#if this happened to a secondary character I loved I would be pretty upset

[naranjapetrificada]

Izzy becomes a "real boy"

So obviously I haven't been able to shut up about the way Izzy has been written in season 2 and I stand by my disappointment and criticism, even knowing that the writers were given a herculean task of cramming 10 pounds of season into an 8 pound bag. Even knowing that, his "arc" such as it is has felt very off to a lot of people, present company included. I'm a cogitator at heart (thanks AuDHD!) and that can turn "make it make sense" into a prime directive sometimes. So here I am, trying once again.

I felt a particular way about Izzy after the end of season 1, which I would describe as "not especially strongly" because I primarily saw his character as a storytelling tool/useful foil more than anything else. But his presence and characterization in season 2 have been haunting me this time and not in a good way, because I've spent this season trying and failing to make it make sense. But something just occurred to me that I hope I can explain in a coherent way:

If season 1 Izzy was more a storytelling tool than anything else, maybe season 2 was an attempt to turn the puppet into a Real Boy. And if so, maybe things did not go as planned.

There are so, so many good posts going into the things that don't work about how Izzy has been handled this season, to the point that I'm not gonna try reinventing the wheel. Some of the reasons it hasn't worked for some of us include:

Much of his alleged growth apparently happening offscreen, most likely due to the reduced budget and episode count.

The lack of connective tissue between many of his scenes, some of which can be attributed to the previous point about corporate fuckery but other parts of which are hard to explain beyond "idk I guess the writers felt like it?"

The unfortunate connotations of sidelining nonwhite characters like Jim, who was the only character beyond the central pair to receive a detailed backstory, flashbacks, and a multi-episode character arc

The unchecked racialized comments he gets to drop about Edward (calling him a "wild dog" or seemingly mixing him up with Roach) that in season 1, would have resulted in violent retribution as a sign of the story's disapproval

The lines we get from Izzy that feel like they should have been said by other characters, and maybe that would have been based on the expectations of the show that we left season 1 with

The way it seems like Izzy's suffering is being used as a stand-in for actual moments of reflection or atonement, which is a pretty fucked up dynamic to set up as precursor to redemption

The way Izzy now gets to partake in the very behaviors he denigrated in Ed last season, which would be a cool and moving character beat if there was a single, solitary narrative acknowledgement in the harm caused by his treatment of Ed in s1e10. Ditto for him apparently just being cool with shit that once would have been his worst nightmare.

The fact that so many of these issues could have been addressed in a quick throwaway line or two that showed that the narrative understood what was wrong to reassure us all because by definition if a character is getting a redemption arc, it's because they did something wrong, right?

There's plenty more of course, but that's not why I made this post. I made this post because regardless of why the decision was made to handle Izzy this way this season, the attempt was made to flesh him out in ways that his role last season may not have been initially written for. Con's performance and certain production choices hinted at a depth to his character that may or may not have been on the page, but helped make for a pretty interesting season 1 antagonist.

For season 2 they decided to make Izzy a real boy, but the combination of a reduced budget, a lower episode count, and whatever creative darlings they couldn't seem to kill in order to give us more development of his transformation made sticking the landing impossible because we're lacking certain elements for basic comprehension.

Imagine you know almost nothing of the story of Pinocchio and someone starts up the Disney movie version of it for you but it's a weirdly edited version of it. There's no narration from Jiminy Cricket, mostly because there's no Jiminy Cricket at all. We see Geppetto crafting a wooden puppet, but not the part where he wishes for him to be a real boy, which makes it kinda weird to then see the part where the fairy brings him to life and says he can become a real boy but okay, let's go with it.

Now let's say the one thing you've always heard about the story is that Pinocchio's nose grows when he lies. So we get to the scene where he lies to the fairy but for whatever reason, his nose doesn't grow. No one comments on the inconsistency, and when you mention the nose thing all anyone wants to talk about is how great Pinocchio's nose looks.

Then Pinocchio goes to Pleasure Island and while the animation and acting seem great as usual, and the language of cinema appears to be setting up something dark on the horizon. Then Pinocchio's new friend Lampwick starts transforming into a donkey, this random well-dressed cricket shows up to admonish Pinocchio, and our puppet friend is randomly immune to the thing turning other kids into donkeys. No one comments on that either. Maybe Pinocchio even gloats about it a little, which seems like a weird storytelling decision that merits a follow up discussion later.

And I guess this is the part of this over-extended metaphor where you remember you have somewhere to be but you'll finish the film later, because as an audience we won't know how things shake out for season 2 Izzy until the finale. Presumably we'll still get the scene where he magically turns into a real boy, but there isn't exactly time for anything else like all that stuff with the whale. Maybe the real boy scene will happen, but for whatever reason the animator kept drawing him like the wooden puppet and every time you point it out no one will take you seriously.

Wouldn't that be a weird thing to experience?

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd meta #izzy hands #izzy critical #not really critical but that tag is useful for people's filters #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #ofmd season 2 spoilers #our flag means death spoilers #tbh I don't even understand how Izzy fans feel good about his arc #if this happened to a secondary character I loved I would be pretty upset

[liltalle]

Sorting Hat Chats - Nimona

@sevilemar got me to watch the wonderful new movie Nimona. I'm very excited about it, and I thought I'd try my hand at sorting the main characters, since I haven't seen that done yet. Here are the basic of the system I'm using.

Spoilers below the cut:

This is a very Snake Primary movie overall, so I'm going to start with our most obvious Snake Primaries and work from there.

The titular Nimona is a Snake primary. In her flashback, we see her seeking connection with all the different animals, but it only works when she finds Gloreth. And then Gloreth is her PERSON, they're in love, it's adorable, and then, the most heartbreaking thing that's ever happened to her, Gloreth betrays her. And thus her Snake primary burns. She doesn't connect with anyone else (we might assume) for the next thousand years, and tho she's self-confident and self-sufficient, she admits that the hatred from others makes it hard for her to value herself. Then she hears about Ballister, and she gets very excited, because here's, finally, a potential kindred spirit. She takes Ballister to be the classic burnt Snake/Bird villain archetype, wanting to take revenge on the world that rejected him, and is disappointed when that's not quite him (I'll elaborate when I get to sorting Ballister). Nimona herself is angry with the Kingdom and its rejection of her, but she seems to keep her anger to graffiti and fantasies of revolution, but Ballister, if her new person wants to overthrow the government, she's all on board and will help him however she can. Even when he's not what she expected and doesn't fully accept her yet, sticking with him and helping him is so much better than being alone, and she'll stand by him until he completely rejects and fears her.

Nimona's obstacle to the acceptance she craves is wrapped up in her secondary: She's a Lion. I read once that a shapeshifter Lion secondary would have a distinguishing trait that would be constant through all their forms, and that's obviously Nimona. Her animal forms are consistent over a thousand years, her impression of Ballister has a red streak in his hair and acts like her, and when she properly acts (a bit of a Bird model), as the Demon Baby and Ambrosius, she loses patience and lets herself through pretty quickly, terrifying the Squire and making Ambrosius' death a bit over the top. And her consistent difference from everyone around her is her struggle, she can look similar to all the animals but not so similar that they accept her. Gloreth, miraculously, accepts her human form and her shapeshifting abilities as well... until she doesn't. So she's careful, opening up to Ballister again. She's Nimona, she's defiantly herself, and not defined by any group, but she's reluctant to explain. She does enjoy lying to Ballister, but only as a momentary joke. (And maybe jabbing at his gullibility is related to her burnt tendency to trust people at face value?) She gradually reveals herself, until she's unmasked as Gloreth's monster, and Ballister leaves her.

And now she's broken, she burns entirely, I think, primary and secondary. She takes a form without any of her usual red, and she's not playing a role, she's become the monster they all think she is. And she loses her weakened sense of self-preservation entirely. She is only drawn to the statue of the woman she loved and who betrayed her.

Until Ballister stops her. "I'm sorry. I see you, Nimona. And you're not alone." Ballister knows all her secrets and still sees her true self, her Person finally accepts all of her authenticity... and she returns to herself and falls into his arms.

In light of all this, I was at first confused by her final sacrifice, but then I noticed, first she looks at the screaming crowds, and looks upset, but only after she looks back at Ballister, and sees his horror, does her face turn to resolve. She's always empathized with the people of the Kingdom, especially children (as they feel like her, similarity is a good way for Snakes to connect), but I don't think she's ever really taken them as her problem. But when Ballister fully accepts her, she fully accepts him, which includes, as Snakes tend to, adopting his values. She takes his duty to defend the people as her own. He's a hero, and she's his sidekick.

(Damn, I want to cry again.)

Ambrosius Goldenloin's Snake primary is very clear from his imagined monologue to the Director, so I'll quote it at length here: "I've lost my mind. I've lost everything. The man I love, my best friend." He just says his everything is his Person. Followed by a note of jealousy: "Although now he's got a new best friend. What's that about?" His distrust of Ballister, here and elsewhere, is distinctly framed as "What else is he hiding? Who is the real him?" because if he never knew Ballister, then their connection wasn't real, and his loyalty to him isn't owed. But he isn't sure he's wrong about Bal, and so he keeps trying to make sense of his confusion, and find out if he should still be loyal to him. And he's built Ballister into his sense of self so much that he then asks: "Who am I? A direct descendant of Gloreth? I never asked for that." This man's not a Lion primary, he doesn't find his destiny or heritage meaningful in defining himself. And finally: "Now everyone expects me to arrest Ballister. And if I don't, I'm a traitor to you. And if I do, I'm a traitor to him!" He frames his choice as a binary one between two personal loyalties: to the Director, and to Ballister. They are his People, deciding between them is the only thing that matters. Gloreth, the Institute, the ideals he was taught, they don't even register for him. And Ambrosius deciding which of the two to trust is much of his arc.

His secondary is less explicit, but I think the clearest moment of him problem-solving is trying to catch Ballister on the subway. Todd, a stereotypical Lion secondary, sees an obvious clue and immediately wants to move. But Ambrosius waits, and watches. And his first clue is "He hates freestyle jazz." His skill in this investigation, as he argued before, is that he knows Ballister the best, so he'll have the best chance of catching him. He's invested in Ballister, so he has power around him. And once Ambrosius has thoroughly watched the full clip (and asked a tech where the train is going), only then does he decide where to go. The thoroughness and humility here, coupled with his intro scene giving Ballister such care and support, make me think Ambrosius is a Badger secondary. A Lover archetype for our hero/villain's boyfriend, but a variation who's very conflicted with a whole lot of agency. I love it. (And his sorting matches mine.)

Ballister Boldheart/Blackheart is a wonderful Bird primary, with an arc of transforming his belief system over the course of the movie, who models Snake for the two important Snake primaries in his life.

He starts out with a dream, "I'm here to slay monsters and protect our kingdom." But it's never about his specialness, I think he just absorbed the cultural narrative, and so just did what seemed like the obvious right thing. (Flashbacks to my Bird primary model) By the time he graduates the Institute, they've "brainwashed [him] good", as Nimona says. The Institutional Badgery values of protecting the Kingdom from monsters has become entirely his. And the public's doubt in him gets to him, he has trouble not absorbing their input.

And when it all falls apart, he's immediately concerned with the Truth. He's innocent, this isn't right, he just needs to give the right people the right information and it'll all be fine. He's not the burnt Snake primary villain Nimona expects, his values are still pretty intact despite everyone turning on him. It takes time for them to break down. The plot challenges him one piece at a time. When he sees the video, he edits his system enough to say that "the Institute's not the problem, the Director is." He gradually accepts more and more of Nimona. When Ambrosius rejects him, he decides it's ok to embrace the villain role a bit and have fun.

