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yesokayiknow · 4 months

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they try, honestly they do, but the doctor isn't a stationary creature and never has been, especially not when they know there's something they could help with. which is to say, it takes a week of soft quiet life before he starts begging kate for a job. kate in turn withstands three weeks of the doctor's incessant begging and big puppy dog eyes while donna noble stands right behind him and mouths don't you fucking dare before she makes a counteroffer: he can work in a lab (the 'very far away from active duty' is implied) as long as he meets with unit's therapist.

and he refuses, of course, loudly and profusely, right up until donna very gently but very firmly tells him that it really could help, actually.

so. therapy. the doctor assumes it won't do anything. the unit therapist is no nonsense and unflinching and very very bright, and twenty minutes later the doctor sits outside the room hyperventilating while kate finishes paperwork and kindly doesn't mention the way he's all but curled into her.

the second session ends much like the first, and the third, and then the fourth he walks out with dry eyes and a tremulous smile. the fifth, kate calls donna and she takes him home and they drink hot chocolate and he doesn't start talking again until the next day. it takes him seven sessions to be able to stay in the room for the full hour; kate pats him on the back and then finally allows him to build a shield for her office as a reward. she sits outside the therapist's office every time he has a session, even though she has to have better things to do. they don't talk about it.

unit only has files on things the doctor's done on earth, and even then, only sometimes, which means that when the doctor talks about some things he just. edits, a little. talks about two weeks in a confession dial and a month in prison, because maybe then he doesn't have to think about the enormity of it all. and every single time he does this, the therapist looks at him and very kindly calls bullshit. it's weird, being known. it's different with donna. he is donna and donna is him, in ways they will probably never talk about. but he sits in that cluttered little office for an hour a week (sometimes two or three times, if he's doing particularly badly) and he feels seen.

after four months, there are memories he can touch without flinching, and people he can talk about without crying. he starts spending a couple of hours just sitting in the vortex, not because he's hiding or running but just because he likes the way it feels against his skin. he cooks dinner every other night and washes up when he doesn't. he takes out the bin every week even though it's rose's job, because he loves her. and he can say that now, and he doesn't think about her short lifespan or about all the other people they've loved and lost. he can say that and just mean it.

part of his contract is an agreement to never offer a trip to a member of unit unless it's actual life or death (the small chemical leak in the lab doesn't count; he takes shirley to new mars anyway) but he finds himself toying with the idea of asking for a session in the tardis. just once, just to see. the therapist looks at him and sees him and it is monstrous and they keep looking anyway and now the doctor can sit through a family dinner without wanting to tear his skin off and he doesn't know any other way to say thank you.

it's funny, almost, how quickly he grows attached to this person who picks through his hurts and rifles through his traumas and holds direct eye contact while doing so. the doctor talks about their deaths and their crimes and their cowardice and the therapist nods and asks him how he feels and it's. it's terrifying. it's beautiful. it's the worst thing he's ever ever been through, and the best. he feels ripped apart and put back together in a way that few people have ever been able to— huh.

after his sixty eighth session (he's unable to not keep count) the doctor walks outside to where kate is annotating a schematic and says, thoughtfully, they're the master in disguise, aren't they. and kate says oh 100% and please don't let them know that you know because they will definitely go to the second stage of whatever long con they've been hatching and they're too good at this for us to let them go

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #does this count as fic. i mean it's long enough ain't it #the doctor #fourteen #you can decide which one it is exactly tbh #my fanfic

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ldknightshade · 1 month

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how to write a morally grey character (and keep them from being a total bore)

so. your other characters have a “clear” distinction of good and evil - that is, from your perspective, your other characters have a distinction of good and evil that aligns with your own and would generally be considered by societal standards to fall under one of two groups… but now you want to make a guy that breaks those boundaries.

look no further.

i. myths

first step is giving them a balance of good and bad traits

1. every character should have this???

2. every trait works on a sliding scale; when amped up to 11, good traits can become bad ones

those who are morally grey are unpredictable

to YOU and those they interact with, maybe… if they do not have a clear moral code of their own, of course they’ll seem this way. but they’re actually quite predictable if you actually comprehend what their motives and values are.

example: Herbert West from Re-Animator’s only motivation is re-animation of the dead. this may be evil to some, noble to others… but is it unpredictable? not really. i think we all know not to trust this man around corpses.

example: Charles Foster Offdensen from Metalocalypse’s only motivation is ensuring the health, safety, and happiness of Dethklok. he goes incredible lengths (war crimes, literally) to do so; this is evil to some, noble to others… but it he unpredictable? not really. if Dethklok is in danger, then he has dropped everything to save them and is doing so as we speak.

they’re relatable / more human

see above examples. moral greyness is not inherently relatable; in some cases, it would be argued that they shouldn’t be. either way, their moral greyness does not make them any more or less human than any other character. their moral greyness makes them morally grey and that’s that.

you need to show them doing both good things and bad things

wrong. you need to show them doing things that align with their personal motivations and values. if your character wouldn’t do it, why force it? this goes both ways.

they need to be sympathetic / have understandable reasons

anyone saying this is afraid of making characters truly morally grey. sympathy is not something that defines morals, anyway; but regardless, sugarcoating their actions and motives by making them a poor little meow meow on purpose is… bullshit. if every morally grey character was sympathetic, fiction as a whole would be dull.

ii. values

this is the real meat of it. what does your character value? is it something practical, like revenge or power? or something wackier like the previously mentioned examples?

clearly define the values your character holds and how it shapes their goals.

iii. motivation / lengths

now… how hard does motivation hit them? how far do they go? where do they draw the line? is there a line for them?

would your character lie to meet their goals? cheat? steal? manipulate? maim? vandalize? kill?

even amongst those, is there specific lines they won’t cross? would your character go as far as killing, but draw the line at children and animals?

and amongst those lines… what would make them cross it? does your character value honesty, but would lie to protect someone? are they a pacifist… but believe followers of certain schools of thought deserve a baseball to kneecaps and won’t hesitate to act on that?

draw out the line for them and then examine their exceptions. this is what will make it seem to other characters that their morality is a roulette wheel; when, in actuality, there is a line of logic that your morally grey character is following.

#ldknightshade.txt #writing #on writing #creative writing #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writers #writing advice #writing help #writing tips #writing inspiration

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thechekhov · 4 months

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Dungeon Meshi Quick Reacts

CH.28 (Red Dragon)

I'm sure nothing will go wrong from here on out! :)

Okay, but she worked hard using illegal magic! She deserves this! I support women's rights, and women's wrongs.

Oh. Oh I see.

Is THAT what the kids are calling it these days...?

File that under 'foreshadowing I'm sure will come back to haunt us all later'.

Ah, yes. Tell your cleric girlfriend about your forbidden wizardry. Or don't. Actually. Maybe don't.

distract, discombobulate, overcome. Eyes up...there... Falin....

YOU DIDN'T ERASE IT YET???? MARCILLE, THE PLOT--!!

No bag of holding, huh? Well, I guess you'd need a bag of colding....

At this point, the fact that Chillchuck is still... well... chill? Is really shocking to me personally. He just takes it all in stride.

She did it for love, you guys! It's fine!

"My motives are noble! Anyway, if you ever tell a soul about this--"

uh oh.

Senshi, how could you not have known?!?!

Do we have to resurrect you too now?! Is Marcille's list of crimes going to just keep going up?

oh, apparently not. Why does SHE look surprised?

I guess when you create a body for your girlfriend using a dragon, which is inherently magical.... you kinda supercharge her?

Congrats on your easy bake oven! It's conveniently made of... meat?

So... it's philly steak sandwiches? From dragon?

I mean, what did you expect? She's Laios' sister... of course she'll eat it.

Also, come on Marcille. Several hours ago you were elbows deep in dragon gut, doing a 3D jigsaw puzzle with her digested bones. You can stomach this.

Just think of it as Falin being partially inside you................

