really consider her sisters to be her equals, so she might not care to do something mutually beneficial to all of them. Instead, I think she’s more likely to deceive both parties, because she’s arrogant and thinks her sisters are too naïve to understand her true intentions. Maybe that goes badly for Grace, because they really aren’t as clueless as she treats them? I don’t know, it obviously doesn’t have to pan out this way exactly, but I would really like to see the three of them having some sort of heated altercation, or just circumstance which invariably forces them to spend time together.

2. Calina vs Grace? Okay, so I know a lot of my plotting for Grace involves ‘facing off’ against other characters, but what can I say, Grace is a fighting sorta gal. In Calina’s bio, it says that “So long as [Grace’s] teeth are bared in another direction, she won’t have to make her shut her mouth,” aka Calina is happy to let sleeping demons lie, but what if they stopped lying? For whatever reason, they step in each other’s path and BAM! Chaos! Pandemonium!

As for how it happens, I was thinking something like this: Calina’s alias is Cleopatra, right, and, historically, Cleopatra was the first pharaoh to get the support of both the Greek and Egyptian subjects she ruled. In this case, the Greeks and the Egyptians are of course, the Capulets and the Montagues, respectively. Perhaps, at some later date, they are attempting to broker peace between the two mobs, and Calina, being Cleopatra, is at the forefront of this? Peace and harmony don’t work for Grace, of course, and so she tries to throw a wrench or two into their plans. Or maybe even a grenade.

3. I’d really like to explore some fiendish kind of plot that she and Ivan have. They are both quite chaotic and brutal characters, but I’d say Ivan does it for the love of chaos, whereas chaos is a side-benefit for Grace. Her true love is power; unlimited, absolute, power. So, say she hatches a plan to move up in the ranks, and figures that she might need some help from the Capulets for that. The help would be unintentional or accidental if her sisters were involved (see Plot 1), but I think she would be fairly upfront about it if she went to Ivan. Though Capulet by name, I’d say that he is first and foremost an anarchist, and Grace knows this. So, if she wants to stir the pot a bit, and wants to have some fun in the meantime, why ever not get in touch with the platonic Clyde to her platonic Bonnie? He’s never said no to a bit of mayhem. It could also be that they both plan on betraying each other, y’know, for a little more drama? Grace knows that his love of ruin and destruction is a little too dangerous to have around if her plans for dominion are ever to come to fruition, and Ivan knows that he cannot tear the world apart if there are people who wish to maintain the social order, so that one can actually hold dominion. In the end, no matter how similar their methods might be, their endgame couldn’t be more different.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes, but I would really like a fitting death for her; ‘’all or nothing”, essentially. Either she goes out in a blaze of glory, doing what she loves, or it somehow becomes that she loses everything, and is at the lowest of lows, and is then killed. I’d rather she didn’t die in some random mugging sort of thing, y’know? Also, pleeease, nothing like how Goneril and Regan go out in King Lear—sure poison can be involved, just not the whole other “jealous, superficial, evil sisters kill themselves over some man/throw themselves at his feet” trope. Grace thirsts for blood and power, not men.

IN DEPTH

I would genuinely do both, but I really want to send this in time for Sunday acceptances and I don’t have very long left. So, in-character para sample it is!!

***

Naivete? No, that couldn’t possibly be it. They had survived too long, accomplished too much, to be naïve. No, what truly plagued her family, whether that was their parents, or her sisters, it was blindness—or lack of vision, to be more precise. They had grown too accustomed to their life, too comfortable in the plush armchairs in front of their warm hearth, to envy the jewel-encrusted palaces that their kings and queens resided in. They were happy to settle for something mildly better than mediocrity, content to be second best, good but not that good. The Daly’s were well-off, there was no two ways about that, but they were hardly mice next to the mammoth that were the Capulets.

It was disgraceful to her. Shameless, even. How dare they be so complacent?

The babe turned girl turned woman, who had always wanted more and more and more, could not fathom the meaning of leading such an unremarkable existence. What could possibly be the meaning of life if you didn’t keep fighting for more, until there was no one left to fight, until you were the most powerful person in the room?

Throughout history and mythology, there were always trinities. Hydra, the three-headed serpent, Cerberus, the three-headed hound, and she had held out hope that herself, Regina, and Catherine, would themselves be a trinity to behold one day. Her mother and father had resigned themselves to ‘the simple life’, but children did not have to repeat their parents’ mistakes. They could be better, the Daly girls.

And yet, it wasn’t to be. Regina had come as uninspiring as they did, and Catherine, well, all saintly Catherine wanted to do was be nice. For a time, she tried convincing them, inspiring them as the eldest, but even back then Grace had had little patience for lost causes. And lost causes they were, the whole lot of them.

If she was to be anything more, it would be alone. Her family would not, could not, help her, and that meant looking for another family. Perhaps one with a little more backbone.

Extras:

I’d say that the Grace I’ve envisioned is quite similar to Villanelle from Killing Eve. However, whilst Villanelle kills because she is bored, I don’t think Grace has ever stopped long enough to get bored. Maybe that’s for the best though; I’m not sure the world could withstand a bored Grace Daly.

#accepted #accepted: goneril

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tarysande · 6 years

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I was curious do you think Cain was a sociopath I read an article about how a sociopath 'loves' and it reminded me of him do you think this is what the writers were going for or am I way off?

I think there’s a lot of evidence to support that read on his character and I feel with at least some small amount of confidence that his character description probably included the word. In fact, I think Pierce may even have been a psychopath. (Pysch researchers tend to think psychopaths are born, while sociopathy results from childhood trauma. More on this later!)

Sociopaths and psychopaths fall under the shared umbrella of antisocial personality disorder.

According to the DSM V (psychiatry’s diagnostic bible), the following criteria is listed for antisocial personality disorder:

Persistent patterns of disregard and violation of the rights of others, present since the age of 15 and consisting of at least three of the following resulting in hurting, mistreating, and/or stealing from someone:

Disrespect and failure to conform to lawful behavior resulting in repeated arrests.

Persistent deceitfulness, using aliases, and lying to con others for personal gain.

Impulsive and unable to plan.

Easily irritated, aggressive and prone to repeated physical altercations and assaults.

Reckless, disregarding the safety of others and one’s self.

Persistently irresponsible, inability to maintain consistent work behavior and/or honor financial obligations.

Indifferent rationalization without remorse.