He definitively turns on Nimona not because of his loyalty to her or to Ambrosius, but because of a piece of paper (so Bird pri) and a deep part of his system: "Gloreth's monster is the embodiment of evil and what the Kingdom needs protection from." Only when he sees Nimona again, understands her, and lets go of this belief can he fully accept her. His early system, "I'm here to slay monsters and protect our kingdom" is half transformed. He's no longer here to slay monsters, he's still here to protect the Kingdom - but by accepting the Monster.

I think he's also a Bird secondary. He builds his own arm in a derelict tower. He makes an innocence wall to connect the dots. He likes making plans and he's initially uncomfortable with Nimona's improvisation when things inevitably go south. There's a particular way he's supposed to do this, honestly, quietly, carefully. But then, when Ambrosius rejects him, he takes up a bit of an Actor mask of the villain role, and he and Nimona start to sync and have fun together. He trusts his training and he's better at swordplay than any of the other knights, because, as Ambrosius said, he worked harder than any of them. And he learns to plan with Nimona, using her shapeshifting as a tool to get the confession from the Director. And him leaving his sword behind, "I don't fight for her anymore", the tools he uses are an important part of his identity.

The Director is definitely an Idealist. Her values are Badgery, about protecting the community from the outgroup, but her final decision to turn the cannon on the city shows that this ideal is inflexible when it comes to protecting actual people. Since we don't see her change, it's hard to tell which Idealist primary she is, but I think she's a Lion. She tells Ambrosius!Nimona that she had a dream as a child, and simply states that Ballister's knighthood would be the first crack in the wall. She has a monologue, but it's not an explanation. And when everyone around her turns on her, she doesn't update, she doesn't change like Ballister does, her convictions are internal and she carries them to the terrible end. And I think she's a Bird secondary. Lasers are her distinctive tools, to kill the Queen, to knock down Ambrosius, and to (try to) kill Nimona. She plots and lies, easily but carefully, on her own, no improvisation and no support from others. Her monologue is just her dropping her mask and speaking her Liony conviction.

Todd (Thoddeus) Sureblade strikes me as a pretty stereotypical Double Lion. He's impulsive, ready to rush off to catch Ballister at the first clue of where he went. He's a Glory Hound, competing with Ambrosius to lead the knights. And he never questions that he's in the right and better than those around him, until the very end. We only see his sad expression, but reading into that, I think the way the final battle ended shook him, and he's done some emotional soul-searching.

And while my sortings for the antagonist characters are more tentative, I enjoy the concept that this story, that's so much about inverting classical tropes, would invert the character archetypes such that Snake and Bird primaries are the heroes and Lion primaries (with Badgery and Glory Hound values) are the villains.

(These are the 5 characters I think we know enough about to sort decently. The Queen, the Squire, and Gloreth don't get much screen time.)

To sum up:

Nimona - Snake/Lion (Bird sec model)

Ambrosius - Snake/Badger

Ballister - Double Bird (Snake pri model)

The Director - Lion/Bird

Todd (Thoddeus) Sureblade - Double Lion

(If anyone else has sorted these characters, or has disagreements, I'd love to hear about it. I'm trying to get better at this.)

#nimona #sortinghatchats #ballister boldheart #ballister blackheart #ambrosius goldenloin #nimona film #shc #snake primary

[mmikmmik2]

Okay I'm thinking about monster of the week/self-contained arcs again and how much I love them like... okay... in Kamen Rider W, Accel is introduced in episodes 19-20. He acts like an asshole but agrees to start working with the W crew by the end. He slowly begins bonding with them and getting his shit together. Then, in episodes 27-28, Accel's nemesis Weather shows up and properly introduces himself to the protagonists for the first time. Accel backslides and starts stomping around again fuming about how he needs to do this alone and revenge is more important than saving people or whatever.

Like... just... think about how it played out for there to be three MOTW arcs between Accel's intro arc and Weather's introduction to the heroes.

First of all, Weather was being a huge creep the whole time he was off doing things with the Sonozakis and not interacting with the protagonists, and he did that awful shit to Wakana. The audience is learning how much this guy sucks and eager for him to get his ass kicked, but also we know he's strong. So it's building the anticipation - what awful thing is he going to be doing when he meets the Riders? Will the heroes be able to save people from him and give him the beat down he deserves? And then in episode 27, we realize the heroes' investigation is leading them to Weather before it happens, and we get to enjoy that anticipation - it's finally going to happen!

The different MOTW arcs (which were all good in their own rights, by the way) all had pretty different tones and showcased different characters. Triceratops arc had a stronger villain and more drama, and Accel took the lead again in that one. Liar arc was fun and silly, and more W-centric with Accel settling into a secondary role. Doll arc was an Akiko-centric horror/melodrama/??? wherein Accel enters his Wifeguy Era which he has yet to exit. So the audience, and all of the protagonists, have gotten to know Accel fairly well. He's friends with the W crew and if he's your kind of character you probably like him by now.

So, because we've gotten to see Accel trying to stop villains and playing the straight man in comic relief scenes and being soft and supportive with Akiko, it's like "oh shit" when he starts acting like such an asshole again. We know that's not who he is. The other characters know that's not who he is. It's a very distinct, alarming change. Drama levels at maximum. I love drama.

I mean there are just so many goddamn series that would introduce Weather like one episode after Accel (probably introduced both of them in a dramatic montage at the end of episode 1 tbh) and have him show up to taunt the heroes and say cryptic shit at least every other week, and it would be so much worse. We wouldn't have that contrast, where Accel suddenly flips out when Weather arrives and we know because we have been shown and not told that this is very out-of-character and upsetting to Accel's friends. We wouldn't have that sense that the first confrontation is important and pivotal and dramatic, because we wouldn't have been anticipating it for a month. And after he's started being proactive as a villain, it's enjoyably stressful that Weather could show up at any time, but he doesn't lose his impact as a villain by actually showing up every time.

#(looks at ex-aid) i diagnose you w/ motw deficiency #take one interesting self-contained problem Q2W and call me in a few months if things don't improve

[13eyond13]

Hey! What do you think about Berserk’s secondary characters? Such as Judeau, Luca, or Skull Night? Who’s your most and least favorite?

Ooh, thanks for asking! THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MORE MINOR BERSERK CHARACTERS:

BAND OF THE FALCON/HAWK: So the members that made the biggest impression on me aside from Guts/Casca/Griffith, in order of how much I liked them, were:

1. JUDEAU: he was probably my next most favourite member of the Band. I thought he was pretty kind and emotionally intelligent - I liked his loyal/thoughtful/peaceful mediator vibe, and I always wanted to hear what he had to say about everybody else. I'm still not ok about what happens to him in the end, it was one of the most emotionally upsetting parts of The Eclipse to me for sure...

2. RICKERT: He started standing out to me way more post-Eclipse as a character when he starts having to make more decisions on his own. I love the ways he's dealing with his grief and I was very proud of him whenever he stood up to Griffith, hahaha. I'm really interested in seeing what part he's going to play in the finale of the story, too...

3. PIPPIN: the only scene I can really remember about Pippin now is when he literally picks up Guts and drags him down to force him to hang out with everybody else, which was great. Hahaha I liked him, but I don't remember a whole lot else about him other than that? I think that he was pretty quiet most of the time.

4. CORKUS: He's probably the one you're kinda supposed to not like as much as the others in the group, as he's pretty abrasive at times. He added some spice to things for sure, and I could see why he might feel negatively about Guts, and some of the stuff he says made for interesting contrasts to the positivity/comradery going on otherwise. I didn't feel a ton of love for him at any point, but also I don't think he deserved what he ended up getting in the end either, of course...

BLACK SWORDSMAN PARTY:

1. PUCK: I'm attached to him quite a bit simply because of how much he was with us in the beginning / during the parts where Guts was wandering around all surly and angry and alone. I think he sort of gets reduced to only comic relief a bit much in the later parts of the story, but he definitely kept me going through some of the darker and more nihilistic parts with his cuteness and kindness and the way he always pointed out the stuff that was at times bugging or concerning me about Guts, hahah. Also, I love whatever weird thing he has going on with the Behelit, hahaha. It's like his little pet... feeding it cheese...

2. SCHIERKE: OK so I was kind of like OHHHNOOO at first about the kid characters permanently joining Guts traveling party, because I didn't really want the story to start attempting to pander to kids a bunch when it's so clearly adult in subject matter and themes and tone much of the time. But Schierke definitely grew on me more over time, especially in the scenes where she's interacting with Guts alone - I think her witch powers are pretty impressive, her quiet/nervous personality is usually cute, and her crush on Guts is endearing as well, haha - the way she's self-aware that it's because "he's an adult who paid attention to me, and I liked it" reminds me of the kind of things I would've been saying at that age myself. I was always trying to be serious and sensible and cautious and adult all the time as a kid about such stuff, too...

3. FARNESE: She had some of the most dramatic and interesting character development of any of the characters in the entire series, I would say. Thinking about who she was when we first met her versus who she ends up becoming later on is pretty impressive. I especially like how hard she works at humbling herself, learning new things and opening herself up to new people and new ways of thinking and being, even though she also feels completely useless and incompetent at it much of the time.

4. SERPICO: I feel almost like I'd have to reread the story to really get a handle on this character better, because he often slipped into the background for me? I think his fights with Guts were pretty interesting, but otherwise he just didn't really resonate that strongly with me or stand out to me that much, and I never felt that attached to him at any point tbh

5. IVALERA: sassy and cute, but I don't have that much else to say about her

6. ISIDRO: My least favourite of the bunch, because he often actively irritates me whenever he's on the page, and the comic relief he's supposed to provide never really hits the mark for me. I feel like he just throws off the tone of the story a lot with all the loudmouthed insecure spunkiness, like he's out of place and was meant to exist in a Shonen series like Naruto or something else instead, haha. IDK... maybe I'd warm up to him more and see why he's necessary to include more upon a second read...

OTHER NOTABLES: 1. SKULL KNIGHT: I love him a lot, haha. He's got such an oddly chill and polite vibe for what a dramatic and scary-looking presence he has. He definitely can feel very plot-devicey as a character at times, but it doesn't mean I'm not always glad to see him whenever he shows up, and I think his personal history with the Berserker Armour is pretty interesting as well

2. NOSFERATU ZODD: I like him quite a bit too... definitely the most chill of the monsters to me, haha. Chill is almost always a plus to me, especially when the character is otherwise a bit larger than life

3. LUCA: I liked her! One of the more palatable characters in that arc. Was glad she was watching out for Casca like she was...

4. CHARLOTTE: I worry about her, but I feel for her too! The fanart she kept making of Griffith made me lol tbh.. I hope nothing too bad happens to her now that she's actually hitched to him...

#berserk #berserk spoilers #ask #anon #p

[levinbolts]

10 and 20 for Valen.

10. What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

ok so i'm always a slut for plopping characters in the exact opposite universe of their canon universe, so i am constantly thinking about normal old valen in a modern setting struggling to survive and make sense of what they want in life. no powers or supernatural elements to be seen. but i also like to think of a modern verse with bits and pieces of their canon (for example, them still having their dark urges and perhaps still being a sorcerer). either way, i already consider that a sort of secondary verse for them, anyway.

but as far as a verse i haven't put too much thought in, i feel like plopping them in the universe of another game (like final fantasy 7 or 15) would actually be pretty fun, considering who valen is as a person. or maybe this is just my want for them to be friends with cloud talking.