I damn well told you. And look at Laios' smirk! He knew she'd be down.

Chilldadchuck is back at it again with the side eye.

He's not even impressed lmaooooo

B-but... but your little buddy! You would drown it just like that?! It hasn't even done anything malicious to you! It was just trying to survive!

..............Press X to doubt.

You know the uh. The contrast between that upper left panel and the bottom right is. Quite. Quite there. That's quite. Different.

ohohohoh Marcille what an unexpected turn of events! No way around it I'm afraid! Bed sharing is the only way.

This is the strongest display of emotion we've seen in Laios in a while. It's. really so telling. And what a good shot.

YOU DIDN'T FUCKING ERASE IT?!?!?!? HOW HARD COULD IT HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN--WHY-- NOOOOO!!!!!

#dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi liveblog #chekhov reads dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon

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mhaikkun · 9 months

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CRIME CITY

definitely gonna clean this post up once I have all my character profiles confirmed and make a more formal story introduction, but I thought I'd do a fun little update on all the characters we've met already as well as a general overview of the plot!

crime city follows winter, florist by day and ruthless murderer by night, in a city ruled by criminals each time the sun sets. the mayor? law enforcement? decorative. useless.

in order to achieve his own goals, child prodigy-turned-crime lord winter lies, steals, and kills — and, when the occasion calls for it, enlists the help of the many outlaws on his list of acquaintances.

but winter, too, is being hunted.

here are the current cast:

WINTER (THE RAVEN)

there are only three things anyone can ever claim to know about him: one, he always smiles; two, he is always dangerous; and three, he always wears black. is he mourning someone?

revered as "the king of hell," this strange ghostly man hates rain, doesn't drink, and used to be a detective.

BRENDOLINE BARBARA (THE LADY)

the mayor's daughter. frustrated by her own powerlessness and the facade of her father's position, she became a vigilante. winter must be destroyed, and, as the saying goes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

how hard can it be when you find yourself falling in love with the man you want to kill, and who wants to kill you?

GIOVANNI MERCURO (THE SNITCH)

a croupier who runs the "snake eyes" gambling house, giovanni will glady offer you valuable information — that is, of course, if you can win against him. if he likes you enough, maybe his sleight of hand will come in handy for your pickpocketing needs.

believing it to be the height of carelessness to be complacent and predictable in a city crawling with vermin, he refuses to be consistent. he never wears the same hairstyle twice, never plays the same game twice, and never sleeps with the same person twice.

ASHCROFT (THE SNIPER)

a hitman for hire with the air of someone who used to be noble. rarely getting jobs due to his exorbitant prices, when he's out of money and out of work, he plays the saxophone on street corners and in bars for loose change.

as far as assassins go, he's pretty resourceful. after all, his sax doubles as a sniper rifle.

FALK (THE BLOODHOUND)

hates tardiness and thinks dogs are annoying and difficult. he does not appreciate the irony of his criminal title.

once a military man, an inflicted injury forced him to develop his already keen sense of smell into the formidable skill he has today of hunting people down using only their scent to compensate for his impaired vision.

#crime city #original character #oc #mhai art #mhai oc #I am Begging you to ask me questions abt them HSDJKSDFHJKSDFS #they're on my mind literally all the time

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fireemblems24 · 4 months

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Golden Wildfire Ch 11

On we go to ch 11. Things are . . . uh . . . interesting.

MAIN STORY

So if you didn't see ch 10, I failed to recruit Byleth. I retried the level a few time, but honestly I just want to finish this game so I didn't bother.

Plus, the reason I failed was that Claude just sat there instead of moving forward on the escort mission, which got really frustrating, and honestly I didn't want to bother.

Ugh, I don't want to fight the Kingdom.

So those Houses that wanted to defect to the Kingdom didn't because Claude's battle was that bloody in that fire map.

Poor Dimitri and co seems like he's just betting bullied for no real reason by two imperialistic maniacs.

I love how Arval is getting snooty over Shez getting credit for their tactics lamo.

Man, this dialogue is dragging.

So Nadar is going to cause diplomatic chaos by utilizing the Almyran army without getting real permission.

Wait, Claude riled up Sreng? So much for "ending racism" lamo. Wasn't having two cultures not be prejudice against each other like his MO? The writers really just threw him in the trash, hunh.

I feel so bad for Claude fans. He's really a piece of work in this.

MAP/SIDE STUFF

Everyone missing Judith has a lot more punch than Randolph. Even Monica was like "get over it" to Fleche (but nicely).

So, let me make sure I have this right. Mr. I Want to End Prejudice Between Cultures just provoked Sreng into attacking the Kingdom so Edelgard can take it over because Rhea is the reason for everything bad. Did I get that right?

Unlike SB, GW is entertaining as hell, but man is the logic here is just non-existant. And poor Claude RIP.

Like, I know I'm biased and all, but I don't see how you're supposed to be the heroes and not Dimitri here. The people just defending themselves are getting attacked on all 3 fronts for the crime of *existing.*

Not going to lie. I kinda wish Claude didn't side with you in AG either. It would've been hype to kick everyone's ass as Dimitri after getting cornered by all these land-grabbers.

GW!Claude is really just the mean girl's sidekick. 😂

If Felix and Rodrigue die in this chapter I swear to God . . . (I just remembered Rodrigue is dead in SB now 😭 - LET THIS MAN SURVIVE).

I had to fight Felix in a side mission. Lysithea said they had to "defend this place" - like, girl, you are invading.

When the challenge is "you can't dodge" but you're using Lorenz 😌👌 (FYI, he just does not take damage in this game)

SHEZ & HILDA A SUPPORT

They're talking about how Hilda exerted energy in a battle because she worried about Shez.

Hilda claims it's just self-defense bc she was cheering for Shez on the front lines and enemies were there (honestly, this is pretty boring so far)

It's the same-old Hilda claiming she's weak but that not being true.

SHEZ & CONSTANCE C SUPPORT

I know she's an Empire character, but whatever.

She wants to create new magics to restore her noble house and wants to research Shez bc of their weird magic

Lamo, Constance low-key called us dumb

Shez suggests she get her house back through military accomplishments.

Constance refuses to train right now, she wants to at night (it's her dual personality thing, right?)

CLAUDE & LYSITHEA B SUPPORT

Their first one. Claude's unhappy Lysithea charged in the last battle. But Lysithea kicked ass, so she's upset with Claude.

Claude calls her plan dumb and that he thought Lysithea was smarter than that. Lysithea still argues it ended earlier bc of her.

Lysithea doesn't back down.

Honestly, I side with her here. Claude's being patronizing. And it's rich of him not to care about all the other deaths dragging out the battle would cause and only Lysithea dying because she's *important*

CLAUDE & HOLST A SUPPORT

Oof, this one hurts. Claude accuses the church of creating all the systems to serve their own interests, because he doesn't know the truth here. That the Empire actually created most of it, and that all the church ever did was protect a genocided race from being murdered by more power-hungry humans.

It's also hysterical to hear Claude talk about wanting to improve foreign relations while instigating a war between two cultures.

Oof, Holst doesn't care about any of this. He's only worried Claude's going to send Hilda to marry a big, brown, scary foreigner. NOT a good look.

Holst says he cares more about Hilda's future than the whole Alliance. Yikes.

HILDA & HOLST A SUPPORT

They're preparing a feast.

Oh, it's nice to see Hilda's insecurities about Holst's "perfection" come up in this, bc so far she hadn't said much.

After that last support though, Holst is actually a pretty shitty leader.

Holst wants to make the feast all about Hilda instead of himself though. Hilda likes the attention.

Hilda basically had to set up her own feast lol.

HILDA & LINHARDT A SUPPORT

Hilda's cleaning, and Linhardt's honestly upset that he's lost a fellow lazy person.

Hilda claims she never pushes work on people. That, is a lie.

