#dossier on a damsel in distress | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

josieoh · 1 year

Text

[ moon gayoung, cis woman, she/her ] - was that JOSIE OH i saw by the lighthouse today? i heard that the TWENTY SIX year old who has been in nightrest for HER WHOLE LIFE and works as a PARALEGAL has a reputation of being PERSUASIVE, but also OBSESSIVE. they reside in ASHMORE & people in town usually associate them with ADAM AND EVE IN THE SECRET GARDEN, A DAMSEL WHO BECAME THE DISTRESS, & SILK SHEETS KISSING BARE SKIN. let’s hope the killer doesn’t go after them next. ╱ pinterest. dossier.

BRIEF BACKGROUND!

tbh i'm too lazy to do anything special with the bg so we just gonna have to agree to settle for this sry

raised in the shadows of her siblings, jealousy was the emotion most often felt, especially towards their mother's favourite jacob. tried to be the best kid, kept her grades up, got every award she could, played sports, danced, but nothing seemed to work to gain her parents attention ( or the attention of the adults taking care of them ). by her first year of high school, josie was over it. while she maintained her grades, she began hanging with the wrong crowd and leaning more into the black sheep persona among her peers while still trying to be the golden girl for her parents. nothing was off limits and by the time she graduated, she'd secured acceptance to a university out of state where she got her bachelors in paralegal studies. she took a year off to travel ( read: party ) and got together with the wrong guy. long story short, it was another two years before she was able to break away from that situation and finally come back home to nightrest where she's been putting her degree to good use ever since. -- basically she's been back nearly two years now.

HEADCANONS!

now onto her as a person.. she's a #Mess. petty, spiteful, overly confident, twisted, loves to argue and will literally do it just for shits and giggles ( even better if it pisses someone off ), does whatever she wants whenever she wants with no regard to other people and their feelings, and very i am woman, hear me roar. she's loyal to one person and that's herself ( and her siblings so ig 3 people ). here for a good time, not a long time. doesn't believe in anything that isn't a dress or skirt but wears pants suits to work bc the men she works with are pigs and she likes her job. speaking of her job, i imagine she works for one of the best lawyer firms in the area and specialises in criminal law, but she knows her way around business law too thanks to her parents ( yes she's still trying to find acceptance what of it ). takes her beauty seriously --- the type to have an extremely intensive skin care routine, work out routine, and diet. think like patrick bateman from american psycho sorta serious.. just minus the psychopathic murderer tendencies ( maybe. it's a surprise ). a practicing wiccan with an altar and all. will happily read your palm or tarot for free if you're a friend or for a "price" if she thinks you're hot enough. still a partier with nothing being off limits. has probably gotten really good at detoxing herself just in case there's ever a drug test at work. despite the fact that nothing's off limits and she's..well, her..she's very diligent when it comes to her job and probably one of the best around. organisation skills are on point, attention to detail is top tier, mistakes are an absolute no-no, etc etc. don't get her started, she can talk about how amazing she is forever still very much jealous of her older brother, but won't hesitate to add your ass to nightrest's body count if you fuck with him in even the SLIGHTEST way 😠 and did she settle in ashmore to be close to said brother? maybe. we don't talk about it. if you wanna help her help her bro find love tho......ig you can hit her up. just don't use her in an attempt to get to her brother. been there done that didnt want the ugly tshirt. did i mention she was a scrapper? bc she is, she just prefers to do so verbally due to her job ( tho given her parents, she's probably not likely to lose it even if only due to them trying to keep their rep in place ).

anyway she's an annoying lil hellion but i hope yall love her as much as i do thank u

#nightrest:intro

6 notes · View notes

pl9090 · 2 years

Text

The Eleven Day Empire’s Restoration

A late night thought that's probably stupid.

It's stated that Lolita consumed the Eleven Day Empire into her internal dimnsions, meaning that it still existed intact inside her. So could the Osirian attack on her led by the Faction allied Horus have forced her to regurgitate the Empire restoring it somehow without anyone knowing? The Loa's deal with Lolita would be nullifed by her death and the confusion/Osirian assistance might provide enough cover to stop the Timelords from noticing and preventing it?

Known surviving Faction remanant groups seem to have a knack for not knowing of each other's existance, none of them would bother to look for it as they think it's long gone, and maybe those inside it are being cautious?

Achille-Talon It's an intriguing line of thought.