20. Does your OC have a tendency to get jealous? If so, how does this manifest?

hmmm. yes and no? it depends on what is happening and who is doing it. valen doesn't form attachment (romantic or otherwise) easily. people come and people go, and forming too many attachments too quickly is a recipe for hurt and disaster (a learned lesson). so if the person in question is someone they just have sex with, without a discussion or establishment of a deeper relationship or title, even if it's a good friend that they sleep with regularly, valen will never be jealous of anything they do, no matter what it is. they simply won't care enough to be.

however, if the relationship in question is an established one with mutual connection, things are a bit different. for instance, if they were to see astarion "flirting" with someone right in front of them, they probably wouldn't even bat an eye; they know the type of person astarion is, and would assume that there is a reason he's doing what he's doing (and that it isn't because he has any genuine interest in whoever it is). however, if there was any indication that astarion was seeking a genuine connection from someone else without so much as speaking to them about it first...well. he'd be single and laid out on the ground.

valen isn't a jealous or possessive person and has an oddly neutral approach to love and romance; they'll be alright with almost anything (within reason) that's properly communicated to them beforehand—and will do the same, should the need arise, like with halsin—and most definitely is not opposed to their partner having multiple partners. all they ask for is respect and communication. and maybe to at least know/meet the person beforehand.

the only occasion where they will absolutely get jealous or upset is an occasion where they feel they're being replaced or neglected in favor of someone else, in which case they'll be outspoken about that feeling (with varying emotions, depending on the severity of the neglect; they can be either calm and sensible OR angry and spiteful). because despite them being alright with their partner having others on the side, they still want to be important in their life.

#lext post #i didn't mean for this to get that long #i just have a lot of thoughts about this Exact thing #there's a fic centering around it that is playing in my head at all times and i need to just sit down and write it #but knowing me i wont and i will just continue to fantasize about it #oc: valen

[pixie88]

Enough - Meet the characters.

Here are the face claims and the back stories of each character of Enough. I will update as new characters appear 💜

Ellis Beck

Ellis (Joseph Cannata) was the older brother of three, he had two younger brothers Zack and Jason. Ellis met Shane at primary school at first the two didn't get along, but soon became good friends, their parents knew if they weren't at home they were at the others' house. In Secondary school they had girls falling over them, no one caught his eye until Shane's sister Domenica brought home the new girl in her year group Dana Lucas.

He was smitten from the start, but she didn't make it easy for him, when they finally got together they were inseparable. With Ellis being a year older he left school a year before her and enrolled with the police, six years later he finally finished his training.

Dana Beck (Lucas)

Dana (Nina Dobrev) moved to Hastings when she was fifteen with her younger brother Harley and her parents Daisy and Jonah, after her dad Jonah got promoted to area manager of the major supermarket. She met Selina in art class, she introduced her to Domenica, Melissa, Nancy and Kellie, Dana quickly became a part of the group.

Dana always had a passion for photography, she only agreed to go on a date with Ellis if he agreed to let her take photos of him for her final exam. She went on to study photography in college before she got a job as a photographer for the local newspaper, soon her career took off, and she started taking photos for weddings.

On her nineteenth birthday Ellis got down on one knee and she said yes. Six months later the two of them ran off and got married in secret with just Selina and Shane as their witnesses. Daisy had taken over the whole wedding and turned it into one either of them wanted, so a secret wedding was the perfect idea.

Nine months later she gave born to their first son Myles, six years later Arlo came along completing their family. The following year Dana decides to set up her own business, which was a success clients were coming in thick and fast.

Arlo was four years old when the unimaginable happened, this lead to Dana rethinking their lives. She thought Ellis was on the same page for two years, then his lie caught up with him and she found out the truth that torn them apart.

Myles Beck

Myles (Joshua Colley) is the eldest child (thirteen), the split of their parents' hit him hard. At first he blamed his mum for kicking out his dad, but Ellis sat him down and talk to him through why they were splitting and that he would still see him as much as he did when he lived in the family home. Coming into his teenage years, he is growing into a young man and wants to be the man his dad will be proud of.

Arlo Beck

Arlo (Sonny Kendall) is the baby of the family (six), he causes mischief, he even set his parents up on a date hoping this would bring them back together. Arlo is pretty much a mummy's boy, he can wrap her round his little finger. The split didn't faze him much until a boy in his class teases him about it, when he came out of school crying that day Myles had a word with the boy that upset his brother and the teasing stopped. Arlo loves football, Ellis is even the towns under elevens football coach.

*****

Daisy Lucas

Daisy (Michelle Pfeiffer) met husband (Jonah) at her own engagement party, she said yes because she didn't want to upset Brian, but their relationship had become stale and when his work friend Jonah arrived he flirted with her at the bar not realizing she was in fact the bride to be.

A few weeks later she called off the wedding, and just by chance she ran into him in a small cafe in Brighton, a year later they said their I do's while Daisy was five months pregnant with Dana. Once the kids started school, she went back to work as a dinner lady in the kids' school, Dana hated it, but Harley saw the plus side to it - extra servings.

She went on to work in a few of the top restaurants and eventually opened her own cafe in Hastings after the move where the kids used to hang out after school.

Jonah Lucas

Jonah (Shane Richie) he's always been a lad's lad and a bit of a joker, him and Daisy are like chalk and cheese, but there was something about her that hooked him. After Brian found out about the pair he changed job's and never spoke to Jonah again, but he wouldn't change a thing.

Having his bambino's was his greatest achievement, he adores his kids and even helped deliver Arlo on Dana's kitchen floor. He climbed the management ladder in one of the biggest supermarkets in the UK.

Growing up was hard, his dad used his Mum Pauline as a punching bag, and it wasn't long after he turned ten he was his next target until his Uncle Steve found out what had been happening over the years. He knocked seven bells out of his brother before he left Pauline with Jonah, Jonah wanted to be a Dad, Roy never was, when he hit thirty's he found out Roy was serving a twenty year sentence at his majesty's pleasure.

Harley Lucas

Harley (Daniel K Palmer) has never been one to play by the rules, he calls himself a free spirit, he plans on never growing up never settling down because that is for people like his sister and friends not him. He's in and out of jobs all the time when he isn't traveling.

Domenica Dawson

Domenica (Julia Goulding) is a female version of Harley, she tried the whole marriage thing once because of her Italian boyfriend at the time family pushed for it, but a few months in, it was all too much for her. She was her own person, but they wanted to be a woman that looked after her husband, gave him children and give up her career while he went to work. She ran away and filed for divorce, two years later she came back to Hastings a newly divorced and free woman.

*****

Cohen Beck

Cohen (Craig Fairbrass) married his first wife at eighteen years old, more through convenience because it helped his family business image. He was married to Pippa for ten years before he met twenty year old Stella, what she didn't know he had never actually slept with his wife and even caught her cheating on him a handful of times. Every time she would remind him, they were married for an image and any time she would try to seduce him, he just wasn't interested.

But with Stella things were different he fell hard for her quickly, he knew she wouldn't put up with being the other woman for long and once he told his parent, she was expecting his child something they were longing for from Pippa there was no going back. They would favour Stella over Pippa, he never told them about Pippa's endless affairs and made it look as if he was the one doing the dirty all along.

Stella Beck

Stella (Claire King) she met Cohen at work he was her married older boss, when she fell pregnant with Ellis two and a half years later she gave Cohen an ultimatum he either left his wife of ten years or he'd never see her or their unborn child again. She knew he loved her and how much he wanted a child his wife couldn't give him and used it against him, he called her vindictive, but she called it making a choice. Once he divorced his first wife, Stella quickly popped the question on a leap year, which he said yes before the had Jason and Zack.

Out of the two of them, she is the more stubborn and strict one.

Zack Beck

Zack (James Farrar) believes living a single life is the best life with a few one night stands to throw in now and again. His advice is to "hump em and dump em!" being a barman he pretty much doesn't need to make much of an effort other than throw them a free drink now and again.

Jason Beck

Jason (Michael Trevino) is the opposite to his brother Zack, he wants what his older brother Ellis had a soulmate. He thought he found that in his girlfriend Molly, but when he got down on one knee she turned him down flat. He wanted answers, so he chased after her to find out she was in love with his brother Zack, and she had admitted her feeling to Zack in a panic earlier that evening after finding the ring in Jason's coat pocket, but Zack had told her, he didn't feel the same even if he did he wouldn't do that to his brother.

Six months later he met his Fiancee Priya.

*****

Kellie Franks

Kellie Franks (Kimberly Hart-Simpson) grew up with a alcoholic mother, she never knew who her Dad was, she only knew he worked on the buses what her Mum remembered from that drunken shack up. On the surface she acts as if she doesn't care, but the girls know her too well she has a soft centre. Not growing up with a real family, she saw her friends as the family she never had. Each of the girls would have her over most nights knowing she would go home to nothing to eat while her Mum was necking a bottle of vodka on the sofa.

One day she came home from school to find they were homeless, her Mum hadn't been paying the rent, "it's a dog eat dog world, sweets and it's about time you learned that!" her Mum hiss tapping her on the back as she walked off.

With nowhere to live the Domenica's parents took her in, she hoped her Mum would come back sober for her but she never did.

Five years later she got a phone call to say her Mum had been involved in a hit and run and didn't make it.

She felt lost and alone, her life has been up and down ever since.

Priya Bailey

Priya (Ella Balinska) moved to Hastings from Sheffield to live with her Aunt when her parents moved to Portugal. She met Jason on route to work, waiting for the bus each morning, six months after Molly turned him down. The pair got talking, and he took her number down, four years later the pair are planning their wedding.

Liam Norris

Liam (Taylor John Smith) met Selina on a girls night out, Selina kept giving him the eye, but was too scared to go over herself. Eventually Dana got fed up with her friend not making a move and went over to him ask him to buy Selina a drink and take it over to her since then they have been together seven years, married for five and have been trying for a baby for over two years.

Selina Norris

Selina's (Selina Chhaur) parents moved to Hastings from Australia when she was eight years old, after her Nan on her Dad's side became ill. He moved back to take care of her, Domenica was the first girl Selina spoke to when she started school. She went on to study hairdressing in college, even though they are best friends Dana has never told her the real reason for the split.

*****

Jacob Sullivan

Jacob (Dan Holmes) is Melissa's latest husband, he owns his own car dealership in Hastings, or though the girls felt sorry for him when he first got involved with Melissa but they quickly saw he could handle her and stand his ground when he knew she was in the wrong.

Melissa Sullivan

Melissa (Jacqueline Jossa) always had a crush on Ellis, she would endlessly ask him out, but he would always make the excuse he didn't want a girlfriend at the time then Dana came along and Melissa could see he was smitten. Upset, she took a disliking to Dana believing her arrival stole her chance with him. Since then, she guarded herself from fall in love with anyone so went after guys for power or money, her marriages never stuck until Jacob.

He brought down her walls and she fell in love, she still loves to wind up the girls now and again.

Shane Dawson

Shane (Michael Karim Malarkey) met Ellis in primary school, where ever Ellis was Shane wasn't far behind. They are more like brothers than best friends, they would cover for each other, no questions asked. Shane owns a small estate agent in the town, he met Nancy when she came in looking for a flat to rent, that evening he asked her out for drinks, he fell for her and hard.  

Nancy (Maddy Hill) grew up in Hastings, she comes from a big family with four older sisters she knows how to stand her ground. She was flat hunting when she walked into Shane's estate agents, she fell for his charm and the pair married a year later. She quickly fitted in with the girls, so when she lost her job Melissa quickly found her one at Jacob car dealership, the pair are looking to start a family soon.

Nancy Dawson

*****

Cherry Attwood

Cherry (Debby Ryan) was looking for work experience for her college photography course taking a chance she strolled into Dana's studio confident. Wanting to test her Dana let her take on her following photo shoot, she quickly impressed her.

When the two weeks work experience was over Dana offered her a permanent job which meant Dana wasn't a one woman band anymore so she'd have more time with the kids.

Emily Newport

Emily (Arielle Kebbel) she met Dana on Tommy's first day of school Dana handed her a tissue when the pair stood outside their little ones class room crying that their babies have grow up.

Amelia and Grace befriended the pair, but they both learned the hard way that Amelia and Grace were the "mean Mum's" of the school runs.

Annabelle Palmer

Annabelle (Kat Graham) is Jacques fiancée she worked the first desk at the police station. When new trainee Jacques start she thought he was just another cocky newbie quickly she leaned there was more behind the confident copper. She met Dana at the first works Christmas party she went to, she sat at the end of the table next to her quiet, Dana was used to these police do's she had been to enough by then. She could tell she felt out of place amongst a table full of copper, so Dana asked her if she wanted to get a drink at the bar.