Linhardt is mostly worried how bad it'll look if he's the only one not working instead one of two.

All this support confirms that Linhardt is by far the superior lazy.

LORENZ & LYSITHEA A SUPPORT

Their only support.

So, not related to their support (and watch it counter it), but I find it pretty amusing how getting a leadership position faster matured Felix and Sylvain, but Lorenz is still a bit of a joke and the butt-end of every support he's in.

He's just bragging about how awesome his position and power is.

Lysithea says she's not inheriting her house. She claims it's because she doesn't like what comes with nobility, but we all know why.

She worried that the land will go to chaos without it's leaders though. Lorenz offers help (which, imo, he's actually mature here!)

Lorenz suspects she's turning it down for another reason and encourages her to rely on others to help.

RAPHAEL & LEONIE B SUPPORT

Raphael keeps snapping bows in half when he uses them. Leonie's shocked.

Leonie seems to actually make one and invites Raphael to test it while on guard duty with her.

IGNATZ & MARIANNE B SUPPORT

Marianne found his picture. He puts it down, but she likes it (it's a horse, well a pegasus, but of course)

Ignatz gets carried away talking about it, but Marianne finds it cute.

Ignatz finds Marianne loving pegasus cute. She blushes.

He wants Marianne's help, helping him paint a pegasus bc they don't like men, but if Marianne is around he can get closer and get a better painting. She's happy to help.

Honestly, this whole support is really cute.

MAIN BATTLE/STORY

It sucks having to attack the Kingdom over and over again when all they want to do is exist in peace.

Oh, joy, Nadar wants to plunder Faerghus. I can see why Fodlan is so evil for not wanting to let them do what they will.

GW really had a chance here to finally do something interesting with Almyra. It even marketed itself as a route that WOULD. But instead it's just doubled-down on Almyra being a one-note lawless place full of barbarians. At least we have Brigid and Duscur so the only brown country isn't some racist stereotype. Since it's only 1 of 3, it's not AS bad of a look.

Fuck. I don't want to kill Felix and Rodrigue. It would be one thing if the Kingdom actually provoked this, but Felix and Rodrigue haven't done anything to deserve this.

I get to recruit Ashe again. Is he miserable here too?

Ugh, I was hoping Felix and Rodrigue weren't here. It seems vastly unfair that it's only Kingdom characters who die for reel in this.

Wow. Claude's really an A-class asshole. He told Ashe to surrender because Dimitri wouldn't want him to die. Maybe don't invade for no reason then?

Is Claude also going to single Felix out as a citizen of Faerghus who deserves to live? Or does only Ashe count and not the nobles and unnamed grunts he's slaughtering because he decided to team up with the person who plans on taking over his rule? (not hate to Ashe at all, I honestly feel awful for him in this game)

Ok, so fighting Felix is just a side quest. I'd rather fail a side quest than fight Felix so, going to try to avoid having to kill him. Ugh, he's attacking the engineers. And he's damn right saying he has every right to kill the people who are invading his home.

Thank God, he just retreated.

I still love how Claude got bent out of shape over Ashe, but Lorenz alone has killed 500 citizens of Faerghus this chapter so . . .

Felix is so worried about Rodrigue. I swear the writers wanted you to feel like shit playing this route.

Oh, fuck. Just when I thought I was finished killing people for defending themselves, Daddy Gautier shows up :( He's sacrificing himself to safe Felix and Rodrigue, isn't he?

Oh, fuck. He died for real 😭

It's really hard to like these characters, making mindless chit-chat after killing Sylvain's daddy. I hope Sylvain fucks them up a new one.

I've never wanted to slap a character more than I'd love to slap Claude right now. The moron has the audacity to be surprised people are going to die while he's invading a foreign country. What a fucking stupid moron.

He's also blaming - get this right - chivalry.

I'm like. I'm speechless right now.

That's right guys. Margrave Gautier died defending his king, his country, his home, and most importantly one of his fucking best friends from an asshole invader. But it's CULTURE'S fault he died.

I'm really confused what the hell Claude thinks he's doing. Does he REALLY think killing Rhea will magically allow people to live as they please? Didn't he grow up in another country where they had princes and shit and NO Rhea?? All he's doing is making Edelgard's take over easier.

This is starting to feel like a borderline spoof. Look at us end the war by invading another nation!!! I mean???

What's his plan? Kill everyone in Faerghus - profit - "freedom" from Rhea - Edelgard takes over - no profit???

The writing in this route has gotten really fucking stupid. Like, I LIKE the idea of evil!Claude. Either a Claude who wants to take over all of Fodlan or one who's ruthless and will do anything to preserve Leicester.

But what I don't like is really fucking dumb Claude, which is what GW's devolved into.

Oh, God, now we get a flashback between father and son. Sylvain and Gautier :(

Sylvain better not be fucking recruitable in this route.

Now Sylvain's in charge 😭😭😭😭

I'm convinced someone who's a major Edelgard stan wrote the larger plot of this, but then a Dimitri stan wrote the actual dialogue 😅

We really go from one moment Claude being like - it's Rhea's fault Gautier died bc Kingdom culture bad because church bad to Sylvain being like, naw, he died defending his friends.

At the very least, I'll give Hopes credit here. At least they didn't write anyone opposing Edelgard as either evil or like they're idiots for resisting invasion, but I almost feel like they made the Kingdom especially too sympathetic which makes Edelgard look more interesting (since SB is more honest than CF) and Claude just look like a bozo. Rhea just doesn't look like anything since she's not even here.

Though, I REALLY wish Claude didn't side with us in AG. I really wish we got to see Faerghus backed into a corner and kick everyone's asses. They've very much the underdog and watching them do that would've been awesome.

Felix and Rodrigue are beating themselves up over this.

See, this is what I mean - Sylvain just said he's reserving all his hatred for the foreign invaders who take everything for no reason - I really feel like a Dimitri fan saw how everyone collectively decided to take a dump on the Kingdom in the big plot and got revenge by making everyone look like villains (or morons in Claude's case) for doing so in the writing.

xxx

#golden wildfire #fire emblem #fire emblem three hopes #three hopes #three hopes spoilers #golden wildfire spoilers

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miles-wrightworth · 3 months

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AA culprit AU (TW for mentions of blood and violent murder)

okay so buckle up

Phoenix: when Dahlia tried to poison him, he became interested in chemicals and toxins. he switched his major to chemistry and he now sells concoctions and poisons to anyone who is willing to pay.

he is a little bit insane. he has built up an immunity to poisons after accidentally drinking them and narrowly surviving every time (and cuz he works with toxins so much). at this point, he just tastes his poisons like soup like 'hmmm needs more acetone'

his hands shake and hes gone just a little crazy from the damage the poisons have done to him

he pretty much always has some sort of chemical stain or burn somewhere on him or his clothing.

Miles: Miles is what began this idea because i think he would be ten times hotter if he was a muderer. anyways-

dl6 still happens and everything is the same up to when Miles is about 15 years old and he finds out about mvk killing Gregory. he is pissed asf and apalled at the injustice of the whole situation and how corrupted mvks methods are. he feels the urge to kill him grow stronger every day.

he eventually does snap and plunge his pocket knife into mvk multiple times and gets away with it. Franziska is pissed because he murdered her dad but eventually comes to terms with the fact that Miles' crime has made the world an overall better place.

with no legal guardian, Miles and Fran are put in an orphanage and vibe there until Miles is 18. Fran learns how to make knives and Miles learns how to use them. Fran lives with Miles until she is 18 and moves out.

