#but I really do appreciate the characterizations

[twelvemonkeyswere]

Brienne and Femininity (and Masculinity)

I’ve been musing how one of the most important topics in Brienne's storyline is femininity, and even though her story isn't finished, we can fairly see what some of her major themes are around this—particularly, how performing or failing at performing femininity affects her both internally and externally.

Often I see people pointing out that, in spite of all of Brienne’s traditionally masculine ways—her clothes, her skill set, her body shape, to name a few—she does not fully reject femininity. That she likes little cute animals and fairy tales and wears dresses, and is shy and blushes frequently. This is an important point because, very often, fantasy settings made the assumption that a woman can only be taken seriously if she goes beyond “her womanhood” and acts and thinks “like a man,” as opposed to other girls who are too busy mending or wanting romance. Brienne challenges those tendencies that GRRM saw in his contemporaries. Things have changed a lot since (hello The Locked Tomb, for example), but you can still see where he is working from, and how many of the aspects of Brienne's story still resonate with more modern audiences because, well, sexism hasn't stopped existing. It's also important because the larger asoiaf and got fandoms often refuse to see this side of her, reducing her to a walking sword or a cardboard cut out of a pushover.

Now, my main issue here is that I feel several interpretations of Brienne have now gone on the other direction, and focus so much on Brienne PERFORMING traditional femininity—wearing luxurious dresses, using make up, accepting lavishing gifts, or wondering if she can be desired, for example—that we've gone sometimes on the opposite direction. I feel like many times we’re afraid or do not know how to approach characterizing her as someone who rejects aspects of femininity without making her into another “not like other girls” stereotype.

My two cents on the matter is that if we focus too much in what Brienne can't but "wants" to perform, we forget that she is, in fact, gladly rejecting some common impositions of femininity in her society.

Beginning with swordplay at a young age, for example, she was very glad to ditch a more traditional education in order to learn how to fight the way we know men are taught in asoiaf/got. She is also explicitly more comfortable in men's clothes. We all like the scene where Jaime makes an effort to give her a dress and she appreciates it, but we don't even find out what happened to the dress, because, presumably, the dress itself is not THAT important, at least not as much as the fact Jaime gave her gifts as a form of appreciation. Dresses have been used in Brienne's past to mock her (the event with the bear being the most recent one), and the important part is that Jaime is the only one who has given her one without that ulterior motive. The point of the scene is that where everyone undermines and underestimates her, he is acting the opposite way. We’re seeing how the relationship between them has evolved and that he is doing his best to mend what has happened and what he has done. She is given a dress and a sword as symbols that someone else in the story is beginning to appreciate her for all she is.

Beyond that, we even get details on the old shield Brienne got at Harrenhal, but not a word about the dress. Brienne explicitly doesn't really like being in dresses, she prefers mail and breeches, and feels more at ease in them than anything else. This is not her hating dresses because she is above them. I can’t remember well but as far as we know it’s just her preference: I don’t recall her saying she hates dresses, just that she prefers trousers. She must have been wearing dresses her whole life! It’s not likely she is unused to them. But we do know the act of being given a dress is important in Brienne’s story. The problem is not that they can’t make dresses for her, the problem is that everyone who forces her to wear a dress wants to signal how lacking she is as a woman, trying to fit her in a box too small for her real shape and then mocking her because she doesn’t meet their standard. The problem is they want to make her uncomfortable and they want to humiliate her, because she dares to exist in a way that doesn’t conform to patriarchal ideals. And the problem is that she likes to wear trousers and mail. She likes to wear masculine clothes, and they want her to be very aware of how much they disapprove.

And we also hear a great deal about marrying and having children out of duty. There's a certain loss she feels there because she believes that, at that point, all those missed opportunities will never present themselves again. All her life, she grew up with a dichotomy that dictated that the chance of having a family or children was through duty or none at all, because she is her father’s heir and—they kept telling her—nobody would want an ugly, masculine, temperamental girl as a wife. They could only want her for the money she brought. The point of the story is that, once again, failing the standards of femininity has forced her into a mentality where she thinks she can’t be loved because nobody would like who and what she is. But even then, even with that thorn in her mind, she still feels relieved she didn't have to perform these particular duties. The only thing she’s sad about is that she thinks she's missed any chance at having a family at all and will never know what that might be like. She doesn’t actively want babies or even to be married. She is still young, and at least to me, she seems to view these things in hypothetical rather than explicit goals or wants. She thinks that, at 20, there is no opportunity for her to experience these things because of how her society works. It’s the lack of choice that she mourns, down the line. But she rejects that particularly role that femininity imposes on her now. She didn’t want it, and she is happy it didn’t go through. She literally fought an old man to prove how much she didn’t want those impositions.