By the time Ellis found the pair, they were drunk and everyone had gone home, that was Dana party trick she could make friends anywhere.

Jacques Fraser

Jacques (Austin Butler) enrolled with the police at twenty years old, wanting to break the mould from his criminal family. It was a fight he had to proud him self a little more because the name Fraser was a well known name with the police. He showed confidence and resilience when he passed his police trainer which got him noticed. Within three years he was a DC working along side Ellis who at first thought he was a pain in the arse, but he soon saw potential that the DCI did.

The two soon worked more and more cases together.

When everything went down two years ago, it was Jacques who wouldn't go home and who was by Ellis's side until the end.

The situation made him realize what he wanted in life, a week later he got down on one knee, thankfully Annabelle said yes!

The two have been planning their wedding, but with the death of Jacques Dad it was push back.

Tag squad (tagging those that asked): @secretaryunpaid @aussieez @munstysmind @gloriousalmondvoiddreamer @palmaviolet @pixie-b

#pixie88 #enough series #pixie 88 original #original character #original story #original fiction #original writing #face claims #character background #Ellis x Dana #heartbreak #angst #secrets and lies #fluff

[wat-the-cur]

Have some more random OFAH headcanons (Mostly Trigger-based, with some other characters sprinkled in, because I love them, too)

- Around the time his family moved to London, Denzil inherited one of his older brothers’ jumpers. It was black, and fuzzy and really soft. Denzil wore it almost every day for months, as a sort of security blanket, and he kept it until it fell apart.  

- Julie the barmaid uses peach scented hand cream. 

- Monkey Harris is adopted. He does not know who his birth parents are, and he has never cared to find out. 

- Pauline Harris is Monkey Harris’ cousin by adoption. He hates her. 

- While I’m talking about Monkey, he has had a fat crush on Trigger since they were teenagers, but he is closeted, and his love for his wife later on prevented him from ever acting on his feelings. This, though, is why he continuously teamed up with Trigger in the early days, despite the fact he never brought many, if any ideas to the table and was really only good at nicking things. He wanted to keep him close. He started leaving Trig out of his schemes after deciding it was unfair on both Trigger and his wife, hence why Trigger only engages in solo petty thefts later on in the series. 

- Trigger has had brief relationships with a few of the barmaids at The Nag’s Head. Most notably, Joycie, Julie and Maureen. His affair with Joycie actually pre-dated her barmaid days. They dated for a time in the early seventies. Joycie  has been heavily involved in the leather scene for years. Trigger was not, but he happily gave it a try to please Joycie, with whom he had his first healthy relationship after a string of bad ones. The two made a readers’ page in a leather magazine that Joycie was subscribed to. Her dressed as a jockey, he as a horse, under the pseudonyms Jockey Joyce and Sweeps the Stallion. Years later, Del-Boy bought a job lot of old dirty magazines from a sex shop that was closing down, much to the chagrin of Albert and (to an extent) Rodney. Rodney was not so upset as to turn down a gift of whichever magazine he fancied. He chose Joycie and Trig’s mag in the hope of a few uniforms, only to recognise Trigger’s eyes peeking at him over a long, leather horse snout. Del and Rodney quickly buried the magazine in the pile and swore never to speak of it. 

- Joycie is Nervous Nerys’ aunt.  

- Trigger used to walk both Karen and Nerys home, on nights when they had no transport.  - Lisa, Trigger’s niece, had a crush on Karen in secondary school. Trigger was the first person she told, making him promise not to tell her mum.  - Lisa’s dad walked out on her mum, before she was born. Trigger stepped in and sat with his sister through the birth. During the first year of Lisa’s life, Trigger lived with them, as an extra pair of hands to feed, or sooth his niece when needed. As a result, he is very protective of Lisa. When Andy stepped into her life, Trigger, as well as Lisa’s mum, gave him the talk. Trigger may not be too good with words, but he did tell Andy about the day Lisa was born, that a brother is no substitute for a husband, and neither is an uncle. He managed to make it clear what would happen if Andy left Lisa when she needed him, but fortunately there was no need.  - Rodney suffers with reoccurring eczema, and he’s pretty insecure about it.  - Marlene is bisexual and had several girlfriends, as well as boyfriends, before settling with Boycie. I like to think that one of those girlfriends was a girl called Sybil, who would go on to marry a Bazil Fawlty. She also harboured a bit of a crush on Raquel.  - Besides the heart on her thigh, Marlene has quite a few tattoos that are hidden under her clothes.  - When he was still in school, Boycie was sent to therapy for anger management. His passion for keeping fish started from this, as he was advised to get a goldfish to help him calm down.  - Despite not being their father, Mike actually gets on really well with his ex-wife’s kid and always sends them christmas and birthday presents.  - Trigger had terrible trouble tying his shoelaces, until Del Boy showed him the bunny ears method. He uses it to this day. 

- Denzil moved in with Trigger during a rough depressive episode, and decided to stay when they found they both liked the arrangement.  - Corinne collects prettily painted mugs, and has a special selection of ones with birds on them. 

- The pink hat that Trigger said was stolen at a party, was actually a woman’s hat that he bought in the sixties, during his dandy phase. He loved it so much that none of his friends had the heart to tell him it was made for a girl. He wore it everywhere. 

- When Trigger was young and first started to experience auditory hallucinations, his Grandma told him that it was just the spirits trying to talk to him. As she was a medium, little Trigger believed her. In actuality, Alice Ball was aware of what the issue really was, but did not want Trigger to know. This was because his mother, Elsie, had been sent to a psychiatric hospital for the same thing, and had been subjected to malpractice. She was never the same again, and Arthur and Alice grew a complete distrust of psychiatry. Trigger did not realise until a significantly late age, that his condition was actually a mental one, having been told to keep the “voices” a secret. 

#headcanons #only fools and horses #ofah

[not-close-to-straight]

Omg! The chapter was so fucking good! I'm so excited for Monday! Excited to see if Steve is really gonna kiss Billy and call him Alpha!!

The stand off between them, Steve holding his ground and then begging Billy to leave and promising him he can have him if he just leaves, like fuck, he clearly needs his Alpha to be safe, doesn't want Billy there cuz it's dangerous

Also Steve scenting like a Mama and being all mama bear protective of the kids is the best!

And Max being protective of Billy and then him helping her?? Like so fucking sweet and I'm so excited to see their relationship improving!

It was all just so fucking good! 😍😍

Okay so I got a bunch of comments that were like "can't wait for Monday!" and at first I was SO CONFUSED like, holy shit did I promise to update on Monday because that's definitely not happening.

And then I realized y'all were excited for Monday IN THE STORY, like hyped up waiting for the weekend to be over for Billy so he could see Steve again on Monday and for some reason that made me so so happy??? Like y'all really are here hyped up for the start of the school week for our characters and... idk. It just made me super happy to have people that invested in a story's calendar??

Anyway. I rewrote that scene so many times. SO MANY TIMES. Maybe five times before I finally rewatched the episode (again) and then rewrote the scene (again!).

At first Steve was gonna be alot meaner about it, get those Mama Bear instincts activated and get rough with Billy to force him BACK as a way to like, establish to Billy that this Omega was NOT to be messed with and then to sort of switch Billy's POV from "let me take care of you" to "You can take care of yourself, I just want to love you" which is a valid emotion, right? I thought it would elevate Steve's character past the traumatized Omega we've seen so far and re-establish him as a BAMF for the remainder of the fic.

And then I switched it up so BILLY was the angrier one and it was all from Billy's POV to keep his confusion and aggression and heartache all at the forefront while Steve was being so closed off and lying to him etc.

I went back and forth with a mix of those sort of styles before finally landing on the final draft and I'm.... 98% happy with how it turned out. I was happy with the switching POV's and the whiplash of Billy being so hurt about Steve's rejection and ready to FIGHT him about it, to Billy wanting to be sick cos he thought Steve was just playing him plus the way we got to see inside Steve's mind as the situation devolved and how he was so so relieved to finally call Billy Alpha even if he hadn't really realized he was ready for that sort of thing.

And the way he tells Billy "you're my favorite scent, I dream about you" AHHHHHH

I super love Max in this story. Me and Alyssa @xkissmeimirishx agreed almost immediately that Max is absolutely going to present Alpha in pretty much any Omegaverse AU and she is so FUN in this one with her little fangs and her Alpha side surging every time she's upset. And we see her through season 2-3 sort of grow into herself on the show, her original "meanness" turning to affectionate sarcasm and her just finding her place within the group so even though I usually don't have secondary genders present until closer to 17/18 in my fics, it felt like a good parallel to have her presenting at closer to 13.

The end scene with her and Billy I actually added at the end of my final rewrite. Originally it was more about Billy witnessing Steve holding onto his promise about taking care of Max but it turned into such a great moment between brother and sister and I actually went through my outline and added ADDITIONAL scenes for them because I adore them so much!

[jenovacomplete]

post about l/appland arknights is going around and i'm not going to comment on any of the other stuff regarding "is it okay to name a character after a real-world area with a name containing an ethnic slur?" because absolutely not my place to be discoursing about it, but

absolutely none of this is true about l/appland; every arknights character has animal traits, for one, but for another she is not arctic-themed? even a little? she's based on the newfoundland wolf, yeah, but that's about it -- she's actually from the italy-inspired region, and her... Everything is largely defined by her involvement in organised crime. the crystals you see on and around her are not ice, they're magic rock tumours (and central to arknights' plot). you could make an argument that her secondary skill, 'wolf spirit', is an allusion to "spirit animals", except it... isn't, because she is quite literally a wolf. (her talent, 'spiritual destruction', is referring to spirit as in morale. it's a pun.) if there's anything to get mad about character-wise, it's that said magic rock tumours make her obsessive and violent, which is not only true of many other characters but also, again, central to arknights' plot (as a game about forging community for and seeking to treat the ill, even the 'ugly' ones).

setting aside the ethics of using the name 'l/appland' at all, there isn't anything about her as a character that reads as an intentional attempt at racial caricature. she just happens to be named after a real-world region whose name contains an ethnic slur. this is reason to be upset in and of itself, and should be brought to attention, and should be reflected on by the fanbase, and most certainly should encourage people to at the very barest minimum not shorten her name to the actual slur. you are right to be uncomfortable, and you are right to be angry. you do not need to invent reasons to be; that is enough.

this is ultimately an inevitability of the way that arknights handles real-world politics -- with most all of its names derived from real things, its fictional nations built in reflections of history and its mythos inspired by ours, all being written and produced and designed by a hong kong-based* game developer and the artists they partner with**... this is not the only fuck-up they've had -- it's just one that turns a character's very name to ash in the mouth. (and the hill an angry tumblr user has decided to die on, with all the associated poise.)

there are, for the record, intentional sami characters in the game: they're an in-game faction literally called sami, populated by deer people who speak a mix of old norse and lule sámi. if you're going to talk microaggressions (rather than the obvious macro- one), i think you're best off starting there.

(*) their nationality doesn't excuse their racism, intentional or otherwise, but it's something to consider when asking why they would make the decisions they do. while hg are pretty well-read and have an obvious love for history, well... information about sami and their relationship to the term l/apland is difficult to find on the english web -- you think it's any easier across the pond? and that is, again, not an excuse, but when the majority of responses to op are "why couldn't they have just googled it"... mate, have you tried googling it, Please Shut Up

(**) arknights' characters are designed on commission by external artists. l/appland is the work of artist 幻象黑兔 (huànxiàng hēi tù).