I can't quite credit it as applicable to the timeline Obverse Books have set up: by the time of Spinning Jenny, Justine has apparently successfully restored the Faction to something like full power, and she's done this without restoring the physical Eleven-Day Empire. Various groups of survivors missing each other is one thing; but I don't believe two full-sized Factions could possibly miss each other.

(Also, when Mother and Father asked the loas to show them survivors of the catastrophe in The Story So Far, from the Book of the Peace Dossier, they pointedly did *not* see a restored Empire. Of course, you could plead that the loas are fickle and unreliable.)

But it's very possible that this was a possibility Lawrence Miles had in mind for a potential third season of Faction Paradox audios. I don't think, for the record, that Lolita was actually killed by Horus, merely lastingly incapacitated (the phrasing is too vague for it to have been a clear-cut death, I think; and it only makes sense, she was the audios' arch-villain, Miles was hardly going to kill her off without a backdoor). But whatever Horus did still might have released the Empire — or given its inhabitants a window of opportunity in which to free themselves, would be more my thinking. Are the assembled forces of the Faction Paradox mere damsels in distress who must wait for outside rescue? If they're alive in there, they've definitely been squabbling over escape plans the whole time Justine and Eliza were running around the Spiral Politic.

#faction paradox #eleven day empire #achille talon #doctor who #bbc doctor who #dr who #whoniverse

7 notes · View notes

21bwc21 · 2 years

Video

youtube

The Saint Dossier On A Damsel In Distress w/Vincent Price otr old time r...

#youtube

0 notes

tiberiusmadhouse · 4 years

Text

Anonymous said:Are there any habits from the 40's Steve can't seem to shake?

Steve is a voracious reader, especially as his eye sight as gotten better after the serum.

He will ALWAYS step in if there’s a woman at the bar who’s being harassed even if it’s clear she can take care of herself

His first suggestion to bigotry, racism, misogyny, etc is to take it out back. Literally. While he has no problem fighting anywhere, he tries to take it somewhere that isn’t going to cost the owner a ton in damages if he can avoid it

Recycling is a thing, back in the day he used to help bring metal to factories for bullets and things, so that stuck with him

#rotvibranium #steve rogers (ha) commander hydra dossier; possible redaction. probably biased documentation #steve rogers (map) he who hesitates is lost and a brooklyn boy stands up. pushes back. and keeps his head high #i am aware of the whispers of hypocrisy between two and three #but he really doesn't think about it #the damsel in distress trope has its teeth in

3 notes · View notes

whylie · 3 years

Photo

BYE GUYS 🏃‍♂️💨 HI LADIES 👋😫 MWWWAHH 💋💋

hello <3 i’m cc, twenty1 from cst + my pronouns are she / her! i’m super super excited for this i actually have no thoughts ever and i can’t spell ever, either, but i’m enthusiastic about nari and about varieta and i am excited 2 be here. alright. love u guys.

MUSE H - ( kim yerim, cis woman, she/her ) nari chae has lived in naples, italy for eleven months. they’re currently twenty two years old and a housekeeper for vista laterale bnb. people tend to associate them with the ache of heartbreak without really knowing what it is, floating face down in the deep end of the pool to see who’d care, yellow fingernails on particularly sticky fingers + a perfect image to present to the world because you don’t even know who you are anymore.

﹟ ⠀ influences﹕

carl gallagher, shameless.

karen smith, mean girls.

margot, legally blonde.

haley marshall, modern family.

﹟ ⠀ basic stats﹕

birth name: chae nari

nickname(s) / alias(es): nana + ri / lee

preferred name: nari

age + dob: twenty two + aug, third

hometown: undetermined, once said manhattan once said chicago?

occupation: housekeeper + pickpocket + full time dumb bitch

ethnicity: korean

nationality: american

gender: cis woman

pronouns: she + her

orientation: demi sexual + demi romantic

faceclaim: kim yerim

﹟ ⠀ intraperson﹕

( + ) positives: charismatic, perceptive, intrepid,

( - ) negatives: thoughtless, impetuous, equivocal,

labels: the icarian, the bubble brain,

natal chart: leo sun, libra moon, libra rising

moral alignment: chaotic neutral

hogwarts house: ravenclaw ( i know... )

languages spoken: english + korean + italian + conversational french but in a bad way

exterior: just... clueless in the way that you can tell that she’s experiencing thoughts but refuses to acknowledge them. always sort of thinking of the most reckless thing to do and/or the most mundane, first grade-esque question in the world. can come off as both superficial and egoistic, because she is – just doesn’t care enough about people other than herself. allows herself to be a bimbo because old men love it and she’s excited to marry rich ( but also will never give a man the time of day ).