Miles is like 'hey. im good with knives, i despise injustice, and i have begun to like the sight of blood. i should put that to good use' and he becomes somewhat of a serial killer/vigilante

he picks targets carefully. corrupt people in the legal system, corrupt politicians, any shitty person he can find. he murders them brutally and due to the dl6 incident, he cant hold a gun without trembling, so his go-to method of killing is knives. he loves knives and he has a huge collection of fancy blades and throwing knives. he always leaves his victims crucified on the nearest wall with knives through their wrists pinning them there and bathes the room in their blood. thats how the cops know he did it.

the news dubs him the 'Crimson King' and Phoenix sees that in a newspaper and wants to see this guy for himself because he definitely recognizes that blurred pic the police took in the paper.

basically hes noble but extremely brutal and god thats kinda hot

Fran: Franziska is a bladesmith/black market arms dealer. Miles frequently visits her shop and he gets discounts on her wares. havent thought about her story a lot.

Maya: Maya is a nurse at a nearby urgent care clinic. Phoenix frequently comes in begging her to help him but not tell anyone because he accidentally drank a lethal poison but nobody can know because its illegal to possess. also havent thought too much about her story.

#ace attorney #aa culprit au #phoenix wright #narumitsu #wrightworth #franziska von karma #maya fey #ace attorney au #aa au #writing #kinda?#miles edgeworth

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cosmerelists · 4 months

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Kelsier and Taravangian Have A Conversation

Inspired by these two being compared in Kelsier's Coppermind entry.

[Contains major spoilers for Mistborn and Stormlight Archive!]

Kelsier: So, you're a king, huh?

Kelsier: Exactly the sort of person I'd assassinate, back in the day.

Taravangian: Yes, those in power can rarely be trusted.

Taravangian: In my case, I do, uh, run a large-scale hospital that welcomes all.

Kelsier: Knowing what nobles are like, it's probably a front to hide some sort of greater crime.

Taravangian: Ha, ha, yeah! I actually use it as a front to kill people in order to obtain the prophecies delivered by the dying, hoping to piece together enough clues to save the world. It's one of the only reliable ways to obtain reliable information about the world's fate.

Taravangian: You know how it is. Somebody has to be willing to do whatever it takes to save humanity, no matter the cost.

Kelsier: Damn it.

Taravangian: Hmmm?

Kelsier: I hate it when the worst person I know makes a good point.

Taravangian: Oh? That's not usually the reaction I get.

Taravangian: Usually it's something more like "Oh my dear god you monster why"

Kelsier: Well sure. That's a perfectly normal reaction.

Kelsier: Which is why it takes people like us to actually save the world.

Kelsier: I sacrificed myself and had a friend eat my bones to create a mystical religion and overthrow an immortal god-king.

Taravangian: How did eating your bones help?

Kelsier: Oh, it was a kandra. They can ingest bones and then reconstruct the original body.

Kelsier: Is that really the first question you had, though?

Taravangian: I mean, dramatic martyrdom that spawns a religion in order to manipulate the masses seems pretty straight-forward.

Kelsier: ...It took a lot of planning, you know.

Taravangian: Well, but that's the fun part, isn't it?

Taravangian: I may be damning my own soul, but storms if it isn't fun to lay out an extravagant plot every now and again.

Taravangian: My Diagram was written over the walls and floors of an entire room!

Taravangian: Good times.

Kelsier: Unhinged scrawls on a wall? Seems like a hard sell for your crew.

Taravangian: Bah! If people are put off by genius that spills off the page, then you need better men.

Kelsier: With all sincerity--I could not have had better men.

Kelsier: Take Spook. He started off as a just a scrawny skaa, but in the end, he was in charge of an empire with me as a his ghost advisor, and we made great progress in hemalurgy.

Kelsier: Speaking of doing whatever it takes.

Taravangian: I'm not familiar with 'hemalurgy.'

Kelsier: Oh, you'd like it. You can take investiture from people using special spikes. It kills them, of course, but the power does not die with them.

Kelsier: I think it's probably gonna save the world. My world, at least.

Taravangian: You know, I hadn't wanted to ask about the spike in your eye since it seemed impolite, but...

Kelsier: Yup. Hemalurgy.

Taravangian: Fascinating! I wonder if it would work for my world too.

Kelsier: Probably! If my agents on your world ever get their shit together, maybe we'll find out.

Taravangian: ...You have agents on my world?

Kelsier: Well, yeah. What, are you not out into the wider Cosmere yet?

Taravangian: Look, I only just became a god. I'll get there!

Kelsier: Well, I can't wait to battle with you for supremacy in the hope of sacrificing your world to save mine.

Taravangian: Aw, thanks! Right back at you.

Kelsier: We'll probably need to deal with that bastard Hoid first, though.

Taravangian: Eh, he's not so bad if you have the power to delete his memory.

Kelsier: You...got one over on Hoid?

Kelsier: Could this be...love?

Taravangian: No, I think it's just the warm glow of something bad happening to Hoid.

Kelsier: Yeah, that must be it.

#cosmere #cosmerelists #Kelsier #Taravangian #Hoid

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columboscreens · 1 year

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Something very unfortunate, but my enthusiasm for columbo has made my friend, for some reason, not like him! How can they not like him? D: He's just a little guy!

honestly? i totally understand. and i run this blog.

columbo is likeable because we always see his best qualities. he does valiant work at a noble job. he's strong, he's intelligent; he's kind, he's just. he makes the right deductions and then makes sure he's right before acting upon them. he's played by peter falk. so yeah, most people want to kick back and have a beer with columbo, even (especially?) some of the people he puts in handcuffs.

but for a second, wash columbo of his charm, kindness, and intellect: the man is an evil fucking bastard. he is naturally annoying--one of his superpowers, which he knows and exploits. he is calculating, devious, manipulative. his overly polite, ingratiating manner wears very thin very quickly, doubly so if he's choosing to play especially dumb. he's a sadistic, disgusting, deceptive little troll who drops by unannounced and practically forces his way into your house, occupying it when it seems like he doesn't even need to be there, flaunting his authority. on top of it all he insists on billowing that cheap, stinking cigar smoke in your face, dropping ashes everywhere while smiling so smugly, so condescendingly, that you want to wring his little neck, his mumbling voice dripping with feigned apology all the while. he asks if you can use your phone, but not really, because he's actually telling you he's using it as he picks it up and makes a call before you can even open your mouth.

through it all, he outright implies that you or someone you love is a homicidal maniac.

then he fucking breaks your television. suddenly, mrs. peck becomes very sympathetic

now i'll ask you to imagine that, on top of all the aforementioned, columbo was, even once, wrong about who the killer was. i am asking you to sit there and imagine the most endearing waterboarding session you can. imagine subjecting an innocent human being to a punishment so cruel and unusual. imagine, as peter falk himself described, that a bunch of little ducks are nibbling at you, pecking at you in a hellish, promethean bid to get you to finally scream to the heavens in confession for your crime.

columbo is eminently lovable, but that love hinges entirely on the fact that he's always right. because if he isn't, he's worse than merely annoying--he's evil.

#columbo #text #ask #there is this famous japanese artist who fucking hates columbo and calls him Inconsiderate Bastard #for the life of me i cant remember his name but i always laugh when i remember that #he's so RIGHT #i accidentally posted this one too. i hate mobile tunblr im going to shoot my fucking phone #put the edit button next to the post button please. no dialogue prompt before posting. make both idiotically tiny. thank you

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shiro-luvs-victor · 1 month

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Gilbert von Obsidian, the main reason why I started playing Ikemen Prince. The main reason I started playing Ikemen games at all. Your route was so much fun, I can't explain.

Gilbert's route is not a route. It's basically a chessboard that we watch Gilbert play from both sides. Yes, it's a one-sided chess game and it's fun to watch. Really fun to watch! I was getting so hooked-up with the story and ended up falling in love with it.

👇👇👇Spoilers 👇👇👇

I think the fun part of Gilbert's route is uncovering his secrets slowly. For example, What is he hiding? Why did he change into....a beast? How does he know so much about Emma? What is his main goal here? All these questions get's answered in a well-crafted way in his story.