All this is interesting to me because Brienne also sort of thinks of herself as her father's son as well as her father's daughter. It almost slips her mouth once or twice. She is aware, I think, that many times the differences between a son and a daughter boil down not really to gender but to the sort of duty they perform. And she wants to do the sorts of things sons do, too. Men regularly learned to fight and wore the clothes she liked best and used hard-earned skills in a way she wanted to use them. There are layers to this (we’ll get to that in a bit) but she is, I think, very aware of her masculinity, and, if left to her own devices, she seems comfortable in it. The problem is she is NOT left to her own devices.

Most of Brienne's self doubt comes from outside forces. As a woman, they underestimate her. As a woman, they think she is stupid. As a gender non-conforming woman, every jape uttered goes directly to her womanhood. As a woman, if she looks the way she does and dresses the way she does and fights the way she does, when she expresses any vulnerable emotion, any shred of “femininity,” she is mocked for it. She likes dancing and beautiful things and pretty boys but a woman as masculine as she is is not the sort of person who gets to express those preferences without judgment from those around her.

The point is Brienne’s world wants her miserable either way: being unable to be a woman the way they demand of her, because she is too much “like a man” for it, or being unable to be a man, because she is too much a woman for that. The point is she can’t win regardless of what she does. Because that’s how sexism works.

But Brienne’s story is, I think, one about choices. The thing is that the world makes it harder for her, but she shouldn't have to be one thing or the other. She shouldn’t have to be defined by one or the other. If she wants to fight in the mud and smell roses and wear chain-mail and talk to charming men, she should be able to choose all of those things. I think it’s easy to focus too much in what aspects of femininity Brienne likes or dislikes instead of looking at what the story is proposing, which is to look at what Brienne,as a person, likes or dislikes. What she wants. Her parallel story to Jaime is about how the world will always try to put folks in boxes, especially those who, for some reason or another, do not easily fit in those boxes. The question is not “what feminine/masculine parts of Brienne is she happy performing” but rather “what does Brienne want, and why does she feel like she cannot get it and doesn't dare ask.”

This is also what drives her to servitude. There’s a phrase out there that says that if you don’t think you can be liked, you try to become useful, so at least there’s a reason to keep you around. It’s heartbreaking to see how Brienne’s vision of herself has been so skewed by the emotional abuse, parental neglect, and bullying she’s experienced since a young age. She doesn’t think anyone will grow close to her, so at least she can be close to people by serving them. She wants to put her skills to use, she wants to find a place where she fits, where she can be more herself, but she isn’t sure what that looks like or how to find it. She’s still searching, and learning many things on the way.

And Brienne is still very young. We can see her confidence growing and her worldview challenged and she is beginning to see the realities of herself and of the world around her through various trials by fire. Misogyny makes her feel incomplete, but we know the things she trusts about herself while simultaneously seeing the way she constantly doubts others. How she can't never express all of herself without constant judgment or mockery.

I feel like yes, the fact Brienne doesn't reject all traditional femininity is really important to her themes, but by extension, it's as important that shedoes reject some of those traditional expressions of femininity. What she is truly rejecting is imposition, not femininity. What she truly needs to embrace is freedom, not masculinity. She's making her own vows, breaking her own promises, going through her own mistakes. She is learning the hard way. Agency in a world of limited choices is one of Brienne's main themes too. There are moral issues that go deep within her story as well as examinations of the effects of war and the struggle to find authenticity and connection in a community that refuses to acknowledge yours, a community drenched in pretense and lost in performance.

And I think it’s easy to get too caught up in her wanting to be a girlfriend or a mother or wearing a dress that we bypass the whole conversation around why that matters at all. I feel like Brienne's success isn't going to come from her fully embracing all her feminine traits or fully accepting all her masculine traits but from being able, down the line, to be exactly who she is.

#i was looking at my drafts and here are some scrambled ideas I had that I wanted to release so I've tried to make them more organized #brienne of tarth #asoiaf

[waywardstation]

I love the train of thought au! I hate Tumblr though, especially mobile Tumblr. Had to scroll for 30~20 minutes to reach the bottom of the tag. (Mobile Tumblr reloaded at least a few times and I almost threw my phone. I think I cried twice in frustration.)