interior: theoretically, brainy, but in practice? technically yes because there’s a plan for everything, but these days kind of just stares off into space like she’s a widow ( because as far as she’s concerned, she is ). kind of conniving because there’s a reason she does everything, but nobody at the bnb is worth conning so she just barely does her job and watches bad things happen at the bnb without helping out <3

﹟ ⠀ dossier﹕ trigger warnings

the circumstances that nari is born into is :/ unfortunate. she is the youngest of five kids and kind of just hangs around while her family remains dirt poor and her parents try ( in theory ) to give their children good lives. but, while nari’s siblings are working hard and getting themselves on the right path, she’s busy sitting in the kiddie pool at the local park with pink sunglasses on, dreaming of a lazy life because – she’s lazy. her eldest sister dreams of becoming a politician, her brothers want to become businessmen and nari wants to be a trophy wife ... so.

anyway, her parents sort of turn a blind eye the first time she brings a wallet home and says “oopsies!”, meaning they don’t outright discipline her for being a thief. too bad, so sad – she gets caught once when she’s younger and that’s when she learns that her crying can get her out of anything. not only is she a notoriously beautiful crier, she can also be super loud and obnoxious about it and a screaming nari just :/ isn’t the way to go, so she learns all the skills she needs to learn when she’s growing up.

but, she gets caught again when she’s fourteen and her parents suddenly grow a conscience and send her to live with her scatter-brained aunt. aunt sissy isn’t even related to either of her parents, but she’s a family friend of a family friend and somehow nari ends up in a stupid rv with a great dane and a woman older than both of her parents. her outlook on life doesn’t really change, since from ages fourteen to sixteen, she watches aunt sissy finesse her way into fancy dinners and onto yachts.

anyway, when nari runs away at sixteen, she spends an entire year with a rich family in the hamptons because she pretends to be a stranded heiress from south korea :/ don’t know how it worked honestly, but it did and she’s better for it. she leaves at seventeen to live in nyc, somehow wrangles her way into a terrible apartment when she’s eighteen after spending a year sofa surfing. started a job as a housekeeper in a high end hotel and stayed there for ... a bit.

definitely was a little bit of a rat in nyc, pickpocketing and stealing for fun and for necessity. when she turned twenty one, was promoted to a concierge which she only really worked for a couple of months ( literally one month tbh ) before she surprised her s/o with a trip to italy because <3 romance <3 and then got to italy and was like “we should break up” so.

now she’s here, cried her way into the bnb and into a job, sorry to nico n nolan because she’s a nightmare. she’s still flat broke but pretends like she isn’t out of spite to muse i and refuses to leave because nari’s never lost a break up and she’s just too sexy to lose now ( her words, not mine )

﹟ ⠀ headcanons﹕

so, here’s the thing: nari has always been poor. her parents aren’t bad people, they’re just unfortunate and all nari could do as a child was learn how to pickpocket ( among other things ). unfortunately for the entire world, nari is really, really good at it. she’s good at pickpocketing and stealing and lying and crying on cue; she’s just all too good at playing the damsel in distress to lie and cheat her way through life – and since no charge has ever really, well, stuck, she hasn’t stopped.

genuinely, actually really smart but has never actually used her brain cell for anything other than crime – because, why bother? bottom of the barrel, she really never thought that she had a chance at getting into a good school anyway without burying herself in debt, so has spent her life just trying to build an underground syndicate while being way too self centered to ever have anything kick off; she’s literally so, so, stupid despite having a photographic memory and a surprisingly high iq. would rather be a dumb hot girl than a smart hot girl for some reason?

doesn’t really have anything to go back to outside of italy, honestly. had an okay-ish life in new york city, but the bills would barely be paid and there’s only so much that pickpocketing + stealing can do for a girl. she did used to have a job as a concierge at a high class hotel, but rich people treat poor people terribly and there were rumors that she had been stealing from guests; which, how scandalous, she would absolutely never! “i can’t even get the keys to work on the first try?”

﹟ ⠀ wanted connections﹕

everything plus angst and fluff and crack and spiderman memes <3

﹟ ⠀ conclusion﹕

i will be reaching out to plot soon just give me a second to find my brain.