Gilbert is one of those characters who on the outside has all the characteristics as a villain but in reality he's a pure-hearted man who sacrificing everything for the better future of his country. Everyone just judges Gilbert based on rumors and what the previous Emperor of Obsidian did (I'm talking about the Bloodstained Rose Day). They all call him names like the 'Conqueror of Beasts' and 'Worldwide disaster' just because he's from Obsidian, a country known for corruption. But once you actually find out Gilbert's ambitions and what he's doing for his country, I just think he's a pretty cool guy. He's an anti-villain disguised as a villain.

His ambition to make sure everyone is being treated equally whether its royalty or a commoner and everyone should be punished for the crimes that they have committed and no one could gain favorable advantages because of their status, is truly remarkable. On top of that, he's not all fighting and conquering every nations he sees. He also works hard to make sure his country is doing better for his people. I'm talking about their food supply and technology upgrades. It does hurts me that Gilbert is only known as a 'Worldwide disaster' around the other nations especially in Rhodolite, instead of getting praised for developing his country and helping his people. People really like to look at only the bad side of a person, don't you think?

Gilbert also in his own way is trying to eradicate as much corruption and decay from his country. Starting with killing his own father, the Emperor because if the Emperor ain't doing anything for his people, he should either step down as an Emperor and let someone else more competent take the throne or just die. Neither happened, so Gilbert killed him to eliminate that threat. Then his killed of any corrupted nobles and that's why Obsidian is called the Country of Soldiers, because everyone inside the palace is a soldier (Including the maids, I guess)

Also, maybe it's only me, but I prefer the design of the Obsidian palace over the Rhodolite one. The Rhodolite palace is prettier-looking, covered with roses from head to toe every where both inside and outside. The Obsidian palace on the outside looks like a Haunted Castle that might eat you up, but in the inside, the ambience suites me perfectly. I don't really like too much light pouring inside my room.

Another thing I like about Obsidian palace is how Gilbert made sure everyone inside the palace who works for him is talented in their field of job. He recognizes talent over any kind of nepotism or status. Although Gilbert's ambition is to make sure that all people are to be treated equally, he's still feared by many ministers in the parliament. I think that's a good thing because it's good to be feared and having people do what you're asking for instead of letting them trample over you. Gilbert used to be like Emma, where he loved everyone and was kind to everyone. But since humans are the worst kinds of beasts, they will surely trample on kindness of people like Emma or former Gilbert. I'm not saying being kind is foolish but one should never let anyone trample over them for any reason. For example, we see Emma getting wrongfully bullied by some nobles just because she hangs out with Gilbert. Emma, for being a commoner gets bullied and other nobles or princes who talks with Gilbert, never. What frustrates me even more is that Emma just never stand up to her bullies and always let them have their way. I don't see any of the Rhodolite princes help her (except for one time when Yves caught that one noblewoman). When Gilbert clearly asks her, she calls him a beast and doesn't tell him. Honestly, I felt like Gilbert was the only one protecting her at that point, Emma was just being clouded by rumors about Gilbert where he's treated as the Voldemort of this world. He who-should-not-be-named!

I'm happy that later she does realize that she shouldn't be blinded by these rumors and must look at Gilbert objectively. Looking him as a human rather than a beast, but it's good thing that she admits her mistake. For her, she was like "I can fix him. I will bring him to my world which is filled with kindness and warmth and I can fix him and turn him into a human." and what does Gilbert do? He enters her world and paints it all black. Great job👍

Speaking of Emma, I love that Gilbert keeps giving her a reality check. Emma's whole ideals about fixing problems by talking things through is not a bad thing, but it's not effective in the current situation because of the tragedy known as the Bloodstained Rose Day. She never knew how much of tragedy that was and it was also partly the Rhodolite Princes' fault too. All this time, she was living in her own dream world like a main character of novel, that she mentions time to time, who never changes herself no matter how much hell she is put through. I think Emma is character who likes to dream a lot and she lives in a fantasy world which is all rainbows and sunshine. Once she is chosen as Belle, everything she thought about 'royalty' and 'nobles' which she read from books proved to be false. She starts learning about the cruel place she lives in, that is the royal palace, how the princes are not just some good-looking rich men but also very smart and strong, how the royalty can get a away with many things because of their status and even how much of piece of shit the previous Rhodolite emperor was. She learns these things and clearly realizes that despite living in Rhodolite for her entire life, she never actually knew everything about her country.

After being send as a hostage in Obsidian, it is only then she gets to see how truly developing Obsidian is, maybe even more than Rhodolite. People are all treating her well. The country wasn't like what she was expecting. To me it looked like she was having much better time in Obsidian than in Rhodolite, because at least there are no childish nobles that bully her just because they can.

Now coming to the meat of the story, Gilbert's illness. I was kinda surprised but also rolled my eyes at first when I heard that Gilbert had some kind of illness and he's going to die soon. I have seen this trope in other movies and dramas and it's usually a last minute thing that the story writers pulls it out of their ass to bait the viewers into keep investing in their characters. I always like to believe that they use these 'I'm dying from cancer' trope when they have no idea left. So when I saw Gilbert coughing blood I was praying so hard that the writers don't disappoint me. But thankfully it was not like that. I really did feel sad when I was reading the ending chapters. I admit that I was crying like a baby because Gilbert is just too sweet that I want to shower him with kisses. Every time. ALL THE TIME!

I think all in all Gilbert's route is really well written that I enjoyed most of it but it's not perfect. The issue is not that concerning, but I really wish they didn't emphasize it too much. I don't like cringy dialogues! Dialogues that make me physically cringy to the point that I roll my eyes. Dialogues like:

"What can I do to make you turn into a human?"

"If you shut down your feelings, you will eventually become a beast like me."

And my least favorite "He's the Conqueror of the Beast, the worldwide disaster...."

Emma just really loves that line to the point that she uses it every time Gilbert does something normal.

Sees Gilbert reading a book.

Emma: *gasps* "The Conqueror of the Beast, the worldwide disaster is reading a book!?!?!?"*shocked 101*

Sees Gilbert eating cookies.

Emma: *gasps* "The Conqueror of the Beast, the worldwide disaster eats cookies and not children!?!?!?"*shocked 102*

Yeah, and it's not just Emma, but some of the princes' and ministers except for Chevalier and Luke, who treats him like a normal human being. Maybe they have a past together. Probably the other other kid at the start of chapter 1 is Chevalier. They must be childhood friends. Luke and Gilbert also seems to know each other well, Luke was the only person that proudly claimed that Emma is doing very well in Obsidian so it seems like Luke must have been to Obsidian before.

Another thing. See the general rule of story-telling is 'Show than tell'. I want the writers to 'show' me how much of a pure-hearted character Emma is rather than the princes keep 'telling' the audience that Emma is kind and pure-hearted. If Emma is kind-hearted, I want them to show me her kindness in any way possible. For example, when they went to the orphanage, they could've have shown Emma mingling with the kids and helping them with whatever they need or maybe something like Emma doing a research about the Bloodstained Rose Day (actually she does, she goes around asking the princes but no one told her that the princes' were also at fault) learning both sides of the story. Show me things that would make me like her personality even more. Show me instances where she's actually a kind-hearted soul. If you don't show me, all I'm left with is a girl who forces her ideals onto others without thinking how much it's hurting the other person. I don't think Emma is terrible but I wish they could add more scenes for her where she truly gets to show her potential as a kind-hearted Belle.

Gilbert's route is a very neat political drama with a little bit of romance infused into it. Like I mentioned beforehand, the whole story is a chess game and Gilbert is the only one winning.

Both Gilbert and Emma's ideals are different. Gilbert, now, thinks that violence is the only means to get justice and Emma thinks talking is the only means to get justice. I don't think both are wrong. In cases like the Bloodstained Rose Day, the family of the victims needed justice because the royalty was not punished for their actions. That's why the anti-monarchy faction was developed. If Gilbert's ideals are followed, there would be Bloodstained Rose Day 2.0. If we go by Emma's ideals, it would be hard to get them to talk things through because of the gravity of the situation. It would still lead to the Bloodstained Rose Day 2.0. It was a straight up slaughter. It's a very complicated situation.