I don’t know about you, but I see a lot of Cain/Pierce/Sinnerman there, no?

So, let’s try to parse Cain a little given what we know because we were told and what we can infer by observation or reading between the lines.

Biblically, we know Cain killed his brother Abel because he was angry that God liked Abel’s sacrifice better. Cain then lied about it (to God; ballsy, but ultimately a bad choice). I want to talk about something, though, that people who didn’t once win Sunday School Jeopardy! (it’s true) might not know: Cain wasn’t marked and punished because he killed his brother. Because Cain was a farmer (and proud of it), God punished him by cursing him so the soil would no longer give him strength. He could no longer do what made him happiest and brought him the most satisfaction. Dying is easy; living without being able to fulfill your purpose is harsh. To this, Cain replied, “Well then, I’ll just hide from your presence and wander until someone kills me; life’s not worth living without farming,” and God said, “Y’think it’s that easy, do you? Have this mark so everyone’ll know that, in killing you, they bring My vengeance upon them sevenfold.”

Murder is bad. Trying to wriggle out of what God deems to be appropriate punishment for it is far worse. Defying God’s judgment is the crime for which Cain is punished with the mark.

(Where have we seen that before? But that’s the subject for a different essay.)

So, if we assume that Lucifer’s writers were pulling from Biblical ‘canon,’ we’ve already got a little sociopathy happening. Cain kills his brother because Abel got a better report card from God and he can’t stand that (he’s the elder brother, after all). He feels no remorse, no guilt (and Pierce says as much to Lucifer; it’s a driving part of his personality from the beginning), and no empathy. He lies to protect himself. His response to being punished is not “I’m sorry for what I did,” it’s “How dare you take my things away from me.” It’s selfish and self-centered.

Also from the DSM V:

Persistent pathological personality traits:

Antagonism

Manipulative - frequent use of deceit, subterfuge, charm, seduction, and ingratiation to achieve personal goals.

Deceit - lies and fraudulent representation of self, embellishment and lying when relating events.

Callous - cold, uncaring, and indifferent to the feelings of others, lack of remorse for the hurt they cause to others, aggressive and sadistic.

Hostile - aggressive and angry at perceived slights and insults, vengeful and mean.

Disinhibition

Irresponsible - failure to honor obligations, lack of respect for promises made and agreements.

Impulsive - acts on momentary stimulus, no planning, inability to plan.

Risk Behavior - denies personal danger, engages in dangerous activity to one’s self and others, engages in risk behaviors to stave off boredom.

Now, here’s where Pierce appears psychopathic: psychopaths plan. They engage in criminal behavior in a way that minimizes personal risk. They have plans and contingency plans to ensure they are not caught. (SINNERMAN.) A psychopath is better able to dissociate from their actions (”It was an accident. He deserved it. He was an asshat.”) ((Sidebar: that Abel’s in Hell proves Abel felt guilt and remorse, unlike his brother. It’s not that Abel ‘deserved it’–he just had deeper feelings than Cain.)

I don’t think it takes much to see these actions and responses paralleled in Pierce’s behavior, right from the beginning of the season when he doesn’t care about anyone in the precinct; he only knows about them in the context of what they can do for him. He lies constantly and always to protect himself. He throws Chloe (multiple times) into danger to test his theories. He shows no empathy for anyone at at any point (remember, if any of the post-Abel grief was real, it was because he still thought Abel was going to help him get what he wanted; it wasn’t about loving his brother). He rejects Chloe until he witnesses the moment between Chloe and Lucifer at Lux. Pierce had several opportunities to start a relationship with Chloe earlier but he didn’t take them because a relationship wasn’t necessary for his plans.

Cain is utterly and entirely focused on himself. When he does enter into a relationship with Chloe, it’s for selfish reasons; he says as much to the waitress. To a sociopath, true love is focused on the self, power (seen in the Sinnerman), and playing/winning his game of life. When Pierce decided to “woo” Chloe, he relied on every cliche in the book: romantic dinner, roses, declarations of love. It was like he looked up “romance” in the dictionary and awkwardly followed the steps laid out. Or, in this case, asked Ella and she told him what Chloe liked, what Chloe wanted, and what Chloe felt was missing from her life (especially vis a vis the heartbreak with Lucifer). And Chloe, because of said heartbreak and because she has some serious love-related self-esteem issues (different essay!!) fell for it. Because she wanted to feel loved, wanted to feel lovable.

Several of Pierce’s behaviors in “love” often occur with sociopaths and one of them is moving quickly: declaring “love,” wanting to get married very fast. Another is resenting time spent with family and friends (or, I suppose, wearing a bullet necklace); sociopaths are often possessive and demanding. Did he ever love Chloe? I don’t think so, personally. I saw no indication he was capable of real love, sacrificial love, love that puts someone else first sometimes. I think he loved feeling like he’d “won” the game of stealing Chloe from Lucifer (Cain is often shown emulating Lucifer, such as with providing favors, but I don’t think he ever cares about what he’s giving to the other person: he’s entirely focused on how beholden the person will have to feel to him. It’s about power. Chloe is about power. Being a Lieutenant with friends in high places is about power. Being the Sinnerman is about power). Perhaps, yes, that moment he lost his mark was the first time in thousands of years he felt bad, a pang of momentary guilt. It did not, however, take him long to return to manipulating Chloe and improvising a plan so he could “win” again.

Finally: look guys, that rock collection was serial killer creepy AF. Okay? The rock he killed his brother with was definitely there. Those were trophies. He took them with him to his creepy sewer/warehouse hidey-hole.

So, before I leave you, here’s something interesting for people to think about: the Lucifer we meet in Season 1? Go look at that list of pathological personality traits again. Lucifer’s a walking checklist for sociopathy/APD (the Cain & Lucifer parallels are definitely material for more thought!). As the show goes on, we start to realize that a lot of Lucifer’s issues are rooted in early (and extremely extended) trauma (which is what psych researchers believe is the root of sociopathy; Lucifer wasn’t born that way, while it’s implied Cain was). Only, Lucifer changes. He learns. It’s slow and he takes steps backward as often as he steps forward. Only his active choices and steps toward change, only the fact that he slowly begins to see things from a little outside himself, only the fact that he is willing to admit he makes mistakes or doesn’t actually know everything and work with an actual therapist, and that he is doggedly devoted to not lying is what sets him apart and allows him to be someone sympathetic and capable of change—it’s why Chloe, and the audience, can love him and hope the best for him. Though they may seem small, that Lucifer is making changes at all is monumental. Psychologically speaking, the deck is really stacked against him.