#varietaintro #i'm brainless #this is long so i think it should be skipped

3 notes · View notes

voyager-into-the-unknown · 4 years

Text

The Dumb One

By PlanceGardener21 on AO3

Lance allowed Red to fly on autopilot as the Paladins soared through the void on their long journey home. He leaned back in his pilot’s chair, listening to his teammates’ comm chatter, but saying nothing. Allura was having a discussion with Pidge and Hunk about quintessence conversion efficiency and the necessity of allowing the lions to recharge. They would have to find a habitable planet to land on soon. Keith and Allura had some ideas about which one would be suitable for their needs. Pidge made some quick calculations which she sent to Black Lion, and Keith adjusted their route towards Earth, which they apparently weren’t going to reach anytime in the near future.

Lance sighed. What could he contribute to this conversation anyway? It was like they had forgotten he was even there. He thought about their recent encounter with the mysterious alien entity known to them only as Bob. The dumb one, Lance thought. That’s what he called me, and that’s who I am. Everyone seems to agree on that. He closed his eyes. He just wanted this war to be over. He missed Earth. He missed his family. He could feel the moisture welling up beneath his eyelids. He just wanted to go home.

“Lance!” Hunk practically shouted over his comm. “Are you with us, buddy? You’ve been really quiet lately.”

“Sorry. I must have been napping for awhile.”

“Are you sure you’re awake back there?” Keith asked. Red, the normally the fastest of the lions, had drifted to the rear of their formation.

“Keep up, Lonce,” Allura chided. “You don’t want to get left behind.” After all this time she still pronounced his name incorrectly. At first he thought it was cute, but now it was beginning to get on his nerves every time she said it. Lance pulled a face that he was glad the princess could not see.

That’s just great, he thought. Now, I’m the slow one, too.

“Lance?” Pidge’s voice was more gentle than usual for some reason. “Would you like to play Killbot in tandem with me? It would be a great way to pass the time.”

“How can I play when I’m over here? The game console is with you, Pidge.”

“I’ve downloaded the game’s code into one of Green’s auxiliary computers. I can send a copy of the program to one of Red’s auxiliaries and broadcast a signal link that will allow us to play together in real time. It’ll be fun.”

Lance was impressed. “That must have been a lot of work for you. Why did you go to so much trouble?”

Pidge hesitated. “Well...you did go through a lot to help me get the game in the first place. And even though it’s fun to play alone, I’ve always thought that it’s even more fun to play Killbot with you.”

Lance smiled crookedly in spite of the gloomy mood he had been in a few moments before. “Well, what are you waiting for? Send me the program!” He then grinned broadly in anticipation of another gaming session with Pidge. Somehow, She managed to bring him out of his foul mood with just a few words. He noticed that she did that a lot lately.

“Ugh, can you two put all of your gaming talk on a private channel.” Allura sounded annoyed.

“Will do!” Pidge replied cheerfully. There was a brief burst of static, and then he heard Pidge’s voice on a different channel. “Lance, you there?” He activated his viewscreen.

“Your favorite Paladin’s right here, Pidgey,” he said with a smirk while pointing finger guns at her. “I’m cuter than a yelmor, and I smell better than one too!” He really didn’t know what made him say that, but it made her giggle, so it must have been the right thing to say. It may have been his imagination, but he could have sworn that Pidge blushed a little as she smiled at him.

She typed quickly, then pressed a button. “Sending now. Let me know when it’s finished downloading to your auxiliary terminal. It will take several minutes.”

“Thanks for doing all this for me, Pidge. I really missed gaming with you.”

“l missed you too,” Pidge declared absentmindedly as she studied one of her data screens. “And it was the least I could do for you after what happened on board the pirate ship.”

“What do you mean?”

“Zethrid and Ezor were gleeful about the idea of torturing me, but you wouldn’t let them take me. Even though you were restrained, you fought to defend me, to keep me safe. What you did was selfless, reckless, and very brave. For the longest time I just wanted to say...” Pidge’s voice cracked. Her eyes were shining. “Thank you for that.”

Lance’s mouth fell open in stunned silence. After a long pause, he softly murmured, “No problem.” He watched as she wiped her eyes quickly and swallowed. Lance stammered, “I...uh...I really didn’t have time to think. I just reacted. Someone I care about was in danger, and something inside of me just...snapped. I had to protect you. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hadn’t done something. Pidge, if they had taken you, if they had hurt you, I—“

She gave him a watery smile. “But they didn’t hurt me. Ezor beat you up instead.” Tears streamed down Pidge’s cheeks, and she wiped them away with the heel of one hand. “If Coran, Acxa, and the mice hadn’t arrived to rescue us, no telling what they might have done to you.”