Anyways, I think Gilbert's route is truly amazing. A perfect 9.5/10. (I'm taking 0.5 points because of the cringy lines. NEVER COME SEE ME AGAIN!!)

#ikemen prince #ikemen series #otome #otome game #ikepri #ikemen prince gilbert #gilbert von obsidian #shiro reviews

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juliakeyoto · 6 months

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You ever think about how Edelgard is just objectively right.

Like, cut out all the war stuff, cut out all the war crime debates, let’s cut to the heart of it: nobility and the crest system. Units that are affected by their crest/being a noble/not being a noble/church stuff:

Ingrid (being passed around to get married due to her crest/her being a woman)

Sylvain (automatically assumes people will only love him for his crest, so he acts like a flirt and hates women)

Leonie (is unironically in debt so she could get a higher education)

Dorothea (I made a rant about this earlier, but she was kicked cast away by her noble dad, and had to do unsavory acts for a chance at her own future)

Felix (is an asshole cause his dad basically slapped him in the face when his brother died over his “knightly and noble” views of how Glenn died)

Bernadetta (is abused by her dad to “become the perfect wife)

Lysithia (is literally dying because of her second crest, which she has due to being used as a test dummy to see if it would even work, leading to all her sibling dying)

Edelgard ( same as above, but worse cause she’s being used as a weapon with barely any way out)

Ashe (his adopted older brother was scapegoated by the church, and when his adopted father looked for Justice he was killed)

Marianne (is literally SUICIDAL because her crest simply has rumors, is harassed by people when they find out)

Caspar (basically has nothing waiting for him at home unless he makes a name out for himself)

Mercedes (has to leave her house due to her dad wanting to make crest babies with her)

Jeritza (went insane or some form of insanity due to the above situation)

Yuri (was used by nobles due to his looks)

Constance (house fell apart since they supported House Hresvelg during the insurrection, so no help came during the Brigid offensive)

Hanneman (his sister was basically made into a baby machine for a cruel, uncaring noble, which lead Hanneman to leave his position)

Mikklan (was cast aside for no crest)

And these are just named characters. How many nameless faces met these same fates? How many died due to some noble scuffle? How many women were used and abused for children? How many died homeless while Nobles counted stacks of gold? When does it end?

And what does the church do? It makes a falling apart, underground “haven” called Abyss. I know any port in a storm, but if the church can afford 5000g a month for teachers that are doing well, they can cough up more money for Abyss. Or is that money better spent on Rhea’s private army, that can execute innocent people like Christophe? Is it better spent on the golden statues of the saints, in the already pristine church that is in the monastery? Is it better spent spreading Rhea’s lies about crests being given from the goddess, leading to people believing they need them to be successful in life? Rhea herself has twisted history and split nations, so she is obviously not corrupt at all. Regardless of her reasons why, her systems and regulations have caused thousands, if not millions to suffer.

So while you’re eating ice cream in Garreg Mach, the church preaches the goddess’s love, while thousands probably die daily due to the system the church supports.

#fe3h #edelgard positive #fe3h edelgard #tw implied abuse #tw implied violence #tw implied death #tw implied child abuse #tw implied sa

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britcision · 2 years

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The important part of the Vimes theory of monarchy is that it actually applies to every power structure, every organization

Is the person at the top good?

What about their underlings? They all have to be good too

It’s why Carrot never actually outs himself as the king, but it’s equally important to every other part of the watch series and Ankh Morpork itself

And Vetinari is its strongest adherent

See, Ankh Morpork only works the way it does because of the presence of four key players:

- Vetinari

- Vimes

- Carrot

- Lady Sybil Ramkin

(You could make an argument for Colon and Nobby too but I digress)

Without all four of these people, and their interpersonal reactions, the well ordered and prosperous city we see later on couldn’t exist

You can tell, because it very literally didn’t until Carrot arrived, and a dragon showed up to coincidentally introduce Vimes to Lady Sybil

Ankh Morpork was a mess and a hotbed of crime and fuckery, and you never saw many species other than humans; always one or two, but as thriving subcultures? As the influential business owners and captains of industry dwarves and trolls became?

Vetinari, the man on top of the pile, couldn’t finish shaping the city into a neat and well running machine without an additional stabilizing force; something outside the guilds to keep the law, and he did not have that in the alcoholic Vimes

Vimes could not reform first himself and then the watch without the combination of optimistic ideals and muscle to back them up (physical or social) that Carrot and Lady Sybil brought; without them, the watch was something to step over

Carrot couldn’t grow to understand the complexity of the city or the moral problems of control without a cynical, experienced Vimes to show him just why kings don’t solve everything

And Lady Sybil never had a reason to push for the betterment of her city until she directly met someone who wanted more, and would do anything to get it

If any one of them hadn’t stepped up and done their own thing, in their own way, none of it would have worked

By Men At Arms, the second watch book, Vimes is already seeing how many doors Lady Sybil opens for him. He can demand entry to the Assassin’s Guild because he owns the fucking land it’s built on

Lady Sybil knows Vetinari by his first name, and her little address book is the strongest tool in the arsenal of persuasion on the whole Disc

Sam Vimes persuades her the goblins need to be cared for, but Sybil Ramkin persuades the world

Sweet, uncynical Carrot arrives in Ankh Morpork believing you stop thieving by arresting the head of the thieves’ guild - and then fucking does it

It doesn’t work, because he doesn’t understand the mechanism yet, but it makes a point

Carrot is a narrative force that the flow of the Discworld curves around, just like Granny Weatherwax (and he was raised in the Ramtops by Lancre, they probably met)

He’s got the strength of ten because his heart is pure and his muscles thicc and finally, finally, Vimes has met someone who can actually back up all the ideals he’s left to rot in the bottom of a bottle

With Carrot in the watch, why can’t they arrest a dragon? Who’s going to stop them? He’s not just a brick shithouse, he’s a likeable brick shithouse and everyone wants to see what he’ll do next

Carrot? Carrot cares about people, about all people

He’s ready to speak for the people with no voices, and more importantly he’s ready to shut up and listen to those people about what they need

He’s the idealistic core of the modern watch

Lady Sybil pours in funding, respectability, power, and woe betide a single noble in the city who wants to talk down to her husband’s watch

She’s the backbone that gives those ideals staying power

Vimes has already seen what happens when they fail, and seen enough of human nature not to trust a damn thing, and knows how important it is to have true accountability

Compared to Vetinari, he’s almost as idealistic as Carrot, but he has the taste of reality

He’s the determination, the unshakeable core of militant decency who, if he can, will always stand

Vetinari likes to think that everyone is utterly awful all of them time, and often he’s proven right. But he knows the power of narrative, the power of a true Good Man, especially one with the right support

He knows what people need to thrive, and how to best use their potential

He’s the shepherd of it all, the city and watch combined, and any shepherd will tell you the difference a well trained sheepdog makes

Even if it’s a terrier

That’s why it never works that way in real life

“Organized crime” means something very different in the real world, and we need a lot more than just four good people to hold society together

It only takes one corrupt person and the result is cronyism and worse

#discworld #gnu sir terry pratchett #gnu terry pratchett #sir terry pratchett

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lansplaining · 8 months

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You know, in modern aus I feel like JGY gets done dirty a lot.

Like, this man is hardworking. Say whatever you’d like about anything else; not even the worst of takes try to claim that he’s anything less than dedicated and talented. In canon, this comes to nothing because the system is. The system is VERY not good, like, even more not good than usual.

But JGY is hard-working and very good at PR (look at those children! playing as the Noble War Hero Lianfang-zun! everyone saying ‘god i hope we don’t lose this guy for that brat teenager’ which is not the highest bar I admit but still works for my point!) it’s just that no matter how good he is at PR, his image is stained and destroyed by the default. He has to work against that shit.