#speaking! #discourse

[picklewednesday]

SHERF IS LITERALLY SO BABY THAT IS A LITTLE GUY LIKE HERE LET ME SHOW YOU

he he is such a guy a guy whos there such silly i cant I AM UNABLE TO MUTTER THE WORDS OF THE LORE SINC E THE GAME ISNT OUT YET BUT THIS IS A SKRUNKLE WHO WAS SO SILLY THEN BECAME A SHERRIFF HE IS SO BABY BTW HES A LITTLE GUY HES SO SILLY LOOK AT HOW SILLY HE IS

OH MY GOD THEYRE SO CUTE I AM IMMEDIATELY IN LOVE WITH HIM

anyways Kenny McCormick. let me tell you about this fucker

kenny is a (now) 11 year old boy who was. nine when the show first started I wanna say??? anyways, he is a part of the four main characters (though the writers are slowly erasing his silly guy rep and making him a secondary character) he dies in EVERY episode, thus the 'Oh my god!! They killed Kenny! You bastards!!' gag being born. this continues up until s6, where he becomes terminally ill and dies for the whole season, then being brought back in the last episode. this ability is explored much more with mysteripn but I'll talk about that later. in the 6th season, Stan Kyle and Cartman feel weird without a fourth member of their group, and instead befriend tweek, and later butters (MIGHT have been the other way round I havent gotten to rewatching s6 yet)

Kenny is shown to be one of, if not the most, lighthearted characters in the show despite his DISASTROUS life. not even exaggerating this poor (haha get it bc he lives in poverty) kid does not get a break ever. He makes sexual jokes more than any of the other kids in south park but despite this he's Butters' best friend (btw butters' real name is Leopold Stotch. motherfucker soooooo silly) and they can be seen hanging out together a LOT. in s6 when Kenny is hospitalized, butters draws the two of them in a plane and tells Kyle to tell him he can't wait for Kenny to come back to school.

His speech is muffled due to the orange parka he has been shown to have worn since he was a literal child. a TODDLER. the exact same parka

His family is so silly in the sense that only the kids are silly. Kenny's parents are unable to hold a job log enough to keep the family fed. There are broken windows and rats and holes in the walls everywhere. Stuart and Carol have a meth lab in the back garden (which is later shown to be where the Tweaks get the meth for their coffee) and in s15, get arrested for it. Kevin, Kenny's older brother is shown to fight with Stuart a LOT. So much that Kenny barely even notices it when it happens anymore. Karen (bless her sweet little heart <33 ): ) is his younger sister and their close, protective relationship is first shown in the episode in which their parents get arrested and the kids end up in the foster care system.

Which beings me to my NUMBER ONE SILLY MEISTER!!!! Mysterion. Mysterion is a superhero persona of Kenny's, though I REFUSE to talk about the other personas since cartman of course had to get racist with it. Mysterion is a much more calm, serious persona than regular Kenny, who is very expressive, easily angered and emotional. Mysterion is a skilled fighter who goes around south park after school and fights crime, usually for the benefit of others (there was one time when he beat the shit out of his parents and told them to stop beating each other up so much, be nicer to their kids and some other stuff.)

Mysterion has only laughed ONCE IN ALL PF THE TIMES HE'S SHOWED UP. and it was because he was pissing off cartman. and then there was one time when he saw a photo of his parents getting arrested at an earlier date and he broke the persona for a second (BLESS HIS HEART I LOVE HIS NORMAL VOICE SM)

The other superhero personas (aside from Bradley. that fucker) don't have powers unlike Kenny, who reveals his inability to die in one of the episodes to his friends. like I said earlier Mysterion doesn't get pissed off as much but when he revealed his curse to his friends and Kyle said "Let's say you're not crazy. I think not being able to die would be pretty cool!" he gets really upset and yells at him about how he's been shot, run over etc COUNTLESS times. and then he jur wakes up the next day and NONE OF THEM remember it.

but that act brings me to how cartman DOES know and it's brought up a few times but DURING THAT CONVERSATION WHERE HE REVEALED HIS CURSE CARTMAN WASN'T THERE?????? god. the instances where it's brought up is the episode where they were trapped on a bus and telling stories and in cartman's, kenny dies but it's corrected. then later he says "kenny dies all the time" and OUGHHGYSRE AQAHWHEVEBEBRJS4GXJGDHDHD

As Mysterion, he is SO protective of Karen, to the point she considers mysterion her guardian angel. Mysterion defends her after they get separated in the foster care system and a few girls start to bully her, and he swoops in from above and beats the shit out of the girls bullying her and tells them that "Karen McCormick is off-limits." He later says to Karen when she's crying about being all alone (bless her heart </3) he says that as long as he's alive, she'll never be alone or something along the lines of that. later on in the game Karen says to mysterion (after befriending the goth kids) that she wished she had more friends to play with, that Kenny is her best friend but he doesn't usually have time to play with her and he says he'll make sure to tell Kenny that and OUGGHGGGGSGDHDHDH IM GONNA CRY.

theres also princess kenny but I donr remember as much about them

anyways PICTURE TINE!!!

^that's Kevin, alongside Kenny comforting a cared Karen :(

^ mysterion my little meow neow

^ mysterion and karen in sp:tfbw when karen says she wishes her brother had the time to play with her:((((

#sorry for the late response i fell asleep #im sorrg am a bit aurisric #i LOVE KENNY SO MUCH I NEED TO SQUEEZE HIN TILL HIS HEAD POPS (it would be painless and rather pleasant)

[accioecho]

Lee Da Hee for GQ Korea

"Everything becomes memories in the end. You should always strive to have a positive energy."

Feel free to share this translated interview! Though I would appreciate if you could credit me by linking back to this blog or tagging me on Twitter ^_^

GQ: But... uh, why do you look so happy? You’re looking at me with such a happy expression that I don’t know what to do right now.

LDH: Hahaha. No but if I kept listening with a blank expression, I would come off as cold looking. And you would go: “Are you in a bad mood?” So I try to smile more. Otherwise I would come off as cold looking.

GQ: That’s quite a big difference. I got startled when you pulled a straight face.

LDH: Right, it looks like I’m angry. But I’m not, so this is why I try to smile more. If I don’t smile like this, people tend to think I’m cranky. Of course when I get angry, I have a temper, but I’m not usually like that.

LDH: And it goes both ways, it’s easier for me to open up to someone if that person is smiling instead of sporting an expressionless face.

GQ: You were laughing/smiling so brightly that I was kind of hypnotized.

LDH: Hahaha

GQ: When you appeared in the drama “Beauty Inside”, you weren’t the typical villain wearing a red lipstick but were the kind of villain to wear a new, nude shade.

LDH: Ohh, that’s a very nice way to put it.

GQ: Really?

LDH: A nude tone villain. This is the first time I’m hearing this expression, I like it. Yes, up until then, secondary female characters usually tried to win someone’s heart or because they lacked attention and love, they tended to bother the female lead. But “Beauty Inside” was different. It was a different kind of role. I played a villain but my character wasn’t hateful. She had her own convictions and that’s why she was so interesting.    

GQ: Kang Sara was that kind of character, played by Lee Da Hee.

LDH: This is why I didn’t want to play the typical secondary character, the typical second female lead. Yes she was given a fancy background but I also wanted to try something new, something different. Not something that could be shown through strong makeup, I wanted to add a layer of depth to her style.

GQ: I think we could feel the difference hence why it was so interesting. It was obvious that you studied this role a lot and this perfected style has stuck to you, the actress.

LDH: Well, first of all, I find it fun to radically search for something new. In a way that doesn’t stand out too much, while still being faithful to the character, I try to bring out the best of what I can do. Back when I was younger, I had no clue about all that so I just did what I was told to do. As I matured, I discovered what were my weaknesses, what to cover/hide etc. For example, you might think that I’m skinny, and that all my clothes fit me well. But I have a big bone structure so clothes don’t fit all that easily. But because I know this about me, I’m able to adapt,  know how to find the right clothes to try to keep looking pretty. Thanks to the GQ photoshoot, I got to try out this colorful mascara for the first time. And it’s so much fun. As I experience new things one by one, I’m able to see what’s right for me and what’s not.

GQ: It might be insensitive/rude to say this to an actress who has a career spanning 20 years, but I feel like the name Lee Da Hee has become clearer to me since “Beauty Inside”.

LDH: No it’s not insensitive. I’m really thankful that you remember me from that role. No matter how recent the drama is, the point is that you remember me because I left you a good impression. I really appreciate it. To be honest, a lot of people remember me from my role in Beauty Inside. People actually think I didn’t play in many projects before that.

GQ: But you did consistently star in various projects.

LDH: Yes, but I guess they weren’t memorable roles. I don’t think I played characters that stayed in people’s minds. Beyond the character and the role in itself. A drama can be loved by a lot of people, but beyond that, when I watch a show as a viewer, there are some actors that leave a deep impression in the way they play their characters. I wonder if I lacked that kind of aspect. I kept thinking to myself that maybe there was something missing in my acting that didn’t leave a memorable impression.

GQ: You left quite a strong impression after playing roles like Kang Sara in Beauty Inside and Cha Hyeon in Search: WWW. But more recently in LUCA: the beginning, I feel like you shed that strong image. If you found a type of role that fit you, you could have just kept on playing the same kind of characters, but it looks like you’re not afraid to radically change your image.

LDH: You’re right, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to show a different side, something that differed from the bright roles I usually played. After Beauty Inside and Search: www, I was afraid of being type casted. I didn’t want people to think I always played the same kind of roles. But I think I was was too confident when I chose to play in LUCA. I thought I could do anything.

GQ: You thought you could do anything but it didn’t turn out this way?

LDH: Even my mom thought the same thing. That it wasn’t a really good fit. In a few words, she thought my acting felt a bit forced. Hahaha. That it didn’t really flow well. The main takeaway is that I tried something different. If it turns out to be a good fit, then it’s good and if it doesn’t, it means I can just find something that does.    

GQ: Your mother sounds like the type of person who doesn’t mince her words.

LDH: My mom is very level headed. Just by looking at my back, she can tell if I was focused or thinking about something else. I spent a lot of time with my mom, even more so than with friends, and I also cried a lot in front of her. If I ask her “Mom, what’s wrong with me”, she’ll tell me not to think these kind of thoughts, that whatever I’m thinking is not true. We had a lot of moments like that.

GQ: You looked so cheerful today that I didn’t think you could also have rough times.

LDH: Why wouldn’t I? I went through times of depression when I would think, “Am I charismatic enough?”, “Do I lack something as an actress?”. There were times when my self-esteem was very low.

Since I’m tall, I used to have Directors who always said “you don’t match, you don’t match” (with fellow actors). Since I couldn’t do anything about my height, I thought that I could at least work on my body, make myself smaller. So I worked really hard on my diet. I used to eat rice cake soup that my mom used to make using beef broth, once every day. My mom followed along and did the diets with me. Every time. You can guess what kind of mom she is, right? I used to say: “Mom, should we at least drink soju since we only had one meal today?” And we’d share a bottle.

GQ: Hahaha, I see that you don’t hide your positive energy.

LDH: Everything becomes memories in the end. You should always strive to have a positive energy. And try not to think negatively. This way, you can find more motivation when an opportunity comes along, and this is also how more opportunities come up. I know that if I don’t love myself, I’ll end up being depressed and have a low self-esteem. So starting with myself, I also try to be nice to everyone, to compliment them. Let’s not be hurtful, and let’s try not to say mean things. I try to tell myself I’m a good person, and I project that to others as well. Let’s be nice to each other. Let’s be someone that gives off a good energy.

GQ: Why did you hurt your knee?

LDH: Ah, this? (Points to her left knee). I rode one of those electric scooters and fell as I tried to avoid an electric pole.

GQ: It must have hurt a lot if you fell while riding it.

LDH: I’m okay now. It was a bit concerning at first, but I’m just glad I didn’t hurt my face. It’s too bad I fell while riding it for the first time, but I wanted to try it so I learned my lesson now. I don’t even look at the scooters now. I know they’re too dangerous for me.

GQ: You made a very decisive conclusion based on your experience.