“It’s all right. I only had a few bruises. I’m fine, really. And if I had to do it all over again, I would.” His face suddenly felt very warm.

She looked at him in astonishment, and then smiled shyly. She was definitely blushing this time, and looking at him with what could only be described as admiration. Selfless, she had called him. Brave.

“I guess you’re my hero, then.” The look she gave him was the softest he had ever seen from her. He was speechless.

It had occurred to him, and not for the first time either, that Pidge was growing up. She was taller now, her hair was longer, the subtle curves of her slight figure had become more obvious recently. There was no way she could pass for a young boy anymore. She’s too pretty to be a boy, he thought, and then suddenly felt warm all over. Where had that thought come from? Pretty. Delicate. Graceful. Brilliant. Sweet. Courageous. Determined. She was all of those things and so much more. And she saw him as a hero. He was her hero.

Hero...How many times had he hoped that he might be regarded as a hero by some attractive young woman? How much time had he spent in idle daydreaming about rescuing a fair damsel in distress who would fall in love with him? How long had he fantasized that one day a girl would look at him the way Katie Holt was looking at him at this very moment? Well, it was time to be really brave then. He looked back at her and said aloud what he had been meaning to tell her for the longest time.

“You—you’re my hero too, you know. You saved me. Remember when Bob put me in that vat of acid?”

“Don’t remind me. That arrogant little creep could have killed you, Lance. I was furious!”

“Yeah, I am not a fan of that guy either. I was so nervous that I couldn’t think straight. Every time I got an answer wrong I felt like I was letting the team down, and I could never forgive myself if we lost because of my stupidity.”

“You’re not stupid, Lance. Don’t ever call yourself that.”

“Why not? Everyone knows that I’m the dumb one. Bob kept saying it over and over, and he’s some kind of ancient being with godlike knowledge and power, so it must be true.”

“That is absolute nonsense. Bob doesn’t know what he’s talking about. And you’re not dumb! I can prove it to you.”

“Good luck with that,” he said skeptically.

“Are you familiar with Howard Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences?”

“No. Wait, multiple? Are you saying that there is more than one way to be smart?”

“That’s exactly what I am saying. Even before we became Paladins, I hacked the Garrison’s computers several times when I was searching for Matt and Dad. I saved nearly everything I could find that was classified, including data about Shiro, who was missing too, and Keith because of his connection to Shiro. I researched you and Hunk also, since the three of us were training together as a flight crew. I wanted to know everything there is to know about you two. I made a dossier on each member of our team.”

“Yeah, you told us. I mean, normal people do scary stuff like that all the time.” He rolled his eyes.

She glared at him. “Lance...”

“I’m just saying! Look, you got angry at Hunk for being nosy when he tried to get a peek at your diary. In a way, this is even worse!”

“I’m sorry! I was desperate to find my family, okay? And I wanted to know more about you and Hunk. I wanted to know if I could trust you. I entered the Garrison illegally, under a false identity, and sooner or later one of you would figure out that Pidge Gunderson was an alias. If Iverson found out that I was really Sam Holt’s daughter...”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry too. I know you were probably in a constant state of anxiety back then. I honestly thought there was something very weird going on with you all the time, even though I was too dense to figure out that you weren’t really a boy.”

She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment, remembering their time together as cadets. “You kept trying to be friends with me, and I kept pushing you away. I felt terrible about that, you know. I really wanted to be friends, but I was afraid you and Hunk would figure out who I really was.”

“It’s alright, Pidge. I understand why you did it. And I hope you noticed that we didn’t give up on you.”

“I know. You and Hunk were the first real friends I’ve ever had.” She smiled again, her eyes shining.

He smiled back at her. “You and Hunk are like, my favorite people in the entire universe, okay? You’re both so brilliant I often wonder why either of you would want an idiot like me around, unless it’s for comic relief.”

“Lance! Stop that! I already told you, you are not dumb, so stop saying it.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop. What was it that you were saying about multiple intelligences?”

“I have all of your files from our days at the Garrison: standardized test scores, pilot trainee stats, physical fitness data, psych profile, and MI survey results, as well as everyone else’s. We both scored pretty high in Visual/Spatial Intelligence.”