I am absolutely foaming at the mouth because I've always liked the way Ingo and Emmet get presented, the characterizations are just so... Mwah 🤭.

For some reason the only thing I could think about after spending an entire night reading that wall of posts was the concept of big brother Ingo.

Sorry if I'm ranting here, it really has nothing pertaining to the au at all but I hate this concept, especially the societal concept that the older brother takes care of the younger one. Twins especially since they are usually born minutes from each other and that really doesn't mean anything different in experience.

Yes, Emmet is younger but I've always pictured him as the headstrong one that stands up for Ingo more often than not. (Honestly that's the vibe they give off collectively). I like to think of them as not in a big brother, little brother dynamic but a "we been through so much shit together we support each other fully" dynamic. I do understand why people like using it though.

Wait, what was this post about again? I swear I'm not trying to negatively rant right after bringing up stuff that plagued my mind while reading. I guess all I want to say is thank you for hosting this wonderful community au on your blog.

Expect Tumblr crabs in your blog later on. This is a warning.

Hey there OP! Glad you like it, I do too!!! (Still working on that masterpost ^^;) and apologies with tumblr mobile, I know it’s not the best with optimization!

I’m putting a readmore below because I got a lot more detailed than I intended to, regarding Ingo and Emmet’s sibling dynamic.

I like your views because it really isn’t as black and white (ha) as all that. I am a twin myself, the younger between us (and also by a few minutes) and throughout our lives it certainly has gone back and forth with us, but there’s really no definite position of looking after the other, just like with any other sibling relationship.

Given how Ingo and Emmet are, I imagine their dynamic very similar to what you’re talking about, being each others’ full supporters. Multiple lines in Masters EX show this, like these few from Emmet:

"Ingo and I are twins. We're both Subway Bosses, and we're each other's closest rival! We always challenge each other to get better. That's the kind of relationship we have! It's always a lot of fun when we're together!"

However, I feel like Ingo might feel… I don’t want to say obligated, because it’s certainly not work, and he knows very well Emmet can fend for himself, but perhaps inclined (pressured? By himself??) to carry through with what’s normally expected of an older brother. He might feel like he should look out for Emmet when he can:

“My younger brother, Emmet, would always entertain passengers on the Battle Subway... Now he is enjoying being a host here on Pasio. However, he's still new to this style of hospitality. Would you mind keeping an eye on him?"

And this might be somewhat spurred by the fact that Emmet looks up to Ingo, which I am sure Emmet has made Ingo aware of - he just might not want to let Emmet down:

"Do you have any siblings? I have an older brother, Ingo. He's verrrry strong. He hardly ever loses in Pokémon battles. Even though I also hold the title of Subway Boss, I really look up to him."

I do feel Emmet is very ready to support Ingo as well, seeing as how in their story event in Masters EX, Emmet was trying very hard to help Ingo with a project of theirs:

"I want to make Ingo’s idea a reality! Please, let me do this!"

And regarding your thoughts that of the two, Emmet is more headstrong, I feel similarly, and think he would always very clearly stand up for Ingo when needed.

I do headcanon that growing up, Emmet was more outgoing than Ingo (and that this led him to meeting Elesa, the new exchange student at their school, and taking her over to Ingo to introduce her to him, since he was more reserved and shy - not terribly so, but more so than Emmet)

ALL IN ALL - both Ingo and Emmet fully support and help each other out whenever they need it. And while Ingo might feel pressured by himself to look out for Emmet as the older brother, Emmet naturally does it for Ingo just as much, if not a little more, simply due to his outgoing nature

To try and tie this back to Train of Thought AU, I’m sure Akari and Irida would see a lot of moments expressing this dynamic of theirs in the many memory traincars throughout the mind station.

AND MG Emmet himself is pretty much a monument to this. MG Emmet is doing everything he can to keep Ingo safe from the Remnant and to protect him, even at his own expense to some degree. MG Emmet might only be a mental projection of how Ingo sees his brother, but the fact that MG Emmet is doing that means Ingo knows Emmet would do things like that for him, and he would.

Thanks for your ask OP!!! Very glad you like the AU, and happy you gave me a chance to go into all of this - I did not expect to dissect things like I did haha.

(And tumblr crabs? oh boy!!! Those would be my first!!)