LDH: Yes, I should never try to ride a scooter again.

GQ: I also see a scar on your neck. Do you fall often?

LDH: Hahaha. No, I was washing a necklace. It’s a necklace made with my grandmother’s ring but the edge is a bit sharp. I got scratched while washing it a bit hastily.

GQ: Did you grow up under your grandmother’s care?

LDH: No I didn’t... actually both of my grandparents died in a car accident. They were so healthy so I thought they would live for a long time, but they suddenly passed away. When I didn’t work for a while, they used to say “When are you going to make money”, or “how long are you planning to live like that, without earning any money for your mom and dad”. It hurt me sometimes. But whenever I appeared on tv, they were the first ones to watch, and they always asked me when I would be on TV, on which channel... and when the time came, they always made sure to turn the tv on and watch my shows, and whenever we met, they told me they were proud of me, holding my hands and hugging me. I always think about these times. I miss them. Very much.

GQ: This is very moving. I believe these emotions and feelings make who you are.

LDH: I might sound like a crazy person, hahahah, but I have a picture of my grandma and grandpa next to my bed, and I always speak to them: “Grandma, I’m back”. If I’m upset about something, I say “Grandma, this thing just happened and this is so hard. I miss you.” - that’s how I cope and move on. This is how I try my best everyday. It makes me focus on what’s important. My family, tomorrow (the future) and all the things I love.

#lee da hee #이다희 #gq korea #kdrama #search www #the beauty inside #i love her i love her i love her

[luasworkshop]

Oh man you guys are curious! Ok so...

The following take may be wrong - I'm just doing my best to express a feeling:

Tinfoil hat 'Was Valerius Supposed to be the 6th LI instead of Lucio?' rambling beneath the cut:

*Puts on tinfoil hat* Ok... so... like, I don't know if I can attribute this to more than 'vibes' but I feel like at SOME point Valerius was meant as the 6th route instead of Lucio. He seems better developed within the prologue and other LIs routes to exist as a full on LI than Lucio who seems to initially just be poised as a secondary villain (to the Devil - not fundamentally a bad thing, secondary villains can be a lot of fun).

All of the routes of the Arcana are focused around helping self-actualize the LI's and helping them cope with and manage their responses to previous traumas. To get to the upright ending you interact with them in ways that support their own personal growth away from their most self-destructive tendencies. To get the reversed endings you let them sink further into precisely that. Valerius is perfectly poised to fill out this route just the same as the other LI's - we know from canon he made his deal in desperation, being overwhelmed when Lucio passed and Nadia was unconscious. He bristles with agitation and anger at anything that upsets the hegemony he feels is established and keeps Vesuvia running (as the 'reversed' heirophant would - sticking to traditions that no longer work.) He has chained himself to order and security - and in a possible upright for him we could see him break from tradition and conformity to (as with all the routes except Portia) solve the Count's murder and reverse the fallout of Lucio's poor decision making. In his reversed we could see him fail to break away from tradition and seize control over a corrupted and decaying Vesuvia spiraling into his demon form. To me - these seem like super familiar character beats to the first three routes (Nadia, Azra, and Julian).

Cases for Valerius:

A) There's more than enough of him the prologue to put in a Memory image, moreso than the other courtiers and certainly as much as say, Muriel.

B) He shows up in all of the routes almost as much as the various other LIs do, his story intertwining with everything else in complex ways that reveal bits of his background and motivations (it varies and of course his presence leans heavily into Nadia's route BUT he's still in say, Muriel's route having his own little redemption arc.)

C) He has potential for a mark - given his deal, chains, and eventual demon form.

D) This is a bit negated by the fact he's a courtier (and there are secondary characters that do) but he has his own sprites, unique design, and distinct character (unlike, say, the guards or other palace staff).

E) He doesn't just 'fit' with the other courtiers and their theming - he is unique in being brought into all this recently and trying to make his way through a lot more than he's able to (boy is in over his head).

F) He has an intense, personal relationship to his patron Arcana, the same as all the other LIs EXCEPT LUCIO (who is the Fool - not the Devil, until the Devil is using him as a puppet).

Cases against Lucio:

A) What even WAS his route? I'm sorry I don't think 'vague adventure story' is appropriate for a character who is the secondary antagonist in four out of six routes - especially someone guilty of kidnapping, coercion, blackmail, and, literally the source of the plague which killed many MANY people. Go full villain or go full redemption, not just... what smacks of pandering (I can't support this - it's just... vibes... yanno? I've seen when writers fandom pander before and this feels like trying to tread the most boring middle road to appeal to the widest audience and totally loosing the character somewhere in the middle. Death by committee and all that.)

B) He has very little personality (outside of hedonist asshole) in the routes up until we get to half-way through Portia's route and then in his own - he's simply a stooge for the Devil in all of the other routes (most of his character building in Muriel's route is... well it's MORGA'S character building, the devil is wearing Lucio like a festive little coat).

C) He serves as a better foil for Valerius than the other way round - he represents the traditions that Valerius seeks to uphold, but has so badly corrupted them that the city is falling into ruin. Lucio seems to just see Valerius as a party favor or general nuisance (which explains why he doesn't really show in Lucio's route)... I'm trying to say it's weird to underutilize a fairly major side-character in a route focused on a former count.

D) Back to those Upright and Reversed endings... sure his fit alright enough (either fucking off to do whatever, or turning into a pretty pet who doesn't have to make decisions) but compared to the ways in which say - Nadia either takes on all responsibility herself or allows you to help and lets herself become a fully complex person of her own making... Lucio's are very much simply reactionary rather than internal growth. His character either wasn't given or never was intended to have enough depth to carry the weight of a full story-line.

So what do I think happened? I think somewhere between the first three routes and deciding on the second three a decision was made to make Lucio a love interest over Valerius. I don't think Nyx Hydra anticipated his popularity as a character off the bat, but when looking to expand the story had some choices to make with their direction - they went with (what I feel is) the weaker of two story options due to Lucio's popularity in the fandom (and then took his story a whole... direction which is a whole 'nother rant.) Valerius would have been in keeping with the other LIs, Lucio had potential but it didn't come to much (especially as his development is otherwise rather lackluster.)

So ANYWAY I think maybe at some point Valerius was slated as a love interest (given his development) but it got scrapped in favor of Lucio (due to fandom popularity).

*Takes off tinfoil hat*

But... that's just my own rambling - I could be wrong, maybe they DID plan a Lucio route from the start and I'm just off my nut, but something smells like milquetoast fan-service on his route to me.

#Meta

[the-darklings]

*kicks down your door* Can I get a whole alphabet with the psycho husband please?? (Not the sandy one thanks) 🤡

asking for lucien & trash-talking the elder? iconic behaviour. so this is for npfh!lucien/reader but the inbox still open for other characters/ships (or combos)

ADORABLE (what do they find especially endearing?)

endearing isn't a word often associated with Lucien but if there's one thing he might later down the line find somewhat amusing and kinda cute it's the willingness to oppose him, especially in a physical sense. there's little chance to win against him but deep down he might find that willingness to not back down cute/admirable, even if it's likely to come out as sardonic on his part

BARGAIN (how do they get their way?)

well, he's good at getting his way, lets just say that. towards others he's usually downright menacing but Lucien has a presence that's frightening on a good day, much less if he's actually angry. in a relationship he's def more maniable but not by much. usually if he sees something has to go one way, he's stuck in that mindset for a while, he's too individualistic for anything else which can def cause arguments/disagreements

COMMUNICATE (what is their love language?)

physical touch is a big one for him. because he allows very few lay hands on him after the kind of life he's had, so him taking pleasure from your touch is the biggest and surest way to know he cares and wants you. be it a gentle touch (rare but possible) or meaner more rough handling (careful enough not to hurt but only just), it's his secondary language of communication since he's not the talkative one especially about feelings

DEVOTED (how do they show they're serious?)

you know. just... trust me, you really know. Lucien makes no exceptions for anyone (except clara/v) so if you're his person the mere way he looks at you is different, the air around you for him is different. a massive cat that hates everyone else purring in your lap energy. there's also the fact that he actually seeks you out while he usually very much prefers to be completely alone.

ENCHANTED (what first caught their eye?)

it's unlikely the first impression was a positive either from his side or yours, or both. he doesn't really see or take note of others often. people are more background noise for him after being locked up for so long so he's still learning in that regard. but one thing you would def need with Lucien is perseverance and patience, so that dedication not to give up on him despite the prickly edges is likely the first thing he would take note of. physically you can be as beautiful as you want, he won't care about that. lust for him is nothing more than an itch. you could try and wear him down and get him to fuck you but don't expect it to mean anything to him or for him to come back for seconds, he doesn't operate that way.

FLIRTY (how do they flirt?)

his flirting is honestly more sly, mean-edged wordplay. he's not the flirty type to begin with so don't expect anything flustering (unless you're more into the rough-spoken/meaner wordplay) but you being clingy after he returns from a long period away would certainly prompt a few comments.

GENTLE (how do they provide comfort?)

again, not particularly amazing with words, and even worse with comfort. he's not the mopey type and will not sit around handing you tissues. if someone hurt you? they're dead, simple as. but if it's being upset by some outside factor, he would likely have a hard time wrapping his mind around it (more so a consequence of his lifestyle/upbringing) so the more likely course of action would be a distraction. whether this is physical or activity-based is up to you.

HOT (what is their favourite look on their partner?)

something easy for him to rip off your body, also enjoys you naked in nothing but his shirts. he's really tall (like the man is 6.1 1/5) so anything of his usually hangs down to your tighs. he also likes the easy access : )

INTIMATE (what kind of date do they like?)

he's not really the dating type. spending time together in silence or murmurs of quiet conversation is usually as close you come to a date. sometimes, if needed for a job for the pit, you might tag along if he needs to go pay a visit at a club etc. then maybe some dancing. he's not half bad at it, either. but he def enjoys watching you if you dance, his eyes are unlikely to slip away once.

JEALOUS (how jealous are they? how do they show it?)

oh, he gets jealous alright. if you're the exception, you're the exception. he won't share you with anyone except clara but that's a topic for another time. he's not about to go alpha male type but the air around him is chilling. he trusts you (if you managed to wear him down enough to be with him, he knows you're not some flimsy wet wipe who's easily swayed) but the other party can def get into trouble. also most certainly expect some rough sex that evening, he's far greedier but equally so more attentive.

KARMA (how do they apologize?)

he has a hard time apologising. not because he can't accept the fact that he's done something wrong/is prideful but mainly because things people do get upset about often seem so trivial to him. again, more so a byproduct of the life he's had opposed to any actual unwillingness to say sorry. actual words would likely only leave his lips if something major has happened.

LUST (favourite thing about their partner?)

willingness to stick by him because he knows full well he's not the easiest crayon in the box to colour your life with. physically, likely laugh and durability : )

MEMORY (what's their favourite memory together?)

likely the first kiss but for different reasons. for you, it's a victory and confirmation you're feelings are not once sided after a sizable struggle to get closer to him while for him it's likely the first time in years he's felt a physical draw that goes beyond just wanting to scratch an itch. also, first person besides clara he felt anything other than indifference or hatred towards. the memory itself is a searing thing infused with passion so it's certainly one to remember.

NORMAL (what does a normal day look like for them?)

there's no such thing as "normal" with him. Lucien isn't around often (at least not initially or for a while) so time together is savoured. Lucien tends to wake up early (he doesn't sleep much in general) and does long morning workouts to burn off the edge of violence constantly swimming in his blood. the most likely way to wake up in the mornings if he's around is to feel his mouth and hand on your or hear the shower start. he's not opposed to you joining him.

OBVIOUS (how do they show they're together?)

while Lucien is not the most PDA-friendly person, he would eventually get used to someone's presence at his side and, as such, not move away from any physical touch outright. nor does he mind - and even prefers - to touch you occasionally in public. these displays are usually only limited to when you're home at the pit of vipers, however, as there's still safety and prying eyes to consider.