“You have to in order to be a pilot trainee.”

“And to be so great at video games. It’s also necessary to be a skilled sharpshooter,” she grinned at him. “I may be a genius in Logical/Mathematical, but your score in Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence is much higher than mine. You also scored really high in Linguistic, Musical, and especially Interpersonal Intellligences. That last one is my weakest area.”

“Wait a tic, are you saying that I’m smarter than you in some areas?!”

“Yes, without a doubt. The data is right here. I can send it to you...”

“No, I...” Lance looked shy all of a sudden. “It’s enough just to know that you think I’m not dumb. I mean, you’re one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, not to mention that you’re one of the people I love most in the entire universe, so your opinion means everything to me. I guess what I am trying to say is...thank you.”

Wait, did he just say love? Out loud?! Oh no, she heard that. That’s why she isn’t saying anything. Idiot. There was an awkward silence between them.

The computer console chimed softly, signaling the download was finished.

“You’re welcome, Lance,” she said carefully. “And I think you should know that even though you are dense as a neutron star about some things, you are brilliant as a supernova in many other ways.” She paused again. “I guess that’s why I love you so much, you Goofball.” She said all of this with a dazzling smile that made his heart beat faster.

Lance’s heart was racing for quite some time, and he could not stop smiling for the next varga or so. He and Pidge became absorbed in excitement of the video game, but in the back of his mind Pidge’s words reverberated through the cavern of his memory, echoing again and again without diminishing in intensity: Selfless. Brave. Hero. You’re not dumb. I love you.

I love you...I love you...I love you. His mind replayed those words over and over as they battled digital monsters. With each victory he felt more confident, more sure of himself. He whooped with unbridled joy when their teamwork took down one foe after another.

He loved her. He knew that now, and he had already wasted so much precious time flirting with girls who really didn’t matter to him. He vowed he wouldn’t do that anymore. They were fighting in an interstellar war that had been going on for thousands of years before they were even born. Who knew how much time they had left? Days, months, years, a lifetime?

A lifetime. He realized at that moment that he could spend a lifetime talking or gaming or just growing old with Pidge. He wanted that, if they survived this endless war. He wanted her.

When they finally landed on the planet that Keith and Allura were talking about earlier, he might be able to walk around with Pidge for a bit and enjoy the fresh air of a planet with a breathable atmosphere. He would try to hold her hand, of course. And, maybe, if he could find a place to be alone with her, he could tell her face to face how he really felt about her. He wondered if she would let him steal a kiss...

“Team, look alive!” Keith’s voice over the main comm channel broke Lance’s concentration. Pidge paused their game. “There’s a renegade Galra battlegroup straight ahead. Incoming!” Galra fighters swarmed around Keith, Allura, and Hunk like a hive of angry hornets.

Quiznak! Well, it was time to put that Visual/Spatial Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence to use. Red soared ahead with Green right behind him and Lance opened fire on the fighter drone who was tailing Black Lion. It burst in an explosion of color and light in front of him.

“Nice shooting!” Hunk exclaimed.

“Way to go, Sharpshooter!” Pidge cheered. “That was a genius move.” Was she teasing him?

Lance grinned as he bullseyed another fighter.

#plance #pidge #lance #katie holt #lance mcclain #vld #plance fanfiction #voltron

13 notes · View notes

theherocomplex · 7 years

Note

Can I ask what you find great about Miranda? Not a hater by any means just the layers of her character don't jize with me and I was wondering if someone who had a better understanding of her can explain the complexity that is Miranda.

I don’t think there’s one right way to view Miranda, so I can only speak to how I feel about her (and Eliza Shepard really clicked with her, so I was very paragon in my interactions with Miranda in-game), but --

She’s a cold, complicated, reserved, and outright unfriendly woman whose character arc doesn’t revolve around a romance softening her or completing her -- it’s a familial one. And while Miranda definitely does have daddy issues (but really that’s a condition for employment on the Normandy), she’s content to leave those issues in the past so long as he leaves her and Oriana alone.

It’s Oriana who’s the key to Miranda’s friendship (which is the gateway to everything else). I got the impression in the game that Miranda doesn’t just not trust easily, but she refuses to trust at all. Part of that is thanks to her father, part of that is the strongly-implied lack of cohesion or support between Cerberus cells, part of that is being so extremely gifted, part of that is just Miranda’s personality (she’s naturally pretty stand-offish, though that could just be attributed to her dad). She say that she doesn’t want friends, she’s clearly not so much surprised by Wilson’s betrayal as she is grimly resigned to it -- Miranda’s a woman who’s lived her life by forcefully rejecting the idea of intimacy, in any form.