What I’m saying here is that Dr. Linda Martin is going to write the most epic case study in the history of psychology at some point. She’s gonna make millions. And she deserves it!

(Speaking of different essays, someone remind me to talk about the parallels between Amenadiel & Lucifer and Cain & Abel at some point because they’re fascinating… and also they illuminate why Amenadiel can be redeemed but Cain couldn’t.)

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morsmordrehasbeensaved · 6 years

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CONGRATULATIONS HALEY, YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED AS BEAUREGARD WILKINSON WITH THE FACECLAIM OF HUNTER PARRISH!

Haley - we absolutely adored your application for Beau, but what else is new? I absolutely loved his relationship with his family, and how devastated he was at having to leave Ilvermorny in favor of Hogwarts (especially since there’s no Quodpot!). We’re super excited to have him join the gang over here and can’t wait to see what you’ll do with him!

Check out our acceptance checklist right here on what to do next!

♔ OUT OF CHARACTER INFO ♔

NAME/ALIAS:

Still Haley

AGE:

8/15. 20 years old!

PREFERRED PRONOUNS:

She/Her

TIMEZONE & ACTIVITY:

Central! My activity should remain as it has been, except for the next like four days. I’ll be doing things for Thanksgiving.

TRIGGERS:

REMOVED.

ANYTHING ELSE:

REMOVED.

♔ IN CHARACTER INFO ♔

FULL NAME:

Beauregard Finch Wilkinson

FACECLAIM:

Hunter Parrish

BIRTHDAY AND AGE:

August 8th, making him a Leo

HOUSE AND YEAR:

Sixth Year Gryffindor

AFFILIATION:

Neutral

BLOODSTATUS:

Pureblooded

PRONOUNS:

He/Him

SEXUALITY/ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:

Bisexual, heteromantic

EXTRACURRICULARS:

Gobstones Club

DESCRIPTION:

Yanked from the comfort and security of your old school, you’ve been dropped here against your will. You’ve always felt overlooked by your family and now that you’re at a new school, you feel more alone than you ever have before. Thankfully, you’ve always had a penchant for loneliness. It’s in your power to be happy, but the self-imposed chip on your shoulder is preventing you from feeling truly at ease. Grow up, boy, the world won’t wait for you.

PERSONALITY TRAITS:

+ Self-reliant

+ Good-natured

+/- Stubborn

+/- Skeptical

- Blunt

- Short-sighted

BIOGRAPHY:

Sixteen years ago, Sawyer Wilkinson and his wife Ruby, welcomed their second child into the world. It was a little boy, and they named him Beauregard, because it meant ‘regarded highly’ and that is what they hoped for their son. The Wilkinsons lived in Savannah, Georgia, spending their time in a classic looking, plantation-style home. Beauregard, along with his older sister Savannah (named after their hometown, where their family had lived for generations), spent years combing and crawling through their family’s land. When asked about his childhood, Beau would talk about how long the walk was to the edge of their property. He’d talk about a hot, humid breeze brushing through his hair and he’d talk about his feet, bare and callused. He’d talk about standing next to Savannah, watching the dance of hundreds of fireflies blinking on and off in the darkness. He could tell you about the smell of burning tobacco and the taste of blackberries picked straight from the bush. He could tell you about all of this and more. Beau loved his home and looked back on his upbringing with only the most fond of emotions.

Beau’s family had very old ties to the Magical Congress of the United States of America, on both sides of his family. Both branches had a previous President in their bloodline. Beau’s mother, Ruby, was distantly related to Seraphina Picquery and his father, Sawyer, hailed from Charity Wilkinson. Both of his parents were heavily involved in American Wizarding Politics just like all of their family before them. As tradition expected, they tried to pass this onto their children. The Wilkinsons were a family of upright citizens devoted to serving the public when requested, so it was quite the shocker when they learned that their son wanted nothing to do with politics. Beau could never remember a time where he had ever displayed any interest in ‘the family business.’ Some of his earliest memories involved accompanying his parents to New York for work and he couldn’t remember ever having any fun. Savannah, on the other hand, seemed to have the time of her life. That never made sense to him, but he chalked it up to sibling differences.

Savannah and Beau shared a lot of differences. As children, they were extremely close. In their spare time, they were outside together for all hours of the day, playing pretend and exploring. Sure, they were already different at this point. Beau never displayed any of the work ethic demonstrated by his sister and she consistently outperformed him in the presence of their tutors. The two didn’t allow this to impact their relationship and continued to be the best of the friends. It wasn’t until Savannah left for Hogwarts that things began to change. Beau couldn’t pinpoint a single reason for the eventual distance he would come to share with Savannah, perhaps there were many. It could have been school. Savannah went first, heading to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and being sorted into Horned Serpent. A year later, Beau followed suit, though he was sorted into the house of Pukwudgie. Being in two different houses allowed the siblings physical distance that they had not had in the years past. It also could have been Beau himself. He quickly realized that Savannah far outshone him in his parents’ eyes. Savannah was good at school and Savannah wanted to work in government. It seemed as though Beau would turn out to be an utterly unremarkable child. He was jealous of her in some ways and he knew that was a driving force behind his attitude. He still loves his sister and he would always have her back, but he just didn’t feel like they clicked as well in their teen years.

Despite his less-than-stellar relationship with his family, Beau managed to find companionship and happiness elsewhere. He made friends at school, true bonds that he valued and cherished. Brady, Jeremy, and Michael were their names. They were his roommates and his best friends and he spent five years with them in school. Together, they grew up. They played Quidditch and they played Quodpot. They fancied girls and pulled pranks and copied off of each other’s homeworks. Beau was happy at Ilvermorny. It was his home, his favorite place. It was where he had his first kiss, his first girlfriend. He cast his first spell in the castle. It held a lifetime of fond memories.

When his parents sat him and Savannah down to tell them that they would be sent to Hogwarts, in England, Beau was devastated.

He didn’t want to go to England and he didn’t want to go to Hogwarts. He especially didn’t want to do those things without a good explanation. Ruby and Sawyer wouldn’t tell Savannah and Beau why they were being shipped off to the other side of the world and this made him unspeakably angry. He ranted, raved, interrogated, and even cried. But no matter how hard he tried, his parents refused to change their minds, nor did they explain their reasoning for doing this. From what he could tell, they seemed to be in some sort of danger. This didn’t make the most sense to Beau, since England was pretty dangerous right now as well, but Beau supposed that his parents would assume their children safe due to their pureblood.