PEACE (how do they relax together?)

usually in his room, regardless of the actual activity. Lucien enjoys fresh air though (old lingering unease about being trapped between walls) so expect to spend a fair amount of time upon the Pit of Viper's roof terrace and surrounded by clara's plants, flowers and herbs. there's bustling sounds of the city around you but it's like a small corner of paradise that's almost kissing the skyline.

QUIET (what can they do together without talking?)

Lucien enjoys training a fair amount to help himself focus and burn energy off, so he would be happy for you to join in or simply watch. in the same vein, he doesn't enjoy silences (despite not being very talkative himself) so he does listen to a fair amount of music; anything to fill the quiet. he would be happy to try some of your hobbies eventually too, as long as they're not too irritating.

ROMANTIC (what kind of gifts do they give?)

once more not typical boyfriend material where you can be expected to be pampered and showered with gifts. presents from lucien are few and far in between (and pretty much non-existent during initial paces of relationship) he doesn't believe loyalty can be expressed in presence, and loyalty is higher for him on the scale than love. that being said, eventually, you can def expect one or two things down the line. they're more like to be meaningful and have meaning. likely a show that though he's not the most chatty-cat out there, he always listens and nothing escapes his notice, especially when it's you.

SLEEP (how do they sleep together?)

with you likely tucked under his chin or his arm an iron band around your waist holding you to him. this does take a while to fully bloom into effect though since initially he can be a bit callous in this regard.

THOUGHTFUL (what small things do they do for each other?)

the big one Lucien appreciates more than most is the ability to recognise when he needs space because his mindset is in a dark place. for you, it's the smaller things like finding covers pulled up over your naked body although the other side of the bed is long since cool. or how despite you both knowing he needs to leave, the ever-building sense that he lingers for as long as he can each time, as if some part of him isn't happy to be leaving as it once was.

UNITY (what would their wedding be like?)

not the marrying type. just straight up. again believes loyalty is expressed in a different sense and his devotion is concrete, so he sees little reason to attach any labels or papers on what you have.

VIBRANT (what always makes them smile?)

very little does. with what he's been through his smiles are elusive and incredibly hard to come back (unless they're more insincere/sarcastic things because then they're more common) but way down the line there might be few instances when you feel his mouth stretching against one side of your head if you rush to greet him after one of his returns. they're private and tucked away from anyone's eyes, however.

WHISPER (what pet names and compliments do they use?)

"pretty girl" : )

XOXO (how do they kiss?)

except bruising and hard, very intense. lip bites. few chances to draw breath because he's on you at once. he very much enjoys it if its intensity returned. scratch those nails down his neck, rip at his hair - he welcomes all of it.

YEARN (what do they do when they're apart?)

you likely have plenty to do around the Pit even if not officially one of the Vipers, and he's away making sure no enemies can blindside the Pit which more often than not means murder. minds mutually wonder towards each other often though.

ZOOM (what's their favourite picture together?)

most likely a picture either Step or Noah managed to grab of you together in a little Pit gathering/dinner. Lucien is likely facing away from the camera, unimpressed by whatever is happening, and you're caught mid-laugh. casual at first glance until you look closer and note how you're leaning into him and his head is lowered towards you, his arm half curled around you.

#oc x reader #oc character hdcs #oc writing #ahh he #c: lucien #v: npfh #asks #eileen

[wisteria-lodge]

lion primary + badger secondary (bird model)

ie A HOUSE MATCH !!

Hellooo, I’m sorry for bothering you but I’ve found this blog and I absolutely love your character analysis and overall thought about the SHC system, and I could use some help?

I’ve known the system for a while now, since the old SHC tumblr times, and while understanding my current primary situation has been quite easy, I’m having A LOT of trouble with my secondary and it’s becoming a bit of a issue for me because the more I think about it, the more confused I become, to the point where it’s upsetting me a bit.

First thing first, my Primary is a very “standard” Lion, the whole “you feel if something is right or not and if you do something that’s not right to you you feel bad/ill/it’s wrong” is extremely me. I had some doubts about a Badger model, but I think it’s just that my personal ideals and values align a lot with a Badger worldview, since I grew in a very Badger society and family (very leftist, a lot of emphasis on equality and valuing and creating communities). Reading various description/interpretations of primary Lion always feels right, while reading primary Badger always makes me think “yeah, this is all good and nice, BUT…” so this was quite easy to sort out (no pun intended).

Are you me? So far... I could have written this. It’s possible I *might* be biased going forward. 

When it comes to secondaries, I see a lot of myself in Bird descriptions: I make spreadsheets for everything.

 Pretty Bird.

I am a crafter with an apparently endless supply of books and tutorials and supplies ready, and the enthusiasm to share them. 

That sounds more Badger. 

I am the mom friend 

Badger.

who always has what’s needed in their bag. 

Bird.

I am that one person you can count on knowing a funny or interesting anecdote about almost any topic, from the mundane to the truly obscure. Learning new things, about any topic, is literally one of my biggest pleasures in life. 

Bird [model?] Whichever one isn’t your secondary is a model you clearly love.

I take pride in all these things, but I honestly have trouble understanding if I like using them as tools because they help me with my ADHD and so I received a very strong positive enforcement using them and I kept the ones I like, or if I started doing them because they are what I like doing and coincidentally they help me managing my symptoms or better navigate the world in my day to day life.

Could be either, but modeling Bird because you’re neurodivergent is very much a thing.

Also, while I love planning, when it comes to making decisions I tend to gather all information and summarize it in a way that makes sense to me so I can visualize the issue in my mind as complete and detailed as possible, but the final decision tends to feel a bit… impulsive, to me?, there’s always A LOT of gut feeling involved, and when I don’t follow it usually it ends up being a wrong or subpar decision. I do need to gather all the available information about the issue/situation/item/people, but rather than making my decision by comparison, I use the information to make sure that I’m “seeing” the truth (or as close to it as it is possible) and then once I feel safe that I’m not overlooking anything important I just KNOW what is the correct decision.

That’s a Lion primary making a call. 

Could this simply be a very strong primary interfering with the decision-making, even when it’s not about ideals but more mundane things?

Decision making is always a primary thing. Mundane stuff included. Mundane stuff is important. 

On the other hand, I am an extremely hard working person (I am changing jobs right now because I feel like my old bosses are making more and more difficult for me to just do my job properly and without needing to cut corners, and it just feels wrong to me). 

Oh good lord. I am ready to sort you as a Badger secondary solely on the basis of THAT. 

People tell me I’m a very good listener and that I am especially good at helping others unravel their thoughts when they’re all confused and tangled because I ask the right questions. I seem to gain other people’s trust easily and often I get told gossip or secrets before others. 

Badger. Also DAMN but that’s relatable. I think you might house-match me. 

I got told several times by previous bosses that I should look into becoming a team leader because people like me and I make them get along better. 

Sounds like a Lion/Badger combo. 

People get attached to me very quickly and when I have problems the stream of folks asking if they can help or just checking in is always way more than I expect.

Isn’t it weird how that happens? 

This all sounds like Badger stuff, from the descriptions I read, but many of them are not things I actively enjoy doing, I just.. do them because it would be weird to do otherwise? Or it feels like they happen to me with no effort on my part.

Because they’re just you. It’s just who you are. 

I think they might be simply a result of me growing up in a society that values hard work and being kind to others, or just me being a likeable person

Not everyone finds this easy. Not even close. I have read so many testimonials written by people in Badger secondary households killing themselves trying to fit into this model. Wanting isn’t enough. Having examples around you isn’t enough. 

or maybe coping mechanisms I had to learn in order to “pass” as neurotypical but as I wrote the more think and read about Birds and Badgers and their differences, the more I get confused and frustrated.

Now I know I’m projecting, but all my neurotypical coping mechanisms come out of the Bird secondary toolbox. 

But it would make sense since I burned out badly in my teens from trying to always try to be perfect for my family, my friends, my teachers, society 

That sounds like a young Badger secondary, more than a young Bird secondary.

and when I finally found who I really wanted to be I resolved to never let anyone define what or how I should be ever again (hello there, Lion primary!)

I hear that. 

After a lifetime of beating myself up for not living up to the absurdly high expectations I set up for myself, I have decided that the only way to stay sane for me is to do the groundwork, be as prepared as I can

Bird

 put in the work I should

Badger

 but once I’m in the thick of it just… ride the wave. And now I got to the point where I have the confidence that I am smart enough to learn the basics of a new skill on the fly, if needed.

To me, this is so fundamentally, so spiritually Badger secondary. You don’t have tools. You are a tool. You made yourself into one. And that moment where you can just trust yourself to catch the world, absorb it into yourself, and become whatever it needs you to be... it’s ecstasy. 

I’d say that lack of time is my worst enemy, but due/thanks to the ADHD that’s not true most of the time, since lack of time is what enables me to get past the executive dysfunction in the first place, so I’ll say I have a love-hate relationship with it. Doing things just before a deadline is it’s own kind of high, after all (I’m not saying it’s healthy).

At the base of your soul, you’re not really a Bird prepper/planner. 

A practical example: I usually don’t like platforming games much, but I am LOVING Immortals: Fenyx Rising because in most situations, there is a “best” way to do things but you can also get creative by using different skills, using specific items, finding loopholes, or a combination of all of them.

Sounds like a Bird secondary having fun. [a fun model?]

When I fail a level/combat I don’t get frustrated because I know that I just have to try a few more times until I find the solution that feels right FOR ME, even if it’s not the most efficient ones. And when I do it feels great, even if I look a at guide afterwards and there’s a waaay easier solution! I usually feel a bit silly for not “seeing it” but also think something like “well, I think MY way is more fun!”

Oh yeah, a Bird secondary would not have that reaction. That is the sacred Badger consistency of method. How you do something matters equally as much as the final product. 

When I cook, I usually find a recipe I like and try it as written, then I make small adjustments to improve it, see how it turns out, and so on until I have a recipe that is MY recipe, one I really like and that I know well enough to use as a basis to be changed if needed, knowing exactly how the change will affect the end result. I think this is why I prefer baking to other kinds of cooking, since it’s much more akin to chemistry I feel like I have more control over what a change will do. 

On it’s own this could be a description of rapid-fire Bird. And you clearly have Bird, you have a lot of it. You love it. 

So I guess that what really matters to me is being able to do things my way so that I can enjoy the process and live up to my standards instead of external ones? 

But then you say something like this... it’s about the process... it’s about the method... it’s about something coming up to your own personal standards. And that’s so Badger. 

This ended up being very lengthy… I’ve tried shortening it but English isn’t my first language and I was afraid I might come across not clearly. 

Your English is perfect, and insanely clear. You’re clearer than I am. 

Thank you again for the blog, I especially like your DS9 characters’ analysis and I am low-key hoping for more :)

I’m particularly proud of those ones. I’d love to do more, but before that I would have to go back and re-watch the show, or at least key character episodes. I’m not going to sort from memory. That would be doing a show I love, and a number of extremely complex characters a disservice. And it wouldn’t be nearly as fun. 

(it’s that whole Badger integrity-of-method thing, you know how it goes.) 

#sortinghatchats #sortme #wisteria sorts #lion primary #badger secondary #bird model #my lion badger #adhd #submission

[help-im-a-gay-fish]

Agave Syrup: ship kid. Secondary collab verse.

Annnnnd here's the new baby! She's my Cciller ship kid. She exists the the secondary ship kid universe which is a collab verse with @thebluescreen. She's from the Multiverse Rem is a part of, but not from the multiverse Coffee creamer is from. (They are two separate multiverses with different ships and storys.)

Both Agave and 4Loko are the same person, I'll explain below.

"yall really for a no caff, full foam, double chocolate latte, with an extra hit of caramel syrup!? It's my own special blend..... Added just for you~"

Name: Agave Syrup

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Strate

Parents: (Bio) Ccino (Da) and Killer (Baba). Non bio Nightmare (Father).