(Just look at her dossier on the Shadow Broker’s ship; she asks for medical records from potential sexual partners, and as soon as one passes, she gives him a time and a room number, and that’s it.)

Until Oriana is threatened, Miranda’s quite content to be the efficient but untouchable XO. She follows the chain of command, even when she doesn’t respect Shepard’s decisions, but because there’s no great emotional investment there, she can simply stay focused on doing her job.

But Oriana being in danger isn’t something that Miranda can handle on her own -- not this time. So she has to swallow her pride, and ask Shepard for help.

Imagine how she felt when Shepard said “Miranda, you’re part of my crew. How can I help?” I’m paraphrasing, but to have support offered unstintingly (should you decide to do so) must have come as quite a shock to Miranda. Living on the run from her father, trying to keep Oriana hidden and safe -- she’s not used to kindness without an ulterior motive.

That’s the key. Helping her sister, the one person in the galaxy that Miranda loves, is the way to make her trust you. I love that the loyalty mission is accomplished without turning Miranda into a damsel in distress -- you save Oriana together, and along the way, Miranda slowly opens up to you about how she escaped her father’s house, how she got Oriana away, how she’s angry at herself for being betrayed by Niket. She’s never once weakened or diminished when she opens up; instead, I look at her trust in Shepard (both with the mission itself, and all the glimpses of her doubts and emotional turmoil you see during the mission) as a repayment for Shepard agreeing to help in the first place. It’s an exchange between equals. Between friends.

Her loyalty mission ends with you seeing her cry, and then you get to see this lovely soft side of her if you talk to her afterwards, where she’s self-deprecating and wry and so proud of Oriana, and so quietly supportive. She’s won Oriana’s freedom again -- this time with your help -- and now she’s sitting back to let Oriana make of her life what she will.

I love that.

Of course, then you have the opportunity to pursue a romantic relationship with her if you’re playing as Male Shepard, but either way, Miranda repays your initial offer of support with unyielding trust. She tells the Illusive Man to go hell -- abandoning a career as the only successful Cerberus project lead that we see on-screen (and by successful I mean ‘she didn’t get her whole squad killed because she thought experiments on Thorian creepers and the rachni were a good idea’).

Her story isn’t built around being healed by a man or by romance in general, but by helping others gain agency and freedom -- the two things she was never meant to have. No, she’s not always likable, and her belief in Cerberus’ ideals is never quite erased (she never says that she’s stopped supporting their goals of human ascendance -- she just doesn’t agree with the Illusive Man’s methods), but she’s willing to listen, and grow, and trust, all while still being the sardonic ice queen superhero secret agent mad scientist that we saw in the beginning.

She’s healed and empowered by family, biological and found. In ME3, when she could have taken Oriana and hidden in some bolthole while the rest of the galaxy burned, she made sure her sister was safe, then she handed anti-Cerberus intel over to the Alliance, got herself a fighter ship, and went after Cerberus itself.

When you have her trust, she does not stint.

I’m not a fan of her being portrayed as this femme fatale, or how the camera lingers on her ass constantly, because Miranda is so much more than a sex object. She’s one of the most intelligent, determined, and capable characters in the series, and while she’s certainly not interested in being likable, she’s full of surprising warmth and affection (in her own way) once you’ve earned it.

It’s especially fulfilling to see her in a friendship with Female Shepard -- two extremely capable, driven, talented, and brave women, neither of whom fit traditional models of femininity (Shepard is a soldier, and Miranda is too cold), and neither of whom have characters arcs that depend on being fixed by romance. It’s so moving, from my perspective, to have watched them go from “I’m not looking for friends, Shepard” to promising each other to be careful before the last battle. It’s so important to see female friendships explored, even if one (or both) of the women aren’t likable, or nice, or available simply for male consumption.

Miranda doesn’t compromise herself as she forms a friendship with Shepard. She’s still herself, but I get the sense she’s finally comfortable in her own skin, now that her father is gone, and Oriana is safe, and she has someone she can turn to if she needs help. It’s not a simplification of her character, but an expansion.

Thank you for this great question! I hope it helped. :D

#mass effect meta #Miranda Lawson #bee meta #Mass Effect #bee replies #long post #Anonymous

695 notes · View notes