And with that, the two Wilkinson children went to Hogwarts. Beau absolutely hated it, just as he expected that he would. The castle was too dreary and far too confusing. The school didn’t even have a Quodpot team and too many people in the school had a stick in their ass. He missed Ilvermorny. He missed his friends and he missed his old teachers. He hated it here. He couldn’t let go of his past, deeming it much preferred to this strange and new present. He’d started to adjust. He’d made some friends, and could recognize many faces in the castle now. He was settling in, but that didn’t mean that he liked it.

CONNECTIONS:

Savannah Wilkinson– older sister, distant, tries to avoid, feels overshadowed by

Gideon Prewett– first friend, wants to teach him Quodpot

Liliane Chastain– thinks she’s really pretty, never spoken to her

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Beau is a Leo Sun, Cancer Moon. This makes him outgoing and good with emotions, yet also lacking ambition and drive.

#morsmordre accepted #hp rp #marauders rp #hogwarts roleplay #harry potter rp #beauregard wilkinson

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acuppellarp · 7 years

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Welcome to A Cup-pella, Anna! We’re excited to have you and Kate Hummel in the game! Please go through the checklist to make sure you’re ready to go and send in your account within the next 24 hours.

OOC INFO

Name + pronouns: Anna, she/her Age: 22 Timezone: CST Activity level: 7/10 Ships: Kate/Chemistry Anti-Ships: Kate/Forced

IC INFO

Full Name: Kate Elizabeth Hummel Face Claim: Natalia Dyer Age/Birthday: 23 / May 27th, 1994 Personality: individualist, strong, sensitive, scheming, loyal Hometown: Jersey City, NJ Bio:

Even from a young age, Kate Hummel knew she was destined to be different. Her family was close-knit, the bond of the three of them postcard worthy, although her mother was perhaps more in tune with Kate’s eccentricities than her father. She would often put on fashion shows and classic era musicals in their living room, belting and sashaying to the best of her five-year-old ability. Mama Hummel looked on with love, and Burt, despite not knowing the difference between chiffon and chartreuse, supported Kate in everything she did. He even let her tag along to his job sometimes, where he was surprised to learn she had an interest in mechanics. Of this, he was the most proud, because it was something she’d taken straight from him.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. When Kate was just eight years old her mother passed away unexpectedly, and the laughter and dramatics of the once colorful little girl seemed to fade away almost immediately. She didn’t know it then, but she was taking after her father, who had only ever known the simple happiness of one thing, family. It was at this point the whispers started to swirl around her in school, everyone curious about the girl who had lost her mother when most of them had never even experienced the death of a pet. Little Kate was distant that year, every childhood friendship she’d had dissipating along with her joy. The only thing that seemed to get her through was the constant repetition of musicals on tape, her only friends, and, as some self-help books would later speculate, mother figures being replaced by Broadway’s biggest divas.

Her dad never really stopped missing her mom, but with time and a little bit of Kate’s famous persistence, they continued onward through life. Although Kate was healing from the loss, things never really got easier for her. The more she grew up and came into her own, the more separated she felt from her peers. Most girls talked about Channing Tatum and what dress to wear for homecoming, and all Kate could think about was a military-inspired dress suit and the head cheerleader on her arm. Her daily attire consisted of cutting-edge experimental pieces and a certain affinity for Madonna-style menswear. It was hardly a surprise to anybody when she made star kicker on the school football team, but even the amount of teasing she got for that couldn’t compare to being voted Prom King her junior year. The popular, pretty girls she often fantasized about being with and their grotesquely heterosexual boyfriends had been the ones behind it, and instead of trading her tophat for a crown, she fled the gym, staying home from school for the rest of the week. After all, avoiding school was preferential to getting your hair pulled and body slammed into lockers by cheerleaders.

In the heat of teenage bullying, something unexpected happened. Her dad, who had never quite known how to relate to her, became her champion. He scheduled meetings with the principal and school board, personally dealt with the families of the other students, and even ran for office — and won. She never could quite muster up the right words to thank him, so of course, she expressed herself the best way she knew how: in song.

The acceptance of her father meant more to her than the acceptance of her fellow students, but what meant even more than that was the acceptance she gained towards herself. Her last year of school gave way for no more hiding, no more apologizing for who she was; Kate Hummel was finally able to be completely herself. Somewhere along the way of her relationship getting patched up again with her dad, he’d found new love, and a new wardrobe – thanks to Kate, of course. And she rediscovered in herself what her mother had once loved most about her: her spirit. Upon graduating, Kate had applied for several theater programs, including the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, her dream school. It took some work, and more than one try, but she did eventually get in. It was in New York where she got her foot in the door at Vogue, where she still works to this day. And it was in New York where she found A Cup-pella and Pamela Lansbury, and the very first love of her life, and the very first heartbreak. She still has some pretty big aspirations to fulfill, but as of right now, her life is larger than it’s ever been. And Kate wouldn’t have it any other way.

EXTRA INFO

Twitter name/twitter URL/description: Kate Hummel ♔ / @hummingkate / Yes, all the cute ones are gay. Especially me.

Five latest tweets:

@hummingkate: Is the internet finally done pretending Gemini is the worst sign? #justiceforgems @hummingkate: J'étais trop occupé. #ouioui @hummingkate: All I want is to have a Vogue piece called “Kate to Kate” as an excuse to ask Ms. Spade to be my personal stylist for a day. @hummingkate: May Patti LuPone sleep peacefully tonight and may face contouring never go out of style. @hummingkate: #MyNicknameInHighSchool was “sir” … of course upon recollection that may have just been bullying. Whatever. Fashion has no gender!

#accepted #kurt hummel rp #glee rp

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crimsonrevolt · 7 years

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Congratulations Jen you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Greta Catchlove!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

Your application was such a beautiful thing to discover in our inbox! We’re so blessed that you found us in the tag and that you decided to apply because your interpretation of Greta was so wonderfully thought through and written. I loved all of the little details you decided to put in, from your head-canons about her childhood and family life, to the playlist and moodboards you made, expanding on her traits to fully flesh out her character and your interpretation of it for us! I was sold before I even got to the in-character questionnaire. And then with your para sample, I loved how you expanded on how how the war has changed her -- I think all too often the impact of war on a character can be glossed over, but you fully expanded on how it applies to her in particular, and that was beautiful to see! *your faceclaim change has been accepted!