#train of thought au #<-loosely #all lines are from Pokémon Masters EX #and I know that game isn’t canon to the Pokémon lore it is its own thing #but I really do appreciate the characterizations #and stick to it a lot #Emmet looking up to Ingo is reciprocated by the way #Ingo really admires Emmet both as a battler and as a person

[letulthi]

I have so many of these liI goobers so uh

Here you go I guess, Vessel OCs I don't know what to do with but really enjoyed creating! And, just so you know how screwed my brain is about this! These are three (3) out of THIRTY ONE (31!!) total that I've made over the past few weeks (the rest are still in messy sketch phase tho)

AKA I might have a problem

...

Anyway! If anyone has a Vessel OC they want to see in this sort of style send an ask or reblog with a description/refs or something - idk I'm bored and sick in bed so I have nothing else to do but draw Vessel (yay!) and try to get less sick (oof)

#hollow knight #vessel oc #i really don't know what to do with them #should i uh #do adopts for some of them? #theyd be free or very cheap since i dont know how i would ever really be able to give all 31 a full characterization #but also i physically cannot stop doodling more lil vessels #so #idk #suggestions are very welcome and appreciated #oc art

[elitadream]

I am incredibly serious when I say I have the biggest crush on your Mario. Granted, I have mad a crush on him since I was about 4. But your Mario makes me feral.

Oh Anon, you don't know how happy this makes me! 😍

I always make a conscious effort to pour as much gentleness, compassion, selflessness and humility as I can into Mario's characterization and present him in a way that feels both genuine and comforting, so to hear that my version stands out to some of you really means a lot to me! 🥹

Be it for the elements I've mentioned or purely his visual aesthetic (I also love when people tell me they find my Mario handsome! 😄💕), that kind of feedback is always an absolute treat to get and I highly thank you for it! 😁

#Bless 😭💗 #I'm honored that my Mario is crush material 😏🤭 #I really appreciate that! xD 💘 #But seriously tho: I honestly do #Always makes my day! 🤗 #Thanks again :3 #asks #mario #fanart and fanwork #characterization #thoughts and ramblings

[zukkaoru]

i think. everyone should stop reading my most popular fics that aren't really that good and start reading the ones with 18 kudos that are significantly better

#this is about (just wanna be) somebody i'm proud of #yes i had fun writing it. but it's REALLY NOT THAT GOOD #also i cannot stress this enough: that fic was a fluke #it's NOT a good example of what i write. guys i'm so much better at the angsty character study fics #i promise i actually can get proper characterization. i had to sacrifice some of that for the light-hearted stupid cheesy premise #alas #no one in fandom actually cares about characterization #ngl sometimes i even wonder what the point of writing stuff in-character is if the flat #'characters reduced to a single trait that they may or may not even possess' #fics will ALWAYS end up being more popular than the ones with good characterization #anyway i know why the 18 kudos one is so low. it's the mcd tag. AND it's a gen fic centered around a character no one cares about #i wasn't expecting that one to do well #but it does suck that like. my most popular fics will never actually be my best ones #it's the same with bsd but THAT'S a whole other story #that's the phenomenon of everyone reducing bsd to the skk show and not giving the time of day to fics centered around anyone else #do u guys realize there are SO many other INCREDIBLE characters and dynamics???? #like i was doing that bsd fic rec event on twt and almost all of the fics recced were skk #meanwhile i was searching for anything NOT skk bc idk other ships and characters deserve appreciation too?? #and i don't even read much skk bc it's so hard to find anything that's. like. ACTUALLY good. #anyway. i don't actually care if you read somebody i'm proud of #but i hate that that's like. one of my most popular fics by a longshot #i have stuff that is so much better that people won't even glance at bc it's not tagged with the most popular m/m ship in the fandom #hello grace here

[paintpanic]

> Someone remind me to elaborate on how I want to characterize Kirby later

:) ? I'm curious now

Like I said on the post that prompted this, he's a nice silly boy who's also the strongest being in the known universe. He's pretty emotionally mature for his age and always wants to help people out. Kirby radiates positivity to everyone around him. He's the kind of person that makes a really great friend.

He loves simple pleasurable things, like eating and sleeping and playing. When he's not saving the world, he's out somewhere enjoying himself, probably with a buddy.

His life isn't perfect. He's unsure of himself and doubts if he deserves everything he's got. He feels guilty for not always being able to save everyone, regardless if that's even possible. He loses his patience sometimes, most often with people like Marx or Magolor who like to push his buttons. He struggles with identifying and dealing with his feelings, especially negative ones.

When he feels bad, though, his friends have his back. They care about him a lot, especially his closest friends like Bandana Waddle Dee and Gooey.