He’d probably still have to work against it in a modern AU but also, like, his father isn’t the only possible source of an actual powerbase. His father isn’t his only way to power (and more importantly: safety), here! That alone does a fuck-ton, even if I’m halfway sure he would still end up trying for fatherly approval. But even just that lack of being permanently and irrevocably stuck on a ride that fucking hates you would do wonders for him.

He’d probably still end up as a scandal but there’s a difference between Modern AU magazines constantly airing out your personal life and people refusing to touch you because they believe you’re inherently tainted. Like, people will be assholes, but there is a real possibility of power all on his own merits, and I don’t think I can buy any version of Jiggy who would not desperately wish to have that. He wants to be RESPECTED! He wants to be SAFE! He wants to RUN A BUSINESS and by god, he is good at doing it.

Just. If NMJ can be less rage-poisoned, can JGY not get to be…you know. Valued a little more. You could scrap up replacement for magic murder via the switching of meds for a chronically ill man, after having erased all the original reasons why Jiggy did that murder in the first place, but you could also just simply NOT do that. If NMJ is not actively deteriorating due to rage disease then why is JGY the exact same way or pure cackling evil??? You do not think (comparatively) more equitable set-ups would…have an effect on him as a human being. You do not think that a society in which bureaucracy is a more valued skill than the ability to swing a sword around would have an effect on him?? YOU THINK A WORLD WHERE STARTING A BUSINESS IS A THING PEOPLE FREQUENTLY AND SUCCESSFULLY DO, WOULD HAVE ZERO EFFECT????

TL;DR — JGY should not be JGS’s cronie in Modern AUs, not if NMJ is out here with no degenerative evil disease, personally cuddling the souls of sick baby bunny rabbits back to life. He should be a middle manager struggling his way up at worst. Ideally, he should be a rival business to his father’s, about to crush him beneath his heel, and carry LXC off into the sunset.

YEAH MAN THIS DRIVES ME NUTS

why does modern AU NMJ always apparently get access to therapy to become a well-adjusted nice guy, but JGY's out here scheming and sometimes still literally murdering people

whatever crimes JGY actively commits need to not be that far outside the scope of what everyone else in his society is doing. literally everyone in the jianghu kills people-- that's the point. if JGY's doing actual murders, then everyone else had better be members of the mafia or FIFA executives or something

#ask answered

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limpfisted · 6 months

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For me, personally

I do think ulder loved wyll. And i think he ess a damn good dad. And I think that ulder is a fascinating character because he is a poet himself. Wylls father really did say all those things. Wylls father is described in descent to avernus as "noble" "valiant" but true neutral, whereas everyone else was lawful evil, including the flaming fist. He says terrible things to wyll. But when wyll first shows up with mizora. He just says "go." If wyll had sold out the city to a devil for power, that would have been practically a kindness. He only says this shit to eyll when he's a full grown adult. And while that doesn't make it right. It doesn't mean that when he switches to lovebimbing wyll and telling him how great and special and good he is. That he doesn't mean it. Or that he hasn't said it before.

And he says truly beautiful things about his son. He really and truly believes he's thr heart of the gate now. even tho ur the one who did most of the work LOL.

Even in murder in baldurs gate, which, tbh, is not entirely canon to the video game tho pick and choose ur own canon, that's what dnd is about, he is a man with DREAMS, who is so passionate and valiant he gets swept up in things. He loves pomp and circumstance. While he's not a fool---he believes in heroism, and goodness, and rewarding goodness and not suffering fools

And yet even tho when ulder held wylls In his arms and claimed he felt a distance from him. He still took wyll fishing. He still taught wyll to fight. He encouraged him to get into fights and flirt. He trusted him with important tasks.

Ulder believes in legends and heroism. He believes in balduran, he believes in the good in baldurs gate. And even moreso than wyll, ulder has seen the absolute worst of baldurs gate, and yet still knows what it can be

He knows the upper city sucks. He knows ite full of crime. He probably even knows the flaming fist is useless without him--and he takes pride in himself and his work and the city. In descent into acernus, there's a passage about how he's never happier than when he's giving a long, rousing speech to his men.

Ulder thought he was going to be the hero that saved baldurs gate with the legend of ansur. Other people said it was a myth. But he believed

There's also the wishing tree. How does wyll know the wishing tree was his mother's? Or what she said about it? Ulder told him that. He doesn't mention a single other relative or flaming fist. Ulder, ulder, ulder. With his repetition, and his speeches, and his beliefs and all his sayings that wyll took completely to heart---despire knowing as an adult now all the concessions his Father would have had to make to "cavort with monsters and devils," the kind of people his Father trusted him enough to complain to

The tragedy of wyll and ulder isn't that ulder is some irredeemable monster. It's that every parent is flawed, and ulder has made so many concessions in his life to protect baldurs gate, do what is good for baldurs gate, that while wyll was doing everything in his life for his father, and his father alone---ulder was still doing everything for this city hes devoted his life to. Because he believes in this broken system and his broken ass corrupt flaming fist more than he believes in his own sons innocence

Wyll believes in fairy tales bc his father believes in fairy tales and he loved his father, his father was his world, and even at 24, he's not ready to admit his father was wrong or made mistakes. Even when he says people like his father---politicians---are always making mistakes, lol.

They were close. And his father loves him. And that makes what mizora did all the more evil and despicable. Ulder may have given up his son---but he also lost him.

Could you forgive urself if u lost a child that was so good, and sweet, and loved you as much as wyll loved ulder?

Mizora tricked them both. She knew what she was doing. She was isolating him. On purpose. That's what abusers do!!! They make you rely on them. They take away all the good people and good things in ur life until ur left with nothing.

Ulder was flawed. But he gave wyll fairy tales, and he let him have fairy tales

And everything, everything, everything, that wyll loves about himself came from his father!!!

Idk man I really love ulder as a character hes a dreamer and a weirdo and I wish we got to talk to him more. Bc he IS so different in bg3 than he is in murder in baldurs gate but I wanna know why. Bc it seems like the reason is just... wyll

#ooc #hc

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amuelia · 10 months

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Hey Amulia i reall, like your Art

But Roose Bolton gives a less sinister apperance in your drawing and not the sociopath he is in the story

So my request is can you draw a young Roose Bolton who Experiments with fresh human skin , which would be Story-wise logical based of his comments on the Qualität of it from his older version in Reek III?

"Only Lady Barbrey, whom you would turn into a pair of boots … inferior boots. Human skin is not as tough as cowhide and will not wear as well. By the king’s decree you are now a Bolton. Try and act like one. Tales are told of you, Ramsay. I hear them everywhere. People fear you.” [...]

“You are mistaken. It is not good. No tales were ever told of me. Do you think I would be sitting here if it were otherwise? Your amusements are your own, I will not chide you on that count, but you must be more discreet. A peaceful land, a quiet people. That has always been my rule. Make it yours.” - Reek III, aDwD

There are some important aspects to the Roose - Ramsay dynamic:

a) The only reason Roose was interested in seeking out Ramsay is that he ran out of options, and Ramsay is the last person available who shares his Bolton blood. Personality-wise, he and Ramsay are very different.

b) Nevertheless, because Ramsay is born as a bastard of a peasant woman, Roose sees his blood as "tainted", repeatedly refers to it like that, and blames it for Ramsays bad nature

"Perhaps such service might atone in some small measure for whatever crimes his bastard blood has led him to commit." He shrugged. "Or not. When the war is done, His Grace must weigh and judge. By then I hope to have a trueborn son by Lady Walda." - Catelyn VI, aSoS

c) Ramsay is a peasant's son, didn't grow up at the Dreadfort, and did not have a nobleborn's education. He got raised by his servant Reek and his mother. Most of his "education" appears to be what these two taught him.