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

Hi! I’m Jen, I’m 22 and British so my timezone is GMT. I prefer she/her pronouns

ACTIVITY

I’m in two other roleplays but working days means I have my evenings to myself so it’s relatively easy for me to get on and do replies at least once every two days, so I’d give myself a 6 or a 7 for activity.

TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

HOW DID YOU FIND US?

I search the lsrp tag every now and again and that’s where I found your promo!

WHAT HARRY POTTER CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST?

This is such a tough one to me because they’re all so near and dear to my hearts. If you were asking me to pick a favourite then it would be a tie between the twins and Ginny but as for which one I relate to most I would probably have to go for Mrs Weasley. Family is hugely important to me and I think that being open and caring are two of the most important things a person can be and those are two things that she embodies and that I strive for.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Nothing I can think of but I hope you enjoy my application!

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER

Greta Elin Catchlove

FACE CLAIM

Zoey Deutch would be my preferred choice but if she’s not acceptable then I’d be happy to use Gabriella still.

REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER

When I first saw the characters I didn’t know how I’d be able to ever choose one, so many of them called out to me. So I slept on it and in the morning the one in the forefront of my mind was Greta. There’s just so much that appeals to me about her and I couldn’t get my thoughts off this wild girl with a heart of gold. But despite her good intentions she’s flawed: thoughtless and rash there’s no thought put into anything she does and logic never factors into anything she does. She’s all heart and emotion with her head never getting a look in.

I see a naivety along with all that courage and love of life. She’s an optimist and is skilled in fooling herself that things are better than they seem with her ability to find a silver lining in any situation and I would love to exploit that in her and watch the war slowly twist her world view as she sees more and more that there’s more darkness than she ever thought and even her light might not be bright enough to avoid being dimmed or extinguished.

In my opinion, she’s the youngest child with an older brother who doted on her and parents who loved her enough to dig her out of any trouble she caused with her wildness and mischief. She’s a girl for who there has never been any repercussions, always safe despite her daring and penchant for adventure.

Her stubbornness is a real draw, I love characters who make up their mind and can’t be swayed, whether they are right or wrong. I feel like she’s even stubborn in herself, refusing to let herself grieve for those she’s lost and who made the war seem like a harsh reality instead of abstract because if she does there’s a worry that’s all she’ll be able to do such is the depth of her emotions.

PREFERRED SHIPS // CHARACTER SEXUALITY // GENDER & PRONOUNS

Greta is pansexual and panromantic. She falls in love quickly though not always deeply and her short attention span means that her relationships are often shortlived., though not from her lack of interest in the person when it usually has more to do with her restlessness than anything they might have done wrong.

When it comes to her and ships, it’s all about chemistry for me though whoever has her in their sights will have to be prepared to handle her energy in some form or another. She falls in love easily enough but it’s making her stay that will be the challenge.

Greta identifies as female and uses she/her pronouns.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER:

Anything I have done for Greta can be found on this little mock blog: gcatchlove.tumblr.com some of it is just reblog but there’s also things I have made specifically for her.

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

“Something to dull fear. I feel like it stops a lot of people from living to the fullest and maybe with the edge taken off it they might be open to more new things. More daring.” There was a selfish edge to it too, when the girl who had been fearless was feeling a very real chill from the war that was going on around her. So much so that she felt the need to joke to lighten her mood again. “Or maybe something to do with cheese.”

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“Anyone who was up for the adventure!” There’s a pause while the girl laughs, entertained by the prospect of exploring with anyone else who had the same thirst for adrenaline, someone new to get to know along the way. “As for what I’d take, maybe some rope or something, reach more hard to get to areas.”

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

“Ones that involve others. I know I make rash decisions, act first think later, but I’m ok with that when I’m the only one dealing with the consequences. I’d hate for someone else to have to deal with my mistakes.” The girl couldn’t think of anything worse than having to live with any tragic effects her actions might have cause, the inevitable weight of guilt that would no doubt ground her usual buoyant self.

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

There’s a slight pause before she answers, frown furrowing her brow as she tries to pick just one thing that she hopes no one ever thinks or says of her. “That I’m cold or unfeeling. It always seems the worst way to be – like you live half a life at best or don’t live at all at worst.” Shrugging slightly “I always try not to be that so I think I’d offended if someone said it.”

WRITING SAMPLE

There’s flour on her nose again and her brunette locks look like she’s greying early from the powder that’s found its way there. The tickle of it brings her back to summers by the coast, warm days filled with running through forests or jumping off piers with cautionary calls of her parents and grandparents getting lost in the wind. The thought of it brings a little smile to her lips as she rolls out the pastry that she thinks she could make with her eyes closed. Her grandmother had taught her the spells to make vaniljhjärta with magic but working the mixture with her own hands was what she needs to ground herself when another, more unwelcome memory surfaces to remind her that it wasn’t that long ago that it was dust from crumbled bricks in her hair and blood on her nose from a curse fired in her direction.

There had been blood on her nose, foreign and uninvited the warmth of it anything but comforting. Red had long been her favourite colour, vibrant and bold, but the sight of it staining her fingertips after they’d been raised in a daze had made her stomach turn. It had been weeks since she’d managed to pick clothes of that colour from her wardrobe, settling for others that couldn’t possibly betray her in the same way. Yellow, blue, green, even white (though that in itself posed an issue when she no longer considered herself remotely clean or pure, too dirtied from war) had all adorned her but not red.

Once more she directs her short attention to the task at hand. Satisfied with the thickness, Greta uses a steady hand to cut the shapes necessary for the pastry. It’s always amused her the calmness that comes over her when she’s focused enough, so unusual to her and yet it’s also when she feels most at peace which is exactly what she craves when the world outside is far too chaotic for her. Adventure and excitement has always been what she craved, the things she was always searching for in her life, but she’s finding it harder and harder to let herself partake in such activities when the reality had hit far too close to home when she’d lost Max. The war had made her cautious when she’d never possessed such a trait before. She still wanted to take part, to fight for what was right, especially when she had time to make up for, but there was a fraction of a second more thought put into her actions now. While she might concede that she was rash and failed to factor others in to her impulses, Greta would never agree that she was knowingly selfish so she was going to do everything in her power to stay alive so as not to leave her parents childless, even if that care she was taking was at odds with every inch of her being.