Other family: Rem (older half brother) Vanta (older half brother) Somba Lullaby (older half brother). Dream (uncle) Cross (Uncle) Radiant Hope (Cousin) Empathy (Cousin). And many cats.

Nicknames: Kitten (by killer) and Gave

Agave is the youngest of the Fluffynightkiller ship kids from the second verse. She grew up primary raised By Ccino and her oldest brother Rem. Killer and Nightmare were there, but weren't massively involved parents.

Agave is pretty close to her brother Rem, despite the 13 year age gap and will normally have a fortnightly movie night where they will watch crappy horror movies (like Jack Frost or The Sand) and laugh about how stupid they are. They also both love to watch old horror movies and play a game of "what incredibly stupid choice will character A make that will result in there death? Hmmm". It's there favourite thing to do together.

Agave isn't a huge fan of generally good horror films though and especially can't stand the saw films. So she doesn't watch them unless it's with Rem.

Agave and her other brother Somba aren't as close (he's 5 years older) but she still cares alot for him and isn't above defending him if needed.

Agave has two main sides to herself, this being how she is normally and her persona/alterego 4Loko. But more on that below.

Normally she is a very bright and chipper girl who's abit of a goof. She sees the fun or silly side in alot of things in life and is rarely not in a good mood. She's also quite a passive person (or at least pretends to be) and is quite kind. Her personality is abit to much like Dream's for Nightmare's liking so the two aren't really close.

She's that person who is very fun to be around but just slightly unnerving. Like there is something going on underneath her smile. Something just slightly off.

Being born with her soul on the outside of her body wasn't suprising because of her relation to Killer, however it caused Ccino to be conserned during her up bringing. He were quite scared about how easily she could be hurt of killed so always kept a close eye on her. Killer didn't care as much and gave her more free rain. For example, letting her play with this pocket knife as a 1 year old.

Agave works primarily at her Da's coffee shop and takes great pride in it. She grew up there and its been a part of her life ever since she can remember. She enjoys making her own flavouring syrups and blends to put into drinks to make them taste better. Other then that she's studying a business degree (at age 18 +) at a local university in order to get better with the business.

About 4Loko and her soul.

"Me? And serial killer? No no I'm a barista, those aren't even similar....."

Now this is where things start up, because she's got to inherit some things from Killer, right?

Agaves soul glitches, much like Killer's does, from being heart shaped to being target shaped. It does this many times a day. When this happens it normally doesn't last longer then a few seconds till it goes back to normal. To an outsider it may even be unnoticeable and for the most part it doesn't effect Agave.

However sometimes she will trap her soul into a jar or some type of container. Doing this will stop it from glitching and stick it in whatever form its in (she can't do this all the time as it strains the soul and brings pain). So sometimes she will stick it in target mode. When she sticks it in target mode, her eyes drip.

Unbeknownst to any of her parents when her soul is like this, it changes her. She feels basically nothing, no fear, no sadness, no guilt or empathy. She realised at a young age that this was her super power.

In this mode she could do anything and not suffer any emotional consequences.

It started with stealing cookies from the biscuit tin at age 9 and evolved into hurting bully's at school. Then into giving food poisoning to rude customers by mixing up syrups to slip into drinks to make people ill.

For the most part she stays out of this mode, only dipping in when she felt she needed to test how far she could push it.

When she was 15 she started to consider pushing it to the limit.

She was watching the news and found out about some kind of abuser or murder being arrested and she thought. Why do we let people who do such horrible things live? Wouldn't it be better if they were dead? Then she realised, with her super power, could she kill someone?

When she was 16 she had her first kill. They were robber shed caught beating someone in an alleyway. (I don't know to much about this yet so I'll need to think more about it) but afterwards, she realised that she'd been right in the fact that she didn't feel guilty. She could use this to make the world a better place!

She didn't kill again for about a year. (just incase, I wanna point out that I'm not saying that what Agave does is justified. She's just an ship kid, a act of fiction and not ment to be taken seriously)

So anyway, by age 17 Agave makes her second kill and continues on that path. These are alot more thought out and planned. Her method of choice is through creating poisonous syrup and killing people that way, though she isn't above a good old knife death. Her Baba taught her well. She also carries around chemicals to clean blood and things like that.

She doesn't like her victims to dweal in pain and gets the deaths over quickly and painlessly. She gets no pleasure from causing pain to others, and when she doesn't have a target soul it makes her upset to hurt people.

Agave ended up calling her killer mode 4Loko. That's the name for her alterego the serial killer. She separates 4Loko from herself and doesn't want it to impact her Day to day life. So she will use make up to cover the birth mark on her face. When she's in her 20s she ends up working as an hireable assassin for killing criminals. But more on that later.

Non of her parents know about her double life. But that doesn't mean no one does.

Rem has always kept a close eye on his little sister. Over the years he noticed her odd behaviour and her collection of 'syrups' that she keeps in her room hidden.

During her 17th year he confronts her about what she does (which was a huge mess) the two fought as she attempted to stab him through the soul with her knife. She couldn't let him live if he knew right? She would have been able to but she just couldn't bring herself to hurt him. Since she wasn't in target mode she just couldn't do it especially as he spoke to her and talked her down. (tbh it's actually a kind of sweet scene between them).

After he's calmed her Rem offers to help her kill people, and he's very happy to. (Rem has alot of darkness under his kind surface which I'm sure @thebluescreen would be more then happy to explain in better detail).

So the two grow closer through that.

And yeah, that's the basic run down of my Cciller baby.! Hope you like her! My barista turned murderer/hitman I figured this would be a good mix of both her parents.

You have no idea! How long I spent working on her colour scheme..... It took about a month till I finally had this one and I'm pretty happy with it. I hope I explained everything about her double life well, I wasn't sure how clear it is. If you have any questions, please ask.

<3

#undertale au #my art #shipping #undertale multiverse #sansest #I still love her #She's super fun #I was mostly inspired by the 'cup cakes' mlp creepy pasta #Though it's no were near the same #That's where the first concept came from #Fluffynightkiller #ccillermare #Cciller #Ccino x killer #Ccino x killer ship kid #Ship kids #agave syrup #Agave Syrup ship kid #Do I need trigger tags? #Murder tw #death tw #4 loko ship kid

[gallavictorious]

Random question, but do you have any thoughts about Mickey and his relationship with anger? I think people who are perhaps more casual fans of the show (or just not big fans of his) think that Mickey's major character trait is anger, because he gets annoyed easily and doesn't suffer fools gladly (and obviously scenes like chair debacles 1 and 2), but I don't think it's that simple. Responding to anger in unhealthy or violent ways is sort of a running theme through this show and something I've been thinking about in regard to a lot of the characters lately, not just Mickey (though he does fit the theme). Was interested in seeing if you had any thoughts 😊 Do you think Mickey is the most angry/most violent character?

That’s a very interesting question, nonnie, and not one I'd really considered before. I'll preface this by saying that to make a proper and grounded comparision, I'd need to watch the whole series again and consider all the instances of anger and violence displayed by all the characters, and since that's not going to happen right now this will be a few random notes on the topic rather than a thorough analysis, and I'll focus primarily on Mickey himself rather than Mickey in comparision to others. Okay?

Okay. Now, as far as anger goes, I'd argue that Mickey's relationship with it is the same as his relationship to most other emotions, i.e. he doesn't usually bother to quell or hide it. I don't think this is so much a result of him struggling with affect regulation (though there's probably some of that too, with him as with almost all the other characters) as it is of him just not giving a damn about what other people think. So what if it's not socially acceptable to curse people out or kick down a sign if you get a little pissed? Mickey doesn't give a fuck; if he feels something, he's going to express that, and if you've got a problem with it, that's your damned problem.

That said, there are certainly emotions that Mickey sometimes hides and struggles to express, especially in the past; vulnerability and tenderness comes to mind. (The one emotion Mickey regularly feigns is indifference, primarily pretending not to care about Ian or what Ian does when we know that he actually cares quite a lot.) As much as Mickey is naturally emotional and expressive, he is still shaped by his enviroment, and growing up the way he did anger would have been a safe emotion for him to show. While stoicism is a stereotypical ideal for men, anger is still considered pretty manly and potent; a sign of strenght rather than weakness. I can see him leaning into that, and into other acceptable emotions, a little extra because he is an expressive person, and this allows him an outlet. At this point, I think that's become less of an issue but remains a habit–and now that Mickey doesn't worry about people finding out that he's gay, he's even less concerned than every about what people outside of his circle might think of him.

So, I wouldn't say that Mickey is angriest character, but I would say that he might be the one least prone to suppressing anger or putting up a level front just to please others or be polite. In season 11, which is the first time we've seen a Mickey that, arguably for the first time, feels comfortable and free and safe, he is remarkably happy–and he doesn't bother to hide that either, not even when his glee might seem inappropriate.

Turning to violence–and I do seperate the two, because while violence can often serve as an expression of anger, it can also serve many different purposes, and so you can't necessarily equal most angry with most violent–you are quite right to note that responding with violence to anger is something we see with many of the characters. As just mentioned, violence can serve many purposes but for most of the people on the show, I'd argue it's a way of communicating emotions (primarily anger) when other means of expression are deemed insufficient or too hard. They get angry or hurt; they lash out and punch someone or trash a car–given how often this happens and with as many of our mains as it does, I think it's fair to say that violence is highly normalized in the cultural sphere the characters inhabit. More so with the Milkoviches than Gallaghers, though, and I think it's interesting to note that while the Gallaghers mostly fall back on violence as a response to extreme emotions (which is learned behavior; seeing violence as a possible option when very upset is not given), the Milkoviches tend to do that and be very comfortable with using violence instrumentally, to defend their status and achieve their goals.

Over the course of the show, we see Mickey hit people (well, mostly Ian) when he's overwhelmed with hurt–rather than anger–but also to enforce the rules of his business (going after Mr. Patel), to defend himself or others against physical attack (going after his dad and the army police), to get his way (slamming the head of that bartender into the bar in his quest for Ian), to position himself and defend his position as a criminal badass that you shouldn't cross (beating up Lip in Ian's stead in season 1, wanting to go after Kev after being robbed by him, wanting to get up in Jesús' face in 7x11; sure, there's anger in these instances too, but I'd argue that anger is not the only or primary motivator), and because he's getting paid to (going after cousin Patrick).

Actually, though there are instances of Mickey reacting with violence to anger, that doesn't happen nearly as often as him reacting with violence to hurt or him using it instrumentally. Possibly because Mickey is actually quite good at expressing his anger in other ways; he doesn't often need to resort to violence for that? At least not violence against other people; chairs, signs, and Amazon boxes are all fair game, though. (But in all those instances, I'd argue that the anger is secondary to frustration and, again, hurt/insecurity.)

To summarize, I don't think it's fair at all to say that Mickey is the angriest of the characters, but he is very comfortable with utilizing violence for a number of reasons, and I think that out of our mains he might well be the most violent. That said, that is by no means his defining characteristic; Mickey is hell of a lot more than a violent thug, and to be honest and as I've noted before, it's the juxtaposition of him being genuinely a pretty rough (and not always very good at all) person and him being capable of such devotion, love, caring and tenderness that makes him so compelling. Complexities, baby–we love to see them!

I did really love this ask and had a lot of fun thinking about it, but I did struggle somewhat to organize my thoughts on the topic, especially since I didn't want this to devolve into a ten page treatise on the psychology and cultural construction of anger and violence, so I do hope this made some sort of sense. As mentioned, it's not a thorough analysis but rather a collection of stray thoughts on the subject. A starting point for further discussion, perhaps, if anyone else would care to chime in?

#like #there's a lot more to be said on the subject #but if i keep going i might never stop #so we'll leave it at this for now #mickey milkovich #meta #asks