“Bulls are strong. Bears. I have seen my bastard fight. He is not entirely to blame. Reek was his tutor, the first Reek, and Reek was never trained at arms. Ramsay is ferocious, I will grant you, but he swings that sword like a butcher hacking meat.” - Reek III, aDwD

"The woman disobeyed me, though. You see what Ramsay is. She made him, her and Reek, always whispering in his ear about his rights. He should have been content to grind corn. Does he truly think that he can ever rule the north?" - Reek III, aDwD

d) Roose looks down on lowborn people, and knows keenly about the differences between nobles and commoners.

"—my lord, when you should have said m'lord. Your tongue betrays your birth with every word you say. If you want to sound a proper peasant, say it as if you had mud in your mouth, or were too stupid to realize it was two words, not just one." - Reek III

In the entire Reek III chapter you can see Roose being exasperated with Ramsay and mocking his bad/impulsive decisionmaking and lack of know-how around navigating complex political situations.

The meaning of the human boots line becomes pretty clear when you look at the line that follows directly after:

Human skin is not as tough as cowhide and will not wear as well. By the king’s decree you are now a Bolton. Try and act like one.

Like, any peasant can try out making boots out of human skin and then notice they don't work, but a real noble would not even attempt this in the first place because they would have teachers and servants that can inform them. Anyone with a real noble Bolton upbringing would have heard a story about a Bolton wearing human skin in a history lesson, ask the maester if that is actually possible, and get taught that it is not as tough as cowhide. Ramsay is lacking even knowledge as basic as that.

Ramsay is not being mocked for merely lacking experience, he is being mocked for his entire existence: a baseborn rube whose only reference for "being a Bolton" is peasant stories and legends.

The flayed man was the sigil of House Bolton, Theon knew; ages past, certain of their lords had gone so far as to cloak themselves in the skins of dead enemies. A number of Starks had ended thus. Supposedly all that had stopped a thousand years ago, when the Boltons had bent their knees to Winterfell. Or so they say, but old ways die hard, as well I know. - Theon IV, aCoK

Roose made a face, as if the ale he was sipping had suddenly gone sour. “There are times you make me wonder if you truly are my seed. My forebears were many things, but never fools. No, be quiet now, I have heard enough. - Reek III, aDwD

They hunt together, the Bastard and this Reek, and not for deer. I've heard tales, things I can scarce believe, even of a Bolton. - Bran II, aCoK

Ramsay's persona appears completely informed by northern legends about the Boltons; scary stories about flaying people and wearing their skins which were likely all he had growing up to model himself after. Ramsay thinks fear and cruelty makes him respected, and where Roose acts polite and lordly in public, Ramsay fully embraces ancient/mythical customs like using flaying as threats and ferocious displays.

Jon saw no reason not to tell him. "Moat Cailin is taken. The flayed corpses of the ironmen have been nailed to posts along the kingsroad." - Jon VI, aDwD

Belthasar Bolton's Pink Pavilion made from the flayed skins of a hundred Sistermen... - tWoIaF

"Save me the Freys," the Bastard was shouting as the flames roared upward, "and burn the rest. Burn it, burn it all." - Theon VI, aCoK

King Royce Bolton, Second of His Name, is said to have taken and burned Winterfell itself; his namesake and descendant Royce IV (remembered by history as Royce Redarm, for his habit of plunging his arm into the bellies of captive foes to pull out their entrails with his bare hand) did the same three centuries later. - tWoiaF

The books always play coy about just how much of the "old customs" are still present in the Boltons and it is generally part of their stereotype and what people will rumour about; however it is clear that by the time of the modern story, it is NOT what they present as their public image.

Eddard Stark had never had any reason to complain of the Lord of the Dreadfort, so far as Jon knew, but even so he had never trusted him, with his whispery voice and his pale, pale eyes. - Jon VII, aDwD

Domeric, who is a trueborn Bolton, gets a good education like any other nobleborn, and is said to have enjoyed reading history books and to have the potential to be a good jouster (both kind of serving as contrast to Ramsay). Roose praises him for those "normal" traits.

"For the moment. I had another, once. Domeric. A quiet boy, but most accomplished. He served four years as Lady Dustin's page, and three in the Vale as a squire to Lord Redfort. He played the high harp, read histories, and rode like the wind. [...] Redfort said he showed great promise in the lists. A great jouster must be a great horseman first." - Reek III, aDwD

Roose is for sure guilty of many crimes (he even admits to rape on page) that he could be arrested for, however, the point of the human boots is not to draw a parallel between Ramsay's and Roose's hobbies, but rather, to illustrate their differences. Perhaps the Dreadfort still tortures by flaying (though Roose, as most lords, generally delegates such work; see here, here and here), or has the rumoured room of human skins, or any such things; but here Roose specifically mocks Ramsay for his bad education and lack of cultural knowledge. Roose would not have to "experiment" as Ramsay does; he would be taught by his father and teachers in the ways of his house, and emerge a man highly educated and skilled.

#mein art von roose in rosa high heels ist 100% canon und logisch btw #asoiaf meta #asoiaf #roose bolton #ramsay bolton #not art

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alexxncl · 13 days

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‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 36 SPOILERS‼️

masterlist | all lessons | lesson 35 | lesson 37

MEPHISTOPHELES WHEN I FUCKING CATCH YOU i'm wiping that smug ass smirk off your face. don't play about my man's tea (i'm a lesbian)

HSNSJSDJGD he's so fed up 😭 all the man wanted was some peace and quiet

now the real question is, does diavolo want mephisto to stop lucifer from getting close to mc, or does he want to stop mc from getting close to lucifer? or both? i'm all for a poly relationship between the three of them but i've always been a dialuci girlie 🫣

oh he's such a dickhead i love him so bad

see lucifer wonders why his brothers behave the way they do. IT'S BECAUSE OF THEY LEARNED FROM WATCHING YOU !!! like lucifer is easily one of the pettiest, if not THE pettiest, out of all 7 of the brothers, but he also knows not to treat people like shit without good reason mephisto deserves all the shit he can get for

1) being racist, for lack of better phrasing;

2) being classist; and

3) being so full of himself that he can't face his own insecurities and projects them onto others

now, i'm all for character development and growth. he doesn't WANT to grow. and as much as i hate him, i love mephisto as a character. he's basically a representation of the way high society treats those that they think are "lesser" than them, even after being shown time and time again that their views and belief systems are outdated and bigoted. he and diavolo are foils almost. raised in same sphere, though mephisto definitely has had impostor syndrome for his entire life and it SHOWS

i wish we got more bits of him not being a pretentious asshole but i also think the pretentiousness adds to his value as a character yk yk

i'm calling it now, this is how he became immortal | this is also why back in season 1 of nb (i think) thirteen said that his soul wasn't as shiny as mc's anymore. it was corrupted by whatever he saw or whoever he met in the underworld. more on this here

moments like these are what i need. more depth and insight om mephisro to person, not mephisto the noble. he's such an interesting character and i feel like we only ever get a tiny glimpse of it every once in a blue moon

also, i wonder how his stance on humans now changed in the future, bc we know he was a bitch to mc on the basis of their identity in the og game

god i hate this. i knew it was was a setup from the jump

lucifer having to defend himself to mephisto, let go of his pride in the process, and now end up being framed for a crime that he obviously didn't commit? all because some racist assholes don't like the idea that he and his brothers are in consort with the future demon king

it's sad that this has to serve as a lesson to mephisto about how corrupt the lineage he was so proud to be apart of truly is, and how he's constantly perpetuating the corruption and bigoted ways of thinking just by acting in a way that benefits that lineage. but that's the way the world works outside of the game, too

#obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me spoilers #nightbringer spoilers #obey me lucifer #lucifer obey me #obey me mephisto #obey me mephistopheles #mephisto obey me #mephistopheles obey me #obey me mc #mc obey me #obey me solomon #solomon obey me #obey me diavolo #diavolo obey me

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