#hp rp #literate rp #lsrpg #mature rp #skeleton rp #accepted app

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spicynbachili1 · 5 years

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Review: Mid90s

A fairly good coming-of-age film that you have most likely seen earlier than

I’ve very distinct reminiscences of my twelve years attending an all-boys college within the Philadelphia suburban space and although it is a radically totally different state of affairs than what’s introduced in Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s, I could not assist however suppose again to that have. For that lengthy chunk of my life, I used to be surrounded by younger boys aspiring to be masculine in a fairly short-sighted method. That’s one in every of a number of themes and throughlines in Mid90s, which acts as Hill’s ode to 1990’s Los Angeles, skate tradition, hip-hop, and the struggles of adolescence.

It is a acquainted story, and anybody who’s ever adopted the indie film scene for nonetheless lengthy has undoubtedly seen movies of its ilk earlier than. Regardless of its familiarity, and what I felt was an abrupt ending, I discovered myself drawn to the way it depicted dynamics between youths, familial dysfunction, and abusive relationships. Mid90s can also be a wonderful showcase for 13-year outdated lead actor Sunny Suljic, who the gaming neighborhood will acknowledge as Atreus from God of Struggle. The boy’s obtained a vibrant future forward.

youtube

Mid90s Director: Jonah Hill Launch Date: October 19, 2018 (Restricted) Score: R

Stevie (Suljic) is not in one of the best household surroundings. Whereas he has an affectionate relationship along with his single mom Dabney (Katherine Waterston), he’s continuously subjected to bodily and verbal abuse from his hot-headed older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges). It is not till he observes a bunch of skater children that Stevie is impressed to go a distinct course, away from his unsatisfactory home life.

Regardless of the prominence of 90s L.A. skating tradition within the movie’s plot, it is not the first focus of the story. It is a car for Stevie’s coming of age story and an incredible and handy visible method to monitor his progress as he weaves his means deeper into the social circles of this sub-culture. Hill shot the movie in 16mm, with the picture having a grainy high quality to it and the facet ration being a boxy four:three, which at first looks as if a way-too-obvious technique to make the movie look “classic,” however is justified by the ultimate scene.

Lengthy story quick, Jonah Hill proves that he is aware of direct a movie with Mid90s. The visuals and modifying have been deliberate punchy, and complimented decently with a well-curated soundtrack and a musical rating composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross; it is a brighter and optimistic rating from their typical darker David Fincher fare. Regardless of the story itself delving into some acquainted tropes, the performing, dialogue, and general characterization as written and directed by Hill is what gave this movie some added texture.

I am prepared to guess that the majority People, no matter East Coast or West Coast, will discover no less than a number of the loosest and fundamental parallels with their childhood buddy teams and the group of skater boys in Mid90s. Stevie is introduced on by Ruben (Gio Galicia), who comes throughout as probably the most guarded and insecure one of many group. “I smoke, I fuck bitches,” this little child tells Stevie. We see his exterior start to peel off when Stevie goes towards a few of his items of recommendation and wins the approval of his friends, just like the timid filmmaker “Fourth Grade” (Ryder McLaughlin), the impulsive (and infrequently self-destructive) “Fuckshit” (Olan Prenatt), and Ray (Na-kel Smith), the de facto chief, who just isn’t solely probably the most expert skater of all of them, however probably the most mature of the group.

We liken adolescence to a time the place “issues have been easier” with fewer cares on the earth, however this movie actually goes into the center of advanced social dynamics between youthful people. I felt like each mixture of the characters amongst the skater group had a definite relationship to trace via the movie, and Hill crafts them with a subtlety that enables them to organically evolve. It felt extra restrained than one thing you’d see from a Concord Korine movie, however the unfastened, pure dialogue did have shades of Youngsters and Gummo. I did not understand this till studying up on the movie after watching it, however Korine did certainly make a cameo as a one-night stand for Stevie’s mom.

Talking of, my touch upon each mixture having their very own little arc additionally applies to Stevie’s household. Waterston comparatively would not have an excessive amount of display time as Dabney, however there was nonetheless a lot to extrapolate from our time together with her. We see Stevie mendacity down on his flooring, his mom on his mattress, as the 2 are proven to have common, presumably satisfying and profound conversations; she seems to be the opposite means although she is unsure of her son’s new crowd, which is all principally silently conveyed, and he or she solely intervenes when a sure threshold is crossed. With Hedges as Ian, there may be all the time a storytelling issue in portray abusive characters as too sympathetic, however the best way Ian is dealt with feels sensible, and the character is extra multi-faceted than I anticipated.

Below the layer of the coming-of-age story is one other throughline of a cycle of abuse. It is not precisely stated per se, however Dabney was not all the time the motherly determine she presents herself now, in response to Ian—there’s an implied abuse, or on the very least, dangerous negligence in direction of Ian by Dabney earlier than Stevie was born. It is evident that Ian’s aggressiveness in direction of his youthful brother stems from each the harm introduced on by their mom and a resentment for the higher remedy that Stevie is receiving. However regardless of his powerful exterior and his shows of machismo, there’s a temporary and stunning second of vulnerability, the place verbal jabs from Stevie have a significant impact. I am somebody who thinks that we have seen an excessive amount of Lucas Hedges recently, however I used to be welcoming in direction of this very totally different efficiency.

Mid90s depicted abusive relationships fairly realistically—regardless of some stunning photos (to not point out the sound results each time Ian might beat his brother), you see that their relationship nonetheless forces a co-dependency on one another. Stevie continues to be obligated to present a birthday present to his older brother, he nonetheless asks him for assist (although the recommendation is commonly questionable), and also you watch the 2 play PlayStation and Tremendous Nintendo video games collectively. Going with my earlier declare that the ending felt too abrupt, likewise, I additionally felt that this story thread wrapped up too cleanly.

On the heart, the movie is in regards to the want for acceptance, and Sunny Suljic shows a lot maturity in his efficiency as a child maneuvering his means into this skate group—it begins off as remark, then nervousness and uncertainty when he makes it into the circle. There are an entire lot of close-ups of his face, and I do not bear in mind the final time I noticed a younger performer specific glee, confusion, strife, and generally a sure darkness as effortlessly as Suljic. He undoubtedly has much less to say than he does in God of Struggle, and it’s clear from the get-go simply how helpful a software his facial expressions are for conveying emotion. It helps that the remainder of the performers for this skater group, who I discovered later have been principally composed of real-life skaters and non-professional actors, add a particular sort of authenticity and genuineness.