#kirby series #kirby #hope this is coherent #i really appreciate it when people (*cough* like kaissauce) really flesh out his personality and give him problems to worry about #so often i see him characterized as like. this stupid baby who has to be taken care of by our REAL protagonists: MK and DDD #stop sidelining the main character. do something interesting with him. learn to write children well. im begging. #every character deserves to be complicated and three dimensional. im sick of characters like kirby and gooey being reduced to- #-one dimensional babies in favor of focusing on like shipping or whatever. #ok done ranting in the tags of this two week old ask. #sorry again for the late reply. gotta wait until i'm motivated to write and feeling confident enough to share to answer these.

[sysig]

Reading moodboard #84430940 (Patreon)

#Doodles #I wonder what this is in reference to lol - could be anything really! #Bit funny actually - I was reading something else in overlap at the time - a fic from another fandom though it ended up not being for me #Different authors just speak to different people! It was fun to come back to something familiar and realize Just how much I appreciate it ah #Novel and familiar! My very favourite <3 And of course it was a wonderful experience on top of that hehe ♪♫ #Numbers lol - I really have done way too much age headcanon math pfft #I just love timelines! And even if the hints aren't exact they /are/ hints and I'm going to use them!! #The numbers that are established are such fun markers - and using characterization as hints towards how many years have passed! Ah! ♪ #Like how it's definitely possible that Max took a two year but considering his family he was probably pushed to do a four year #There's no confirmation either way but it's just so fun to consider what they'd do based on how they're written! #These are the kind of written math problems I enjoy hehe #I was being a bit self-deprecating for that doodle actually tho lol - art mimics life and all that pfft #Also confirmation of him being a Lit Major ❤️💕💖💞💗 Small details give me big love you must understand this lol #As evidenced lol ♪ Adding to my playlist definitely didn't help it very strongly upgraded to Big Love for like a week straight lol #Terrible ♪ Couldn't stand it <3 Genuinely painful ♫ #Lol - ''finding'' more - it's what had my blood on fire! I'm so grateful for mirrors #Anyone who's been following me for a while knows I have this whole thing about Legacy and what you leave behind and the internet in general #That the internet is forever except when it's not - that plenty of things get deleted or lost etc. etc. and it makes me very sad :( #So seeing that there was an in-built preservation - it only saved Some things but anything saved is precious!! It made me very happy <3 #And then finishing off 💔💕 Beautifully heartbreaking ah #Even skim-reading later made me cry again! It's deeply affecting hhh #Another experience I'm so happy to be able to have ♥ Another tally on the wall haha <3

[criticaaaaaaaal]

me about to read a shadowpeach fanfic only to notice that its tagged with “wukong is a bad person” or “wukong traumatized macaque” or “wukong hate club” or anything akin to that

#critical watches monkie kid #OK . OK I WILL SAY: #i totally understand evil/dark wukong aus. i get it. i like them. i appreciate them. i understand #and i can see WHY ppl write them. wukong is a character you can make mean easily #and mac is a character a lot of people relate to #and a lot of people really like him (i do too!) #i can see WHY ppl dote on him in fanfics or make him very much a victim of outside things #i see you and i appreciate you #but also i just. man. i feel like people forget that wukong is actually a good person and just want to always write him as this - #one dimensional abuser or something #and again : if you DO want to just write him as that as a fic au or SOMETHING by all means go ahead #no hate here #i think im just. :( i just wanna read a fanfic i guess where wukong isnt this one dimensional monster #if youre gonna make him evil/dark but keep it in line with the original characterizations (esp the ones in monkie kid) at least ......... #idk ......... make it like . make it more then one dimensional? gah #this post is spurred on by the fact i saw a fanfic a lot of shadowpeach ppl were chatting about #and i looked into it (i havent read it. yet. i might) #and it seems to have the same premise of macaque is trying to escape wukong who is a nasty abuser! #and like. ok. im SURE its a lot more than that (i hope) #i jusssssstrttttttt #blaarghhhh