Regardless of my reward, I am not sure precisely rating this movie. Having gone to some unbiased movie festivals, notably Sundance two years in a row, there was some extent the place I felt like I used to be watching too-similar movies repeatedly, and the inner reviewer in my head ended up frizzled as a result of I had a tough time distinguishing totally different indies with overlapping themes. Though I am unable to spout too many titles off the highest of my head that provoke this sense of deja vu (the one ones I can consider is one known as As You Are, and possibly even Dope) I felt like I would seen such a film earlier than.

Heck, I really feel like I’ve even seen 90s nostalgia like this too. The aforementioned Dope, whereas it had a distinct vitality and did not truly happen within the 90s, was stuffed with 90s-ness. This movie is stuffed with acquainted posters, classic recreation consoles, CD circumstances and covers, and a scene the place Ian is straight-up sporting a Invoice Clinton rubber masks, in case you by some means forgot what decade you have been in. Should you’re already affected by 1980s fatigue, no less than the last decade after is ripe for the choosing. Fairly quickly, we’ll have a resurgence of mainstream movies like The To-Do Checklist.

However that is an excessive amount of of a tangent, I suppose. I hesitate to present the movie too excessive a rating as a result of I do not suppose it should relate to everybody who will see it—I discovered it very particular and relatable primarily primarily based by myself experiences grappling and battling ideas involving masculinity, abuse, and social acceptance. It is a male-dominated movie, and whereas there are characters who really feel very actual, their relatability will fluctuate in several levels relying on who you ask and what experiences that they had. I’ll say, nonetheless, that the film is entertaining and humorous at occasions, and even so, Jonah Hill exhibits promise as a storyteller—he is undoubtedly matured from Superbad.

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Mid90s reviewed by Chris Compendio

7.5

GOOD

Strong and undoubtedly has an viewers. There may very well be some hard-to-ignore faults, however the expertise is enjoyable. How we rating: The destructoid opinions information

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/review-mid90s/

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familycourtcorruption · 4 years

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2020 – Goals for the New Year

My five goals for 2020:

1. Diagnosis

We need to start getting an accurate diagnosis for this pathology so we can develop an effective treatment plan. The DSM-5 diagnosis is V995.51 Child Psychological Abuse, and the ICD-10 diagnosis is F24 Shared Psychotic Disorder.

2. Resources

We need to develop local-area mental health resources for parents to efficiently assess, accurately diagnose, and effectively treat attachment-related pathology and complex trauma pathology surrounding divorce.

I will be initiating my training period from 2020-2022, offering a three-day training seminar in Southern California twice a year, spring and fall, for mental health professionals in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of court-involved family conflict.

My longer-term goal is for this next generation of professionals to then carry knowledge and conduct training in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of court-involved family conflict pathology surrounding divorce. I train – you train is the fastest way to spread professional standards of practice.

These parents and children are immensely vulnerable because of their court-involved position. These parents and children warrant the highest standards in the application of knowledge and professional standards of practice, not the lowest.

The court has an awesome and profoundly serious responsibility surrounding the family. The decisions of the court regarding this family matter will have immense consequences for the lives of the child and the parents. Professional responsibilities to the court in its decision-making warrant the highest standards in the application of knowledge and professional practice, not the lowest.

That is the standard I will be training to, twice a year in Southern California.

My first training for mental health professionals will be extra-special, because I’ll be joined by Dorcy Pruter for a four-day collaborative training. The mental health professionals who train with both of us will leave as the best trained professionals on the planet in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of complex court-involved family conflict.

We’re getting rid of “experts” and are instead establishing boundaries of competence for all mental health professionals working with court-involved family conflict pathology. The standard of practice for professional competence is to know everything there is to know about the pathology, and then read journals to stay current.

In 2020, we will begin training to that standard.

3. Research – CCPI

I would very much like to enlist some university-based research over here.

It is sorely needed.

There is zero actual-real research over here, and nearly everything is opinion pieces. The only “research” are a few soft retrospective self-report studies with problematic operational definitions of constructs.

We need to get some actual scientifically grounded research over here. My goal for 2020 and beyond is to get university-based researchers involved in collaborative pilot program research with the family courts for solutions.

In addition, I would like to get university-based researchers hooked up to Dorcy Pruter (through a Memorandum of Understanding; MOU) regarding trauma recovery and family pathology surrounding divorce.

She’s not a psychologist. She’s not in a university doing research. She’s a businesswoman, she’s a professional life and family coach, and she is out here actively recovering children from complex trauma and child abuse. She’s not the one at the university doing research, that’s all of you.

I’ve worked with top-tier researchers at UCLA (Keith Nuechterlein, Ph.D.; schizophrenia) and UCI (Jim Swanson, Ph.D.; ADHD). Those are both top of their respective fields. I absolutely know what top-tier NIMH research looks like. The research coming from a collaboration with Dorcy Pruter and the Conscious Co-Parenting Institute will be of that caliber.

She is not the principle investigator, that’s you. She is a consultant collaborator through an MOU. You’re the researcher, she’s the consultant in recovery from complex trauma.

On a scale of 1-to-100, I’d put Keith Nuechterlein and Jim Swanson at 98, I’d put Amy Baker’s research at about 10 and Jennifer Harman’s at about 5, retrospective self-reports on samples of convenience are just about worthless as research. When I think research, I think the MTA multi-site research on ADHD or Sroufe’s longitudinal research on attachment, or Nuechterlein’s research on schizophrenia.

My professional estimate of the research potential from a major university collaboration with Dorcy Pruter and CCPI is that it would yield research product in the 90-95 range. Superior and substantial.

Whoever develops a research collaboration with Dorcy Pruter and CCPI will be an incredibly happy researcher. My professional estimate from my background with other research at UCLA and UCI is there will be at least 10 years of very productive trauma and attachment research from that collaboration, as well as substantial research on solutions for court-involved family conflict.

You’re the researcher. That’s you. She is a trauma recovery consultant on an MOU agreement.

Dorcy’s a businesswoman, a life and family coach, and a child of alienation herself. She has a recovery workshop for complex trauma and child abuse that can fully recover the child’s healthy and normal-range development gently and in a matter of days. And she has more.

Her workshop approach has application across a range of trauma-involved pathologies, from substance abuse recovery to prison recidivism. And she has more.