[lemongogo]

ep 9 thoughts

#i stopped halfway thru HAJHAAJA #i think im coming 2 the conclusion that i can only rly appreciate stamp from an outside perspective #i.e when ppl post edits or whatever #even from like a Show Design standpoint i think the pacing is really bizarre #and im not even talking ab the story itself right. like moreso just character interactions and expressions #nothing really lingers or lasts and i feel like theres no big Oomph to scenes #when i saw the edit of knives fighting the guards it looked SOOO COOL #but when it happened in the show like.. the music wasnt rly fitting and theres a lack of environmental sfx outside of blood splats / metal #its soo hard to explain but somethinf is just MISSINGGG .. also when vash passed out for like .2 sexonds i laughed what was that #blink and u miss it kind of thing.. and vash losing his arm didnt feel suspenseful .. like i want to wnjoy the edits so much #*enjoy the reimagining #but you barely see luida (WAS THAT LUIDA FRR HWLP SHE LOOKS SO DIFFERENT) #you see hee for two seconds and suddenly this like monotone convo turns into omg vash angel arm WHAAT but u arent actually saying WHAAAT bc #u ddint have time to process anything and then its alr over . i just cant get into it im sry IM SRYY!! #and . i do generally just pref the structure of max and the intentional narrative choices w everything #the way knives cuts his arm off in anger in max vs like ‘to save himm❤️’ in stamp is much better @ characterizing him me thinks .. #overall i just think the manga had a better idea of what msg it wanted to convey whereas stamp is just a mixed grabbag of max references #trigun #trigun spoilers

[themyscirah]

Simon's flash forward of the future being Jess' first appearance... 🤵🏾‍♂️💍👰🏽‍♀️ anyone???

#broooooo i simply think that they- #dgjgdjgdjdgjdgjgdjfgjgdjgdjgdjyd losing my mind over them actually. like going insane #this makes me sooooooo crazy actually #barely any simon content and then they throw down THIS. in the middle of an absolutes wildass ending... #which i will definitely go into because like. THEY MADE KYLE JESUS??!?!?!?! #like okay not literally but WHAT ELSE WAS HE INVOKING THERE #and hal and carol getting married and having kids??? like ok ig? i have complicated feelings abt halcarol as individ characters but together #they rlly have a 'ur perfect for each other. never involve anyone else in what you have going on' vibe to me #dont rlly care abt them that much though so whatevs #also yrra as john's political trophy wife?????? literally what. #just... very interesting. on so many levels really. idk what johns was doing there #APPRECIATE the simon bit though. my shipper brain approves #say what you will abt geoff johns but that man can do some rockstar simon baz characterization frrrr #anyways..... #blah #lanterns #simon baz #jessica cruz #simonjess #green lantern #dc comics #panelposting #swishy liveblogs

[arolesbianism]

I’ve been thinking abt one of my older oni colonies and decided to doodle my first three dupes in that save

#keese draws #oxygen not included #but yeah these guys were my main scientist digger and rancher respectively #this was one of my actual spaced out style saves so ofc I chose the cold asteroid still #it was painful opening this save again to look at their traits as it was basically my first longer attempt #let’s just say I had no idea what I was doing and ran out of power literally everywhere #might do a rescue attempt on this save tbh sounds like a fun challenge #but yeah I actually have characterizations for most of the dupes in this save in my head they’re like semi ocs to me #they’re the ones I like to imagine fumbling about post olivia entering sleep mode #cause there’d be such a harsh contrast in how they’d all react and move forwards #burt in particular would take it rly hard mostly because he’s the only scientist #so everyone ends up looking to him for answers and help and he just doesn’t know how to provide any of it #he had already spent so long feeling overworked and under appreciated so this wouldn’t help at all #quinn on the other hand is generally more optimistic as they have gone through a lot of rough shit and made it out on the other side #so they see this as an obstacle they’ll all overcome and grow stronger from #they’re also just very used to being suddenly forced to say goodbye to people for potentially forever #harold was almost relieved by the whole event because it lead to a lot less activity in the neural chip network #which is in fact a big source of panic for most of the dupes but harold pretty much exclusively goes to like 3 rooms so he’s not as effected #he also just doesn’t like the noise of the hundreds of commands that he can’t even follow #he just manages the plants and the pips and sometimes helps with the cooking #he honestly really likes the freedom of figuring out what to do without instruction #as the pip farm he manages is very. well let’s just say pips tend to starve in there a lot #yknow thankfully I did give these guys a bunch of phones so at least they’d be able to still know what’s up with eachother still #still an uncomfortable feeling loosing that connection that you’ve been relying on for years

[brookheimer]

hey it’s the uh. angry roman anon again. not to out myself as an actual idiot (and possibly an illiterate) but i didn’t even register your blog name until you brought it up.

sorry for being so aggressive, that wasn’t very cool of me. i promise my rant wasn’t targeted at you, i kind of just picked the first blog i saw. your response was really insightful though, i appreciate you giving me the time of day!