I’m hoping 2020 sees the emergence of research opportunities from university collaborations, both through university-led evaluation research of pilot program solutions for the family courts, as well as through separate MOU collaborations with Dorcy Pruter and CCPI across multiple levels.

4. Vitae & Standards of Practice

The exploitation of these parents stops. The destruction of their lives, and the lives of their children, stops.

I’ll be bringing personal-professional “peer-review” and standards of practice to court-involved clinical psychology. I am an old-school conservative clinical psychologist. If you’ve ever seen the John Houseman character in Paper Chase… My manner is gentler, but no less direct and clear.

I will begin this focus on improving standards of professional practice by focusing on vitaes. To do this, I become the first review. It is incumbent upon me to establish my professional foundations and qualifications to review the vitaes and professional practices of others. I have.

My vitae is available online for review: Dr. Chldress Vitae

I have a YouTube Series regarding my vitae: Dr. Childress: YouTube Vitae Series

I have background professional education, training, and experience, evident on my vitae, in the following domains:

Attachment pathology

Trauma and child abuse

Family systems therapy (all schools and theorists)

ADHD and school behavior problems

Oppositional-defiant and conduct disorder

Juvenile justice pathology

Autism-spectrum pathology

Pediatric psychology (including Munchausen by proxy; DSM-5 Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another).

Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders

Early childhood mental health and the neuro-development of the brain in childhood.

I consider the standard for professional competence is knowing everything there is to know about the pathology, and then reading journals to stay current. That has been the accepted standard of practice everywhere I have ever worked. I am asserting that personal standard for professional competence with the above pathology domains.

Now I wish to peer review my professional colleagues.

If you challenge my authority fine, lets hear your challenge. Otherwise…

The financial rape and exploitation of these parents stops. The destruction of their lives and the lives of their children… stops.

I have prepared two evaluation instruments to assist in my analysis of professional reports:

Checklist of Applied Knowledge

Vitae Documentation Form

This is consistent with my role as a clinical psychology consultant to parents and their attorneys. I am currently and will be providing a review of mental health reports using these two instruments for the Custody Resolution Method.

This “Psychology Tagging” of mental health reports and vitaes is a stand-alone service offered through the Custody Resolution Method (Dorcy Pruter; CCPI), as well as an included service in their larger data-tagging of data sets offered through the Custody Resolution Method (CRM).

If parents or their attorneys believe it would be helpful to have the mental health reports in their matter reviewed directly by Dr. Childress using the Checklist of Applied Knoweledge and Vitae Documentation Form, contact the Conscious Co-Parenting Institute and ask about their “Psychology Tagging” of mental health reports.

5. Dublin, 2020

I will be presenting in Dublin, Ireland April 18-19 at the Alex Hotel. I will be joined by Dorcy Pruter. On Saturday, I will discuss foundations, assessment, and diagnosis. On Sunday, Dorcy Pruter and Dr. Childress discuss solutions.

I anticipate this is the last initiative I will take in Europe, and I will more directly focus my attentions on the United States and Canada. I believe the emerging forces for change in the Netherlands are on a positive path of consideration, I would like to open up Spanish language translations and collaborations.

Our seminars in Dublin in April will bring excellence in professional knowledge and standards of practice to the British isles. England is the home of John Bowlby and attachment. That they should be self-inflicting attachment pathology on their families is entirely unnecessary and deeply unfortunate.

I am hoping that Cafcass will take the opportunity afforded by Dr. Childress and Dorcy Pruter traveling to Dublin to attend and engage the dialogue on the application of knowledge and solutions.

We present on Saturday and Sunday. During the week, the Gardnerian PAS “experts” have a full conference offering their perspectives. This represents the perfect opportunity to hear both positions, side-by-side, consider, and make informed decisions on the path forward.

I am recommending the development of three pilot programs for the family courts (AB-PA/High Road is one, develop two more). Recruit university involvement for implementation and evaluation research. Implement the pilot programs, collect data, see what works. Do that.

In April, Dr. Childress & Dorcy Pruter travel to Ireland. Registration is available on my website, scroll down the page.

Dr. Childress & Dorcy Pruter: Dublin, April 18-19

1. Diagnosis

I’d like to get my second book out and published in 2020, An Attachment-Based Model of Parental Alienation: Diagnosis. We’ll see what happens. These are milestones on the path, it’s like giving birth to children. Women, I feel your pain. That – has to come ouf of – me? I guess so. You’ve heard the formulations and echoes in my Alliance posts this past year.

Foundations, Diagnosis, and Treatment. I’m envisioning three. We’ll see how much I can get done.

Clinical Psychology: Assessment leads to diagnosis, and diagnosis guides treatment. The assessment is always directed to the referral question. What’s the referral question? The assessment is designed around the referral question, the assessment answers the referral question.

Referral Question: Which parent is the source of pathogenic parenting creating the child’s attachment pathology, and what are the treatment implications?

That is a limited-scope and focused referral question that can be answered. Which parent is creating the child’s attachment pathology, and how do we fix it?

We need a treatment plan. Treatment is guided by diagnosis. You tell me the diagnosis, and I’ll tell you the treatment plan.

A persecutory delusion. An echo of trauma and abuse from many years ago. A shared persecutory delusion imposed on the child. A shared delusion (ICD-10 F24 Shared Psychotic Disorder).

From the American Psychiatric Association:

From the APA: “Usually the primary case in Shared Psychotic Disorder is dominant in the relationship and gradually imposes the delusional system on the more passive and initially healthy second person… Although most commonly seen in relationships of only two people, Shared Psychotic Disorder can occur in larger number of individuals, especially in family situations in which the parent is the primary case and the children, sometimes to varying degrees, adopt the parent’s delusional beliefs.” (p. 333)

A shared persecutory delusion, use the BPRS to anchor the symptom rating. This is not new knowledge, there is no “new theory” – the established knowledge of professional psychology, the ICD-10 and the DSM-5

Pathogenic parenting that is creating a delusional-psychotic pathology in the child is a DSM-5 diagnosis of V995.51 Child Psychological Abuse. Mental health professionals need to step-up to their professional obligations in diagnosis and the assessment of pathology.

The ICD-10 and DSM-5 are not new. We need a treatment plan. Treatment depends on diagnosis. You tell me the diagnosis, and I’ll tell you the treatment.

Craig Childress, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist, PSY 18857