LOLOL ur all good no worries!!! it happens fr. and hey if you ever want to read some loser's rambles about why roman roy is being such a dick (not that it's excused or valid or Sometimes People Are Fascists And Sexual Harassers Etc To Cope???? but more just like damn how'd he end up this way) boy do i have the blog for u :)))

#but yeah no him and gerri are downright painful to watch. and shit's only getting worse from here on out with Fascism Arc Time #that's what i'm here for though honestly!!!! i like it when people do terrible things and they're characterized with humanity and sympathy #anyways bc that's just kind of how people are! it's boring if they're evil and that's it. he's horrible and he's also deeply tragic and #doesn't take pleasure from these interactions with gerri at ALL and it makes so much sense given everything about him and it's not #out of blatant malice or sociopathic cruelty but something far sadder and more interesting -- good ole emotionality and humanity #he's fucking awful but he comes from a human place. like he is PAINFULLY human. which makes his momentsof inhumanity even harder to stomach #imo!!! #but for some people they're just like Man Fuck This Guy IDGAF and honestly valid. i just take issue w ppl who are like 'roman is a less #developed nuanced meaningful character than the other sibs' 'he's just evil perverted comic relief' bc he's so much more than that #but if the critique is man this guy's a fucking asshole i hate him then like yeah you're right he is LOL and not everyone finds that kind #of character really interesting so it really is a case of to each their own #anyways! appreciate u following up <3 no worries at all it was just a funny ask to receive like... hello? LOL #have a good rest of ur succsunday (pretend it isn't monday now) though #heheh #succession #asks #anon

[kiwibirdlafayette]

What are Ophi’s music tastes? or music you’d say is his theme?

!!! music music music 👀

I's say overall Ophi's a very musical theater kinda guy! :D I've always sorta wrote him as someone who loves showtunes and more pop music that derives from showtunes (I feel like he'd be really into AJR or whatever the mianite equivalent is) A lot of his motifs come from Hamilton and he also canonically knows about the barbie movie and the songs from it so take that as you will xD

His main character theme is Arrow by Folly and the Hunter ! To me the song's a lot about the fear of never finding and chasing down something that burns like a fire in your heart, calling you to something new and unknown- and finding the strength to leave behind all you've ever known and seeking it out- flying like an arrow towards it, a kind of freedom. It has a dual meaning as it represents Ophi's whole personality and drive to travel across the multiverse become a Dianitee in the face of everyone telling him not to/having to deal with leaving his family behind, and that his strength in combat is as an archer C:

I also have a playlist of his motifs for his character arcs during my mianite rpg POV, currently his arc is represented by Inertia by AJR :D

#I love talking about music i really do haha #i have a habit of like. writing to music like characterization/points in a story are tied to certain songs #thank you for the ask! :D is much appreciated #mianite oc #ophiuchus durabak #mianiterpg #lafakiwi talks #asks #licantropa #the hamilton joke goes deep btw like. the first time i wrote Ophi. #he was an RP character with my friends and we made a hamilton AU once and Ophi was Ham 😭 I made a whole animatic of him and my friends OC to #but now i cant like unassociate him so my shot and farmer refuted is on his current playlist bc even though its a different universe it stil #it still works

[moe-broey]

Man it truly sucks that like. The dude who did Planet of the Bass is a piece of shit LMFAO cause like. I feel like the DJ Crazy Times outfits PERFECTLY captured Moe's fashion sense and doodling those outfits spurred on A Bunch of ideas and I was having a lot of fun and even like an epiphany that spurred on a separate deeply self-indulgent project/concept (complete opposite end of the spectrum of indulgence) and then I find out ohhhhh. You weren't Just making fun of the fashion of the times and like, how it feels when you can't process shit so everything sounds a bit funny, and also just like how early 2000s music Is Sometimes (DEEPLY feel the song itself is SO DDR core ESP like... how it's just a bunch of vague jumbled concepts that's catchy AS FUCK) -- you're also a grown ass man still weirdly fixated on your autistic classmate you had in 3rd grade or some shit (have not looked at the vids myself and don't wish to, but from what I've heard it's essentially that).

(Further clarification -- he's making fun of autistic kids who had like, very typical and understandable Needs to accommodate being autistic in a classroom. As a grown adult. Like why are you even still thinking about this LMFAOOO move on, grow up LMFAOOO)

#is this how it feels when you realize ohh they were laughing At Me not with me #cause like growing up i was either passably likable enough that i escaped that OR i was too autistic to notice if it did happen #OR secret third option people were scared of me. #so like i was immune to bullying actually. could not effect me in a way that mattered #also i'm just trusting that word has spread enough that you already have the context. i'm not putting that shit on my blog LMFAOOO #THAT'S LIKE. one of my blog rules. i like to keep it as free from societal horrors and ills and prejudice as possible. #anyway. idk what i'm gonna do now actually. bc i still really had fun drawing/it really captured something in moe's characterization #PLUS it captured something SO significant about its dynamic w sharena as well actually #like yeah it was gonna be a shitpost but it was also a launching off point that like cracked by brain wide open #also i still think the song is SO good. it's SO funny it's so DDR core it's like a masterpiece. to me. #like is this a fnaf case where upon finding out scott bitchboy was quietly donating his profits to anti-lgbt orgs #where i so badly (esp when i was younger) was hoping he was one of the actually good christians who Aren't weirdo freaks about gay people #and upon finding all that out i just blacklisted everything to do w fnaf. but also acknowledging that was easy enough for me #cause it wasn't like a Huge interest of mine it was just something kind of fun that i liked from afar #or do i somehow like. carry on? like esp if the dude isn't profiting from me being autistic LMFAOO #is it possible to just. know and accept that he's a piece of shit weirdo take what i liked/inspired me and leave. #well. in any case. for now i'm keeping the dj crazy times stuff i rb'd on my moecore blog for reference #but depending on the consensus (i would deeply appreciate hearing others thoughts on this if anyone has any) #i may just wipe it clean and scrap the shitposts. i mean. i have other projects i wanna work on anyway LMFAO

[gen-is-gone]

Legit getting so *fucking* annoyed by this fic and its literally insulting level of mischaracterization of so fucking much bc the writer has time to write 150k+ words of fanfic in a month but apparently no time to so much as glance at a wiki for basic plot and character details, let alone read the damn comics, but now I'm 150k+ words committed and I am still genuinely interested to see how it ends but oh my fucking god would you just stick to hob gadling's jaunt thru the centuries and stop writing the Endless if you're gonna fuck up basic shit this badly and also mischaracterize actually important characters so badly that it is, again, literally fucking insulting to the original story??

#still vaguing #bc however irritated I am I am not so gouache and rude as to say this to them #and y'know clearly it's a labor of profound love and fandom is for everybody etc #but it's just also absolutely hitting critical mass among show only fans #and it's convincing ppl to watch the show who are then basically only watching for this one minor character #and fine whatever ppl can like whatever the fuck they like but #seriously it's so fucking insulting to only give a fuck about a character who is barely in it #fuck the monkey's paw of me wanting other ppl to appreciate hob gadling #has been slash fandom not only totally mowing over both his and dream's actually personalities for the sake of shipping tropes #but also mowing over the fucking plot of sandman in its entirety for the sake of shipping #ugh I *like* hob I like him a lot #but this really genuinely fucking sucks #and again it would be fine if this person wasn't rapidly achieving bnf status of the #'arbiter of fanon agreed-upon meta and characterization' level #while being flat fucking wrong about so much shit with truly embarrassing amounts of confidence #fuuuck I hate being mean I hate feeling like a grouch about how other ppl do fandom #I assure anyone listening that normally i am the monarch of live and let live don't give a shit #but sandman is where I hit my limit after 15+ years in fandom I guess #megan whines into the empty abyss of cyberspace

[vanivanvanilla]

Went and listened to Pinksift cause of your post and ooooo Yes yes they are very good, they are a vibe that I like! I think the lyrics go quite well with Zams character rn! (<- Hasnt watched Zams streams in a month and has no idea what it's talking about)!!!!

i’m glad you like them!! i found them a week or two ago and i’ve been obsessed ever since :D

and idk if you wanted an explanation for zam’s character but if you’re curious, basically zam is no longer a part of team awesome since he didn’t like them keeping duped items and he generally felt like he wasn’t a part of the team. zam stole the duped items without telling ro & mapicc and the three of them eventually met up to talk about these issues. this led to ro & mapicc killing zam, and all of this has caused zam a lot of stress so now he’s essentially back his early season 4 mindset that no one can be trusted & that he doesn’t want to be in any alliances

#asks #anon #also i appreciate ur faith in my characterization anon LOL zam’s character is so interesting to me #another big thing with zam is that with team awesome he pushed his morals to the side and he really regrets it #morals is a big thing w zam he wants to do the right thing and on team awesome he can’t do that when they’re considered villains